Chapter 8: Bonding

Team 7 had shown up at training grounds 7 waiting for their sensei so they could start on completing their missions. They soon got mad at their sensei for being tardy once again.

"Where the hell is Kakashi-sensei!?" Naruto growled out.

"Well he was late to pick us up yesterday. We should've expected this." Hinata closed her eyes and sighed. She opened the again and looked at the blonde after he dropped himself on the floor. "Uzumaki-san, what are you doing?"

"Trying to meditate to calm myself down." The blonde responded as he closed his eyes and slowed down his breathing.

Hinata turned to look at Sasuke and saw him laying down on the floor. She was about to question what Sasuke was doing, but soon stopped when she heard a poof.

"Hmm." Naruto examined the shadow clone he created. He nodded, dispelled it, and created another one and did the process again.

"What are you doing now?" Hinata asked the blonde in an annoyed tone.

"I'm using the free time we have right now to see just what exactly I can and can't do with shadow clones." He explained to the heiress. He nodded to himself and dispelled the clone again. "Let's see what happens when I barely put in any chakra." He mumbled.

Poof

"Well." Hinata said.

Standing where the cloud of smoke was, there was a shadow clone that could fit in the palm of a hand.

"Huh. Didn't know I could do this." He said eyeing the clone. He picked it up by the scruff of the jacket at first, then he lightly placed it in his palm to examine it. "Looks exactly like my normal clones but just smaller. I wonder if I can do this while splitting my chakra evenly into this one." Naruto mumbled.

He dispelled the clone, held his hands in the ram hand sign, and split his chakra into the now mini Naruto. "Woahhh. I can force it to be that size." Naruto stopped and started to think. 'If I can make it smaller… maybe I can make a bigger clone?'

After doing the process once more, he looked at the Naruto clone that was the size of Kakashi. Naruto's face broke into a huge grin. 'Oh! This jutsu just got a whole lot cooler! The possibilities of this are endless!' He let out an evil chuckle, scaring the Hyuga.

-With Kakashi-

Kakashi was walking around and had stumbled into a training field. He looked around and saw Gai and Lee training. He immediately tried to turn and run, but it was too late.

"AHH! MY YOUTHFUL RIVAL! HAVE YOU COME TO CHALLENGE ME AGAIN!? OF COURSE YOU HAVE! WE STILL HAVE YET TO BREAK THE TIE WE ARE CURRENTLY AT! 112-112. I WILL NOT LOSE THIS TIME!" Gai exclaimed.

"Huh? You say something?"

"AHHHHH! THAT HIP AND TOO COOL ATTITUDE OF YOURS INFURIATES MY KAKASHI!"

"GAI-SENSEI! WHO IS THIS PERSON?" Lee questioned Gai, with eyes strangely looking like stars.

"THAT MY APPRENTICE IS KAKASHI HATAKE. MY ETERNAL RIVAL. HIS HIP AND TOO COOL ATTITUDE IS VERY UNYOUTHFUL MY MINI ME!"

"YES GAI SENSEI!"

"Mini-me?"

"YES." Gai cleared his voice and stopped yelling. "I have taken an apprentice and turned him into a splendid ninja one day! He's even modeled himself after me! A mini-me!"

"Ahh." Kakashi responded. 'Hmm that's not a bad idea. But which student shall it be?' Kakashi thought as he left the duo and started to walk towards his team's training grounds. When he was close enough, he jumped on a tree branch to observe his team.

He saw Sasuke taking a nap on the floor, Hinata was curiously watching Naruto, and Naruto trying to use the Shadow Clone Jutsu in unique but useful ways. He eye smiled and nodded his head. 'Perfect.'

-Hokage's Tower-

"Well hello Team 7." The Hokage greeted Team 7 with a smile.

"Hey Old Man!" Naruto greeted the aged leader with his regular greeting. Kakashi lightly smacked the back of his head in a playful way.

"Now Naruto, show the Hokage some respect." He chided lightly.

Hinata was staring at the blonde with wide eyes. How could he be so disrespectful towards the Hokage and get away with it? Hiruzen saw her confusion and explained the scenario.

"Now now Kakashi, you know I don't mind Naruto-kun calling me that." He told the jonin, who just nodded his head and went back to reading his book. "Now I believe you're here for a mission. Yes?"

