Hinata's screaming woke Naruto the next morning. "Naruto, there's something else in your sleeping bag."

He started to chuckle. "Oh, is that all? I thought that someone was attacking." He reached down into it and pulled the fox kit out. "Sorry, I forgot to tell you. I found him outside by himself last night, so I brought him in out of the rain. I don't think he can care for himself yet."

He had expected her to be at least a little mad for making her worry, but she smiled and giggled. "That's really sweet of you Naruto, but you know that if he's alone and can't care for himself then he's probably an orphan."

Naruto's smile got even bigger. "I know, that's why I'm gonna keep him. He's young enough that I can teach him how to survive in the village and as long as he doesn't sprout eight more tails, no one should care. Even if they do, an outcast pet for an outcast."

"What do you plan to name him?"

"I was thinking Minato." She was shocked. "I think it's fitting, don't you? Yondaime reincarnated as the same type of creature he gave his life to stop."

From the way he spoke, it sounded to Hinata, like he had a deep-rooted hatred toward the Fourth Hokage. 'That's not possible, he wouldn't have been more than a few hours old when the Hokage died.' Naruto hadn't noticed the look on her face.

"He has the potential to became as powerful as Kyuubi with enough training and I could probably teach him to talk too."

"If he does become that powerful I hope he doesn't go on a rampage like it did."

"Me too, I don't want him to end up like the Kyuubi." 'And I wouldn't wish my life on anybody else.'

After three months of hauling heavy dead trees and boulders, Naruto bought training weights using the money he had saved from his pervious missions. It had only been a week, and he was already wearing as much weight as Lee did against Gaara.

"I'm surprised you can move around so much with that kind of weight. It must be close to time for you to add more."

"Just about, it will probably be a couple days."

Hinata was looking around the clearing they had set up camp in. "Where did Minato go?"

Naruto smiled. "He saw a rabbit, he's getting really good at hunting. He won't be long."

Almost as soon as the words left Naruto's mouth, he came out of some nearby brush, dragging a white rabbit. He brought it before Naruto, who cut off a fairly large piece of the meat with his kunai. He handed the piece to Minato, who then curled up at Naruto's feet and ate happily.

Every now and then, Naruto would glance in Hinata's directions. But when his eyes fell upon her, he didn't want to look away. 'She's not nearly as shy as she was before. She hasn't fainted once this entire trip, and she even blushing less.' The fact of the matter is that she only blushed when she caught him staring, like now, and when they accidentally touched. He even found himself doing the same. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew that something had changed between them.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the only thing that changed. They were both growing, and before long, they would need new clothes. "Hey Hinata, when was the last time we went to a village?"

"Last month, I'm not sure of the date, but it was a few days before my birthday. So a little over two weeks ago."

His jaw dropped. "Why didn't you tell me that your birthday was so close? We could have celebrated."

She answered a little irritated. "Because we didn't celebrate yours."

Naruto smiled. 'I didn't think anyone our age knew when my birthday is.' "We were in the middle of nowhere then. Besides, I haven't ever celebrated it, and since you know when it is, you should realize why."

"It's a day of mourning in the village, not out here."

He wasn't smiling anymore. "There is another reason I don't celebrate, but it has to do with what I want to tell you. I still not sure how to tell you the biggest part of it." He remained silent for a minute before smiling again. "We got really off track. The reason I asked is because we need to get some new clothes, and I think Minato got into our food."

"What makes you think that?"

"Everything is chewed on. Apparently, he's a lot more like me than I thought, he ate everything except the veggies."

"Okay, we'll go into town tomorrow, but this time we'll have to keep it away from him."

"I don't see how. He won't fall for genjutsu, his nose will lead him right to it, and we can't put it in a tree because he and other creatures can climb."

"We'll think of something."

The next morning, they walk towards the village talking about what to get.

"We're going to get clothes first, then eat lunch, and then get supplies. Naruto, chances are that we're going to keep growing, so just buy something that's comfortable and fits, don't go too crazy."

"I know, but I gotta get something I can train in with room for my weights."

He worn a large smile as he played with the fox kit lying on his shoulders. As she watched him trying to stop Minato from nibbling on his hair, she saw something that she hadn't noticed before. He had taken the spirals off of his jacket.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her staring at him with a smile on her face. "What is it Hinata?"

She was startled by his voice, she didn't think that he had noticed. She blushed slightly. "The two of you just remind me of Kiba and Akamaru, that's all."

He turned his attention to her. "I know it none of my business, but you two seem really close. Are you two dating or something?"

Her eyes widened. 'Did he really just ask me that?' Naruto felt really embarrassed, and started scratching the back of his head. "No, we're just friends. But he's always after me to tell the one I do like how I feel." 'I'll just give him subtle hints until he ready to tell me.'

"Who is it? Come on Hinata, tell me please."

"You can guess if you want, but I'll say no every time."

"Fine." A sly smile spreads over his face. "I'll guess and see how you react, that should tell me."

'Shit, I hadn't thought of that. Would he guess himself?'

"Hmm… you said it wasn't Kiba, so maybe Shino or Shikamaru?" She laughed. "I'll take that as a no, but I hope it's not Sasuke because as much as I hate to admit it, I'm hoping Sakura gets him." She shook her head. "It's not Sai is it?" Again she shook her head. "That's a relief because I pretty sure he's gay. Is he older?"

