(A/N): The ninja stats on my profile have been updated to reflect the end of this chapter. As usual, for extra effect after the first paragraph play the song "Naruto OST - 04 Morning". You can find it on youtube.

Chapter 23 – Team 8

Naruko and Hinata sat alone together on a bench, under the shadow of the dual line of trees. It was still a couple of hours before midday, so the air around them was cool and refreshing. Since it was a weekday, few people aside from ninjas visited the park and no one else was around in the immediate area. The last member of their team hadn't shown up yet, but that wasn't surprising because the meeting time was an hour before noon, meaning they still had an hour left. Kurenai had left earlier to prepare some bentos for the three of them to eat later. However that had been mainly an excuse to allow the girls to catch up.

Sitting with her hands beside her Hinata stared at Naruko with intense curiosity. She had expected her friend to have changed somewhat during their time apart, but this was something entirely different. Her ears and tail reminded Hinata of some of the dogs and cats she had seen around the village. Given happened earlier she was a bit hesitant to ask about it, so she sat silently waiting for the other girl to say something.

With her tail on her lap and hands resting on top of it Naruko stared sideways at Hinata and asked casually, "Do you want to touch it?"

Hinata's eyes brightened, and she almost reached over, "Are you sure it's okay?"

Lifting her hands away, Naruko scooted over a bit and moved her red tail casually over to Hinata's lap.

Hinata was practically gushing, "Wow, it really is your tail huh?" Reaching for it carefully she stroked it softly, "It's so big and fluffy!"

Naruko was blushing visibly, as her friend caressed her tail. It was a strange sensation having someone other than herself touch it like that, but she was just happy everything was going well between the two of them now. Earlier, when she thought her friend was afraid of or rejecting her like everyone else she had almost broken down in despair. It reminded her vaguely of the confrontation with that man. She had borne many things in her life but this was something she absolutely did not want to lose since it was a bond she had forged together on her own with the Hinata.

"So how does it feel when I touch it like this? Is it like when someone is playing with your hair?" Hinata asked in wonder, not seeing her red faced friend. She was just like a child playing with a brand new toy.

Holding her own hands tightly as if trying to keep calm, she replied in a tense voice, "No… it's quite a bit different… I've never felt anything like it before. So I can't really compare."

"Really? I wonder what it's like…" Hinata said wistfully, almost completely enraptured by it. "Can you move it around again like last time…?"

Unable to take it any longer Naruko quickly moved her tail back to her own lap.

Not expecting to have her toy taken away, Hinata complained, "Aww… I didn't mean like that…" Hinata looked over at her friend, and seeing Naruko flushed, looked down at the ground and slumped over slightly. "I am sorry. Are you… mad? It didn't hurt did it?" Hinata said meekly.

Finally able to calm down, Naruko turned towards her, "No it didn't… I can't really describe it, but it wasn't a bad feeling. There is no reason to apologize— I was the one that suggested it to begin with."

Sighing in relief, Hinata faced her friend again. There were still a couple of things she was curious about, so she figured it was okay to ask now, "Those… are your ears now right? Can you hear with them just like your old ones?"

Shaking her head from side to side, Naruko explained, "No, I can actually hear even better with these for some reason. I am not really sure why, maybe because they are bigger?"

"Do you think I could—", Hinata started to ask.

"Maybe some other time!" Naruko replied quickly, covering her ears with her hands.

Hinata blushed in return, turning her head slightly away, with a pouting expression.

They sat in awkward silence for a while.

Uncovering her ears and facing towards the other girl, Naruko spoke up first, "So how have you been Hinata? Have a lot of things changed since we've been apart?"

Looking up at her friend, she replied a bit more quiet than usual, "I've been doing alright… though… it's been a bit lonely without you around." Her eyes shifted down again.

Naruko was unsure how to answer her, so she did something that her mother normally found comforting and rubbed Hinata's head gently.

Hinata felt she was being treated like a child somewhat, but was reminded immensely of the often strange relations they had in the past. She couldn't help but smile, as she gazed back up, "I am glad you haven't changed too much Naruko."

