Oh hay there. How goes it? Won't be terribly many changes until I get to the chapters that have fighting in them.

I R BAD GRAMMAR KILLAR!

ADVENTURES

IN

L I G H T N I N G

--Digitally Rewritten--

Chapter 2:One Hell of a Journey

It was the morning after the mission to the Lightning country was assigned. Naruto was still asleep. He was late, apparently his alarm clock didn't save him this morning. Fortunately, He wasn't the only one. Kakashi, as usual, was late. Lee, Hinata, and Tenten stood at the gate waiting.

"I wonder if we should go looking for them?" Lee asked with a slight sigh. He was almost as eager as Naruto for this chance to prove his worth.

"I can understand Naruto, but Kakashi-sensei?" Tenten said in an annoyed tone, "I mean he's supposed to be our escort…you'd think he'd be here early…" Tenten obviously didn't know Kakashi.

"U-umm, I know where Naruto-kun lives…I could check there…" offered Hinata.

"Cool," said Tenten, "I'll go check Ichiraku ramen,"

"I'll go look for Kakashi-sensei. Let's all meet back here in half an hour." They all left with a nod.

Hinata started towards Naruto's house. She can't believe she offered to go to NARUTO'S house. "Oh no…what do I do when I get there?" she asked herself. She got to Naruto's house in a few minutes and stood outside trying to get enough courage to knock on it. "What do I do…?" She picked up her hand and tapped lightly, and as if surprised, ducked and covered her head. She looked at it again, and knocked a little harder. "N-Naruto-kun?" She asked lightly, "Are you there?"

No answer.

"Naruto-kun?" she asked again. She started to knock harder. There was still no answer. There was only one more option. She had to go in. She reached out for the doorknob.

"What are you doing Hinata-chan?" asked a voice from behind her.

"MEEP!" The startled Hinata yelled. She turned around to see Sakura standing behind her.

"You know that's Naruto's house right?" She asked Hinata with her hands on her hips.

"Y-yes, Sakura-kun" She said through her panting. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry." She said. "You were looking for Naruto? He's probably still asleep." Sakura made an odd face. She grinned slyly and asked, "So, do you have something to TELL him Hinata?"

Hinata meeped again, "W-what do you mean Sakura-kun? I came t-to get him for a mission, He's late…"

Sakura sighed. "He's always late." Sakura booted Naruto's door in. "NARUTO! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!" Naruto came to the door rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, still in his pajamas.

"What is it Sakura-Chan?" Seeing Naruto in his pajamas made Hinata blush uncontrollably. "Oh, hey Hinata-chan…. HINATA-CHAN!" He yelled. "WHAT TIME IS IT!" He looked at his clock. "DAMNIT I'M LATE! I'M NOT EVEN PACKED!" Naruto started running around. "GOTTA PACK!"

"Hey, Hinata-chan," Sakura said, "I have to go, why not help Naruto pack? It'll go faster." Hinata looked at Sakura and blushed severely and poked her fingers together. "Good luck with that Hinata-chan." Said Sakura with a wink, and Hinata blushed even more.

Hinata had never been in another person's house except her own, the Hyuuga mansion. She walked in looking around. She peeked around a corner, "N-Naruto-kun?" She meeped again when she saw Naruto frantically packing…in his boxers. She covered her eyes. "N-NARUTO-KUN! P-put some p-pants on!"

"Eh! HINATA-CHAN!" Naruto quickly grabbed a pair of pants and struggled to put them on. He eventually ended up landing on his face with his pants halfway on. Hinata started giggling quietly. Naruto looked up at Hinata and smiled, "Hehe, You know Hinata-chan, you have a nice smile. You should do it more often, it makes you look cute." Hinata about exploded with embarrassment.

He called her CUTE! HIM of all people! It was like a dream! …in fact she probably had a dream that went just like that…weird.

"Umm, N-N-N-N-Narut-t-to-kun…y-y-you should pack." She said about to burst. "D-d-d-do you n-need h-help?"

"Nahh I got this Hinata-chan. Thanks though." He said with his trademark cheek-to-cheek smile. "Tell everyone I'll be there in a few minutes."

"O-okay Naruto-k-kun." She smiled at him and ran out. He thinks I'm cute! She thought to herself. Well this mission is off to a good start… She smiled happily and headed back to the gates of Konoha.

After nearly half an hour Naruto came running up to the group. Lee had found Kakashi in about 5 minutes. Tenten was waiting there too, talking at Hinata who was just nodding.

