Hibiki stretched her arms high above her head, her eyes gazing at the partly cloudy sky. She then lowered her arms so that she was bent over and touched her toes. She was trying to get in the extra training and stretching if she was needed to pass a test or something of the sort. She could barely remember Naruto and his team fighting with their sensei, but she also didn't really know if that applied to all instructors. But, just in case..

The minute she'd woken up, Hibiki put her hair up into a bun, not pestering with the refinements of it, and ate a small breakfast. She wasn't very hungry, and while she would put that off on nerves, she also had an idea of something similar. This was the first time she'd lived on her own in this world after years of being around a house with many kids. Hibiki knew how to take care of herself, but it was.. lonely without all the commotion.

She'd told herself not to worry about it, and continued her morning routine. Her apartment had come with all the necessities she'd need- fridge, oven, bed- and so on and so forth, so she didn't have to bother with going out and buying them. Actually, she was still caught up on the fact that they have such installments. It seemed a little before their time, but she realized that maybe it wasn't. They did have certain technology here. They just didn't use it too often.

With one last stretch to the sky, Hibiki sat down and began reached for her toes in a split fashion. She needed to be flexible, and working her legs in a way people probably didn't do here would help. After a few more variety of stretches, she took off in a sprint around training ground 23.

She heard a twig snap again, rolling her eyes at such childish mistakes. Hibiki knew her sensei was currently here watching her stretches. While she may not be an expert in sensing chakra, though she could at an extent, her sensei was positively disappointing. They only hid their chakra half way, and kept stepping on those ridiculous sticks. It was like they wanted Hibiki to know they were there.

Sweat dotted her forehead as she continued her sprints. She was irritated by her sensei being almost obvious in stealth. That was the entirety of their specialty and for them to continuously make idiotic mistakes was frustrating. Hibiki hadn't even met this person yet and they were already getting on her nerves. Just great.

Then again, they could possibly be testing her. On what, exactly, she wasn't sure. Maybe they had an ulterior move by making themselves known. If they wanted to introduce themselves, they could, but they decided not to. Maybe they were observing her skills, but that still didn't add up with the way they were making themselves known.

Another soft plop of a landing sounded in her ears and she snapped. Hibiki halted, her heels digging in the dirt as she turned in the direction of the trees and glared. It didn't matter if this sensei was trying to achieve something with these hints. It was infuriating.

"Could you be a little quieter, please?" Hibiki asked in her soft voice. A stunned silence drifted from the tree line. She was about to continue with her sprints when the person hopped out of the darkness and in front of her.

The woman blinked down at her, and Hibiki took this time to scan her over. Short brown hair, brown eyes, and a tall stature. The shinobi had their forehead protector wrapped around her, well, forehead, boringly. Standard green shinobi outfit, hiding the ANBU tattoo she knew was on her shoulder.. The woman looked ordinarily normal, except for- Ah. Hibiki zeroed in on the itching of a symbol under the band of cloth on her forehead. A Hyuuga.

"You're pretty perceptive, kid," She started off, her lips twitching up into a smile. Hibiki stayed silent, taking in the fidgeting woman in front of her.

The silence that dragged on after that created more tension from the Hyuuga. Hibiki was taking notice of the panic that seemed to be rising in the ANBU's body, slightly confused. What, was she scared of her? Hibiki didn't feel like a very big threat yet.

She wondered if maybe the Hokage had said something on her behavior and quick decision to her. It would be a poor accepted reason for why she seemed tense around the girl, but it wasn't unfounded. Hibiki felt a little disappointed that the fierce ANBU was nothing but a title.

"Ah.. This is gonna be weird," The Hyuuga announced, averting her eyes from her new student's gaze and rubbing the back of her neck. Hibiki didn't say anything still, gazing at the bandages underneath her shirt.

She was going to be trained by a Hyuuga. At first glance, this woman didn't look like much of anything especially with how she's been acting, but looks were deceiving. It was worrying that her teacher portrayed herself as not much of a threat. That meant she had to be very careful with what she said and did. Hyuuga, as she remembered and knew, were pretty perceptive. Eyeing the woman again, she deflated that idea slightly.

Well.. Having a Hyuuga as a teacher might strengthen her stealth ability in years to come. She'd become better at sneaking around people with someone who kept their eyes on things.

"Kaneshiro Hibiki," She introduced, tilting her head up in recognition. The lady blinked, but managed a small smile, twisting a peice of her hair around her finger.

"Ohayou, my name's Hyuuga Susano. I'm, ah, gonna be your sensei from now on," Susano rambled on. Hibiki allowed her to talk, watching her in fascination. It really was hard to tell she was a trained killer just by her looks. The Hyuuga sensed her staring and got nervous again, "I hope we get along well and I'll do my best to help you become the greatest shinobi I can."

Hibiki put on a charming smile, "Okay." It sent the woman into hysterics.

