Well, it would seem my NarutoxEragon story will wait for this one to end.

RS: It sounds pretty cool though.

LR: I hope it is. Here's a little something for all of you to do. Call it homework. If you plan to check out Oni no RyuKishu, then look up twin hook swords.

Weapon Loving Leaf Ranger: They're so cool. So freaking cool.

DNHLR: Wow...... I thought he would get out a lot sooner.

DLTLR: So, where is more Elroth and Tayuya fluff?

LR: I'm thinking about it. Anyways, I think it's Marchgirl who will like this chapter most, because she requested what will happen here.

Chapter 37

New Training

Tsunade sat in her office, looking over several files.

She looked up, as the door opened, and Gaara, Baki, Temari, Kankuro, Matsuri, and every other one of the Suna prisoners had entered. Tsunade nodded at them all.

"Thank you for coming here quickly. I'm afraid I have dire news. Recently, we have discovered a massive threat to Konoha, and our allies. I've sent news of this to Kumo. I plan to do the same for Suna now. And at the same time..... I plan to free Suna of most of it's treaties restrictions."

Most of the former Suna Academy students gasped. One of them spoke up. "Does this mean...... we're going home?"

Tsunade nodded. "If any of you want to stay, and become full shinobi of Konoha, then you can stay. But the rest of you are free to return home."

Most of the people smiled, and began talking excitedly. But Matsuri looked at Gaara, and held his hand. She looked up at him. Her eyes tell him that she is staying with him, no matter what.

Tsunade turned to Gaara. "Gaara...... I need you to return to Suna as well. The village has gone on without a strong military commander since the invasion three years ago. I'm going to send you to re-organize their military strength."

Gaara nodded. "I request that my ni-san and Matsuri-san come along with me." He said. Tsunade nodded.

"Very well. I expect you all to be on your way by tomorrow morning. Dismissed." All the shinobi present bowed, and left. Tsunade sighed, and pulled out a sake bottle.

Well, Suna and Kumo are preparing for combat. Now, we must ready the daimyos. She put the bottle down. "Shizune!"

The medic jounin quickly entered. "Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"I need three letters to inform the Daimyo's of Fire, Wind, and Lightning. Tell them they should ready their armies for combat. Then send one to the Mizukage and the Daimyo of Water. Hopefully, we can get them to see reason, and join us."

Shizune nodded, and headed to begin her assignment. Tsunade turned her chair around, and looked out the window, over Konoha. Now..... it's up to you, Naruto.

Training Ground 5

Naruto and Hinata were looking at Jiraiya, who was standing there, the toad summoning contract by his side. Next to him stood Hiashi, with another contract. One Hinata recognized, as she had signed it after making chuunin.

Jiraiya nodded to them both. "I'm glad you both could make it. In light of what we've recently learned of Akatsuki's movements and their members power levels, we need to begin a new training."

Naruto slowly nodded. "Exactly what kind of training is this?" He asked. Jiraiya sat down, wiped some blood under his eyes, from under the corner of the eye, then under his eyes. He closed his eyes. Suddenly, there was an explosion of smoke, before two old sounding voices came out of the smoke.

"Jiraiya boy! What's going on?" Came an old male voice.

"I was just finishing dinner!" Came an old female voice.

As the smoke cleared, Jiraiya was revealed, but he had changed. For one, there were two old frogs growing form his shoulders. Both had dark cloaks. The one on his right shoulder was an old male, with a tuft of hair on top of his head, big eyebrows, and a goatee. The other was female with dark hair, rolled in a series of rolls. She also had deep red lipstick on.

Jiraiya's nose had grown larger, and warts now covered it. He had also grown a goatee, and red rings around his eyes. Lastly, his eyes had become yellow, with red sideways rectangles for pupils. He slowly stood up.

"Ma, Pa, I would like you to meet Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze." Both of them looked to Naruto, and Pa whistled.

"He looks just like his dad......" Pa said. Ma nodded. Naruto bowed to both of them.

"I'm honored to meet you both." He said. Jiraiya smiled.

"Fukasaku and Shima are Toad Elders. And they'll be the ones teaching you this. Sage Mode." He said. Naruto looked at him.

"What is Sage Mode?" Jiraiya released it, and Fukasaku and Shima separated from him, and hopped down. Fukasaku looked up at him.

"Sage Mode is combing the Natural Energy around you with the Physical and Spiritual Energy inside of you." Fukasaku said. Naruto's eyes widened slightly.

