The Rasengan was a lot harder than she remembered it being. But in some ways it was easier. She had more than enough chakra to try again and again. But it was wild and unwieldy like she had went front turning on a faucet to trying to control the flow of a river. It was easier to fill up the glass, but it was also easier to drown in it.

Something was in the water, a beast lurking in the depths, watching her, waiting, a constant reminder that she was not alone. And she would never truly be alone again.

Rin tied a knot on the air balloon. It was about the right size, and her lips hurt from blowing up so many of these stupid balloons. The pack Jiraiya had given her wasn't even halfway empty yet.

Careful. Just a sip. A drop. The balloon popped the moment her chakra filtered into it. Rin grit her teeth. What was the point? How was this going to help her? "Lord Jiraiya, is this really what's best for me?"

The old man groaned, looking like a grandpa woken up from his afternoon nap. "Huh? Oh, I'm still trying to figure out what to do with you. The Rasengan is Busy work."

How could Minato call this man his sensei? He was so… so… flaky! Like he didn't have a plan and was just flying by the seat of his pants. It was frustrating.

"Look," Jiraiya sat up, rolling his shoulders to look her in the eyes. "I know is hard for you. But I'm still not sure on how best to handle the Sanbi."

"Still. Why the Rasengan? Wouldn't I be better off with an actual chakra control exercise?" Rin asked, she couldn't get the Rasengan the first time even with her excellent control. This just felt pointless.

"Sure, you can train however you want." Jiraiya shrugged. "The Rasengan is just useful like that, It's a versatile jutsu, just learning it helps you get better chakra control, and not just for form either but spiritual as well. Minato had wanted it to be his ultimate legacy. His gift to the Leaf, a jutsu that every leaf ninja would learn in the academy. That's why he made the steps the way they are, to make them so simple that an academy student could learn them."

"Really?" He had taught them all the jutsu, or at least tried to. It did have all the elements of molding chakra; Physical, Power, and Control.

"Yep," Jiraiya scratched at the scruff on his chin. "Minato never did anything without at least three reasons."

"And what about you?" Rin took another step forward. "I've watched you train Naruto." It was less training and more Jiraiya just watching him with that same stupid look on his face. "And I can't understand why you're having him do more of the same."

"Minato and Naruto are kind of the same." Jiraiya nodded towards Naruto as the boy maintained a Rasengan several times larger than a normal one.

Rin focused on Naruto. Besides looks, Naruto was nothing like her sensei. "I'm not seeing it."

"They do a lot with a little," Jiraiya cracked a smile. "How many Jutsu do you think your Sensei knew?"

"Umm a lot?" Minato always seemed able to help her with even Medical Jutsu, and Obito with whatever fire jutsu he was having problems with.

"And how many did he use in a fight?"

Two. Minato only ever used two jutsu. Hiraishin, and Rasengan. "Two?"

"That's right, Minato fought using two jutsu, sure he could summon toads. But when it was just him, he used two jutsu. Two jutsu, and a lot of fancy throwing." Jiraiya laughed. "But he did a lot with those two Jutsu, more than a lot of other people ever could. And that's not just because of how powerful the jutsu is. It was as much his mastery over it as it was how he could use it. A simple jutsu can be used in many more ways than a complicated one."

"Take Kakashi for example. What can his Chidori do?" The man turned towards her, and she was beginning to see the pieces.

The Chidori was powerful and strong, as strong as the Rasengan perhaps. But it could only do one thing. "Kill."

"Exactly. And the Hiraishin on its own can't do that. But it can do a lot more. There's a lot of value in being anywhere at anytime. For a guy like Minato, who planned five steps ahead at all times it was perfect." Jiraiya nodded towards Naruto. "Naruto's the same way. But with his Shadow Clone Jutsu Naruto can be everywhere at once. Naruto makes things up as he goes, which is why having a versatile jutsu is more important than having a bunch of powerful jutsu that do one thing."

"Oh," Rin blinked. That actually made a lot of sense. "But wouldn't a bunch of jutsu that do a bunch of different things be better."

"For someone like my sensei. That can earn you the title God of Shinobi. He had a jutsu for every situation." Jiraiya's face fell and he stared at Naruto with dead eyes. "But, Naruto. He's an idiot, an idiot with a great future. But an idiot nonetheless."

"You might be a great teacher, Lord Jiraiya." Rin looked at Naruto just in time for his oversized Rasengan to blow out. "But you're kind of an ass."

Jiraiya just laughed. "You're not the first woman to tell me that. But, I think I have an idea on where to start with you."

"Which is?" Rin asked. She should trust Jiraiya more, he at least seemed like he knew what he was doing. That or he was really good at just making stuff up.

He pointed towards a creek, "We're going to go with the current. Instead of trying to get your chakra control to return to what it used to be, it might be better to just go with the flow and focus on doing what the Sanbi can do."

"And water's going to help me with that?"

Jiraiya nodded. "The Sanbi has a strong affiliation with Water, so learning to control water is your first step to controlling the Sanbi."

