I need to explain some things I guess. It will be eventual Naru/Hina. Naruto has changed his attitude a bit because this is MY story. Naruto wouldn't have admitted or noticed about Hinata's finger thing in the anime/manga, I know. But this is my story and I'll write it how I see fit, besides, Naruto ha changed because he met Kanami and he noticed it because he was curious. Naruto's dream was from his subconscious or whatever it is and the Kyuubi, I just thought I'd say that. One can't control dreams and one mostly can't remember them well either. Hmm.. oh yeah, and I'm just trying to show Kanami's affections. Anyway, here goes.
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto
Chapter 4.
Naruto yawned as he sat up from his bed. He rubbed his eyes sleepily and pulled off his animal night cap. He blinked his eyes to get rid of the blurriness and looked over at his clock which read 9:30 a.m. His eyes were only half open and he got up from his bed and walked into the bathroom.
An hour later Naruto walked along a path towards a bridge Kakashi had told them to meet at. He arrived second, Hinata was there first. "Oh, hey, Hinata, where're the others, do you know?" Naruto asked, looking up at each end of the bridge. Naruto looked at her and she blushed, shaking her head. Naruto crossed his arms and stared at the end of the bridge he came from. He yawned and blinked a few times, his eyes now only slightly opened. 'Stupid night... If i hadn't been waking up all night sweating I might not be so damn tired...'. He yawned again and he looked over at Hinata, noticing she yawned after him. 'Aha! So it's true... It is contagious!' H made himself yawn purposely, just to make sure. His yawn was long and satisfying, making his eyes water. He blinked the water away and noticed Hinata yawned again, almost as long as him, and brought her arm up to her face, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. Naruto smiled and looked back at the end of the bridge, waiting.
Naruto was half asleep by time Kakashi had arrived. He was sitting at the edge of the bridge, leaning against one of the pillars that the railing was attached to, and barely aware of the world around him. When Kakashi had finally got Naruto's attention he was drenched in water. "Wha-whaaat!" he yelled hopping around the bridge, gasping at the affects of the freezing water. Hinata stared at Naruto, not approving of the tactics that her sensei uses but staying silent. Naruto glared at his sensei and pointed an accusing finger, "What the hell Kakashi-sensei!" Kakashi smiled under his mask and waved a hand for Naruto to drop it.
"Kanami and Sasuke are out training with their clan for a week, so... We have to train and do missions by ourselves. Naruto, I'm expecting you to pick up the slack with you're Kage Bunshins, and no fooling around. Hinata, same for you, we have to train hard and do missions as if we still had a full team. Okay, first you two will spar and get to know each other's fighting style a little better. I'll teach you two how to walk on water next and then when you've mastered walking on water we'll start missions. Now, we'll head to training area 32. Let's go!"Kakashi started walking off and his subordinates followed. Naruto glared at his sensei's head as they walked, still cold. Hinata pressed her forefingers together as they walked and stared down in front of her feet.
Hinata looked up when she noticed someone walking closely next to her, Naruto. He leaned is head in close to hers, making her blush a deep red, "Hey, Hinata, since we are going to be training and doing missions together by ourselves for a while how about we promise each other to get stronger than Sasuke before he gets back from training? I know we both have potential of great things! If we surpass Sasuke together, it'd be way easier. It's harder to train alone and get stronger. So, wha'dya say?" Naruto asked with a wide smile. "O-okay."Hinata said, still blushing. He grinned and pulled himself back and crossed his arms. 'Sasuke... You're going to eat my dust!' Naruto thought confidently. Hinata looked up at the back of her sensei's head, wondering if Naruto had meant that they were weak but had potential. She shook her head and smiled to herself, knowing she'd have to become accustomed with how her teammate spoke.
A week later Naruto and Hinata were kneeling a few feet across from each other in a clearing in the woods at night. The darkness was creepy ad the only light was illuminating from the stars and moon. Everyday of that week Hinata and Naruto stayed after training sessions for training and sparring. They had mastered water walking and completed 13 D rank missions, 5 of them were finding a cat desperate for freedom. Hinata's Byakugen and Naruto's ability with Kage Bunshins were a good combo for the locating missions and Naruto's clones helped a lot when it came to shopping and yard duties.
Both the Genin were panting and exhausted from the busy week. Naruto looked up at Hinata and smiled, "Do you think.. We've... Progressed any?" Naruto said between breathes. Hinata nodded and tried to catch her breath. Naruto stood up and offered a hand to his comrade, "If we keep at this pace we'll be the best Genin yet!" Hinata blushed and took his hand and he pulled her up. Naruto yawned and looked at the sky, "We better get home... Your family might be worried about you." Hinata stared at the ground and shrugged. She was always reluctant to leave the training sessions with Naruto...
