Author's Note: Double digits! I remember when I turned the big one oh! And now this story has reached that point as well. Thankfully, we don't have to wait an entire year for the next chapter. I hope that you like this chapter, and let me know what you liked/didn't like. I want to involve everyone!

Chapter 10: New Beginnings

The days came by slowly and they were much the same. Naruto would spend a decent part of the day doing missions with his squad, slowly building a relationship with his team. During the middle of the day, he would go to train with Hiruzen, mastering one technique after another. At the evening, he would spend his time training his body and chakra control. He also took to reading so that he could try to keep his mind up to par with the rest. He didn't want to have a flaw like that when it was so easily remedied.

As such, Naruto spent most of his time away from the other inhabitants of the village. The hurt in his heart regarding Kiba never diminished, but he did build up a bit of a tolerance to it. Enough so that when he saw Kiba in the streets, he didn't nearly break down every time. He was still aloof with the Inuzuka though, not really wanting to seem that approachable. It hurt Naruto even more to treat Kiba like that. For all that Kiba knew, the two didn't know each other and Naruto was just being an ass to him. Naruto knew he deserved better than that, but then he reminded himself that that was the reason why they were in that predicament. To keep Kiba happy and safe. Naruto would sacrifice nearly anything to have that happen.

He started to be able to keep his mask up a bit better, even though he was still roiling on the inside. He smiled every now and again, and if he was feeling particularly well, he would laugh. It was worth it to Naruto to see that Kakashi and Hiruzen appeared relieved that he seemed to be getting better. Unfortunately, though, there was nothing Naruto could do to escape his dreams. He usually tried to tire out his body by working out, but it slowly got to the point where he just couldn't work out long enough to be able to sleep peacefully. He would have dreams for a couple of nights that made it hard for him to sleep. He would become exhausted and sleep peacefully for a day or two, and the cycle would repeat. It was slowly driving him mad, not knowing if when he closed his eyes if he would be brought back in to a world that he didn't belong in anymore.

On a particularly bleak day with a mission shortage, Naruto was all set to go train with Hiruzen, but a knock at his door stopped him. He tensed slightly, not knowing what to expect. No one ever really sought him out, and he was used to that. The fact that someone was there meant one of a few things. One: They had the wrong address. That was the best outcome. Two: Someone he knew was checking up on him. While the thought was incredibly sweet, Naruto wasn't naive. He knew that no one would put forth that kind of effort for someone like him. Third: He had unknowingly angered someone enough that they had actively sought him out. That may mean a fight and Naruto wasn't going to hurt anyone in the village regardless if it meant that he would get hurt himself. This was the worst, but the most likely scenario in Naruto's mind.

He went to the door and opened it, fully expecting to be assaulted. What floored him and sent his heart hammering was the fact that it was Tsume Inuzuka at the door, looking distinctly uncomfortable. She looked like she had about as much sleep as Naruto, which is to say not much.

"Inuzuka-Sama. I didn't know that you would be coming." Naruto said, masterfully controlling his voice. Tsume still winced.

"I don't deserve that title, not after what I made happen. I'm not here to ask for forgiveness, because what I've done doesn't deserve forgiveness. I'm here because... Naruto, I had no right to say those cruel things to you. They weren't even remotely true. I said what I did because I knew that it would hurt the most. And it did. And I... I never meant for you to be so miserable. I can't... do anything to fix this, but I can't not let you know how sorry I am. You deserve more than anyone in this village to be happy for what you've gone through." Tsume said, keeping her face down-turned. It wasn't enough to hide the tear tracks going down her cheeks. Naruto was unsure how to respond. He didn't really blame Tsume for saying those things. He had heard them often enough that he had started to believe them himself.

When Tsume started to move away, Naruto stopped her by grabbing her wrist lightly. She froze at the contact, first looking at where they were connected and then towards the blond's face. Naruto studied her for a long moment and then his gaze softened. He released her wrist.

