Chapter 7

Sorry for the late update!!! Stupid writers block. I'll try not to do it again. Thanx to my reviewers, Ichihime and DaiCrazy who have been very loyal to my story. I think I need another cookie jar, DaiCrazy! Anyway, on with the story:

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Three weeks later, the Uzumaki family was gathered around Naruto's now semi crowded dining table. Once everything was explained to Kaito, he had agreed to stay with Naruto and Yulia. It had been three weeks since they had met each other. Kaito hadn't completely gotten used to them, but he was making an honest attempt. Naruto found that Kaito was an exceptionally skilled ninja, he just lacked taijutsu. He told Naruto that his specialty was genjutsu. Naruto then bragged about his ninjutsu skills and told his brother about Rock Lee, someone who could surely help Kaito to get stronger.

Naruto hadn't had ramen at home since Kaito got here. Kaito hated ramen and Yulia wanted him to be comfortable, so no ramen for weeks. Naruto did go with Iruka-sensei, because of the deal they both had agreed to. On the dinner menu tonight was broccoli with mashed potatoes and steak. Naruto's steak had hastily been devoured, though he found himself poking at the broccoli. Kaito liked healthy foods.

"Do I have to eat this?" Naruto mumbled, now starting to roll it.

"Eat your vegetables Naruto." Yulia replied, not looking up from her dish. Naruto shot a glance to Kaito's plate. It was almost completely empty, except for a few pieces of steak, which Kaito was finishing up now.

Naruto sighed. He wished he could summon dogs like Kakashi-sensei so he could feed the dog his stems of broccoli. Who could eat this stuff?

Knock knock knock.

"I'll get it!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping from his seat. He was eager that something had interrupted dinner. Naruto swung open the door. He was barely able to recognize Iruka-sensei's scar before he was scooped up, and spun around in the air.

"Thank you Naruto, thank you!" Iruka pulled Naruto into a hug, but Naruto was too dizzy to notice. Iruka put Naruto down and begun dancing around. Naruto held his head, trying to prevent the floor from spinning. Eventually it did, and Naruto was relieved.

"Iruka-sensei! I'm not six anymore!" The blonde whined.

"I'm sorry! I can't help it!" Iruka exclaimed, now stopping his dance.

"What happened?" Naruto asked anxiously.

"The date was perfect! And it was all thanks to you!" Iruka hugged Naruto tightly again.

"Ack!" Naruto choked out. That's when Iruka noticed Yulia and Kaito. He released Naruto.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't know anyone else was here!" Iruka sweat-dropped (You know, those anime ones?) .

"Nice going Iruka-sensei." Naruto laughed.

"You must be Iruka." Yulia greeted him, standing up and shaking his hand. "Naruto's told us a lot about you."

"Oh, has he?" Iruka laughed, shaking her hand.. Why is this lady here? Iruka was confused behind his laughter.

The adults released their handshake and Yulia gestured over to Kaito. "This is Kaito."

"Nice to meet you!" Iruka exclaimed with a wave. Well, he was in a good mood after all.

Kaito looked up from his plate and met Iruka's gaze. He then quickly dipped his head back to the way it was.

Naruto squinted at his brother. Was he shy? He was fine when he met Naruto. The blonde decided to shake it off for another time. "Are you going on a second date, Iruka-sensei?"

"Yeah. We're going to the park." There was a slight twinkle in his eye. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Who are you going out with?" Yulia inquired. Naruto tensed. Iruka-sensei didn't know that Kumono was his aunt. Heck, he didn't even know his mother or his brother.

"Ku-" Iruka was quickly cut off.

"Erm, Iruka-sensei, can I talk to you?" Without waiting for an answer, Naruto dragged his sensei into the hall and closed the front door behind him.

"What's that all about, Naruto?"

"You can't tell her that you're going out with Kumono!" Naruto waved his arms above his head.

"Why not? Who is that woman anyway?"

"That's, er, Kumono's sister."

"What is she doing in your apartment?" Iruka crossed his arms, expecting a thorough answer.

"Well," Naruto started. He had to tell Iruka sometime, right? I mean, come on, Iruka was like a father to him. Naruto recounted the major events of this past month. He didn't reveal nearly as much as he did with Hinata, but he still got his point out.