"NARUTO!" Kakashi yelled, "WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG!" He said as he grabbed Naruto by the head and put him into a headlock.

"ACK! I was out late partying last night, so I forgot to pack!" the blonde mass of hair coming out of Kakashi's headlock said.

"You shouldn't party the night before a mission!" Kakashi tightened his grip, "HAVE YOU LEARNED NOTHING?"

"U-umm Kakashi-sensei…I don't think that Naruto can breathe…" Said Hinata quietly. Kakashi looked down to see Naruto passed out, drooling on his arm.

"Ew." Kakashi as he dropped Naruto on his head said. Hinata rushed over to Naruto.

"Are you okay Naruto-kun?" She said touching his head gingerly.

"I'm aaa-oookaayy Hiiinaata-chaan." He said swaying back and forth sticking out a thumbs up.

"That was cruel Kakashi-sensei!" Hinata said.

"He's used to it." Kakashi said without looking up from his book. "I hit him on the head all the time. In any event" He said pointing forward, "Let's go!" They all looked at him. "…to the Lightning country…you know…our mission."

"You're weird Kakashi-sensei…" Kakashi looked at Tenten.

"It's all a matter of opinion Tenten, some people find my charms irresistible!" Kakashi said as they walked out of the Konoha gate. Tenten just rolled her eyes and decided that Kakashi-sensei was a waste of time. She trotted up next to Hinata and just started talking; blathering on about anything and everything that came to her mind. Boys, clothes, shopping, food, movies, ANYTHING she could think of. Hinata, being the polite girl she is, just listened contently.

After two whole hours, Tenten was still talking at Hinata who was just nodding. Lee and Naruto were talking about training. Kakashi was reading, thinking all the while that this would NOT be a fun mission.

Another two hours had passed since the crew left the Konoha gates. Tenten STILL hadn't stopped talking while both Naruto and Lee had stopped talking. Kakashi was still reading.

"You know," Naruto said, "We didn't say goodbye to our teams…"

"Most of my team is here," said Lee. "See?" He said as he pointed at Tenten.

"My team would yell at me for leaving…" Said Hinata.

"Sakura is probably happy I left…"

"Hmmm, you guys are one rag-tag group aren't you…?" Kakashi said with a chuckle. He looked around. "Hey guys, it might be a good idea to stay on guard from here on out."

"Huh? Why?" Naruto asked.

"Because Naruto, we are far enough away from the Konoha that we could be targets." Kakashi said. "Some people might not WANT us to get to the Lightning Country. Now that we're far enough away from Konoha that we can't receive backup, we could be attacked. Always keep a hand on a kunai."

"Hmmm," said a Ninja, hidden in the trees, "It would seem that Kakashi's with them…The copy ninja…hmm…interesting." He leapt to the next tree, completely silent. "This does make things a lot more interesting," he said with a grin. "Maybe I should test him…"

Kakashi looked up at the trees around them. "Stay sharp guys, we're being watched."

"What! I thought this was a diplomatic mission Kakashi-sensei!" Yelled Naruto.

"It's still an S ranked mission Naruto." Kakashi's voice trailed off as he surveyed the area. "Hinata, can you use your Byakugan to see if anyone is around?"

"Y-yes…I-I can try." She said, "BYAKUGAN!" She surveyed the area. She saw nothing. "I-I can't see anything Kakashi-sensei…"

"Hmm," Kakashi scratched his chin. "Then he's good."

"Kakashi-sensei…" Naruto protested, "If the Byakugan can't see anyone, then there's no one there."

"There IS someone there, Naruto…" Kakashi sniffed the air, "I can smell him."

"RAISEN NO JUTSU! (Lightning Strike)" yelled a voice. A blade of lightning streaked through the air towards Kakashi.

"Oh shi-" Kakashi started to say as the bolt hit him square in the chest. He convulsed for a few seconds and finally collapsed to the ground.

"Haha!" The voice said, "It seems that Kakashi is useless without his Sharingan!" A man jumped out of a tree. He was tall, had long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. At his waist, he carried a katana. On his head, a metal headband with clouds on it, the symbol of the village hidden in the clouds. He wore a red leather trench coat and white baggy pants. "So, what will you do now that your sensei is dead?"

"Dead?" Kakashi said as he pressed his kunai up against the man's neck. "Don't be too hasty to kill me off. I still haven't played with you yet."

"Ahhh, a replacement jutsu, eh Kakashi?" The man grinned, "Clever. You always were quick with your replacement jutsus."

"Hehe, It's nice to see you too, Kaoshi." Kakashi said pointing to the man, presumably called Kaoshi. "This is the 'ample help' Tsunade was talking about."