"I appreciate the fact that you came here to apologize. I don't blame you for what you did, and I don't regret what I did. Whether I'm worthy of being a friend to your son or not is a moot point. What is an undeniable fact is that Kiba would be in more danger by being associated with me than he would be elsewise. This was for the best. My feelings matter little to me when compared to him." Naruto said.

"The ninja life is a life of danger. The better you are, the more danger you will be in. I want my child to be the best that he can be. Being associated with you will only be more dangerous if he doesn't get the proper training. Hokage-sama was willing to train him at one point. He would be willing to do it again. I know that you will always have the memories that Kiba won't, but you can try to rekindle the friendship. A bond like that doesn't just go away. I know that you two could be happy again." Tsume said. Naruto was already shaking his head with a small smile.

"I agree that the ninja life is a dangerous one, but the fact of the matter is that I have a demon sealed inside of me. Just by being around me, people are in danger. I can't subject Kiba to that again. I can't be that selfish again." Naruto said, his eyes shimmering slightly. Tsume hesitated before she grabbed the sides of his face and got down on his level.

"That wouldn't be selfish. What would be selfish is to not let Kiba have a say in the matter either way. You can't make him be your friend again, but what you're doing is denying him the chance to even try." Tsume said and stood up, walking away without another word.

Naruto didn't know what to think. He saw truth in what Tsume was saying, but he couldn't let Kiba get hurt just because he happened to know him. Naruto's head started hurting a bit, and he walked in his apartment to lay down for a moment. Before he knew it, he was asleep. What was even more surprising for him was the fact that he didn't dream at all.

When he awoke the following morning, he felt… lighter. Like something had been lifted off of his chest. He was rested and ready to face the day. He noticed that his smiles came more easily and naturally. They were even mostly genuine, which was a vast improvement. He made it to the training grounds where Squad 7 had agreed to meet up the previous day for some light sparring.

Sakura and Sasuke were paired together, a fact that Sakura was obviously excited about, while Kakashi and Naruto squared off against one another.

It became clear that while Sakura had the superior intellect and planning, she couldn't keep up with Sasuke in terms of speed and raw power. With Naruto and Kakashi, it was a bit more evenly matched.

"I don't want you to hold back Naruto. It could be dangerous if people know what you're capable of, but it's time to start trusting your teammates. It'll also be good to keep your skills sharp." Kakashi said loud enough for the other two to hear him. Naruto looked at him skeptically, but trusting his sensei, he made a few short hand signs and something within him shifted.

All of them felt the massive increase in chakra from Naruto. He had been keeping a block on his chakra to make himself less of a target, but he knew that he would need all of it if he even wanted to stand a chance against Kakashi.

The two didn't do anything for a long moment, waiting for the other to make the first move. All of a sudden, Kakashi darted away a bit, and Naruto followed. They both were intentionally slow enough that Sakura and Sasuke could keep up. Naruto inwardly smirked when he noticed that Kakashi was taking them towards a river.

The silver haired jonin stopped in the center of the river while Naruto stopped about twenty feet away. Naruto was so used to manipulating his chakra to stand on water that it was second nature at that point. Again, there was the silent stand-off, but this one lasted for only a moment. Kakashi rapidly started doing hand signs and Naruto knew the jutsu that he was about to unleash, and he started on a flurry of his own hand signs. Kakashi was slightly faster, but Naruto was unconcerned.

"Water Dragon Jutsu." Kakashi said and a giant dragon made of water rose from the river. The water was whirring around at such a velocity that it would be harmful if allowed to connect. Immediately, the dragon started rocketing towards Naruto. The blond finished his signs and placed his hands on the top of the water.

"Water Wall Jutsu." Naruto said and a giant plume of water erupted around him, shielding him from view. Naruto manipulated his chakra and sent the water circling around him ferociously. The dragon made a resounding smack when it hit the wall of water. Thanks to the spinning motion of the wall, the Dragon seemed to glide around it. In the process, it looked as if the wall absorbed most of the dragon, making it ineffectual.

However, Naruto knew that he was far from in the clear. He kept his sense in high alert and as a result, he could tell where the next bout of danger was coming from. He jumped into the air as Kakashi's arms shot from the waters surface, trying to latch onto Naruto's legs and pull him under.

