The sun was just now showing itself above the mountain tops.
First light was gradually spreading across the camp area, when Naruto staggered out of his completed cabin.
He had been up most of the night finishing its construction. Fortunately, the storm passed them all by. He was dry, but exhausted.
Looking up into the forests, as it began to sweep upward in an ever changing elevation, he caught sight of Jiraiya's hut. Of course, it was the nicest of the bunch. Naruto had worked hard on it, thinking it would be his own when he finished.
Big Sennin jerk!
Even now, the gruff and opportunistic bastard must be comfortable under the huge pile of sleeping furs he had. A small whispy trial of smoke came out of the stone chimney. That perverted old hermit would be nice and warm, while he was out in the brisk chill mountain air, getting ready for the day.
Naruto caught a small bit of movement out of the corner of his eye.
The door had opened and closed on Hinata's cabin. She was up now too. He could see her stringing out her laundry line again. That had him scowling and tossing a kunei at the nearest tree.
"Shit!"
He scratched his head, thinking back to his childhood. There had been so many changes. More than any child should be faced with. That aspect of his life didn't change as a ninja student, or after he passed his genin exam.
Change. Change. And more change.
While it seemed that he was thriving on it, he discovered something when he came to these hills to train. That move itself had been a big change, but his subsequent life was one of consistency. He had his routines. He generally knew what to expect.
Not any more. Not with Hinata here.
Just the other day, waking up late after his experience with the Chuusuusei Biribiri, he had marched towards her hut, intent on confronting the girl. The jutsu had been bad enough, but that was the bastard Sennin's fault.
The haircut was a different story!
Hinata had prolonged the event, slowly trimming his hair, telling him stories as she did. For a while, she had even sung a quiet little song. Bit by bit she had cut, holding a one-sided conversation with him, seeing that he couldn't answer.
'Hmmmm… is this too short? I wonder what might look best on you, Naruto-kun….'
She had asked that again and again. Each time she clipped off some more.
Finally, she had been happy.
'Perfect!'
It may have been perfect to her. But, the first thing he had done when he could move, was put his hand to his head.
Most of his hair was gone!
He had run all the way to the river, to look at his reflection. There was someone he didn't recognize staring back at him.
True, he eventually found that he liked the new look a lot…… but that wasn't the point….
"Stupid f-cking fox!"
Naruto seethed, thinking of Kyubi. When he had been trapped before, the damn demon had always lent him chakra, helping him escape from difficult situations. But no! Unable to move…… at the mercy of a crazed barber girl…… the damn Nine Tails had left him helpless.
But, that hadn't caused him to stop dead in his tracks.
The sight of Hinata's cabin had.
There had been a number of laundry lines up. The first one that Naruto came across was obviously her own. That was enough to drive a point home: things had changed drastically.
Eyes blinking rapidly, he had seen brassieres waving in the wind, next to panties. They were frilly and pink.
He had stood, as if pole-axed to the head.
Conflicting emotions swirled around him, as if he were caught in a whirlpool. Girl's panties! Frilly girl's panties. Frilly pink girl's panties!
Hinata wore that under her training clothes? He had swallowed hard, a young male with young male reactions. But, his initial feelings soon evolved. Next, he wondered just what their sensei would do when he saw this.
It would be just like waving read panties in front of a bull!
The old hermit wouldn't need to travel to the town to do his damn research. Poor Hinata! He would have to put a stop to that!
But, his feelings continued to change. The laundry lines were a rather drastic change. He was still reeling from that impact when Hinata stepped out of her cabin.
'Naruto-kun,' she had said, looking where his gaze went. She had immediately turned the color of the panties. 'I… I… I h-h-have m-m-most of your l-l-laundry inside.'
He had followed the girl inside her cabin, intent on getting his clothes. He wasn't expecting another shock so soon after the other. He almost keeled over.
Hinata had been busy. He had no idea when she must have gotten the paint. But, she had been up much of the night with a bucket and a brush.
The inside of Naruto's cabin was pink! Pink again!
Pink pink pink!
Well, it wasn't his cabin. But, it had been. Before the change.
"Damn!"
Naruto stopped. He looked over at the sun, shielding his eyes from the tiny bright edge rising above the horizon.
