A/N: Hello everyone, we are continuing with One Year Early with a new chapter. If you are guessing a particular scene from the Bikochu beetle arc of the OG Naruto by seeing the chapter title, well yeah you are...perhaps right. Anyways, today's chapter involves Team-6 continuing their trek to Taki. What awaits them there, good news or bad news...read on to find out. Well, let me just state in advance that this chapter is not an action packed one, the action of this arc comes two chapters later, so kindly be patient till that. And with that, lets get on with the chapter.

CHAPTER 7: TAKIGAKURE & THE GODDESS OF THE WATERFALLS

With their tasks for training set up, Team-6 continued on their way to the village Hidden among the Waterfalls. Each alternate day, Naruto and Hinata would carry out the elemental chakra control exercises and try out their jutsus. And just to keep up with his best-friend and love interest, Naruto had to rely on 4 shadow clones, the former Hyuuga heiress's chakra control was just that excellent.

Hinata was already able to make 2 lightning balls at the 2nd day of practice, while Naruto was able to fire about 3 bullets of wind. Hinata's task was to make 8 lightning balls and use them for attack while Naruto was to launch a minimum of 15 drilling air bullets to consider his jutsu mastered at a beginner level. Yeah, you heard that right, beginner level because his sensei, who didn't even have a wind affinity was able to launch up to 30 drilling air bullets.

Due to adding up ninjutsu practice into their schedule, Team-6's journey to Taki became more time-taking. While they should have reached the village in a matter of 3 to 4 days, now it was going to take the team 6-7 days to arrive at the truly hidden village. Well, they would just have to be quicker on their return trip.

7 days after starting from Konoha, Team-6 reached a spot fully covered by forests, but from a distance, the definite sound of a waterfall could be heard.

"T-That's a w-waterfall, does i-it mean that we've r-reached Taki?" Hinata asked.

"Hmm…well we should be somewhere just outside the village." Shikaku mused.

Just then Naruto felt something in his gut, and slowly it began to turn into pain.

"Aaah!" He got onto his knees, gripping his stomach, more specifically the place where his seal was.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata shouted in alarm and besting her nerves, held him, by placing one arm on his shoulder and using the other arm to rub his stomach to give her love some relief.

"The fox…is acting up….." Naruto said with some difficulty.

Just then the team heard someone fly-up and then collide with some branch.

"Ooooouch!" shouted a girl in a white dress and a Taki headband as she collided with a branch, Team-6 definitely observed the wings sticking out of her waist and raised their eye-brows as the girl comically fell down.

"A-are you okay?" Hinata said in concern as she walked up the girl while supporting Naruto, holding him by his shoulder.

"Yeah…perhaps Fu's flying still needs some work." Then she looked up to Naruto with interest.

Naruto laughed: "Might want to work on the landings as well…" before suddenly Naruto's stomach acted up again, but this time it was not as painful as before. Suddenly Naruto remembered Shikaku talking about a jinchuuriki in Taki, now he was certain this girl was the jinchuuriki.

"Are you a jinchuuriki by any chance?" The blonde asked, shocking Fu.

"W-wait h-how d-do you know that!?" She asked in shock and…fear.

"Does that mean you really are the jinchuuriki of the Nanabi?" Shikaku asked.

Fu's face became downcast, she had hoped that she would be able to impress the shinobi she was sent to escort with her flying skills, now not only did she mess her flying up, but they also had figured out about her being Chomei's host. Now they would never be her friends.

"Yes…I am. I am Fu, the jinchuuriki of the Chomei, the Nanabi no Kabutomushi." She said sadly. She resignedly expected looks of disgust from the team before her, but what she saw were looks of curiosity and interest.

"N-nice to meet you…I am H-Hyuuga Hinata." The Hyuuga girl said extending her hand for a handshake. Fu was totally surprised for quite a few seconds. Did they not understand her right? She had a Biju sealed in her, or did they simply not care? Was that even possible? She shook Hinata's hand with some hesitation.

"And I am Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage of Konoha and…." He took a sideways glance towards his sensei who just gave a slight nod. "And the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune." The blonde said with a grin extending his hand for a handshake as well. Now Fu knew why Chomei was suddenly acting up and so abnormally compared to usual, or usual for when these types of things occurred. "So, you are like me?" She said in disbelief.

"Yeah…if you are talking about having a Biju sealed in our guts then of course we are similar in that regard." Naruto said as Fu shook his hand.

Finally, Shikaku came forward and offered a handshake as well.

