Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or Naruto.

"Blah" normal dialog.

'Blah' flashback dialog.

-Blah- thoughts.

"Blah" The 'voice'

-O-O-O-O-

Chapter Two:

Of Chakra Molding and Hand seals

Hyuuga Hinata, the heiress to the position of the Head of the Hyuuga Clan, was currently in her bedroom window, looking at the bright sun, shinning over the beautiful sakura trees in the backyard of the famous Hyuuga compound. She had heard about what happened to Naruto two days ago. Little Hinata was devastated. She couldn't believe that the villagers were actually capable of doing such… dreadful things. Hinata knew that Naruto pulled a numerous amount of pranks, and sometimes—well, most of the times—he could really get on a person's nerves, but they didn't have the right to gang up on him and attack him the way they did.

"And it was his birthday too… and I wasn't able to give him his present…" Hinata said to herself, as she looked at her white vanity, were upon it laid a small wrapped box. One day, at the Academy after class she overheard Iruka and Naruto talking about when his birthday was, so she thought that she should get him a present… even if she knew that she wouldn't dare give it to him. The day of the incident, she had asked her cousin Neji to accompany her to the park… so maybe with her cousin by her side, she would've have the confidence and bravery in her to give him that small present. She felt a bit of confidence, but when she saw those kids attack Naruto…

Hinata sighed. Naruto was going to be released from the hospital that day and she wished that she could visit him, but her father completely forbids her to associate with Naruto, saying that that would ruin the reputation of the Hyuugas. She also remembered that she had to train… yet another reason why she couldn't go to see Naruto.

"Oh well… even if I could go, I wouldn't dare to anyway…" she said. She got off her bed as she heard a knock at the door.

"Hinata-sama," the voice of Neji, her cousin and member of the Hyuuga Branch Family said from behind the door, "Hiashi-sama requests for your presence at the training room in ten minutes." His voice was void of all emotions.

"H-Hai, Neji-nii-san, I'll be there soon," Hinata answered. She was worried for her cousin. He has not been the same ever since his father, Hyuuga Hizashi, died. He had become distant and sour at the world and he doesn't look at Hinata the same way he used to before he lost his father. Hinata sighed once more as she got dressed and exited her room. There she saw Neji standing in front of her bedroom door with his arms crossed, wearing an expressionless look on his face.

"Ohayo, Hinata-sama," he said, bowing to her slightly, "Come now, Hiashi-sama is waiting." Hinata noticed how he said her father's name with disguised disgust.

"Hai, N-Neji-nii-san…" Hinata said, not looking at him directly in the eyes. He said nothing as he turned around and went down the stairs with Hinata following closely. The Hyuuga compound was a huge place with tight security (even tighter since the time a Cloud shinobi tried to kidnap Hinata), complex halls and many rooms. If someone who was not familiar with the place decided to enter, that person would get lost easily, if that person is not spotted by a Hyuuga, with their amazing bloodline, first.

Hinata and Neji arrived to the biggest training room of the Hyuuga compound, only used by the Hyuuga Main Family. The only times that Branch members were allowed to use it, is when they have to train with a member of the Main. The room contained various ninja weapons, scrolls with techniques only known by the Hyuuga Clan—some of them only known by the Main family—targets to practice aiming, dummies to practice taijutsu, or Juken (also known as Gentle Fist), and a variety of ninja gear. Hinata and Neji walked toward Hiashi, who was knelt on a mat in the floor, meditating.

"Ohayo, musumo," Hiashi said, without opening his eyes.

"Ohayo, o-otou-san," Hinata greeted back, kneeling in front of her father.

Hiashi opened his eyes and took a look at his daughter. She looked so fragile and weak… sometimes he even doubted she was even a Hyuuga, let alone his flesh and blood. He looked at her sternly as he said "Let us begin." He stood up from the floor and got into a stance as he looked down to his daughter, who also stood up. Neji went into a far corner and sat down to watch them spar.

"H-Hai…" Hinata said, also getting into a fighting stance. Hiashi began throwing soft chakra covered punches at her vitals. Hinata was dodging them with a bit of trouble.

"Move your feet, don't stand in one place," Hiashi said, sending blows to different parts of her body. Hinata took his advice and began to move more, making it harder for Hiashi to hit her vitals, but not impossible.

"Your movements are still too inept," Hiashi said, countering her attacks, "spread your legs more."

Neji was watching Hinata's efforts to follow her father's instructions. He shook his head softly. She is weak, and she will always be weak, that is her fate … Neji thought bitterly as he touched his forehead, where the cursed seal was. No one will ever change that… he thought again.

Hinata was panting as she kept countering her father's blows. Hiashi sent one to her chest, which she blocked, but got another one sent to her stomach which she wasn't able to counter, throwing her off balance and making her fall on her bottom. Hiashi walked toward her.

"Hinata, you aren't moving quickly enough. Your attempts to dodge my attacks are clumsy, utterly useless," he crouched to her height, "your cousin Neji, is already a more efficient fighter than you are, he even has the Byakugan now, something that you—a member of the Hyuuga Main Family—has not been able to do. I'm not complimenting him, it's quite the opposite; I'm showing you how weak you are..." he stood up straight. "You should be ashamed of yourself. To be surpassed by a Branch member… pathetic," he said. Hinata could feel as her eyes filled with tears. She hated it when her father looked down on her… it made her feel so worthless and… pathetic.

"G-Gomenasai, o-otou-san," she said standing up once more.