It wasn't good to stare at the light too long.
It also wasn't great to obsess on problems for too long.
Jiraiya had come into his cabin when he was still paralyzed, having a few things to say. The older shinobi waned Naruto to be careful about the way he thought, and to exercise a bit of restraint in his reactions to Hinata.
Careful.
He had needed to be careful, alright. More careful than he had ever wanted to. Not with his words, but with commonplace every day events!
He had almost died of surprise one afternoon.
Trying to hold things in as best he could, he ran for the nearest latrine. He had been drinking a lot of water, and didn't want to take any breaks from his training, until the urge was unbearable.
Pulling the door off of its hinges, he froze instantly.
The small wooden construct was not empty. Hinata sat there, equally shocked.
It was after all, her latrine.
Naruto staggered back, his eyes closed. He had tripped on a rock, and fallen hard on his ass. His first response was to be angry at Hinata, but he had to admit that he had operated on the assumption that she had not returned from the river yet, so he thought he didn't need to run the rest of the distance to his facilities.
He had murmured a quick apology to Hinata when she was done, then went to work fixing the door. Expecting Hinata to be grateful, he had frowned when she scolded him, telling him to stay out of her latrine in the future.
The nerve of that girl!
And then there was the river. There was only one river within a reasonable distance. Most of that river was too shallow, too rocky, or too fast to make a good bathing site. One area was ideal, just at the base of the immense waterfall. It was the place that the village girls came too on certain days.
It was also his bath place.
In the past, when he wanted a bath, there hadn't been a need for a schedule or something. First, he didn't bathe every day. Second, unless the villagers were there before him, he never had to worry about company. If Jiraiya showed up, it wasn't a problem.
But, one morning, sweaty from a hard work-out, he had run up along a rocky ledge he had discovered, diving from just the right height.
The sudden plunge into the water was a feeling he treasured.
When he came up for air, he realized that he should have looked before he leapt.
Standing in front of him, totally naked, had been Hinata.
The two had been too stunned to move at first. But, not too stunned to stare. Hinata had squeaked, then swam as fast as she could, jumping up to hide beneath a light area of the waterfall. Naruto had sunk to the bottom of the pool, staying there for a full two minutes, until the need for air overcame his jumbled thoughts.
When they made it back to the camp, Jiraiya had taken him to task in front of Hinata. He had been serious in his admonishment, but had finished in classic pervert fashion.
'You worst crime, you worthless apprentice was not letting me know what you had found!'
The Sennin had laughed after that, letting them know he was joking. But, Naruto was already enraged. He dressed his master down in return, telling him to stop saying things like that about Hinata.
"Girls!"
No episodes like that had ever happened with Sakura.
Not once.
Naruto sighed.
Maybe it would have been nice if something had happened.
Sakura.
No. There was no sense in thinking about the pink-haired girl.
Pink. More pink! Was it an omen, all this pink?
Where had his thoughts left off? Yes……Sakura. She had no feelings for Naruto other than friendship. She wasn't any more interested in him even after Sauake had run away and broken her heart. And, it didn't look like things would ever change in that regard.
She was happy training as a medical ninja, and he was off in the woods with a perverted old hermit.
And a different girl.
Hinata.
Naruto took a brief moment to remember how he had viewed Hinata before. No, how he had overlooked her most of the time, until the chuunin exams. He also thought back about how she had viewed him.
That had been a completely different story.
Just what did she think about him now? Hell, what did that matter? He wasn't off training night and day, just to worry about how some girl felt about him.
What mattered most was how Akatsuki cared about him.
That was his true obsession. It was the fuel that drove him. The injustice of his life weighed heavy on him. He never wanted the damn fox. But, other people didnot caring what they would do to him to get it. Worse, there was the terrible uncertainty of what they might do with the youma if they did capture him.
He squared his shoulders and set his jaw. There was no more time to put things off. It was time to get to work.
He had been told in no uncertain terms to help Hinata with the morning meal.
The white-eyed girl had been doing the bulk of the cooking. Not because she was a girl, but because her meals were so good, and those that Naruto and Jiraiya cooked might as well have been discovered by lifting up some rock on the forest.
