Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I'm actually happy I don't because I suck at drawing.

Sorry for the late chapter, but I got sidetracked while writing this. I have no special vacation plans so I'll probably continue writing during the summer.

"text" speech
'text' thoughts
«text» voice in mind
------- change of scene.
FLASHBACK

Two ninjas were approaching Konoha. One was a boy, he wore a black shirt, pants, mask and cloak. He had blond hair and blue eyes. Next to him was a girl, she wore the same type of clothes as the boy, but without the cloak. She had marine blue hair, but her eyes weren't visible because she used her forehead protector as a blindfold. They both had a Leaf forehead protector with a cut in the middle. They walked up to the gate where several ANBU were waiting for them. "Please come with us, Hokaga-sama would like to speak to you." Naruto and Hinata followed the ANBU to Tsunade's office.

"So you two have finally returned. A lot has happened during the year you were away." She inspected the kids who were in front of here. Konoha wasn't alone with changes, the otherwise loud boy had become silent and had a serious look on his face. Tsunade didn't know much about the girl except that she always had been very shy. The shyness didn't show anymore though. The thing that caught her attention was the blindfold she was wearing. Tsunade decided not to ask about it for now.
"We're aware of that," Naruto answered.
"So why are you here?"
"We want to take the chuunin exam," Naruto calmly continued.
"Do you think you can just walk in here and ask to be allowed to take the chuunin exam?"
"Neither of us expect that, we are willing to take punishment and tests you deem necessary."
"I'll come up with some suitable punishment later. You do realize that you need a team of three to take the chuunin exam?"
"We are aware of that, Hokage-sama."
"Just a sec, Hokage-sama?" Tsunade asked. "Who are you and what the hell did you do to Naruto?"
Naruto and Hinata couldn't suppress a small laugh. "I thought it would be in order to be polite when asking for something as big as we are." Naruto explained, face returning to a serious state.
Tsunade sighed. "I'll consider your request. Now, tell me. The man that was with you, Naruto, who was he and what business did he have with you?" she inquired.
"I traveled with him for a while and he taught me several new techniques. After a while we both went our separate ways."
"And why did he help you?" Tsunade asked suspiciously.
Naruto remained silent for a moment. "He doesn't really like ninja villages and when I told him I left Konoha, he was more than happy to help me." Naruto wasn't really lying, what he said was true, although it wasn't the real reason why he helped them.
Tsunade sighed again. "That doesn't explain why you left in the first place, though."
"I left Konoha to become stronger and to get away from this village for a while. I think I don't really have to explain the reason for that?"
She did understand. She knew how the villagers acted towards Naruto. "I'm still in the dark where Itachi fits in this, though."
"Itachi...he used a genjutsu on me that made me realize some things. He was part of the reason I left, but in the end it was still my decision."
"Alright, I'll go with that. What about you Hinata?" the Hokage asked the girl, who hadn't said a word at all.
"I left to find Naruto and bring him back. That's also what I did."
"So do either of you feel like leaving again without asking first?" Tsunade asked with a sarcastic grin.
"We've seen our share of the world and both of us have achieved our goals. There's no reason to leave." Naruto answered.
Tsunade nodded. "Okay, that's it for now. You can go. I expect the two of you back here tomorrow at 8AM sharp."
The kids nodded. "Tsunade-sama, I have a question. What happened to my apartment after I left?" Naruto asked.
"It's still in the same state you left it, you can use it if you want to."
"Thank you, we will be going now." Naruto said as he bowed.
'That kid sure has changed a lot.' Tsunade thought to herself.

Word quickly got around that Hinata and Naruto were back. As they were walking around, a man approached them. "Naruto, long time no see."
"Iruka-sensei. How are you?"
"I'm doing fine. You sure have changed a lot, haven't you?"
"Yeah"
"Say, how about we go for some Ramen to celebrate your return?"
"Thank you for the offer, Iruka-sensei, but we still have a lot to do. Maybe some other time?"
Iruka was startled. 'Did Naruto just decline an offer for Ramen?!'
Before Iruka could say anything back, the two had walked off already.

