Character Thoughts

"Character Dialogue"

_ = Scene Breaks

Chapter 6 - Hard Work and Honesty

Shooting up, hyperventilating. Sweat dripped like a river down his face. Ocean blue eyes petrified beyond recognition. Dragging his hands toward his eyes, he shook, paralysed. Rubbing his hands frantically he pleaded, desperately "Get it off my hands!" as a lone tear fell down his cheek.

Falling down his whiskered cheek, he sat as still as a statue, his eyes tracking it to the best of their ability as it descended down his face. Dropping onto his bedsheets, the look in the boy's eyes seemed more lively than before, the light and reality settling back into the redhead. Seconds later, his hands planted themselves onto his face, rubbing his eyes and face fatigued and slightly aggravated.

After Naruto's hands left his face, hovering in front of his face, it contorted into a frown, an angry scowl glaring at a pair of hands. Sighing moments later, he glanced over to his left, toward the window, to witness the emergence of the sun over the horizon. Smiling, he breathed in and out, closing his eyes as he did and reopening them after he breathed out.

Content plastered itself onto his face, getting up and retreating to the bathroom, accompanied by a new set of gear in his arms, of which his vision never left. Exiting the bedroom, and entering the hallway, he felt a set of eyes on him, narrowing his eyes as he did. Glancing around, he continued down the hallway and entered the kitchen.

Sat on the furthest chair, with widened eyes, he stared at the Uchiha. "How and why are you here, Hitomi?" he asked with cautious curiosity, the gaze never leaving her hands that lay calmly on her lap as she sat expectantly at the table. Upon noticing him, she smiled, a bright smile that he'd never seen anyone direct toward him, but quickly dropped into a slightly startled expression.

Observing the tear stain on his face, she quickly stammered, shooting her head away much to her teammate's confusion. Clearing his throat with a raised eyebrow, she quickly turned around and saw the look in his eyes, expecting a quick answer. "You heard Danzo," she answered, shrugging her shoulders in ignorance as Naruto's frown remained.

"How did you know where I live?" He asked with mild annoyance, having seen her glance at his cheek and the discomfort he felt due to the sweat across his body. Hitomi, on the other hand, shrugged again.

"Lucky guess?" She cheekily replied, the anger building in the boy in front of her as she sighed in disappointment. "No fun, Naruto. I found this place, by following the rumours I'd heard around the village. Turns out they were not far off," she explained with a humorous smile, not missing the slight look of shock and fear at the closing remark. Narrowing her eyes, her black eyes conveying a level of worry that he'd only experienced twice in his life. "What's wrong?" she asked, her tone sincere but also stern.

Staring at the floor, he chuckled in bitterness. "What isn't wrong?" he began, pulling up the other chair and sitting down, the discomforts of earlier disappearing for now. Seeing her interest and desire to help him, he smiled, "I've feared, for a long time, what people would do when they found where I lived. It's been a secret for almost eight years now," he pondered, a tinge of pride entering as he spoke of this anniversary.

However, Hitomi's look dropped into a glare, her eyes seemingly murderous at the insinuation. Flying from her seat, she walked around the table and toward the door, only to be grabbed on the arm by her teammate. Tensing her forearm and clenching her hand, her body began to shake in anger. "How do you let this go?" she questioned, perplexed, as her glare softened to disappointing sadness when her gaze reached the Uzumaki.

"I don't know, Hitomi. Just stop, it's not worth it," he muttered, tired, her gaze more confused and almost livid than before, dashing her arm away from his grip, turning her body toward the boy. Opening her mouth, attempting to speak, he placed a hand in front of him gesturing to her to stop. "People have died for me to be here, Hitomi. People I care about." He clarified with a smile, mournful and grateful. His teammate held her breath, her lips quivering in rage as she couldn't look him in the eyes.

"Hitomi." He uttered, his tone calm and caring, standing up in front of her. Seeing her head turn toward him, her eyes avoiding him in shame. "Thank you." He said with a small, bright smile on his face, resulting in a look of disbelief and shock on the Uchiha, stepping away and waved her hands in front of her in denial.

"You shouldn't be thanking me, Naruto. I haven't done anything yet." Hitomi stammered in haste, her gaze still avoiding the Uzumaki in front of her. All the while, a fond smile continued to stay on Naruto's face, his eyes fully appreciating the concern and respect offered by the young woman in front of him.

Stepping closer toward her, placing his hand on her shoulders, gripping her attention to him, locking their gaze to one another. "You've done more for me than you can imagine," he uttered with utmost sincerity, the look in the young man's eyes further amplifying his words and tone.

