Thank you very much for all the great reviews! Some of you pointed out
things I'm going to watch out for. I will take you're suggestions to heart!
You know who you are. And someone pointed out a discrepancy in the first
chapter, which I hope I addressed in this chapter. Time will tell, but I'm
pretty happy with the way I worked it into the story. If you don't know
what I'm talking about-I'm not telling!
Anyway, please enjoy my second chapter! I like my story already-even though I am obviously very biased about that.
And now, on with the show! ^_^
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Chapter 2:
Night had come to the peaceful village of the leaf. Winter was getting closer, the wind bringing chill but fresh air. As the rest of the newly established team went their separate ways to prepare for the coming mission, Naruto quickly ran to his sparse one bedroom apartment to gather his things for the trip ahead. Finishing quickly, he decided he needed one last trip to the ramen shop before he left.
** Naruto's perspective **
Rounding a corner, the first thing to hit me was the great smell of shrimp ramen coming from The Ramen Shop. It was really called that; The Raman Shop was what Jack, the owner chose to name his business. He was a strange old man. He hardly ever spoke, but when he did it was usually to yell at me for something I had done around town. I liked him a lot anyway: he was one of the few people who had never seemed to judge me. Of course, I had a sneaking suspicion that because I ate there so much, I was single handedly keeping his business afloat, so he had reason not to judge me.
The light from The Ramen Shop bled out into the night. Jack liked to close very late, and open very early. Most of the other shops near him had already locked up for the night, leaving jack an island of light in the darkness.
Shifting my backpack straps into a more comfortable position across my shoulders, I took my usual seat at the bar. Jack stood with his back to me, already making me a bowl. It never really mattered what he made for me, I wasn't picky; I liked it all.
"One bowl! Quick I'm going on a mission!" I said loudly into his back anyway. This was our ritual. Ever since I was five I had come here and said the same thing. The fun thing was that this time it happened to be true. In a town where no one would even talk to me without hate in their eyes, it had always calmed me a bit when the owner of The Ramen Shop treated me just like anyone else.
"Yeah, I heard you," Jack said irritably without turning around, just like always.
Putting Jack out of my mind for a moment, I slipped my backpack off of my shoulders and opened it, looking over the survival equipment I had packed. I had forgotten important things before, and I felt determined not to let that happen this time. It was the little things that made the difference sometimes. A length of rope for instance, matches for a fire if need be, and a first aid kit for emergencies to name a few.
"Here," Jack said gruffly, cutting off my train of thought as he set a bowl of hot ramen in front of me. "Next time you're here it will be time to settle up the tab, Naruto. I'm not running a charity," he continued before I could thank him.
Mention of settling the tab made my stomach do flips even as it growled in anticipation of the food in front of me. That was the worst part of the month: sometimes it was even more than my rent! Sometimes my addiction to ramen was a real curse.
"You should give me a discount damn it!" I accused hotly, shaking the chopsticks I had just picked up at him like one of my kunai - a pointed throwing dart that could be used in a pinch for close up work if needed. "I'm always sending you business! I practically work here!" Well none of that was really true, strictly speaking, but I wanted him to feel guilty. I mean some of the prices here were unreal! Extorting money from a minor HAD to be breaking some kind of law right?
Jack just snorted at me and turned away. "If you worked for me, this place would have been ruined a long time ago," he scoffed over his shoulder. Sticking my tongue out at his back I put the old man out of my mind again as I looked down at the bowl in front of me. Here was the source of all the trouble. If only he wasn't so good at making it!
Digging in I ate quickly, finishing it off before most people would even be half way through the same meal. Sitting back, feeling full and happy, I thought about the mission ahead. This would probably be the most dangerous mission I had ever been on, mostly because we would be far from the support of any friendly higher-level ninja.
I still couldn't believe I would be teaming up with that psychopath Gaara! I was still a little shocked; after the meeting with old lady Tsunade I had pinched myself to make sure this wasn't all some complex dream. A long mission with Gaara, no Sasuke for Sakura to moon over, and just to make things interesting they had made Hinata the team leader? I pinched myself again, just to be safe.