"You mean this?" Naruto said, before unsealing his staff, and pointing it to one side, muttering "Naur". Flames leapt from his staff, and struck at the tree, before he looked back at the Toad Elder, who slowly nodded.

"I see..... you can harness Natural Energy on it's own. That's the first step, but you're not there yet." He said. "Now, you need to learn how to combine it with your regular chakra."

Hinata looked at them. "But, what about me?" She asked. At this Hiashi indicated the summoning scroll.

"Toads are not the only ones who draw energy from Nature." He said, before biting his thumb, and running through hand signs. Then he slammed his hand down, creating a poof of smoke. As it cleared, a medium sized wolf, with silver fur and eyes appeared. He had a white coat, with the kanji for silver on it in black.

"I am Gin, Elder of the Wolves." Gin said, looking up at Hinata. "And I'll be teaching you the Sage Arts as well."

Both Naruto and Hinata looked at each other, before looking back at the Elders of their summons. Then they both smiled.

"When do we start?"

In Ame

Sasuke looked over the cloak he was now wearing. He then looked at the blade presented to him by the Ame shinobi. It was a cruel looking blade, straight, with a dark tint to the blade. Madara looked at him, as Sasuke examined it.

Madara smiled as he watched the boy scan over his new weapon. "A Morgul Blade. It will serve you well." he said. "Now..... do you understand our mission, and what you must do?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yes. The capture of the remaining jinchuuriki, and burning Konoha to the ground."

"Good. Now, come with me." He turned, and left, with Sasuke behind him. Outside the main throne room of the main Tower of Ame, Sasuke's Team, now named Team Taka (hawk), waited. All of them were now wearing the trademark coats of the Akatsuki. They followed Sasuke and Madara inside the Throne Room, while the Wraiths stood guard outside, each armed with dark blades.

The other members of Akatsuki were waiting, as Madara moved to the head of the group. "All right. As all of you know now, I am the true leader of Akatsuki. I have been busy these past several years readying for what is to come. Pein has told you the true meaning of our organization, which is to create a powerful weapon, which we will use to conqueror the Elemental Nations. But even with this weapon, we must be prepared for anything. Which is why I've been creating an army."

The other Akatsuki members slowly nodded, and Madara continued. "Now, we must secure the last four biju. Two of them are in Kumo, and the other two belong to Konoha. However, there villages will guard their jinchuuriki, and well. We cannot hope to simply wait till their on a mission, and trying to take them from their villages in pairs would be suicide, considering all four remaining jinchuuriki's are perhaps the strongest. Instead...... we shall use the army I have created, to raze their villages, and drag their jinchuuriki here."

The Akatsuki nodded, and Madara looked over them all. "Our first target will be Suna. Eliminating Konoha and Kumo's weak ally, and prevent them from coming to Konoha or Kumo's aid. Now prepare...... for war!"

The Akatsuki let out a cheer. Madara smiled. Soon, Lord Morgoth. Soon, I will give you what you desire. And even Illuvatar won't be able to save Arda from its destiny.

Kumo

The Raikage looked over the letter in front of him, which had arrived by Konoha's fastest messenger hawk. He crumpled it, and growled, before looking up at the two jinchuuriki's in front of him. "We received news from Konoha. Iwa has allied with Ame...... and they have a massive army. Made up of what they call..... orcs."

Both KillerBee and Yugito stiffened. The Raikage looked at them. "You know of these..... things, whatever they are?"

Yugito answered. "Orcs are a breed of small, vicious creatures, who kill with no remorse. They don't have chakra, and are not physically impressive, but they are very dangerous in numbers, and are brutal in battle. And worse..... there can be thousands of them."

The Raikage cursed. "Then this will not go well for us. Iwa has always had the largest standing military force of shinobi. Add in these.... creatures...... and we face possibly one of the largest armies ever seen. We must be ready. I'm going to contact the Lightning Daimyo, and we will make ready for whatever move our enemies make."

The two jinchuuriki nodded, and left. Yugito looked at KillerBee. "So..... do you think there's going to be a war soon?"

The older jinchuuriki nodded. "I think so. The question is..... when?"

Yugito looked out a window. "I just hope we're ready."

With Naruto and Hinata

The two ninjas had talked to Tsunade, who had agreed to let them go on this training trip. Then they had informed their friends, and family members. Lily hugged Naruto.

"Be careful, okay? I get worried every time you leave those walls." She said. Naruto just smiled.

"Don't worry. I'll be back, ni-chan." He stood up, and smiled, as he shook Elroth's hand, before hugging him. "Watch over her, okay?"

