Chapter 1

Hinata sighed; these tests were so ridiculous. She only wished they had done something a little bit harder than just creating a freaking clone! She'd been using Shadow Clones for a long time now, so a normal clone was nothing to her. She sighed again; it wasn't all that surprising that she would be a better ninja than most of her civilian classmates.

Approaching the classroom, Hinata saw her cousin, Neji, leaving it and heading toward her. "I assume you passed, Lady Hinata?" he asked; his tone said it wasn't a question.

"Of course. Good luck, Brother," she responded, smiling at her older cousin.

"I do not need luck, it is fate that I will pass this test. But thank you for the sentiment, nonetheless," he answered. As he spoke, a yellow blur flew past him and attached itself to Hinata. "Oh, and hello, Naruto." That said, the Hyuga boy turned and headed off to the testing room for his own final test. "I am so ready to leave this place and that goofy blond behind," he thought to himself.

Hinata looked down at the blond who had wrapped both his arms around one of hers. "You're never going to give up, are you, Naruto?" she asked, her eyes twinkling, a small smile playing around the corners of her lips.

"Nope!" was the answer. "I told you I'd get you to go out with me some day, and until I do, nothing is going to stop me, not now, not ever." Naruto turned his signature fox-like grin up at the midnight-blue-haired heiress. "Besides, how can I resist when your dark hair and those white eyes just make you so damn adorable I want to eat you up?"

Hinata blushed; she hated it how the blond could always do that to her, but, at the same time, she had to admit she rather liked it at the same time. "Oh, all right, Naruto, we can go out, just this once," she said, giving him a small, sweet smile.

Naruto held up two fingers in the "V for Victory" sign, grinned, and said, "Yay!" like he had just won the lottery or something.

Hinata giggled at his antics. "You're really enjoying this, aren't you, Naruto?" she asked.

Naruto laughed. "Sure am; it's always fun to prank people," he answered. The two looked around briefly. No one was in sight. "See you tonight, then?" Naruto asked more quietly. Hinata nodded. Naruto darted in and kissed Hinata lightly, then dashed back into the classroom and to his seat. Hinata, smiling happily, headed off out of the Academy building.

Naruto chuckled to himself as he sat down in his seat. Next to him, head flat on his desk, was one Shikamaru Nara. The lazy boy was waiting until next year to take the final exam. Naruto and Hinata had decided to take it a year early as both were tired of the Academy. Looking around the classroom, Naruto thought of the years he'd had with his current classmates.

There were the three children of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi. Naruto would have bet good money that those three would find themselves on a team whenever they graduated. Not that any of them would really mind; Ino had had her eye on Choji for years, and Shikamaru and Choji were best friends. Naruto chuckled; the only reason Ino and Choji weren't dating was that Choji had no idea Ino was after him.

Then there was Kiba Inuzuka. Like all members of his clan, Kiba had two red fang marks painted on his cheeks and a dog companion. In Kiba's case, said companion was a small white puppy named Akamaru. He and Naruto had always gotten along just fine, though Kiba often said there was something foxy about Naruto's scent. Naruto liked Kiba and liked Akamaru even more. He even brought treats for Akamaru on occasion, which only endeared the blond to both animal and master even more.

Next to Kiba was the heir of the Aburame clan, Shino. Naruto always had to wonder how in the hell this friendship started. Kiba was by far the most emotional person in the entire class (Naruto himself was a close second), but Shino was by far the least emotional person there. Yet somehow the two had become fast friends during their first year in the Academy, and neither had looked back it seemed.

On Shino's other side was one of the few anomalies in the group: Sakura Haruno. With her pink hair (yes, pink) and green eyes, Naruto had at one point thought she was pretty, but when she showed herself to be rather quick-tempered and prone to attack, Naruto left her to Kiba, who she was fangirling over at the time anyway. Come to think of it, it wasn't long after that that Kiba and Shino became friends...nah, probably just a coincidence. The result of this, though, was that Sakura never got to sit beside Kiba, and, as such, her fangirling was always done at the distance of at least two seats away. Not that Naruto thought Kiba and Shino's friendship was fake, far from it, just that little side effect seemed extremely beneficial to Kiba from the blond's perspective.

Thinking of fangirls, Naruto turned his attention to the one who had plopped herself down next to the blond himself: Amaya Uchiha. With her well-developed figure and sporting the black hair and eyes of her clan, Naruto had to admit the girl was attractive. She kept her long black hair out of her face by pulling it into a tight ponytail, and her dark eyes often sparkled with mischief. Unlike the rest of her clan, she had no trouble showing her emotions whatsoever. The result of this, of course, was that, despite her skills and her already-awakened Sharingan, she was considered a failure and mostly ignored by her clan. Naruto respected the girl for her skills and for her defiance of her clan, but the whole fangirl thing, especially when it was aimed at him, just annoyed the hell out of him. If she could just get over that, maybe some day they could be friends but, in the meantime, not a chance.