"No, same age."

"Well that leaves out Bushy brows."

They were just about at the village by now. "Would you drop it for now, we can pick it up again once we leave."

"Alright, but by then I'll have probably figured it out. There aren't many more candidates."

'I doubt it Naruto, or else you would have years ago.' Hinata ran up to an elderly woman to ask directions. "Excuse me ma'am, but could you tell me where the nearest clothes store is?"

"Certainly dear, there's one a few stores down. There's a big sign outside, you can't miss it."

Hinata bowed. "Thank you ma'am."

"You're very welcome my dear." Hinata bowed again before running back over to Naruto.

Almost immediately after entering, Hinata ran off to the other side of the store. Naruto just shrugged and wandered around looking for something that fit his needs. He picked up a few things here and there before he went to the changing room to try them on.

He decide on a black sleeveless shirt, a pair of dark blue pants that were a little loose around the legs, and an almost blood red robe-like over coat to cover the weights. Everything was slightly too big, but it was a good thing, because if Hinata was right, and there they were going to keep growing, then these would last a while. He changed back and went to pay for them.

When he arrived at the counter, Hinata was taking the bag with her new clothes inside. She waited for him and they walked out together.

"Hey Hinata, do you want to see if they have a public bath house, so we can get cleaned up and change before lunch?" She smiled and muttered sure. "Great, but first we have to find out if there is one." He runs over to a man passing by. "Excuse me, but is there a public bath house in this village?"

"Yes there is. Ya see that road there?" He pointed to a road not too far from where they stood and Naruto nods. "Ya take that to the end and take a right, it's right in front of ya."

Naruto smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem, but I should warn ya…" His dropped to a whisper. "If they catch ya peeping, they'll throw ya out."

Naruto was getting pissed, but he controlled himself. "I'm not a pervert."

The man waved and walked away when Hinata walked up behind Naruto. "Is everything all right Naruto?"

He forced a smile. "Fine, I got direction to the baths." He grabbed her hand, making her blush, and lead her towards them.

He didn't really think about what he was doing or notice that Hinata was blushing because he had other things on his mind. 'That asshole didn't even know about Ero-sennin and still thought that I was a pervert! I bet that he wouldn't have said anything if I would've had Hinata with me when I asked. Then again, maybe he would have, he might have thought she was my girlfriend.'

It was then that reality caught up with him. He realized that he was holding her hand and a light blush spread across his face. They had reached the point where they were to go right, and Naruto stopped, letting go of her hand. Both of them still red in the face.

They spent the next half hour there, and Naruto, being the first one out, anxiously waited for Hinata. When she finally came out, his jaw hit the floor. 'She's gorgeous. How the hell didn't I notice before?!' She smiled and blushed a color close to crimson. "Wow." He felt a little stupid for it, but it was the only thing he could manage to say. Hinata giggled, which made him blush too, but not as deeply.

She wore an oversized, violet overcoat like his with a darker sash around her waist. He assumed that there was a something under this, but wasn't sure. She also a pair of black pants similar to her old ones. He smiled wide and couldn't help but stare.

She smiled back and walked over to him. "Let's go get something to eat." She takes his hand in her own and lead him out. 'So much for subtle.'

Lunch was nothing out of the ordinary, ramen and tea, but Naruto didn't eat much. He was distracted by his thoughts, and couldn't take his eyes off of her. 'How the hell could I be so dense? The only thing missing was a big sign over her head that said 'I like Naruto'. Now I know what the fainting was all about.'

Laughter of lunacy rings out in his head. 'You're just realizing it now Kit?'

'You knew? What the fuck, why didn't you tell me?'

'It doesn't concern me.'

'That's never stopped you before!'

'I don't care for affairs of the heart. Demons have no need for such emotions. We seek out a healthy partner to mate with, nothing more.'

'So you would be perfectly happy spending eternity alone?'

'I would prefer it that way Kit.'

'I have spent enough time alone, and I'm not going back to that. I'm going to tell her and if she wants to plunge a kunai through my heart afterward, so be it. I won't stop her, death would be better than being alone again.'

Hinata had seen his face go from happiness to anger in the blink of an eye. "Naruto, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I'm just pissed at myself for not realizing sooner."

She started to blush again. 'Did he figure it out?'

"I'm going to tell you everything tonight, after dinner." She was going to ask him if he was sure, but she knew what he would say.

Shopping for supplies seemed to take less time then she or Naruto thought. As they walked through the forest looking for a suitable place to set up camp, she noticed that Naruto seemed more distracted than usual. His eyes were darting around looking through the trees. "Is everything all right Naruto?"

"Yeah, I thought I heard something, but it's probably just an animal."

"I could always use my Byakugan to check."

"Nah, there's no need, I pretty sure it's gone." Even though she knew he didn't really believe that, she didn't press the subject.

It was getting dark by the time they chose a spot on the riverbank next to a waterfall. "It's getting dark, we should start dinner."

Naruto looked over at her and smiled. "Before we do, we should ask if our guest will be joining us for dinner." She looked at him confused and he just looked over at the tree line, she followed his gaze. "How about it, care to join us Sasuke?!"

Bushy Brows- Rock Lee