Chapter 10:
The blanket caressed her from her chest to her toes as her slender legs were bent and her arms lay motionless on one side of her body. Morning light had peaked into her room barley reaching her eyes that were shrouded by the strands of hair that had fallen over her face. A gentle breath flowed from between her soft full lips as she exhaled the last bit of air from her pleasant dream. Slowly her lashes began to lift as her eyes glistened in the sunlight. She blinked a few times to fully awaken herself before she glided the sheets off her body. Turning her legs off the edge of the bed she slipped her feet into a pair of sandals and stood up to fold the blanket that had kept her warm the previous night.
Walking over to the bathroom she turned on the faucet and with her hands brushed her hair back behind her ears so that she could wash her face. She cupped her hands together to fill them with water before pressing it up to her forehead, her cheeks, and her chin. The water began to flow off her silky skin as she dried herself with a towel. It had been awhile since she had seen herself in the mirror but as she continued to look she held up her fingers to her cheek and her lips began to crease into a smile. Closing her eyes for a second she could feel where his cheek had brushed up against hers from the hug he gave her the night before. Her dreams had brought her to a place where Naruto and her stood side by side caring for one another through the hardships that they faced. Opening her eyes again she decided to tie her hair up in a bun for the day of training, revealing her neck where the skin was just as smooth as her cheeks. She slipped out of her pajamas and into her training clothes before deciding to see if Naruto had awoken as well.
Closing her bedroom door behind her she walked to the adjacent room to peak into Naruto's window. He lay there motionless with his body sprawled out over the bed with the white ball on his sleeping cap falling down over his forehead. Even in his sleep he seemed so carefree as she longed to be able to lay with him and not think about the problems of the world. Before she could continue admiring him in his sleep however a little figure appeared next to his bed.
It was a little girl who looked to be around 5 or 6 years old. She had crawled up next to the side of the bed and was peaking her eyes up at Naruto. Slowly she extended her arms up to the white ball that was on his face and yanked off his sleeping cap. It had happened so abruptly that he jumped up thinking that he was being attacked. The little girl only began to laugh loudly as she saw him jumping up to his feet in bed. When the adrenalin had started to subside from his body he looked down to notice the little girl who was holding onto his sleeping cap and laughing.
"Hey….. who are you and what are you doing with my cap?" curiosity had gotten to him as he had not seen her before.
"Hi I'm Machiko, my friends call me Machi, I'm training to be a priestess here at the temple…… and I like your cap" She placed the cap on her head, which was obviously too big for her as it fell right over her eyes. Naruto still somewhat surprised by the little girl's arrival in his room slowly lifted the front of the cap from her eyes and gave her a little smirk.
"Hmmmm well Machi-chan I'm Naruto…..hmmm and I guess if you really like it and since I'm staying at your temple I guess you can have it." The little girls eyes lit up as she had never received a gift from a boy before.
"Really? Naruto-san you would give this to me" The shock had not left her face as she asked him.
"Sure why not" he dropped the front of the cap back down over her eyes. She then lifted it up herself and with a beaming smile reached up and hugged him.
"Hey … Hey… Machi-chan ummmm" he was somewhat surprised by her reaction and patted her on the back.
"Alright Naruto-san until I become a full priestess you will be my boyfriend!" She continued to grip her arms around him.
"WHAT! Machi-chan I'm sorry but that's not possible …" He stood there staring at her in shock at her comment. He didn't think that girls as young as Machi were interested in boys.
"Why not do you already have a girlfriend?" She looked up with endearing eyes.
"Well no not yet….. but well" he leaned down close to her and whispered. "I do think I like someone…. Well at the very least I think I'm starting to like someone" her eyes began to fill with tears as she was saddened by his comments.
"Wait wait Machi-chan don't cry wait wait…. " a big frown now adorned her face. "You're a beautiful girl machi-chan but I'm just an old man you're going to want to look for someone more your own age…..How about I be your older brother then" slowly she wiped away her tears as she had easily gotten over her first crush.
"Ok That works then. I guess you are kind of old Naruto-ni-san" She took off the hat and held it out in front of him.
"You should give this to the girl you like.." She kept her eyes fixed on the hat as she looked at the white fluffy ball hanging from the end.
"Machi-chan you can still have it. But you know that might be a good idea maybe I will get that girl something….. but anyways…. out you go he picked her up and started carrying her to the door. "I have to change and get ready cause if I know Hina-chan she's already awake and waiting for me"
"Is Hina-chan the girl you like?" Naruto paused as he thought about the question.