Kakashi had apparently anticipated this because Naruto had to contort his body almost beyond what he was capable of to avoid the shuriken that were speeding towards him. Naruto felt a huge smile split his face, feeling the rush and freedom of the exhilarating battle taking place. He let his chakra fizzle out and the jutsu abated. He touched back down on top of the water and the two ninjas weren't motionless for long.

Kakashi, knowing that nothing was going to get past Naruto's Water Wall while they were on the water decided that it would be a good idea to get on some dry land and the blond followed with a grin on his face.

As soon as Naruto's feet touched the ground, it roiled underneath him. In no time at all, he was surrounded by a dome of solid earth several feet thick. He knew that Kakashi was behind it and took a second to think of the best way out. He knew that this jutsu would slowly drain his chakra, so it was important that he decided on a course of action quickly. He remembered a jutsu that he had just learned the previous day. He was a bit hesitant to use it because he was only successful with it about three quarters of the time, but it was his best shot with so short of time. Before he started, he created three shadow clones and made sure that they were hidden from Chakra detection. He was depleting his chakra reserves even further, but he felt that it was worth it for the information he could potentially gain. He sent them under ground to try to locate Kakashi and try to take him unawares.

Softly, though quickly gaining strength, Naruto started to blow air into his palm, shaping his chakra around the air in a spiral pattern. When he felt that it was large enough, he gave it a violent shove with his chakra and sent it speeding towards the wall. As soon as it left his palm, he got another ready. Even though he may only get the jutsu to work three quarters of the time, he was able to fire them off so rapidly that it made up for the duds.

"Wind Release: Spiraling Wind Ball." Naruto exclaimed and after a short moment, he carved out a hole in the rock large enough for him to pass through, and he made it back into the light, facing Kakashi once more.

"Nice job Naruto. Remarkable that you could keep a clear head while being trapped like that. It'll serve you well later in life. But you didn't really think that it would be that easy, did you?" Kakashi asked, sharply pulling a cord away from the ground, triggering a trap. Naruto tensed, not knowing what was going to happen, looking around furtively to see where the next bout of danger was going to come from.

Suddenly, everting started getting fuzzy and blurry around the edges. The green in the trees bled down to the ground and took over the grey of the rocks while the grass died in front of his eyes and grew back, repeating the cycle in ever faster loops. The sky turned an interesting shade of dark purple and the clouds took the shapes of animals which started to fight each other. Naruto knew then what had happened, and he panicked a bit. He knew that there was only one course of action.

"I submit." The blond said, and he felt a sense of vertigo, making him close his eyes. When he opened them again, he was looking up at the sky and he could see the faces of Sakura and Sasuke above him looking at him with concern.

"That was something else. Remind me not to get on your bad side. I can't hold a candle to what you can do. It was scary when suddenly you collapsed. Where did you learn all of that?" Sakura asked and Naruto was about to answer, but Kakashi beat him to the punch.

"Naruto's mentor isn't of concern. What is important is the fact that you didn't even struggle when you were in the genjutsu Naruto." Kakashi said, and Naruto flushed with slight shame.

"Yeah, I've been trying to get genjutsu, but I can't seem to get a knack for it. I'm not even able to dispel the genjutsu, so I knew that I had to submit. There was nothing that I could do." Naruto said sheepishly.

"Well, it's a good thing that you have a team with you then. You can't be good at everything. That's why you get people together to fill the gaps." Sakura said, and Naruto nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Well, I'll see what we can do to try to get you to at least dispel them. It would be bad if you were caught in one with no way out. As for sparring, I think that was great. Let's go see if Hokage-Sama has any missions for us." Kakashi said. The group quickly made their way to the Hokage mansion and were seen in.

"You have all been doing well with your missions. I know that no one likes to do the grunt work, but it still needs to be done. However, I know that you will get burnt out if all I keep giving you is jobs to fetch cats for rich old women." Hiruzen said with a light chuckle.

