Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Red Eye Destiny ❯ The Trick with Words ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Red Eyed Destiny

Chapter 2: The Trick with Words

By Adyen

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Hinata had never really been devious in her many years of life, and so she couldn't really justify the reason why she waited until she was 10 to really meet Naruto - especially since she could remember that longing she felt within her. That didn't mean she DIDN'T, though, and it was slowly eating her from inside.

As she sat on the swings in front of the Academy, she looked back at the two years since she first activated her Akaigan. Her relationship with her father was... strained, to say the least. He didn't completely ignore her, and in fact, tried to give her as much attention as he could. However, the fact that she couldn't or wouldn't use the Byakugan has a lot of the Main House people asking for renaming Hanabi as heir.

The fact that Hanabi was only 4 didn't seem to make a difference.

For her part, Hinata could understand her father's position and spent more time with her sister, hoping that she could help little Hanabi ease into the position of being Heir of the Clan. She's even talked to her father about a soft-banishment to one of the smaller buildings beside the main building, but he would have nothing of that sort.

Hinata frowned. Why couldn't her father understand that she wouldn't mind him setting her aside if it was for the good of the Clan? Sure, if he just suddenly came out and said, "Hinata, you're useless. Leave." she would be hurt and maybe even angry; but he isn't, and she could understand his position as Head of the Clan. She COULDN'T be the heir if she can't even activate their family bloodline ability. Even after two years of study, nobody has any idea WHY her eyes turned red.

It's true that she'd never be able to have the traditional 'Byakugan' because the chakra paths that could have been used to create it had been replaced with those activating her Akaigan. She's even experimented a few times, trying to start over from scratch - but that had only caused her Akaigan to activate.

Her frown deepened as she remembered one time Hanabi had managed to sneak up on her when she was experimenting, and ended up entering her sights. Unlike her father or anyone else, all she felt was a strong feeling of loving care and a bare echo of the infinate stretch of images behind her. Hanabi had then asked why her eyes were red, and she winced, remembering the lame excuse of explaining it when she was older.

"You really shouldn't frown so much." A voice that made her heart leap said.

She focused in front of her, and there he was. Uzumaki Naruto - Konoha #1 prankster, and the person who she would fall in love with.

"Cheer up! What can possiblely be wrong on a day like this?" He asked, grinning at her while she felt her face heat up. She never planned on them meeting like this (again?)! She was just thinking about her situation, how it wasn't as bad as she feared, yet he still came to her!

"Let me push your swing. If you want to, you can tell me what's wrong." Naruto said as he got behind her and gave her a light push to start the swinging motion.

For the first time in two years, Hinata felt like her old self. Here she was, deterimined not follow the footsteps of her daydreams, but she couldn't even say a single word! Her thoughts were confused and yet she could feel her world once again shifting like that hallucination of hers, revolving around this boy that she had just met yet known about for some time.

For the next minute or so, Hinata tried to say something, anything that could tell him how she felt. Naruto was talking about a prank he managed to get Shino to participate in because their target had stepped on one of his bugs when Hinata realized that if she didn't say something soon, he might just leave without anything being said by her.

A rush of panic raged through her mind at the thought. She didn't know why, but she KNEW this was the only chance she had... for what, she didn't know, but this was more important than anything else in the world. Even with that in mind, she found that she STILL couldn't speak, not even when her swing started to slow and Naruto came around to tell her he had to go. She opened her mouth, to say something, ANYTHING, but just looking at him made her mind soft like the worse obfuscation genjutsu their teachers taught them.

He grinned at her - a grin that seem to etch itself in her mind - and waved before turning to leave. 'It can't end like this!' Her mind screamed and her arms moved instinctively at a speed she never realized she could move.

"Wait!"

Naruto paused and turned back. Hinata stood behind him, face down and hands clutched together. "Yes?" He asked as she still couldn't look at him in the face.

"I... You... We..." Hinata stuttered, unable to believe she STILL can't tell him how she felt. There was so much to say and so many feelings yet to be sorted; but right now, she NEEDED him with her, even if she can't tell him her feelings directly...

"Huh?" Naruto asked, scratching his head.

Hinata shook her head and looked at Naruto directly. Her bright red eyes were a sharp contrast to her white skin, but Naruto only looked at it curiously - not understanding the feelings behind them. "Will you be my boyfriend?" She managed to force out, relieved that she had at least managed that much, but disappointed that she couldn't outright tell him how she felt.

