Naruto : Back to the Past

"I....!!! Before Naruto could say anything, Hinata turned around and began walking away. 

Naruto saw her eyes were a little bit red and puffed. This meant that she had cried. 

Naruto caught her arm. He pulled her pulled a hug. "I am sorry." 

Naruto could have said many things explaining why he was so late. But in the end, he realized that the mistake began with him. It was his fault. He had hurt her. He had made this girl wait for him for hours. And seeing her tears really made him feel guilty. 

Naruto hugged her with his one arm. 

As soon as he said these words, Hinata began crying in his chest. She began to silently sob. Naruto let her cry for some time before she calmed down. 

"I am really sorry, Hina-chan. I accept my mistake. Please forgive me this time."

Hinata did not reply. She instead hugged him back. Both of them continued to stay like this for some time until Naruto moved away. This made Hinata feel disappointed but she didn't show it on her face. 

Seeing that her face was a mess, Naruto gently wiped her tears with his thumb. 

"Now let's sit down." Naruto made her sit down under the shade of the tree. 

"Naruto-kun, your hair...?" Now that Naruto wasn't using a transformation Jutsu, Hinata saw Naruto's real hair. 

"This is my real hair. Yesterday, for some reason, I was in disguise. But fortunately, from now on, I won't need to change my appearance." Hearing his Hinata looked at his face. Naruto looked even more handsome in his blond hair. 

"Hina-chan, yesterday, I met my family. I met my mother for the first time. This is why....." 

Hinata interrupted him. "It's alright, I understand. I am happy for you Naruto-kun." Hinata said with a smile. She understood why Naruto didn't come to see her. 

"Once again, I am sorry, Hina-chan." Naruto felt guilty looking at her face. 

"I forgive you." Hinata said with a small smile. The way he hugged her and the way gently wiped her tears already had erased the negative thoughts in her mind. 

"By the way, Hina-chan, tomorrow, I am going to give you a surprise. So you better be prepared." Naruto said with a grin. 

"What surprise?" Hinata asked curiously. 

"Come on, it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you what it was. Just wait till tomorrow morning, you will know what the surprise is." Hinata could only nod her head. 

'The Hinata of this world is even more low esteemed than the Hinata of my world. Hinata is a very insecure girl. I need to fix that.' Naruto thought to himself. If Naruto didn't fix that, then she was always going to be pushed around. Like those scums from yesterday, there will be bullies. Naruto wouldn't be surprised if he saw Hinata being bullied at school as well.

"Hina-chan, how about we spar?

"Spar? Why?" Hinata couldn't understand. 

"Because I am going to start training you." Naruto said in a determined tone. Naruto wanted Hinata to be stronger than she was in his previous world. 

"Train me?" 

"Do don't want me to?" He asked back. 

Hinata shook her head very quickly. 'This is going to be a chance for me to spend more time with Naruto-kun.' How could she refuse such an offer?

"Good. Now come at me." 

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Scene change____

"Don't go easy on me, Hina-chan. I can handle it," Naruto told Hinata. He didn't want her to hold back during their practice because he was missing an arm.

"Okay, I'm coming at you, Naruto-kun!" Hinata, usually shy, transformed when she got ready to spar. Her whole presence became more intense.

Hinata aimed a quick hand strike at Naruto, trying to hit him, but he moved out of the way with no trouble. She didn't stop there, though. Right after her hand missed, she swung her leg up high, trying to catch his chin with a kick. But Naruto was too quick and stepped to the side, avoiding her foot by inches.

"Your moves are easy to guess, Hinata," Naruto said in an easygoing way.

Not giving up, Hinata took a step and went for a big, sweeping kick with her leg. This kick was stronger and faster than her other moves. But this time, instead of moving away, Naruto raised his left arm and blocked her kick solidly.

"That was a strong kick. But I know you've got even more in you, Hinata."

Their training match went on. Hinata got more serious and even activated her Byakugan, which let her see all around without having to turn her head.

But even with her Byakugan, Hinata couldn't manage to hit Naruto properly. She kept on trying to strike him, but Naruto was too quick and kept avoiding every move she made. Before Hinata knew it, they had been sparring for over half an hour, and she still hadn't touched Naruto once, even though he was fighting with one arm.

Naruto was mostly focusing on not getting hit. But sometimes, when their match got really heated, Naruto would take his turn to strike back. He was always careful, though, because he didn't want to hurt Hinata.

Around an hour later, 

Hinata was lying against the tree and was panting. She was trying to catch her breath. While Naruto was lying on the grass and was staring at the sky. 

Huff!! Huff!!!

"Naruto-kun, how did you become so strong?" Hinata asked. Hinata felt that the current Naruto could easily defeat the strongest person in their class. Even though he was their age, he was so strong. 

"Hina-chan, to become strong, you must have a strong motivation to become strong. I did not became strong because I wanted to be strong. I became strong because I had to." Naruto had many reasons to become strong. He became strong so that he could bring his best friend back. He became strong so he was being hunted by the Akatsuki. He became strong so he could protect the village and his friends. He became strong so he could become the Hokage. 

"My motivation to become strong....." Hearing these words, Hinata closed her eyes and wondered what was her motivation to become strong. Did she even have one, to begin with? Strangely before Naruto asked her this question, she never thought of such a question. 

But soon the answer was clear to her. 'I want to become strong so that I can prove to Father and everyone in the clan that I am not a useless person. And lastly...' Hinata looked at Naruto who was lying next to her. 

'I want to become strong so that I can stand beside Naruto-kun.' This was Hinata's biggest source of motivation. 

"Naruto-kun, if it isn't too much then can you please train me from now on?" Hinata asked him politely. Naruto noticed that Hinata looked much more determined than before. 

Seeing this he inwardly smiled. 'It seems she had found her motivation.' Little did he know that he was her biggest motivation to get stronger. 

"Of course not. I would be happy to train you. Tomorrow, meet me here, after school. We will begin our training." 

"Okay!!!" Hinata happily smiled. 

"Looks like it's time to go home, don't you think?" Naruto reached out his hand to Hinata.

With a shy smile and a soft blush on her cheeks, Hinata placed her hand in his. When Naruto gently pulled her toward him, he used a bit too much force, and she stumbled straight into his embrace.

Hinata quickly stepped back, her face growing even redder when she saw the playful smile on Naruto's face. Yet, she didn't let go of his hand, her fingers still lightly holding onto him.

"Are we heading back to your family's home in the Hyuga area?" Naruto's voice was soft, inviting a response.

Hinata answered with a simple nod, her eyes still locked with his.

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Note from Author - I didn't want to make this scene dramatic but this was a necessary part of the character development. Currently, Hinata feels very insecure. She is secure about everything. She thinks that she isn't good enough at anything. She has very low esteem. - For this reason, she was crying.