Moving her hand away casually, she asked, "What do you mean by that Hinata?"

Smiling, Hinata replied happily, "Nothing!"

Staying in thoughtful silence for a moment, Naruko started fiddling with her hair, "Have you gotten better with taijutsu since we last sparred?"

"Umm hmm," she confirmed. "My dad has been complementing me a lot lately… I think we've gotten a bit closer because of it, though it really seems like he wants to meet you."

Naruko's hands stopped, and she glanced at Hinata.

"Do you think… you could come over to my house sometime? I am not completely sure how he'll react, but it should be okay…" Hinata said, wavering a bit.

Though very hesitant about it, the suggestion wasn't something she was completely against as being accepted by Hinata's father could ease their relations. It was quite possible, however, that things would go the other way. Deciding to trust her friend's judgment Naruko stated firmly, "I will come meet your family. Just tell me when it is a good time to do so."

Brightening considerably, Hinata replied energetically, "I will!" She was so happy her friend had accepted, and really felt things would be alright.

Going back to playing with her hair, Naruko stared strangely at Hinata, "By the way, your outfit is quite different than last time, what are you wearing exactly?"

"Umm…" a faint flush crept across her face. "It's a haori, with an obi and a ribbon tied in the middle."

"Oh? Do you mind if I touch it Hinata?" Naruko asked curiously.

She did in fact mind, since she had a nagging feeling her friend was going to check whether she was wearing everything correctly. Her mother did help Hinata with it initially, but today she had put it on all by herself. Though a bit uneasy about it, she said, "Okay…"

Naruko stood up and kneeled down in front of Hinata. She raised her hands near the girl and swept over the front of the outfit briefly, then coming in closer moved her arms behind her friend and hovered her hands behind a bit, before returning. "It's made out of the same material as my old kimono. How is it colored?"

Clearly surprised Naruko had said nothing about how she had worn it, Hinata replied bashfully, "The pants are black, the haori is dark blue, and…"

Thinking nothing of Hinata's hesitation Naruko remained silent waiting.

"The obi is white, while the ribbon is red," Hinata finished quickly.

"Those are the same colors as my clothes," Naruko said plainly, clearly having no indication that anything was amiss.

Hinata was relieved and irritated at the same time her friend didn't notice the pattern.

"I think they suit you, though I wish I could actually see it with my eyes," Naruko said mildly subdued. "Are those your favorite colors?"

"Well, the dark blue is kind of, but—", Hinata wondered if she should just come out and say it, would Naruko think she was strange? She shook her head slightly in denial. They had done too many other weird things together for this to have any negative impact, "The white and red I picked out because they match your outfit."

Naruko's ears drooped slightly and she glanced down at her friends lap momentarily, before looking back up, "…really?"

Hinata nodded sheepishly.

It was the same reason she had chosen hers when her mother had bought her own clothes. She had felt it would make them closer as a family. Shifting her attention back up to Hinata, she said lightly, "I don't really know what to say…. but thank you Hinata."

"It's nothing I really need to be thanked for," she said quietly in embarrassment.

Standing up, Naruko sat back down next to her friend. She suddenly remembered something she had forgotten about while they were chatting, "So who's the third team member? Haha-ue wouldn't tell me."

"I don't think you've met him yet, but his name is Kiba," Hinata replied casually.

She was right. It wasn't a name Naruko had heard before. Thinking about it now, she realized the whole team was made up of females except for him. Quite the opposite of her last team, which was how she understood the groups were usually formed, two male genin and one female with a Jounin leader. Though the Jounins varied, there were a lot more male than female, for whatever reason.

"What's he like?" Naruko asked curiously.

"Humm… I am not really sure. I never talked to him much but he has this cute white dog, named Akamaru, who's always with him. I think it has to do with his clan."

"So it's a ninja dog of some kind?" Naruko prodded.

"Maybe, I dunno," Hinata said with uncertainty. "He should be here shortly though."

"Haha-ue should be here with food soon too," Naruko added.

