Yo...

Hope you enjoy the chapter, though half of you probably arent...

In this chapter, chances are, you're going to find out what the pairing is...

Whether or not you do, well, i don't really care... Just keep it a secret for now...

By the way, this story is going to be a collaboration between myself and Hinatasgreatestfan who is my newest BETA, friend, and part-time smartass but then again, what good friends aren't right? You agree with me, don'tcha Zentary ^^

Either way, I'm glad to have his cooperation and you should probably read his stories, they're actually better than the stuff I write...

Eh, what can I say? some people have it, I just don't...

Still, I keep getting told my stories aren't half bad so I'll take their words on it...

On to the chapter...

"The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people."
— Theodore Roosevelt

Chapter 3: Chains of Fate

Enjoy the chapter... I don't own anything...

**Quick reminder: Naruto is 14 and everyone else is 13...

Minato stared intently at the papers in his hands. The mission was simple; there's been some suspicious activity near the Land of Fire's borders. It was nothing special, go there, check out what's going on and report back. He put down the mission scroll and grabbed the file that contained available teams. There weren't that many and he needed a team specifically designed for tracking. Two teams fit that description perfectly.

Making a decision, Minato closed the file and rolled up the mission scroll before pocketing it and leaving his office. Upon hearing the Hokage's door open, his secretary looked back and a blush automatically appeared on her tan cheeks. She shyly brushed aside a stray black hair and her brown eyes shifted to the scroll in Minato's hand.

"Y-Yondaime-sama, are you going to assign someone that mission?" His secretary asked and Minato put on a smile and nodded his head. "Here, let me call someone to deliver it and-"

"No," She was about to pick up her phone but was stopped by Minato's sudden proclamation. "It's fine; I need a break from the office." He said and waved to her as he left. He sighed and shook his head when he had his back turned to her. Fourteen years of marriage and the fangirls were still everywhere. Stepping into the sunlight, Minato couldn't help but smile as he noticed how peaceful his village was. Even with the 'death' of his son, he had somehow managed to successfully lead his village into prosperity and peace within the Five Great Nations. Sure, they weren't really allied with the other four nations but they weren't at war either.

He smiled and waved at the villagers he passed by, occasionally making small talk with the shinobi he ran into. He knew where he was going; the team he was looking for would always train at the same training ground. After walking for about ten minutes, he walked into the borders of training ground twelve. He was about to call for the team's sensei when he saw the three Genin working together in a spar against her.

Their sensei had black, shoulder-length untamed hair, and very unique eyes that were red in color, with an additional ring in them. She wore make-up consisting of red lipstick and purple eye shadow. Her regular outfit consisted of a red mesh armor blouse with only the right sleeve visible. Over this was very broad material which resembled bandages with a pattern on it similar to those of rose thorns. Her hands and upper thighs were also wrapped in bandages and had the Konoha forehead protector and regular shinobi sandals.

Their sensei, one Kurenai Yūhi, swiftly dodged a drill while also avoiding being captured by the Aburame clan's kikaichū bugs. The drill that she so easily avoided stopped in midair and Minato could see a boy growling. His attire consisted of dark grayish pants reaching to his calves and a gray, hooded fur-lined coat, with the hood usually placed on his head, over an apparent plate of armor and fishnet undershirt with a blue forehead protector and blue sandals.

Another boy appeared from a column of bugs. He had bushy dark brown hair, pale skin, and was the taller of the two boys. He was sporting the same style as the rest of his clan, consisting of dark sunglasses and a sea-green jacket with a high, upturned collar. A wave of insects appeared and with a simple motion from the taller boy, the insects rushed towards Kurenai.

Minato noticed that both boys were leading their sensei to the edge of the training grounds where he saw, from his angle, a young girl hiding behind a tree. The girl had dark blue hair and fair skin; traits Minato knew she inherited from her mother, and lavender eyes. Her hair was a hime-cut style, with chin-length strands framing her face. She wore a cream colored hooded-jacket with a fire symbol on the upper right and left sleeves and fur around the cuffs and hem, with navy blue pants.

He smiled softly at seeing Hinata again. He'd been there for Hiashi when she was born. He was freaking out and Minato had to laugh at his usually stoic friend's expression. She was such a beautiful baby, just like...