Still, Jiraiya had said, it made no sense for Hinata to do all the work. It wasn't fair. And, there would be no way fro Naruto to improve in that regard, if he didn't have the opportunity to watch Hinata do what she did.
So, not only would he do the scut work at meals, he would essentially be a beginner student again, with Hinata as his instructor.
"Great!"
Walking over to the cook facilities, he was soon joined by his fellow trainee.
"Good morning, Naruto-kun" Hinata had chirped brightly.
"Uh huh. It's early yet. Give it time." His surly answer had the girl smiling, strangely enough.
"Well, maybe a nice meal will make things better. Right?" She began taking food stuffs out of sealed bags and jars. "Unless you're not hungry…."
Naruto's stomach growled right on cue.
'Traitor!' Naruto thought.
Sweetly, never showing any effect from Naruto's sullen behavior or prickly comments, Hinata showed him how to prepare different kinds of fire…… what height to put various pans and pots above the flame……. and which vessels and utensils were needed for various tasks.
"I'm certain a man who's going to be Hokage some day can do as well as I can." Hinata said at one point. "My father is an excellent cook, but no one would know it by just looking." She had let that fact sink in, then added the clincher. "He is also one of the best fighters that the Leaf has."
Eventually Naruto quieted down, and actually began paying attention. He told himself that it was not because of anything that Hinata had said.
It was merely his Ninja Way.
"Hmmmm…… everything is going well. We just need to do some stirring now and then, and some turning and taste testing." Hinata sounded so happy, as if she had been destined to be a cook rather than a ninja.
No, Naruto told himself.
She had been acting happy ever since she came here to train, and things had settled in a bit.
Why?
What was going on in her life, that this placed seemed like paradise?
"While we wait for things to cook Naruto, I think I will tell you another tale. It's been a while now. I don't want you to think that I've run out of them." Hinata swallowed, watching Naruto's face. This was another bold step for her, even though it would only be a subtle hint, like the one she had made when she visited him before.
He might not pick up on it, just like he probably hadn't picked up on things before.
Naruto sat down and crossed his legs. He wouldn't mind just sitting still for a moment.
Cooking was more work than he thought.
"I'm all ears." Naruto ran his hands along his head. "Now that I don't have much hair."
Hinata blushed.
Fluffing her own hair, she stopped, wondering if naruto might think she was teasing him.
Pouring small dollops of batter into popping and spattering oil, she began speaking.
"In a little house in a little old village in Japan lived a little old man and his little old wife. One morning when the old woman slid open the screens which form the sides of the Japanese houses, she saw on the doorstep a poor little sparrow."
"Excuse me, Hinata." Naruto rised his hand.
"N-Naruto-kun?"
"That little house…… was it pink inside?" Naruto looked up at Hinata's face.
"Ummm…… I don't know…… probably not…." Hinata bit her lip.
"Good!" Naruto grinned.
Hinata stuck out her lower lip, and that had Naruto chuckling. That reponse made her mad, and her angry look at that then had him laughing.
Twiddling her fingers, she found herself smiling in return.
"She took him up gently and fed him. Then she held him in the bright morning sunshine until the cold dew was dried from his wings. Afterward, she let him go, so that he might fly home to his nest, but he stayed with her to thank her with his songs.
Each morning, when the pink on the mountaintops told that the sun was near, the sparrow perched on the roof of the house, a nearby tree, or the woman's laundry line. He sang out his joy. The---"
"Must not have been any frilly pink things hanging on the line, then." Naruto said, rubbing his chin. It sounded as if he had just made some sage announcement.
Hinata blushed, then put on a more stern look.
"What?" Naruto asked. "I think that thing needs to be turned, Hinata. You need to take this cooking stuff seriously!"
Hinata ran to one of the smoking skillets.
Naruto decide that stories could indeed be fun.
Spatula still in hand, Hinata returned and continued.
"The old man and woman thanked the sparrow for this, for they liked to be up early and at work. But near them lived a cross old woman who did not like to be awakened so early. At last she became so angry that she caught the sparrow and cut his tongue. Then the poor little sparrow flew away to his home. But he never could sing again."
"That woman sound like that bastard Sennin," Naruto huffed.
