Chapter 3
"Thanks again for doing this for me, I know it's a strange request but I don't own a library card and as smart as you are I figured you would own one," Naruto said as he and his two companions Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka stood a few blocks away from the Konoha Library.
Naruto had with him many books on history, culture, politics, mathematics, language, and a few biographies of ninjas, and a green book with the title 'The Gutsy Ninja' he took out only because it was written by one of the legendary Sanins.
"Oh, it's nothing Naruto-Kun," Ino said with the most charming smile she could muster. "It was our pleasure, right Sakura?" The girl blinked and looked up at her friend, she just smiled and nodded. Ino sighed and turned back to Naruto.
"But why did you need our help to get you these books Naruto-Kun?" Ino asked as her curious nature came back from its vacation and took a seat next to Ino's infatuation who filled it in on what it missed.
"Well, the lady at the Library doesn't like me very much so she does not allow me inside, that's why I asked for your help," Naruto explained to the girls in front of him he would have rubbed the back of his head but both his arms where busy carrying the collection of 15 plus books.
"Mmmm okay, any plans for later?" Ino asked with a little hope in there of spending more time with the blonde who gave her butterflies every time he opened his mouth and spoke due to the fact that Ino is always anticipating a compliment to come out of them.
Sakura sighed as she just wanted to not be a third wheel anymore between the blondes, so she got her friend's attention by pulling on the sleeves of her shirt and when she got Ino's attention she spoke. "We should all probably get home our parents must be worried for us."Sakura said.
"What? Come on Sakura don't be a wet pillow I'm sure your parents won't mind, mine won't." she said as she then looked at Naruto asking. "Will your parents mind if we hang out a little more?"
"Actually…I'm an orphan Ino-chan ." Naruto said with a small frown. Ino immediately felt bad as she began apologizing in a ramble, hands flying everywhere looking like the suspect of a double murder. Naruto wouldn't lie he found it cute and funny so he laughed hard and long the laugh reaching his eyes as he placates the girl.
"It's okay Ino-Chan relax, I would love to hang out but I want to read these books." He said as he lifted his hands in a shrug emphasizing the stacks of books in his hands.
"So maybe another time okay." He said as he moved closer and kissed Ino on the cheek and winked at her before walking off.
Ino stood rooted to that spot like a tree mouth agape, face as red as the bandanna wrapped around Sakura's hair, and mind dazed.
"No, Ino, INO!!!" Ino jumped as she looked at Sakura who had a smirk on her face and a hand on her hip as she looked at her friend.
"Did you like it? " Sakura teased her friend who seemed to be trying her best to regain some semblance of composure and failing.
"W-what .. s s-Sakura what aghhh " The girl was at a loss for words Sakura just took her arm hooked it around her friend's arm and began dragging her as Ino kept blabbering incoherent words which couldn't seem to fix into words.
««««"»»»» Shisui Uchiha is 16 years old and a Jonin who has finally been given what he always wanted, a chance to prove that his smart and capable, so here he is standing in front of the police chief who also happens to be his best friends father and head of his clan.
Shinsui stood at attention even though every part of his body wanted him to crack a joke he had to play the part of an Uchiha in front of this man, he already had the assignment, it was official and signed he was just here to receive the details. Fugaku finally finished filling out some paperwork before turning to Shisui.
"Shisui Uchiha. You have been given the assignment to investigate the underground rings of crimes going on in Konoha for the past year and a half we have been getting reports of missing people of interest, intelligence lost and banks losing large portions of their money right from within their safes." Fugaku Uchiha explained in one go handing Shisui the folder with all those details.
"Our initial investigations have come out lacking, to say the least, the culprit is suspected to be a Nara, and his empire though lacking in quantity seems to value quality. With the things heard we believe his operation is located in the red light district." He handed Shinsui another folder "Any questions?"
Shinsui thought about it, any important questions he would ask if the answer wasn't in the dockets then it was unknown. "Does this investigation have a deadline?" Shisui asked, although he worked well under pressure on the field, this was a different ball game he was in, he had to be patient to look through all angles.
"No, you have all the time in the world, but do note that this 'empire' is growing at a fast pace, we will need to find the head before it grows too big and causes trouble within Konoha," Fugaku spoke as he pulled out another folder and handed it to Shisui who took it and flipped through its contents.