Her father got into a fighting stance again, "Continue." They both began to spar once more…

-O-O-O-O-

Naruto couldn't wait until he was released from that hospital. He has been so bored these past two days; he hasn't even eaten any ramen! He sighed with frustration. The only good thing was that Iruka had returned from his mission safe and sound and he had offered Naruto that as soon as he was released from the hospital, he was going to treat him to some ramen. Naruto almost jumped out of his hospital bed with joy when he heard this.

He smiled at the memory, "Oh well… at least Iruka-sensei is alright…" Naruto said smiling while looking out the window. It was a sunny and beautiful morning. Some of the patients were outside in the hospital grounds feeding the birds, doing exercises (those that could), or just simply enjoying the autumn breeze. He smiled while he watched them as he remembered about the few visitors that he has had these past two days. Besides Iruka, the Sandaime came to visit, cheering him up a bit by bringing him some candy, dango, and rice balls, which was answered by:

'Thanks, but why didn't you bring me ramen instead?'

The Sandaime laughed at this and said,

'Ah well… too much ramen isn't good for you.'

'So you bring me candy instead?'

The Sandaime laughed again.

'Well… sugar is good for your soul.'

'Aha…'

Seriously… Hokage-ojii-san has a weird way of thinking… Naruto thought as he kept looking outside. He remembered when Kenshin came to visit him. He came wearing a wide smile as always, but his eyes reflected a look of concern. Naruto didn't know why, but every time that he looked into that man's eyes, he could see years of suffering and a great amount of wisdom… even if that man couldn't be older than Iruka. Naruto still couldn't believe that that samurai had defeated fifty villagers and four chunnin all by himself. When he came, the first thing that Naruto said to him was:

'Are you going to train me? Please Kenshin-nii-san! I want to be as strong as you!'

Kenshin smiled softly.

'Strength is nothing without wisdom, Naruto-kun. Never pick brawns over brains, de gozaru.'

'Okay then… I want to be as strong and as wise as you, Kenshin-nii-san!'

Kenshin smiled nicely at Naruto.

'Actually, Hokage-sama asked sessha to train you, de gozaru.'

Naruto was speechless.

'…'

'Um… Naruto-kun?'

'…'

'Oro…?' Kenshin got a bit close to Naruto. He was wearing a blank expression.

'YAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTAAAAAAAAA!' Naruto leaped out from the bed, and tackled Kenshin. 'YEEEEES! YEEEEEEEEESSSS! THANK YOU, KENSHIN-NII-SAN! I WON'T LET YOU DOWN! I PROMISE THAT I WILL TRAIN VERY, VERY HARD EVERY SINGLE DAY!'

'Sessha knows you will, de gozaru.'

'Then uh… when are we going to begin?'

Kenshin smiled sheepishly, 'We'll be leaving Konoha in two months, so something around then.'

'We'll… leave Konoha? Forever?'

'No! Not forever, de gozaru! Just for a few years. Three, five tops.'

'Oh… ok!'

I can't wait until we start training together!, Naruto thought with excitement. Though I'm not sure if I want to leave Konoha just like that… He sat up straight as he began remembering all that he has been through in Konohagakure. How many people had hurt him, how the only people that actually acknowledged him in the whole village was the Hokage and Iruka. Maybe leaving for a while wouldn't be such a bad idea…He sighed as he looked outside the window again. He wished that he could've at least brought his scrolls with him. Naruto decided that if he one day was going to become Hokage, he did have to learn about Konoha and all of its secrets and history; so he went to the library, but as soon as he as much placed a foot on the place, he was kicked out. So he went toward Hokage-sama to ask for some scrolls. The old man accepted with the condition that the scrolls never leave the Hokage Tower. Naruto was a bit angry at first, but after his apartment was almost completely destroyed, he couldn't have been more thankful. Everyday he visits the Hokage Tower after class, so he can read and inform himself about Konohagakure and its past. Right now, he was reading about its prestigious and famous clans. Naruto was hoping that he would find a clan named Uzumaki, but was utterly disappointed.

Naruto had also asked for some Ninjutsu scrolls so he could train himself, since no one could actually train him. The Hokage agreed. He gave Naruto a Ninjutsu scroll with jutsus up to B-Rank, with only one condition: never teach them to anyone, nor tell them where he learned them. Naruto agreed to these conditions. Who was he going to tell anyway? It wasn't as if he had friends... But he still had to be very cautious, so he has never told anyone from his class, not even Iruka, that he has been studying Ninjustsus secretly; and to raise less suspicions, he pretended to be the 'Dead Last' from his class. Though for now, he doesn't worry about that too much since he has only had that scroll for a few days, he has not been able to learn not even one justsu from it; and also since he still didn't know how to mold chakra, it was a bit harder. He also needed to learn hand seals. Mizuki began talking about them while Iruka was away, but he never showed them how they were done, instead he gave them an assignment to find out about them in the library, and as you may well know, Naruto doesn't get along well with the owner of the library. He was going to ask the Hokage that day for a scroll on the subject, but he was in an important meeting with the Mizukage, so he wasn't able to. As you can imagine, Naruto failed that assignment, and since he failed it, he didn't quite learn the appropriate hand seals.

Naruto sighed once more as he heard the door to his room being opened by one of the nurses who entered the room, followed by Iruka and the Hokage.

"Ohayo, Naruto," Iruka said, patting Naruto on the head, ruffling his hair a bit. Naruto grinned widely.