Minato looked away, down to his feet as a mental image of a newborn Naruto in his beautiful wife's arms entered his mind. He shook his head and looked back up just in time to see Hinata jump out of her hiding spot and try to hit her sensei with a chakra powered palm. Minato couldn't hold back a chuckle as he watched Kurenai back flip over Hinata whose eyes widened at her sensei's limberness and agility. Kurenai landed with the grace of a veteran ballet dancer and extended her left leg as she knelt down and spun in place, making Hinata fall to her left side. Minato was amazed but not surprised when Hinata immediately rolled away from her sensei, used the momentum to raise her self up with her hands and flip away.

She landed beside her two teammates, her breathing a bit labored. Minato was surprised when Hinata turned her head in his direction, but his surprise was wiped away when he noticed that Hinata still had her Byakugan active.

"Someone's here." Kiba stated as he took another whiff of the air, along with his furry companion who barked in agreement. Hinata bowed her head as Minato walked toward team 8 whilst clapping his hands.

"That was a very inspiring display. You have an extraordinary team here, Kurenai." Minato complimented, causing Kurenai to smile pridefully. Her team also smiled but Hinata blushed as well, enjoying Minato's kind words. "It makes me more assured about Konoha's future and the continuation of the Will of Fire. It also makes me confident I won't have to worry about you four while you're out on your mission." Team 8, Kurenai included, blinked in surprise and confusion.

"Mission?" Kiba asked and Minato nodded. He tossed Kurenai the mission scroll. Kurenai caught it and unrolled it. After reading it, she looked at her leader with questioning red eyes.

"Question?" He asked with humor in his voice, his smile widening and his eyes crinkling at seeing her reaction.

"Are you sure you want us to do this mission, Hokage-sama?" Kurenai asked and Minato raised an eyebrow in wonderment, though his smile never wavered.

"Are you doubting your team's abilities, Kurenai?" Minato teased and Kurenai shook her head. She was about to say something but Minato beat her to it. "Very well then."

"Not that I mind getting another mission, but what are you doing here?" Kiba asked and Kurenai leveled him with a light glare. Kiba's eyes shifted to the ground under him and Minato laughed as he focused his gaze on the scolded boy.

"I needed to get out of that cramped office so I came to personally deliver your mission to you." Minato turned his gaze back on Kurenai. "Unless, your sensei doesn't think you're capable enough to complete the mission." Team 8 looked at their sensei with an inquiring expression and Kurenai sweat dropped.

"It's not that I'm doubtful, just curious as to why us," she answered and Minato shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

"For the past two months, your team has been completing D-rank missions without complaint. Think of this as a reward for making my life as a Hokage that much less troublesome." He laughed and watched as his laughter caused everyone to adopt a smile on their face.

"Well, I should probably head back, I think I've procrastinated enough as it is." He waved to team 8 as he left. Kurenai and Hinata bowed while Kiba was talking animatedly to Shino, who seemed as passive as ever. "Ah, to be young," he muttered as he headed back to work. When he left, Kurenai turned to her team and smiled.

"All right team, this is a fairly simple mission. We're going to go to the Land of Fire's borders and investigate some suspicious activities. If we can handle the threat, we are allowed to confront the target and eliminate it. If it proves to be too much, we call for back up and run. No if's, and's or but's. Is that understood?" Team 8 nodded their heads and Kurenai sighed. "You are to go home and prepare for this mission. It will take at least a day to go there, two days to search the area and then another day to return. Pack accordingly. Dismissed."

"Hai!" Team 8 shouted before turning and heading for their respective homes. Kurenai saw Kiba talking to both his teammates with so much life, waving his arms around and smiling like a child at a toy store. Hinata giggled and even though Shino didn't show it, Kurenai knew he was enjoying the companionship with his teammates. After watching them disappear from her line of sight, Kurenai headed for her home.

[*.*.*.*]

Naruto ducked as he jumped back and stared passively at his sparring partner. He sighed, his mind occupied by his memories of the last two months. He was assigned to his team and was teamed with Kurotsuchi, Daichi and his sensei.

He was somewhat surprised that Kurotsuchi was on his team, though he should've known better. Damn that old man...

