Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me.

ナルト

It was a long trek back to the village.

Naruto had never felt so bored, so down, so humiliated.

Rolling back the clock to when he and Kakashi got out of the base, Yuugao had immediately greeted him with a strained smile. Immediately knowing it was a bad thing, he glared at the two clones who grinned at him sheepishly beside Tayuya. Knowing what the smile meant, he picked up two stones and threw it at his clones. Had that been the end of that story, he would've been fine, but his luck was never that great.

As soon as his clones dispersed, he learned what his clones had said while he was inside, causing him to pale in realization. He glanced at Fu who was grinning at him like a kid knowing that they had done something wrong but got away with it. He swore to himself that he would get back at her for ratting him out after he had saved their asses. It wasn't fair!

While he could sneak out and disregard Yuugao's grounding of him, he wouldn't dare. Last time he'd done as much, Yuugao actually went to Ichiraku's and had them ban him for a month! The gall!

Tayuya's inputs didn't really help his case much either. One would think that a person would be grateful after being saved, but noooo…

Anyway, Fu and her team had thanked him gratefully. He waved it off of course, saying anyone would've done the same. Fu had agreed wholeheartedly while the rest of her team had wry smiles plastered on their faces. Nevertheless, he felt he had made a friend for life in Fu. It didn't mean that he would forget her slight against him; no, she'll be getting what's hers someday. But he could see it in her eyes that she would risk herself should he ever be in trouble, and he would do the same as well.

When the Taki team had left, there was an overbearing atmosphere that settled in – at least, for him. Yuugao was giving him the usual stern glare whenever Iruka dropped him off at the ANBU station. Yeah, Iruka. They had resorted to asking an academy teacher to look for him because they couldn't. Honestly, if he didn't know any better, he'd say that Iruka was ANBU himself with the moves the scarred-man would pull when he would chase him. Whoops, he was getting off-track. Yuugao started scolding about tact and women's modesty and watching his words.

Having heard the same lecture over and over again whenever she'd catch him using his Oiroke, he had just blocked the noise out and started walking in the direction where he thought Konoha was. Needless to say he went the wrong direction and was immediately corrected.

Back to the present, already dark and halfway to Konoha, Yuugao was nearing the end of her lecture. Yes, those last a day. At least, whenever Hayate wasn't there.

"…and I hope you never think about doing those things ever again!"

"Yes Yuugao-nee." Naruto drawled out as he stared blankly at the campfire. While there was some annoyance at being talked to like that, there was a part of him that was happy at being scolded. He was by no means a masochist, but knowing that somebody cared for his well-being made him feel loved.

He then recalled the state of his teammate. He looked at Sakura, who was until now unconscious, her sleeping bag located beside Sasuke's sleeping bag. His eyebrow furrowed.

"Don't worry about her Naruto." – He turned to look at Yuugao who was wearing a proud smile – "She'll be ok. She's not as frail as she looks."

"Yeah, but…" He observed his pink-haired teammate. She had been sleeping peacefully, aside from the few times that she shuffled around. He would also occasionally see her face contort and that was the part that worried him.

"She'll be granted some time off." He turned to Kakashi. He was looking at Sakura as well, a gentle look on his face, one of the few rare times he had seen his sensei with an expression other than nonchalance, perversion, and his eye-smile.

"Then what'll happen to the team?" He couldn't deny that there was a part of him that hoped they'd be able to rest as well. All that hope was dashed however when Kakashi's usual eye-smile was back in place as he looked at him.

"Why, what do you think Naruto? We're going back to missions of course!" Naruto grimaced as a particular mission came into mind. That damn cat better be caught when they came back. He would blow that demon to kingdom come, ramen ban be damned!

"Tch, figures." He stewed for a bit before remembering about Tayuya, who was at the moment sleeping on a makeshift transformed pillow made from his clone. While he was considered a bit slow on the uptake by most of his peers, he knew what fate awaits Tayuya beyond Konoha's walls. "She's gonna have to be locked huh?" She looked at Kakashi and Yuugao. At the very least, they looked apologetic.

"I wish I could say otherwise, but it is protocol Naruto."