"Ohayo Iruka-sensei! Ohayo Hokage-ojii-san!" Naruto greeted happily. "Did you come to bring me some ramen?" an amused smile appeared on Iruka's lips.

"Seriously Naruto, do you think about ramen all the time?" Iruka asked.

"No! Not all the time! I also think about becoming a great ninja, so I can become Hokage!" Naruto said.

"Oh, sorry then Naruto," Iruka said laughing.

Sarutobi walked toward Naruto and smiled to him, "Actually Naruto, today you will be released from the hospital, so we came to look for you," he said.

"YES! FINALLY!" Naruto cheered. He got up from his bed happily, smiling broadly.

"Keep it down Naruto! We're in a hospital!" Iruka said in a harsh voice. Naruto covered his mouth and grinned in a sheepish way.

"Oops… gomenasai, Iruka-sensei," Naruto said while scratching the back of his head. Iruka smiled at the blond child. He looked toward a small side table next to Naruto's bed and there he saw the goggles that he had given Naruto before he went to his previous mission. Iruka smiled softly as he thought about the ruckus that Naruto made that day… he never thought that Naruto cared for him that much… maybe that explains why Naruto pulls so many pranks on him…

"Come now, let's get you out of here, you need to go back to the Academy," Sarutobi said.

Naruto whined, "But it's just so boring…"

"Ah well… if you don't want to become a shinobi, I guess that we can take you out of the Academy…" Sarutobi said, turning around to leave.

"NO! I meant—I LOVE the Academy!" both Sarutobi and Iruka laughed.

"That's what I thought you meant," Sarutobi said smiling.

"Okay—HEY! WAIT A MINUTE!" Naruto said, raising his voice a bit too much, "You promised to buy me some ramen at Ichiraku's when I got out of the hospital!" Naruto added, pointing an accusing finger at Iruka.

Iruka nodded, "I know I did," Iruka replied, "but it will be after you go to the Academy. Today we will be talking about Chakra." Naruto pouted as he heard this… to think that he was looking forward to eating ramen as soon as he got out…

-O-O-O-O-

After a bit of paper work, clean up, and whines from an annoyed Naruto, they—minus the Hokage—had arrived to the Academy. Frankly, the students were glad to have Iruka back as a teacher (classes with Mizuki were even more boring than Iruka's) and they cheered at him loudly as he entered the classroom, followed by Naruto—whose wounds given by the bullies at the park were completely healed—who was grinning widely. Hinata was sitting at the highest row in the back of the classroom. She blushed and smiled when she saw that Naruto was alright, but of course, Naruto didn't notice.

"I'm glad that he's better now…" she whispered barely audible to anyone. She watched as Naruto, sat down on his rightful place next to the pink haired girl, Sasuke's biggest fan, and Naruto's first crush, Haruno Sakura. He smiled as he poked her in the shoulder, distracting Sakura from staring at Sasuke. She turned around to look at him.

"Huh? Oh… it's you…" she said when she faced him. "What is it, Naruto?" Sakura asked bitterly. Frankly, she disliked Naruto for the way he pulled all of those disrespectful pranks on the teachers. At first, she didn't understand why her parents completely forbid her to be near Naruto, but after she saw his behavior she understood perfectly. What good, responsible parent would want their kid hanging out with a undisciplined and unruly child?

Naruto blushed slightly, "Um… I was just wondering… erm… would you like to go to Ichiraku's this afternoon with Iruka and me?" he said with a hopeful look on his eyes.

Sakura groaned frustrated, "Naruto, how many times do I have to say it? I DON'T want to go to Ichiraku's with you!"

Naruto's look saddened a bit, "It's just that… well… I thought that you might've changed your mind…" he said in a whisper. Sakura rolled her eyes and said nothing. She went back to starring at Sasuke. Naruto sighed. He has liked Sakura for a while, but every time that he invited her to play at the sandbox or at the swings, she declined saying that she rather see what 'Sasuke-kun' was up to. He still didn't find what Sakura—or all those other girls—liked about the Uchiha so much. He knew that Sasuke knew a very cool fire jutsu… and that he had great aim when it came at throwing weapons like kunai or shuriken… his taijutsu was almost flawless for a kid his age… he also had the highest grades from that group… Okay, I'll admit that Sasuke is pretty cool, but still… sheesh! Naruto thought as he frowned. I can be as good as Sasuke! he thought again.

Naruto took a look around the classroom. There he saw Choji eating yet another bag of chips. Choji was part of well-known clan in Konoha, the Akimichi Clan. The former is a small clan, but big in size since every single member of this clan are… well, obese. Their special ability is to super-size any part of their body, whether are their arms, legs or head. Naruto thought that the Akimichi clan was a friendly one, at least not as stuck up as the Hyuuga clan. Their feelings of supremacy and superiority were quite exasperating.

Sitting next to Choji was Shikamaru, who was about to fall asleep. Shikamaru was member of another small clan, the Nara Clan; known for their infamous Kage Mane no Jutsu (Shadow Imitation Technique) and for their great abilities at formulating strategies for battles. Naruto smiled softly. He knew that Shikamaru was a genius… he was just too lazy. If he would stop being so lazy, and actually focus on being a ninja, he was sure that he would be able to surpass the Uchiha in no time.