Elroth nodded, as he backed up. Naruto smiled at the others who lived in his home, before picking up his backpack with his essentials in it, and headed off.

Outside the Hyuuga compound, Hinata was hugging both Neji and Hanabi goodbye. "I promise, I'll be back. Don't worry." She said. Hanabi nodded, trying to hide tears. Next to her, Neji gave a small smile, and bowed to Hinata.

"I wish you safe journey's, Hinata-sama." He said. Hinata smiled, and hugged him.

"Stop being so formal, ni-san." She said with a small giggle. Neji smiled, and hugged her back.

"All right then..... imouto." He said. Hinata smiled even more, before pulling back. She smiled at them both, before picking her backpack up, and heading off.

The two met, and headed towards the gate, where they were told to go. There, waiting for them, were Jiraiya, Fukasaku, Hiashi, and Gin. Hinata and Naruto approached them. "We're ready to go."

Fukasaku and Gin both nodded. "Now, what we will be doing is heading to the summoning world, in order for you to learn the Sage Arts. Now all we have to do is simply reverse summon you both there. And the way we do that is by having a toad or wolf summon you."

Jiraiya and Hiashi both approached them. Jiraiya hugged Naruto. "Be careful, gaki. Sage training is no joke. It's pretty important."

Naruto nodded. "I won't fail you, godfather." Jiraiya smiled.

"I never thought you would." He said, smiling.

Hiashi looked at his daughter. He smiled. "You're so much like your mother. I'm sorry, that I failed you both." He said. Hinata just hugged him.

"You haven't. Not anymore. I love you, otou-san."

Hiashi actually cried a little, before hugging her tightly. "I love you, Hinata." He said. They stayed like that, for several minutes, before Naruto and Hinata separated from their respective guardians. They both turned towards Fukasaku and Gin, before nodding. Suddenly, they both poofed out of existence.

The Summoning Realm

The four of them appeared in a large stone room, lit by torches. Naruto and Hinata looked around, until they spotted a rather large orange and black frog, and a medium sized wolf with dark blue fur, and yellow eyes. Both ninja smiled, recognizing their favorite summons. "Gamakichi!" Naruto said, moving forward, and hugging one of the toad's legs.

Hinata approached the wolf, and knelt down, hugging it around the neck. "Yabun(night). It's good to see you again." She said.

When Hinata had gotten the wolf contract, shortly after making chuunin, her first summon had been a small female wolf cub, with dark blue fur. Both Hinata and Yabun had grown up together, fighting side by side. Yabun now licked Hinata's face.

"It's good to see you too, Hinata-sama." She said, her tail wagging.

Naruto looked around. "So where are we?" He said. Fukasaku led them out of the room, and down a hall, before emerging into sunlight. As Hinata and Naruto blinked their eyes, the elderly Toad smiled.

"The Summoning Realm." He said. Hinata and Naruto's eyes adjusted, to reveal a large area before them. It was heavily forested in most areas, with some plains and meadows here and there. Off to the north, a range of mountains could be seen, with ice and snow covering them. The forest disappeared to the west and south, revealing an ocean to the west, and dessert to the south.

"It's amazing." Hinata whispered.

Gin nodded. "It is. The summons live here, mostly sticking to their groups, and territories. Most of us live in peace, and are even allies. But a few are very territorial, and are aggressive. It would be best to avoid them."

Naruto looked up, to see they had emerged from a large stone tower. He looked back at forest. "So....... how does this work?"

Fukasaku pointed towards the lower mountains, which seemed to be near a rainforest like area. "That is where we'll be training in the Toad Sage arts. It's where we toads live."

Gin pointed towards a more heavily forested area. "That is the home of the wolves. It is there, that we will teach you our arts."

Naruto and Hinata looked at each other. "Will we still be able to see each other?" Naruto asked. Fukasaku nodded.

"Of course. You can set a small camp in between our territories, if you want. We can supply you with anything you need."

They nodded, before Naruto got on Gamakichi with Fukasaku, and Hinata got on Yabun. Gamakichi leapt off, followed by the two wolves with Hinata.

They quickly made it into a sheltered area between the two domains. There, they found a cave. Naruto hopped off, and began investigating it. He came out after several minutes. "It's safe."

Both he and Hinata began setting it up as their home, before exiting, and looking at their sensei's. "So, when do we begin?" Naruto asked.

The two elders looked at each other. "Tomorrow." Fukasaku said. "For now, rest." With that, they headed off to their respective homes. Naruto looked at Hinata, before they both smiled, and hugged, and started kissing each other.