"Hai Hokage-sama." Kakashi answered.

"Excellent. Now here's some D-rank missions to choose from." He said while he picked up a pile of papers and shuffled through them. "We have some fences that need painting… some trash needs to be collected from a river… some dogs need to be walked… oh the Inuzuka's kennels need to be cleaned…"

Team 7's genin groaned at the realization that D-ranked missions are nothing but chores. Naruto soon found the bright side to this disaster.

"Hokage-sama." Naruto said, shocking everyone in the room. Hiruzen soon understood that Naruto was trying to be serious and professional.

"Yes Naruto?"

"I would like to take on some spare D-rank missions." He said, shocking them all once again.

"Why would you want to take on MORE D-ranks?" Iruka asked him. Naruto looked down and started to shuffle his feet.

"I need the money." He whispered out. He looked the Hokage in the eye and continued. "I need to buy groceries, shinobi gear, more clothes, and anything that I'll need. And with them over charging me it's not easy to save." He muttered the last part but everyone caught what he said.

"What do you mean they're over charging you?" Hinata asked before she could stop herself. Naruto let out a sigh and continued.

"They overcharge me when I go to buy anything. Only a handful of places don't."

"Alright Naruto-kun, but how are you going to finish them all?" The Hokage asked, with everyone else nodding. Naruto simply smirked and put his hands in the ram hand sign.

"Easy Old Man." He said as he created a Shadow Clone. "Shadow Clones help a lot with tedious tasks like D-rank missions." Everyone's eyes widened at how they never realized how useful Shadow Clones could be. After the Hokage got over his initial shock, he started to curse himself out.

"Uhh Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked

Instead of answering, Sarutobi gave Kakashi a single mission file, and Naruto five. He quickly ushered them out and proceeded to brood for the rest of the day. But left a shadow clone to do the work for him.

-With Team 7-

Naruto and his teammates arrived at their mission's location. It was a fence that surrounded the academy. They had to reapply paint due to the old coat fading. Sasuke and Hinata let out a sigh while Naruto just made Shadow Clones to help.

"Alright you all get the other side while my team gets this side." He instructed the shadow clones.

"You got it boss!" One shouted and the rest nodded their heads. Naruto nodded his head and looked down at the papers he had in his hands.

"I'll leave some more clones to help you two while I go finish these." He said while walking off and waving the papers. "Catch you guys later."

"Naruto wait a moment." Kakashi got his attention before he could get away. "Why not make more shadow clones and let those take care of the other missions while you help your team?"

"I guess you have a point there sensei." He slowly said, a little disappointed he couldn't be alone. "Alright." He created about thirty more shadow clones, making Kakashi sweat drop at how he can effortlessly create more shadow clones than he can. He handed a shadow clone the paper that had the mission details on them. "You all go finish these missions, then go collect the pay afterwards. After that head home and clean up." He yelled causing all of the clones to groan.

After they all departed, Kakashi and Naruto started to walk back towards the rest of their team. "Quite a unique one aren't you Chibi?" Kakashi joked.

"Chibi?" Naruto questioned.

"Yeah. You're younger and smaller than me." Kakashi shrugged. 'Plus you're literally like a Chibi form of my sensei.'

Naruto stared at his jonin sensei for a little longer before shrugging and dropping it. "If you say so." He said lazily, causing Kakashi to eye smile.

'Yes, he's the perfect candidate. Project Mini me commence.' He chuckled to himself.

When they catched up to the other genin on Team 7, Naruto apologized for trying to leave them and started to paint the fence. His teammates nodded and Sasuke started a conversation with him while they worked. They occasionally asked Hinata's input on a subject, trying to get her to open up a bit more.

"Ne Hinata?" Naruto called out to Hinata, gaining her attention. "What do you usually do for fun?"

"Well I guess reading would fall in that category." She said after thinking for a few seconds. "I don't go outside my clan compound a lot unless it's team or clan related business." She said with a shrug.

"Well how about we all go to Ichiraku's after this?" Naruto asked. Hinata pulled out a pocket watch to check the time and nodded.

"If we finish early then I would be able to make it." She told the blonde.

The Uzumaki nodded with a smile on his face. "You won't regret it." He went back to work to finish quickly. He created three more shadow clones to help speed up their mission.

They finished after 10 more minutes thanks to Naruto's shadow clones.

