It's been a long time since I've written a fanfic. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do more GaaHina or try SasuHina. But I decided on SasuHina since I've never done it before. Also, I'm using third person, which I am not good at so I hope I do alright. Thanks for reading!

Naruto & Characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Edit: I've extended it, because it was too short and didn't have enough of what I wanted for the first chapter. I also made other small changes.

Chapter 1: Her Discovery

She always loved animals of any kind. When she saw a critter climbing up a tree, someone walking their dog, or a classmate talking about their cat, she would go into a trance - imagining herself having her own pet. Growing up in a strict household, Hinata was never allowed to own one and silently envied people who did. The girl tried to never fret about it, though. She never dared argue with her father, Hiashi. He always wanted things done a certain way and had no faith in her, so what right did she have asking for an animal? She was now starting high school and still never had a pet in her life, but by then, she had already pushed it to the back of her mind.

The quiet girl went about her morning chores around the house before leaving for her first day of high school. Hiashi had already left early for work and Hanabi was still asleep, for the elementary school started later. Hinata left some toast on the table and eggs in the microwave to keep them warm for Hanabi. Fully dressed in her new school uniform and straight, silky, indigo hair pulled into a loose side-ponytail, she walked out the door at 7 a.m. Each step closer to the high school made her more nervous. She felt that she could never fit in with people at her school. It wasn't like she wanted to be painfully shy, but that's how she was and didn't know how to get over it. However, there was one thing that made her feel excited about her first day – Naruto Uzumaki. She had had a crush on him since 1st grade and that reason motivated her each day. If he weren't around, school wouldn't have been nearly as stimulating for her. They didn't talk much, but when they did, it made her feel like she had touched the heavens.

The sun shone brightly as it peeked from behind the trees. It was going to be a beautiful day. Walking on the suburban sidewalk, Hinata contemplated to herself about ways she could carry on a conversation with someone in case she had to. It was always hard for her, especially on the first day of the school year. Later, she came to a clearing with few people and old, unused buildings; A shortcut which she had used for years. It was also very quiet and away from other classmates who walked to school. The sun reflected off of the brick buildings, making everything even more bright and warm. As she internally comforted her anxiety, she heard a small whimper coming from the bushes causing her to stop and listen once more. 'Was I just imagining it?' she thought, but decided to check anyway.

Bending down, the girl angled her head so that she may see under the large bush as her ponytail dangled over her shoulder. What she saw was something that melted her heart – something that she had always dreamed of having. It was a little puppy, alone and scared. Its fuzzy body caught her eye. Mouth forming a warm smile, she called gently to the helpless animal, using her right hand to coax it. Hesitantly, the puppy crawled toward it and sniffed her fingers, ears folded back and tail between its legs. Hinata identified it as a Kishu, judging by its white coat and curly tail. One of her favorite things to do was read about different animal breeds. This one originated in Japan.

"Don't worry, I would never hurt you." She said softly.

'Ah, I know.' She remembered that she had some anpan in her bag, believing that it may gain its trust. So grabbing the bun, she tore off a bite-sized piece, offering it to the small canine. It seemed to relax a bit, gratefully taking it. The girl giggled satisfied with its actions. Minutes passed and she had fed the whole thing to the pup, earning a friendly lick to her hand. Hinata felt overwhelming happiness, sitting there cross-legged.

Sighing, she talked to the dog. "Oh, how I wish I could take you home."

The girl had almost forgotten about school, and once realizing it, hopped up, startling the puppy. "Oh no! I-I'm going to be late!" Her eyes shifted back toward the white furball. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. If you stay here, I'll come back after school." The pup only stared at her with its round eyes in curiosity as she ran off.

The auditorium was full of chatty teens, reuniting and talking about their break. Hinata only sat in the far corner silently and nervously. There were so many people; She had almost forgotten about the number of students at school. Hinata was mostly alone throughout her break, so she just wanted this to be over. Eyes wandering the expansive room, she shifted in her seat. But then, her eyes found Naruto sitting a few rows in front of her. 'Naruto-kun…' He always had such a lively aura and was so kind to everyone, even her - with her shy and solitary personality. The timid girl watched as the blonde boy laughed hysterically with his friends. Beside him sat a pink-haired girl known as Sakura Haruno and on the other side sat a raven-haired boy named Sasuke Uchiha.

Hinata was familiar with many of the people there, since they had attended the same schools. Sakura seemed to be annoyed with whatever it was Naruto was saying. Hinata respected Sakura, because she was also nice to her, even though she was often scary. Sasuke didn't talk much, like Hinata, but he was much more confident and much less shy. She wondered why he hung out with Naruto who was quite the opposite of him. Maybe it was for the same reason that she herself admired Naruto. Finally, the principal, Tsunade, gave a speech to the new freshman, but Hinata paid no attention. She daydreamed of the puppy that she had found, hoping that it stayed put. If it ran away, who knows what would happen to it, she worried.

"Alright! You are all dismissed to your new classroom." Announced Principal Tsunade and with that, the crowd of teens rushed toward the door. The lilac-eyed girl, wanting to avoid being caught up in the crowd, waited for everyone to leave. Once the auditorium was empty, she grabbed her bag and her school map to find her class.