"I'll let you know when I figure it out." He placed her down in front of the door so she could let herself out.
"Thank you Naruto-ni-san" She pulled the cap back from her eyes again and ran out the door.
Not being able to hear what they were saying but still having witnessed the scene in front of her she felt a warming sensation inside herself. Finding him a kind a caring individual had always been easy but seeing him give his sleeping cap to Machi only made her long for him more.
Before Machi had gotten far out the door the cap slipped back over her eyes and she ran right into Hinata and fell back before she lifted the cap from her eyes again to see who she had bumped into.
"Hello. Who are you" She asked in the same friendly voice she used while speaking to Naruto only seconds ago.
"I'm Hinata and what is your name?"
"I'm Machiko but my friends call me Machi…. Are you Hina-chan?" Machi continued to look at Hinata who had helped her back to her feet and was still kneeling so she was eye level with Machi. Still holding the cap up abover her eyes Machi began to stare at Hinata's kind face. "You're really pretty" Hinata blushed at the comment as no one had really referred to her as being pretty before.
"Well only Naruto calls me that but you're more than welcome to. I think you're a very pretty young lady as well Machi-chan"
"Ok Hina-san…….You must be the girl Naruto thinks he likes cause you're really really pretty. Can you show me how to tie my hair up like yours later?" The remark about Naruto liking her had made her blush even more but she decided to pretend she didn't hear it.
"Of coarse Machi-chan"
"Ok I have to get to the training area before the head priestess gets mad at me. BYE HINA-SAN!" Machi ran off down the corridor past Hinata. Before she could look back around, the door to Naruto's room was opening again.
"Hina-chan?" He looked down at Hinata who was looking back up at him. "What are you doing down there?"
"Oh I dropped something," She stood up before him so not to arouse suspicion. He only continued to stare at her as he had never really seen her with her hair up many times. He remembered when it was shorter when they were younger but now that it was up and revealed her light soft colored neck he could barley take his eyes off of her.
"Oh… umm did you find it.. do you need any help?"
"No I'm ok Naruto-kun I found it….. Are you ready to begin our training?" She tried to change the subject before he figured out she had been standing outside his room for a little while already.
"Yea this is going to be great. I can't wait to see what these jutsus are capable of" The excitement on his face was rarely hidden as Hinata looked on. She nodded and they both began to walk towards the center of the courtyard to where Taira and Tougyo were already waiting.
"Naruto-kun, lets do whatever it takes …..together" even though he knew that Hinata was a hard worker the remark still surprised him. They both smiled at each other as they continued on their way.
They approached the monk and the priestess that they had met the day before and to their right they could see the rest of the monks and priestesses who lived at the temple. They were as Jiraya had said ranging in age from 5 to 80. Machi who was standing besides the rest of the priestesses turned and gave them both a big smile. Before they could get to know the rest of the temple's inhabitants they were motioned off by Tougyo and split into two groups and went into two separate indoor training rooms.
"Good Morning Hinata, Naruto. The other monks and priestesses have been informed about your arrival here, however you will not be training with them. You will be training directly under Tougyo-sensei." Although it was still early, Taira had an almost nurturing tone in her voice that seemed to be able to relax the both of them each time she talked.
"Oh don't worry though I'm sure you'll be able to get to know everyone during your stay here." Tougyo stood there with a grin that almost seemed to be permanently etched on his face as he continued to talk to them. "But as Taira said I will be supervising your training. So why don't we get started."
"Alright Sensei I'm ready for this You can just show me how it's done and I'm sure both me and Hinata will get it in no time" Naruto was on the edge of his toes still salivating at the thought of being able to use the same powers that he had seen Tougyo use the day before to stop their attack.
"Sorry Sensei, but do you mind if I ask where Jiraya-sama is" as usual Hinata did not miss the details of her surroundings.
"He left last night to one of the towns in the Hidden Village of the Valley. But to make sure he kept on track we sent Seichou-san with him. Because I'm sure you two already know what kind of person he is" the four of them started to laugh as they knew exactly why Seichou had been sent with Jiraya.