The next day, Naruto and his now full team walked to the Hokage's office to receive their mission. Naruto walked with his hands behind his head and he kept glancing over at Sasuke who had a cocky smirk since he came back from his training. Naruto glanced to his right and saw Kanami had a similar smirk. He wandered what could have happened during their training for them to act this way. Naruto closed his eyes as he walked and screwed up his face in thought. 'Maybe they both got abducted by foreign ninja and they brainwashed them to be spies, trying to learn of Konoha's secrets. Hmmm...' Naruto glanced at Sasuke, 'Or maybe Sasuke is just being a bastard...' He glanced at Kanami, 'But that doesn't explain her smirk...' He closed his eyes again and thought hard 'Maybe a way awesome new jutsu? Or... Maybe they WERE abducted by enemy ninjas!' Naruto narrowed his eyes at Sasuke, "I'm watching you." Sasuke looked over at his teammate and raised an eyebrow but classified it as a 'Naruto' thing.
"Okay, we have a few more D ranks left. Grocery shopping... Potato digging... Babysitting... Hmm, take your pick." The Hokage said, looking at Kakashi's team. Kakashi was about to reply when Naruto burst out in protest, " Hey, hey, hey! I want a real mission now! If Hinata and I can complete 13 missions in one week when it's just us then why can't we have a better mission with a full team?" His voice was heard even outside of the place, and had a strong, determined tone. Naruto crossed his arms and closed his eyes, determinedly stubborn. The Hokage let out a chuckle as Naruto was bonked on the head by his sensei and Iruka started yelling at Naruto.
"Iruka, the boy has a point... I think they're ready for a C ranked mission now." the Hokage said, searching through requested missions for a suitable mission for Team 3. Iruka nodded and smiled, proud of his former pupils. Naruto blinked, 'The old man actually agreed?' "Hells yeah!" he shouted, jumping with joy. Hinata stifled a giggle as she watched the hyperactive ninja hopping around, yelling at the top of his lungs. Kakashi grinded his fist into the top of the blonde's head, annoyed with his yelling. Kanami was staring past the Hokage, at the mission he thought they suited. 'An old man?' Kanami thought to herself, hearing the Hokage's words that their mission was to protect the man. Kanami glanced at Naruto who was now rubbing his head in pain.
"What is this? I'm going to be protected by a bunch of snot nosed brats? And the short one... He has a super stupid look on his face." a man said, drinking from the bottle in his hand. Naruto looked around, "Haha! Who's the short one with the super... HEY WHAT THE HELL!" The blonde jumped up and launched himself at the man, "Bastard, I'll kill you!" Naruto was easily restrained by Kakashi, "And what's the point of killing the man we are supposed to protect?" Naruto growled in frustration, "We'll leave in an hour, we'll meet at the North Gate for departure. bring food, weapons, anything necessary or for 'just in-case' situations. ok, go!"
Kanami and Hinata were first to arrive, Naruto came next, excited to leave. Soon the rest came along. Naruto was hopping around, more hyper than ever. His excitement grew and grew. They left after everyone had arrived, and walked along a dirt path. Kanami walked behind everyone, looking at the trees and sky, seemingly in a daze. Naruto glanced back at Kanami, wondering what had happened during training that made her change. She was less talkative and more distant. She would usually be walking next to Naruto and be clinging to his arm but now she was... so different.
Hinata walked between Naruto and Kakashi, hesitantly asking her sensei questions about Wave country. Sasuke walked behind the old man, Tazuna, in front of Kanami. They soon passed a puddle but the scenery still hadn't changed. Trees to the right, and trees to the left. Blue sky above, brown dirt below. Seemingly endless trail behind them as well as in front. Naruto yawned and looked over at a squirrel hopping through trees, staying beside the team and not stopping. Naruto heard the chinking of metal and quickly turned around but was only in mid-turn before he saw bloody pieces of a body fly by, a gut wrenching scream coming before that happened. Naruto's eyes widened in shock as everything slowed down. Kakashi was gone and two men having gauntlets on the arms opposite of the other man's with chains coming from the gauntlets.