Most of the villagers didn't recognized Naruto anymore, but they were still wary because of the cut in their forehead protector. It had been a while since they visited a village so they were running low on supplies. They walked to some stores and ordered vegetables, rice and some meat. ANBU were watching them the entire time.

'I almost forgot how peaceful Konoha was.' They passed by a flower shop. Inside was Ino, taking care of some flowers. Naruto walked inside, Hinata following him a bit uncertain. They went up to the counter.
Ino looked up. Her hair was now long again. That was pretty much the only change, though. She still had the same style of clothes and her attitude hadn't changed either. She was really surprised when she saw who was in front of her. "Naruto-kun, Hinata-chan? Since when are you guys back?"
"We just arrived this morning and came for some shopping."
"It's been a while, what brings you guys back?"
"We came to take the chuunin exam. But right now, I want to buy some flowers." Naruto grinned slightly.
Hinata glared slightly at Naruto.
Ino watched the two and couldn't help showing a smile. "So you guys have been by yourself for the past couple of months?" She asked curiously.
"That's right, we've been alone for a while." Naruto's grin got bigger, although it didn't really show under his mask.
Hinata now looked right at Naruto, they boy was ignoring her.
"What flowers do you want, Naruto-kun?" Ino broke the silence.

When they arrived at the apartment, Naruto realized that he only had one bed. 'Sigh, I had hoped to sleep in a bed for once.' Naruto took his bag, got some food out of it and started cooking something. Hinata began unpacking the rest of both their bags. She also put the flowers in a vase. «You shouldn't have wasted money on the flowers, Naruto» (A/N: This is not a typo, they are doing the brain communication thing.)
«Oh, come on Hinata-chan. You're even less romantic than I am. By the way, Hinata-chan, shouldn't you go pay a visit to your family?»
Hinata's eyes saddened invisibly under the blindfold. «I'm not sure what they'll do after I left.»
Naruto nodded, he knew what Hinata had left behind to get him back. «I'm sorry Hinata.»
«No need to be, it was my decision.»
«Anyway, food's almost ready.» Naruto went to search for some plates to place the food on.

He found some in the cupboard, they were a little dusty but they would do. He placed them on the table. «Let's eat.»

They both ate in silence. «I wonder how everyone is doing. There's already been a Chunnin exam in the meanwhile.» Naruto started a conversation.
«Who would have passed it?»
«We should probably ask Tsunade tomorrow.»
«Hinata, let's go to sleep. It's been a long day and we'll probably need it tomorrow for whatever Tsunade's got planned for us.» He grinned a little.
Hinata nodded. Before she went to sleep she took out a small bag.
Naruto had seen this many times. 'We all make sacrifices, don't we,' he sighed inwardly.

FLASHBACK

They were training in the forest. Hinata had just landed a good hit on Naruto and the boy was having some problems standing up. Suddenly, Hinata fell to the ground. "Hinata-chan? What's wrong?"

END FLASHBACK

Naruto sighed again and they both got to sleep.
A team of ANBU stood guard all night. They were wondering why neither of them spoke a word the entire evening.

Naruto was the first one to wake up the next morning. He got up and briefly glanced at Hinata. 'She's so cute when she's sleeping. I better let her sleep some more, it's been a while since we've slept in a decent place.' He went to the kitchen and started preparing some breakfast. He quickly searched through the bags they had gotten from the shops yesterday, looking for something he could make.
Hinata awoke shortly after Naruto and saw the boy digging though the bags. «Naruto-kun, what are you doing?»
Naruto gave Hinata a smile. He didn't have his mask on yet so it was clearly visible. «Just looking for some stuff. I'm not sure what to cook yet.»
«Why don't I make breakfast for a change?»
Naruto sweatdropped. «Eh, Hinata-chan, last time you made breakfast you literally blew it up.»
"Hey! That was an accident!" Hinata shouted out loud. The ANBU outside heard this and watched the conversation in surprise.
"I know that, but what if it happens again? I still want to have an apartment."
The two kids started glaring at each other for several minutes until Hinata finally broke the silence. "Fine, you make breakfast." They got some clothes and walked into the bathroom to change.
'She sure has grown a temper over the past year...' Naruto thought, remembering the shy Hinata he had known before. Naruto sighed, 'I still don't know what I should make.' He then spotted some Ramen in one of the bags. 'Hehe, now that I'm back in Konoha, I can start taking on my bad habits again.'