In the back row was Shino, from the Aburame Clan, a really quiet and serious clan. They were well known for their ability to communicate bugs and use them for battles. They didn't really have any special jutsu, but they were a very prestigious and precious clan to Konoha. Naruto found out that they are able to produce bugs at any time. The newborn is given up to the Kikari, or destruction bug. Both benefits from the ritual, the Kikai receive chakra as food while the newborn receives the bugs for protection and combat. For an unknown reason, all of the members of the Aburame Clan wear large coats, with collars that reach up to their nostrils, and they all wear sunglasses.

Sitting next to Shino was Hinata (who blushed intensively when she noticed that Naruto was looking at her direction), member of the stuck up, arrogant, I'm-better-than-thou, Hyuuga Clan. The Hyuuga Clan consists of the Head Family and Branch Family. The first born of the Head Family will take the title as the "Head Family". The second born of the Head Family will take the title as the "Branch Family". Any child of the Branch Family will remain secondary to the Head Family. The Head Family is the one to carry on the secret of the Byakugan and the Branch Family is the one to protect it. The Branch Family is given the Curse Seal at age three to insure their loyalty. The Head Family is able to control the magnitude of the Curse Seal with a simple hand seal. When a person with the curse seal dies, their advance ability dies with them. Their Taijutsu is known as the Juken, or gentle fist; which goes perfectly with their ability to see the chakra points in a human's body. Naruto never actually liked the members of that Clan, but little, shy Hinata was different. She was kind and nice, of course she was piteously timid, but if given the chance and the confidence, she would be a great kunoichi one day.

Ino was glaring daggers at Sakura, since she got to sit next to Sasuke and she couldn't. Ino was part of the Yamanaka Clan, another small clan. Their abilities consisted on controlling a person's body and mind. They were mostly nice and friendly, but they could get to be scary when they wanted to. Take Ino for example: who would think that a lovely, blond, little girl could get so violent when it came to Sasuke? Naruto rolled his eyes. Fan girls were something out of this world.

Kiba was currently laughing at Ino's enraged expression. He was part of the Inuzuka clan, a bunch of animal lovers, which specialized on using dogs on the battle field. They trained themselves to actually be able to understand these canines. The all have a great sense of hearing and smell; and a well developed sixth sense for danger. Naruto read that they could also merge together with their assigned canine into a huge, fearsome beast.

Naruto looked toward Sakura, who was smirking almost evilly at Ino. Sakura belonged in the Haruno family. Most of the Haruno's were specialized medic nins, so Naruto wouldn't be surprise if Sakura grew up to be a medic nin. He was sure that if she forgot about her love life, and got more serious with her kounochi career, she could become a medic nin with a knowledge and skill that could even surpass that of Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin.

Sasuke was looking indifferent, not really caring what was going on around him. He had a brooding expression that always irked Naruto, though he quite understands why he feels this way. His clan was completely obliterated a few weeks ago by his own brother, leaving him as its last survivor, the last Uchiha. This clan was considered Konoha's strongest since they possessed the Sharingan, a bloodline limit that is able to copy any Ninjutsu, Genjutsu or Taijutsu, except other bloodlines. Naruto didn't really know much about that clan, since all of it information was made confidential after the great Uchiha massacre. Naruto shook his head and sighed as he decided that he was going to pay attention to what Iruka was going to teach that day.

"Alright students, today we will explain the basics of ninja techniques," Iruka said, "but first, can some one tell me—besides Sakura," he said as he saw Sakura quickly raise her hand before he even finished the question "—what do you need to perform these techniques?" Very few students raised their hands. "Ino?"

"You need chakra!" Ino said with a triumphant smile.

"Very good Ino!" Iruka replied smiling at her, "can someone explain to the class what chakra is?" he looked around the classroom. "What about you, Shikamaru?" Iruka said, as he noticed that Shikamaru was asleep on the desk, "Nara Shikamaru! Wake up!"

Shikamaru looked up at the teacher groggily and sighed, "Mendokuse…." He said as he sat up straight. "Ugh… Chakra is the elemental type energy that a ninja uses in jutsu and is the source of the ninja's power. Ninjas use both their chakra and spiritual energy—which is only improved through training and experience—to complete a jutsu. When both body and spirit energies are blended together and the proper hand seals are formed, a technique can be executed. To perform a Ninjutsu or Genjutsu technique, it is crucial to mix your chakra correctly. Chakra is only needed for executing Ninjutsu and Genjutsu attacks. It is not needed to perform Taijutsu attacks, as Taijutsu is dependent solely on stamina alone," Shikamaru answered as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

Everyone in the room was looking at him in surprise, even Iruka. He knows a lot… then why the heck are his grades so low? Iruka thought as he proceeded with the class.

"Very good Shikamaru," Iruka replied, still looking surprised. "Well… Other than chakra, there is another factor that plays a part in the execution of a technique," Iruka added, "can someone tell me what that factor is?"

"Stealth?" Kiba asked, without bothering to raise his hand.

"Practice?" Sakura said.

"Those were very good answers, but no," Iruka replied, "The factor I'm talking about is stamina, as it plays a big role in the life of a ninja. Stamina is the ability to resist fatigue and tiredness. It is the amount of endurance you have, both physically and mentally. Without stamina, you cannot have chakra. In order for you to have chakra, you must convert it from stamina." A hand was raised.

"Yes, Sakura?"

"Iruka-sensei, can you convert stamina from chakra?"

Iruka nodded, "It might be a bit more difficult to convert stamina from chakra than converting chakra from stamina, but it is still possible." Sakura nodded. "Anyway, each technique needs a different amount of energy in different proportions. The mind and body power must be used in different proportions to execute different techniques. If you are unable to control the balance, the technique you are trying to perform will either be only half as effective or not executed at all." He looked at his students. "Any questions?"