After a few minutes, Naruto created a few clones, which went off to look for a source of water. Meanwhile, the two of them headed inside.

"So..... this will be home for a while." He said softly. Hinata nodded, as she set up a divider, so that they could change in privacy.

"Yep....... and we can spend time together each night." She said with a smile, before sitting next to him, and snuggling against him. Naruto wrapped an arm around her. She smiled, watching the flames of the campfire Naruto had started. "We haven't had a chance to really be together for a while." She said.

Naruto nodded. "I know. It's really been stressful, not getting to be around you." He said, kissing the top of her head. She giggled, and snuggled into his side more. He chuckled. "So..... how are Tenten and Neji doing?"

"Good. Very good. Neji's even hinted at possibly wanting to marry her." Hinata said.

Naruto smiled. "Really? Well, I think that's great. Did you hear, though? It seems Ino actually accepted a date from Chouji." Hinata gasped in surprise.

"Really? That's great! I'm so glad for them!" She said. Naruto nodded.

"Whatever Sakura did to her in the prelims...... it really helped her." He laid back against the cave wall, and Hinata snuggled against him. For several minutes they were both quiet, just enjoying each other's company.

Finally, Hinata looked up at him. "Naruto-kun?"

Naruto looked at her. "Yeah, Hina-chan?"

Hinata looked down ,and fiddled with one of the buttons of her coat. "Well..... I was...... I was wondering..... have you ever thought about.... well.... maybe how different, things would have been..... if Gandalf-san and Elroth-san never came for you?"

Naruto sat there, as his mind turned to that question.

He was a short twelve year old in an orange tracksuit, yelling about how he would be Hokage, while Hinata shyly watched him.

He stood there, looking at the grave of Sarutobi, who had died fighting Orochimaru, while he had been busy dealing with Gaara.

He constantly chased Sakura, his heart aching, wondering why she wouldn't give him a chance, while Hinata silently sobbed, as he passed her by, not even given her a glance.

Naruto shook his head of these thoughts. "I really think it would have been horrible. I....... I don't think I could live without you." He said softly, holding her close.

Hinata thought the same thing. "Me neither...... and that could almost be a literal fact." She said softly, remembering that day after the Chuunin Exams, when the truth about the Elders came out. She shivered slightly, and Naruto held her close.

"Don't worry about it. We dealt with it, and helped bring your clan closer together." Naruto kissed her. She gripped his coat, pulling herself closer to him.

When they finally broke, Hinata sighed happily. "I'm just glad we could be here, together. I think this could be fun." She said, getting up. "I'm going to get changed. No peeking." She said with a grin.

Naruto just chuckled, as she stepped behind the screen. He turned away, as he could see a bit of a silhouette. He stood, up and started changing, before he realized something. "You don't have your Byakugan on, do you?"

Hinata giggled. "Maayybe." She said mischievously. Naruto blushed, and picked his stuff up, before exiting the cave, while Hinata laughed.

Eventually, Naruto came back in a t-shirt and shorts on. He stopped though, at the sight of Hinata. She had chosen a long shirt to wear for pajamas, and that was all he could see. She smiled, and twirled. "What do you think?"

Naruto was speechless. "I think..... that if this happens each night..... I'm going to go crazy." He said. Hinata smiled.

"That's the idea." She said, walking over to him. She hugged and kissed him, smiling. "So.... to bed?"

Naruto nodded. They both unrolled their sleeping bags next to each other. Naruto created several clones to keep watch, before climbing into his bag, next to Hinata. They both kissed each other good night, before falling asleep.

Konoha, The Next Morning

Gaara looked at the forest ahead of him, before turning to those with him. Kankuro and Matsuri both still had Konoha headbands, but pretty much every other Suna prisoner was sporting makeshift Suna headbands. Gaara nodded to them all.

"We rest only when necessary. We need to reach Suna as soon as possible. Move out!" He shouted.

The group headed off, while Konoha sealed the gates up behind them. Tsunade sighed, as she watched form the top of Hokage's Tower. She looked back at the Monument, before turning to Sarutobi, who was standing next to her. "We need to be ready. It might be best to limit the number of long term missions our ninja take, for now."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. 'I agree. But we should still take enough to keep things from looking suspicious."

Tsunade nodded. "What about the repair team sent to..... Minas Tirith?"

"Already left yesterday. They should have arrived, and begun their assessment." He said. Tsunade nodded.

"I just hope we can get it battle-ready in time." She said, turning back to head inside.