"These are your underlings you will meet them at your base of operations located in the red light district for surveillance." Fugaku watched as Shinsui scanned through the documents with his Sharingan before handing them back to him who burnt them to ashes.
"Good, off to it then Officer." Fugaku said, Shisui saluted his superior officer before turning and leaving the room. The moment he stepped outside the room the tension left his body and he grinned.
"Time to catch some bad guys." Shinsui said with enthusiasm before disappearing in a shuushine.
««««"»»»» Naruto made his way through the streets of Konoha his books were placed in a storage scroll he bought and now all his interests were placed on the storage scroll in front of him. He could understand the underlying function of what each stroke did and had been tinkering with it for the entire time he had been walking back 'home'.
'mmh okay if this part absorbs chakra and releases the contents of the scroll and this brush stroke here indicates the location of where the intended contents should appear then that means the final stroke should be the one designated for the pocket dimension.' He stroked his chin in thought breaking apart the scroll in his mind.
'So there are three principles in a storage scroll. Absorption of chakra for power to take in and release. Location so the things released don't just get released anywhere around the world and finally the pocket dimension in which the contents absorbed wait in stasis for its summoning.' The deeper he got thinking the more understanding dawned on him, seals were just an open book to him.
'Now if I were to let's say make the location in which the content appears five feet in front of me and about 5 feet in the air and there was an enemy in that exact location would the content in the storage scroll appear within the individual?' Naruto's wondering was cut short when he reached his 'home' an apartment in a flat he owned but no one had to know that just yet.
He made his way up the stairs opening his door and walking inside before closing the door behind him. Taking out the content of the scroll he began reading through it, the weekdays were dedicated to his school life, during the weekend he would control his budding empire.
««««"»»»»
Hinata looked at the flat in the red light district where the person she's been spying on entered. She sighed as she decide to make her way back home never noticing a figure watching her from the shadows before they disappeared.
'Naruto Uzumaki' Hinata thought he had looked so lonely he reminded her of herself, and yet there he was asking for help to get better even if it was just to get some books to read. The boy was an orphan he was living on his own just like her and he obviously wanted to be something great in the world. while she just wanted to die she obviously has it better than him.
'Who is Hinata Hyuga?' Hinata asked herself, what made her special? except for her disadvantages, What can she do to better herself 'I could ask for help.'
Hinata looked back to the flat in the distance, Naruto was alone there and she was heading home to be alone, did she have the confidence to ask him for help?
'I'll ask him tomorrow.' Hinata thought, but when she remembered the many times she's said those words, and never had the courage to try again later she realized she was procrastinating.
Hinata glared at the flat and turned as she stormed her way towards the apartment she saw Naruto enter in, she walked up its stairs and stood before the door ready to bang on the frame to gain entry, but the moment her closed fist went up she froze.
'How am I even gonna ask him to help?' She wondered not realizing her fist coming down and knocking 3 times before falling to her side as she contemplated.
'Naruto-San no ugh, Uzumaki-San yes yes that .now for the rest, I was hoping I could talk with you if it isn't a bother.' Hinata came up with her plan and when she looked up with the determination to go through with it she saw blue, she blinked and the blue blinked they both just stayed there looking at each other.
"Ugh, would you like to come in?" Hinata heard which rebooted her brain and she 'eeped' as she realized she was staring.
"I-I'm sorry f-for being here un -unannounced Naruto-Kun I just wanted to….."She stopped mid-sentence as she realized what she called him and her brain short-circuited from embarrassment and she fainted.
Naruto's eyes widened so much he was lucky he didn't pop a blood vessel as he saw Hinata faint On his doorstep he immediately caught her in his arms as she lay limp on his small frame luckily she was smaller 'what the hell?' he thought confused.
"Hyuga-San, Hyuga-San are you okay can you hear me." He got no reply just the raising and falling of her chest he sighed and brought her inside, placing her in his room before he headed to his kitchen to continue making something to eat while reading a different book from earlier, the other placed away finished.
"I wonder what she wants here, did she follow me?" by the time his dinner was done the sun was setting and he sat on his balcony full and drinking juice in a wine glass. "are you hungry Hyuga-San?" he asked not facing the girl, said girl walked up beside him seeing the beautiful view of the sunset behind the Hokage monuments.
"It's beautiful, isn't it? This village I mean." Naruto began as he patted the space on his left where there was space, she took It with a nod as he gave her a cup with steaming ramen. "Eat up Hyuga-San I'm sure your hungry from following me around all afternoon."