Naruto sighed; if only Amaya had taken more after her cousins, Itachi and Sasuke. Naruto and Sasuke were two of the very few people in the village who knew the real reason Itachi and Madara had disappeared from the village the night Naruto himself was born. Obviously, Naruto had never met Itachi, but everyone said Sasuke was just like his older brother. Sasuke was a happy kid, trained hard, and loved his family and his village. If Itachi was like that, Naruto was sure he would like Itachi. Naruto considered Sasuke a friend, even though the two had only met a couple times; in truth, Naruto missed Sasuke. He hadn't seen him in some years as, after the first year at the Academy, the young Uchiha had entered "special training" and hadn't been seen since.

Naruto had managed to glean from Amaya that the clan knew about Sasuke's "special training" and weren't worried about it, but, other than that, he knew nothing. In and of itself, that fact bothered Naruto more than the fact that Sasuke was getting whatever training it was.

Iruka entered the classroom, interrupting Naruto's thoughts. "Naruto, we're ready for you now," he said, a small smile on his face. Naruto gave his sensei a grateful grin and made his way out of the room. The two made their way to the testing room, and Iruka sat down. "All right, Naruto, do a transformation and a substitution and create at least three clones and you pass."

Naruto chuckled. "Iruka-sensei, this test is really just meant to show that I have good chakra control, right?" he asked. Iruka nodded. "Good." Holding out one hand, Naruto created his own signature jutsu in his hand. "I think this will suffice for that, don't you?"

Iruka looked shocked. "Naruto, is that...?" Naruto nodded, his grin so wide it threatened to break his face. "Yes, Naruto, I believe that will suffice. Just for curiosity's sake, though, would you do the other three jutsu please?"

Naruto just chuckled again. "Sure, Iruka-sensei," he said, dispelling the jutsu in his hand. First, he transformed into a perfect female version of himself, making Iruka and his assistant laugh. Then he substituted with said assistant. Finally, he created three Shadow Clones. Then, just to show off, he made each of said clones transform into something different and substituted among them.

Iruka grinned. "Good, Naruto, good," he said proudly. He handed the blond a headband from the table in front of him. "Congratulations, Naruto, you graduate. Team assignments will be tomorrow morning in the old classroom. See you then, yeah?"

Naruto put his headband on, grinning proudly. "Yeah, see you then, Iruka-sensei." That said, the blond left the room and quickly made his way out of the Academy building.

Naruto was barely a step out of the Academy when a lavender and indigo blur slammed into him. Naruto grinned, using the momentum of the impact to spin himself and Hinata around. When he stopped, the two stood, arms around one another and smiling. "You ready to leave this place behind, Hinata?" he asked. The girl smiled up at him and nodded. Both noticed after a moment that their former classmates were leaving the Academy building and staring at them curiously. "Now?" Naruto asked, a cheeky grin on his face. Hinata blushed then nodded shyly. Naruto grinned and, bending slightly, kissed the girl deeply. Hinata responded in kind, both of them luxuriating in the kiss, neither caring how their classmates were reacting.

After what seemed like forever and yet was nowhere near long enough, the two young lovers parted. Turning to their classmates, they were satisfied to see that the only person whose jaw wasn't sitting on the ground was Sakura, and that was only because she was too busy fangirling over Kiba as usual. Naruto held up one hand in a half-ram hand sign, and the two disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Reappearing in a nearby training ground, Naruto and Hinata grinned at one another for a moment before both burst into laughter. By the time the two had calmed down, they were laying on the ground with tears streaming from their eyes from laughing so hard.

"Oh, wow, that was hilarious!" Hinata gasped out. Naruto grinned at her; he loved it when she was like this. "Did you see the look on Kiba's face? He looked stunned!"

Naruto grinned. "Kiba? I wasn't even looking at him. Shino was actually showing his emotions for once! His jaw must have been hanging around his knees somewhere!" At that, the two burst into laughter yet again.

By the time the two calmed themselves down again, it was time for Hinata to head home. Naruto held out a hand to her, and the two made their way back into the village proper, hands linked. Arriving at the Hyuga compound, Naruto gave Hinata a tight hug and a gentle kiss, then the two separated. Naruto made his way to the top of the Hokage monument, where he sat and watched the sun set over the village like he did almost every day. He didn't realize how tired he was, apparently, because the next thing he knew, he was sound asleep, laying on top of the Third Hokage's stone head.

xxxxxx

Hinata entered the Hyuga compound with a smile on her face. Opening the door to the building where she, her mother and father, and Hanabi all lived, she was greeted by one of the Branch House members. "Good evening, Lady Hinata," he said.

Hinata gave him a slight frown. "How many times have I told you, Uncle Hizashi, to just call me Hinata?"

"Somewhere in the upper thousands, I believe," he answered. "But, as I've told you every time, it would be unfitting for someone of my station to not show you the proper respect, Lady Hinata."

Hinata gave a sigh of mock-frustration, but there was a happy twinkle in her eye. She threw her arms around the man. "It's good to see you again, Uncle Hizashi," she said.

"And you as well, Niece," Hizashi said. He hugged her back; after a moment, the two separated and made their way together into the family dining room.