He then held his hands up when Hinata shook the spatula at him.
"When the kind woman knew what had happened to her pet she was very sad. She said to her husband, "Let us go and find our poor little sparrow." So they started together, and asked of each bird by the wayside: "Do you know where the tongue-cut sparrow lives? Do you know where the tongue-cut sparrow went?"
In this way the followed until they came to a bridge. They did not know which way to turn, and at first could see no one to ask. At last they saw a bat, hanging head downward, taking his daytime nap. "O friend Bat, do you know where the tongue-cut sparrow went?"
"Yes. Over the bridge and up the mountain," said the bat. Then he blinked his sleepy eyes and was fast asleep again.
They went over the bridge and up the mountain, but again they found two roads and did not know which one to take. A little field mouse peeped through the leaves and grass, so they asked him, "Do you know where the tongue-cut sparrow went?"
"A little field mouse. Hah! That's what someone reminds me of." Naruto slapped his knee.
Hinata dropped a spoon she had been stirring with. When she turned to look at Naruto, he was busy peeling fruit.
Thinking he wasn't looking, she surprised herself by sticking her tongue out at him, certain that he wouldn't see that.
"Didn't know that mice could stick their tongues out," Naruto quipped.
"Hmmmpppfff!" Hinata walked over to one of the three plates, then took some food off and put it back in a pot.
Naruto dropped the apple he had been working on.
That was his plate.
"Uhhh…… don't mind me…." Naruto put on a big smile.
Hinata put the food back on the plate.
"Yes. Down the mountain and through the woods," said the field mouse.
Down the mountain and through the woods they went, and at last came to the home of their little friend. When he saw them coming, the poor little sparrow was very happy indeed. He and his wife and children all came and bowed their heads down to the ground to show their respect. Then the sparrow rose and led the old man and the old woman into the house while his wife and children hastened to bring them boiled rice, fish, and cress. After they had feasted, the sparrow wished to please them still more, so he danced for them what is called the "sparrow dance."
When the sun began to sink, the old man and woman started home. The sparrow brought out two baskets. "I would like to give you one of these," he said. "Which will you take?" One basket was large and looked very full, while the other one seemed very small and light. The old people thought they would not take the large basket, for that might have all the sparrow's treasure in it, so they said, "The journey home is long, so please let us take the smaller one."
"No doubt that will be the good one. That's the way these stories always go," Naruto said.
"Yes," Hinata said, strengthening her will. "Good things often come in small packages.:
"That's right!" Naruto said.
"R-R-Really?"
Hinata's heart was in her throat.
"Yes…… just like the instant noodles…."
"Other things too!" Hinata blurted out, with more heat than either expected. "Ummm…."
Naruto stopped to stare at Hinata, while she looked away and went to stir a pot that didn't need any stirring.
"They took it and walked home over the mountain and across the bridge, happy and contented. When they reached their own home, they decided to open the basket to see what the sparrow had given them. Within the basket they found many rolls of silk and piles of gold, enough to make them rich, so they were more grateful than ever to the sparrow.
The cross old woman who had cut the sparrow's tongue was spying through the screen when they opened their basket. She saw the rolls of silk and piles of gold, and planned how she might get some for herself.
The next morning she went to the kind woman and said, "I am so sorry that I cut the tongue of your sparrow. Please tell me the way to his home so that I may go to him and tell him I am sorry."
The kind woman told her the way and she set out. She went across the bridge, over the mountains, and through the woods. At last she came to the home of the little sparrow. He was not so glad to see this old woman, yet he was very kind to her and did everything to make her feel very welcome.
They made a feast for her, and when she started home the sparrow brought out two baskets as before. Of course the cross old woman chose the large basket, for she thought that would have even more wealth than the other one.
The basket was very heavy and caught on the trees as she was going through the wood. She could hardly pull it up the mountain with her, and she was all out of breath when she reached the top. She did not get to the bridge until it was dark. They she was so afraid of dropping the basket into the river that she scarcely dared to step.
When at last she reached home she was tired out, but she pulled the screens tightly closed so that no one could look in, and opened her treasure.