"Is this the truth?" Iruka asked sternly.

Naruto nodded. "Every word of it."

Iruka cracked a smile. "I bet it's like a dream come true, eh Naruto?"

"And guess what, Iruka-sensei?"

"Hm?" Iruka rubbed his scar.

Naruto went up to whisper in his sensei's ear. "If you marry Kumono, you could be my uncle!"

Iruka laughed. "Naruto, you're getting a little ahead of yourself, don't you think?"

Naruto shrugged, a foxy grin on his face.

That night, Naruto lay awake in his bed, unable to sleep. He didn't know what this feeling was inside of him was, but he liked it and he wanted to stay like that forever.

It's so unbelievable. Almost like a dream…

It does seem like that, doesn't it?

Kyubbi! Naruto was happy that the fox had finally contacted him. Without the demon's snide remarks, Naruto was starting to feel lonely. What took you so long?

I don't have to talk to you, brat. What, did you miss me? The fox chuckled.

N-No! Why would I miss you?

Whatever, brat. What's troubling you?

How did you know!? Naruto raised his eyebrows.

Please, I've been inside you for over a dozen years. It'd be pretty sad if I couldn't read you like a book by now.

It's about Kaito's shyness. He wasn't shy around me, so why should he be shy around Iruka-sensei? Is he only shy around adults?

Not likely. Hmm, you guys are twins, are you not?

We are. Naruto gave a physical nod, not aware that Kaito was watching him from across the room.

It could be that he somehow recognized you-

Sweet! You mean like twin telepathy or something!?

Well, I-

Naruto shot up in bed and faced Kaito in the dimly lit room. "Hey Kaito, I had an awesome idea!"

It was-

"What, while reasoning with yourself?" Kaito didn't bother to sit up.

"Do you think we could have twin telepathy or something?!"

"Nope. Now go to sleep. I'm tired." Kaito turned to his side so he was no longer facing Naruto.

"Hmph." Naruto pouted and lay back down.

Hey, fox?

No answer. Naruto pouted some more, cursed the fox, and fell asleep.

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The next day, calling Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage of Konohagakure bored would be an understatement. He was calling out to the fox since he woke up, but there was never any answer. Once Naruto was about to rip his hair out, he turned to Kaito… who was reading a book.

"Hey, Kaito. Wanna go train?"

He sighed irritably. "Fine, if you insist." He folded the page over in his novel and set it down.

"Great!" Naruto exclaimed, hurrying to the door.

"Where are you two going?" Yulia asked, coming out of the bathroom.

"We're gonna go out and train!" Naruto exclaimed, tying on his headband. "Oh, and after I have to go train with my team, so I'm gonna be out awhile."

Yulia shook her head. "Naruto, you need to find something other than training."

Naruto shrugged, slipped on his shoes and hurried out. Kaito followed him, with much less enthusiasm.

After he exited the building, he found Kakashi standing around at its exit. He was reading the Make-Out Paradise series, giggling and most likely blushing. He noticed Naruto and tossed him a green blur. Naruto stopped abruptly to catch it. Turns out it was a green pepper.

"Eating right, Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto made a face. Disgusting. He tossed it to Kaito, who juggled it in his hands before catching it.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto then ran off, a smirk on his face. Kaito stared at the vegetable for a moment. He then shrugged, took a bite out of it, and followed Naruto.

Naruto was zooming through the streets, dodging people and objects. Naruto looked back, to see where Kaito was. Whoops. He was way at the other end of the street. Naruto slowed to a jog and then stopped completely. He'd forgotten about his brother's taijutsu skills. Maybe if he found Bushy Brow today, he could ask him to train Kaito. Heh heh. It would be kinda funny to see him doing a thousand kicks to a stump or something like that. When Kaito had finally reached Naruto, he was panting.

"Man! How fast do you run!?"

"Do you wanna walk?" Naruto suggested.

Kaito nodded gratefully and they began walking. "No training until we actually get to the training ground."

Naruto shrugged. "Whatever you say." Naruto then caught Hinata out of the corner of his eye. She was walking with Shino and Kiba. He gave her a high wave and she blushed when she saw it.