Meanwhile, the other members of the 'Konoha 11' were training with their former senseis, and Naruto's friends and 'family' members. Tenten was sparring with Elroth and Tayuya in a three way match. Kiba and Shino were practicing their tracking skills together, along with Kin and Keiki.

Lee, Gai, Neji, and Sakura were all working on Taijutsu. Neji was brining skill, Gai and Lee speed, and Sakura brute strength.

Meanwhile, Ino and Chouji were working on reflexes with Haku and Kimimaro, who were launching senbon, and bone digits at them. Lily occasionally threw rocks and blunted knives, and ended up being more accurate then Haku and Kimimaro. Temari was talking with Shikamaru, going over battle situations, and enacting them.

The three other sensei's looked them over. Asuma lit up a cigarette. "Can't believe how far they've come. Seems like yesterday they were a bunch of kids out of the Academy. Shikamaru was lazy, Chouji was.... well, smaller, and Ino was a fangirl. Now.... look at them."

Kurenai nodded. "I know. Hinata was a pretty shy thing, really under-confident. Now, she's off getting Sage training."

Kakashi slowly nodded. "Yeah...... and my team was the one to fall apart. Funny, huh?" He said, sighing as he leaned back against a tree, and closed his one eye. Kurenai looked at him, and sat down next to him, while Asuma went off to help his former students.

Kurenai took his hand. "Hey..... you can't blame yourself for what happened with Sasuke. I mean, look at Sakura and Kiba! They're great."

Kakashi nodded. "Yeah." He smiled at his girlfriend of two years. "Still, it seems you lucked out in the end, and got the dream team."

Kurenai giggled. "I did, didn't I?" She leaned over, and pulled down his first face mask, revealing the second one with the mouth opening. She gently kissed his mouth, before pulling back, and sighing. "I still wish I could see your face." She said softly, pulling his mask back up.

Kakashi looked a little ashamed at that, and lowered his face. He trusted her, he just felt..... ashamed. He closed his eyes, before deciding to take a leap of faith. "K-kurenai-chan? Can you come with me?"

She nodded.

Kakashi quickly pulled her into the woods. He looked around, making sure they were alone, before turning towards her. He sighed, pulling down the first face mask. "I..... I'm sorry. I....." He pulled the second one down slowly, and she gasped as he looked up. She slowly moved forward, and touched his face.

A scar ran down his face, from the right corner of his mouth to his chin.

She gently thumbed it, before looking at his eyes.

"You look handsome." She said softly, before kissing him. He wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her close. The two stayed like that for a while, before pulling apart, panting. Kakashi looked at her.

"I love you, Kure-chan."

"I love you too, mask boy." She said with a grin, using her nickname for him. He grinned as well, before his ears twitched, as he heard someone coming. He pulled up his second mask, as Anko came in.

"So here are the two love birds." She said with her usual grin. Things had really improved for Anko over the years. With the Curse Mark gone, many people let go of their old suspicions of her. And, she had nabbed Iruka from the academy, and started dating him. Many men in Konoha had become exceedingly jealous of him, since Anko was considered the sexiest woman in Konoha. But Iruka treated her as more of a person than an object of lust, and came to know the other, hidden side of Anko. The woman who just desired to be held, and loved. Both of which Iruka gladly did.

Anko grinned even more, seeing Kakashi with his outer mask down. "So..... the infamous lips of Kakashi Hatake. What an honor. You two should come back out. The others are getting worried if they should get ear plugs, or something." Both Kakashi and Kurenai blushed, while Anko giggled, and left. The two of them followed, as Kakashi tugged his outer face mask up.

"Remind me why you're friends with her again?" He asked. Kurenai giggled.

"Because she's the only girl I knew in the Academy who took things seriously, while still being feminine. The best of both worlds." She explained with a grin. Kakashi nodded.

"Right. And the fact that she regularly treats you to dango to try and worm information about me isn't part of the equation?" He said with a grin. Kurenai just giggled, as they rejoined the group.

Summoning Realm

Naruto stood before Fukasaku, and Gamakichi. "I get it. So basically, I've been drawing in 'nature chakra', but only a small amount to power my spells. While Sage mode is drawing in an immense amount through out my entire body, and holding there, to empower me, and my abilities."

Fukasaku nods. "Exactly. So what we need to do is train you to do what you've been doing, on a bigger scale, and without the staff. Which is why we're here."

'Here' was standing near a pool of black looking liquid that shined like cobalt. A waterfall roared nearby, splashing into the small lake. All around them were stone statues of toads, all in a position of meditation.