"Alright before you start with Tougyo let me say a few things. I'm sure Jiraya has told you about the Protekuto Jutsus. However, I will explain why they were developed and how they are used. The Jutsus by themselves are I guess what you would say rather simple and aren't so complex but nonetheless you cant expect to master them easily. However the most important thing I will tell you is that these powers are only to be used when protecting people first and foremost….Don't ever forget that." Taira looked them both directly in the eyes to indicate the seriousness of what she had just told them. She then turned to Tougyo to let him finish up the explanation as she walked off to a training room where one of the groups had entered earlier.
They watched as Taira disappeared into the room before Tougyo continued. "So there are four levels of these Jutsus. The first three levels will use the five Jutsus we will be teaching you. The forth level is not something you will be learning while you are here at this temple." His tone of speech which was usually very friendly had suddenly become very serious.
"What! Why not ….we can learn them all! Right Hina-chan!" He turned and smiled at her as she did the same in return.
"Naruto, this is not a joke. The first three levels will be all that you will have a chance to learn here and you'll be lucky even to get to the second." He paused as the mood had become almost somber.
Hopefully they wont have to ever use the secondt or third levels while they are here…..that would mean …He continued to look at them thinking and worrying about what they might have to one day face.
"Now then let us begin" Tougyo's tone of voice abruptly shifted back into its friendly tone which only confused Hinata and Naruto even more.
"Alright Lets do this" Naruto yelled out loud.
Hinata's confidence only continued to grow each day she was around him. She felt like the confidence that he exuded only made her believe in herself more. "Yes we're ready Tougyo-sensei." She turned and faced towards their new teacher as her and Naruto braced themselves for what lay ahead.
"Alright then. First you have to remember this hand seal combination. It's simple so it shouldn't be too hard. Ok it's Rabit, tiger, dragon, bear. So that part is simple enough. Next you start to focus your chakra and then think or yell, it's up to you, Protekuto-Jutsu! This is the first and simplest Jutsu but one that is absolutely necessary. It's a chakra enhancement Jutsu. It supplies you with an extra amount of chakra that depending on the level you're performing it at can be enormous." Before he could finish his explanation Naruto had quickly formed the hand seals and tried to perform the Jutsu.
"PROTEKUTO JUTSU!" He fell straight to ground cringing in pain. Tougyo couldn't stop himself from laughing as he saw Naruto struggling on the floor.
"Oh man Jiraya was right you sure are an impatient one" He had bent down so that he inches away from Naruto's face. "But next time let me finish me explanation" Slowly Naruto dragged himself up to his feet embarrassed about what had just happened. Hinata gave him a reassuring smile to let him know that she didn't think any less of him for trying.
"So as I was saying. This first Jutsu has to be performed in order to use the other four as the extra chakra is needed. Then you ask why did Naruto just fall flat on his face? Remember what Taira said 'You must only use these Jutsu when you intend to protect someone'. If you don't have that mindset to start off with your chakra will quickly flow out of your body rather than allowing the surrounding chakra to flow in.
Naruto's face almost scrunched up as he had wish he had listened more closely to what Taira had said.
"You should have learned about the chakra waves and how all living things produce chakra. Only someone who can control the chakra waves, as I have seen you two do already, can use these jutsus." He smiled again at them. " By doing these hand seals you enter into an agreement with all living good spirited things around you. This agreement is that you will protect someone if they loan you some charka. Plants animals people, any living thing. You will then, by forming the seals, be able to cause the chakra waves to flow directly into your body and that's how you start the Jutsu. And I repeat, remember only with intentions to protect will the good spirits around you willingly give their chakra to you"
"Tougyo-sensei, how do you perform different levels of the Jutsu if the hand seals are the same." Hinata stood there trying to understand the jutsu they were being taught. Tougyo looked at her and smiled as he walked over to both of them and motioned for them to sit down.
"You must decide the level of the Jutsu as you perform this chakra enhancement jutsu. As you gather the chakra your ability to focus on your intentions becomes crucial." He paused to see if they were listening closely. He was pleased when he saw them not even blinking. "Level one, in order to perform this level you must focus all of your thoughts and concentrate on protecting anyone and anything at all. You can't focus on trying to gather the chakra but rather you must focus all your thoughts on your purpose. Level Two, to perform this level you must focus all your energy and thoughts towards the protection of your friends and family. Because they are closer to you the mental agreement you make with the surroundings is greater thus enhancing your chakra even further. Once you gather this Chakra you will then be able to use the four other Jutsus at the level at which you gathered the chakra." Naruto looked on with a big grin on his face as he knew that if he was going to become Hokage one day and protect the Konoha that these Jutsus could play a vital role. However he didn't realize what was missing in Tougyo's explanation.