Naruto froze up and before he could even take hi next breath his enemy was behind him. The chains had connected both gauntlets and now the chains were nearly on their next target; Naruto. Naruto closed his eyes and thoughts of certain death clouded his mind. When he hadn't felt anything make contact with him he turned around to see the chains pinned to a tree by a kunai and shuriken but the men were already dashing at Naruto and Tazuna. Hinata and Kanami were both in front of Tazuna in attempt to protect him. Hinata watched in horror as Naruto was slammed against a tree by the force of a blow from one of the enemy. Sasuke jumped in front of his sister and Hinata to hold off the enemy. In a flash Kakashi had appeared in front of Naruto's attacker but wasn't able to grab him because shuriken rained down on him, which he had to dodge. A new enemy was now against them, the squirrel in the tree was now a ninja of the mist that wore equipment all over his body. The man engaged Kakashi in combat. The Chuunin of the mist were now engaged in battle with the Genin of the Leaf.
Naruto was having a hard time, his left arm was bleeding from the shoulder and pain kept spreading from the spot. The Chuunin drew a kunai and launched himself at Naruto, trying to cut him open. Naruto's enemy thrust his gauntlet forward, but Naruto jumped out of the way in enough time and avoided a fatal blow. The tree that was behind Naruto before he jumped now had a rough hole in it. Naruto made 5 shadow clones and disappeared into the trees. Shuriken and kunai pinned the unsuspecting Chuunin to a tree and 5 Naruto's landed in front of him.
Meanwhile, Hinata and Kanami were deflecting shuriken and any other weapon intended to hit the old man they were guarding while Sasuke fought the other Chuunin with the gauntlet on his arm. Hinata's Byakugen was activated and she was able to see any traps or projectiles before they could be of any use. She also kept her watch on Naruto and her sensei. She could see something spreading from Naruto's injured shoulder and knew it wasn't good. Sasuke had now managed to pin the Chuunin to a tree, unconscious, then proceeded to tie him up.
Kakashi had accidentally knocked his opponent out when he dropped his kunai and bent over to retrieve it when his opponent had already jumped at him. Kakashi bent over and the man passed over him, landing on his head, unconscious. Kakashi stood up and turned his head left and right, looking for his enemy. He shrugged and turned around to look at how his team was doing and noticed the knocked-out Chuunin in front of him. He kicked him over and tied him up.
The Genin brought the Chuunin over to their sensei and they tied the three to a tree. Kakashi was saying something about the ninja and their target but Naruto wasn't paying attention. Naruto clutched his left shoulder and winced. The pain spreading from his shoulder was growing more intense. Sweat dripped off of the fox boy's face and he closed his eyes, his vision becoming blurry. He opened his eyes again, seeing a worried looking Hinata staring at him, muttering something to her sensei. Kakashi's visible eye widened and pointed at Naruto, yelling something. Naruto couldn't hear anything but a constant roaring in his head. The blonde took a step back and gasped in pain, his team now surrounding him. Naruto blinked and his pupils became slits. The roar was now angry and violent and Naruto fell onto his back, writhing in pain. It felt as if his whole body was on fire. He clutched his hand on his shoulder tightly. A growl escaped from his mouth as someone pryed his hand away from his shoulder. Naruto's blue eye's were slowly fading into red. His canine's were becoming even more so. Sasuke, Hinata, and Kanami were all struggling to keep his right arm down, Kakashi was doing everything he could to get the poison out.
"K-Kakashi-sensei, w-will N-Naruto-k-kun b-be a-all r-right?"asked a worried Hinata as she stared into Naruto's fierce eyes. Kakashi didn't reply as he was trying to think of a way to save his subordinate. "Hinata! Use your Byakugen and tell me how much the poison has spread!"Kakashi ordered, hoping what he thought was happening wasn't happening. Hinata nodded and did as she was told. Her eyes widened, "I-It h-has spread th-through his t-torso and a l-little u-up his n-neck! B-but some kind o-of r-red chakra i-is pushing i-it back..." she said and deactivated her blood limit.
Naruto growled in pain, his body was burning and something was retraining him. Naruto found himself in a dark, stone corridor with water up to his knees. He looked up into a huge cage that was, without a doubt, restraining something powerful and evil. He saw enormous red eyes in the cage and total darkness.
"You idiot, you're trying to get us killed!"
"I...I... Huh? Where am I? Where are my friends? What happened to everything!"
"I am trying to push that damned poison out of your body, idiot. You damned kid, do you really want to die? Why did you freeze up!"
"Huh? You mean my shoulder?"
"Guh... What is it with you humans? Of course your damned shoulder!"
"Why the hell am I here!"
"Because that poison is taking effect of your body and letting my chakra merge with yours momentarily... Thing is, I still can't get out and you're body is being destroyed by that poison. So, if you die, I die. I'm trying to push it back out."
"So... You're helping me?"
"I have to, to stay alive. In time I will be able to become more free."