Slightly turning red, she looked at him with indecision. The words uttered to her led to indecision. She stood frozen still, until she latched onto him, gripping desperately in a tight hug. The quick shock at the action was evident in the young man's eyes but was quickly replaced by the feeling of happiness and relief, reciprocating the hug with warmth and appreciation.

"Life… Has been truly unkind to one of the best people I now know…" she mused in the hug, tightening as she spoke, as she closed her eyes in thought and comfort. So did Naruto, finding the warmth of it all to be calming and a reminder of something he once lost.

Breaking the hug, she stood across from the boy, hands on her sides and staring intently at the redhead in front of her. Staring at the kind look in his eyes, the warmth in his smile. "Maybe this is the turning point?" she rhetorically asked, raising an eyebrow as her tone reflected genuine intrigue. Naruto, on the other hand, couldn't respond to the words, a blank state of amazement at the person before him.

Suddenly, lighting up in a small but unimaginably powerful, bright smile, he looked her in the eyes and spoke, "I'd like that, Hitomi. I'd love that." in a tone that highlighted his blissful hope. Clearing her throat, trying her hardest not to react, she smiled at him, in a similar way to him and jokingly shook his shoulder.

"You should get washed before we're late," she advised with a chuckle as she pointed to the clock in the kitchen, as Naruto's face dropped, bolting into the bathroom, leaving the Uchiha rolling on the floor laughing. But this unadulterated joy lasted seconds, dying down with her on her back staring at the ceiling.

Placing her hands on her face, she attempted to force the redness from her cheeks away but it persisted longer than she was willing to handle. Getting up, and going to the window, "I'll meet you at training, Naruto!" she shouted over the sound of the shower in the opposite room. Upon hearing an Alright, see you there she left immediately, toward the training ground, To clear her head.

On the other side of the wall, the same redness flared on Uzumaki's face. Placing his hands on his face, "What in Kami's name is this feeling?" asked in paralysed desperation as he stood still. Slapping his face multiple times, he steeled himself and got ready, quickly eating and drinking before bolting out of his apartment. As he did so, he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, like a pair of eyes were always behind him when they weren't.

Now surrounded by the ghostly stone arena, both the Uzumaki and Uchiha stood in its centre, staring straight in front of them, toward the wall behind a slim, tall figure towering over them. The pair of them wore standard ANBU gear, complete with a set of the shin and arm guards, a chest plate, and their bare left shoulder revealing their red ANBU tattoos.

Their instructor, a tower of emotionless mystery, his brown eyes and black hair giving the pair of them no hints of the man's identity. His tall stature, intimidating as was, didn't faze the ROOT recruits. "Run," he suddenly ordered his tone deadly and warning. The confusion at the order was clear as day on the faces of Hitomi and Naruto but both quickly followed the order as a hail of kunai, shuriken and Jutsu were thrown at them.

Dodging them with some ease, the strength of each throw, the strength of each Jutsu multiplied, making the exercise harder and harder the longer it continued. Soon, Hitomi's breathing could be heard clearly, the instructor's blank mask illustrating the seriousness of his instruction.

Just as suddenly as he started, he paused, allowing the pair to gather their breath only for him to weave through a set of hand signs, the chakra from the instructor causing the eyes of the Uzumaki to widen in shock, of which was noticed by his teammate. Quickly after, a large torrent of fire was launched in their direction, the wild flares in its wave causing the Uchiha next to him to curse in panic, her glare quivering as they both flashed through their hand seals. "Hitomi! Leave this to me!" he quickly shouted, finishing his hand seals and slamming his hand to the ground, tendrils of kanji creeping around them and surrounding them in a barrier. Following after, golden chains began to wrap around the barrier, adding a barrier around them.

The now morphed eyes of the Sharingan gazed around her in amazement, the warmth of the chakra surrounding them intoxicating. Her trance was quickly stopped by the clashing of the barrier and the wave of fire, glancing at her teammate, whose hand lay firmly on the floor supplying the formula around them, she saw him sweating.

Fortunately for the two, the wave quickly passed, their glares shooting through it and to the other side. Upon observing the absence of the instructor, their eyes shot around them, desperately trying to find his location. Coughing and wobbling a little, Naruto reluctantly released the barrier, Hitomi quickly covering her teammate as he attempted to recover.

However, in a swift motion, a long arm smashed into her teammate, sending him smashing into a wall, slumping against the wall, barely conscious. With gritted teeth, she slashed behind her, her tanto in a reverse grip and her Sharingan, one tomoe and two tomoe in each eye glaring dangerously at the towering ROOT shinobi. The slash was evaded easily by jumping over it; subsequent strikes followed the route. Missing.