Tougyo motioned for them to stand up again but as they did so Hinata spoke up.
"Tougyo-sensei, But you only told us about the first two levels. What about the third?" Hinata's remark had suddenly made Naruto realize that there was something missing in the explanation.
"Hey yea what about the third level?" Naruto joined in on the questioning.
"Jiraya was right you sure don't miss anything Hinata" Naruto turned and smiled at Hinata as he knew that was one of the reasons he loved having her around, because she always caught the things that he missed. "Well the third level can only be accessed if you can figure it out on your own." He turned to them and almost started snickering.
They both looked at each confused and then back at Tougyo. Both knew that Jiraya had said that they would possibly be able to reach the third level but he had also not told them how. Before they could ask anymore questions Tougyo began talking again.
"Alright then. For the next eleven hours you two will sit here face to face and meditate in the sun until you learn how to focus all of your thoughts on protecting something. After the eleven hours you will then try the Jutsu. You will do this everyday until you figure out how to use it"
"WHAT! 11 hours in this heat!" Naruto had been caught off guard. However, Hinata turned to go sit down and as Naruto saw her out of the corner of his eyes he stopped his complaints and immediately went and sat down in front of her. It was as if she had calmed him down mentally and made him remember that they were willing to do anything to learn these Jutsus.
"Remember, focus on protecting something with every ounce of energy you have." Tougyo turned and left them there sitting cross legged in front of each other as they closed their eyes and tried to focus all of their thoughts.
Hour after hour they sat there trying to focus all their thoughts on protecting someone. Different people would pop up in their minds. They saw their old teammates and friends they had left behind in Konoha and even each other. They saw these people being attacked and then focused on trying to protect them. Every so often they would open their eyes to look at each other and randomly their eyes would meet causing them both to smile and lose focus for a second before they closed their eyes again to continue to meditate. The sweat on their face began to drip down onto the grass they were sitting on as the temperature of the day had been intense. Eventually the sun began to set over the western walls of the temple and a cool breeze came down and cooled them off slightly. The first eleven hours had been a lot tougher than they thought even if it was just sitting and meditating.
Tougyo walked slowly out to where they were sitting as the night had taken over the sky. "Alright you two lets see if you have learned anything or not" Hearing his voice they both opened their eyes and stood in front of him.
"Alright Hina-chan lets show him what we're made of" Naruto turned to her as she smiled and nodded back at him.
Forming the seals almost simultaneously and trying to focus their thoughts on everything they had just thought about while meditating, they both then yelled out.
"PROTEKUTO-JUTSU!" They tried and struggled to feel the chakra waves flow into them but they couldn't hold the last seal as a majority of their chakra drained from their bodies and they fell to the ground.
"You two still don't get it." The monk walked off and left the two lying on the ground. Naruto pulled himself up before helping Hinata up to her feet as well.
"Damn….All that meditating and still nothing." He looked at Tougyo wo was walking off but decided that there would still be time to learn. "Hey Hina-chan do you want to go rest for the day? We've been out here a long time. Or maybe we should go eat some dinner before continuing." This time however Hinata did not look back at him. Her eyes were still looking down to the ground that she had just fallen on.
"Naruot-kun….what if we can't do this and when the people we care about need us the most we aren't able to help them?" Their failure at the Jutsu had caused her insecurities to emerge again as the thoughts of what her father would have said to her began to run through her head, compounded by the images of her friends being attacked and her being helpless in aiding them.
The images began to wear down on her mentally as tears began to form in the corner of her eyes. She could almost hear her father's voice completely until she heard something else, something more comforting, something more reassuring. "What are you talking about Hina-chan? Remember how long it took us to get the Koukuu Jutsu. We shouldn't expect to get this right away either… and… and…well I already know you have the power to help people even without these Jutsu Hina-chan because I know I wouldn't have gotten this far if you weren't my partner" He paused putting one hand behind his head and smiling at Hinata. She had never really heard him speak so fondly of her before but hearing his words brought the small amount of confidence back that she had worked so long and hard to gain.
"Thank you Naruto-kun" he continued to look at her as he could see the reflection of the stars in her eyes. Once again he had just been caught off guard by her beauty. He hadn't paid much attention to her looks until recently but he found himself more often speechless when he did focus on it. Trying to stop his glaring he finally coughed up some words.