"I probably shouldn't have taken her huh?" He felt guilt wearing down on him. She basically had gone from hell to limbo. While she might have been non-enthused being in that base, at least she had free rein. In Konoha, however, she was a prisoner.

"Don't beat yourself up too much Naruto." Yuugao started rubbing his back consolingly. "From what you've told me, it was either this or her death."

He nodded hesitantly before turning his gaze back to the red-haired Oto-nin. From what he could tell, Tayuya had seemed… lighter ever since leaving that place – or whatever's left of it that is – and even seemed grateful, not that she ever said anything since leaving.

He tried talking to her of course, but she would only answer with a glare or a shrug. However, she had a calm acceptance set on her face, not at all what he had expected from the kunoichi who swore non-stop when they first met.

Now that he really looked at her though, she reminded him a bit of his mother. She had the same long, beautiful, red hair, the same take-no-shit-from-anyone attitude – if he was to believe what he was told about his mother – and finally, a gentle soul.

While a lot of people might disagree with him, considering the fiery red-head's… prolific usage of words and her antagonistic demeanor, he believed that it was just an act. He knew what real malice felt like – what real hatred felt like. He could feel no such thing from her.

Well, he could very well be wrong about her being a gentle soul, but he would stake his life that she wasn't malefic by nature.

"…can you promise that she'll at least be treated well?" He was grasping for straws, he knew, but he had to try.

There was silence for a while, making him start to feel dismayed.

"I can't promise that," Kakashi said slowly as if measuring his words. "But I can promise that she'll be treated fairly."

Naruto nodded. It was better than nothing. He hoped that the girl would at least be cooperative so she could be granted some leeway. She probably will be a bit stubborn and a teensy bit difficult, but he had confidence that she would be granted some form of amnesty by the end of it all… well maybe not completely confident, but good enough.

As he waved the older shinobis good night, he managed to get a glimpse of the worried look that was shared between the two. He had a bad feeling that it had nothing to do with regards to Tayuya's confinement.

ナルト

They arrived at Konoha around the afternoon. Sakura was immediately taken to the hospital while Yuugao and Kakashi went to the Hokage's office with Tayuya in tow. Naruto was still worried of course, but he knew he couldn't do anything at that point so rather than inadvertently make things worse, he decided to just leave it be. Normally, he and Sasuke would have needed to report in with Kakashi, but Kakashi insisted that they leave it to him. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, he accepted. Initially, he thought of just going straight home but one rumble coming from his stomach made him rethink his destination. And he knew just the place.

Arriving at Ichiraku's, he caught a glimpse of Iruka chatting with Ayame amicably.

"Hey Iruka-sensei, Ayame-nee!" The two stopped their conversation immediately and waved at him in greeting.

"Naruto! I haven't seen you for a while." Ayame greeted him as Iruka motioned for him to sit beside him with a smile on his face. "I thought you stopped liking our ramen."

He put on a face of mock-incredulity and gaped at her. "How can you even think such a thing?! Ramen is the food of the gods!"

Ayame giggled before wiping off her hands with her apron. "I suppose it'll be the usual marathon?" She asked with a knowing smirk.

He scratched the back of his head sheepishly and nodded. Ayame smiled and walked away.

"So, what happened?" Iruka asked, gulping down another batch of noodles. "I heard you were just supposed to escort somebody."

Naruto thanked Ayame as he took the bowl she was reaching out to him. "I'm not sure if I'm allowed to tell anyone-" He gulped down a huge portion. "But long story short it was, then it wasn't, then it was another thing."

He could feel Iruka's blank stare at that. "What?"

"Exactly." He nodded vigorously. That summed up the trip pretty well. C-rank mission to an A-rank, then nearly dying and apparently just a mini-coma – not that it was any better – then finally transitioning to an extraction mission/demolition mission.

He wondered though, were they getting paid for all of those? 'cause he did not just nearly die twice just to get paid for a C-rank mission.