"Great," Rin muttered staring at the babbling brooke just through the trees. "Just great."

XXXX

"Hey brat!" Jiraiya's voice drew his attention away from his jutsu just long enough for it to collapse in a puff of air.

He had it that time! He knew he did. He could practically feel it in his bones! But that stupid pervert just had to ruin his concentration! "What?"

"Com'ere." Jiraiya waved him over to the stream where Rin stood ankle deep in the water.

"Stupid pervert," Naruto mumbled under his breath. Still, it meant he got to train with Rin. Unless Jiraiya was sending him to town again. He was totally going to spend all the perverts money on ramen again if it was for something stupid. How was he even supposed to bring home beer and ladies?

The creek was wide, and crystal clear filled with thousands of smooth stones, a few minos could be seen, through the majority of them were nibbling at Rin's feet as she tried not to giggle. Bandages still covered much of her arms and the upper part of her legs, but she had her hair tied in a ponytail that sat on top of her head.

She looked adorable.

"Uhh, hi Rin." The water was freezing as it rushed between his toes.

"Oh hi," She nodded at him, "I don't really know what we're doing over here."

"That makes three of us!" Jiraiya slapped a hand onto his head and ruffled the his hair in that painful grating way. "I'll be honest I'm just taking a long shot with this, so if you feel like its getting rough, I want both of you to let me know."

"Water is one of the easiest elements to manipulate." Jiraiya reached down cupping a bit of the stream in his hand and letting it fall. "Mostly because you can touch it and move it with your own hands. For that reason alone it makes an excellent way to learn chakra control. Especially for those that have a water affinity, which Rin likely has because of the Sanbi."

"Actually, water is one of my affinities," Rin smiled. "But I never really practiced with it because I prefered medical jutsu."

"Affinities?" What were these guys talking about? This sounded like another thing he would have learned if he paid attention in class. Which meant it was probably boring to talk about. But really awesome to do right. "What are those?"

"Oh!" Rin smiled holding up a finger, "Affinities are kind of what your chakra like to do naturally. It makes jutsu that share an affinity with it easier to do, some jutsu are even impossible without an affinity. Kakashi's Chidori is an example of a jutsu with a Lightning affinity."

"Man that's so cool!" Naruto squirmed in the water. He probably had a badass affinity like explosions or death! Wait he used a lot of shadow clones! It had to be shadow right? "Hey hey, Pervy-sage what kind of an affinity do I have?"

Jiraiya shrugged. "Wind probably."

"Ehh how do you know that? I don't know any wind jutsu!" Wind sounded so lame! Jiraiya had to be wrong.

"Because you're such an airhead."

"Hey!"

Rin gave a soft laugh that squelched his anger. At least for right now. "You two fight like siblings."

"Anyways," Jiraiya groaned popping his neck loud enough to be heard. "That's not important right now. I don't know any Wind or Water Jutsu, but this is a training technique that Sarutobi-sensei taught me."

He fished into the water and pulled out a stone. "Now then, it's a bit like the second stage of the Rasengan, in that power is key." He rolled the smooth stone around in his hands showing them ever side of it.

"But so to is control." He pushed the rock down into the water, ripples began to form around his hand, radiating outwards and bubbles began to form around the rock, growing more and more. "I actually think this is what inspired Tsunade's monstrous strength. Or at least the failure state of it does."

The bubbles stopped and he held up the same stone. Now completely spherical. "You see, to much power and the stone cracks, or shatters. To little and nothing happens. Basically just press push the water around the stone until you get something nice and smooth."

"With all the warning to had at the start I thought you were going to give us something cool to do like a new jutsu! Like being able to control the water and make it slap people!" Naruto whined.

"I actually think it's a pretty creative exercise." Rin knelt down into the water, picking up one of the stones. For a moment nothing happened, then a cracked formed. "It's harder than it looks to."

Great now he looked like a jerk in front of Rin. Thanks a lot Jiraiya! Slamming his hand into the creek Naruto grabbed a rock. He looked towards Rin smiling. "So how did you make it do that? I'm not very good with chakra stuff."

"Well, you start by-"

XXXX

"So, are you an Inuzuka?"

If he wasn't training, Naruto seemed to lack the Natural ability to leave her alone. In a lot of ways he was like a puppy, or like that cat she fed once that kept coming back and meowing at her for food. Only less cute, and a lot harder to ignore. Maybe the cat was still alive?

"What are you talking about?" Rin asked poking at her food for the hundredth time. She should eat, she knew that. But her appetite just wasn't there. So she poked, like a child playing with her food.

Naruto sat down next to her, a cup of instant ramen was in his hands. She was beginning to think that his hair was blond from the sear amount of noodles he ate. It couldn't be good for him. Then again, she really didn't have a lot of room to talk about proper eating right now. "Those markings on your cheeks, they're kind of like what my friend Kiba and his Sister have."

