The village had eyes. Not the kind that saw the sun rise over the Hokage monument or the moonlight glinting off the Hokage's tower. These were sharper, colder, and they followed him. Him. My Naruto-kun. I remembered them all, every single one. The glares from the shopkeepers, the way mothers would pull their children close when he walked by, the whispers that were just loud enough for a child's sensitive ears to catch but soft enough to be denied. "Demon child." "Monster." It was a poison I would not allow to take root again. Not this time.
The academy classroom buzzed with the chaotic energy of children, a symphony of scraped chairs, gossip, and the thud of practice kunai on targets outside. I sat at my desk, hands folded neatly in my Hiashi had sent me here to observe, to report. He saw failure in my future, a weakness in my gentle heart. He had no idea what that heart contained now. No idea about the war, the pain, the blood, and the love that had forged it into something harder, sharper. Diamond. And this diamond had a single, brilliant focus.
Then the door slid open with a bang, and there he was. Naruto. Just as I remembered, but infinitely more precious. Bright blonde hair like a halo, cerulean blue eyes that held a defiance I adored, and that orange jumpsuit that was a scream of protest against a world that wanted him to be invisible. He was smaller than I recalled, a little skinnier, a little more fragile. The sight sent a jolt through me, a dizzying cocktail of love and a terrifying, protective rage.
He scanned the room, his smile faltering for a microsecond as he registered the immediate shift in atmosphere. The whispers dipped in volume, the smiles thinned. He was used to it. The casual cruelty of children, echoing the malice of their parents. He found an empty seat near the back, slouching into it with a practiced nonchalance that didn't fool me for a second. I saw the flicker of hurt in his eyes before he masked it with a wide, goofy grin aimed at no one in particular.
Iruka-sensei began the lecture, his voice a familiar drone. But I heard none of it. My world had narrowed to the back of that orange jumpsuit. I watched him. I watched the way he fidgeted, the way he doodled little spirals in the corner of his notebook, the way he'd occasionally glance at the other kids, a desperate hope in his eyes that was always, always crushed. Each crush was a tiny shard of ice in my own heart.
"Quiet down!" Iruka's voice boomed, jolting me from my reverie. A pink-haired girl, Sakura, was pointing a finger at Naruto. "He's the one who drew on the Hokage faces! I saw him!" she accused.
Naruto stood up, his hands on his hips. "So what? It's not like they can't be cleaned! Besides, it was artistic!"
The class laughed, but it was a mean, sharp sound. Iruka sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. This was it. The beginning. The public scolding, the isolation, the reinforcement that he was alone. No. Not this time.
Before Iruka could speak, I was on my feet. Every eye turned to me. Hyuga Hinata. The quiet, stuttering girl. The anomaly.
"Y-yes, Hinata-san?" Iruka asked, surprised.
I kept my head bowed, playing my part. "Iruka-sensei... it wasn't just him."
My voice was soft, barely a whisper, but in the sudden silence, it carried. Naruto's head whipped around, his blue eyes wide with shock.
"What?" Sakura demanded.
I raised my head just enough to let my pale, lavender eyes meet Iruka's. I let the practiced tremor enter my voice. "I... I saw others too. Before he started. They were egging him on. Daring him." I let my gaze slide to a couple of boys in the front row, Shikamaru and Choji, who had, in fact, been lounging nearby. They froze. It wasn't a complete lie, but it was a masterful redirection. The truth bent, shaped into a new reality.
A murmur went through the class. Iruka's eyes narrowed, sweeping over the now-shifty-looking boys. "Is this true?"
Shikamaru sighed, the very picture of troubled laziness. "What a drag. We might have said something like that." He wasn't lying. He was just taking the path of least resistance. He didn't care enough to argue.
Iruka's face softened slightly. He looked from Shikamaru back to Naruto, and for the first time, there wasn't just disappointment in his eyes, but a flicker of understanding. "Alright, then. All of you involved, you'll be staying after to clean the monument. Properly this time." He glanced at me. "Thank you for speaking up, Hinata-san. You can sit down."
I bowed my head again. "Y-yes, Sensei." As I sat, I risked a glance at Naruto.
He was staring at me, his expression a confusing mix of gratitude, suspicion, and pure, unadulterated curiosity. His smile was gone, replaced by a thoughtful frown.
My own smile was hidden, a secret thing. Phase one was complete. A seed of connection. A crack in the wall of his solitude. And I had been the one to place it. Mine. 🖤