"Alright Hina-chan lets get some dinner and then some rest. We'll get these Jutsus soon enough" They both turned and started walking to the dinning area they had been in the night before. Closer than they had ever been they both wanted to reveal their feelings but did not know how. They continued inside and noticed that the rest of the monks and priestesses were also gathered there for dinner. Although the temple was usually a quiet place the dinning area was bustling with noise as all the monks and priestesses were chatting away. Before they could find a seat Machi had run in between them and grabbed them both by the waist and looked up as her head was around the height of their stomach.
"Hina-san, Naruto-Ni-san Come sit with me!" She pulled them towards her table. They both smiled as they follwed and sat at her table.
There were three monks and two other priestesses at the table. They all began to introduce themselves and share little stories about their lives before the temple. The conversation continued on as Naruto and Hinata ate their dinner. Every time she looked over at him he was trying to force down the rice and vegetables.
I'll have to get him more ramen…A smile came to her face as she thought of how she could make him happier.
The dinner did not last long as they began to walk back to their rooms with Machi still in between them. She had her hands extended up towards both Hinata and Naruto as they held them walking down the halls.
"Alright Machi-chan you gotta get to bed now so you can wake up and train some more with the rest of the priestesses and monks. That and me and Hina-chan need to head to bed too" He patted her on the head as they had walked her to her room.
"Ok. I'll be sure to wear the sleeping cap tonight" She said with a beaming smile as she walked into her room.
The two of them were alone again as they walked back to their rooms. When they arrived they stood there standing silent in the moonlight. The awkward silences had continued to grow as they both tried to say what was really on their minds but never could. They looked at each other before relinquishing to the night and heading to bed.
For the next two weeks they continued to try to master the first jutsu but they continued to struggle day after day. The meditation never really seemed to help them but instead it almost haunted them. The constant images of their friends being attacked continued to mentally wear them down. The nights were mostly the same, dinner with the rest of the temple's inhabitants with a few random conversations. Naruto, however had become a favorite of the younger monks as he showed them many different tricks they could play on the older monks. It had become one of his favorite pastimes when he realized that Tougyo would catch everything they tried to pull on him. He made all the younger monks promise to come up with even greater pranks, as it was a goal for all of them to finally be able to get a prank on Tougyo.
The two weeks approached as they were about to be let out for their first break from the temple. Before the day had ended Jiraya had arrived back at the temple. He walked in the gates with his head faced towards the ground as Seichou walked calmly right beside him.
"Ero-Sennin! Did you find her… did you find Neko?" Naruto ran towards Jiraya when he noticed he had returned.
"No…. Didn't spot her anywhere" Jiraya still appeared to be extremely depressed.
"Are you ok Jiraya-sama" Hinata had caught on that something was bothering Jiraya.
"He'll be fine. He's just mad that I wouldn't let him go out and party at night" Seichou walked off down towards the other monks as he left Jiraya there in front of them.
"Damn that Seichou. I couldn't lose him. That bastard wouldn't even give me one night off to myself." Jiraya glared at the back of Seichou before he turned back to the two in front of him. "So how are you two coming along? Have you two mastered the first Jutsu yet?"
Naruto scrunched his face as a sigh nearly escaped Hinata's lips. "No Jiraya-sama we haven't.."
"Yea we've done everything Tougyo-sensei has told us to do but we always end up drained." Tougyo began to walk towards them as he welcomed Jiraya back.
"So have you told them the secret to the first Jutsu yet Tougyo-sensei?" he snickered as he looked at Tougyo from the corner of his eyes.
"Secret…. Hmmm I don't remember any secrets….hmmmm you know at my old age I don't remember a lot of things anymore" Tougyo stood there acting as if he didn't recall what Jiraya was talking about.
"Oh come on Tougyo, two weeks is long enough for these two to suffer. Besides they will be heading to one of the towns west of here tomorrow for the day so it would be good if they learned it just in case anything happens." Jiraya tried to coax Touogyo into letting the secret out.
"Hmmmm yes I think it's coming to me… but you know it usually never does until I train new pupils for at least two months… as I'm sure you recall" Tougyo began to laugh as he remember how much he had made Jiraya struggle with the Jutsu.