"Oh," He snapped his finger. "And they were Inuzuka!"

Right, the dog clan. "No, I'm not, last name is Nohara."

"Ah," Naruto took a noisy slurp from his noodles. "So, why do you have those purple stripes? Not that there's anything wrong with them, I think they're neat."

"Neat, huh?" Rin took a bite of her food, popping a crunchy ball of rice into her mouth. "Well, the woman that taught me Medical Jutsu had them." That was an old sting, from her days in the academy, before she was part of Team Seven. "Miku, was killed in the Third Ninja War so these are kind of my way of remembering her."

"I'm sorry," his ramen dropped ever so slightly. "I shouldn't have asked a question like that."

"It's fine." It was fine. Everything was fine. Really really fine. "She was kind of like a mother to me, but it happened a long time ago."

Way to long ago.

"Still." Naruto left his word hanging, a forgotten thought to never be touched again. He looked sadder about the subject than she was.

"What about you?" She needed to change the subject, to get her head out of the past. Being there wasn't going to help her. Another crunchy rice ball popped into her mouth. Somehow she had eaten half of her meal without even thinking about it.

"Huh?"

"Are you from a clan or anything?"

"Oh," Now he really looked sad. Then he took a deep breath and sat up, shoulders back like he was overflowing with pride. "Nah, I'm an orphan."

"You too huh?" Rin poked at one of the last few rice balls, rolling it around the container. When was the last time she talked about this? Right, when Miss Kushina was threatening to adopt her. That would have been something.

"Yea, The Old Man, uhh Third Hokage, said that I was found after the Fourth Hokage sealed the Kyuubi into me, and that I was a newly born." Naruto smiled up at the sun as it began its long journey behind the mountains to bathe their valley in shadow. "He said that my parents died as heroes."

"Did he ever tell you their names?" Rin asked.

"He said that he'd tell me when I was older." Naruto, smiled. "I used to hope that they were gone on some super awesome top secret mission and one day they would come back and I'd have a family. Kind of silly right?"

"Not at all." She was out of food and the taste was already fading from her mouth. "What's it like being a Jinchuriki?"

That killed Naruto's cheerful demeanour, and the temperature dropped as the shadow of the mountain finally fell over them. Had she'd overstepped her bounds? He was so open with it before, it was practically the first thing he said to her.

"People avoid you." Naruto took a long breath. "No matter what I did they kept ignoring me like I didn't exist, a lot of kids my age were told to avoid me. I got called demon a lot. I got really annoyed by it. So I started to prank people. Then they noticed me and were really mad about it. They started to kick me out of their shops so I pranked them again."

"That probably didn't help."

"Yea well they deserved it." Naruto's chest swelled with pride. "And I was good at it, one time I painted over all the Hokage faces! Iruka-sensei was so mad at that."

Rin scrunched up her face, and snorted. Minato was the Fourth Hokage right? "Why would you paint the Hokage Monument? It sounded like you liked them."

"Because I'm going to become the Greatest Hokage! Believe it!" He shot up pointing towards the sky.

Rin blinked, feeling her lips tug into a smile. It felt like her first smile. Before she broke out into a massive fit of giggles. She could see it clearly now. The parallels that connected Naruto and Obito and that dream that connected them. "I'm sure you will Naruto."

He grinned at her and took his seat once again. "Thanks, I'm sure you'll become a great ninja as well."

"Sure." Her smile left with the wind. What was her dream? Minato-sensei had once told her that trying to find a dream was just as important as having one. Sometimes it was easy, sometimes it was hard. Kushina would then come in and shout something about never giving up until the very end.

Sensei, huh?

"Say Naruto." She already has his attention, but he still perked up, sitting a bit more properly. "Do you hate Minato-sensei for sealing the Kyuubi in you?"

"Minato?" His face scrunched up. "Oh, he's the Fourth Hokage right? I mean. I kind of resent him for it, I guess." He fell onto his back staring up at the oning. "I don't know. I just want to know why me? Why couldn't it have been some other kid? Someone that had a family or something?"

"It was bad enough being an orphan," Naruto muttered under his breath.

"Well, I knew Minato-sensei pretty well." It was weird to think that he of all people could be killed. He seemed so invincible, both on and off the battlefield. It made sense that he was made the Hokage. "He wouldn't do something for no reason and if he choose you to hold the Kyuubi then he must have believed that you were the best choice. That you could control it."

"Rin," he muttered still staring up at the ceiling, tears gathered at the edge of his eyes and his lips were twisted upwards into a smile. "Thank you."

She fell on her back next to him. "No problem."

"Wait!" Naruto shot up, wide eyes staring down at her. "You were taught by the Fourth Hokage?"

Did he have to be so loud?

AN: Beta'd by xxTerror33xx. More Cute Naruto and Rin moments! Yay! I had a lot of problems with this chapter in deciding what to do with it. A lot of the scenes I wanted to write felt to soon. So I settled for this. I hope you all enjoyed!

Please let me know what you thought of it!