"How much (munch) chakra can someone (munch) have?" Choji asked while eating a bag of chips.

"Choji! How many times have I told you that you aren't allowed to eat in the classroom?" Iruka said. Choji pouted as he placed his chips out of view. "Anyway that depends on the person, his stamina, his endurance, and his training," Iruka answered.

"What happens when you completely run out of chakra?" Kiba asked.

"Well, in some cases, your body just goes limp and numb… some people fall into days, weeks even months long comas, and in the worst case scenario… some die," he said simply. All the chit-chat in the room ceased. Naruto looked shocked. You can die? Just like that? Naruto thought. Iruka decided to break the silence.

"Alright, now we shall go outside to practice chakra molding; and if you master this quickly enough I will teach you how to run on tree tops and roof tops!" With those words of motivation, the whole class (except Shikamaru who thought that it was too troublesome, Sasuke who already knew how to do this and Shino that was… well Shino), ran outside excitedly, completely forgetting about everything else.

-O-O-O-O-

Teuchi, owner and founder of Ichiraku, the most famous ramen stand in Konoha (and Naruto's favorite) was glad that he had hired Kenshin. He worked really hard for such a small pay, and he always seemed happy to help. He worked fast and diligently, and above all he treated the costumers with respect. Teuchi has heard about the costumers talking about being satisfied with Kenshin's work. He couldn't be more proud! Maybe Ayame should ask Kenshin out on a date… he would make a great son-in-law! He smiled as he pictured all of his future grandkids helping around in his ramen stand…

"Teuchi-dono?" Kenshin said, as he waved his hand in front of the older man's face. "He's spacing out, de gozaru…" he added as he looked at Ayame. "Does this happen often, Ayame-dono?"

Ayame looked at him with a smile, "More than you can imagine."

Kenshin smiled back as he returned to sweep the floor. He was currently wearing the Ichiraku's uniform, which consisted of a small hat, a blue apron, over an informal bon white yukata. At first, Kenshin was a bit reluctant about not wearing his old yukata, but he had to summit… that thing was so old, it was scary. Maybe after Sessha finishes, Sessha will buy new clothes, de gozaru, Kenshin thought as he swept under the counter.

"Kenshin-san, why don't you take a brake? You've been working all day…" Ayame said, offering him a cup of green tea, which he politely accepted.

"Hai… arigatou, Ayame-dono," Kenshin said, letting go of the broom and sitting on one of the stools. Kenshin just began sipping a bit of the delicious, warm, and soothing green tea, when a costumer entered the infamous ramen stand. Kenshin quietly stood up and bowed politely at the newcomer while Ayame said,

"Welcome to Ichiraku's! How can I be of service?" the man that had entered had a hitai-ate covering his left eye, wore a mask that covered most of his face, and was reading a small orange book named 'Icha Icha Paradise.' "Oh! Hi Kakashi," Ayame greeted.

"Hello, Ayame," he said coolly without raising his view from the book that he was reading. "Just the usual, please," she nodded and smiled as she went to prepare his order. Kakashi noticed Kenshin, who had sat down, continuing to drink his tea. He raised his only visible eyebrow as he eyed the cross shaped scar on the man's left cheek. He seems so familiar… could he be… Nah, I doubt it… Kakashi thought.

"Hey…" Kakashi said out loud, "I've never seen you around here…" Kenshin looked at him with a smile on his face.

"Oh, sessha is not from around here, de gozaru," Kenshin replied, "Sessha is just a traveler… Sessha is just working here part-time, de gozaru yo."

"Oh… so what's your name then?"

"It's Himura Kenshin, de gozaru," he answered. Kakashi nodded and returned to read his book. Himura… Kenshin? Nope… it doesn't ring a bell… but he looks so much as Hitokiri the Battosai… the resemblance… it's uncanny… although Hitokiri didn't have a cross shaped scar on his left cheek and his eyes were amber… maybe the resemblance is just a mere coincidence…Kakashi thought. Although… I think it will be wise to ask the Hokage.

Kakashi began to watch him, as Kenshin stood up with the cup of tea in his hand…

"AH, KAKASHI! I SEE THAT YOU'RE ENJOYING YOUR SPRING TIME OF YOUTH!" Gai yelled as he entered the ramen stand abruptly…

"ORO!" Kenshin said, startled at Gai's sudden and unexpected entrance, as the cup of tea slipping of his hands and spilling its contents on the floor. Kenshin smiled sheepishly and apologized for his clumsiness as he bent down to pick up the remains of the shattered cup, but when he did so he slipped on the liquid, making him grip one of the store's banners to hold himself in vain as he still fell down on his bottom, ripping the banner down, making it fall over both Kakashi and Gai, and hitting his head very, very hard.

Kakashi took the banner off of him and looked at the young man. Poor Kenshin was completely unconscious. Now I'm sure that he isn't Hitokiri… he was a very coordinated and skilled assassin… this guy is just a joke… Kakashi thought again as he sweat-dropped at both Gai's abrupt entrance and at Kenshin's clumsiness.

"You really should stop bursting into places like that, Gai" Kakashi said, going back to his book. "One of these days you're going to give someone a heart attack."

"Nonsense! He's probably just not in touch with his inner younger self!" Gai said, striking a nice guy pose.

"Aha… Whatever you say, Gai…" Kakashi said, not really paying attention to Gai.