"I am Nara Shikaku, their Jonin-sensei and head of the Nara clan of Konoha." He introduced himself as Fu shook his hand, still in complete disbelief that 3 people came forward and interacted normally with her without giving a flying (like she had been attempting to impress them with a few minutes ago) fuck about the fact that she was a jinchuuriki, not only that but one of them was a jinchuuriki himself. "I take it that you are our escort?" Shikaku asked as Fu remembered why she was sent to meet up with a team of Konoha shinobi.

"Oh, yeah, Fu will escort you to Takigakure and show you around." She said with a smile, finally having found people who would accept her despite knowing about her being a jinchuuriki. "Come on! The village is not that far away!" She said in excitement flying up and in rounds.

"Whoaah! That's amazing! How do you do that?" Naruto asked surprised.

"It's an ability granted to Fu by Chomei!" Fu said as she landed, her flying was still shaky so she was having a number of close calls with nearby trees.

"Wait Chomei? Is that the Nanabi's name?" Naruto asked in surprise as Fu somehow managed to land without crashing.

"Yeah, that's his name, he told me that all the Biju have names." The Nanabi jinchuuriki responded.

"Wow! Wait, so that means…that means the Kyuubi must have a name too right…I wonder what his name is?" Naruto mused and felt a growl in his stomach.

Meanwhile Fu, deciding to walk instead of flying, led the team towards her village. On their way, they saw at least two huge waterfalls, just two kilometers apart from each other, the team from Konoha were pleasantly surprised at the breath-taking beauty of these natural wonders. Meanwhile Hinata also realized that one of these falls could be a good practice place for her.

Soon the team was in the village, the team liked the place but the people…well…very soon it was clear that Fu was despised among the populace and nobody wanted anything to do with her. Seeing the glares Fu was getting, Naruto was reminded of the glares he got from the people in Konoha. Perhaps irrespective of the place, the life of a jinchuuriki was the same: despised, frowned upon, and lonely.

Fu showed them some places in the village, such as the hospital, the ninja academy, and a park as she led them towards the village leader Shibuki's residence. Naruto meanwhile decided to ask a question, he just knew would be difficult for the girl to answer.

"Hey Fu, do you…you know…have any friends?"

Fu's look became downcast immediately.

"Fu doesn't have any friends; people here hate Fu and avoid her all the time." The green haired girl responded.

Shikaku doubted the hate part, but he definitely saw she was in a similar situation as Naruto: people had been afraid of her as time bomb waiting to go off, some of the more judgmental fell into a mindset similar to Mizuki without intent to act on it, everyone ignored her to try and cope with the perceived threat which led to attention seeking in anyway possible, and led to Fu being further ostracized.

"I-I am s-sorry…but w-we can be y-your f-friends i-if you like?" Hinata suggested with a smile.

"Really!" Fu exclaimed with a huge smile and stars in her eyes as she almost jumped on the Hyuuga girl.

"Hell yeah, you can definitely call us friends." Naruto said with a grin and a thumbs up.

"Really, really! You two will be friends with Fu…Fu loves it…Fu will definitely be your friend." The Nanabi jinchuuriki said with a smile as she jumped.

"Shut up! Annoying girl…don't you see your shouts are disturbing us?" Some random villager commented.

"Mind your own business old man!" Naruto yelled back.

Soon Team-6 was at the village leader's residence and led to the office part of it.

As they entered the visitor's lounge, they found the village leader Shibuki, who was just above his teen years, waiting for them.

Then Shikaku and Shibuki both bowed to each other.

"I honestly never expected for the head of the Nara clan to personally come for such a trivial mission, but it's an honour Shikaku-sama. I have heard a lot about you and your intellect. It's a pleasure to meet you." Shibuki said with the bow.

"I am accompanying my genin team, Shibuki-sama. It is their first mission outside of the village and the Land of Fire. And it is a pleasure to meet you as well." Shikaku said with a slight bow of his own.

Then he took out the scroll, given to him by the Hokage and handed it over to the young village leader, who accepted it with another bow.

"Please be seated." He offered and the team along with Fu took their seats on the mats on the floor as Shibuki went through the document. At the end, he was quite satisfied.

"Please give the Hokage my sincere gratitude, and sorry I forgot to ask, but was your trip pleasant?" Shibuki added with a humble smile.

"It was fine, nothing too troublesome." Shikaku responded. "And Fu-chan has been a great escort too."

"That's good to hear. She's quite diligent." Shibuki responded giving a look of approval to their resident jinchuuriki.

