Code Kitsu

Chapter 1:The New Kids

This will be the first story I've started on The Fossil (Our family's desktop) in a while... though I'm just now getting to writing it, this idea has been bouncing around in my head for forever.

Note: A possible prototype for a Partners sequel (Though, obviously, without Renamon.) This story begins almost immediately after the 'Capture Mizuki' filler arc. If you haven't seen it, I'd suggest you do; it's funny as hell.

Note2: English is the normal text, whereas Japanese will be enclosed in .

Naruto peered through the leaves curiously. 'Is she... painting? Huh...' The angry-looking brunette turned to glare at him, and he nearly fell out of his tree. He gave a cheesy grin. "Hey there!" She simply narrowed her eyes, and then turned back to her painting, which he noted, was of the Hidden Leaf, including the cliff she was sitting on. As he watched, she drew a small-ish black hole on top of the cliff, and to his surprise, one appeared before him, sucking him in. "AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

From a nearby branch, Hinata's eyes widened. 'Naruto-kun!' Dashing towards the hole, Hinata made it through just before it closed. Yakumo shrugged, and went back to her painting, erasing the black spot.

Naruto groaned. The hell just happened to me...? He looked around, noting the stench, and the excess of water. In my mind? No... So where am I? He looked around, searching for some clue as to his whereabouts; He was in a sewer tunnel, that much he knew, but exactly where... He had no idea. Picking a random direction, he began to search for an exit.

Something caught Odd's eye as he circled the track. "Uhh, coach Jim?"

The older man looked over at him, frowning. "What is it, Delarobbia?"

Odd stopped, bending over to catch his breath. "I think I saw something in the bushes over there..." He pointed, and sure enough, a pale arm stuck out from behind a bush.

"Huh." As the rest of the class crowded around the small, fragile-looking girl on the ground, Jim picked her up. "Alright, everyone, back to work!" He bit his lip, trying to decide what to do with her.

Odd gave a cheesy grin. "I'll take her to the infirmary, if you like."

Jim sighed. "Fine. But be right back! I want you back here in ten minutes or less, got it?"

Odd slung Hinata's arm over his shoulder. "Sure thing, Jim!" As he turned his back to the gym teacher, his grin slipped off of his face. She just appeared out of thin air, and collapsed... She's not one of XANA's monsters, so... What is she?

Hinata blinked, feeling vaguely nauseous. A young-ish nurse leaned over her, concerned. "Are you all right? From the looks of things, you hit your head rather hard... Did you lose your cane?"

Hinata frowned. The woman spoke a strange language, one that Hinata hadn't practiced in a long time. "C-cane...?"

The nurse put her hand to her mouth. "I'm sorry to bring up such a sensitive subject, but you are blind, aren't you?"

She shook her head. "N-no, I'm not blind. I w-was born this way..." She carefully avoided mentioning the powers of the Byakugan; For all she knew, she was in hostile territory.

The nurse flushed in embarassment. "Right. Is there any way that I could contact your parents?" Hinata frowned. Could the woman not see her headband? Though she wasn't nearly as strong as she should be, she was a ninja, and therefore an adult...

"I-I'm fine."

The older woman raised an eyebrow, but let it pass. "Well, if you're fine, I'm sure our principal will have a few questions for you."

Jean-Pierre raised a single grey eyebrow, as someone hesitantly knocked on his door. "Come in." Slowly, the door opened, revealing a 13-year-old girl in a bulky beige jacket. She looked incredibly nervous, so he gave her a comforting smile. "Hello. Are you well?"

She nodded. "Y-yes, sir."

He steepled his fingers. An odd one, to be sure... Is that accent Japanese? He sighed. "What exactly are you doing in my school, miss...?"

She looked down. "Hyuuga. Hyuuga Hinata." He nodded. So she is Japanese...

She bit her lip. "H-honestly, I don't know how I even got here..."

Jean-Pierre grimaced. Amnesia... not unlikely, considering the reason she was in the infirmary to begin with. He sighed. "Well, then, until you regain your memory, you may stay here. I will post notices, and your parents will likely be here before tomorrow."

She nodded silently. One thing Kurenai had constantly drilled into her, was to, when in unfamiliar territory, divulge as little information as possible;If he wanted to think that she had amnesia, let him.

Jean-Pierre pressed a button on his desk. "Nicole, would you send for Elisabeth, please?"

A voice came out of the speaker. "Yes, sir." For a momet, Hinata sat there, and fidgeted. Everything is... so strange here... She was scared out of her wits, but doing her best to be a true ninja, keeping her emotions masked in front of those she didn't know. I wonder what Father would think...?

The door opened, and in walked a pink-and-red clad girl, reminding Hinata strongly of Sakura, but with black hair. "What is it, father?"

Jean-Pierre smiled, and pointed to Hinata. "This young lady needs a place to stay, until we can locate her parents. Since you are the only girl in the school to have her own room, I thought it fitting that she stay with you for a while."

Sissi crossed her arms. "Hmph." She looked over to Hinata, whose eyes were full of uncertainty. "Fine..."

Her father grinned. "Excellent! Hinata, just follow Elisabeth. She will show you around; Who knows? Maybe something here will help you regain your memory."

She nodded, and followed the red-skirted girl out.