I still didn't really understand a lot about Hinata. She was always quiet and shy. In fact, if I hadn't seen for myself how she acted during the Chuunin exam I would have sworn she didn't have a personality at all. The one thing I knew was that for some reason I still wasn't really clear on, she saw something in me, and tried to copy it.
After seeing her in her fight with Neji, and our one conversation right before I fought Neji, I knew she was much more than what I had always thought. Suddenly I realized that without even really knowing it, I had come to really respect her.
I decided right then that no matter what, I would try and help support her role as the leader. I had a feeling that the others would take one look at her and laugh if she gave an order. Standing, my mind set, I picked up my backpack and left for the meeting place, not even remembering I hadn't said good-bye to Jack until I was most of the way there.
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The other members of the new team had already gathered together at the gates wide road leading out of the Leaf village. Waiting for Naruto's arrival, they sat or stood around, not even talking. Hinata Hyuga, the newly appointed leader of the force, sat on the ground further apart than the rest of them, nervously fidgeting as the reality of the situation set it.
** Hinata's perspective **
What was I going to do?! All I really remembered about Gaara and his team was that he was a merciless killer, who would turn on his teammates if pushed. And now I had to give him orders?! And if I gave an order and he ignored it, I would be embarrassed not only in front of everyone, but in front of Naruto-kun as well! And how could I order NARUTO-KUN around?! This was the end, and I had no escape.
At least my father had been happy about the mission. As a vital person in the leaf village, acting as the head of the Hyuga house, he was one of the few high-level ninja left in Konoha. Hearing that I had been assigned as the team leader, he had done something I rarely saw him do: he smiled at me.
"Do the Hyuga name proud," had been his only advice before leaving me as I packed for the journey. My father had never been one to mince words.
'Easy for him to say, he's not the family screw up.' I thought to myself dully.
I was going to mess up on this mission, and it was going to be big. The thought of someone dieing because of me sent shivers down my spine. The thought of Naruto-kun dieing because of me was almost enough to make me sick.
"Well, looks like everyone's here!" Naruto-Kun's boisterous voice sounded from close by. Scrambling to my feet, my heart pounded as I watched him come closer, his clear blue eyes set on me. My body always did this when Naruto-kun was near; my palms grew sweaty almost instantly, my heart started pounding in my chest and my stomach warmed up and started doing flip flops. When he actually looked at me and paid attention to me like he was doing right then, those feelings tripled.
"You're late, Naruto," Sakura said sourly from her position on the other side of the trail we were meeting on. I sighed in relief as Naruto-Kun's attention shifted to Sakura. I always froze when he looked at me like that.
"Hah-ha, sorry about that Sakura-chan, I had to visit someone before we left," he explained with a wide grin, while I silently tried to get a hold of myself. It was just no use! For some reason I just got weak in the knees around him!
"Whatever," the Sand Genin Temari said as she walked over to us. I realized with a start they were all starting to stand around ME. "let's just get going," she finished in a bored tone, crossing her arms across her chest.
"There's just one problem with that," Kankuro said as he joined us, "does anyone know exactly how to get there and what exactly we are going to do? Spying is well and good, but I think I need a better explanation than 'go spy in the Hidden Stone,'" he continued scornfully, shoving his hands in the pockets of his black jumpsuit, while shifting the weight of the doll he carried on his shoulder. The doll wrapped up in bandages on his shoulder made it look like he was caring a dead body around. Combined with the makeup on his face, he looked like a sadistic clown.
Gaara, the one I feared the most, came up behind Kankuro silently watching us with a guarded expression on his face.
I actually knew the answer to Kankuro's question. Before leaving the Hokage's office, an aid had handed me a document that had all the particulars of the mission. From what Akatsuki was, to the best route to get to the area most suspected of being a base for them. Everything was explained very clearly, and it was my job to tell them what I felt they needed to know about it.