"White Eye in position. Are you ready?" A voice came through the small intercom in her ear.

"Hai," Came the short reply. Hibiki could almost hear the pout in her response after she said this.

"Hibiki-chan, you're supposed to say, 'Red Tail, in place," Susano grumbled. Hibiki rolled her eyes. After her sensei had gotten over the initial nervous behavior around her, she began being irritably verbal. Almost teasing, but without real meaning.

"Moving in," Hibiki ignored her, hearing a sigh over the intercom. She jumped from the post she was standing on and moved closer to her target. While D and C-rank missions may have been exercises for the real stuff, Hibiki felt she didn't need the practice. It was mostly just a waste to her.

Since she began her apprenticeship with Hyuuga Susano about a month back, Hibiki learned that she was wrong in her first approach to her teacher's behavior. There was a definite pattern, and the girl was still irritated by how easily she fell victim to it. It hadn't been a play or an ulterior movement.

Susano was literally just a nervous wreck. She didn't seem to have any reason for why she acted the way she did other than a theory Hibiki had been adding on to. Hyuuga traditions were fairly controlling in a serious way. She didn't doubt for a second that this tense attitude towards things was engraved in her mind.

Hibiki learned through this theory why she seemed more nervous around her, as well. While still young, Hibiki was pretty advanced in the light of things. She had a powerful, unwavering air around her that demanded recognition. It was hard not to be a little hesitant around the girl (unless you were Naruto, that is. The boy was far too optimistic on his chances of survival).

As she moved into her mission, Hibiki crossed over the street from building to building, keeping herself as hidden as she could. Her ability to be stealthy had grown from when she was just fumbling about. She was able to hide her chakra fully now, thanks to her profession. Susano had been very adamant on her learning this, and even taught her how to conceal herself without using as much chakra.

"Target spotted," Hibiki responded as she caught an eyeful of the brunette hair that moved through the crowd.

"Remember, we need to follow him to the meeting point before-"

"I'm going for it," Hibiki interrupted her, believing fully in her abilities. She heard scrambling on the other end of the com, a labored stutter trying to make itself known.

The brunette she was closing in on was a merchant son who was trading with a gang outside of Konoha. As for their location, the two teamed shinobi were in a small town just on the outer edge of the village. It was more of a trading hub than anything, so shinobi running missions were common. Merchant smuggling was another common thing, but it was usually taken care of quickly.

The boy was really stupid, actually. He'd left his name and address with one of the thugs that he was trading with in order for them to exchange goods. Hibiki didn't need to investigate much further than the front room of his house to get all the evidence she needed. She heaved a sigh under her breath, wanting to shake her head at such idiocy.

The man turned a corner to take a short cut through an ally way when Hibiki took action. Without a second to pity the terrified look on his face, she shot down from her temporary perch and knocked him off balance. He gasped as his legs were kicked under him, falling flat on his face with the box he'd been carrying spilling out beside him.

Hibiki jerked his arms back, a foot sturdy on his back as she held him down. The boy pleaded with her, but this only fueled her irritation for these missions with small town criminals. So she forced more pressure on his back, slowly pulling his arms back with it. He cried out again, and that was when Susano chose to step in.

"Very good, Hibiki-chan," Susano smiled timidly at the girl, trying not to show the bit of her that was disturbed by her subtle torture. She took over the situation gently, knocking the crying man out and observing the way her student released the grip she held over him.

"These are boring," Hibiki complained, her voice not going far above a whisper. She didn't care if her sensei could hear her or not. While she appreciated the given training, Hibiki by no means respected this quivering woman. It just wasn't in her nature.

"The missions, yeah," The Hyuuga picked the man up and threw him over her shoulder, nodding with her, "But they help tone your skills, so try not to take them for granted."

Susano glanced over at the red-haired girl who stood almost still beside her. Her brown eyes lowered to her fingers that tapped silently on her thigh. When she first saw the tick, Susano wanted to bring it up, but it seemed to be a way of keeping her calm without much of an explanation behind it.

She'd spoke vaguely about it to the Hokage on her last meeting with him, but he waved her off. He said that it would be normal for a child like Hibiki to develop a habit of some sort. It was common among orphans to create a way of making things real whether it be through excessive training or tapping on table tops before eating.

He smiled and suggested that maybe she was simply worried about her new student. Most new instructors were easily pulled in by their students and wanted to do everything they could to protect them. She agreed with him, deciding to let this habit slip through her routines.

"Let's get back to the village, okay?" She forced herself to smile at the mysterious kid, watching briefly as the tapping twitched to a stop.

"Mm."

"Focus, Naruto," Hibiki scolded, her arms crossed over her chest in a powerful intimidation. Her eyes were narrowed in on the blond's movements, taking in the small mistakes that had been built up over the years.