Kurotsuchi sat on the side of the training field, watching him and Daichi spar vigorously. She seemed so focused on him that Naruto felt a bit anxious. Why exactly was she staring at him like he was freaking Kami?

Girls were weird...

"Pay attention." Came the voice of Naruto's sparring partner. Naruto barely avoided a kick headed for his head but wasn't prepared for Daichi to spin and then send a kick to the chest. Naruto rolled and used the momentum from the kick to jump to his feet, just in time to see Daichi heading towards him. Taking out a kunai from his pouch, Naruto met Daichi in the middle and parried off the kunai Daichi took out earlier.

Staring into his gray eyes, Naruto smiled as he easily pushed Daichi back and slammed his knee into Daichi's chin. Naruto waited passively as Daichi tried to catch his second wind. The boy Naruto stood over was easily a foot taller than him. He had short brown hair and wore a long sleeved shirt that covered his hands, along with dark red pants and black shinobi shoes.

Naruto took a sharp jump to the left as Daichi shifted his right arm and threw a kunai at Naruto. Having easily dodged Daichi's kunai, Naruto took out more kunai and tossed them at his fallen comrade/sparring partner. Daichi jumped to his feet and leapt back, away from the kunai's destination. He held back a gasp when he saw Naruto appear behind him with a kunai positioned at the small of his back.

"Nice move." Daichi said as he stared back at Naruto with a smirk. Naruto responded with a smirk of his own and pushed Daichi forward.

"Not bad Naruto, hm." Naruto turned to his sensei. Even though Ōnoki, Han and Roshi trained him in the last six years, he had also received guidance from his sensei. He looked up to him, being a jonin sensei at such a young age. He was only sixteen. "Your head still seems to be in the clouds but as long as you avoid getting distracted, you'll do fine in future missions, hm."

"Thanks, Deidara-sensei." Deidara smirked at his charges. He was wearing the standard outfit of an Iwagakure shinobi. When Naruto first met Deidara, he was surprised to see that he had blond hair. Naruto touched his own hair; he decided to let it grow out and return to its natural blond color. It was an odd look but Naruto had to get used to it. It was his way of rebelling against the old man. Besides, it wasn't all that bad; it sort of made him look related to his sensei.

Deidara clapped his hands once and his eye crinkled as his smile widened.

"I got a sort of surprise for all of you." His team groaned.

"If it's another clay sculpture of us, no thanks, I have enough at home." Kurotsuchi said as she held her arms up in rejection but Deidara laughed.

"No, it's nothing like that, but you could at least pretend you like my art, hm." Deidara joked and Kurotsuchi shook her head with a soft smile. "The mission is almost over; we'll be heading home soon." Naruto smiled.

"Yes, this boring mission is almost over!" He shouted with glee and Kurotsuchi and Daichi laughed at his energetic cheer.

"All we have to wait for is the Hoshikage's reply and we're done." Deidara continued. "While we wait, practice on your evasion skills, hm." Deidara said as he created a couple of clones and they stood on both sides of him. "Naruto, come with me, I need to speak with you." Naruto nodded as the two Deidara clones ran past him and towards the remaining two charges. Naruto followed Deidara, who led him to the far side of the training ground.

"What is it, Deidara-sensei?" Naruto asked as Deidara faced him with a smile laced in his lips.

"There's a jutsu I want to teach you, hm." He answered bluntly and Naruto smiled at the prospect of learning a new jutsu to add to his arsenal. However, his joy was overcome with his inquisitive nature.

"What about Kurotsuchi and Daichi?" He asked and Deidara looked back at his team as they ran away from his clones.

"They can't handle this kind of jutsu just yet." His light blue eyes shifted back to Naruto, whose eyes never left his sensei. "Their chakra reserves aren't at the level this jutsu requires. You, however, because of your tenant, can probably perform this jutsu without breaking a sweat, hm." Naruto's eyes lit up again.

"Okay, so what is it?" Naruto asked, his energetic need to learn jutsu shining in his cerulean eyes. Deidara motioned Naruto to turn and focus on his two teammates. Naruto turned and saw Kurotsuchi narrowly dodging the clone's kunai while Daichi stared at his clone intently, anticipating its moves.