"I--" I started, stopping as every eye turned onto me. Swallowing, fidgeting before I could stop myself, I opened my mouth to continue, but swallowed again at the sudden lump forming in my throat instead. This was it! Now that the moment had come where I needed to step up, I felt myself begin to slowly crumble inside under the pressure of actually taking all of this responsibility onto my shoulders. I wasn't ready for this!
"Well?" Sakura prodded impatiently after an eternal moment, during which I wondered if they could see my knee's shaking.
Looking quickly from face to face, I felt my chest tighten up as panic began to set in. They were all going to see I didn't know what I was doing! Suddenly a hand settled onto my shoulder, and I looked in shock at Naruto- kun, who was smiling softly at me. "Hokage made you our leader, right?" he asked simply.
Staring into his blue eyes, not able to look away, I nodded dumbly. For some reason, I was starting to feel calmer with his hand on my shoulder. Still staring at him, I absently realized that this was the first time he had ever touched me on purpose.
"So then you must know how to get to the Stone country, right?" he concluded gently, squeezing my shoulder reassuringly.
"Y-yes," I replied smiling back at him, enjoying the warmth that seemed to radiate into my shoulder from his touch. I had memorized the map already before I had packed. With wonder I realized it really was as simple as that. These weren't my enemies; they were just comrades who simply looked to me for information they didn't have.
Nodding to Naruto-kun, feeling the grateful smile stretch across my face unbidden, I turned to the others and knelt to the ground, picking up a near- by stick and sketching a simple plan for the route we were going to take. Answering their questions became easier as I went, as I answered any questions they had about how to get there, or even clarification on what the Akatsuki really was.
"-And that's it," I finished as I stood up dusting off my hands, feeling a deep pride in myself. I had done it! Feeling a strange confidence swell up inside of me, I looked over to Naruto-kun once more as a rush of gratitude towards him rushed through me. He had helped me with just two questions.
This was just another example of why Naruto-kun was so special to me. Suddenly it hit me that they were all looking at me again, expectantly. What did I do wrong? Had I forgotten something? Frantically I racked my brain for what I needed to do, but I came up with a blank.
"So, what was the marching order going to be again Hinata?" Sakura asked pleasantly, coming to my rescue.
Oh god! I hadn't even thought of that! Quickly I came up with an order, hoping that it would work out.
"Kankuro w-will be point," I said somewhat hurriedly, putting as much false confidence into my voice as I could, "f-followed by Temari. Next will be myself, Naruto-kun and then Sakura. Gaara will watch our tail as rear guard," I announced, gaining strength as I spoke. I had no idea why I came up with that; the names just tumbled out of my mouth.
The fact that Naruto would be close to me was a complete coincidence! At least that's what I would be telling myself. Amazingly the others nodded to themselves as though the arrangement made complete sense.
"Ok!" Naruto exclaimed, making most of us jump as his sudden shout. "Let's go then! The night is young, and we've got a lot of ground to cover!" he continued excitedly, his face animated with energy.
Sakura groaned into the night air, "I think I'm tired of this mission already," she said mournfully, taking her place behind Naruto as we all set out, Kankuro making his way ahead of us without a word.
Temari smiled at her before walking to her place ahead of me. "I was tired of this mission before I got here," she muttered half under her breath.
Like a grim ghost, Gaara took his place at the end of the line without so much as a sound. Seeing him stare stonily at Sakura's back, I suddenly felt sorry for her. Maybe I should have made Gaara walk on point?
A little dazed that I had actually gotten through all of this so far without someone making fun of me, I started walking as well.
"This is going to be great! Right Hinata?" Naruto said excitedly from behind me. Feeling flushed all over again from his attention, I nodded to him over my shoulder, suddenly nervous again.
"Y-yeah!" I agreed stammering, a little ashamed at my own shyness. Suddenly I felt energized though; this was my first mission with Naruto! I had wished for this for so long, and now it was really happening! My shoulder still tingled from where Naruto's hand had rested. It felt cold now, as though a warm blanket had been taken away on a cold night.
'Maybe everything will be alright after all,' I said to myself hopefully.