"WAIT! YOU MEAN ALL THIS TIME YOU WEREN'T TELLING US HOW TO USE THE JUTSU COMPLETLEY?" Naruto almost grew furious as Tougyo and Jiraya began to laugh. Hinata looked on relieved that there was something more as she had thought it was going to be hopeless.
"Of coarse not, I wanted to see you try to figure it out on your own. Oh my Jiraya was funny when I taught him. I think I remember when he tried to act like he was trying to learn the first Jutsu and acted like he had the chakra drained from him so he could fall into Tsunade. Oh my what a temper that girl had" Jiraya's laughter turned into a frown as he didn't like his apprentices hearing about his childhood stories. That and he did not like to think about the many times when Tsunade had punched him.
"Would you mind if we asked what the secret was Tougyo-sensei?" Hinata looked at him with her pleasant eyes that could even melt the heart of a monk.
"Oh alright fine. First off why don't you two tell me what you have been thinking about when you're meditating." They both told him of how they saw their friends being attacked and how they wanted to help them.
"Ok well there's your problem you're focusing on the wrong thing." They both looked at him confused as they had been told to focus on protecting something.
"Look….Yes, you are supposed to focus on protecting someone but you cant focus on stopping the attacker. The secret is you have to focus on the bonds you share with those people and the bonds they share with others. If you can focus on wanting to protect those bonds the jutsu are very simple. Basically, focus on the positive reasons for why you want to protect someone not the fear and aniexity you get if you don't do something to help them. Only these positive thoughts will free your mind and body from the limits of your chakra container and allow you to freely absorb the chakra waves from living things."
Hinata and Naruto turned and looked at each other with a big smile and their eyes filled with excitement. They knew exactly what Tougyo was talking about. The same reason that Hinata had felt so crushed the first night they tried the Jutsu was why they couldn't perform it. All their negative thoughts hindered them.
"So give it a try already why don't you. I guess you guys suffered enough. Darn Jiraya, it would have been so much fun to see them struggle for just a bit longer" Tougyo laughed as he backed Jiraya and himself away from Naruto and Hinata to let them try the Jutsu.
The both stood in front of each other and formed the hand seals and yelled out in unison again. "Protekuto Jutus."
Things were different this time. They saw their friends. They saw the good times they had spent with them, the reasons why they had all become friends in the first place. The attacker wasn't even apart of their thoughts anymore. Then it happened. Their chakra began to glow like and aura surrounding their bodies. They both opened their eyes as they knew what was happening. They could sense the chakra waves around them flowing in their bodies. Before they could keep going on trying to focus on gathering more chakra Naruto broke his concentration and reach out grabbed Hinata's shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. Showing his emotions in a moment of excitement was what he was use to doing.
"I knew we could do it Hina-chan.! We're the greatest team ever!" He was overcome with joy now that they were ready to learn the rest of the Jutsus.
Hinata even began to giggle as she was surprised they were able to perform the jutsu only two weeks into their training.
"Hey Tougyo-sensei that was a level two protekuto Jutsu wasn't it!" Naruto boasted as loudly as he could.
"Nope. Not even close." Naruto excitement ended as he released Hinata from his embrace. They both turned to look at Tougyo.
"There is no doubt you were focusing on your friends and family as it is hard to focus a thought on a stranger but only in real life situations will level two or three ever happen. So don't get too far ahead of yourself. But hey not bad" His eyes closed together as he smiled at them. Looking back at Hinata with a little disappointment Naruto still managed a smile as they had still come further than they had in the previous two weeks.
"Alright you two. Go get some dinner and rest, I'm sure it's been a long day already. You guys will be heading out with me tomorrow morning for the day." Jiraya then looked off in the distance to see Seichou who was talking to Taira. "And we will be leaving bright and early to make sure he doesn't come with us" The three of them laughed at Jiraya as they knew the two weeks must have been harder for him that it was for them. They ended the day of training early and proceded to join the rest of the monks in the dinning hall who had also ended their training session early as was their tradition every two weeks so that they could regain their energy for their own training. Machi as she had become accustomed to doing, ran up to both Naruto and Hinata. This time however Naruto's reaction was a little different.
"Hey Machi-chan. You go take Hiinata and I'll be right there with you" Hinata and Machi not thinking much of it smiled and walked off to their seats.
"Hey… Ero-sennin… can I talk to you for a minute outside."
"Something wrong Naruto?" Jiraya squinted his eyes trying to figure out what exactly Naruto wanted.