"Alright good job team." Kakashi gave them an eye smile. "We'll meet up again tomorrow. Same time. Later." He body flickered away.

"Well alright Ichiraku's here we come!" Naruto shouted in glee. "You're coming right Sasuke?"

"Can't." Naruto deflated, causing Sasuke to chuckle. "Sorry, I need to do some stuff at home. Catch you later." He turned around and walked towards his clan compound. Naruto and Hinata watched his retreating figure.

Naruto sighed and looked at Hinata. "You still want to go?" Hinata turned to Naruto and nodded.

"I don't see why not." She said, making the blonde cheer up a little.

"Aright! To Ichiraku's!"

-At Ichiraku's-

The two genin arrived at Ichiraku's and sat down waiting to order. They didn't have to wait for too long before Teuchi and Ayame noticed their presence.

"Ahh! Naruto its been a while since you've stopped by! Getting tired of us already?" He joked, earning a gasp from Naruto.

"Get tired of you and Ayame? Never! Also the ramen is absolutely amazing!"

"Then why not stop by some more?" Ayame asked with a pout. Naruto flinched as he remembered his long absence, but quickly calmed down so they wouldn't ask what's wrong.

"Well its just that I hardly have time." He lied to them. "Also I didn't have that much money. But with me being a genin and doing missions, that'll change. I'll try to come by more often!"

"Well alright! So what can I get you and…?" Ayame said, leaving the sentence hanging.

"Oh this is Hinata Hyuga, my teammate and the heiress to the Hyuga clan."

"Nice to meet you two…?"

"Oh I'm Ayame." She said with a smile. "And this is my father, Teuchi."

"Nice to meet ya." He waved. "So you figured what you want to eat yet?"

"Miso soup ramen for me old man!" Naruto shouted, causing Teuchi to chuckle.

"I'll have the same please." Hinata said after looking over the menu.

"Alright I'll have them ready in a bit!" Teuchi said as he started to make their food.

"Uzumaki-san do you have to disrespect everyone?" Hinata scolded Naruto in a whisper. "You called the Hokage 'Old Man' like you did with Teuchi-san."

Naruto laughed at her question which annoyed the heiress. He saw that he angered her and quickly put his hands up.

"Woah calm down, hehe. Learn how to have some fun!" He shouted while opening his arms wide. Hinata stared at him for a little bit before she shook her head.

"You should learn some manners." She shot back, making the blonde chuckle.

"I already learned them. I only use them when I want to. Plus these people are like family to me." He looked at the counter and smiled. "They accepted me when I was little and sometimes gave me some free ramen when I couldn't afford it. They'll always have my respect and loyalty." He finished and turned to the Hyuga Heiress.

She was left stunned and speechless. She could feel the honesty and sincerity in his voice. She couldn't help but give him a smile. But soon curiosity got the better of her.

"Uzumaki-san. What was your childhood like?"

Teuchi and Ayame, who may have been listening in on their conversations, froze and looked at Naruto. The Uzumaki himself flinched and looked down, his mood now dampened.

"I'd rather not talk about it."

Hinata looked at the blonde and realized that he was uncomfortable with answering the question. She really wanted to know. To her, Naruto was a mystery. One she so badly wanted to solve. But in due time. Perhaps when they get closer.

"Alright Uzumaki-san. My apologies for prying." She said. The blonde chuckled and soon his mood brightened once again.

"Don't worry about it Hinata. It's ok." The food was placed down in front of the two and he grinned widely. He immediately wolfed down the heavenly food, earning a chuckle from Teuchi and a giggle from Ayame.

"Well glad to see your hunger for ramen hasn't changed!" Teuchi laughed out as he took Naruto's bowl.

"And it never will!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Where's your manners that you were talking about?" Hinata scolded.

"Heheh. I said I'll use them only when I want to. This place is practically home to me. Plus it helps me eat more ramen if I eat it quickly." Another bowl was placed in front of him and he wolfed it down once more. "Ahhhhh."

Hinata shook her head at the blonde's behavior and proceeded to eat her own ramen. After tasting a bite of it, she immediately fell in love with the taste and wanted to wolf it down also. Before she could, she got herself under control. 'I just scolded him for doing that and here I am wanting to do the exact same thing.' She mentally scolded herself.