Treasure indeed! A whole swarm of horrible creatures burst from the basket the moment she opened it. They stung her and bit her, they pushed her and pulled her, and scratched her. At last she crawled to the edge of the room and slid aside the screen to get away from the pests. The moment the door was opened they swooped down upon her, picked her up, and flew away with her.
Since then nothing has been heard of the old woman.
"That big box was probably pink!" Naruto said, before stopping to think.
Why had Hinata chosen that story?
And what was with her reaction?
When Jiriaya came down the hill and joined his two pupils for breakfast, he looked first at Hinata, saying nothing. Hinata nodded her head slightly. Jiraiya put his finger on his nose in response.
Naruto, shoveling food into his maw, was oblivious to the exchange.
As they all ate, it was Jiraiya's time to talk. He started off by sharing his wisdom with them, using his own life story as a guide. Hinata felt a sudden kinship with her teacher, hearing how he had been ostracized by his family until they came to understand him. Naruto saw a lot of parallels, listening to his sensei tell about the genin team under Sarutobi's tutelage.
There were solemn moments too, and sad ones. Jiraiya's feelings towards Orochmaru mirrored Naruto's with Sasuke. And, it was quite obvious that Jiraiya had felt towards Tsunade the way that his student had felt towards Sakura. No, Jiraiya had been in love with his team mate, and felt that way for a long time.
Naruto, fascinated as he was with the Fourth, asked many questions about Jiraiya's former protégé.
"You two are very different in some ways, scamp." Jiraiya hung his head, still pained by the Hokage's death. "But, there are some amazing similarities too. I think that Yondaime would have liked you very much."
That had made Naruto feel very good.
"Master Jiraiya, could you tell us about Kyuubi, and the Fourth's encounter with the demon? My father always told us bedtime taless, but would never share any of the details." Hinata wondered why Naruto's face suddenly went stiff.
Jiraiya stretched, thinking. It was a good segue to something Hinata might deserve to know some day, especially if her training with Naruto put her at risk from The Nine. But, this was not the time or place for disclosures of that nature.
"Not today, Hinata." Jiraiya put on a smile. "The food is too splendid. That story would sour things in my stomach for sure."
"Oh," Hinata said, looking again at Naruto. He seemed relieved somehow,
Why?
"I thank you two for your hard work cooking. Now, comes the clean up. It will tie nicely into our new morning training regime." Jiraiya stood and brushed the crumbs from his robe. He spat on his finger, trying to remove a grease spot.
"Huh?" Naruto scowled. "What do you mean, old man?" He spat. "You could do some work around here too!"
"Really? Training is work, idiot. Especially with such a difficult pupil." Jiraiya smiled.
"That's no way to talk about Hinata…." Naruto said, looking down at the plates and bowls.
"How will that tie in with our training?" Hinata asked the expected question.
"Ahhhh. It's nice to have a clever student. One who's not so much trouble." Jiraiya chuckled. "We will need water. No, sorry, slip of the tongue. You and the sheered sheep there will need water. There is water down at the river. The buckets over there are very good at holding water."
"Ohhhhh…… buckets hold water…… that's the wisdom that keeps me on this freaking mountain!" Naruto grumped, his pride stung. "And the river has water in it. Brilliant. Just brilliant!"
Jiraiya ignored Naruto.
"You will each take two empty buckets down the hill. Quickly, as this will be a race. You will fill them with water, then bring them back. Full. If you spill any water, you must carry both buckets back down to the river, then try again. Your task will be complete when you place both full buckets next to the cook area."
"A r-r-race?" Hinata didn't like the sound of that. She had seen just how quick Naruto was when he wanted to be.
Naruto grinned, then put his arms behind his head and started whistling a ribald tune.
"Yes, we will be doing this every morning for an unspecified amount of time. The first one back will be declared the winner…… unless he or she cheats some how. There will be no water jutsus just beyond my sight!" Jiraiya glared at Naruto, who put a wounded look on his face. "The winner will get the lion's share of my attention training that afternoon. The loser will sit reading the scrolls that I've collected. That, and practicing the jutsus they already know."
"Hah! It's great having such a clever and generous master!" Naruto stood up and did some short calisthenics. "Right, Hinata?"
Hinata rubbed her fingers together.
