Love Rival

By Night Beauty

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I own Atashi wa Bambi of which this fanfiction is based off of.

Author's Note: I reread this manga the other day, it was so great! It made me feel happy inside. So, to promote this manga, I have transformed it into a Naruto fanfic. I hope you all check out Atashi wa Bambi!

Chapter 1: The Boy

I fell in love with the most unlikely boy.

His name was Naruto Uzumaki.

I sat there, messing with shoelace, though I was really sneaking a look at the blond boy. He was so admirable and energetic.

"Watch it!"

SMACK.

A stinging sensation attacked my forehead. When I looked down I noticed it was a soccer ball. I blushed, feeling like an idiot.

"You okay?"

"Y-yeah…" I rubbed my forehead. When I looked up, I met with onyx eyes, totally opposite of my pearl white ones. "I guess t-this is an i-interesting i-introduction."

He didn't talk much. I guess he wasn't used to expressing his feelings.

"I-I-I'm H-Hinata Hyuuga," I decided to introduce myself.

"Sasuke-teme, let's go! What're you doing?" my crush said. "The others are waiting!"

"Sasuke Uchiha," he said, and then left.

I decided I didn't really like this boy.

x x x x x x

"You like him?" my best friend, Tenten exclaimed. "But he's a total goofball!"

"Don't t-t-talk about him l-like that," I stuttered as I poked at my lunch. "H-he's different."

Tenten knew my background. I had been very soft-spoken in junior high. But this year, I needed to c-change that. For myself, mostly. I was not going to allow myself to be bullied anymore!

As for my stutter… yes, I'm still working on t-that.

"But he's hurt you!"

Ah, that was true.

The first day I met him, I ran into him in the hallway. He made me drop all my books. He was in a rush, so he couldn't help me as I picked them up. At first, I thought he was a jerk.

And then, when I got to class, I found out I sat next to him. He totally didn't recognize who I was!

But then…

"Hinata! Is that you?" a group of girls came up to me. They were from my middle school.

"You really have changed!"

"I heard there's this girl that guys will never go near!"

"She's got brains, but no personality. Where's the fun in that?"

"Look! Hinata's sitting alone again. Isn't that sad?"

"She looks so dumb! Her skirt goes all the way to her ankles."

"Did you get used to wearing short skirts now?"

These thoughts and memories ran through my head as I saw the girls staring at me. I was about to cry until something hit me in the head.

"Oh, sorry!"

"Who's that?" my former classmate asked.

"Isn't that Naruto? He's totally good friends with--"

I don't know why, but I grabbed his arm and shouted, "There you are! He's my boyfriend!"

"What?" the blond boy asked, which I ignored. Instead, I was staring at the faces of speechless girls.

"We're leaving, good-bye!"

I let go of his arm and sighed.

"Oy! What was that about? Do I even know you?"

"I'm Hinata…" I twitched. 'I sit next to you…'

"Hey, hey, why do you look so sad?"

'Those girls… I despised them. I really hated that feeling of weakness. I couldn't support myself back then, but this time, I will!'

The blond boy began to freak out. "Hey, you're crying!"

I ended up telling him everything. That day, I had gotten angry with Tenten for reminding me about junior high and stormed off. Unfortunately, I ran into those girls. I didn't use to be as skinny as I was now. My hair wasn't as long anymore, because I no longer wanted to hide my face from the world. A lot of students used to pick on me, and no one saved me except sometimes Tenten.

"I shouldn't have stormed off on Tenten…" I sighed through tears.

"So after all this, shouldn't you apologize to her? She didn't mean it, anyway!" he flashed a cheeky grin. I wanted to melt right there. I think that's when I fell for him.

"Hey, Tenten," I said, putting down my chopsticks. "I'm s-s-sorry about yesterday, I didn't m-m-mean to snap."

"Don't worry about it, apparently it got you to talk to Naruto," she teased.

After lunch, we went back to our respective classrooms. I took my seat next to the blond, after I said 'hi.'

"Did everything get fixed up with your friend?" he asked.

"Yeah, th-thanks, Naruto-kun," I said meekly. He gave me a thumbs-up.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I looked behind me and I met with the same onyx eyes from the day before.

"So, you like him, huh?" Sasuke gave a smirk.

I didn't say anything. Instead, my eye twitched, what was up with this kid?

He learned over and whispered into my ear. "Too bad, he's mine."

I fell out of my chair and hit my head against his table.

"Hinata! Are you okay?" Naruto got a little close to my face.

"What a moron," Sasuke said, gazing out the window.

I clenched my fist. "Y-yeah, I'm f-f-fine." I got up and dusted the dirt off my skirt.

'So… Naruto and Sasuke… are…?'

Naruto had his arm propped on Sasuke's shoulder, bragging to his classmates about some sports game they had won the other day.

Sasuke looked at me, "Yes, Hinata?"

"N-N-Nothing," I looked at the ground.

Naruto turned his attention to me. "Hinata! Do you want to come watch our game today?"

"I'll s-see," I replied. "E-Excuse me." I left the classroom quickly, feeling two pairs of eyes on me as I did.

x x x x x x

"You seem dead," Tenten said flatly.

"S-Still alive, somehow," I replied.

"Listen, I am sorry about the other day too…"

"It's not about t-that," I said. "Don't worry about it."

Tenten took a swig of water. "Hinata, I have to go clean up before class, I'll see you later!"

"Hey! Hinata! You're being slow! This is still your first lap!"

I looked up at my sensei who had an odd bowl-shaped haircut that seemed to reflect light. 'Right… I'm still in gym class!' I sat down on my knees. "S-Sorry! Gai-sensei…"

"Class is almost over, hurry up and do five more laps and then you can go."

"W-What?" I asked. "But that's--"

"A bit extreme, Gai-sensei!" Naruto, my knight in shining armor, argued. "Not everyone is nuts like Lee."

"Naruto!" our sensei exclaimed. "You are not in this discussion!"

"It's kind of abusive," Naruto poked at his arm. "Besides…" he whispered something in his ear, which caused Gai-sensei to storm off.

"Eh? What did you say?" I asked.

"I mentioned something about Kakashi-sensei," he said, grinning. "Don't worry about it!"

I nodded. "Um…"

'Because he's Sasuke's, doesn't that mean I have no shot? But I have to try! I can't sit around like the past again…'

"Are you h-happy?"

Naruto blinked and then also sat down. "Huh?"

"With your s-special s-s-s-someone!" I stuttered.

"My--"

"It's o-o-okay! I know!"

The blond boy laughed, making me confused. "Sorry, Hinata, but I don't have a girlfriend, sadly…"

"Butdon'tyouhaveaboyfriend?" I blurted.

He took a while to register what I said and turned red. "Is there something wrong with your mind?" He poked by forehead.

I blushed. 'T-T-That guy! He lied!' I stormed off, leaving a confused Naruto.

x x x x x x

I skipped a class pondering in the bathroom what I should say. I heard the footsteps of students as the last class of the day was let out. I took a deep breath and headed to my classroom.

I slid the door open, revealing Sasuke sitting on his desk all alone. He looked at me and smirked. "I'm waiting for Naruto, since we walk home together."

The words weren't going to bother me this time. "I-I know the truth!" I closed the door behind me and approached him.

"Did you have fun skipping class?" he inquired.

"I won't lose!" I exclaimed, slamming my hand on the desk. It kind of hurt! But I couldn't lose my focus now! "Sasuke Uchiha!"

I knew I'd have love rivals.

What I didn't expect… was that my greatest rival would be a boy.

To Be Continued…

x x x x x x