Feeling Naruto's presence at my back, I felt it just might.
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Well, there's chapter 2! What do you think? Did I earn a cookie? Let me know. ^_^
Anyway, please enjoy my second chapter! I like my story already-even though I am obviously very biased about that.
And now, on with the show! ^_^
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Chapter 2:
Night had come to the peaceful village of the leaf. Winter was getting closer, the wind bringing chill but fresh air. As the rest of the newly established team went their separate ways to prepare for the coming mission, Naruto quickly ran to his sparse one bedroom apartment to gather his things for the trip ahead. Finishing quickly, he decided he needed one last trip to the ramen shop before he left.
** Naruto's perspective **
Rounding a corner, the first thing to hit me was the great smell of shrimp ramen coming from The Ramen Shop. It was really called that; The Raman Shop was what Jack, the owner chose to name his business. He was a strange old man. He hardly ever spoke, but when he did it was usually to yell at me for something I had done around town. I liked him a lot anyway: he was one of the few people who had never seemed to judge me. Of course, I had a sneaking suspicion that because I ate there so much, I was single handedly keeping his business afloat, so he had reason not to judge me.
The light from The Ramen Shop bled out into the night. Jack liked to close very late, and open very early. Most of the other shops near him had already locked up for the night, leaving jack an island of light in the darkness.
Shifting my backpack straps into a more comfortable position across my shoulders, I took my usual seat at the bar. Jack stood with his back to me, already making me a bowl. It never really mattered what he made for me, I wasn't picky; I liked it all.
"One bowl! Quick I'm going on a mission!" I said loudly into his back anyway. This was our ritual. Ever since I was five I had come here and said the same thing. The fun thing was that this time it happened to be true. In a town where no one would even talk to me without hate in their eyes, it had always calmed me a bit when the owner of The Ramen Shop treated me just like anyone else.
"Yeah, I heard you," Jack said irritably without turning around, just like always.
Putting Jack out of my mind for a moment, I slipped my backpack off of my shoulders and opened it, looking over the survival equipment I had packed. I had forgotten important things before, and I felt determined not to let that happen this time. It was the little things that made the difference sometimes. A length of rope for instance, matches for a fire if need be, and a first aid kit for emergencies to name a few.
"Here," Jack said gruffly, cutting off my train of thought as he set a bowl of hot ramen in front of me. "Next time you're here it will be time to settle up the tab, Naruto. I'm not running a charity," he continued before I could thank him.
Mention of settling the tab made my stomach do flips even as it growled in anticipation of the food in front of me. That was the worst part of the month: sometimes it was even more than my rent! Sometimes my addiction to ramen was a real curse.
"You should give me a discount damn it!" I accused hotly, shaking the chopsticks I had just picked up at him like one of my kunai - a pointed throwing dart that could be used in a pinch for close up work if needed. "I'm always sending you business! I practically work here!" Well none of that was really true, strictly speaking, but I wanted him to feel guilty. I mean some of the prices here were unreal! Extorting money from a minor HAD to be breaking some kind of law right?
Jack just snorted at me and turned away. "If you worked for me, this place would have been ruined a long time ago," he scoffed over his shoulder. Sticking my tongue out at his back I put the old man out of my mind again as I looked down at the bowl in front of me. Here was the source of all the trouble. If only he wasn't so good at making it!
Digging in I ate quickly, finishing it off before most people would even be half way through the same meal. Sitting back, feeling full and happy, I thought about the mission ahead. This would probably be the most dangerous mission I had ever been on, mostly because we would be far from the support of any friendly higher-level ninja.
I still couldn't believe I would be teaming up with that psychopath Gaara! I was still a little shocked; after the meeting with old lady Tsunade I had pinched myself to make sure this wasn't all some complex dream. A long mission with Gaara, no Sasuke for Sakura to moon over, and just to make things interesting they had made Hinata the team leader? I pinched myself again, just to be safe.