Kaito turned to see who Naruto was waving at. His jaw dropped. That girl… She was really pretty. Wait! Was she blushing? At him? Kaito felt his own face get warm. He tugged Naruto's sleeve.

"What is it?" Naruto asked, a little annoyed.

"Who's that?" Kaito pointed to the indigo haired girl.

"That's Kiba. He's kinda annoying sometimes because-"

"No! The girl, you dolt!"

Naruto shrugged. "Oh, that's Hinata. She's really shy."

"Do you know her?" Kaito gulped.

"Yeah, she's my friend."

"Just a friend?" Kaito looked at Naruto square in the eye.

"Of course. Why?" There was a pause as Naruto had to re-register the statement. It hit him like a ton of bricks. "Oooh! Do you like her?" Naruto winked.

"Well, she is cute." Kaito admitted, blushing again. "Don't you think so?"

"Hinata? Cute? Well, now that you mention it…" Naruto looked back at Hinata. Naruto saw her brush back her short hair. He looked away before he could blush.

"Do you think I have a chance with her?" Kaito kicked the dirt ground.

"Of course you do! You just need to get, you know, less shy."

Kaito smirked. "So, who do you like?"

Naruto blushed and scratched his chin. "Well, um, I really like Sakura, a girl on my team." Naruto's face suddenly darkened with a realization.

"What is it?"

"I think she's been getting closer to Sasuke, her ultimate crush. When he rejected her for a date last time, he said 'sorry'! I don't have a chance with her."

"Of course you do!" Kaito adopted Naruto's earlier tone. "You just have to get, you know, less loud."

Naruto smirked. "Thanks a lot." He said it with sarcasm.

"Don't mention it." Kaito laughed.

In a matter of moments, they were at the training ground. Naruto stretched.

"So, what do you want to do to warm up?"

Kaito shrugged. "I don't know." The sun was making Kaito squint his dark blue eyes.

"Um, Naruto." A soft whisper came from behind him and he whirled around.

"Oh! Hi, Hinata!" Naruto exclaimed rather loudly. Naruto stole a glance at Kaito. Heh heh. He was blushing again. Naruto had told Hinata about Kaito awhile ago. She said that she was happy for him. Naruto had also kept his promise about Hinata's non-stuttering lessons. She had really improved, and Naruto, being the teacher, was proud of her.

Hinata approached them and Naruto decided to introduce her to Kaito. "Hinata, this is Kaito, the one I told you about."

"It's nice to meet you." Hinata whispered, nodding in acknowledgment.

"I- I- I-" Kaito's face was a deep maroon. And he was stuttering.

"Um, he means that 'it's nice to meet you, too.'" Naruto put a hand on Kaito's shoulder.

"Naruto, is it okay if I talk to you?" Naruto noticed that her smile looked really…nice. Wait! He liked Sakura, right? Man, why did Kaito have to point out how cute Hinata was? Hinata's knees started shaking.

Naruto paled. "Hinata, are you alright? What's wrong?"

Hinata just shook her head and headed for the shadow of an old oak tree. Naruto followed her. Hinata was twiddling her fingers when he got there.

"What is it?"

"Well, um, there's been something I've been meaning to tell you for a long time." Hinata stopped here and took a deep breath. "It's just that, when I saw you at the academy, I thought that you were really strong and brave. You would strive toward your goal of being Hokage without letting anyone drag you down and discourage you. They made fun of you because they thought you were weak. But I knew you were strong. You were strong where it matters most. In your heart. Not many people have that kind of strength, especially me. I admired you because confidence and bravery were some things I lacked. Severely. Before long, I found that I had a crush on you. But I think it's more than that now. This whole time I've been watching from afar, hoping someday you would notice my feelings. When you didn't, there was a pain in my heart that I just couldn't bear. After your lessons, I knew that I had to tell you. I had to let you know how I feel. I really like you, Naruto." Hinata started twiddling with her fingers even faster.

Silence.

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Muhahahaha! Beware the cliffy! My longest chapter so far! If you guys wanna update, you gotta review! And while you're waiting, you can read this weird comedy thing my brother and I made up. Just click on my name and you'll see it. Bye!