Define Destiny
A/N: The first chapter of Define Destiny, the story that will, hopefully, so justice to the external problems this relationship would have. That was quoted from drschuet who has really help me by telling me some of the challenges they would encounter. Read and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Hinata, or any other characters.
Summary: Her entire future is planned out for her. Everything is set. Yet, she isn't happy. Will she throw it all away for such a trivial thing as love? (Naruto/Hinata)
Chapter 1
She was kneeling on the floor, her body bent slightly in a bow. Her eyes were trained on the floor, observing the intricate twists in the wood. She was well aware of the kunai points poking her thigh through the holster, making her shift in place every few minutes. Her sister was kneeling a few feet behind her.
She heard the sound of the sliding door opening and froze.
It was her father.
"Ohayo, otou-san," She and her sister chorused in harmony, something they had perfected over the years.
He didn't say anything. He simply walked to the front of the room and sat down. She could feel his eyes upon them, observing. She was trying her hardest to not fidget.
"As you know, there is a five year difference between you both with Hinata being the eldest." He began. "The time has come for me to choose an heir and I have done a lot of thinking…" Here he trailed off, his gaze lingering on Hinata.
"I have made a decision…" Both of them tensed, holding their breaths as they waited. "Hinata is to be the heir," There was a small trace of sadness in his voice. "And Hanabi will be become part of branch family. With this decided, there will be many changes. You, Hinata, will have to attend more Hyuuga meetings and such."
She let go of her breath and slumped forward, her eyes closed. She almost felt like crying when she heard her sister's choked sob. They sat there, motionless, for several minutes until Hinata spoke up.
"I have to train with my team, otou-san." She whispered, her voice weaker than usual.
"Very well, you are both dismissed."
Her sister was up and out in a flash, her bare feet making loud noises on the floor. Hinata followed slowly behind. Outside her sister was leaning on the wall, tears running down her face. Hinata reached out to touch her shoulder but Hanabi moved and walked away, ignoring her presence.
How had life gone so wrong?
"Hinata? Hinata? Hinata!"
The new Hyuga heiress blinked and her vision came into focus. Inuzuka Kiba was standing in front of her, waving a hand in her face. He laughed when he saw her confused expression.
"You spaced out," He offered as an explanation before moving away.
Both her teammates stood in front of her. She flushed, conscious of their intense gazes.
"Did something happen?" asked Shino quietly.
"It's nothing," She whispered, turning away from them.
Kiba sensed her sadness and put his arm around her, drawing her into a one-armed hug. "How about we go for lunch, Hinata?" He suggested, smiling. Akamaru barked rubbed his head against her leg.
She smiled softly. "It's your turn to pick, Kiba-kun."
"Ramen!" He shouted. Shino sighed wearily, resigned to a fate of ramen every other day of his life.
She nodded and they began to make their way to the Ichiraku Ramen Stand. Hinata walked between her two friends, head bowed. Despite their efforts, or rather Kiba's efforts, they couldn't make her truly smile.
&&&&&&&&&&&&
Uzumaki Naruto simply couldn't eat anything other than ramen. He ate ramen for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He was Ichiraku's best customer. That's why he regularly got free bowls, like now.
He sat on one of the stools, a huge bowl of pork ramen in front of him, steam billowing from it. He snapped apart his chopsticks, murmured 'Itadakimasu', and began shoving noodles into his mouth. Since he was so preoccupied with his food, he didn't notice Team 8 until he heard Kiba's loud voice ordering some ramen.
He slurped up some noodles that were hanging off the chopsticks and said, "Hey, Kiba!"
He turned and rolled his eyes at Naruto. "I should've expected to see you here at lunch time, Naruto."
"I practically live here," Responded the blond ninja. It was then when he spotted the dark haired girl sitting next to Kiba. She was staring down at her bowl. She wasn't eating, simply picking at the noodles.
He moved over one seat so he was sitting right next to her. "Hinata-chan!" He shouted.
The poor girl hadn't been expecting his greeting and almost knocked over her bowl of ramen in her hurry to face to him. She steadied her bowl and turned to him, breathless and red-faced. Kiba found this so amusing that he began laughing, which resulted in his choking on his ramen. Shino sighed and, because he was Kiba's friend, smacked on the back to help him get the ramen down.
Once Naruto had finished laughing at Kiba, with much pointing involved, his attention returned to Hinata and he smiled. "Kiba's an idiot." He stated. It was a known fact, at least to him.
"Hey!" Protested said boy. But he was promptly ignored.
"He—he has his moments." She said.
"Oh, I know that well," He said.
"I wouldn't be talking if I were you, Naruto!" yelled Kiba, defending himself. "At least I haven't eaten poisonous fruit that had me running to the bathroom every few minutes during a mission!"
"Hey, that was because Shino spoke too late!"
"It's not my fault you were in a hurry to eat." said Shino calmly.
"Hmph," Naruto returned to his ramen, signaling the conversation was over.
"Yeah, I won this time!" celebrated Kiba. Naruto rolled his eyes.
Hinata couldn't resist a smile at the sight. Sometimes they acted like they were kids again despite the fact that they were seventeen-year-old chunnin. At least some people could still be happy. A sigh escaped her lips and a frown appeared on her lips. This caught Naruto's attention. Never, in all the years he had known Hinata, had he seen her so unhappy.
He was about to ask her about it when Kiba and Shino stood up.
"We're going to train some more, Hinata." said Kiba. "You take the day off."
She went to protest but they were gone. She sighed and pushed away her bowl. I don't need the day off, that won't fix anything. I just need a new life. She sighed again.
"You know, sighing too much is not good for you."
She blinked in surprise. She had forgetting Naruto was still there. That was a first.
"R-really, Naruto-kun?" She asked. "Why?"
He shrugged and flashed her that brilliant smile of his, his cerulean blue eyes twinkling. "I just made that up."
She laughed softly. When she looked up, Naruto stood there holding his hand out to her. She took it hesitantly and he pulled her up.
"Are you going home?" He asked. He let go of her and she unconsciously clenched her hand, missing the warmth.
She shook her head. "I'm g-going to take a walk to c-clear my mind." She replied, suddenly aware of her blush. She had never spoken so much with him and…he held her hand!
"Oh, well, I'm going home to sleep!" He exclaimed. "Nothing better than sleeping after eating ramen,"
He began walking away. As Hinata watched him, she felt like crying again.
There were so many things she wanted and couldn't have…
He stopped at the corner and looked back at her. He smiled, waved and disappeared.
…And he was one of them…
A/N: Well, the first chapter of my story is done! I will be spelling her last name as Hyuga in this fic since this is how it appears in the books, anime, etc. I have seen some people spell it as Hyuuga, and I think it looks better, but whatever. I don't want to hear people correcting me on how to spell it.
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