ナルト

Kakashi remembered the feeling of malaise as he left Tsunami's house before fighting with Zabuza. He thought it meant something impending as was told to them by the mysterious entity occupying Naruto's body, but then Yuugao's seal unsealed itself. It was leagues easier than a huge majority of his other extraction missions which was unsettling in a way. Then after finding out who the leader of the whole facility was, he couldn't decide whether he was lucky or the opposite. And as he finished his report to the Hokage – with the obvious exclusion with what happened to Naruto when he fought Zabuza – he couldn't help but lean towards unlucky.

The Sandaime's expression was downright murderous. And the pressure he was exerting, even more so. He had only seen the Sandaime with such a furious expression a few times and it terrifies him each and every time, reminding him why it is the Sandaime was given the moniker Shinobi no Kami, a title bestowed only to two other people in the course of history.

There was a stifling silence that encompassed the room.

"…are you certain?" The Sandaime had broken the silence with a whisper, but with the gravity of the atmosphere, it sounded more like the Kyuubi's second coming.

Not trusting his voice for a moment, he nodded stiffly. He noticed the grimace that went as quickly as it came to the wizened shinobi's face.

The Sandaime closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as if accepting a fact, before slowly releasing it. He opened his eyes, revealing a calculating gaze that stared everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

"And you say this young lady was part of his force?" Hiruzen directed his sights to the red-haired kunoichi who in turn was staring at him stoically.

Kakashi, for his part, was impressed. The girl, despite her situation, had the most relaxed expression on her face. It wasn't the arrogant kind, but rather like a calm acceptance. He had only seen such an expression among few people when faced with their possible demise. And all of them had been great people in their own rights.

At the moment, the Hokage had a complicated expression on his face and was staring intently at the young kunoichi. Kakashi wanted to say something but thought better of it as a grim realization settled upon the old Hokage's face.

"Tayuya-chan was it?" There was a somewhat placating look on their leader's face that he hadn't quite expected. It was the kind of face he would use when talking to one of the shinobis just starting out on their career. As he looked over at Yuugao and Tayuya, he could see he wasn't the only one surprised.

She blinked in surprise. "Y-yeah, what's it to you?" With clear hesitation on her face, she answered.

"Would you be comfortable to say what your last name is?"

"Tatsugawa." The red-head promptly answered but was still thoroughly confused. There was a flash of disappointment that passed through the Hokage's face before it was replaced with a sudden actualization.

"…then what is your mother's maiden name?" At that, the girl visibly stiffened. The Sandaime, on the other hand, had a face that said he expected as much.

After a few moments of silence, the girl finally spoke, "Uzumaki." She said it with such hate in her tone along with a pained expression.

Disregarding her, he himself was shocked by the revelation, and he had no doubt that his former ANBU colleague was in the same state as well. He had assumed that the whole clan was decimated. After all, aside from Kushina, he had seen neither hide nor hair of any other members.

The Hokage just released a tired sigh as he looked at his desk.

ナルト

Hiruzen closed his eyes. He hadn't felt this tired ever since Itachi had killed his clan. Once Danzo gets wind of the sudden appearance of the Uzumaki, come hell or high water, he would try to get his hands on her.

He loved Danzo as a brother, but ever since the death of their sensei, the man had grown increasingly jaded and cynical. And there was also the fact that Danzo coveted his position greatly and had tried doing a lot of things to undermine his authority: his attempts to revive the Uzumaki clan – to which he was thankful for Minato's interference – the Uchiha clan massacre, and he had heard tells of him working with Hanzo. And every single time, he would know only after the deed was done and would get a headache to deal with the repercussions.

While he suspected that Danzo had not done as he ordered and disbanded Root, he couldn't put him behind bars without getting substantial evidence lest he be turned as the villain who throws people in jail without due process.

In all honesty, he wanted the girl to be sent away just for convenience. But there were things that stopped him from doing so. First and foremost was that she was just a child. While it was true that she was already a kunoichi and had probably done some unspeakable things, when he looked at her eyes, he could only see a lost child, especially when she mentioned her mother's maiden name. And if it was one thing he was known for was that he had a soft spot for children. The other thing was more related to the safety to the village.

He had heard reports of shinobis from different villages disappearing near their borders. At first, he put little stock to it as it was part of the job description for there to be hazards. But after a while of repeated incidents, he had grown suspicious.

