This is my third chapter to Naruto Interlude. I had some private stuff going on and I to think about some aspects of the story, which made the writing a bit longer than planned, but I hope you enjoy it either way!

As always all rights to Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Chapter 3: Mission accepted

3 days after the Ceremony of the fallen Shinobi

"We need to move on, so that their sacrifice has not been in vain! They fought for freedom and peace, That's why we have to carry on their will, it is our duty because we're still alive!"

Naruto heard Kakashi shout over the cemetery, while he was standing quite a bit a way from a tree trunk that he chose to be his sparring partner. 'Kakashi is right… as long as I don't give up… Their will still lives on!'

A Rasengan forming in his left hand he performed the Shunshin no jutsu, leaves covering his disappearance before he smashed his Rasengan into the runk, obliterating it.

Naruto had some troubles with his training, it was yesterday where he made big progress regarding his one-handed combat skills. Still, he needs more practice as it was a completely new thing for him, losing his right arm and all. 'When something happens with my prosthetic arm… I need to have this up my sleeve if somebody thinks destroying it would disable me!'

When it came to one-handed hand seals, he figured how to use them on his Shadow-clone Jutsu, but other than that, he was pretty much clueless. He knew a few Wind releases, but he only a produced a one-handed technique only once so far. 'Kakashi said I should learn the Water release… but I can't even produce Jutsus of my own affinity so far! Shikamaru would say it's such a drag… but I can't let my self be beaten by this!' Naruto told himself before punching his own head with his left hand.

He lowered his hand and tried to perform the one-handed versions of 'Tiger-Ox-Dog-Rabbit-Snake!' before his mind drifted off to another person. He thought about Hinata. 'Fuuton: Great breakthrough!'

*pheww* He was launched directly backwards as a stream of Wind hit the ground in front of him. He wasn't paying attention to where he was directing the wind that was coming out of his mouth!

"Ughh… where did that came from!?" Naruto asked himself before punching his head against a nearby tree, trying to get his mind off her.

Now resting against that tree, he closed his eyes. Thinking about someone else might get his mind off Hinata.

"Sasuke…"

"Wow. I didn't think the hero of the Ninja would pay me his goodbyes." Sasuke sarcastically said to a just arriving Naruto, who looked like he had overslept again.

"Of course! You're my best friend afterall." Naruto answered showing him his thumbs up.

After Sasuke acknowledged Kakashi's reminder that he should focus on not running wild again and Sasuke saying his goobyes, it was Naruto's turn now.

"Make this right Sasuke. The next time we fight, I want to see more than last time and beat you!"

"Hmpf. Yeah right. As if that is ever going to happen you stupid moron." Sasuke snuffed back at Naruto in a cold voice.

Both looked at each other with tension between them. Like they always did.

Before both chuckled and shook each other's hand's. "We'll see each other again, Naruto. Perhaps."

Sasuke turned around and left them at the gate.

"I've said that I'll be a match for him when he comes back, so that's what I have to become!"

After that morning full of training, he almost succeeded 10 out of 10 tries to perform his wind-style jutsu, just missing it once. His training was starting to pay off. Learning one-handed hand seals was no joke.

Now getting hungry, Naruto thought it was a good idea to get into town ad to his favourite restaurant, which gotten bigger and bigger after the big victory. 'Restaurant of heroes' the people proclaimed.

Like he did often nowadays, Naruto waddled though the filled streets of his Village while he was lost in his thoughts.

'I should see Iruka-sensei on this... 'problem' I'm having… he always knows what to do!' He thought, not even noticing somebody calling out his name.

"NARUTO ARE YOU LISTENING?!" He heard Sakura shouting in front of him, Hinata standing next to her, blushing while looking down to the ground.

"Ugh… Hey Sakura and…" He gulped looking at Hinata. The incident from a few nights ago now on his mind, he developed a blush of his own as both stared into each other's eyes.

'I don't know what to do…' Naruto and Hinata thought in unison before both broke the eye contact and looked away.

"Hinata! H-how are you?" That was all that could come out of his mouth. Both girls didn't expect him to ask this in such a loud voice. 'HOW ARE YOU? Really? I can't be this stupid!'

"HAHA! You look like a fool now! It's pretty satisfying seeing you struggle with a human girl after you basically showed no fear of anything in your path back then. HAHA!" Kurama shouted within his head, making him even more startled. "Kurama! Now's not the fitting time to mock me!"