"So is it working? Will I live? Am I going to die...?"
"When you are healed and free of poison you will leave my presence bt still be unconscious. It seems as though my method of getting you fixed is working so far..."
"So you're the thing that everyone hates, the reason why I am hated..."
"Don't you remember your dream?"
"What dream?"
"Just shut up, you're voice is giving me a headache. Besides, you're so stupid I can't stand hearing anymore of it..."
Naruto opened his eyes and saw a roof. He turned his head and winced. "Ugh... What's going on...?" He was alone in a room that had one window and white walls. There was a chair and another sleeping mat. Naruto slowly sat up and pushed his blanket off. He yawned and looked at a door. 'Where am I?' he thought to himself and stood up. He opened the door slightly and peeked through. 'What's Kakashi-sensei talking about? Hunting-nins? Zabuza? 'The hell? Who's that little kid... Hmm... so his name is Inari... What does he mean we'll die if we stay? Is that a threat! Who's Gatou? Ugh... I feel like I missed out on something...' Naruto opened the door fully when the boy left and walked over to his comrades. "Umm... What happened?" Hinata looked at Naruto, overjoyed that he was okay and tears welled in her eyes, "N-Naruto-kun..."
Kanami jumped up and tackled Naruto, "Naruto! You're okay! You had us all so worried!" The poor boy was in a tight bear hug and could barely breathe. Hinata blinked away the tears in her eyes and smiled sadly, wishing she was the one hugging him. "We have to prepare for a possible attack by Zabuza again... So we will train." Kakashi said, looking at his team. Kanami got off of the blonde and grinned. Naruto blinked, "Wait wait wait wait WAIT! What happened?"
Kakashi sighed, "When you had the poison spreading in your body, your body managed to reject it. We found out a lot about the ninja's objectives and we met up with an even tougher opponent. We had hid you and Tazuna to be guarded by Hinata, who volunteered. With help from Kanami and Sasuke we were able to beat him but... We have reason to believe he may still be alive so we will train..." Kakashi motioned for the Genin to follow and walked out the door.
'I can't believe I was so stupid... Why did I let myself get poisoned? Why did I freeze up! I swear... By this humiliation I feel right now... That I'll do my best and protect my comrades! I won't let Sasuke beat me, no way! I'll become the best ninja ever! I'll train as hard as I can! Until I drop even!' Naruto vowed. They walked to the middle of some trees and Kakashi had ordered them to climb the trees without hands. He explained how and demonstrated. He had them use kunai to mark their spots.
Hours later, Hinata sat under a tree, watching Naruto and Sasuke run up trees then jumping off, after marking their spots, when they could go no further. She had gotten the hang of it the first few tries and then finally mastered it. Naruto was ahead of Sasuke because of their chakra control training with Kakashi while the Uchihas were training. Kanami had mastered it first try and was now with Tazuna, in case of attacks. Hinata had also been preparing a picnic for Sasuke and Naruto to give them energy. She poured hot water from a thermos into 7 cups of instant ramen and poured tea from a separate thermos into three cups. She pulled out a box heat enclosed box that kept all contents warm. She set out cups of rice and vegetables. She also had a dish with cooked fish. She set it all out neatly on a picnic cloth and sat at one side on her knees. She called over Naruto and Sasuke, convincing them that they needed to eat to become stronger.
After they ate it started to get dark and Sasuke decided it was time to go back and left. Hinata had gathered everything and stored it all neatly into her backpack. She watched Naruto a little while longer and then became a little tired. She yawned and rubbed her eyes and looked up expecting to see Naruto jumping off the tree. She looked around but didn't see him. She looked up at the top of the tree he was climbing and smiled. His face shined with joy and he shouted out to the trees. Hinata giggled and watched the hyperactive ninja jumping up and down exclaiming how he was 'master of the trees'.
They headed back to Tazuna's house to get some sleep. Hinata thought back on the events that had happened since they left Konoha. 'Maybe I have improved like Naruto-kun? Maybe we'll improve together and then one day I'll work up the courage to...' Hinata blushed a deep shade of red, 'Maybe one day I will...'
Well...How was it? Took my long enough, struggling with writer's block... I find inspiration in music I guess because I always write while listening to something. Anyway tell me all suggestions and improvements I can make. Oh and tell me where you think it'd be good to end or if it could have a sequel or something. If I kept it going forever it wouldn't be too good. I wouldn't want anyone to get bored. Anyway I write for my reviewers and I'll try to add all suggestion. Unless the suggestion is something that's nasty or wouldn't fit at all. A lot of people make Naruto into something he's not and I'm trying to avoid that. Review please!