Naruto lifted an eyebrow, an expression of slight disbelief on his face. "The others didn't put you up to this, did they?" He finally asked, not really sure he heard her right. Hinata shook her head furiously. "You sure? I know I don't look very smart, but I've heard stories about things like this..."

'He doesn't believe me!' Hinata despairingly thought. She wanted, no, NEEDED him to understand somehow - this thought overwhelmed any other emotion she might have had. 'It CAN'T end like this!!' She furiously thought, a thought that echoed somewhere in her mind as fear and agony set in. The fact that Naruto didn't believe her was so painful that it physically hurt.

Her small frame shook as tears glistened in her eyes. She tried to think of something to say, anything that would convince him of her feelings, but it was like being trapped in a box with nothing but darkness inside. She realized now that it was fear of this happening that prevented her from meeting him before now - that her world would reject her and leave her alone in the dark. It's also the reason why he doesn't believe her, because who would suddenly ask someone they've never met a question like that?

'I wouldn't believe it either.' Hinata bitterly thought as she slowly became lost in her dispair. She could see it now: that Haruno girl will give Naruto a small gift tomorrow in pity, and he'll fall in love with her for the rest of his life. She'll watch as Sakura rejects him for the traitor Sasuke, and timid little Hinata will watch from the sidelines, never being able to feel the love of the one who became her universe.

So immersed in her own self-pity, she didn't see Naruto panic in front of her as tears start running down her eyes. She definately didn't see him make a fool out of himself blubbering some nonsensical sounds, but she quickly focused back in the present when she felt arms wrap around her and found Naruto hugging her while franticly saying, "I'm sorry Hinata! I believe you! I believe you! Just stop crying already!"

Blinking, Hinata brought her left hand up to her cheeks and found them wet. She then realized where she was and blushed furiously, all her previous thoughts lost in her whirling emotions.

"I'll be the best boyfriend you'll ever have! So great that you'll never need another one!" He babbled on, not knowing that Hinata's tears had already stopped.

"Re... Really?" Hinata stuttered, not believing her ears. Naruto pulled back and looked at Hinata in the eyes.

"Really." He said. Hinata suspected that he didn't really know what he's saying, but it brought a smile to her face neverless.

"Thank you." She whispered as she leaned back into the hug and closed her eyes. She saviored the feeling, not noticing Naruto's panicky look as he finally realized what he agreed to. "I feel like I'm... going to faint." She murmured as she did exactly that - the excitement finally catching up to her and her Akaigan having drained all her chakra.

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"This... has been a weird day." Naruto mused aloud as he walked aimlessly around Konoha. He had quickly ran inside with Hinata and called one of the teachers still at the Academy. The teacher had quickly asked what happened to the girl and Naruto told him how she fainted suddenly.

After a dirty look at him, the teacher quickly checked if anything was wrong with her. Not finding anything life threatening, he told Naruto that he would take her back to the Hyuuga compound and the kid was free to leave. Naruto, of course, told the teacher outright that there was no way he'd let Hinata out of his sight.

The teacher had sputtered indignantly but opted to ignore Naruto as he carried Hinata outside. Naruto followed along until they reached the Hyuuga compound and someone came out to carry her inside. Having done what he set out to do, he wondered around town, thinking of Hinata.

He had saw her when he was leaving detention - a young with with an air of depression around her. It wasn't the first time he noticed her, but it was the first time he's seen her so depressed. He knew she was one of the quiet ones, so he didn't really mind when she kept silent as he cheered her up. It wasn't until he was going to leave that she said anything, and he was slightly shocked at the red eyes - he could have sworn she had white eyes, but maybe he should figure out how to change his eyes red, just for shock value - but what really surprised him was Hinata asking him to be her boyfriend.

"Oh boy oh boy..." He muttered as he finally realized he knew nothing about being a boyfriend at all.

At first he couldn't believe it. It sounded like a prank, but when she started to cry... She just stared at him with those weird red eyes of hers (didn't she had white eyes?) and tears started gathering in them. She looked even worse than when he found her!

His legs brought him to a bookstore that he frequently passed and he decided to see if there was anything about relationships inside. Barely being taller than the counter, he sneaked in and made his way towards the back where all the girly books were. He carefully skimmed through through the titles and glanced through a few books before he felt a chill go down his back.

"NO READING IN THE STORE!!!!!" The owner yelled at him as he jumpped.

