He needed to get away just for a bit. Everyone and everything was all too much at the moment. He wasn't quitting or anything like that, he just needed a break.

"Naruto, where are you going?"

"I don't know."

He wandered thru the forest beside the training grounds, feeling his muscles throb and burn with every move he made. The palm of his hand wiped the sweat that rolled down his face and moved his hair that clung to his forehead protector. His thumb ran under the cloth tied around his head, pulling on it a bit to cool down the skin it covered.

It was just so hot.

The forest was no longer as dense and he knew that soon it would end, but Naruto never took the time to find out what was on the other side. Today he did. Such tall grass cluttered the valley and water had gathered over time, forming a small pond and river with more frogs then it could handle. There was a tree here and there, but it wasn't the scenery he focused on – Manami was there. With her father. Sparring.

He never actually saw her spar against someone before during the academy, but here she was, dancing with a katana so gracefully. He must have came a bit too late because it only took a few minutes for her father send the sword flying out of her hands. It was also her Father who spotted Naruto staring at them like a lost puppy. Naruto could see their lips move, but he was too far to hear. He watched Manami look back at him and saw how her expression changed from nothing, to surprise, to a grin when their blue eyes met.

The two separate ways. Her father hiked father into the valley and Manami grabbed her blade before going to Naruto

He met her halfway.

They sat under a tree in the valley, munching on the apples and chugging the water Manami packed for her father and herself. Manami was still surprised her father let her chat with the village outcast from years ago, but she was glad. Naruto had changed so much.

She watched him bite into the apples and studied his features. Those chubby cheeks of his were gone, but that crooked smile remained. He was finally tall and she loved the way his eyes sparkled when they watched the clouds pass.

They talked about the old days in the academy, but Manami didn't have much to say since she was always just a by stander. She wished she had done more, but most of all she wished she had spoken to Naruto sooner. He was so easy to get along with, so funny, so interesting – he was just incredible in her eyes.

She wished they became friends way back then, so they could so this again.