When Hinata got out of the bathroom, she could smell breakfast already. «Naruto, I'm not sure Ramen is the best thing you can have for breakfast...»
«I used to eat this stuff all the time, it didn't kill me did it?»
Hinata made a deep sigh. «Alright, let's just eat, We have to be at Tsunade-sama's office by 8»

Naruto and Hinata were making there way to Tsunade's office when suddenly at kunai flew at Naruto. He easily caught it and looked at its owner. "Sasuke, you shouldn't just throw kunai at people, it dangerous." Naruto paused for a brief moment. "For you, that is."
"Ino told me that you were back, so I decided to welcome you." Sasuke said while giving Naruto a serious look. The Uchiha hadn't changed much. He had gotten a little bigger but he still wore the same cloths. The only difference was that he now also wore a chuunin vest.
"Some welcome, you could at least bring me a real gift," Naruto answered as he threw the kunai back with a simple motion of his hand.
"I hope you got stronger, because I still plan on having a fight with you." Sasuke said, trying to change the topic.
"I'm going to try to take the chuunin exam, too bad you already took it."
"I'll be sure to watch you in the finals, if you make it that far..."
«Naruto-kun, we have to hurry up or we'll be late.» Hinata said
"Sorry Sasuke, but I have a meeting and we're expected to be on time." With those words Naruto and Hinata ran off. «So Sasuke became a chuunin. Not much of a surprise, though.»

They were close to the Hokage tower. 'Good, at least we won't make a bad impression by being late,' Naruto thought.

The two genin were now in Tsunade's office, looking at the Hokage. "Alright, I'm going to allow you two to become official Leaf ninjas again," she said this wile handing them a pair a new forehead protectors. "You also got lucky, because you have a chance to take the chuunin exam."
Both Hinata and Naruto rejoiced at these words, but they didn't show it. "But there is still the issue of the third teammate," Naruto said
"I have a solution for that. Meet your new teammate."
A girl with short red hair, white shirt and dark red pants walked in. She had a serious look on her face. "So you two are the famous missing-genin? Nice to meet you, my name is Seame."
"Nice to meet you too, I'm Naruto and that's Hinata."
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not playing favors for you two. I'm doing this for Seame. She isn't able to take the chuunin exam because of the lack of a team. You two seem the best candidates."
"We won't disappoint you, Hokage-sama," Hinata answered.
"You still have two months before the exam, use it to train together. You should go to training ground 3. Your new teacher will come there at 11AM," Tsunade finished. She then motioned the newly formed team to leave her office.

"I guess we should do some training, that way we can learn about each other's skills and abilities." Naruto started as soon as they left the building. "I'm best at ninjutsu and know a good amount of taijutsu. Hinata-chan is best at taijutsu, even better than me. She also has extensive chakra control. Neither of us can do much genjutsu although we are capable of dispelling most of them," Naruto summarized.
"I'm best at genjutsu and ninjutsu. I'm laking a bit in the taijutsu department, though." Seame explained.
"Alright then, we should go and find our teacher now." Naruto continued the conversation.
«Naruto-kun, don't you think we should tell her about our 'other' abilities? She'll eventually found out.»
«We'll tell her when the time comes.» Naruto told Hinata. "Oh yeah, almost forgot to put on my new forehead protector."
Hinata and Naruto replace their forehead protectors. Seame noticed that Naruto had a strange symbol on his forehead: a circle with two triangles inside. 'I've never seen anything like that, I wonder what it is,' she thought.
"Say, Seame-chan, how come you don't have a team?" Naruto wondered.
"I wanted to take the chuunin exam, but the rest of my team didn't want to. They were scared because we're only rookies."
"The both of us took the chuunin exam too when we just graduated from the academy."
"You failed it, didn't you?"
Naruto sweatdropped. "You're right, but it was because of special circumstances."
"Let's just hope you don't fail it again."
«I don't really like her,» Naruto thought at Hinata.
They arrived at the training ground, but their teacher wasn't there yet.
"It's only 10AM, so we'll have to wait for a while," Naruto commented. 'I hope it isn't Kakashi, because we'll be waiting until noon than...'