"HE JUST TRIED TO KILL YOU!" Naruto yelled.

"Haha, yeah. Brings back memories, eh Kaoshi?" Kakashi said to the man.

"That it does, Kakashi. Just like old times." He leaned over the younger Ninja. "Who are the runts Kakashi?"

"They're the…uh…diplomats…" Kakashi sighed.

"…WHAT?! What is the 5th thinking, Kakashi?!" Yelled Kaoshi.

"I haven't the slightest…" Kakashi sighed again.

"HEYHEY! We're NINJA!" yelled Naruto, "We got this mission because we're the best of the BEST!"

"If you're the best of the best…then why don't you have a Konoha Chuunin jacket…?"

"ACK!…" Naruto choked, "Cause…I'm not a Chuunin…"

"And the 5th sent you on an S ranked mission? God, she must be older than I thought." He laughed putting his hand on his head.

"Actually Kaoshi…I'm the one who trained Naruto." Kakashi said. "He's actually very strong. He is easily the strongest Genin in the Konoha. To attest to this, he defeated Hyuuga Neji in combat."

"He defeated the protégé of the Hyuuga clan?" He looked at Naruto, "Hmmm, guess you're not to be underestimated…"

Naruto smiled, "Hell no! Underestimating me is a HUGE mistake!"

"Whatever kid," Laughed Kaoshi, "Anyways, I'm here as backup. I'll get you to the Village hidden in the Clouds, no problem."

"Alright Kaoshi," Kakashi said, "The kids just met you, so why not introduce yourself?"

"My name's Kaoshi!" He pointed at himself with his thumb. "I'm a master swordsman, an expert in lightning-jutsus, and my dream is to become the Raikage!"

Naruto's jaw dropped to the ground. "IT'S MY DREAM TO BE HOKAGE!" He yelled.

Then, after an incredibly long discussion about becoming Hokage/Raikage, the team of completely random members decided to camp out for the night.

"C'mon Hinata, help me pitch out tent!" Said Tenten.

"O-okay…" Hinata said, following Tenten. She and Hinata started to get to work on their tent. So did Lee and Naruto.

"So Kakashi," Said the cloud Nin, "Who exactly do we have here?"

"Well, The girl with the buns is Tenten. The one with the huge eyebrows and bowl cut is Lee, They're part of Gai's team."

"Ahh, Gai…What a silly man."

"Indeed," Kakashi nodded with agreement. "Then there's the girl with the white eyes and long black hair, that's Hyuuga Hinata."

"A Hyuuga! Can she use her bloodline?" The cloud ninja said leaning forwards.

"Yes, but not very effectively, but she's still useful. She's also very shy, so try not to yell at her." Kakashi added, "Lastly we have, Uzumaki Naruto,"

"UZUMAKI!" Kaoshi yelled, "You mean he's the 4th's…"

"Yes, but keep it down." Kakashi said, "He doesn't know yet."

"Oh, why not?" Kaoshi asked.

"It's probably because everyone in the Konoha hates him. He has the Kyubi sealed in him so all of the adults blame HIM for the near destruction of the village. So we kept the fact that he was Yondaime's son from the public."

"That's not right…" Kaoshi said angrily, "He should be a hero!"

"Well, you can't tell people what to think…unfortunately"

"Tard muffins…" said Kaoshi angrily.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Yelled Naruto, "We're all done here!"

"Okkkay" Said Kakashi, "Now two of you go get firewood…or whatever."

"Okay who's gonna go?" Asked Naruto.

"Four way Janken?" Lee suggested. After 5 minutes the two were decided: Naruto and Hinata.

"Seriously, I SWEAR that paper beats scissors, I mean…it wraps them up and stuff and the scissors can't cut."

"Tough luck Naruto," Lee grinned triumphantly, "It's you and Hinata." Tenten walked up to Hinata, patted her on the back, and whispered.

"Good luck girl!" Hinata felt her wave of embarrassment come over her. Did EVERYONE know? She looked at Naruto, Well…almost everyone…she thought to herself.

"Fine we'll be back in a bit," Naruto whined, "Just don't eat any of my ramen!"

"HOW could we eat any of your ramen without fire to boil the water?" Tenten asked. "Hmmm?"

"Well…don't go finding a way!" Naruto yelled as he disappeared into the darkness with Hinata. Tenten moved over to Lee.

"D'ya think she'll even talk to him?" Tenten sighed.