"Wait! Wait!" Naruto franticly said as he waved his hands. "I'm going to buy something! I just want to find a book about relationships!"

The owner paused for a moment. "Relationships, eh?" He slyly asked. For some reason, Naruto didn't like the look in his eyes.

"Uh... ya... I sort of... ummm... need to study up on it for a project! Ya..." Naruto stuttered out, not realizing how bad a lier he was.

The owner looked at him for another moment before grinning. "Well, if you're a paying customer, then why don't I help you?" He asked and dragged a young Naruto a few shelves across, where Naruto never been to because the books there were boring. "I know the perfect book that tells you how... Relationships should work."

The owner checked the books on the shelves and plucked one out for Naruto. "There it is. Now, you should read it carefully, cause it might be a bit hard to understand now, but if you do it exactly, then everything should be fine."

"'Girls and Boys'" Naruto read the title but frowned at the pink hearts around the corner of the front cover. There was a picture of a girl smiling in front of another person... if he didn't know better, he would say that it's another girl. "Are you sure?" He asked the owner skepticly.

The owner dragged the boy to the counter. "Of course I'm sure. Just to show you how sure I am, I'll give you a 50% discount on that book." He said with a wide grin.

Naruto dubiously paid the man and left, intent on at least giving the book a chance before deciding. The man he just paid rubbed his hands in devilish delight at the mischief he managed to do.

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Hinata wasn't sure what happened after her confession to Naruto but when she woke up, it was back in her bed with one of the branch house attendents checking her vital signs.

During one of her morning classes, Hinata noticed Naruto glancing at her nervously every once in a while; for some unfathomable reason, she found that extremely amusing and was ashamed of feeling, especially considering how much that reminded her of herself.

During the lunch break, Naruto joined her for lunch, but quickly left after asking her out after they get out from the Academy. In an uncharacteristic display of decisiveness, she quickly said yes before anyone can interrupt the moment.

Time passed until Hinata finally found herself alone in front of the Academy. Naruto had escape from classes soon after lunch, and she had seen neither hide or hair of him since then. She was hopeful that he left early to get ready, instead of the many alternatives that's possible.

Luckily for her, she was proven right when Naruto skid to a stop in front of Hinata after dashing down the road.

"S...Sorry I'm late, Hinata...er...chan..." Naruto mumbled out in a surprisingly shy voice. He looked downwards and his hands clenched together like the beginnings of a seal, but then stopped. "Is your... ah... father going to worry if you don't go home immediately?"

Hinata shook her head silently, still in good cheers. A tinge of embarassement rose up, but was quickly quenched by the surge of triumph of remembering Sakura asking Hinata where Naruto was during the afternoon.

Naruto seemed to look away as he tenatively took Hinata's hand, causing the young girl to blush. "Uh... Let's go then. We can go around the village and see if there's anything interesting."

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The next hour was spent roaming around Konoha with Naruto pointing out places where he's pranked. Hinata wasn't really listening, as she was having internal flip-flops of being on a date with Naruto.

It wasn't until the end of the hour when Hinata pointed out she was thirsty that something happened.

"I'll get you something to drink." Naruto offered and told Hinata to wait outside of a shop. He went inside after asking what she'd like, but it only took thirty seconds before he quickly ran back out, a cup filled with hot tea flying out after him.

"Naruto!" Hinata exclaimed as she quickly checked him for any burns. "Are you alright? What happened?"

"Eh heheh..." Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "I must have pranked this place as well..."

A burning anger seemed to roar through Hinata. "They try to burn you for a PRANK?!" She yelled, catching the attention of a few passer-bys. Her Akaigan activated almost by instinct and she could almost see a haze of blood fill her vision. "I'll show them something they should try to burn you FOR!"

Naruto seemed to panic at the look of an angry almost on-a-rampage Hinata "Wait, wait!" He dragged Hinata away from the shop dispite her protests and into an abandoned alleyway. "Look, it's alright! I pranked them for being an ass to me, so I already got them back!"

Hinata's anger cooled to a simmer in the back of her head but she frowned at him. "What do you mean?" For some reason, she can't seem to shake the feeling that she knows what he's talking about...

Shrugging, Naruto said, "I don't know why, but a lot of the adults don't like me so I prank them when they're not paying attention. I'm pretty good at it too! I'm already planning on my best prank EVER..." He grinned almost dementedly and rubbed his hands together, letting out a small chuckle.