At exactly 10AM, someone walked up to the three genin. It was Kurenai. "So you guys made it here." She said.
"Kurenai-sensei, it's been a while." Hinata answered.
"Yes, and I don't want any of you to leave the village without my permission. From now on you're going to follow a strict schedule. Some of you have been in the chuunin exam already, so you know it isn't easy."
"Don't worry Sensei, we'll do as you say." Naruto replied.
"Good to hear I have your cooperation. I expect you to be here at 9AM every day, go that?"
The three genins nodded.
"Let's start this training, I want to see how good you guys are. Come at me one by one. Naruto, you can start. Don't hold back."
«Naruto-kun, don't use your special ability. You don't want to kill her right away.» Hinata warned.
«She's jounin level, I'm sure she can take something, Hinata-chan...»
Hinata gave him a glare.
«Alright, I wont.» Naruto said while moving into a fighting stance. His left leg was slightly in front of him and his right leg was standing stretched behind him. This stance allowed him to do a number of attacks while still being fairly defensive.
"So you're going to wait until I attack? Very well." 'Hmm, the boy isn't the same one I saw before. He's actually testing to see his opponent's strengths before taking action. The pose he's in isn't very defensive, though.' She dashed forward and aimed a kick at Naruto's head. 'Let's not start out too difficult. He should be easily able to dodge this.'
Naruto didn't dodge, instead he raised his arm and deflected the attack while rotating his body to deliver a kick of his own.
'Nani?' Kurenai was slightly surprised by his quick movements, but she still managed to dodge it. She didn't have much time to ponder, because Naruto was already doing his next move.
This time he aimed a couple of punched at his teacher, but none hit their target.
'He must have figured out my weakest point is taijutsu. If he keeps this rate up, I won't be able to do any ninjutsu or genjutsu.'
Several kicks and punches were exchanged between the two, raising the difficulty with each attack.
Seame watched the fight carefully. 'How is it possible that Naruto is able to fight Kurenai almost evenly? Didn't he say that Hinata was better at taijutsu then him? If I remember correctly, he was the last during the graduation! I wonder if it has anything to do with the strange symbol on his forehead?'
"That's enough Naruto," Kurenai said. Both of them were breathing heavily. She couldn't believe that a genin was capable of doing that. 'He's almost at his limit, though.' "Let's take a break for now," she shouted at the other two genins. Kurenai sat down and waited for her students to do the same. "I should have probably done this first, but let's have a little introduction. I already know your names, so just tell me some of your hobbies, the reason for you to take the chuunin exam and things you like and dislike. Seame, why don't you start?"
"I don't really have any hobbies besides training. I like autumn and I dislike weaklings. I'm taking the chuunin exam to show my strength and become a good ninja."
Kurenai gave a quick nod at Naruto.
"I didn't really have much time for hobbies the past year, so I'm not sure about that." He glanced at Hinata. "I dislike cocky bastards. The people I like know I do, so there is no reason for me to tell anyone else."
Kurenai raised an eyebrow but didn't question his response. "And why do you want to be a chuunin?"
"That's easy, I want to use my abilities to protect this village."
Kurenai couldn't help but chuckle. "And now for the final member of the team..."
"You could say making medicine is one of my hobbies. There are several things I like and dislike, but I don't plan on naming them all. I'm mostly taking the exam for the same reasons Seame is. I want to show my family how strong I really am."
Kurenai didn't know what happened during Hinata's travels, but it changed her a lot. 'I'll have to see if it's for the better. At least she's more confident and that's a good thing.' "It's getting pretty late already, how about I buy you all some lunch. How does a barbecue sound?"

Author's Notes:
I'll try to make chapters longer from now on. I've read the manga today, so I feel like an idiot now. I might go around and change a couple of things in previous chapters because Rasengan is WAY more powerful than I thought. Next chapter will have Hinata and Seame fighting Kurenai. I haven't decided yet on any other battles that might occur.
The chuunin exam is going to be a lot of fun with their current abilities. I'll explain some more details about the various characters then.