"Not a chance…" Lee sighed as well. "I have an idea! TENTEN this has to be the greatest idea EVER!" Lee said excited. "The fires of youth are burning inside me!"

"Lee…?" Tenten blushed, wondering if these so called 'Fires of youth" were a metaphor for something else, more…romantic perhaps?

"LET'S TRAIN!" Lee yelled excitedly. "I'll get the weights!"

"Oh…Lee, Let's not." Tenten said with a disappointed sigh, wishing he thought of things other than training.

Naruto walked along with Hinata a few paces behind him. Naruto had a giant frown on his face. He did NOT want to be doing this.

"N-Naruto-Kun…" Said Hinata meekly. "We probably shouldn't go so far from the camp?"

Naruto just looked at her. "Well there's no good firewood around here," he said, "It's not like we can go back without firewood." He stopped, "Besides, you've got that cool Byakugan or whatever. Can't that find the way back?"

"I-I suppose…" Hinata said looking at the ground.

"C'mon," Naruto said, "Let's hurry. It's starting to get cold out, and those clouds look like rain." He grabbed Hinata's arm and pulled her along.

After about half an hour of scavenging, the two found enough wood to last the night. They started heading back when, of course, it started raining.

"Come on Hinata! Let's hurry!" Naruto yelled. He pulled her by the arm again. "Hinata, which way to the camp?"

BYAKUGAN! Hinata looked around. She couldn't see it. "Naruto-kun…I can't find it…the rain…It's too heavy."

"DAMMIT!" He looked at Hinata who was on the verge of tears. "Can you see like a cave or a hollowed out tree or anything to hide in for a bit?" Hinata looked around again. She pointed to her left.

"There's a cave little ways that way." Naruto grabbed her arm again and ran in the direction she pointed. Lo and behold, there was a cave there.

"Thank GOD!" said Naruto as he ducked into the low entrance. Hinata followed him and they sat shivering in the mouth of the cave.

"W-what are we going to d-do Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked. Naruto thought for a minute.

He crossed his fingers to make a seal, "KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" He yelled. Three clones appeared and ran out of the cave. "Don't worry, we'll find the camp." He said with his signature smile.

Hinata wanted to cry. She felt so useless. The tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun. If it was Neji here, he'd be able to find the camp easily…"

Naruto looked at her, she was shivering with her head in her knees. Naruto sighed and took off his jacket. He put it around her shoulders. "Hinata-chan." He said as she looked up. "It's not your fault. You just couldn't see it. That's all. I'm sure Neji wouldn't be able to do much better."

"B-but…" she looked down again, "It's always like this. I'm always so useless…"

Naruto sat down next to her. "You're not useless, you just lack confidence." Naruto pointed to himself, "I'm the most confident person you'll ever meet. But that doesn't mean I don't screw up from time to time."

"Naruto-Kun…" Hinata whispered.

"Don't worry about it Hinata." Naruto laughed, "I remember one time like three years ago when we were still team 7…I screwed up a D ranked mission so bad. We were supposed to clear some debris off of someone's yard from a big storm and me, being the clever lad I am, tried to lift a fallen tree trunk by myself." Naruto paused and chuckled, "Well I lifted it up fine, but I couldn't walk with it…when Sasuke came to help me I accidentally dropped it on our feet. We couldn't walk for days." Naruto laughed again and Hinata smiled. Somehow he always managed to cheer her up, no matter what.

"Thank you Naruto-kun." Hinata said with a faint smile, "I feel a little better now."

"Don't mention it," Naruto laughed, "You should try to sleep," Naruto said, "I don't know how long it'll take to find the camp with my clones so…"

"But…Naruto-kun…" she said looking up at him. "I don't want you to be lonely…" She bit her lip, "I realize I'm not great company, but…"

"It's okay. I won't be able to talk much anyways. It takes a lot of chakra to keep the clones alive at such a distance." He patted her on the head. "You just rest." Hinata just nodded. "Besides, I think you're great company!"

"Y-You do?" Hinata asked, very shocked.

"Yeah!" He smiled ear-to-ear, "You always listen to what I have to say, no matter how dumb. " He ruffled her hair a bit, "You just get some sleep, okay?"

Hinata blushed and looked down at the ground. "N-Naruto-kun…" Before she knew it she was asleep, resting her head on Naruto's shoulder.

"God." Naruto sighed, "I had no idea that we were THIS far away from camp…" He sighed again, "At least I found it." He looked down at Hinata, "I think I can stay awake till they get here." However, the rhythmic pounding of the rain on the stone above acted as a natural lullaby and put him to sleep.