"Very good!" Deidara shouted, loud enough so his team could hear him. The two clones stopped in their tracks and all four focused their attention on the blond sensei. "I want you two to spar with the clones. No ninjutsu, strictly taijutsu. Begin." Daichi and Kurotsuchi jumped back as the Deidaras ran at them with a kunai in each hand.

"So?" Deidara shifted his eyes to Naruto who was looking at him expectantly. "What's the jutsu?"

"What kind of clones do you think I made?" The question threw Naruto off and he shifted his gaze back to the clones. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Rock Clone?" Deidara's smile widened, his eyes never leaving his charges.

"Just watch, hm." Naruto kept his eyes on Deidara before switching to the clones. His eyes narrowed; their movements and characteristics weren't different from the rock clone. That is, until Daichi managed to land a solid punch on the clone's chin. Naruto's eyes widened when the clone just exploded and left a cloud of smoke behind. Daichi blinked in surprise, having expected the clone to crumble into pieces of rock.

With his eyes in danger of popping out of his head, Naruto could only stare at his sensei who laughed at his expression.

"That is called the Shadow Clone Jutsu." Deidara answered Naruto's unasked question. "A useful jutsu, better than the Rock Clone Jutsu. When the clone expires, its memories and any remaining chakra is sent back to the original." Deidara said as he tapped his temple.

"So why teach it to me?" Naruto asked and Deidara raised an eyebrow.

"Do you not want to learn it, hm?" Naruto shook his head feverishly. "Then let's get started, hm?"

[*.*.*.*]

Deidara watched as Naruto smirked with confidence as his clones were successfully pushing his teammates to their limits. The boy was a genius, easily learning the jutsu in under two hours and even summoning about twenty on his first successful attempt.

"All right, stop." Deidara called out and the Narutos froze in their place. Daichi and Kurotsuchi let out an inaudible sigh of relief as Daichi promptly fell on his back.

"Oh Kami, thank you for showing mercy!" Naruto chuckled as he dispersed his clones and felt the clone's memories rush into his mind. He flinched, but it was nothing he couldn't handle; he turned his attention back to Deidara.

"Team training is over, good job, hm," Deidara said. "You can do what you like, so long as whatever it is you do doesn't give Iwa a bad name."

"Hai, sensei." His team replied.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go catch up on some sleep and you all should too. We're heading out first thing in the morning." Deidara said as he disappeared and Naruto turned to his teammates.

"I'm hungry, let's get some ramen, dattebayo!" Naruto said and Kurotsuchi groaned while Daichi rolled his eyes. "What?"

"You're always eating ramen, ramen boy." Kurotsuchi answered, a bit irritable. Daichi nodded in agreement.

"Don't you ever get tired of that stuff?" He asked earnestly and Naruto looked flabbergasted.

"How could anyone ever get tired of ramen?" Naruto asked, truly befuddled. "It's only the best food on the planet."

Kurotsuchi groaned. She had come to expect comments like that from her blond teammate. Daichi just rolled his eyes again, but all three were smiling. In spite of their needling and teasing, they enjoyed one another's company immensely and, if asked, all three would claim the other two as friends.

"Oh, all right, let's get something to eat," the girl said, glaring at Naruto before adding, "But NO RAMEN!"

Naruto groaned and rolled his eyes. Daichi chuckled and patted him on the back. "Hey, Naruto, don't forget, you've got your private stash with you, I saw you pack it," he said. Naruto's eyes brightened as he remembered Daichi was right, he did have about two dozen small cups of instant ramen with him. He always packed that when he was going anywhere.

"All right, I guess I can go a meal without ramen, for you guys' sake," he said, giving them his trademark grin.

Kurotsuchi smiled at Naruto, knowing what he was up to, but flattered by his words nonetheless. "Come on, you two," she said. "Let's see what we can find to eat around here."

*.*

Naruto and his team had found a small restaurant on the edge of the village and were enjoying their tea at the moment. Naruto hadn't seen anywhere to get ramen anyway, and this place seemed nice enough, so he was satisfied. Kurotsuchi liked it because it was one of those places that seem to always have lit candles on every table and very little light otherwise; this made for a very private and - in her mind - romantic atmosphere. She blushed lightly at that thought.

