The razor-sharp tip of the kunai blade barely scratched Naruto's cheek, drawing a thin, curving trail of blood from his face. An insignificant dribble trickled off it, dripping onto his thin white sparring tunic. He had never known Hinata to come at him so fiercely. As Hinata's blade whiffed its arc through the air, she quickly pivoted and threw a spinning kick at him. He deftly caught her ankle with his right hand-her foot three inches from his face- and grabbed her right wrist, throwing her off balance. She recovered quickly, though, and quickly thrust her left palm at his face, forcing him to release his grip and retreat slightly. He crouched low and quickly dashed forward, sweeping Hinata off her feet, then promptly dropped her on the mat of the training room-hard enough to be a definitive winning blow, but not hard enough to cause any real injury, of course.
Breathing heavily, he wiped the sweat from beneath his shaggy blond hair, then chuckled, offering a hand to help Hinata up. Taking it, she leapt up, untying the ribbon that held her dark blue hair in a ponytail when she sparred. Her hair fell over her shoulders in a cascade of silk.
She smiled jokingly. "I was that close," she said, holding a thumb and a forefinger an inch apart. "Next time, I'll have to watch out for that charge of yours."
Naruto shrugged, grinning. "What can I say? Jiraiya, the old perv, trained me well, not to mention Fukasaku on Mt. Myoboku. I sure paid for it in bruises and blood, though. Heh heh!"
Hinata smiled shyly like Naruto remembered her doing for so long. She had always had the air of introversion about her, and it had never really left her, even ten years after Pain's invasion of Konoha.
"I'd like to see how I would do against Kakashi-sensei, or even Lady Tsunade!" she said, pressing her index fingers together in what had become a tic for her.
Naruto looked curious. "Huh, I never thought about that. You know, I think you might just be an even match for Kakashi-sensei…even if he is the Hokage!"
She looked down, smiling somewhat bashfully. "Well, it's only because you've been helping to train me. With technique like you've shown, you'll be taking over Kakashi-sensei's postion in no time!"
"You think so?" he said, eyes opening in mock surprise. "Hey, don't sell yourself short, even if you're comparing yourself to a beast like me!" She chuckled- Naruto couldn't tell if she was laughing at the ridiculous pose he had just struck or just at him in general. "What's so funny? Thinking that the super special Naruto-only training isn't effective?"
She shook her head. "No, no, that's not it at all. I was just thinking how badly we must both stink right now! We've been sparring for over two hours…I think we'd best shower off before someone pops in and smells the fragrant odor of sweat."
Naruto shrugged. "I dunno," he said with a mischievous grin. "Maybe it's not fragrant in the traditional sense, but I think of it as earthy. Natural."
Hinata gently swatted Naruto on the head. "Earthy it may be, but I doubt many people would stick around too long if we don't wash off."
Naruto sighed in mock defeat. "Fine, then. But you've got to let me wash that beautiful hair of yours…"

As Hinata dried her hair with a black-and-red towel, Naruto sat back on the large, curved couch that encircled about half the room. It rested on a square rug decorated with flowing lines and flowers. He tried to keep from laughing when he saw her hair come out a frizzy halo around her head from under the towel-and failed.
She glared at him, her face turning a brilliant shade of crimson. "Hey, don't tease me just because of my hair…"
His grin faded to a warm smile as he took an ornate hairbrush from the coffee table in front of the sofa. "Yeah, I know," he said. He gently started to brush her hair from the top of her head down to just past her shoulders as she sat next to him. Time stood still for a few minutes, Naruto savoring the fresh smell of Hinata's green apple shampoo, the sound of her rhythmic breaths, the warmth of her arm against his.
All too soon, he was done, and Hinata's hair again was an object of beauty, as it curled around her neck and into her eyes.
"There," he said, putting the hairbrush back. He put an arm around her and pulled her close. "All done."
She smiled up at him. "As always, you've done a good job, Naruto-kun." She cocked her head, as if an idea had just hit her. "What did you want to do for dinner tonight?"
He put on a thoughtful expression. "Hmm…" he mused. "How about-"
Just then, there was a knock at the door, and Naruto sighed jokingly, standing up to answer the door. As he opened it, he said "Hey, guys, I-". He stopped dead when he saw who the group standing at his doorstep was.
A group of three men wearing black cloaks emblazoned with the symbol of the Uchiha clan on the front towered over him. On the back they featured a stylized Sharingan eye staring into nothing.
A bit unnerved, Naruto nonetheless wasn't one to deliberately offend visitors. "Umm, hi. Can I, uh, help you with anything?"
For a second, none of the black-haired trio said anything. Then, suddenly, the tallest knelt down and offered Naruto a long, slender katana. "Lord Uzumaki!" he said emphatically. "We beg of you, please…Lead the reborn Uchiha!"