Initially, he wanted to send a group of ANBU to go investigate, but he couldn't risk alerting the other villages and make them think that he was spying on their lands. So he waited for an opportunity. It came immediately when Naruto had wanted to get a C-rank mission and the rest was history.

The only thing was, his history came back to haunt him.

Orochimaru.

He knew of his student's penchant for human experiments. Finally, the reason for the disappearances was made clear. What made things worse was that his base was basically their next-door neighbor. Who knew what was going through the sick mind of his twisted student to set up shop near the home he abandoned?

That was where this young woman came to play. While he knew that Tayuya probably wouldn't be privy to Orochimaru's plans, as long as she could give them something, it would be enough.

If she proved to be a handful, then he would keep her in confinement indefinitely. If she was cooperative, he would house her until what Orochimaru plans – because he knew that his student would do nothing less – come to pass then help her find somewhere to settle if she would so desire.

When he opened his eyes, he steeled himself as he regarded the kunoichi.

"Tayuya-chan, I have no doubts you already understand what I have to do." The girl nodded stiffly. "If you'll cooperate, then you have my word that you will be treated well." There was a look of surprise on her face which was immediately followed by a heavy skepticism but she nodded nevertheless.

He sighed once more and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was getting too old for this kind of shit.

ナルト

Naruto was on his twentieth bowl of ramen, telling Iruka the story of what happened in the mission with heavily altered details and different names for those that were involved.

"Hold up, so while you ran around the base using jutsu#3 under jounin#1's orders, you encountered the Freaky Four plus CurtainandDrapes?"

So he wasn't all that creative with naming, could you blame him?

Naruto shook his head as he slurped a strand of noodles. "No, no, I used jutsu#3 to catch CurtainandDrapes, I used jutsu#2 to distract."

When he glanced at Iruka, there was a befuddled expression on his face. Well, he couldn't actually reveal important details, but he had to tell someone what happened. So he compromised.

"…I'm not sure I can follow anymore." Iruka gave him a dry smile. He shrugged in response to that. Well at least he got it off his chest.

He heard the sound of rustling signaling another customer. He glanced at the newcomers and saw Kurenai enter with the shy Hyuuga heiress. There was a frustrated look on the woman's face as she sat down, while in contrast, Hinata had a demure yet amused smile on hers.

"Honestly, that's what they get for pulling that stunt." Kurenai grumbled as she told Ayame what they wanted.

Seeing no harm in greeting the duo, he finished slurping his bowl and turned to make his presence known. "Yo! Hinata-chan, Kurenai-sensei!"

"Oh, Naruto, it's nice to see you."

"H-hi N-Naruto-kun…"

He paused for a moment out of worry for Hinata who suddenly turned flustered and beet red before waving it off, remembering that she had done that often in the academy as well. "What happened to Kiba and Shino?" He asked, receiving another bowl from Ayame to the chagrin of Iruka behind him.

The irritation on Kurenai's face from earlier came back as she herself received her own bowl of ramen.

"Kiba's in the hospital for chakra exhaustion, Akamaru's in the vet because of Shino's insects, and Shino's in his clan compound trying to replenish his hive." She stopped for a moment to rub the bridge of her nose. "Really, what were they even attempting to do? I leave them alone for a minute and this happens."

"U-umm, they said that they wanted to see if they could put Shino-kun's kikaichu on Kiba-kun and Akamaru-kun while they do Gatsuga." She said with an apologetic smile.

Kurenai looked at her with a mix of exasperation and incredulity. "To what end?!"

"Oh! So they did try it!" Naruto stood up excitedly, not noticing the accusing eyes that Kurenai directed at him. "So how'd it go?" He approached Hinata and sat beside her.

"U-umm…" – Her eyes started to swim around the store – "W-w-well u-umm, Shino-kun's k-kikaichu s-started d-draining Kiba-kun and Akamaru-kun's chakra while they were s-spinning and a l-lot were shredded as w-well."

"Ehhhh…" Naruto deflated.

"What is this I'm hearing about? It was you who suggested they try this?" There was a chiding look on Kurenai's face as she looked at Naruto but the pressure was diminished by the amused smile she had.