Hinata straightened her posture at that, now feeling ashamed of herself she lowered her head tears building up in her eyes. "Hey hey don't cry I'm not mad I promise, I'm impressed actually." That caught Hinata off guard.
"I-I impressed you?" Hinata asked him, her voice so frail and something else Naruto couldn't describe asked, no begged him to repeat himself. Naruto smiled at the girl.
"I said you impressed me Hinata Hyuga, very much so but I would still like to know why you were following me. First things first though eat up, we can't be wasting ramen you know, this is the food of the Gods!" Naruto exclaimed at the end and Hinata for the first time that day and since her mother died giggled and laughed. Naruto thought she had a beautiful smile.
She sat there with the blonde enigma while she blew on her ramen and slurped it up watching the sunset in the distance. When she was done he offered her juice but she said she would have water instead and so he gave her water, Hinata could have sworn she had not seen water there before.
"Thank you for the food Uzumaki-San "Hinata began, she was fidgeting and poking her index fingers together to try and control her nerves. "A-and for why I am here. It's b-because I wanted to talk to you and ask a favor." Hinata finally dared to look at the blond enigma when he hummed.
"Mmh Uzumaki-San ugh? I can't believe my food was so bad I got degraded to my clan name and San from being called Naruto-Kun." Naruto feigned hurt, and Hinata's eyes immediately went wide behind her glasses. She was about to panic when…"kidding." she looked at Naruto who did a complete 180 now he had his tongue out at her and a playful twinkle in his eyes.
Hinata sighed and decided she had nothing to say to that but the truth. "I noticed that in class no one saw you go from your sit to the teacher's desk and start reading his book." Hinata said with a small smile at the memory as she fixed her glasses on her eyes with Naruto snickering.
"Then I saw how, you needed something, and since it was out of your control you asked for help." Hinata's smile left now replaced by something somber "I'm useless!" she finally said out loud. "I can't seem to do anything right, m-my m-my eyesight is degrading. My father looks at me in disappointment, my people look at me in pity, and my elders in disdain." Tears were now flowing out of Hinata in spades her sadness out there for Naruto to see and if he had to admit to himself he did not like it but he had to know what she wanted from him.
"I followed you around the village, first when you were with our two classmates and then on your way home. I was about to leave but then I thought better of it 'why not now? Why later?' "Hinata looked Naruto in the eyes looking deep into his beautiful bright blue eyes and asked for her favor.
"What I want, no! W-what I need from you is help, help to better myself as a ninja and as an individual." She finished as she removed her specs and wiped away her tears. "I want to be more like you Uzumaki-San."
"Mmh okay, Hinata-Chan, I'll help you." Naruto said with a small smile, he could see the girl was hurting he wasn't going to be the one to push her to the edge. 'And who knows she might just become a useful tool to his cause one day.' He thought a bit cynically.
"But you will have to call me Naruto-Kun and I'll call you Hinata-Chan" Hinata blushed at that, that was too familiar, she had never been so familiar with anyone before she was a Hyuga.
"W-why?" She stuttered out.
"I liked the way you said my name earlier" Naruto explained and frowned a little trying to find the words to explain what he meant. "You say it sweetly, Ugh u say it like it's precious, yeah that! you're voice carries it with something I've never heard before, it's nice" Naruto nodded at his explanation and Hinata felt wanted for the first time in months.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you uhm N-Naruto-Kun." Hinata was so grateful she almost went full seizure on him, Naruto had to grab her hands and tell her it wasn't necessary.
"Your welcome Hinata-Chan, now that we're friends, think of it as a friend helping out another friend," Naruto said looking her in the eyes.
"F-f-friends ?!" Hinata asked him thinking she misheard him, Naruto only nodded and smiled a small smile which Hinata thought was a smile with many meanings. She smiled the same way at the enigma before her.
"Oh, ay Hinata-Chan can you teach me how to open my chakra?" Naruto asked her with pleading blue eyes, an enigma indeed she thought as she giggled and accepted, they would help each other like friends.
Authors note
Sakura's Bio
Sakura lives with her mother and father, she has a perfect civilian life but she wants more and feels she is meant for more. She started the academy with goals and ambitions but her first crush had her forgetting them and putting them on a back burner as she pursued her 'love'.
But how do you win over somebody whose heart has already been stolen by another, you steal it back is Sakura's answer to that, fight fire with fire how well will that come along?