Teuchi, Hinata

Although Naruto had moved out of the orphanage, his life had not improved much. The Third Hokage gave him a living allowance, but that pittance could barely buy anything, and the only things he could find at the grocery store were expired milk and instant noodles. Walking down the street, he was met with nothing but strange looks; occasionally, younger children would throw stones at him, and the older ones would gang up to beat him.

Often hungry, Naruto learned to hunt, fish, forage for mushrooms in the forest, and pick wild fruits.

One day, Naruto went to the river to fish again. Fishing was something he had taught himself; no one had ever shown him how. He made his own fishing rod, and whether he caught anything depended entirely on luck. Clearly, his luck was poor today; he hadn't caught a single fish by dusk and had to settle for eating a few wild fruits.

Hungry, Naruto walked home, keeping an innocent smile on his face despite the hateful, malicious glares from the people around him.

As he walked past a shop called Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto caught the scent wafting from the stall and huddled by the entrance, craning his neck to peek inside. Old Man Ichiraku happened to spot Naruto's expectant yet fearful gaze and asked kindly, "Little one, are you hungry? Would you like a bowl of ramen?"

"Um, but I don't have any money." Naruto, who had expected to be cursed at and chased away, stared blankly at the kind Old Man Ichiraku and replied.

"It's fine, it's fine. I just happen to have a little bit of ingredients left over, it's on the house. Ayame, go bring our little guest inside." As he spoke, he began preparing the ramen.

Ayame walked to the entrance, took Naruto's hand, and led him to a seat at the counter.

This was the first time Naruto had looked into someone's eyes and not seen hatred or disgust.

Before long, the ramen was ready. Ichiraku piled on the toppings and had Ayame serve it to Naruto.

"Hehe, Special Tonkotsu Chashu Ramen, please enjoy, guest." With that, she placed the bowl in front of Naruto.

Looking at the steaming bowl of ramen, Naruto swallowed hard. Under the expectant gazes of Ichiraku and Ayame, he put his hands together and said, "Itadakimasu." He then began to eat the ramen earnestly. The moment the noodles touched his tongue, Naruto froze; it was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted. He ate while muttering, "Delicious, it's so delicious." Soon, the bowl was empty, and Naruto even lifted it to drink every drop of the broth.

"Old Man, Big Sister, thank you for the treat. This is the best food I've ever had. (˃̶̤́꒳˂̶̤̀)" After finishing, Naruto set down his chopsticks and thanked Ichiraku and Ayame.

"Haha, if you're hungry and want ramen in the future, just come by and I'll make it for you," Old Man Ichiraku said with a hearty laugh upon hearing this.

"Mm-hmm, thank you, Old Man. My name is Naruto Uzumaki, you can just call me Naruto. I have to go home now."

"Oh, alright. Ayame, go see Naruto off."

"No need, Old Man, I can get home by myself." Naruto waved at Ayame and turned to head out.

By the time he stepped out of Ichiraku Ramen, it was already dark. He walked toward his home, passing through a deserted street where there were no lights other than the streetlamps. People used to live here, but they had all moved away one by one after Naruto moved in.

He arrived at a dilapidated building, climbed to the second floor, opened his door, and stepped inside.

"I'm home." This was something Naruto did every time he returned, though sadly, no one ever answered.

After washing up, Naruto lay in bed, thinking about the day's events as he drifted off to sleep with a smile.

Time passed quickly, and soon it was winter. Naruto went into the forest again, but it was snowing heavily now. He searched all day and found nothing. Seeing that it was almost dark, he had no choice but to head home.

As he walked, Naruto saw a little girl crouching under a streetlamp, crying softly.

"What are you doing? Why are you all alone in a place like this?"

The little girl looked up at Naruto but didn't speak, continuing to shed tears.

"Don't just cry."

"I... I..." the little girl whispered weakly.

"Where do you live?" Naruto looked at her, but she shook her head, indicating she couldn't find her way home.

"Can't be helped. Come on, let's go." Seeing the little girl shivering from the cold, Naruto took off his scarf, wrapped it around her, took her hand, and began walking into the distance.

After a long while, they finally reached a large mansion, and the little girl recognized it as her home. On the gate, the characters for "Hyuga" were clearly visible.

"You, how can you still be crying when you have such a big house? Look at me, I don't have anyone by my side, but I never, ever cry. Hehe." Naruto looked at the luxurious mansion and asked the girl in surprise.

The little girl looked up at Naruto.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, hehe. Goodbye then." Seeing that the girl wouldn't speak, Naruto waved goodbye and left.

He didn't hear her, but as he turned away, the little girl whispered, "My name is... Hinata Hyuga." Seeing that Naruto had already run off, Hinata walked into her home.

As soon as she entered, she was taken by a maid to her father, Hyuga Hiashi.

"Hinata, where have you been? Everyone has been looking for you." Hyuga Hiashi looked at Hinata with concern.

"Father, I went out to look for Uncle Hizashi, but I couldn't find him and got lost. It was Naruto who brought me home."

Hiashi then told Hinata to go rest, but his brow remained furrowed; no one knew what he was thinking.

Time flew by, and two years passed in the blink of an eye. During these two years, Naruto continued to be despised by the villagers, and he lived his life as he always had—eating ramen when he had money and foraging for food in the forest when he didn't. However, he didn't notice that for these two years, a little tail had been following him. That little tail was Hinata. She never revealed herself, only watching Naruto secretly from afar.

One day, while Naruto was wandering aimlessly near the Ninja Academy, he suddenly saw a group of children bullying a little girl in the distance. That girl was Hinata Hyuga.

The slightly older child among them pointed at Hinata and laughed loudly.

"Aren't you from the Hyuga family? Show us your Byakugan."

"Those eyes are so creepy."

"You're just a monster, a Byakugan freak."

They all burst into laughter.

At that moment, Naruto rushed forward and stood in front of the girl.

"Hey, stop bullying her!"

"Who are you?"

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

"Oh, so it's you, the demon fox. You're both monsters, who cares about you?" With that, the group rushed forward and beat Naruto mercilessly. One child in green picked up a stone and smashed it against Naruto's head. With a thud, Naruto collapsed to the ground, blood trickling from his head. The children were frightened by the blood and ran away. They didn't see a beam of light fly into Naruto's mind.

Just then, an Anbu ninja appeared, picked up Naruto, and rushed him to the hospital. (This wasn't in the original work; I changed it myself.)