"W-well, I just thought it'd be cool if Shino could tag his bugs on someone stealthily during battle without needing to be up close. So when I heard Kiba was his teammate, I thought, hey, why not?" He grinned sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head.

Kurenai stared at him with a blank look before shaking her head and looking back at her ramen.

"Oh! Oh! I gotta tell you guys what happened in our mission!" He jumped up and down on his seat excitedly. "But I gotta change some names and stuff 'cause I think it's classified or something."

There was a visible sweat-drop on the other patrons in the shop.

ナルト

"…and then, jounin#1 came in and scared away the Freaky Four!" Naruto grinned. Hinata couldn't hold back a giggle when she saw the confounded look of her jounin-sensei who looked like she was trying to solve a complicated puzzle.

"…is there supposed to be a... legend or at least something like a symbol to make it less confusing?" Kurenai furrowed her brows and looked at Naruto suspiciously, "and who – or rather – what's CurtainandDrapes supposed to mean?"

Naruto had the face of a deer caught in the headlights and started looking anywhere but Kurenai.

"Oh u-um, i-it means umm… y'know her temper was as hot as she was." She released another giggle which earned her a rather conspiratorial smile from her sensei. That didn't bode well.

"U-umm sensei, w-what-" She tried dissuading her sensei of what she was thinking but was cut off as Kurenai stood and put enough money on the counter to pay both of their meals.

"Hey Naruto, can I ask you to escort Hinata home?" While she couldn't see her own face, she was sure that there was probably a horrified expression plastered on it. "I have something I need to do and it's already getting dark."

"Well, it's no skin off my back, but wouldn't it better for Iruka-sensei to take her home?"

She directed her gaze at her old academy teacher, asking him to save her, but the smile on his face let her know that he had no intention of doing so. "I'm actually a bit backed up on my grading so I need to go home right now." Iruka imitated Kurenai and put enough money to cover for both his and Naruto's bowls.

"I'll see you tomorrow Hinata." Kurenai gave her an encouraging smile as she left the establishment.

"Take care of her, Naruto." Iruka bade farewell with a wave of his hand.

There was a dead silence that settled between them as Naruto started on his last bowl. While she appreciated her sensei's assistance, she didn't really want it. True, she greatly admired Naruto, but she wouldn't know what to say, if there even is anything to say.

Hinata Hyuuga was a very shy and modest person. She was what people would call a wallflower. She had always been that way since childhood, but as she grew up, she grew even more withdrawn with all that had happened in her life.

Her mother had grown increasingly sick ever since Hanabi was born and was unable to get out of her bed. Her health stopped deteriorating, to everyone's relief, but she was left weak by the freak illness so was still unable to leave her bed.

After that, there was also her failed attempted kidnapping that led to her uncle's death. Her cousin who she viewed as an older brother had ever since been cold to her and had always subtly insulted her whenever he could. To this day, she still blamed herself for their loss.

Her father had also started becoming stricter in her training of her. But because of her weak constitution, he always left disappointed. After numerous training sessions, eventually, he just gave up and just moved on to Hanabi. It was also at that point that her bond with Hanabi started getting strained. She knew that they both loved her, but there was something that held them back – her father more so than Hanabi.

In truth, there were plenty of times that she just wanted to give up on everything. But there was always someone to carry her out of her sorrow.

Naruto.

On days worse than most, he would somehow say the right words without even meaning to. She knew they weren't anything memorable to him, but to her, they gave her the strength to carry on. But it wasn't only limited to words. When he showed it though his actions, that is when he truly shines. She saw and heard how most of the people treated him, but despite all that, he still pushed through.

Eventually, she started to admire him greatly. She became her source of strength, thinking, if he could do it, why couldn't she? Whenever she would get down on herself, she would just spend her time watching him train and then she'd cheer back up again. He had a certain quality that inspires other people, she realized in passing, even if said other people don't realize it themselves.

One of the more prominent examples of those people was Satsuki Uchiha. Yes, she knew that the Uchiha heir was in actuality an heiress. After all, she did have the Byakugan.