It didn't sound fair. But, she didn't see Jiraiya as someone who would be cruel or play favorites.
There must be something behind all this.
She would try her best. What more could she do?
"Wh-Wh-When do we start?" Hinata asked.
"NOW!" The legendary Sennin shouted.
Naruto ran immediately, while Hinata stood startled for a moment. Two buckest in hand, he skidded to a stop when Jiraiya told him to freeze.
"Give Hinata those two buckets. Take the ones that she has." The older shinobi sounded suspicious.
"But!" Naruto tossed the buckets down hard.
"Hinata, check out your buckets. We'll delay the race until you're done." Jiraiya tossed a rock up in the air, catching it.
"Th-Th-They look fine," Hinata answered.
"Use the jutsu I taught you for dispelling genjutsu. Then, look again." Jiraiya smiled. He could just be paranoid. But, he thought not.
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata had her hands on her hips.
Naruto smiled, even though he had been caught. He had poked holes in the bottom of the two buckets, then cast an illusion to make the buckets look normal.
When the buckets had been exchanged, the contest resumed. Naruto sat down calmly, using a slight flame jutsu to weld the bottom of his buckets. Unconcerned, he started to run when he was finished.
He should still have plenty of time.
He was correct. Buckets full, he returned to the camp well ahead of Hinata. He watched curiously as she came in, still running hard, even though she had obviously been able to see him for the past few hundred yards.
She could have just walked in.
He rubbed his chin, watching her bend over to catch her breath.
Each morning for the next week, things went the same way. For fun, and out of tradition, Naruto tried some trick every day, and was caught. Hinata always had a head start as a result, but kept finishing behind him.
The white-eyed girl made it a point to run from start to finish, just like she had the first time. One morning, the last in that week, it cost her, as she tripped on a loose spot of soil, then spilled some water. Both heavy buckets in hand, she ran back to the bottom, refilled, then ran back up.
Naruto had told her not to worry about it, since the race was already finished. But, she insisted that she would follow the rules to the letter.
The next morning, the results were different, even though they started off the same.
As Hinata ran hard around the bend just before the final steep incline, she saw Naruto standing there, buckets in hand.
What trick did he have in mind this time?
Did he intend to trip her? Would he run at her side, mocking her, then pull away at the end?
"Wonder what that stupid Sennin would do if we both ran into camp at the same time?" Naruto asked.
Hinata almost dropped her buckets.
"We'd have to set them down at the same time…… probably on a count of three…." Naruto yawned.
"Naruto-kun?"
"It's boring, winning every day," was his answer. "That's all. Don't go trying to make something out of it!"
"Oh. I won't…." Hinata fought to hide her smile. She lost that battle.
Naruto saw that smile, then smirked.
"Girls!"
Sure enough, when the two shinobi placed their buckets down simultaneously, Jiraiya decreed that the training regimen would change again.
There would be no more bucket races.
Private training would be shared equally, when the two pupils weren't training together on common justsu. The next few weeks would go that way. Jiraiya would do the training. Naruto and Hinata would do the learning. Morning, afternoon, and evening routines would be fairly constant, and there would be time off, when no training whatsoever was allowed.
Hinata and Naruto were encouraged to spend time in the village, taking in the sights, meeting the people, visiting the shops, and attending the cultural events.
Hinata never felt so alive in all of her life.
She made it a point to write a letter to Tsunade every week, detailing what she had accomplished, and thanking the Hokage for the assignment. She did this because of good manners, and because she carried the secret fear that she would be pulled away from her new life and sent elsewhere.
Remembering her previous mission, she also wrote about Naruto. Sometimes her feelings crept into her dispatches, and she had to tear them up and begin again. She burned the fragments, even though there was no need.
Hinata would die if Naruto ever though to put the paper back together, and found out how she felt in that way.
One morning, Naruto stopped dead in his tracks. Hinata was carrying around a small colorful balloon on her palm. As she walked, she stared intently at the thing. That had him approaching his teacher.
"Hey, old man. Are you trying to teach Hinata Rasengan?"
"You noticed, huh? Your powers of observation are improving." Jiraiya scratched one arm pit then the other.
"Did you give her any color other than pink?" Naruto clenched his teeth.