Argh! Kakashi! Your hip and cool attitude is so enviable! Gai thought to himself.

Ayame was staring at poor Kenshin, while Teuchi couldn't help but to chuckle at the young man's clumsiness.

"Ano… daijobou, Kenshin-san?" Ayame asked as she leaned over him, with a worried expression on her face.

"Oro…" Kenshin said with a hint of pain in his voice. With the help of both Gai and Kakashi, Kenshin was able to stand up and wit on a stool. "Arigatou, de gozaru…" Kenshin said, smiling sheepishly at them.

"YOU'RE QUITE WELCOME MY YOUTHFUL FRIEND!" Gai said, slapping Kenshin on the back (in a friendly way) a bit too hard. Kenshin winced and rubbed softly where Gai had 'patted' him.

"Anyway, gomenasai Ayame-dono, Teuchi-san, for making such a mess, de gozaru," Kenshin said, bowing his head slightly.

"Don't worry, Kenshin-san!" Ayame replied. Kenshin smiled in an ashamed way as Teuchi came with Kakashi's order.

"Here you go," he said, "sorry I took so long… I had to make the noodles…" Teuchi handed Kakashi a bowl of beef ramen. Kakashi nodded to him as his face—the visible part at that—showed him gratitude.

"Heh, you know what they say: 'Never rush perfection,'" Kakashi said. Teuchi smiled proudly at this. Ayame shook her head slightly. I don't know if he's saying that for the ramen, or for himself and his bad habit of arriving late…

Such a cool and hip attitude! That, Kakashi, is what makes you worthy of being my eternal rival! Gai thought to himself, doing a 'nice guy' pose, as his eyes started burning with the 'Fire of Youth.'

No Rachel! He will just break your heart again! Kakashi thought as he read his dirty little orange book and began to eat his ramen.

Heheh… never rush perfection… so true… I rule… Teuchi thought grinning widely as he made more noodles.

Kenshin just stared at all of them with a blank expression on his face. Orowhy did they went silent all of the sudden, de gozaru?

-O-O-O-O-

Naruto was currently sitting in the middle of the forest alone; trying to do the assigned exercise right. He was having a very bad time. Everyone had already mastered this exercise, everyone except him. Naruto groaned. His classmates were currently in another training area with Iruka, who was teaching them how to gather chakra to their feet to help them run faster, and he was still stuck trying to mold his chakra right. Why can't I do this? It looked so simple at first… heck, even Shikamaru, the laziest kid in the whole Ninja Academy did it…Naruto thought angrily. He stood up from the ground and stretched.

"I'll just rest for a while… then I'll get back to it… maybe I'll ask Kenshin-nii-san to help me a bit…" he sighed. He placed his hands behind his head and started to glance up to the sky, with a thoughtful look on his face. "Hmm... what am I doing wrong? If I'm right… Iruka-sensei said that molding chakra meant converting chakra from stamina…" he lowered his glance to the ground, "Well, I've been told that I have a lot of stamina… then… why can't I do it?"

Naruto rested against a tree and crossed his arms. "In the words of Shikamaru: mendokuse…" Naruto said as he looked around and was a bit surprised when he spotted Hinata standing behind a tree, apparently spying on him. When Hinata saw that he spotted him, and tried to hide herself behind a tree blushing intensively. Naruto just blinked, with a confused expression on his face.

"… Hinata?" he asked walking slowly toward the young Hyuuga. Hinata was still hiding behind the tree, breathing hard. "Hinata…? Is that you…? What are you doing here?" Naruto asked.

Hinata gulped as she said, "Um… I was… um… j-j-just p-passing b-by a-and I-I… um… s-saw y-you t-t-training, N-Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked dumbfounded. "But… aren't you supposed to be with Iruka-sensei and with the rest of the class?" Hinata's face turned to a deeper color of crimson.

"Um… I-I… um… erm…" Naruto watched as she began to fidget around with her index fingers, staring at the ground as if she was ashamed of something; and then it hit him.

"HINATA! YOU!" he grabbed her by the shoulders, making Hinata blush even more. She stared at him with wide eyes. "YOU!! YOU DID THE EXERCISE!"

"Y-yes I-I did…" she looked at him confused with wide eyes.

"Then you can teach me how to do it! Right?" he looked at her with big hopeful eyes. Hinata was shocked. Her dear Naruto-kun just asked her—out of all peopleto help him with the exercise. This was the very first time Naruto asked her for a favor, and—to put it simple—Hinata felt like fainting.

"…"

"Hinata? Please! I'm desperate! How am I ever going to become Hokage if I can't master chakra molding?" he said, and indeed he looked desperate. "Please Hinata!"

Is it true? Does he need that much help? Hinata thought. She looked toward him and nodded, since she couldn't find her voice.

"YATTA! THANK YOU HINATA!" he said smiling widely toward her. Hinata blushed once more. Hinata smiled a bit toward him. She took a deep breath, as she found some of her confidence and said.

"Y-You're w-welcome," she smiled again, "N-now… u-um… c-can you… um… show me h-how y-you have been d-doing it…?" she said in a barely audible voice, while playing with her fingers and starring to the ground. Naruto raised an eyebrow. He placed his hand in her chin and pulled her face up, making her have eye contact with him. Hinata's face turned red.

"Hinata… I won't learn anything if I can hear you… speak louder," Naruto said smiling at her.

Hinata looked at him, "H-Hai… gomenasai, Naruto-kun."

