Chapter 1

Hinata sighed from her seat on the floor as she stared at the glistening, frozen wonderland outside her window. Her breath fogged up the glass, and she took her finger to trace a heart in the frost. This was the coldest it had gotten in years. It was Christmas Eve, but Hinata’s family didn’t celebrate much. They were a tight family of rules and regulations. The Hyuga clan was very serious. There was no partying or going out for fun, even on the holidays. They believed in honor and respect. Every member of the clan believed in this, except for one.
Hinata desperately wanted to leave her residence, but she had no where to go. She was sure if she asked her father to let her go train he would let her. If the Hyuga clan liked to do anything, it was to fight and train, because it was considered honorable. Of course, Hinata was the outcast because of her gentle and timid nature, which usually hindered her in battles and missions. She was a peaceful person. She never wanted to fight.
Small white snowflakes started to fall from the pale blue sky. Hinata stood up and went to ask her father if she could go out for a few hours. When she said she would be training, he consented. She could be gone for four hours and he wouldn’t think twice about it now. She had always trained long into the night, even when she was small. After plaiting her hair into a long braid and putting on an extra layer of training clothes and a ninja vest, she headed for training ground five.  
The ground was covered with a fresh blanket of snow and petite specks of white were already clinging to her eyelashes. For the first time in a while, she smiled. Thinking about it, she decided she was going to enjoy herself for now. She could train tomorrow.
Hinata made her way down the busy streets of Konoha village while last minute shoppers gathered the last of their Christmas gifts. She progressed to the forest and found the familiar path that led to her favorite lake. She often came here to think or just enjoy the day, because it was peaceful and disconnected from the hard life she lived outside of her sanctuary.
When she arrived at the lake, she gasped. The lake was frozen and glittering, with snow covering the edges. The tall, needle-like trees that surrounded the area had icicles hanging from the branches. As the trees got close together, the icicles connected together to create a rim of shimmering ice around the lake. On the place where she usually sat was a thick mound of snow. Settling on the mound, Hinata stared around her in awe. She had never seen anything so beautiful.
She stared at the frozen scene for hours, and fell asleep on the mound of snow.



Naruto stirred from his slumber and sleepily staggered out of bed. After going to the bathroom, he looked in the mirror and grumbled unhappily. His hair was disheveled, his clothes were wrinkled, and the headband he wore on his head was askew. While muttering incoherently, he straightened his headband and stumbled over to his window. It was snowing again.
Naruto lived in a small apartment in town. It had one main living room, where he slept, and a bathroom. There was no kitchen, only a cupboard full of instant ramen and water bottles with a microwave and small stove. The walls were bare except for a solitary poster of the leaf symbol. There were no decorations, no stockings, no tree, and not a single present. On the small bed stand, there was a clock and one picture. In it was a sour looking, younger version of Naruto, a smiling girl with long, pink hair, and a black-haired boy with a bored expression. A tall, gray headed man with a mask covering the lower half of his face and a headband covering his left eye had one hand on each boy’s head.
Present-day Naruto turned away from the window and yawned. He stretched and went to cook some instant ramen. After eating, he grabbed a thin coat and decided to head out. The old wooden door was originally brown, but it was so covered in red and black spray paint you could barely tell the color. Naruto glanced at the faded writing and bit his lip. There were many things written, but the one that hurt him most was one that was scrawled in bright red paint. It said “NOBODY WANTS YOU!”
When his eyes passed over the words, he winced as if he had been hit. Looking away sadly, he sighed and started toward the forest. He walked down the streets in silence, staring at the ground. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw families at shops. He glanced up at them and sighed. He saw small children begging for toys, parents talking lovingly to them, and hugs and kisses. Everything he never had, even at Christmas.
‘Why can’t I have that?’ he thought to himself.
Naruto looked away bitterly and walked faster.