Naruto looked around. "So, what do I do?" He asked.

Fukasaku hopped near the pool of black liquid. "Step one. You'll use this oil to help you call upon nature chakra. Shouldn't be too hard, but still, this is a bigger scale then what you're used to. And if you can't control it, well...... these statues? They were those who tried to learn the sage arts...... and failed."

Naruto looked around. "What happened?" Gamakichi answered.

"Well, if you can't control the amount of Nature Chakra....... you'll turn into a toad." He said. Naruto looked at him, then at Fukasaku, who was gripping a staff.

"Don't worry. If you start transforming, I'll whack you with my staff, and you'll turn back to normal." He said with a grin. Naruto sighed, before shedding everything except Tsunade's necklace, and a pair of swimming trunks. Then he moved next to the pond, and covered himself in the oil, before sitting down, and concentrating. Suddenly, the area around his eyes turned red. Then his face began to bulge, and his hands started to become webbed, until Fukasaku smacked him with his staff. Naruto groaned, before sitting back up, normal.

"I can feel it. I'm drawing on everything. All the spirits, not just the ones who control the elements. It's much harder getting them to work with me." He said, as he prepared himself again.

Meanwhile, Hinata had shed her coat, and was sitting, meditating in the woods. Surrounding her was wooden totems of great wolf summons, and burners with incense. Gin had told her that Wolf's trained sages to access Nature Chakra through connection with nature. She all ready knew what it felt like..... but now, she had to do it on a larger scale then before.

Nearby, Yabun and Gin watched. Yabun looked at the Elder Wolf. "Do you think she will succeed, where others have failed?"

Gin shrugged. "She has a strong connection to nature. But Wolf Sage training is notorious. Still..... she may be the one."

Hinata sighed, in frustration. She could feel the connection, but she couldn't grasp it.

She sighed, breaking the connection, and blinking, before trying again.

After several hours, the students were released. The two trooped back to their cave home. Naruto arrived first, and started a fire, and boiling water. Hinata arrived a few minutes later, and gave him a tired smile. "Hey."

"Hey. How you doing?" He asked, looking up.

"Frustrating. I just..... I just felt like I could feel it, but couldn't get it." She said, flopping down. Naruto nodded.

"Tell me about it. I couldn't control it enough. It started turning me into a toad." He said, before letting out a "ribbet". Hinata laughed at that.

"Seems like we both had a frustrating day." She said, as she helped him make dinner.

A couple of hours later, after eating, and cleaning up, the two of them were watching the stars. Hinata sighed happily, snuggling against his shoulder. "They're really beautiful out here. No noises or smells of civilization to disturb us."

Naruto nods. "Yeah. It is." He looks at her, and smiles. She smiles back before looking up at the sky.

"So.... how do they train you?" She asked. Naruto blanched for a moment.

"They have me cover myself in toad oil, then concentrate on nature chakra, and drawing it in. If I get's out of hand, I start turning into a toad, and Fukasaku-sensei smacks me with his staff, which turns me back to normal by knocking the natural chakra from me." He said this while rubbing a sore spot on his head. Inside, Huan was laughing at the memories.

Hinata giggled as well, before kissing his sore spot. "Poor baby. Sounds harder then what I have to do. I need to meditate, until I can feel the life flowing through everything around me, and connect with it. Until I can see, hear, feel, and touch through everything around me. It's a little frustrating though."

Naruto smiled, and hugged her. "You'll get it soon. I can feel it. Just have faith." He said, kissing her. Hinata returned the favor, and the two stayed like that for a while. Eventually, they separated, and watched the stars some more, before calling it a night. Hinata dropped to sleep instantly, but Naruto looked outside one last time.

May Illuvatar watch over us, in the Days of Shadow to come. He thought, before falling asleep.

Okay. Shorter then I would like, but doable.

Anyways, I'm putting a call out here. wolves134 recently came to me about some stories he's working on. He needs a co-author. If you're interested, PM him for details.

In the meantime, if you haven't yet, please vote on the poll I currently have up. It won't really affect anything, I jsut want people's opinions, and such.

RS: Yeah! Otherwise, I'll come and steal your bed sheets!

Leaf looks at RS: What?

RS: It will make things uncomfortable at night!

LR: Whatever, just vote, please.

IDR: Review this chapter as well. Or else I'll freeze something precious of yours.

LR: *shivers slightly* O-okay. Listen to the demoness. She did that to me because I wouldn't take her out to ice cream.

Anyways, later!