"There's never a time not to mock you! You even failed your training today because of that weak girl you little shrimp!" Kurama now said without shouting, still having his imperious voice jingling in Naruto's Mind-Space. "Listen here! Hinata isn't weak you big red fuzzball! I won't let you say bad stuff about her! Forgot my Rasengan-Barrage?" Naruto shot back at his companion.

"Whatever you say. I'd rather go to sleep now." 'This dumb idiot wouldn't even know he has feelings for her if the prince of the neighbouring country would visit him on 100 elefants and tell him so. Well. He got sharp in the recent years I must give him that. Maybe he will find out soon enough.'

"I-Im fine thank you N-Naruto-kun… H-how about y-you?" Hinata said with such a quite voice, it was a wonder anybody could hear her. She held her hand together in the way she always did when she was near him.

"I-I'm fine aswell! T-Thanks!" Naruto shouted before he started running off. "I'm sorry, I'm busy right now! See you!" He rushed off so fast, both girls could only see the cloud of smoke that he left.

"What is it about you two? That was really awkward. Even for you two. No offence." She looked at Hinata. "Hinata are you okay?" Sakura asked with worry, looking at Hinata who still looked to the ground. She looked really discouraged with a tearful look.

'Did I do something wrong? Why didn't he want to see me? I'm sure I must have done something to make him feel bad…'

"Hinata!" Sakura shook her friend back to reality before repeating her question Hinata didn't hear. "Do you wanna talk about it while getting some food?"

"Sure." Hinata said in a sulky attitude before starting to walk away, Sakura quickly following her.

"You did what?!" Sakura shouted at her friend, her upper body raised above the table they sat at.

After meeting Naruto, they both got to the best cafe in town sat at at a round two people table and ordered some coffee.

"S-Sakura please! It's embarrassing!" Hinata shot back, blushing heavily after telling Sakura about the incident a few nights ago.

"Alright alright… no need to be shy Hinata, this girl talk shall remain a secret forever! Uhem." Sakura cleared her throat. "Isn't that a good thing that you two almost kissed? I mean everybody, except Naruto himself, knows you 'like like' him since ages ago… So why do I have the impression I'm missing something here? At least you didn't faint like when he came back!"

"T-That's not the problem… I've become a bit less… weak when I'm around him… It is just the fact I'm scared to do something wrong or stupid around him… Also, I don't want to interfere his connection to you… I mean everybody knows he likes you a lot…" Hinata rapidly replied in a hasty but shaky voice. She didn't want to admit it but thinking about Naruto loving Sakura broke her heart a tiny bit more she thought or heard about it.

"Oh Hinata… Well To be honest, I don't know if that's still the case anymore. He didn't ask me out since he left with Jiraiya-sama all those years ago… So I think he has accepted the fact that we're just friends and teammates… and hearing your story about you two makes me wonder if…"

Sakura stopped mid-sentence before looking discouraged herself. She knew that she didn't love Naruto the same way he 'Loved' her back then but hearing Hinata's story and clearly Naruto growing some feelings for Hinata, Sakura felt left out. Naruto was always like a brother for her and now that he started getting interested in such things, Sakura felt both happy and sad at the same time.

While Sakura was now the one looking down with a hint of sadness in her eyes, Hinata couldn't believe her ears, her eyes had widened hearing that from Sakura and she started to blush again.

'That can't be…?! Naruto not interested in Sakura anymore…! On the other hand… I can't keep up with him… I'm only a burden for him…' She clearly was lost in that regard. Not knowing what to say, both girls just sat there in silence, occasionally sipping on their coffee's.

"S-Sakura I really appreciate you telling me this… but I need to become stronger before I should worry about-"

"Hinata stop. I don't get you. You're one of the strongest Ninja in the the village and you're still complaining about being weak, you just lack confidence that's all! And I would hurry, because I heard Naruto has become quite popular with the girls lately, being the Hero of the war and all. He grew up in the last years… and changed a bit. Well, in some regards at least. He just doesn't know how romance works. Having Jiraiya-sama and Kakashi-sensei teaching him also didn't help in that regard. So it's most likely he never even had a date before." Sakura told her friend with a smug before she finished her coffee.

"P-Popular with girls…?" Hinata stammered looking down again. 'Sakura is right… I can't leave this to random chance! Did he really change that much…?'