Grunting in annoyance, she retreated backwards, flying through hand seals quickly and releasing a large ball of fire at the man. Seeing the collision and explosion, she remained alert, observing the smoke slowly dissipate. Shooting from the smoke, much to her shock, a lone kunai flew toward her, gathering her attention. Quickly stepping to the side, their instructor quickly appeared behind her, shooting her to the ground was a thunderous kick.

Seeing her eyes closed, and confirming her pulse, his attention returned to the Uzumaki. Twitching his eyes, he quickly noticed the boy's absence and glanced around. Seeing no signs of the boy he remained alert, until he stepped back, a flying axe kick plummeting toward him with demonic ferocity. Upon impact, the stone beneath him caved in and created a smoke screen, of which a flurry of kunai launched themselves toward the masked ROOT.

Deflecting the kunai with one of his own, he awaited the dust clearing to observe the boy holding the Uchiha in his arms. Sighing in disappointment, he approached them, withdrawing his kunai on his way and crouching down to the pair when he arrived. Staring at the blue in the boy's eyes, "You're not what I expected but you two aren't horrible. Get her and yourself checked out, someone else will escort you there." he ordered, his bored tone reflecting his immediate exit after he'd spoken.

Rubbing the soreness in his head, he glanced at the bed next to him, a bed of black hair slumbering within it. Sighing, he stood up from his stall and walked around the small room, stretching his arms and legs, and glancing periodically at the bed. "That was tough," he muttered to himself, chuckling as cracked his neck, exhaling with relief.

Walking back and sitting down at the stall next to her, he glanced at her closed eyes. Slightly startled, he noticed their jitter, the sheets of the bed creasing under the grip of her hands, and a wave of euphoria swept over the worrying Uzumaki. Smiling uncontrollably, he watched as her black eyes reopened with fatigued life, a sense of confusion layered underneath it all. "What happened, Naruto?" she muttered, her hand over her eyes as they squinted at the light above her.

"We lost horribly," he replied laughing, the determination screaming in his eyes. Hitomi on the other hand failed to see the humour in this and frowned, glaring at him. "What? We're not horrible at least…" he commented, shrugging his shoulders, feigning ignorance as looked away, the smirk never leaving his face.

Laughing, she covered her face with her hands and took long, drawn-out breaths. "I deserve that, I guess," she muttered to herself, her laughter dying down to a chuckle, sneaking a glance at her teammate's humorous expression. Watching him turn his head back toward her, the warmth in his smile comforting her as he looked at her.

"I'm glad you're alright, Hitomi," he expressed, leaning forward on his stall. Nodding in response, Hitomi slowly sat up and dropped her feet onto her sandals on the floor. "Well, we better be going. I'd rather not get on our instructor's bad side," he spoke, his tone slightly more serious but overall jovial. Noticing his teammate's face drop at his mention, he laughed a little, patting her back as he turned toward the door.

"I can tell that he genuinely tried against us, Hitomi. For a first attempt, I would say that was quite successful," he commented, leaving the room, the echoing of his sandals from the small hallway penetrating the room Hitomi remained in. Leaving a fresh dose of enthusiasm and motivation in the eyes of the Uchiha, an eager grin plastered on her face with the new challenge presented to her like a gift.

Huffing on the ground in a pool of their sweat, the pair of ROOT recruits lay on the ground, paralysed by exhaustion. Lording above them, their instructor looked at them with content in his eyes, "That's enough for today, you're dismissed." he ordered, a pair of ROOT agents quickly arriving in the arena and taking the pair of them out of the complex.

Sighing, he turned around and closed his eyes in thought, smiling under his mask. Those two will be a force to be reckoned with, reopening his eyes and body flickering out of the arena. A set of innocent blue eyes staring adoration and excitement from the podium above, eager for the next day's activities.

Arriving back in the training ground they'd met the day before, Naruto quickly approached Hitomi with an eager and fiery look in his eye, reflected by the determined gaze of the Sharingan. Charging toward her, close to the ground as he arrived within her proximity, his hand grazed the dirt beneath him and launched it into her eyes, blinding her in the dust.

Taking this opportunity, he quickly launched a flurry of kicks and heavy punches, Hitomi's guard barely holding up amid the vicious, unpredictable assault of her teammate. Quickly flipping away, generating a few metres of space between them, he went through hand seals as Hitomi wiped her eyes off the dirt that lay lodged in them.