Naruto noticed Kurotsuchi blushing and wondered why, but he shook it off. He and Daichi sat on one side of the table they'd been shown to, Kurotsuchi on the other. Naruto found her staring at him again and once again felt a bit anxious because of it. What in the world was she staring at him like that for?

"Kurotsuchi, why are you staring at me?" Naruto, tactless as ever, asked.

She blushed at being caught and tried to say that she wasn't, but all she could manage was a series of unintelligible sounds. Naruto was even more confused than before. Daichi, realizing what was going on, burst out laughing.

Now Naruto was totally lost. First Kurotsuchi was staring at him earlier while he was sparring with Daichi, then she was staring at him here at their table, and now Daichi was laughing uproariously for no apparent reason.

Naruto, frustrated with his confusion, turned and glared at Daichi. "What is so funny?" he asked, annoyed. This only made Daichi laugh all the harder, to the point he was almost falling off his chair. Naruto folded his arms and humphed in irritation.

Kurotsuchi, who was still stammering, finally stopped and began giggling hysterically at the - to her - very cute pout Naruto put on in his frustration. Even knowing it was in large part because of her, she couldn't help laughing herself. It didn't take long for Kurotsuchi and Daichi's laughter to become infectious. Naruto finally lost his pout and began laughing as well, even though he wasn't sure why, really. By the time their food arrived, all three were smiling and talking lightly about their mission and about going home the next day.

[*.*.*.*]

"This is far enough." Kurenai said as her team stopped behind her. "We'll set up camp and continue in the morning." Team 8 nodded as they set their packs down and began to set up camp. Hinata took out her tent but before she could start to set it up, she felt Kiba's hands go over hers.

"Don't worry about setting up the tent; I'll do it for you." He smiled and Hinata blinked. She shook her head in amusement and released the tent.

"Thank you, Kiba-kun." Kiba's cheeks gained a pink tint to them as he was exposed to Hinata's charming smile. He looked away and Hinata blinked again. "Are you okay?" She asked and Kiba nodded his head and smiled back at her. Seeing him smile was enough for Hinata so she turned her attention to her sensei, who was leaning against a tree, lost in her thoughts.

"Kurenai-sensei?" Kurenai looked at Hinata with a questioning gaze.

"Yes, what is it?" Hinata turned to Kiba and then Shino while they set up the tents.

"Is there something I can do?" She asked with a smile. Kurenai hummed to herself before returning Hinata's smile.

"How about you go find some firewood?" Hinata nodded her head and with a skip to her step, she went deeper into the forest. While she collected the firewood, she hummed a soft song, enjoying nature in all its glory.

Looking skyward, she saw a clear blue sky just starting to turn pink with the evening and a brilliantly shining sun, both enjoying the luxury of being uninterrupted by blemishes. However, Hinata knew there was probably about an hour before the sun would leave and night would take its place as ruler of the sky.

A breeze flew past Hinata and she took the time to just stand there and take in the scent of nature that came along with the breeze. She let out a deep breath and continued to collect firewood with an even wider smile.

Off in the distance, a figure watched Hinata vigilantly with a cynical smile on his face. He slowly sneaked up behind Hinata and was about to cover her mouth with a cloth in his hand when she suddenly turned around and landed a solid palm to the man's stomach. The man's eyes widened before he was engulfed in smoke and replaced with a log. Hinata dropped the firewood in her hands and fell into her battle stance, her Byakugan active and her senses on alert.

She gracefully avoided a kunai aimed for her stomach and took out her own kunai. She deflected another kunai and then another before she faced her attacker as he ran towards her. He thrust his kunai forward but Hinata turned her body at the last second, getting him close enough for her to drive her finger tips into his left arm. She sent chakra through her tips and the man winced as he felt his arm losing some feeling.

He jumped back and held his left arm with his right. He glared at Hinata before shifting his left arm up and started to make hand signs. He sucked in his breath and then released a huge tidal wave. Hinata's eyes widened as she saw the giant wave head for her. It hit her and the man smirked under his mask. The jutsu wouldn't kill her but hopefully it would knock her out. His right eyebrow rose a few inches when the water over her began to expand until all that was left was a spinning dome of water and chakra.