"Yes," the Sennin said off hand.
Naruto sighed, then smiled.
"But, from now on, I'll only give her pink. That's a clever idea, Naruto. Consistency might prove helpful to her." The older ninja chuckled when he saw Naruto's face.
He had a good idea where the younger man's feeling about that particular color had come from.
"Well, whatever! It probably won't matter. She won't be able to master it. She's not like me or the Fourth, you know." Naruto was not bragging. It was an accurate observation.
"That's right!" Jiraiya agreed. "She's a great deal smarter than you were three years ago." He laughed.
Naruto didn't rise to the bait.
"And…… well…… she's not in a life or death situation, so she might not be driven to finish things like I was." Naruto thought back to his confrontation with Kabuto. "And it's not like she has a bet with Granny Tsunade or something…."
"And she's a girl?" Jiraiya raised one eyebrow,
"Sexist comments are the sign of a small mind…… and probably a small man…." Naruto folded his hands over his chest. He frowned when his master broke out into loud laughter.
"I think she's brighter than you are now, too!" Jiraiya manged when he had caught his breath.
"Lousy big-haired hermit!"
Sitting there in the shade of a large tree, the two men laughed. For a while, Naruto was more contemplative than usual. With his master nearby, and with Hinata visible across the clearing, he wondered if this was what it was like to have a family.
From that point on, the training became more and more intense.
Despite the ever increasing work load, whenever Hinata had free time, she could be seen carrying a balloon.
Jiriaya kept an eye out, wanting to see if she had even the slightest aptitude for that skill. It had taken the Fourth three years to perfect it, but he had been starting from scratch, not even knowing if things would work.
Nevertheless, he had shown some progress after a few days.
Naruto's progress had been much more remarkable, but he never expected to see that like again.
But, his scheme would not somply serve Hinata.
It wouldn't hurt that young lout to see his teacher give the girl the same kind of attention that he gave a rather vocal boy when they first started traveling together. On the one hand, it might give him a reason to be competitive again. Or, it might have a different effect entirely.
Well, if Naruto did get too boastful, Hinata could simply mention summoning.
She had been able to call up a small frog on her first day.
Just before supper time, Naruto walked over to Hinata, seeing her sitting on an old stump, balloon in hand. She looked very frustrated, and she blushed seeing him watch her failure.
"N-N-Naruto-kun?"
"If you're busy there, I will cook dinner tonight." He offered, rubbing his head and looking away. "When I first started off trying to learn Rasengan, I trained all day, and even fell asleep exhausted, out in the woods."
"R-Really?" Hinata lost her concentration for a moment, then the balloon popped.
"Wow! That's good Hinata!" Naruto wondered how far she had gotten. He hadn't seen the balloon go through the contortions that his once had.
"No…… it's not, Naruto-kun…… I squeezed too hard…… it was my nails…." Hinata held up her hands. Her fingernails were long. She had thought long and hard about trimming them.
She probably would now.
"I see. Things aren't going well are they?" Naruto watched as Hinata took out another balloon, her hand trembling. "Here, let me blow that one up for you. Rest your hands a moment. I remember what it feels like."
"Thank you, Naruto-kun." Hinata wanted to smile, but couldn't she was too disappointed.
"You're trying hard, so I wish I could tell you how to do things. But I can't. Jiraiya was right. This is something you have to do on your own if you want to succeed. Besides, I found a unique method at first, before I went back and learned things the conventional way as well."
"I see…." Hinata sighed, biting her lip when she was done.
"But, I can tell you about that journey we had. You probably never heard the full story. And, I will give you the same hints that I was given, and nothing more. That, plus I will tell you about the cat." Naruto smiled, thinking back.
"Cat?" Hinata's eyes widened some.
"Yup!" Naruto smirked. "The cat might have been a better teacher than that old pervert! You'll just have to be patient…… I'll get to that sooner or later."
As the sun began to fall in the sky, Naruto sat speaking. Hinata listened, enraptured, her hands folded in her lap, balloon forgotten for now.
"Y-Y-You almost died, Naruto-kun?" Hinata shivered a moment, hearing about the fight with Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Manda.