I still didn't really understand a lot about Hinata. She was always quiet and shy. In fact, if I hadn't seen for myself how she acted during the Chuunin exam I would have sworn she didn't have a personality at all. The one thing I knew was that for some reason I still wasn't really clear on, she saw something in me, and tried to copy it.
After seeing her in her fight with Neji, and our one conversation right before I fought Neji, I knew she was much more than what I had always thought. Suddenly I realized that without even really knowing it, I had come to really respect her.
I decided right then that no matter what, I would try and help support her role as the leader. I had a feeling that the others would take one look at her and laugh if she gave an order. Standing, my mind set, I picked up my backpack and left for the meeting place, not even remembering I hadn't said good-bye to Jack until I was most of the way there.
*********************************
The other members of the new team had already gathered together at the gates wide road leading out of the Leaf village. Waiting for Naruto's arrival, they sat or stood around, not even talking. Hinata Hyuga, the newly appointed leader of the force, sat on the ground further apart than the rest of them, nervously fidgeting as the reality of the situation set it.
** Hinata's perspective **
What was I going to do?! All I really remembered about Gaara and his team was that he was a merciless killer, who would turn on his teammates if pushed. And now I had to give him orders?! And if I gave an order and he ignored it, I would be embarrassed not only in front of everyone, but in front of Naruto-kun as well! And how could I order NARUTO-KUN around?! This was the end, and I had no escape.
At least my father had been happy about the mission. As a vital person in the leaf village, acting as the head of the Hyuga house, he was one of the few high-level ninja left in Konoha. Hearing that I had been assigned as the team leader, he had done something I rarely saw him do: he smiled at me.
"Do the Hyuga name proud," had been his only advice before leaving me as I packed for the journey. My father had never been one to mince words.
'Easy for him to say, he's not the family screw up.' I thought to myself dully.
I was going to mess up on this mission, and it was going to be big. The thought of someone dieing because of me sent shivers down my spine. The thought of Naruto-kun dieing because of me was almost enough to make me sick.
"Well, looks like everyone's here!" Naruto-Kun's boisterous voice sounded from close by. Scrambling to my feet, my heart pounded as I watched him come closer, his clear blue eyes set on me. My body always did this when Naruto-kun was near; my palms grew sweaty almost instantly, my heart started pounding in my chest and my stomach warmed up and started doing flip flops. When he actually looked at me and paid attention to me like he was doing right then, those feelings tripled.
"You're late, Naruto," Sakura said sourly from her position on the other side of the trail we were meeting on. I sighed in relief as Naruto-Kun's attention shifted to Sakura. I always froze when he looked at me like that.
"Hah-ha, sorry about that Sakura-chan, I had to visit someone before we left," he explained with a wide grin, while I silently tried to get a hold of myself. It was just no use! For some reason I just got weak in the knees around him!
"Whatever," the Sand Genin Temari said as she walked over to us. I realized with a start they were all starting to stand around ME. "let's just get going," she finished in a bored tone, crossing her arms across her chest.
"There's just one problem with that," Kankuro said as he joined us, "does anyone know exactly how to get there and what exactly we are going to do? Spying is well and good, but I think I need a better explanation than 'go spy in the Hidden Stone,'" he continued scornfully, shoving his hands in the pockets of his black jumpsuit, while shifting the weight of the doll he carried on his shoulder. The doll wrapped up in bandages on his shoulder made it look like he was caring a dead body around. Combined with the makeup on his face, he looked like a sadistic clown.
Gaara, the one I feared the most, came up behind Kankuro silently watching us with a guarded expression on his face.
I actually knew the answer to Kankuro's question. Before leaving the Hokage's office, an aid had handed me a document that had all the particulars of the mission. From what Akatsuki was, to the best route to get to the area most suspected of being a base for them. Everything was explained very clearly, and it was my job to tell them what I felt they needed to know about it.
"I--" I started, stopping as every eye turned onto me. Swallowing, fidgeting before I could stop myself, I opened my mouth to continue, but swallowed again at the sudden lump forming in my throat instead. This was it! Now that the moment had come where I needed to step up, I felt myself begin to slowly crumble inside under the pressure of actually taking all of this responsibility onto my shoulders. I wasn't ready for this!