Naruto wanted to say something about the treatment Fu was getting from the villagers in Taki but stayed silent thinking that this might not be his place to say something and there was a possibility that his words could land Fu in even more trouble as she had, in fact, revealed to them about her status as a jinchuuriki. So, in contrast to the general opinion on the boy if you asked the right people about the blonde who would say that Naruto was a brainless idiot who always spoke his mind without considering the consequences, Naruto kept quiet.

"I'll soon write a reply for the Hokage. I believe it must have been a long trip for you Shikaku-sama, so I request that you stay in our village for a day or two and rest yourselves." Shibuki suggested.

Shikaku thought about it a bit, and well, there was actually nothing much to think about as he wanted his team to have a bit of rest after the trip and a chance for them to complete their practice.

"Fu, escort them to the guest house and make sure that they are comfortable." The village leader ordered.

"Hai!" The green haired girl responded.

Soon the team was out of the village leader's residence.

"Hey Fu! Why don't you show us your place? I kinda want to see how does a jinchuuriki in another village lives." Naruto curiously asked.

"But Fu's house is outside the village." The Nanabi jinchuuriki responded with a downcast face again. Team-6 could only sympathize with the girl. "But Fu will be happy to have her friends over there, Yay!" She added cheering herself up. How could the Konoha team not comply with this?

Soon enough, Fu had led Team-6 to her place, a small wooden house with a large garden, outside the village. A big waterfall was there as well, not too far away. The place was quite beautiful but still the Konoha Nins understood that placing Fu's house at such a scenic and secluded spot like this was not done with any noble intentions. The team had to come to terms with the fact that this girl had it far worse than Naruto did in Konoha, and they could only wince in sympathy.

Shikaku mentally decided to take it up with the Hokage, once they returned of course, and try to get this girl asylum in Konoha. Though the Nara clan head knew for certain that the people of Konoha were far from saints when it came to treating a jinchuuriki with respect, Naruto's case proved it.

Perhaps, if Fu was given a secondary residence or outright exchanged to Konoha, they would be able to somehow keep Fu being a jinchuurki under wraps for long enough to let her have a normal life, perhaps even long enough for the lonely girl to lay down roots and foundations that would help fight off the hate and mistrust that would inevitably ensue once Fu's secret came to light.

Danzo would be Shikaku's number one suspect for making that information known publically, the war hawk would do anything to get another potentially powerful asset for his supposedly disbanded Foundation. Even under house arrest for manipulating Itachi to commit the Uchiha Massacre, Danzo refused to wither,

Shikaku smirked as another possibility, one that could help work to counter Danzo, came to mind for if Fu moved to Konoha. Put her in with the Aburame Clan. Shibi had a personal axe to grind with Danzo concerning Torune, understandable considering how Danzo gave an ultimatum to the man demanding either Shibi turn over his own son or Torune to Danzo and even after the 'disbandment' of ROOT, Torune had never been returned to his clan with Danzo claiming that the boy had either disappeared or died (neither Shikaku nor Shibi believed it with how many bodies, or rather remains of bodies infected by Torune's Rinkaichu had been found since the supposed disbandment); being given custody of Fu with the knowledge that Danzo wanted her in his organization would be an opportunity for the Aburame Clan Head to claim revenge against the cripple that the man would relish.

Perhaps…

"Sensei, why don't we stay here for as long as we are in Taki? Hinata-chan likes this place too." Naruto suggested after Fu had shown him and Hinata around including the beautiful waterfall close to her house, while Shikaku laid down in the courtyard and contemplated.

"Hmm…doesn't sound too troublesome. Perhaps we can let Shibuki know tomorrow, but we can do that. This place is very calm and quiet, I like it here too." The Nara clan head approved, much to the joy of his genin.

*That evening*

Fu and Hinata were sitting and chatting in the veranda, while Naruto practiced his "Wind style: Drilling Air Bullets" in the courtyard under Shikaku's supervision. The Hyuuga was taking a break, she didn't have her beloved's unending stamina after all.

"So Hinata-chan…Fu has been seeing you looking at Naruto while he is not looking." Fu said in a teasing voice and Hinata obviously began blushing red like a tomato and tried to come up with some excuse. "But Fu has also seen Naruto stealing glances at you when you don't look too." She added with her thumb under her chin and struck an innocent but thoughtful expression.

Hinata blushed even harder. She remembered when Naruto spoke about his dream of having a family someday and stole a glance at her. She knew hope was one's biggest enemy and could very possibly turn into the biggest source of despair. She knew that the boy she loved didn't understand girls that much and that he was a dunce when it came to romance, but still with Fu's words she understood that there was a chance, a chance however small that was and she dared to hope, hope against all odds that perhaps Uzumaki Naruto, her hero, her idol, her inspiration, and the one she had already given her heart too was at some level returning her feelings.

