A Fine Line

Chapter Two - Students

It was summer,

It was warm,

The sun was beating down…daring anyone not to wince.

And neither of them knew what position they would be five years from now.

It had been a number of weeks since they had become Jounin.
For Naruto it was a particularly proud moment of his life.
Not only was he another step closer to achieving his life long dream, but it was another milestone to bettering himself.
Gone was the hyperactive child that had very little direction in his life…the one that pulled pranks to keep from being bored.
The days of his youth were evaporating, making way for the maturity that was becoming a part of Uzumaki Naruto.

Beside him walked the confidant and highly respected Hyuuga Heiress.
For her, becoming Jounin was an impossible dream realised.
The thought of becoming a high ranking Kunoichi of the leaf was deftly stepped on by her younger self's confidence issues…back then, she didn't believe she'd even make Chuunin, and if she did…by the barest of margins.

"So Hinata…have you learned anything about your team?" Naruto asked with his ever-present grin.

Seeing that grin always made her feel a bit slight headed…but in the past couple of years, she learned to control herself around Naruto…no more fainting, no more stuttering.
The blushing and giddiness that still befell her was something she'd accepted wouldn't go away when he was around.

"Not much…I know I'm not getting Shreya, They decided giving me a Hyuuga would lay the foundation for favouritism." Hinata spoke softly. "…you?"
Naruto laughed nervously
"I've decided that I'm not going to base my judgements solely on what is written in a report…I'm giving them the chance of a true first impression"
Hinata looked cautiously at Naruto…her eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
"You mean to say that you couldn't be bothered to go over the reports of your Genin team"
Naruto tripped and barely kept his footing…Hinata Continued
"You cant fool my eyes Naruto" Hinata smiled…Naruto returned it.

"Any thoughts on what you'll do for your Gennin test?" Naruto asked curiously.
"I've thought about it…Kurenai-sensei tested us with a no win situation. Created an elaborate Genjutsu and analysed how we reacted when given such a situation."
Hinata said "…but I've decided not to do that, it was more than a little stressful"

Naruto nodded intently
"So anything else in mind then?" He asked.

"I'm toying with the idea of an escape test…I've been working on a Genjutsu that will trap them in an illusion…for them to pass, they have to figure out how to escape. And that can only be done working as a team."
Naruto's eyebrows rose.
"That's very clever…quite glad Kakashi-sensei didn't do anything like that to us"
"What's your test going to be?"
Naruto's face fell a little bit
"You're going to do the exact same thing your sensei did to your team aren't you?"

"ehhhh…well…I'm going to put a huge spin on it, make it really original" Naruto bluffed
"You're going to administer the bell test that the Third, Jiraiya-sama, the fourth and Kakashi-sensei all used aren't you…with no originality at all." Hinata dead-panned

Naruto tripped again
"Well…it's a good test. I don't want to be the one to break the combo, might be bad luck"
"If you say so Naruto-kun" Hinata smiled. "…that's the lunch hour almost up. I'd better go meet my team, I told them we'd convene at the training grounds. They were…" Hinata stopped as she realised Naruto was no longer walking next to her. She turned around to see that he'd frozen in place, jaw hanging loose.

"You didn't even go meet your team before lunch did you…" Naruto remained a statue
"…you've left them waiting there for an hour and a half for you to show up…"
For a minute she saw Naruto with a mask across his face with a little orange book in his hand, she shook away that hallucination with a giggle.
"Don't give them some lame excuse like Kakashi used to."
Naruto turned on his heel and ran.

Hinata had a small giggle to herself.
He had changed…became surer of himself, more mature and much stronger…but he was still the man she fell in love with.
A small blush spread across her features as she let out a sigh and continued walking.
She still had time to get to the training field to meet her Gennins.

Naruto ran as fast as his legs would allow…he was dodging everyone. Darting to the left and to the right, avoiding the many people who were on their way about. He was sure he was causing a lot of people to drop and scatter their belongings…but he didn't care.
After what seemed like forever, he was rounding the last corridor in the academy where his students would be waiting.
He heard voices…three of them
He halted outside the classroom, catching his breath and composing himself.
With a breath he slid open the slightly ajar door and peeked inside.

Inside he found three gennin watching him intently…before a thought even entered his mind, he felt a very dull impact on the top of his head. A mist of chalk was filling his vision as he registered the chalkboard eraser fall harmlessly to the floor.

A moments silence passes…Naruto couldn't believe it.

One of the Gennin in front of him almost wet himself laughing
"He fell for it! He actually fell for it! Hahahahaha!"
'this seems very familiar' Naruto thought to himself
The girl of the group muttered some apologies on behalf of the team.

He quickly scanned the group.

'The girl…must be this Hyuuga Shreya Hinata was speaking about, judging from her eyes' Naruto thought the forehead protector was firmly around her head…disguising the seal of the branch family.
Naruto's eyes shifted to the loud one who had obviously set the trap.
'…nothing much to see there. Doesn't look like he's from any of the clans' Naruto thought '…Though his choice of outfit is questionable' He was wearing a bright bodysuit with some designs on it…he could only imagine the designs were the "in thing" now

Although he did admit to himself the designs looked quite cool. Patterned designs across his dark red and gold outfit…much better than that orange monstrosity he was fond of in his youth

The quiet one was sitting at the table, shuffling a deck of cards ignoring everything else.
"well, my first impressions of you all…" Naruto said echoing Kakashi-sensei
"…not good"

Hyuuga Shreya turned and slapped the one in the bodysuit upside the head.
"Ichi-no-baka!"
"okay children…lets go get acquainted. Meet me at training area…erm…training area…the one with the three logs. You figure it out." Naruto quickly disappeared in a puff of smoke.