"Well?" Sakura prodded impatiently after an eternal moment, during which I wondered if they could see my knee's shaking.
Looking quickly from face to face, I felt my chest tighten up as panic began to set in. They were all going to see I didn't know what I was doing! Suddenly a hand settled onto my shoulder, and I looked in shock at Naruto- kun, who was smiling softly at me. "Hokage made you our leader, right?" he asked simply.
Staring into his blue eyes, not able to look away, I nodded dumbly. For some reason, I was starting to feel calmer with his hand on my shoulder. Still staring at him, I absently realized that this was the first time he had ever touched me on purpose.
"So then you must know how to get to the Stone country, right?" he concluded gently, squeezing my shoulder reassuringly.
"Y-yes," I replied smiling back at him, enjoying the warmth that seemed to radiate into my shoulder from his touch. I had memorized the map already before I had packed. With wonder I realized it really was as simple as that. These weren't my enemies; they were just comrades who simply looked to me for information they didn't have.
Nodding to Naruto-kun, feeling the grateful smile stretch across my face unbidden, I turned to the others and knelt to the ground, picking up a near- by stick and sketching a simple plan for the route we were going to take. Answering their questions became easier as I went, as I answered any questions they had about how to get there, or even clarification on what the Akatsuki really was.
"-And that's it," I finished as I stood up dusting off my hands, feeling a deep pride in myself. I had done it! Feeling a strange confidence swell up inside of me, I looked over to Naruto-kun once more as a rush of gratitude towards him rushed through me. He had helped me with just two questions.
This was just another example of why Naruto-kun was so special to me. Suddenly it hit me that they were all looking at me again, expectantly. What did I do wrong? Had I forgotten something? Frantically I racked my brain for what I needed to do, but I came up with a blank.
"So, what was the marching order going to be again Hinata?" Sakura asked pleasantly, coming to my rescue.
Oh god! I hadn't even thought of that! Quickly I came up with an order, hoping that it would work out.
"Kankuro w-will be point," I said somewhat hurriedly, putting as much false confidence into my voice as I could, "f-followed by Temari. Next will be myself, Naruto-kun and then Sakura. Gaara will watch our tail as rear guard," I announced, gaining strength as I spoke. I had no idea why I came up with that; the names just tumbled out of my mouth.
The fact that Naruto would be close to me was a complete coincidence! At least that's what I would be telling myself. Amazingly the others nodded to themselves as though the arrangement made complete sense.
"Ok!" Naruto exclaimed, making most of us jump as his sudden shout. "Let's go then! The night is young, and we've got a lot of ground to cover!" he continued excitedly, his face animated with energy.
Sakura groaned into the night air, "I think I'm tired of this mission already," she said mournfully, taking her place behind Naruto as we all set out, Kankuro making his way ahead of us without a word.
Temari smiled at her before walking to her place ahead of me. "I was tired of this mission before I got here," she muttered half under her breath.
Like a grim ghost, Gaara took his place at the end of the line without so much as a sound. Seeing him stare stonily at Sakura's back, I suddenly felt sorry for her. Maybe I should have made Gaara walk on point?
A little dazed that I had actually gotten through all of this so far without someone making fun of me, I started walking as well.
"This is going to be great! Right Hinata?" Naruto said excitedly from behind me. Feeling flushed all over again from his attention, I nodded to him over my shoulder, suddenly nervous again.
"Y-yeah!" I agreed stammering, a little ashamed at my own shyness. Suddenly I felt energized though; this was my first mission with Naruto! I had wished for this for so long, and now it was really happening! My shoulder still tingled from where Naruto's hand had rested. It felt cold now, as though a warm blanket had been taken away on a cold night.
'Maybe everything will be alright after all,' I said to myself hopefully.
Feeling Naruto's presence at my back, I felt it just might.
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Well, there's chapter 2! What do you think? Did I earn a cookie? Let me know. ^_^