"Did that damn cat get out again?! I swear, with how often he gets out, the owner might have picked up on the fact that they didn't want to be there. Not that I can blame the poor guy. I wouldn't want to get smothered like that either." Naruto said with a grimace.

"Yes, the cat got out again, but we will leave that for now. I have been speaking with Kakashi and we agree that it's time for you two to get going on a C rank mission. There might be a bit of fighting involved, but it should still be easy. You will be escorting a master builder to a bridge that is under construction in the Land of Waves. When completed, this bridge will connect the Land of Fire and the Land of Waves, making trade much easier and more reliable. It will mean a completely new way of life for these people, who have always had life a bit hard." Hiruzen said and motioned for someone to enter the room.

An older man with a wide brimmed hat entered the room with a bottle in his hand. He seems to have a permanent scowl etched onto his face. He looked at Squad 7 and harrumphed.

"You're sending me three brats to be my body guards?" He asked haughtily. Naruto watched as Sasuke tensed in what he knew was anger, and Sakura drooped a bit. Naruto, used to that kind of treatment, wasn't fazed.

"These three 'brats', as you so kindly put it, are full-fledged ninja of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and they deserve respect. I am a jonin and, even if we run into any trouble along the way, I will be there to handle it." Kakashi said in an icily even tone. The older man blanched a bit and had the decency to look a bit shamed.

"Yeah, well, this is important for my town, so I'm sorry for being concerned. The name's Tazuna." He said.

"I am Kakashi, this is Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto. When would you like to leave?"

"As soon as possible. I've been away from home for too long already, and I miss my family." Tazuna said wistfully.

"All right. Meet up at the main gate in an hour. Be prepared for an extended outing. This could easily take a month or more." Kakashi said and the group separated.

Naruto was ready in half an hour and he was making his way down towards the main gate when he was stopped by a voice calling his name.

"Hey Naruto, wasn't it?" Kiba asked. Naruto would know his voice anywhere.

"Umm… yeah. It was Kiba, right?" Naruto asked, trying his damndest to seem natural, but he had a feeling that he wasn't doing the great of a job.

"Yeah, that's me! Hey, I was just wondering if you might want to hang out some time? I've noticed that you don't really get out much." Kiba replied, not really thinking through his response.

'Has he… been watching me? Why?! He can't remember me, so why would he try to watch me?' Naruto thought in his head, but kept his face neutral.

He was warring an internal battle. He wanted Kiba to be as safe as possible, which meant that he wouldn't be able to be around Naruto, but the blond so desperately wanted his friend back. His mind flashed back to the conversation he had with Tsume the previous day, and it created a tipping point.

"… That would be nice, I would think. But I'm warning you now. If you are seen with me, people might start to dislike you. They hate me… for things that I don't have control over." Naruto said bleakly.

"Well, why should I care what anyone else other than myself thinks? You seem like a nice guy, and I'm willing to give you a chance, so that's that." Kiba said, and Naruto was conscious of the fact that Kiba didn't try to pry into what it was that Naruto was hated for.

"Well, then I guess I'll see you around Kiba. I have a mission that I have to go do, and I'll probably be gone for a while, but we should do something when I get back." Naruto said cautiously. He was now even more afraid than he had been before to spend time with Kiba.

He knew that he was giving Kiba a second chance to break his heart. He was afraid that when he revealed that he was the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, regardless of how Kiba had taken it the first time, he would do the complete opposite.

'But… if it turns out well, then it's worth the risk, right? And even if he won't, I'll always have the memories from before.' Naruto thought. He was surprised when Kiba extended a hand towards him. Naruto gripped it hesitantly, relishing in the warmth that emanated from Kiba's palm.

"Right, well I'll see you around Naruto." Kiba said, walking the opposite way of where Naruto was going. The blond stayed in place for a second, trying to calm himself down. Just that simple touch had sent a flurry of butterflies going through his tummy and his heart was beating faster. He could feel that his face was warm with a slight flush.

Maybe… things could get better for him after all.

Author's Note: Again, a bit of a short chapter, but I don't like making them too long, so I'll cut it off here. Let me know what you think. How do you like the direction that the story is going so far?