"Ah, good evening, Daughter," Hiashi spoke from the head of the table. "And you as well, Brother. I'm glad the two of you could join us." The Hyuga head spoke with a slight smile on his face. Next to him, his wife smiled at her daughter and brother-in-law as the two bowed and took their seats, Hizashi opposite her and Hinata beside her. "Now that everyone's here, let's eat." As he spoke, Branch Family members entered and served dinner to everyone at the table. "Now, Hinata, Neji, tell me how your exams went today."

"We both passed, Father," Hinata said as the family began to eat. Hiashi smiled at her. "Neji and I were second and third in the class, behind Naruto. And the Uchiha in Naruto and my class didn't even take the exam yet."

Hiashi chuckled. "But of course, we of the Hyuga clan are superior to the Uchiha by definition," he said. Had his family not known him or not seen the mischievous twinkle in his eye, they would have thought he was being arrogant. As it was, however, they knew he was just saying he was proud of them. "And what about you and Naruto?" he asked Hinata then.

Hinata blushed, remembering what they had done earlier that day. "Our relationship is progressing smoothly, Father," she said back. "As you know, we've been going out for some time now, with no one but those here knowing. As of today, everyone in our class knows about it."

Hiashi smiled. "Good, finally staking your claim are you, Daughter?" he said, chuckling slightly.

His wife swatted him on the arm, but she was smiling. "I'm proud of you, Hinata," she said. "And I'm glad you're happy with him."

Hinata blushed. "I believe he will make a wonderful husband and father," she said. Everyone could tell, despite her blush, that she was truly happy with her match. "Mother, Father, thank you both for doing that for me."

Hiashi laughed out loud at that. He pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Hinata. Reading it, Hinata discovered it was a marriage contract for herself and Naruto. "See there, Daughter, just how much the clan will benefit from this marriage?" he asked. She nodded. "At first, this was done for your clan, not for you. However, we are all glad you're happy about it now. If you were not, we would never force you."

Hinata smiled. "Thank you all," she said softly. As she was speaking, a member of the Branch Family brought out a huge plate of cinnamon rolls. Hinata gasped.

"I made these for you myself, Hinata, to celebrate your graduation," her mother said. Hinata smiled brightly, tears of joy in her eyes at the simple gesture of affection.

"Oh, come now, Niece, you should have known to expect this," Hizashi said, teasing her for her show of emotion.

"Indeed, Hinata," Neji added in his two ryo. "Your mother always makes you cinnamon rolls when you do something great like this. It's as reliable as fate." He said the last with a smile on his face. He used to be bitter about fate, but ever since he began to truly believe Hinata would some day release him from his seal, he became much more accepting of it and now only said it as a sort of joke.

Hinata smiled at her uncle and cousin. "Perhaps you are right, both of you, but still, it's hard for me to not show my feelings, you know that. Thank you, Mother. Please, everyone, dig in," she said then, not wanting anyone to feel left out; after all, she was a very kind girl. The rest of the meal was spent in companionable silence as everyone enjoyed the delicious sweet rolls.

After dinner was over, Hinata made her way to her bed and fell asleep almost immediately. She dreamed that night of being on a team with Naruto, though she knew that wasn't likely.

xxxxxx

By the time Naruto awoke, it was well after dark. He got up and made his way to his ancestral home. As he'd expected, all the lights were out, leaving the large home in darkness. Opening the front door, he made his way to his bedroom and slipped under the covers of his bed. Curling up to a fox plushy he'd had since he was a baby, he was soon sound asleep, dreaming of tomorrow and getting his new team.

The next morning, Naruto and Hinata were sitting with the rest of the graduates, both of them wondering who the boy with the magnificent eyebrows was. Neji told them his name was Rock Lee, but they knew nothing more about him. They both noticed that a certain kunoichi seemed to be staring at Naruto with stars in her eyes, but neither of them paid her any mind; her name, they knew, was Tenten. They also knew she wouldn't do anything to steal Naruto away from Hinata, so neither was worried about her.

As the young couple sat together, their musings over their comrades were interrupted by a silver-haired man with a Chunin vest entering the room. The man looked over Naruto and Hinata. "Oh, you two must be the early graduates," he said. They nodded. "I'm Mizuki-sensei, and I'll be giving out your team assignments. Iruka was going to do it, but he's feeling a bit under the weather today." Naruto was a bit disappointed in that, but he shrugged it off and gave Mizuki a smile.

"All right, I'll see him later," the blond said, promising himself to go visit his sick sensei after the assignments were given. Mizuki nodded.

"All right, everyone, I'm proud of you all, you're all shinobi of the Leaf Village now. I look forward to working with you," he said. "Now, let's see, Team One..." As he read off the team lists, both Naruto and Hinata tuned him out, only catching that Lee and Tenten were on a team with someone neither knew. "Team Six," Mizuki said then. "Naruto Namikaze, Hinata Hyuga, and Neji Hyuga." Naruto and Hinata cheered, while Neji just groaned. "Your sensei will be ANBU legend Shisui Uchiha."