She also knew Satsuki from childhood. There were times when her father would bring her along when he went to visit the Uchiha clan leader. While both of the clans were not necessarily friendly with each other, the both of them were apparently in the same team during the Third Shinobi World War and had developed a brotherhood of some sort. Needless to say, the two of them would play together for the duration of her father's visit.

On the day after the Uchiha clan massacre, there was a new addition to their class. Initially, she thought that meant Satsuki didn't make it through and was therefore sad.

The usage of her Byakugan had quickly dispelled those feelings.

She, being a smart girl, came to understand why the Uchiha clan heiress would do such a thing when her father would have walks in the villages. Without fail, he would stop by in front of the Uchiha clan district and would be unable to hold back a frown when he looked at the drunkards that would loiter around and deface the area. He would immediately compose his expression and move on.

She remembered the eve of the Uchiha clan burial. Her father had a wistfulness that wasn't completely hidden by his stoic visage, and if her eyes weren't fooling her, she could've sworn that she saw some tears pouring, though it could just be rain.

The tears that she was sure that were genuine though, were of Satsuki Uchiha's after Naruto punched her. She herself was startled, of course, but wasn't really all that surprised. He was infamous for his spontaneity. But when he had said a few choice words, she could see from afar how utterly grateful Satsuki's face was. He seemed to have the talent of saying the right things at the same time.

While she understood what Satsuki must have felt, she found herself jealous of the relationship the two developed after the event. Nevertheless, she was also happy for both of them, knowing that they have hard lives.

Slam

She squeaked and instinctively looked at the source of the noise that brought her out of her reverie. She flushed immediately at coming face-to-face with the grinning Naruto however.

"Alright, let's go Hinata!" He hopped off from his stool and started walking out. She bowed at Ayame and Teuchi in thanks and scurried off after him. But before she fully turned around, she managed to see Ayame mouth 'good luck' to her which made her red to her roots.

There was a kind of heavy atmosphere that enveloped the both of them, neither of them seeming to know what to say. Being a person of few words, all she could do was poke her fingers together in nervousness.

While doing so, she couldn't help but sneak a few glances at Naruto. While he seemed the same as ever, there was a certain calmness in his eyes that she assumed resulted from his back-to-back missions. He also had this look that he would usually wear whenever he was trying to hide some sort of pain. It made her a bit worried.

"Say, what missions have you guys done so far?" Naruto's sudden question broke the silence and made her jump in surprise and look away from him.

"O-oh, u-umm n-nothing much, j-just some D-ranks." She managed to stutter out once she composed herself.

"Eh? Really?" Naruto said in a rather uninterested manner before his face scrunched up. "Then did you have to chase that demon cat?"

"Do you mean Tora?"

"Like I said, demon cat." There was a look of absolute loathing on his face as he said that.

"Yes, but I think he's not s-so bad." She smiled at him diplomatically.

"No Hinata, you don't understand!" – He shivered – "That cat is a monster! Have you seen the way it shreds a person's face!?"

"B-but it would always be calm whenever I would hold it." She tilted her head in confusion. Naruto stared at her appraisingly for a few moments before looking straight ahead again.

"Well, I guess it wouldn't be such a surprise."

"Why is that?" She asked as her confusion increased.

"Animals tend to go to gentle people." He looked back at her and grinned. "You're the gentlest person I know!" She could feel her cheeks heat up at his compliment. "That cat is still a demon by the way."

She let a giggle go out of her lips at the pout that appeared on Naruto's face. After Naruto's icebreaker, their conversation just flowed. It still amazes her how easy it is for him to make a person feel at ease.

While time passed by as they talked about various topics, they eventually reached the Hyuuga clan compound to her chagrin. He walked her up to the entrance as they finished their latest conversation.

"Well, this is it." – he put his arms behind his head – "It's fun talking to you Hinata. We gotta do this again sometime."

She gave him a conservative smile, "I'd like that." There were still some things that she had wanted to say to him but she was satisfied with just that. She bowed in thanks and turned around to open the door, however, someone beat her to it.

The door opened and revealed her father, Hiashi Hyuuga, his face still set in a stoic visage as he regarded her.