With her newfound vision, bullets of water shoot past at an alarming speed, a speed that even her Sharingan struggles to keep up with. Despite this, she held a challenging grin, as did Naruto, as she navigated the web-like pattern of the bullets until she got within a few metres of her opponent, with the stream of bullets fading as she looked to the shaking ground and quickly shot back.

Bursting out of the ground, a pair of golden chains shot forth, dashing wildly at her all the while the base of the chain emerged from the ground, allowing Naruto to return to the assault. Amid her evasion of the merciless chains, she started speeding through hand seals finishing in the tiger seal.

With slight fear in his eyes, Naruto retracted his chains as a large ball of fire barrelled toward him. Placing his chains in a small barrier in front of him he braced himself for the impact, being forced to concentrate heavily on the obstacle ahead of him. Vulnerable to attack behind as the fireball began to wain and dissipate, Hitomi appeared behind and grappled him to the ground, putting him into a headlock.

Retracting his chain into his hands, in exhaustion, he tussled against the lock around his neck but failed to break free, tapping the ground in surrender. Smirking, she immediately got up and looked down at him, calmly and friendly. Not noticing the smirk on his face, Naruto immediately sent Hitomi to the ground, kicking the back of her legs as he launched himself up, drawing his tanto and pointing it at her neck.

"And you're dead," he smirked, as Hitomi deflated into annoyance, smacking away the blade and grabbing the offered help up. "Just remember that no one will play with honour out there, Hitomi. No ninja worth their life ever fights fair." Naruto advised, his tone serious but also comforting as Hitomi nodded, the morbid look in her emphasising the understanding she held in those words.

Feeling the glumness of her demeanour, a light flickered to life in Naruto, "Hey, Hitomi." he began, grabbing her attention. "I wanna show you something," he stated, offering his hand as Hitomi shrugged playfully as she took his hand. Something that is still years away from combat use, he chuckled to himself, body flickering out of the clearing.

Arriving at his apartment, Hitomi watched as Naruto bolted into his room and emerged with a large piece of paper. Glancing at the page's contents she looked in shock at the complex array of kanji painted onto the page, in almost seamless patterns. Seeing the nerves on his face, "What is that seal?" she asked with curiosity, as Naruto grinned in accomplished pride.

"This, my dear Hitomi. Is a tested prototype seal for a Jutsu that was made infamous by the Fourth Hokage." he teased with an infectious grin, chuckling at the shock in the Uchiha's eyes. Gesturing to her, to sit opposite him, placing his hand on the centre of the formula and his other hand on her, he channelled chakra into the seal, with glowing blue until a sparking sensation emanated from the pair of them until they disappeared in a red flash.

Paralysed in shock, having closed her eyes firmly shut, she felt the wind in her hair, and the warm falling sun radiating off on the horizon. Gathering the courage to open her eyes, her breath was taken away, the sight before beautiful beyond comprehension. In Front of her, was a beautifully vibrant dusk sky, the light of the sun creeping back below the horizon. Sat, on the edge of the head's ledge, Naruto, with his calm, kind ocean-blue eyes stared back at her, a smile of bliss and slight mockery stuck onto his face.

Her void-like black eyes stared aimlessly ahead, the spectacle before too much to take in all at once, a mouth wide open in awe. Mustering her emotions and thoughts, she slowly made her way next to the Uzumaki, the pair of them staring off into the sunset. "This has got to be the most beautiful sight in the elemental nations…" she muttered to herself with a smile, glancing to her right, to see her teammate doing the same.

Turning their heads to meet the other's, "That it is…" he agreed, as he turned his head back to the rapidly disappearing sunset. "I hope that this has cheered you up," he commented with a smile, not missing the reaction to his left, of shock and reddening.

Punching his shoulder, playfully, she chuckled, her eyes staring at the monument they sat on. Sighing, she lent to her right, planting her head onto her teammate's shoulder, not missing the flinch he'd initially reacted with. But moments later, leant his head on hers, appreciating the moment together.

"I've always got your back, Hitomi," he promised, an unbreakable smile on their faces as the blissful calm the monument exhibited intoxicated the pair, feeling her nod her head in response.

"And I've always got yours, Naruto-kun," she responded in kind, a red hue on the pair's faces as they both didn't bother to hide it from the other. The sun falls from the horizon, leaving a beam of lunar light creeping onto the monument and on the head of the Fourth Hokage.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.

I hope this development between our ROOT recruits doesn't feel somewhat organic, thought that this would be a quick-fire starter of a relationship so I'd rather not drag it out with meaningless teasing.

As Always I hope to see you in the next chapter and beyond. (Rcf7q3xd5N)