"Don't worry about it!" Naruto grinned. Hinata smiled softly. She breathed deeply again and said in a louder voice.

"Can y-you s-show me h-how you h-have been d-doing the e-exercise s-so far?" Naruto nodded.

"All right!" He sat down on the ground placed both of his hands together forming the seal of the serpent as he began to concentrate. Hinata watched him attentively. She knew that he was concentrating very hard, and that he had plenty of stamina to manage this exercise, but she still didn't understand why he couldn't manage to mold his chakra.

"AAAAGGHH!" Naruto shouted after five minutes of concentration. "Hinata! Why can't I do it? I don't think that I can concentrate any harder!"

Hinata frowned slightly. "I-I k-know N-Naruto-kun… I-I c-could feel h-how hard you w-were concentrating…"

"Then, what am I doing wrong?" Naruto asked her, still sitting in the ground.

"I-I'm n-not sure…" she kept looking at him. "C-Can you s-show me a-again the p-position y-you use for c-chakra m-molding?" Naruto raised an eyebrow but complied. Hinata noticed how he placed his hands together forming the serpent seal. "Ah… m-maybe i-it's because o-of the hand seal y-you a-are using…"

"What's wrong with this seal?" Naruto asked, while crossing his arms.

"Well… the seal t-that is used f-for this e-exercise is t-the s-seal of the t-tiger, n-not the s-seal o-of the s-serpent…" Hinata said in a soft voice. Naruto blinked twice.

"This is the seal of the serpent? I thought it was the seal of the tiger! Arrghhh! I always get my hand seals confused!" Naruto said with noticeable frustration. "Which one is the seal of the tiger, then?" Naruto asked.

Hinata did said hand seal, "This one… n-now maybe, if you c-concentrate a-again, you will be able to d-do the exercise." Hinata said.

Naruto nodded. "Okay," he did the right hand seal and concentrated again. He closed his eyes tightly and he breathed in and out and almost instantly, he felt some sort of strange energy running through his body, giving him more energy and adrenaline. He opened his eyes, as he saw some blue-ish looking energy surrounding his whole body. Naruto looked toward Hinata with wide eyes. Is this how chakra feels like? He thought to himself.

"Y-You d-did it, N-Naruto-kun! Y-You did it!" Hinata said, clapping her hands together, smiling widely. Naruto smiled back at her.

"Thank you, Hinata-chan! I wouldn't have been able to do it without your help! I really owe you a big one!"

Hinata blushed yet again. She had heard him use the –chan suffix with her name; which she has never heard him use before… well, only in her dreams. "You're w-welcome, Naruto-kun."

"You know, you should come to Ichiraku's with Iruka-sensei and me to eat some ramen together! I'll pay for you!" Naruto said smiling widely. Hinata looked at him with an astonished look on her face.

"Oh, Naruto-kun! Y-You don't h-have to—"

"I know I don't have to… but I want to. You helped me, so I owe you!" Naruto replied, cutting her off. "I saved a bit of money because I was planning on inviting Sakura-ch… Sakura, but she declined…again…" Naruto looked sad for a moment, "so money is not a problem!" he added, smiling a bit again.

"A-Are y-you sure? I-I do n-not w-want to be b-burden, Naruto-kun…" Hinata said, staring at the ground. She wanted to say yes, she really did; but her lack of confidence, bashfulness, and of course, her puppy crush in Naruto, she just couldn't.

Naruto just laughed, "Why would you be a burden? I already said that money isn't a problem!" he grinned, "You are coming to Ichiraku's with Iruka-sensei and me; and I'm not taking a 'no' for an answer!"

Hinata's face reddened again. "I g-guess that I-I don't h-have a c-choice then…" she said while smiling. Naruto flashed a smile toward her again.

"That's right, you don't!" he said, "but first… I have to go back to Iruka-sensei! I can't wait to run on rooftops like real ninjas!" Hinata giggled softly. Suddenly they both tensed when they heard a faint noise coming from a nearby bush. With instinct, Naruto got on a defensive stance in front of Hinata.

"Whoever is hiding in there, c-come out and show yourself, coward!" Naruto said, trying his best to hide the fear from his voice. Suddenly, Kiba leaped out of the bush and landed in front of Naruto and Hinata all covered in leaves and twigs.

"Kiba-kun!" Hinata said.

He glared at Naruto, "I'm not a coward! My shirt got wrangled in that bush!" Kiba replied, enraged. Naruto grinned.

"If you are not a coward… what were you doing in the bush in the first place?" he crossed his arms, feeling triumphant.

Kiba just smirked, "You know that if you want to be a good ninja, you need to have stealth skills!"

Naruto blinked twice. Well… that's true… ARGH! I can't think of a comeback! "Um… yeah, sure, whatever… what are you doing here anyway?" Naruto said, trying to change the subject.

"Iruka-sensei was doing a roll call, and noticed that Hinata was missing, so he sent the whole class to look for her," Kiba said. Hinata blushed.

"O-Oh my…. I c-caused all that t-trouble? I-I'm sorry," she apologized. Kiba just smirked, showing his puppy fangs.

"Heh, don't worry! It was actually kinda fun!" Kiba answered. Just then, another two figures approached them.

"Finally… I found them, Shino," one of the figures said. They both walked up to them. "Next time Kiba, wait for the rest of the group, will ya?" Shikamaru said, with a tired expression on his face. "It's not much of a three man squad if one goes ahead and leaves the other two in the back…"

Shino silently agreed.