"Hinata, you are late." He stated in a rather factual manner that made her cringe slightly. His gaze then floated to Naruto then he stiffened slightly. "Uzumaki Naruto, I believe?"

"Uhh, yeah," Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What's it to ya?" While she knew how blunt the blonde boy spoke, she still couldn't hold back a wince at the disregard to a noble clan and immediately looked at her father to see how badly the damage was done.

To her surprise, there was none. In fact, she had caught the slight twitch of his mouth and a fleeting reminiscent look in his eyes before it settled back into aloofness.

"I thank you for escorting my daughter home, especially at this hour."

There was a look of sudden realization in Naruto's face and he grinned bashfully. "Ah, it's no problem, Hinata's dad. I was happy to do it." He then looked at her again. "Alright, I'll see ya around Hinata!" He turned around and started to run away.

While she had wanted to just stare at him as he left her sights, she didn't want to risk lengthening the lecture that she was sure to get for staying out late without her sensei so she returned to look at her father.

"Come Hinata, it is almost time for dinner." With that, her father spun on his heel gracefully and walked away. She was sure that her jaw was left opened in surprise. This… had never happened before.

What happened just now?

ナルト

Yo what's up

xxTerror33xx: Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate you pointing it out, can you tell me how I'm to make it dynamic? I've never been one for making good dialogues so I need some pointers, thanks.

Demon Bro the 14th: I can't promise that I'll make him stronger immediately, but he will get stronger gradually. I wouldn't want him to get a sudden power boost just 'cause.

monkiepawn: First of all, thanks for the reviews, I appreciate all of them.

On regards to chapter 2, It's not that they were distrustful of Naruto's ability to keep a secret, but rather it was because of their guilt. Imagine for example you adopted a kid. The kid grew up thinking that you were his real parents then when he grows up he still doesn't know, so you sit him down and tell him. I think it's somewhat like that, since Naruto idolizes the Yondaime Hokage, but then he learns that not only is he his father, but also the person responsible for making him feel hated. I think that's what makes Sarutobi hold back, because he's basically going to be the reason for withholding the information and for devastating the poor kid. I dunno if this makes sense; I lost my train of thought along the way lol.

On chapter 3, the reasoning why I skipped that part is because I absolutely detest writing stuff related to wave arc. In other words, I just want it to be over with, 'cause to be honest I always get writer's block during wave arc. I don't know what you mean about 2 months though, I can't recall putting anything saying 2 months. His interactions, however, I thought I had only changed his interactions with Satsuki, for the others, I think he still comes off as bratty. If not, I'll just change it once I have the time. University is a bitch and a half to deal with.

On chapter 4, well, to be blunt, he is stupid when it comes to planning ahead. I believe that he's the type that shines best when he's thinking on his feet. He is basically the antithesis of Shikamaru who plans out way ahead of time. And he is known to act on his emotions. As for the Sharingan question, I think when Kakashi said that he had the Sharingan, he didn't exactly explain what it does, so I'd think he would get curious.

On chapter 8, He will start training, but my view in that is that there is no better teacher than experience, so he will be thrust into situations that require him to develop. His teachers will give him the tools, but it will be up to him to make something of it. I also didn't say anything about childhood and making him stay as a child. I only wrote that, while he's still young (or fresh-out-of-the-academy), he should enjoy what life has to offer(i.e. not much seriousness in terms of missions given that he already has a crappy childhood), and not worry about things that involves unknown forces. Also, technically, he didn't deal with the jounin, it was a certain someone that possessed him that defeated Zabuza.

On chapter 9, I've always thought that when bunshins explode that it wouldn't let the memories go back to the original, or else it would mean that the original would remember the feeling of exploding. But yeah, you're right, being chased and put into a life-threatening situation makes people forget about irrelevant things.

Whew that was a lot of explanation, but thanks for asking those questions, it makes me think if there are any plot holes that needed to be fixed, so please point away!

And as for the others that reviewed, I thank you all. I am always happy when someone reviews me. :D

So like always, please leave constructive criticisms, point out any grammar/spelling/punctuation/expression/plot mistakes if you see any, and if you'd like to suggest better wording/expressions, please do

xxxYin-Yangxxx, out.