Sometimes she got really annoyed by the way people treated Naruto. Hibiki befriended Naruto with the intention of using him in some shape or form, and teachers who refused to refine years of incorrect motions before were ruining that. Well, ruining would be a strong word for it. Hibiki knew she was being over dramatic, but it was ridiculous to her how behind he was.

Naruto was quickly catching up to average, don't misunderstand that, but those damned habits of using the wrong stance or being in the wrong position at the incorrect time gave them a setback. Hibiki was currently working on improving these ticks, stopping him immediately each time he messed up. It irritated the both of them, but they both knew it was for the best.

"But Hibiki-chaaaan.. I'm sleepy," The boy whined, falling back on his butt and pouting to the earth. The redheaded girl repressed the urge to force him to stand up again, instead looking over at the sunset with a sigh.

They'd been working for hours. She supposed she could give him a break today and stop while they were still ahead. She'd mainly been toning up late reactions he had to oncoming attacks anyways. It left quite a few bruises on both of them, especially Naruto when Hibiki reacted too quickly for him to catch. The scatter of bruises she had were from the blond who decided he wanted to play dirty and catch her off guard.

Hibiki rolled her eyes, relaxing her tense shoulders by rolling the right one with her opposite hand. She walked across the grounds to Naruto, plopping down with unfamiliar carelessness. The boy blinked, but laid back on the ground when she made a similar movement. Hibiki closed her eyes and let the itchy grass blades tickle her back.

From training with her new sensei to training with Naruto plus the missions she'd been forced to go on the past month, Hibiki was exhausted. She woke up in the mornings just after the sun was up and stretched for an hour or two alone. Then she'd find Naruto asleep on her couch from waiting on her to get out of the shower. They'd go train for a few hours before she sprinted to grounds 23 to continue her training.

She'd been learning tree walking and water walking, one of which she already knew how to do since Naruto was a little shit as a kid and got himself stuck in trees. He'd cry for her and her alone, and long story short, she achieved tree walking pretty quick. Hibiki was also learning a B-rank jutsu that would conceal her physical form completely for a short amount of time. The time would increase as she practiced, but it was a hell of a jutsu to perform.

Naruto seemed to notice how tired she was because he stayed silent as they laid together. Hibiki had to admit, Naruto truly was a saint some days. He could be the most compassionate and understanding kid one second and she appreciated that. Then other days he wouldn't shut up and tested her limitations.

The pair dozed on the uneven ground for a few minutes, neither taking notice of the rapidly falling sun light. Hibiki's breathing was calm, and she could almost hear the beating of her own heart in the fading life of night time. She heard Naruto shift beside her, feeling his breath now directed on her right cheek.

"Ne, Hibiki-chan," He spoke up quietly, and it reminded her of the timid boy she'd met back when she was five.

"Hm?" She sounded just as quiet. Both of them could barely be heard behind the sounds of crickets chirping loudly in the grass.

Naruto was silent after she spoke which was unlike how he started conversations. Hibiki pried an eye open and turned on her side to look over at him curiously. He was staring at her with those wide blue eyes of his, a splash of color over his cheeks. Hibiki waited as she always did until he answered.

"Thanksforhelpingmetrainyou'rethebestfriendeverandI'lltotallypayyourbackforthis," His words sped together and Hibiki didn't understand a single thing he said. She raised an eyebrow at him, noticing the color of his cheeks darken in the faint light she had.

"Slower, please," She said in an airy tone. He fidgeted his shoulders, pulling the grass between his fingers as he averted her eyes. After a second he looked back at her, but she could tell he was probably looking behind her.

"Thanks for helping me train.. I know I'm a dead last who can't do much of anything, but I'm glad you're my friend and I'll totally pay you back for this one day," Naruto's voice was very serious, but with the way his eyes shifted from hers to the bench somewhere behind her she knew he was embarrassed.

Hibiki blinked at the sentiment. It wasn't everyday she heard the blond actually speak deeply without a ridiculous joke behind it. He sounded so sincere as well, which only made the lump in her throat grow. She tried to ignore the way the word 'friend' bubbled around in her stomach and averted her eyes to his hair, warmth tingling around her eyes.

"Don't be stupid, Naruto," She managed, showing him a genuine smile, "It's what friends are for."

Hibiki praised herself on the wording, using anything she could to pass through this moment unchanged. Unfortunately, she knew she was beginning to make a hole in her plans. If she didn't control these feelings in her gut and chest, she was going to make a mess of things. Hibiki twitched a last smile after his returning one and sat up carefully. She barely noticed when her fingers started to beat on her knees, a sign of her thoughts beginning to manifest.

Soo.. I didn't update for a while.

My bad.

Anyways, how was the chapter? I'm sort of in a bind of trying to put ideas in the order I want them to go in, but I also want to put in these scenes as well.

Ah, whatever. I'll figure it out.

Until next time?