He made his way to his former training grounds…where he became a gennin.

"Iruka always said the first students were the hardest." Naruto said to himself.
He had every confidence in himself to do a good job…he just wasn't getting off to the best of starts.

Naruto was brought out of his nostalgic thoughts with a sudden flurry of Jyuuken strikes across his chest.
Hinata was mercilessly continuing the onslaught…Her black cloak flowing behind her every movement.
Naruto caught her arm and flipped her over. Hinata barely registered it as she landed perfectly on her feet and dropped back into the Gentle-fist ready position.
Naruto's chest throbbed and was feeling a bit of numbness…but it wouldn't last.
He licked his lip…tasting the blood from his burst lip.
He examined Hinata's face…he'd managed a few hits…a small cut graced her cheek.
Her gaze was burning a hole straight through him…he couldn't read anything from her at this point…her face completely neutral.
A few beads of sweat were forming across her brow…and her breathes had gotten heavier.

"It was easier…back when we became Jounin. Remember? We each had our own little students…teaching them, passing on our knowledge and training. I still remember how proud you were when they became Chunin." Naruto didn't really know what he was trying to accomplish. Maybe he just missed reminiscing with Hinata…he hadn't had an opportunity recently.

"Shut Up!" Hinata snapped before dashing in again, gentle fist at the ready.

Naruto prepared himself. He caught her left palm in his left hand. He got the sensation of a Kunai being plunged through his palm…he was well aware of the effects of the Jyuuken.
With his grip solid…he pulled across himself, pulling Hinata down…whilst pulling he flicked his foot sideways to catch her in the face…it connected, but only clipping her. But enough to veer her to the side.
She returned with a mid-sweep kick on her falling trajectory…she felt him dodge and she used her momentum to perform a handspring.
Naruto looked a bit disappointed that she was too eager to fight him.
He didn't blame her though. He was, however, at a loss of what to do.
It was so much easier getting through to a bunch of little brats fresh from the academy.

Naruto was slurping down his evening Ramen with abandon…perhaps this Naruto-Sensei stuff wouldn't be so bad.
"Naruto-Sensei!" Naruto said a little louder than he intended…a small blush of embarrassment appeared when Teuchi and Ayami turned to face him with a questioning look.
Thinking fast, he looked around with them…hopefully they'd think someone else had made that outburst.
Satisfied he'd saved face, he turned back, shrugged his shoulders at the pair and immediately devoured his Ramen.

Savouring the warming feeling in his stomach before ordering his next bowl…he felt a pleasant tingle run up his spine; a presence behind him.
"Old ladies crossing the street? Or losing your way on the road of life?" Hinata asked with a mocking edge to it, her face a friendly smile.
"History seems to be repeating itself is all I'm going to say" Naruto laughed…he was sure there was still chalk in his hair; he scratched his scalp without realising.
"So did have a pleasant meeting with your team?" Hinata asked.
"I decided to test them straight away." Naruto announced proudly "…they sucked. I'll be giving them another chance tomorrow though."
"You figured you'd see how they'd deal with a situation in such an un-prepared state?" Hinata reasoned…the wind in Naruto's sails deflated somewhat when Hinata saw through his plan.
"Spot on…how about your team? Got your test ready?" Naruto shifted attention to her and her team.
"You think history was repeating itself for you?" Hinata giggled "…I've pretty much got my exact Gennin team from all those years ago. A scruffy little kid who's got good hunting instincts but very little knowledge of personal hygene…"
"…I wouldn't let Kiba hear you say that!" Naruto interrupted.

"I have Shino's second cousin…I never thought I'd meet an Abruame with a sense of humour." Hinata said offhandedly. An image flashed through Naruto's mind of Shino throwing pies in people's faces and laughing his head off. He shuddered controllably

"Finally…I've got a mousey little girl who'd sooner hide under a rock than talk to someone…" Naruto and Hinata shared a quiet smile.

"I know you'll do wonders with them Hinata…you are pretty amazing when it comes to caring for others" Naruto said with a genuine nod.
Hinata was taken aback for a second before composing herself.
"Thank you" She breathed out. "…I wont lie…I've got my doubts. Kurenai-sensei made it look so easy."
"you'll do fine Hinata…I'm sure everyone felt this way"
They believed each other's words without doubt.
"Come on…show me this test you have planned" Naruto stood from his stool and gestured to Hinata. A faint blush peppering her cheeks…she took hold of his arm and walked away.

The same firm grip on his arm flung him to the side of the training mat…he skipped a couple of times before landing on all fours and making a dash towards Hinata…rearing to tackle her to the ground once more.
She merely side stepped and allowed him to go right past her…though not before striking a couple of points on his back.

Hinata's cheek twitched in annoyance. He was still holding back.

This would not do!

She wanted him to feel her pain.

Author's Notes: Only one review so far? Hmm, guess things aren't as popular anymore. No matter though. *smiles*

Right…thoughts on this one?

I'm liking how things are progressing.

It's going to really test my update speed I daresay…strike while the irons hot and all that.

I'm worried my writing style is coming off far too over-dramatic,

But hey…no matter…it's a far sight better than when I first started writing lol.

One thing I'm picking up on though…is my over use of elipsis "…"

Something I'll work on for future updates.

Something I should point out. I'm not really going to acknowledge main points in cannon storyline.

It's all about Hinata and Naruto. They are the main characters in this fic. Throughout the course of it and their flashbacks, there will be interactions but its all about them.

Anyways…icanhazreveiwzplzz?

Take care people…see you soon

Scorpi