Hopefully, someday her greatest dreams would come true, someday she would be able to hold him in her arms, caress him, kiss him, and erase the loneliness in his heart forever. She had seen his mask slip, his grin falter and his face down, eyes full of tears, when he thought no one was watching. Hopefully soon she would be able to make him let it out and take those tears head on, for she knew they had to be dealt with, and dealt with as soon as possible.

"So, you like him, don't you?" Fu asked in a teasing voice once again, pulling Hinata out of her dreamy musings. The Hyuuga shook her head to control the blush on her face but couldn't. "Come on Hinata-chan, don't be so shy? Fu is your friend; you can tell Fu." The Nanabi jinchuuriki added with a small grin and wink as wings popped out of her waistline and flapped a bit.

"N-no, I-I d-don't like him." Hinata said with pink cheeks. Fu became confused until Hinata decided to continue with a dreamy but determined smile. "I love him." The Hyuuga girl whispered.

"Wow…that's so…romantic!" Fu responded with a big grin as she patted the Hyuuga girl on her shoulders and back. "Fu will cheer for ya!" She added.

"T-thank you Fu-chan." Hinata responded with pink cheeks. What neither of them knew was that for some reason, Naruto had decided to take a small break and was walking back towards the room where they had kept their bags, and he just so happened to be close enough to hear what Fu and Hinata were talking about and far enough for none of them to take notice of his presence. When he heard Hinata's admission, he didn't even know what to think anymore.

He was blushing. Well, to be precise, Hinata Hyuuga had always been a special case for him.

She was the nicest girl in the class, regardless of that weird reddening of her face, her stuttering, and frequent fainting spells. She was nice and was genuinely kind to him. Her smile always made him happy. Whenever he saw that smile, his mind tried to make a connection, a connection he couldn't fully make yet, but he felt like he knew Hinata from before the start of the academy. Her presence made him happy…somehow. When and if she was ever absent, Naruto would feel weird, like something was missing, on those days he wouldn't play pranks because at some corner of his mind, he knew Hinata genuinely enjoyed his pranks.

But he thought that he liked Sakura, the pink-haired class topper in regards to book knowledge and theory. She was confident, kind to her friends, and was popular as well which made Sakura so completely opposite to Hinata. Sakura was totally outspoken about her love for Sasuke, and Naruto kind of wanted her shout for him instead of Sasuke, but he had come to understand that he just wanted someone to cheer for him, declare their love for him and he had just given that desire Sakura's face. But ever since his sudden graduation, he had never thought of Sakura.

Instead, he was admiring the shy Hyuuga of his class more and more… how heroic she looked when she stood before him, staring down a traitor who had used Naruto and tried to crush him with distorted information, facing Mizuki without a care in the world, and declared that Naruto was not a monster. How beautiful she looked when she offered her soft words of encouragement and how blissful and calming those words felt, how beautiful she looked when she was soaking after the water walking practice, and how cute she looked when she was asleep in the tent, how soft her cheeks were…well by now Naruto was sure of one thing, he definitely liked this girl and wanted to be more than friends with her, but then he heard her declaring her love for him.

For some reason, as soft as it was, this declaration seemed different, true and strong…far stronger than those declarations of Sakura, Ino or any other fangirl towards Sasuke. This declaration washed a sense of calm in his heart and he felt like a huge hole there was beginning to be filled up.

What he didn't know was what exactly did he feel for her?

Did he just like her, like his crush on Sakura some months ago?

No, it was different, stronger and truer. What he did know was that he wanted to say those words, 'I love you Hinata.' without even the slightest hint of hesitation. Perhaps he could ask her out once they got back to Konoha….yeah! That's it! That's exactly what he'll do. Having made the decision, Naruto went to their room.

*That night*

Naruto was having a nightmare, a nightmare relating to Hinata…he saw her being taken away by some men in cloaks as she screamed for him, he couldn't see the faces of those cloaked men but could only see terrifying glares…as if they were telling him that he was helpless, useless, and hopeless.

"No!" He woke up with almost a shout, luckily he wasn't loud enough wake anyone up but looking around he found Hinata's mat, empty!

'Oh Shit!'

Fu was sleeping there, some feet away on another mat. Sensei was in the other room. What should he do? Should he make a noise! Not yet, she could have just as well gone to the washroom. He decided that he would just take a look around before alerting anyone.