"Hello, my name's Kakashi. I'll be teaching you literature… also I'll be giving you assigned seats." Looks of displeasure shown on his students' faces, but Hinata didn't care either way. It's not like she had any friends that she could sit with. Naruto was the only person she would look forward to sitting with; however, he wasn't in her class, which made her disappointed. She would just have to wait to see him in the hallways. Each student stood up as Kakashi touched each desk, calling a name. "Choji. . . Ino. . . Sasuke. . . Hinata. . ."

She let out a sigh of relief. Her seat was in the back next to the window, her most preferred spot. There was a nice view through the window and people would take little notice of her. Hinata's main inclination was to get through each day without being acknowledged. It only made her embarrassed and uncomfortable when put in the spotlight. Once everyone had taken their seats, Kakashi talked about what to expect for the year and the rules of the classroom, which again, Hinata did not pay attention to, for her focus was outside the window. She always had a hard time keeping focused at school. Her wandering mind always got the better of her, but as she was usually unnoticed, she also never really got in trouble for it. The teacher finished his small lecture with time to spare and allowed everyone to relax.

"Sasu-ke-kun~" Immediately, girls crowded around the handsome Sasuke Uchiha who didn't give them the attention they wanted.

"Get out of my face." He commanded coldly.

The timid girl was a bit afraid of the boy who sat in front of her. In her eyes, his attitude was very unpleasant and she hoped to never get in any situation that would require her to interact with him. She had a troublesome time dealing with people who were cold and impassive – well, she had trouble dealing with anyone period. If anything, she wished she had the social skills and confidence to be able to talk to people.

That morning, she met a few of her teachers and was getting bored until the bell rang for lunch at last. Everyone got up simultaneously to leave the room and talk to friends. Where would she eat lunch? This was a new school that she knew nothing of and she had no friends that she could eat with. 'Wait, I fed my lunch to the puppy. . . I forgot.'

Her sudden realization didn't faze her much, though. This wasn't the first time she'd made a stupid mistake. She decided to explore the school a bit since she didn't have anything to do. Getting up, the petite girl roamed the halls by herself, feeling vulnerable to everyone's piercing stares. 'I think I'll go outside. I don't really like wandering by myself with many people around.'

Hinata quickly changed shoes at her shoe locker and turned the corner when – Oomf!

"Watch where you're going . . . stupid girl." She bumped into the intimidating Uchiha.

Sure, he had a charming face, but his attitude was much the opposite. It scared her. So, in means of quick escape, she gave him a hasty bow, "Gomen!" and ran out the door, leaving Sasuke to stand there with a nasty glare.

He didn't like her. That girl. . . he noticed her many times the previous year when no one else did. Her lack of confidence bothered him greatly. 'Why waste life on this earth on people like that?' He would think. Not that it was any of his concern, but when she did catch his eye, he would become irritated and he didn't know why. The boy brushed his charcoal-colored hair from his eyes, turned and walked the opposite direction, ready to meet with Naruto and Sakura for lunch.

The day was placid, but bright. Hinata chose to sit in the grass by a tree and sighed heavily. Bumping into Sasuke Uchiha was not her plan, but of course, she always did stupid things. She really did not like him. The way he acted all high and mighty made her so frustrated and that's why she always avoided him. Well, she always avoided people in general, but the Uchiha was a different story. Maybe she was a little jealous of his popularity and his morale. Maybe she yearned to be someone more confident like him, but she still didn't like his attitude.

Trying to get her mind off of that, she thought of what she could do for the puppy (if it happened to be in the same place when she got back). Hinata knew that bringing it home was out of the question, but there were ways that she could make it safer. Her stomach growled loudly and she threw her arms around it to shut it up. 'I really hope it doesn't growl during class.' If only she brought money for the vending machine or brought a little more than just anpan, which she fed to the puppy. Today was definitely not a good start to the school year.

Eventually, the school day ended and Hinata was on her way back home. She was extremely hungry. To hide the embarrassment of her loudly growling stomach earlier that day, she even asked one of her new teachers if she could go to the nurse, with the excuse of her stomach hurting. It would be bad to have people laughing at her for something like that. The girl stopped at a small convenience store after school to pick up a snack for herself, and something for her tiny friend. Her heart began to beat faster as she neared her destination. Within each beat held the excitement to see the little dog again. Once she came to that tranquil clearing, she bent down to look under the bush. 'Not there.' She searched behind one of the old buildings. 'Not here either.' This is when she started to panic. Staring off into space, her thoughts wandered. 'What if he ran away and got hit by a car? What if someone else found him? Animal control, maybe?'

Before she could go on with these thoughts, she felt a pair of small sharp teeth pulling at her sock. And with that, she sighed in relief, scooping the pup up in her arms as it wagged its curly tail.

"Oh, thank goodness," she exclaimed, cuddling the fuzzy mass.

Finally, setting it down, she let her hand rummage through her bag to find some of the sausages she bought. "Here you are." She placed a small bowl down (which she also bought) and filled it. The puppy gulped it all down, happily. Hinata set down another bowl and filled it with bottled water. "I'll come back in the morning with more stuff,"

For a while, she sat with it, pet it, and played with it, but the sun was setting and her father would be home soon so she set off, giving the dog a sad goodbye. She thought, 'Maybe this year won't be so bad,' not knowing of the events to come.