"H-He changed but only in some regards? What do you mean with that Sakura?" She asked her advisor of love with quite some interest. She didn't notice how she bent over the table while asking.

"Hmm. Well, that's something you will have to inspect on your own. Maybe you should ask him out and learn some new things about him?" She teased.

"A-Asking H-Him out?!"

Sakura just laughed getting that reaction from her. "Yes! And don't you dare say no!"

Iruka just fell down in his kitchen before he heard two bangs at his door. When the Chunin opened it, he saw Naruto standing in front of his door.

"Oh Naruto! I didn't expect you to come today! How can I help you?" Iruka said in an unusual voice.

"Iruka-sensei? Is everything alright? Let's talk inside!" Iruka was trying to block him off getting in his tiny apartment, but with no success. Naruto already got inside.

"I'm very sorry for the mess Naruto, but I just tried to prepare some dinner." Iruka said, stroking the back of his head with his right hand, clearly a bit embarrassed.

"I see! Well good to know I'm not the only one struggling." He chuckled seeing the mess in Iruka's kitchen.

After a short small talk, Iruka asked him again how he could help him.

"Well Iruka-sensei… I have quite a problem. It's pretty serious and you're the only one I would want to talk about this." Naruto said in a serious voice all of a sudden. Clearly touched by this, Iruka just nodded with wide eyes.

"Of course, Naruto. What is it?" He asked his former student, a slight bit of interest in his voice. To undermine his gigantic interest he had in what Naruto wanted to ask him.

"Well… You see… a friend of mine has problems with a girl." Naruto said while trying to hide his faint blush.

"What problems?" 'Oh he's playing that game… I should just play along.' Iruka said, not noticing how he started to grin at Naruto.

"She is a good friend of his and he suddenly started to... h-he started to dream about her." Naruto's blush was now becoming more slightly apparent and he gulped. He just couldn't stop thinking about that moment on the rock. His face so close to Hinata's… It really surprised him how good that felt. Also dreaming of her confused him even more. He had no time before to think about these things.

"Because I… Because I love you Naruto…

You're a proud failure…

I Believe in your strength!"

These memories were popping more often into Naruto's head then he would like to admit. Hinata always helped him and stood by his side when he needed her the most, even during the war. Remembering him grabbing her hand made him smile. Yet still he didn't understand that Hinata had feelings for him, that's how dense one person can get.

"Okay Naruto. I think I heard enough." A serious Iruka said to a baffled Naruto, who didn't notice he daydreamed for a minute after ending his last sentence.

"You can tell me it's about you. You never were the 'A friend of mine has a problem' kind of person Naruto." Iruka said with a sincere smile on his face.

"W-Well Iruka-sensei you see…" Naruto started light-heartedly

"Yes? Is it about Sakura? You always seemed to 'like her' very much." Iruka just grinned.

"Sakura? No! listen sensei, I have to tell you something first."

After coming to an end, Naruto was now blushing a bit more.

"So you and Hinata almost kissed that night huh…" 'I would have never guessed that… you still seem to surprise me Naruto…'

"Do you see my problem Iruka-sensei? I mean Hinata and me were friends before good friends but now it is quite different and I have this strange new feeling when it comes to her and I feel guilty for all she's been through because of me and her cousin Neji died and I feel emberassed around her and her clan is so elite I can't compare and—"

"Naruto calm down!" Iruka shouted at his old student. Naruto just widened his eyes, still shaky from all the thoughts he had in his mind that he wanted to add.

"We're gonna find a solution, just calm yourself. It's so unlike you!" Iruka folded his arms and frowned saying that.

Naruto tensed up for a bit, he closed his eyes and looked at his old teacher again, not looking like a angsty kid anymore.

"Listen Naruto. I think you should ask dear Hinata out on a date. Yo—"

"On a DATE?" Naruto threw his arms in the air, almost falling from his chair.

"Would you let me speak Naruto!" Iruka shouted again, just like the old times in the academy.

"As I was saying you should ask her out. I mean you think you know each other well, but that's not really true. You should treat this whole operation as a mission, maybe that will make it way easier for you." Iruka explained rubbing the back of his head.

"A mission?... I guess so! Yes that will work! Believe it!" The blonde Ninja proclaimed, standing up.

"Alright Naruto Uzumaki, your new S-Rank mission is to ask Hinata Hyuuga out on a date!"

"Yes Sir!" Naruto saluted him with his left hand before leaving Iruka's apartment.