That night, it had rained a little, just less than an hour ago. So, the soil was wet. As soon as Naruto quietly stepped out, he saw some footsteps going away from the house. Footsteps that should about match Hinata's. So Naruto decided to follow their tracks. He followed and followed, finally coming close to the waterfall close to Fu's residence…and in the moonlight, he saw a shadow move at the base of the waterfall. 'Is that Hinata-chan? What the hell is she doing out here, all by herself this late!'

The blonde decided to probe a bit further, so he approached as quietly as he could from almost 300 meters away, and he saw that the shadow was moving as if it was dancing!? Unable to suppress his curiosity, Naruto decided to move forward a bit to get a better view, and he just so happened to have spotted a tree that would give him the perfect view of what was going on while providing cover to hide in and climbed up on it as quietly as he could and settled himself on a branch, behind the cover of the leaves which seemed to be enough to conceal him and what he saw took his breath away.

As the moonlight lit up the surroundings and made the base of the waterfall glitter, there was a silhouette, a silhouette of a girl who was dancing under it…her figure was perfect…like that of an angel…a Goddess and the way she moved took Naruto's breath away.

Yes, he had seen people dancing before and it was from a distance, but he had never seen something so beautiful…each move the girl made stopped his breath for a few seconds…if there were angels, she just had to be one of them…he felt like he could write a poem on those elegant and breathtakingly beautiful moves of hers…he didn't know when his mouth gasped open but…he couldn't take his eyes off the spectacle happening before him, even if he wanted to at this moment.

In another life, another world, Naruto would have no idea who this angel was (Until he found out that the woman he loved and the angelic dancer were one and the same)…although he would declare her to be the most beautiful girl in the world. But this was another life, another time in which Naruto already had seen Hinata without her jacket and had a rough idea of her figure…and he knew exactly who it was that was dancing like a Goddess under that waterfall. He didn't know when his eyes became teary.

"Hinata…" A soft whisper escaped from his lips…he felt like he could just watch her for eternity and wouldn't have a single regret. Well at that moment, he remembered her smile, her way of speaking, and just how nice all of it felt and now he knew that she was the most beautiful girl in the world for him…no one else even came close.

When he decided that he just wanted to continue watching her…that was when his mind began having some clarity on certain emotional matters.

'Is this what it feels like when someone is in love…Perhaps. I still don't know how love works but I am sure that I just want her by my side so that I can just keep watching her…hear her speak and see her smile and I would do anything and go to any limits for that. And if that's love, then I love Hinata-chan…yes I do! Hinata-chan is so brave, cute, and beautiful…like a Goddess…my Goddess. I love her.' The blonde boy decided, he still needed some clarity, a small bit of clarity, but hopefully he would get it by the time they got back to Konoha and then he could open up his heart to her and present it as an offering of worship.

Then Naruto spotted something on the bank of the pond created by the waterfall. He saw that cream-coloured jacket and those black pants Hinata wore, elegantly folded and kept there, and not only that but he also spotted the black t-shirt she would wear under her jacket, folded and kept over the jacket too. It took a moment for the implication to hit. He had a nosebleed and his face became fully red, imitating Hinata's blushing to a frighteningly accurate degree.

'I hope a day will come when she would let me see her in that state, without that jacket and that shirt too…hey wait…what the hell am I thinking…she is my best friend too…and this…this might not be right…but someday I need to talk to her about these thoughts…I am kinda sure she will help me out without getting mad, that's just how she is.' Naruto thought to himself, one thing was for sure, Hinata wasn't in any immediate danger. He subtly made a clone and had it transformed into a small rock, with orders to dispel as soon as Hinata was done and was on her way back. Then the blonde quietly climbed down and made his way back, placing some clones transformed into various objects to make sure that Hinata made her way back to Fu's place safely, with Hinata having no idea that her performance…err…practice had an audience, one unlikely viewer who was far more than just impressed and going forward, she wouldn't regret it at all.

A/N: And another chapter done. How did you like this take on Hinata's waterfall dance scene? I hope it was to your liking. As I stated in the previous chapter, I am not good at writing slow burn NaruHina romance and tend to bring them together as soon as possible and for this fic, I am starting the process here. I wonder how Naruto's plan of confessing to Hinata when they get back to Konoha would go? Hehe. (Author and Editor chuckle).

Anyways, I hope you all liked the chapter. Thank you again for the continued love and support. Within six chapters we have surpassed 300 favs, that's great going honestly. It makes me really happy to see that this second fic of mine also receives the same love and support from you all as my first fic "Guardian of the Tailed Beasts" received. I am truly honored with this. Thank you all so very much. And with that, its time to sign off for the day, see ya all in the next chapter. Stay tuned.