Hinata pretended she didn't see that. "But..."

"Oh, I guess I might as well do it now..." Naruto said as he blushed.

The girl blinked. "Huh? Do what?"

Naruto embarrassedly said, "Just watch."

He went through two seals in a combination Hinata had never seen before and said, "Henge!"

A small puff of smoke exploded from Naruto, covering him from head to toe. When the smoke cleared, a small girl a bit taller than Naruto but still with the same clothing and hair color stood in front of Hinata.

"Ta da!" She said. "I was making a Henge to deal against the old man, but realized I can use this as a disguise as well. Isn't it cool?"

Hinata's brows were smashed together in a frown. "...Naruto?"

The girl nodded with a embarrassed grin.

"Wouldn't the henge fail if you were bumpped or something?" Hinata asked.

Naruto blinked. "Why should it?"

This time it was Hinata's turn to blink in astonishment, her red eyes fading back to her normal white. "Why..." She sputtered. "It doesn't?" She thought back to the seals... "Wait, the Henge no Jutsu only has one seal!" She suddenly exclaimed.

Naruto scratched her head. "Oh, really? Err... I mean, I made this variation up so that it'll last longer!" She exclaimed, suddenly very nervous. Hinata narrowed her red eyes at Naruto but didn't press any futher, vowing to find out what's wrong on her own.

Smiling his cocky grin, Naruto said, "Come on! They shouldn't recogonize me anymore, so let's try this again."

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They spent the next hour or so window shoppping with the hyperactive Naruto. For some reason, Hinata felt annoyed at how the boy turned girl was acting as she kept trying out all the 'feminine' stuff that was way out of character.

When it started getting dark, a wary Naruto lead an annoyed Hinata up to the Hokage monument following a tourist route to a small area that gave a perfect view of the village from above.

"Uh... Hinata..." Naruto started, not sure what to say. "I'm sorry if today isn't what you expected or something... But I really don't have any idea how this boyfriend-girlfriend thing works..."

Hinata shook her head to say that it's alright, but Naruto plowed straight ahead.

"I mean, I've been living by myself for a while now, and I'm not really sure if I'm doing the right thing or not..." Naruto took Hinata's hand in her own, causing her to bow her head and blush. "...so I bought this book on relationships, so maybe you can tell me what I'm supposed to do."

A book-like thing fell into the hand Naruto was holding and Hinata looked up from staring at the ground, a bit miffled and still annoyed.

When she saw the book, however, she blinked in shock. She quickly opened it and skimmed through the material, asking, "Who... where did you GET this?" She asked with a hint of frost in her breath.

Naruto didn't seem to notice. "Well, the Books Two store off..." She started to answered, but Hinata cut her off.

"Oh, I know that store." She said in her cold tone. "Please forget everything you read in this... THING, and we'll try again tomorrow, alright?"

Naruto glanced into Hinata's red eyes and wondered why they keep switching between red and white. But when she felt a wave of... *something* seemingly threatening to crush him in fear, Naruto quickly nodded and left, hoping that tomorrow would be better.

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The next morning, classes went pretty smoothly with one exception - Naruto was still looking female and had to prove who she was a few times before the teachers accepted that she was really Naruto.

When asked why she was like that, Naruto muttered something about an experiment and punishment, and none of the teachers were willing to help fix him up anyways.

During one of the morning classes, a loud explosion could be heard all the way from the Academy. The students were quickly taken to a shelter underneath a secret cellar, but they were quickly brought back out once it was determined that it wasn't an attack on Konoha.

The students later found out about what happened: It seems that a bookstore had just started opening up when the owner noticed something sitting outside the store's exit. He glanced around, and not seeing anyone, went outside to examine it.

Picking it up, he realized it was a wallet - one that apparently had something in it as well. Smiling to himself, he opened it to find a sheet of paper. There was just one word on it: Boom.

And *BOOM* went the store. The owner was flung nearly all the way across the street from the explosion and all his books were burnt into ashes in the first minute or so. (There's a rumor that said one of the first ANBU to arrive saw what happened to the store and fell to his knees in shock, his silver hair fluttering from the heat of the burning store while he started to cry.)

The owner swore that it had to be Naruto who did it, but the teachers reluctently admitted that he had been held during the middle of a class to explain why she looked female, and all the students are also witnesses that she was there.

In the end, the explosion became one of the unsolved mysteries of Konoha.