As they came to her room, Sissi looked over her shoulder speculatively. Hinata curled into herself, poking both index fingers together. "I-is something wrong?"

Sissi shook her head, and opened the door. "Just thinking, is all." She held the door open, and gestured into the room. "Well, this is it. Bed's over there; make sure you don't touch anything else." Hinata nodded timidly. Sissi eyed her again. "Hmm..."

The shy kunoichi poked her fingers together nervously. "Ano... What is it?" Sissi raised an eyebrow. "I'm just curious... how is it that you were able to follow me without running into something?"

Hinata sighed. "I'm not blind, Elisabeth-san."

Sissi wrinkled her nose. "Call me Sissi. So, is it true that you can't remember anything besides your name?"

The Hyuuga clan heiress looked down. "N-not entirely... I can remember some things... like-..." She cut off, not wanting to reveal anything. Like Naruto-kun...

Sissi's eyes narrowed. "Like...?"

The mousy girl shook her head, blushing. "I c-can't..."

Sissi grinned. "Oh?"

Hinata 'meep'ed.

Naruto sighed happily. "Finally, fresh air!" He looked around, hoping to find something familiar. He didn't. "Huh..." He thought for a moment. I need to figure out where I am... Hehehe. I'll just ask everyone I can. forming a cross-seal, he shouted "Multi-Shadowclone Jutsu!" A mass of clones sprang off into the forest, intent on gathering information.

Odd waved his arms expressively. "There was this flash of light, and then, BAM! She was there!"

Ulrich crossed his arms. "Huh. Sure she wasn't one of XANA's monsters?"

Jeremie shook his head. "I checked on the supercomputer, and there aren't any activated towers." Yumi was about to say something, when an orange clad boy ran up to them.

"Hey! Could you tell me where I am?"

Odd blinked. "Whaaat?"

Yumi frowned. "It's Japanese. He wants to know where he is." "Who on earth are you?"

He grinned. "Finally, someone who can understand me! The name's Uzumaki Naruto!"

Another, identical boy ran up to them. "Hey boss, found anything yet?"

Naruto growled. "Get back to work, dummy!"

The clone crossed its arms. "You know, you just called yourself a dummy." Naruto rolled his eyes, and punched the clone in the face, dispelling it.

Yumi blinked. "What was that?"

He raised an eybrow. "Shadowclone? What, haven't you seen ninjutsu before?" She shook her head.

Ulrich narrowed his eyes. "The hell was that?"

Yumi crossed his arms. "He called it the shadowclone, a ninja technique." She frowned. Ninjutsu... where have I heard that term before?

Odd thought for a moment. "Hey, could you ask him if he can teleport, or something like that? Maybe he knows Mystery Girl..."

Yumi nodded. "Do you know of a black-haired girl, wears a beige jacket, has pure white eyes...?"

His eyes widened. "Hinata's here too? Where?"

Yumi smiled. "He does know her. Apparently, her name is Hinata." Looking over at Naruto, she said, "Don't worry, she's fine. She's probably still in the infirmary."

Naruto frowned. "Infirma-what?"

She rolled her eyes. "Hospital? Sick house? House of Healing?"

His eyes widened. "Oh."

Yumi bit her thumbnail. "Hmm."

Ulrich raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Her gaze flickered to Naruto, and then back to Ulrich. "It's weird... he speaks Japanese, but it's really old-fashioned... It's almost like- Nahh, that can't be it." She sighed. "You'll think it's incredibly stupid..."

Ulrich rolled his eyes. "Try me."

She blushed. "Well, my little brother is really into anime, you know? Here's the thing: I remember one time, when I was babysitting him, he was watching something about ninjas... and the main character wore kill-me orange..." She pointed a thumb at Naruto.

The younger boy's eyes widened. "You can't be serious."

Yumi shrugged.

"Hey! What's going on?" Naruto crossed his arms, glaring indignantly.

Jeremie frowned. "Should we tell him?"

Yumi shook her head. "I don't even know if I'm right, it could be just a coincidence... But then, where did his powers come from?"

"HEY!"

Yumi sighed. "Just calm down, alright? We'll work this out."

"Work what out? What's going on?"

She shook her head. "It's complicated, and secret. Out in the open isn't exactly the best place to discuss this." She thought for a moment. "I think someone should take him to the factory, keep him safe."

Odd nodded. "What about Hinata? She's probably just as confused. Shouldn't we take her, as well?"

Ulrich frowned. "Wouldn't Nurse Perraudin notice that she's gone?"

Just then, they began to hear a voice moving towards them. "And over here is the - Why, hello, Ulrich, darling!"

The boy in question groaned. "Dear god, not now..."

Odd elbowed him in the ribs, and whispered, "Ah, but look at who she's with."

"Hinata?"

"Naruto-kun! You're alright!"

He grinned. "Of course I am! I'm the village's number one ninja, believe it!"

She blushed, and Sissi eyed her warily. "You know him?"

Hinata blushed. "S-sort of, yes..."

Sissi frowned. "I though you had amnesia?"

"I-" CRUNCH.

Just then, any questions about Hinata's memory, suddenly didn't seem so important anymore. As a giant, XANA-possessed teddy bear glared down at them, Naruto summed up what everyone was thinking.

"Well, fuck."

...And there you have it. Two updates in a day not too bad, eh?