Hinata stopped her technique, facing her attacker with cold lavender eyes. Water droplets surrounded her before she disappeared in a blink of an eye. The man ducked under Hinata's roundhouse kick and jumped back when she spun on her heels and tried to hit him with a double palm to the chest. Suddenly, Hinata found herself surrounded by five men dressed all in black.

She defended against three of the men successfully, causing them to turn into water and fall to the ground. The other two, however, gave her a harder time as they seemed faster than the others. She parried a punch from one clone and then kicked it in the chest but the other managed to grab her right arm and slam her into a nearby tree.

She cried out in pain but retaliated quickly by shoving her elbow back and making it land on the clone's chest. With the chakra running through her elbow, she was able to disrupt the clone and cause it to crumble into the ground before returning to its natural element.

With her Byakugan, she saw the last clone heading for her before jumping into the air. Before it could reach her, however, she spun.

"Kaiten!" She shouted and the clone collided with the spinning dome of chakra, dispersing it. She stopped, the water from the clone's death still over her.

"Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!" The man shouted and Hinata's eyes widened when she was trapped in a dome of water. She looked behind her and saw the man smiling arrogantly under his mask.

"I finally have you, Hyūga." The man said. Hinata glared at him while she began to panic and began to feel claustrophobic inside the water prison. She was losing oxygen and it was only a matter of time before she lost consciousness. Before she did, though, she saw the man remove his mask and shivered at seeing his sinister smile.

[*.*.*.*]

After the three of them ate, they all made their way back to camp. Kurotsuchi crawled into her tent and was asleep within moments. Naruto and Daichi entered their tent as well. The two sat and talked a short time, then Daichi laid down and fell asleep as well. It was about then that Naruto had a sudden surge of claustrophobia. He had no idea what it meant, but he knew he couldn't stay there in the tent any longer. He crawled out of the tent silently and made his way to a nearby clearing to get some training done. He made a handful of clones and began training with them.

As he did, he did feel a little better, but something was still nagging at him. Something wasn't right, he could feel it. He just had no idea what it was.

Shaking off this foreboding feeling, Naruto returned his attention on his training. During his training with his team, he would occasionally be found among his clones and either Kurotsuchi or Daichi would try to attack him. He smiled as he remembered instinctively replacing himself with a clone. He remembered Kurotsuchi cursing her luck and admitting that she thought she had the original.

At the time, Naruto laughed, telling her that she should work on her detection skills. But if he were honest with himself, he'd admit that she would've landed a hit, or close to one, if he hadn't replaced himself with a clone. That's what he's doing now; practicing to replace himself among his clones. Of course, it wasn't that hard to do but he wanted it to be second nature.

After making sure he got the hang of it, he then divided his clones into two groups; one to replace himself with and another to attack him, to simulate an actual battle. After some time, he chuckled tiredly as he fell flat on his back and let his eyes rest for a minute while the sound of the night enter his ears. Compared to the nightlife in Iwa, every living creature was awake out here. Wiping sweat from his brow, Naruto sat up and looked up at the sky. The moon looked beautiful as always and the stars shone dully over the dark sky.

Unknown to him, a pair of eyes were also staring at the moon. Tears flowed down her cheeks as Hinata's lavender eyes blinked away the stray tears. She closed them and whimpered under her gag, more tears escaped their imprisonment as she thought of her previous life being thrown away by her kidnapper. She hoped that Kami would send someone to save her, anyone. She blinked before her eyes became cold. She grew frustrated with herself, hating that fact that she was just crying, feeling sorry for herself, and wishing for someone to save her.

She was a Hyūga, and not just any Hyūga, the Hyūga clan's heiress. She had enough skill to get herself out of this mess and when the opportunity presented itself, she would take advantage of it.

For the moment, Hinata had to be patient.

Hope ya liked it...

By now, the pairing should be obvious and if you're gunna stop reading, that's fine...

As for the rest of you who'll continue reading, I welcome you into the arms of the best pairing [in my opinon]...

Hopefully, all the pairing suggestions will stop... Please!

As far as that goes, i have no real comment to make...

Next Chapter: Actions and Motives [maybe...]

Till next time!

Good luck with whatever and if you got a problem with me or one of my stories, please feel free to: Deal with it, Get over it or Choke on it...