"Umm well I couldn't really talk to any of the monks about it… well umm… you see… Hina-chan.. umm.." He tried to find the right way to ask the question.
"Just say it already I'm pretty hungry."
"Ok well what do you think is a good way of asking a girl out on a date?"
"What! Is this what this is all about? Gee Naruto just ask her already. And here I thought it was something important" Jiraya turned away from him and started to walk back inside not before looking back over his shoulders at Naruto.
So looks like he's finally gotten up the nerve to understand that he likes her…
"ERO-SENNIN! You're supposed to help me with these things." He stood there almost depressed by Jiraya's answer.
Maybe he's right…. Maybe I should just ask her….
He managed to walk back into the dinning hall and sit down next to Hinata as he pondered over what he should do. They were going to be heading out of the temple for the day and he thought it would be the perfect time to ask her. He had already spent many sleepless nights deciding that even if Hinata didn't like him that their friendship could survive the fact that he liked her, but still he had also imagined many times what I would have felt like if she had rejected him. Sakura had said no to his many date request in the past but this time it was different. This time he couldn't even find the right words to say. The dinner ended much in the same way it had the previous nights with the younger monks trying to pull a prank on Tougyo. However, this time Naruto didn't join them, which confused Hinata as she was used to him happily trying to pull a prank on Tougyo.
"Are you alright Naruto-kun?" She asked as they were walking back to their room.
"Yea… everything is great Hina-chan…… but ummmm hey I…I … wanted to…. ask you something…." It was the first time that she had ever really heard Naruto stutter.
This was it. He was going to do it. He had convinced himself that the time was right. The last two weeks of staying up figuring out how he was going to ask her on a date had built up to this point but before he could ask her Machi came running up to them.
"Naruto-ni-san! Hina-san! Taira-sama said you guys were going out to the town in the west tomorrow and she said that if you guys were willing to look after me I could go."
Naruto almost fell down on his face when he heard what Machi had said. Deep down inside he wanted to say no but the more he looked at Machi the more it broke his heart to refuse her request. He just stood their silent all his plans suddenly fading away. Hinata leaned down and picked Machi up.
"Of coarse you can Machi-chan" She started to tickle Machi to make her laugh. Hinata in the few weeks they had been at the temple had shown an almost motherly instinct with Machi and even with his plans crushed he couldn't help but feel happy when he saw the two girls together.
"Alright Machi-chan you can come with us since Hina-chan says it's alright" She continued to laugh as Naruto joined in on the tickling.
"YEA! You're the bestest Naruto-ni-san. I mean second bestest behind Hina-san" They all laughed at the comment as they released Machi from their hold.
Hinata bent down low to talk to Machi eye to eye "Ok machi-chan you run along to bed before the priestess changes her mind." Before she could stand back up Machi kissed her on the cheek.
"Goodnight!" She ran off towards her room as Hinata smiled in her direction before turning back to Naruto.
"I'm sorry Naruto-kun were you going to ask me something" Naruto froze as he suddenly didn't know what to really say.
"Ummmm yea… ummm I wanted to … umm ask you if … we could eat Ramen for lunch tomorrow?" It was the quickest most believable lie he could think of.
"Of coarse Naruto-kun" Hinata giggled at his comment. They both stood in between their two rooms as they had done every night since they had gotten there and slowly they wished each other a good night before turning to go in their own room.
If only he could love me as much as he loves ramen someday. Hinata smiled as she caught his eyes before she stepped completely in her room.
Still a little disappointed he returned her glance with his own. As he stood in the doorway he turned back around to see if maybe she would come back out of her room but instead the door had closed behind her. He stood there and smiled as he could see her slightly through her window. His disappointment faded as he stared at her for a minute longer before turning into his own room again.
How did it take me so long to find my way to you…
"You know Shadou you need to find this two tails soon yea? The leader sent me to make sure you stay on track yea? So Lets get this done yea?" They stood there looking over the valley.
"There's still plenty of time. We still have another year and a half." The dark figure behind the robe turned to face Deidara. "Until then don't ever question me again or I will kill you." A flash of electricity began to flicker in the places that should have been his eyes.
"Don't have to lose your temper yea?" Diedara didn't really pay attention to his last remark. "You might be needing my help yea?"
"She's in this village. We'll have to search the towns one by one but she can't hide forever. It's only a matter of time." He turned his attention back on the valley as they began to descend from the cliffs. "It's only a matter of time now…"