"Heheheh." Naruto chuckled, making Hinata's blood run cold. He grinned at her, not making her any less worried.

Hinata cleared her throat. "Yes?"

"Looks like you share my love for this food." He laughed out.

"Perhaps." She smirked at the blonde, who's jaw had dropped before he chuckled.

"So you do have a sense of humor. Maybe there's really someone under all that icy exterior." He joked as he poked her stomach, earning an "EEP!" from the Hyuga. Everyone laughed at the yelp while Hinata blushed from embarrassment and anger.

She slapped Naruto's hand. "Don't do that again!" She hissed at him, making everyone laugh harder.

Naruto was laughing so much his sides were hurting. "Oww ahahha ow ow ow." He turned to face Hinata. "Sorry Hinata but that was funny." He said as he wiped a tear from his eye.

"No it wasn't." Hinata mumbled out.

"I'm sorry." He apologized in a tone with all the humor drained. Hinata looked at Naruto and saw that he was being serious and sincere. She nodded at the blonde and forgave him.

"Apology accepted. Please refrain from poking me again in the future." She replied, making Naruto chuckle.

"Sure thing." Teuchi placed ramen in front of Naruto. He nodded to him and played with the noodles for a bit. He smiled before downing the noodles in one go. "Come on Hinata, hurry up and finish so I can show you where I like to hang out."

Hinata was confused by his sudden decision, but nodded her head regardless. "Alright Uzumaki-san."

-15 Minutes Later-

Naruto had taken Hinata to the top of the Hokage monument. They were currently on the Fourth Hokage's, Minato Namikaze, head. Naruto was sitting on the edge of one of Minato's head spike, while Hinata was standing in the center of the Fourth's head and was trying to call Naruto to come back.

"Naruto Uzumaki! Get back over here now!" She yelled while clinging on to a spike of rock from the Fourth's head making the blonde chuckle.

"Its safe over here." He told her. He turned around and saw the overview of the village. He smiled then shook his head. He turned to face Hinata again and stood up to walk towards her.

"Finally gained some sense and decided we should go?" Naruto shocked his head, grabbed her hands and started to walk back to his previous spot on the edge. "What are you doing!? Don't take me over there!"

"It'll be fun! There's such a nice view!" He laughed out. "Are you afraid of heights? Is that it?"

"Normally no, but when I'm being dragged to the edge of a cliff yes!" She shut her eyes as hard as she could and waited till the blonde stopped dragging her.

"Ok. You can open your eyes now Hinata." She slowly opened her eyes and was staring into the eyes of the blonde. "Heheh. You can let go and look at the village now." She looked down and saw that she was hugging the blonde tightly. She immediately let go and apologized. "Why are you apologizing? It's fine."

Hinata merely nodded and turned to look at the view of the village. "Beautiful." Was all the Hyuga Heiress could get out. She was left in awe at how beautiful the village looked from up there. Hinata barely noticed Naruto nodding before he spoke.

"Yes. Whenever I get mad or sad or whenever I want to be alone… I come up here and look over the village… It feels like I'm watching over the village when I do." He said with a small smile.

Hinata turned and looked at Naruto. "So your dream is to become Hokage?"

"No." Hinata turned and looked at the blonde. He shook his head and continued. "I'm not fit to be Hokage anymore." He pulled his knees into his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs. "No one will approve of me for the position anyways." He looked up at the pink colored sky due to the sunset. "I'll just help protect the village. Without becoming Hokage."

Hinata smiled and nodded. "That's a nice and noble goal to have." She back looked over the village. "I'll do the same. After all, Uchiha-san has already claimed that." She said with a chuckle, causing Naruto to smile.

"Yeah. I guess you're right." He looked back down at the village, then to Hinata. "It's getting late. We should start to head home."

"Right." Hinata nodded but couldn't help but feel a little down.

After fifteen minutes of walking, they arrived at the Hyuga compound. Hinata turned around and bowed to Naruto. "Thank you for escorting me home Uzumaki-san. I had fun today."

"Woah woah no need to bow to me." He joked and smiled. "I had fun today too. We should do this more often."

"Indeed we should." She gave him a smile before the blonde started to turn around.

"Well good luck on the clan training and good night Hinata." He said as he started to walk away.

"Thank you and good night...Naruto-san." She whispered with a blush on her face before turning around and heading inside her clan's compound.