"Aw, c'mon! It's not my fault you guys are so slow!" Kiba replied, smirking. Shikamaru sighed.

"Mendokuse…" Shino shook his head.

"Being in a three-man squad means working together—teamwork," Shino said. Everyone looked at him since it was very rare when he actually said something.

"Alright! Alright! I'm sorry, ok?" Kiba said, pouting.

"Don't worry about it…" Shikamaru said, rubbing his own shoulder. "Man… all that running gave me a shoulder cramp…"

"Hey! Hey! wait a minute!" Naruto shouted, interrupting their little chatter, "What about me?" Naruto asked, "Didn't Iruka-sensei sent for me too? I wasn't in the group either!"

Kiba grinned, "He knew that you were still stuck trying to mold you chakra, so he didn't bother that much."

"Oh…" Naruto said, feeling a bit ashamed.

"Ah, don't worry Naruto! I'm sure that someday you'll get a hang of it!" Kiba said, while laughing.

Naruto glared, "For your information, I already mastered chakra molding! Hinata-chan helped me!"

Kiba looked dumbfounded. "Hinata-chan?" he looked at Hinata, "Oh, so that means that Hinata must be a really good teacher!"

"Yeah—HEY! What's that's supposed to mean!?" Naruto yelled at him. The young Inuzuka just smirked.

"Interpret that anyway you want, Naruto!" He said. "Anyway, we should get going, the others are still looking for you, Hinata!" Kiba said, smiling toward Hinata's direction.

"H-Hai, Kiba-kun," Hinata said, nodding. "Y-You s-should c-come t-too, N-Naruto-kun."

"Huh? Oh yeah… I should."

"Let's go already…" Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes. They all nodded as they departed and walked into the forest.

-O-O-O-O-

"Fourth time this week…" a small boy said, holding a teddy bear was starring, with his aqua green eyes, at two almost-dead bodies in the ground, in the middle of a dark alley, surrounded by a pool of crimson blood. Even if the body of the young child was all drenched in blood, he wore a calm expression on his face; calm, but definitely sad. He watched as they looked at him, with looks of hatred and fear. The boy clinched to his teddy bear tighter when he felt a trickle of blood go down his cheek, a small trickle of blood that didn't belong to him.

"The fourth time this week my father has ordered to kill me…"

"Your father fears you… he's a coward."

The little boy got less tense when he heard the 'voice'. At first, when he was younger, he was scared of the 'voice'. It used to give him nightmares… blood-filled nightmares. The 'voice' always told him to do stuff that he really didn't want to do… but sometimes ended up doing anyway. But now, it's a complete different story.

"The fourth time this week someone attacks me…"

"They fear your power…"

The 'voice' brought him comfort and warmth, something that he hasn't felt before, not even with his uncle. It made him feel as if he wasn't lonely anymore.

"The fourth time this week… I've hurt someone…"

"They attacked you first…"

He raised his arm, and when he did so, the sand surrounding him engulfed the bodies of the almost dead shinobi.

It made him feel…

"Kill them…"

Slowly, he closed his fist, making the sand around the victim's body tighter. He could hear the screams of horror of the two Shinobi… he could hear as they begged for mercy. Inside his head, he could hear the 'voice' laughing maniacally.

As if...

"KILL THEM!"

He closed his fist tightly. The sand crushed the bodies of the two Suna Shinobi, making blood splatter all around the alley. He could hear the 'voice' laughing evilly.

"The blood… the screams of terror… doesn't it give you pleasure, my young kabu?"

The little boy just looked up to the sky, and stared at the moon. He stared back at the ground, were the two bodies used to be.

"Yes… yes, it does."

As if he had a friend.

-O-O-O-O-

Japanese Terms

Ohayo- Good morning

Musumo- daughter.

Otou-san- Father.

Sandaime- The Third

Ojii-san- Grandpa, Old man.

Nii-san- Big Brother.

Mizukage- Water Shadow, Leader of the Village Hidden in the Mist.

Gomenasai- I'm sorry

Kounochi- Female Ninja.

Mendokuse- Troublesome

Arigatou- Thank you

Daijobou- Are you alright? Or, I'm alright! (depends on how you use it)

Suna- Sand

Shinobi- Male ninja (if I'm not mistaken)

Hai- yes.

Kabu- cub

A/N: Here it is! The second chapter! 19 pages long, excluding the Japanese terms, and authoress notes. Sorry I took so long… had a few problems… well I still do. For some reason, my internet only works during the night… I know it's weird but it's true! Anyway… now to thank my reviewers.

Dez Guardius: Yay! You were my first reviewer! I'm glad you like NarutoxHinata paring! Please read and review again. By the way, I tried to read your story, but the computer blocks some of your chapters… don't worry, it's not only yours… it happens to me all the time.

Quise: Thank you!

Zerodragon: Thanks!

Honebar: Yeah, I know! That's one of the reasons why I decided to post this story! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

AxeltheNekko: Dude… I owe you a big one! Thanks sooo much for helping me with the spelling in this chapter! WHAT WOULD I DO WITHOUT YOU!? Lol just kidding, but still, thanks a bunch! I love you! n.n

FemNaruYaoilover: Thank you!

Chrosis: Thanks! Yeah, I know that I should've paid more attention to the Japanese terms… I did to this one! I hope… and yes! They will be in the chunnin exam! Read and review!

A/N: Oh! And another thing... unless I get at least 12 more reviews for this chapter I won't update! C'mon people! The more you review, the faster I update!