"Stupid, Stupid, STUPID!"

Naruto was breathing heavily. After getting so motivated after talking to Iruka, he decided it was time for him to train again. He trained his one-handed hand seals again and succeeded there and already organized the next thing he was going to learn. A water-release jutsu. With no success. He already knew his affinity his wind and how that works.

But because he didn't know how water manipulation works, he had to ask Yamato. Yamato explained to him that in order to reproduce a proper water manipulation he had to think of his chakra as a ripple produced by a thrown stone in a lake, that starts small and gets bigger and bigger. That was completely different from his wind manipulation and it really frustrated him.

He already was using his shadow clones to speed up the process, but before he knew it, the forest around him grew darker and darker.

"Naruto." A blunt voice called him.

Naruto looked around, finding Kakashi standing next to a tree.

"Kakashi Sensei…" Naruto said, still frustrated at his attempt on the water-release.

"Ah. Don't let the enemy sneak behind you. You got me." Kakashi said with an ironic voice, seeing his student is still following this simple lesson he taught him back then when Naruto became a Genin.

"Kakashi-sensei, the water-release is going fine!" Naruto said in a hasty, laughter filled voice.

"I Saw. Keep it up, I wouldn't have guessed one-handed hand seals would be very hard for you, but how quickly you learned them…" 'Like his Father… well, the Namikaze were known to learn things very quickly…'

"Naruto. I think it's time for us to talk about your roots."

Silence.

"Why? Does it matter now?" Naruto said in a bugged voice, looking away from his old sensei.

"It does. At least for you and your training. I think it would be a good time now to tell you what kind of Ninja your parents were. How much do you know?" Kakashi just propped up against a nearby tree.

"Not much. Just that my Father was one of the best Shinobi ever and that my mother taught him Uzumaki Fuuinjutsu before he became the fourth Hokage." Naruto said it in a way, that it sounded like such a family backstory would be normal.

'When he had nothing and didn't achieve that much he bragged like hell… But now where he is the hero he stays humble… Change is inevitable eh?' Kakashi thought with his usual u-face on.

"I see. Well, Naruto you see… You resemble your father so much. Not because of your hair or your looks…-" Kakashi added after noticing Naruto looking up to his blonde strains. Kakashi continued. "But because of your similarities in your mind-set's. Your father never gave up. Not on his training, not in missions where he had to show his enemies his determination. But most importantly, he never gave up when it came to his friends or his loved ones. Just like you. I wish you knew how similar you two are… It's so unfair that I could spent so much more time with him and you so little."

Naruto was shocked by his sensei's statements. He didn't say a word. Kakashi neither.

Kakashi gave Naruto a scroll and *Poof* was gone.

'How original.'

Still trampled by his short exchange of words with Kakashi, Naruto tried to open the scroll with no success. He realized there was some kind of seal over the opening, which he remembered but could not identify. Acting on instinct he bit in his left thumb and pressed the fresh blood on the seal. It disappeared, leaving an expressionless Naruto behind who didn't know what happened.

He opened it. After reading a good chunk of information Naruto looked up in disbelief. It was a scroll of the Namikaze clan containing information about the location of the last secret hiding place of the clan. 'Uzushiogakure… I remember this one! It's where my mother came from! But why there?' Naruto thought to himself, focusing on the words in front of him before it came to him.

'It's my… It's my…!' He remembered the seal's on his father's Kunai. It was his handwriting in this scroll so he must have hidden it there!

"I must find out. I just received a new mission by the Hokage." Naruto got serious before he twisted the scroll back together and started to walk away from his favourite training ground.

"I must get to Uzushiogakure as fast as possible… I have to be back to attend the negotiations! And I also have another mission…" Naruto stopped walking. 'I need to ask Hinata out too…' Naruto felt a stinging feeling In his chest. He had to make a decision.

"I'll leave tonight and get back as fast as possible so I'm able to complete all my missions as fast as one can see!" Naruto exclaimed raising his fist towards his father's rock face before he started running. Fast.

A/N:

That was my third Chapter!

I hope you enjoyed, and you aren't too mad about how I ended it, but I needed one chapter to built something on. Uzushiogakure wasn't touched by Kishimoto much, which I wanted to change.

Somehow the shortest Chapter so far took me the longest haha. I needed to think about some aspects on the story and that's what I came up with. Stay tuned!