"Uh huh," Naruto answered. "If it wasn't for Old lady Tsunade." He pulled at his lip. "Of course, if she wasn't so damn stubborn, she could have come back with us without nearly getting me killed!"
Hinata smiled.
Naruto spoke about the Hokage some more, calling her all sorts of names. But one thing was clear, he truly loved her, just as he was very fond of their sensei. The feeling was also mutual. Hinata had no doubt about that, having heard Tsuande talk about Naruto.
"Yeh…… well….. at least when all was said and done, I had won this!" Naruto handed his necklace to Hinata. He saw her cradle it like it was the most precious treasure in the word.
The story about Dan and Tsunade's brother had left her in tears.
"It's beautiful, Naruto. And very special." Hinata handed it back.
"That's right. And, it certainly gave me a reason to finally learn Rasengan." Naruto sat staring at the necklace for a few moments, while Hinata sat quietly. Finally, he sighed. Looking over at Hinata, he hesitated, then spoke.
"We all need goals, Hinata…." Naruto's voice was very low. "For me, it was Hokage. I think you must have realized that, right?" No one could have missed that. "Then, it was showing Sasuke that I was just as worthy of respect as he was." Naruto looked up at the sky, thinking it would be a good night to see the stars. He wondered what Sasuke was doing. "Then, when Tsunade made fun of me, I wanted to win this necklace more than anything."
Hinata listened attentively. She loved to hear Naruto talk about himself. She didn't expect him to say what he said next.
The words came haltingly, as if he had to pull them out by the roots. ''Let's do this, then. Three years."
"Naruto-kun?"
"Yes. Fair's fair. Three years. That's the time it took Yondaime to master Rasengan. If you can conquer the jutsu in that amount of time, then this necklace will be yours." Naruto gripped the necklace hard in his hand.
"B-But…… Naruto-kun…… that means so much to you…."
"Sure. I know. It's a gamble, I guess. That makes it feel even more appropriate, I guess, given Tsunade's history." It started to sink in just what he had offered. "But…… well…… it's my Ninja Way!"
Tears came to Hinata's eyes.
Then, unable to help herself, she put both hands over her face.
"Hinata, what's wrong?"
Sobbing, Hinata tried to speak.
"I…… I have friends now…… but…" Her whole body shook, as pent up emotions came to the surface. "But, like you…… for so many years…… I was so alone."
Naruto felt very uncomfortable. He had no idea what he should do, or what he should say. Feeling guilty, he wondered if his treatment of her might be the reason she was crying.
"For so long…… before Kurenai-sensai…… no one ever showed me much kindness for my own sake." She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. "Everything that was done, was because I was the heir. While I was still the heir. Then…."
Naruto stayed quiet. He had dealt with his own pain for so long, but was unused to seeing it in others. Not like this, so close and so personal.
"When I was no longer the heir, I was just…… I was just……" Hinata looked up at Naruto's face. "You put it into words once. A shy dark weirdo."
"Hey, Hinata…… I didn't mean to put you down then, you know…… I was just----" Naruto's rushed words were cut off.
"I know, Naruto-kun. I know. Because, before you left, you also said that I was someone that you could like." At that moment, Hinata came very close to telling Naruto how much he meant to her. But, she didn't have the courage yet.
And, she didn't want a moment like that to follow such a powerful wave of sadness.
Naruto thought about the power of words. His words had obviously meant something to Hinata then, just as her shy explanation that he was a proud failure in her eyes had given him his spirit back in time to fight her cousin.
"When I heard that…… after standing up to Neji…… I began to like myself. And…… the more I liked myself…… it seemed the more that others were willing to like me too, Naruto-kun." Hinata sniffled. "So, you've already done a lot for me, just by helping me care about myself." She held her hands together, just under her chin. "Thank you for that, Naruto. Thank you for the offer, too."
"Well…… I……" Naruto scratched his head, filled with confused emotions and thoughts from his own past. "Hell! I never would have offered the necklace if I knew it would make you cry! Huh!"
"I'll do my best, Naruto-kun." Hinata didn't tell him that it would be for him, not the necklace. "I promise."
"Great!" Naruto answered, watching as Hinata hurried down slope towards the cook fires.
He sat there after that, until supper was ready.