"She said she was going to make bentos for us right?" Hinata asked, perking up a bit. She was getting quite hungry now that her friend mentioned food, having been training so much Hinata had been eating a lot more the past few years to keep up with her body's needs.

Naruko nodded, as she started playing with her hair again.

"Aren't you hungry at all Naruko?" Hinata asked curiously.

Glancing at Hinata, she replied, "A bit, but I've been snacking on this—", she pulled out a dried fruit bar from her ninja pouch, "while we've been chatting."

A pouting expression fell across Hinata's face, "I never noticed…"

Breaking off a piece, Naruko held it out to her friend wordlessly.

Hinata blushed slightly and took it gingerly, "Thanks Naruko."

They sat together in relative silence eating the fruit bar, a warm atmosphere having been developed between the two. The occasional breeze blew through the area, cooling them down a bit from the rising heat of the day. A few people had passed through there during their conversation, but most paid them little heed because they were at one of the far corners of the park. Others that came through stopped only briefly to meet up with someone else, or were simply passing by on their way to another location.

A fair distance away at the Inuzuka Clan household, a boy sat on the steps of the entrance fastening his blue ninja sandals. His hair was short and black. He was wearing plain brown pants and a grey jacket, which had dark fur sticking out from the hood and sleeves. A medium sized white dog sat nearby watching him.

"So our whole team is nothing but girls huh, Akamaru?" the boy quipped to his dog.

Akamaru barked a few times in reply.

"Yeah that's true I do have you with me," the boy replied feeling a bit better. "But you know that blind ninja girl… Naruko, I think her name was, is there too. I haven't heard anything good about her at all."

Akamaru barked a few more times.

"Just wait and see huh?" he said mildly. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Finishing with the straps on his sandals, the boy stood up and called out, "I am heading out everyone!"

A couple of feminine voices from inside answered, "Take care!"

Stepping out, the boy said enthusiastically, "Alright let's go Akamaru!"

The dog barked once in response, and they started jumping over to the meeting place.

Back in the park, Kurenai sat together with the girls eating their lunch a bit early. She had brought larger portions for Naruko and Hinata, since they tended to eat more. Kurenai was aware that her daughter ate much more than a normal girl, but she was slightly surprised to learn that Hinata was the almost the same way. She guessed it was likely from their near constant training. She knew Naruko was a bit faster than her now and much stronger, from using Guy's weights, but Kurenai wondered just how much her friend had developed.

It was somewhat embarrassing that this was the case but, like most ninjas of her age, training wasn't the highest priority but rather completing missions for the village. Experience and practice naturally followed this way in the various jutsus, but it wasn't anything like when an individual dedicated their time solely to it. The ninjas themselves were also vastly different in the pursuit of their arts, with some being more or less motivated to improve. Many were content with where they were at, often staying only at Chuunin in rank to avoid some of the more high risk missions and responsibilities associated with being a Jounin.

Though all midlevel missions inherently carried some risk, they weren't anything like A and S-Rank ones, in which battles with other high level ninjas were guaranteed or where dangerous foreign assassinations took place. The pay for these missions was substantially higher because of this, but money wasn't a great motivator for the relatively peaceful village of Konoha. Looking at her daughter Kurenai realized she had never seen Naruko in an actual battle yet, and wondered what she was like. She also questioned if there was some genjutsu she could teach her daughter. Due to her blindness, Naruko was immune to most of these, but in return her ability to perform them was poor, just like how she couldn't use transformation technique for the same reason.

For now, she guessed they would probably be doing some D-Rank missions, though she had no doubt that Hokage would have them assigned a C-Rank within short order. She didn't know too much about Kiba, aside from what she read in his profile, but her daughter and Hinata had a lot raw ability. Naruko in particular was already fairly experienced with both mission types. She found it kind of funny how unbalanced this team was, from a typical rookie group, as the boy who failed to pass was actually not even as good as Kiba talent wise. Although her daughter was the only actual sensor-nin, Kiba and Hinata both had excellent tracking skills as well, which was also much unlike other groups. This will certainly be an interesting first experience leading a team, Kurenai thought with a smile.