Naruto woke up with a shudder; it was like a bad omen of the coming day. He had no idea how right his instincts were. He looked around, his vision focusing, then started to grab for his clock. He missed once, twice, three times, finally he turned to see that his clock was gone. Still delirious from his sleep, Naruto got out of bed without a second's notice. He started to make his breakfast ramen; it was like clockwork to him. He had learn in his many experience of ramen eating not to eat it within the plastic bowl, if the water is too hot it may melt some of it off the side and cause some major stomach pains. If it's not hot enough, the ramen itself takes too long to cook. Naruto placed two servings of ramen into a giant bowl and added the water, his mind still warming up for the day's coming events.

Like a zombie, Naruto rummaged through his kitchen, looking for a pair of chopsticks. Bags still under his eyes and his consciousness still asleep; his body was operating purely out of habit. About five minutes later, when the blonde hair ninja was slowly (which is rare for Naruto when it comes to ramen) eating his noodles. His unconsciousness threw off the blanket of laziness and got into gear.

Like the snap of a gun, Naruto started to gorge on the remainder of his ramen. His mind was rushing through hundreds of many thoughts. Where he was going to train, when he was going to stop for lunch and many other things. He brushed his teeth quickly after his breakfast (he seems to found it quite natural, contrary to what Kakashi tells him.) and put on his orange jacket. He did his usual one thousand push ups and sit ups before setting out. Any non-ninja person would perceive a thousand sit-ups as a work out for insane athletes. For any normal ninja in Konoha, it was as standard as brushing your teeth when you become a genin.

"Alright... time to get to the training grounds!" Naruto cheered as he locked the door to his apartment building, his feet still stamping. He turned around to see Hinata in her usual Hyuuga hoodie and ninja shorts. One thing different about her was that she was carrying a picnic basket. It smelled like miso ramen, chicken ramen, beef ramen, pork ramen... It was... all of them combined! Naruto started to drool slightly, but he tried to be as polite as he could in front of Hinata, out of respect.

"Good morning Naruto-Kun!" She replied cheerfully, her voice full of pep yet at the same time shyness.

"Oh, good morning Hinata-Chan! What are you doing here?" Naruto said, his attention drawn heavily to the basket then to the shy girl in front of him.

"I was just hoping we could train together Naruto-Kun!" Hinata said, her face brimming with happiness.

"Oh sure..." Naruto's mind was just nodding to all comments at this point. "What kind of ramen do you have in there Hinata-Chan?" He said, the topic changed in a flash of a second.

Hinata smiled, knowing that bringing a huge bowl of ramen mixed with all of Naruto's favourite foods would make him say yes. She was sure that if she were to say "Take me out to the most expensive restaurant in Konoha" he still would've said yes, just to eat Hinata's perfect ramen bowl.

"Oh just my traditional dish of ramen for you Naruto-Kun! You can eat it with me on our break from training!" Hinata said, looping he arm around Naruto, and started to walk beside him to the training ground.

Hinata was blushing, crimson colouring her entire face. She had never been so happy in her life, just being this close to Naruto, and having a valid reason for doing so made her incredibly happy. She wasn't just clinging onto Naruto like Sasuke's fan girls, she was actually walking besides Naruto, but in the back of her mind she was sulking, knowing that Naruto was thinking of the two as good friends, and not as a couple. But that will soon change, if Hinata's date goes well, and if Sakura doesn't sink he dirty, ravenous claws into Hinata's precious blonde hair ninja.

It wasn't long before Naruto and Hinata were at the training ground, awakening Hinata of her daydreaming. Oh how wonderful would it be for Hinata's dream to come true. Naruto by her side, not as a friend but a lover; she almost squealed in excitement.

"So Hinata..." Naruto thought, not knowing what to do. "Would you like to practice your Gentle Fist? I've read in some books a way to open closed chakra holes."

"That's amazing!" Hinata clapped her hands together and smiled. "But we should wait until later in the day for you to try, if you can't reopen your chakra holes then you'll have to take a nap in order for us to train again." Hinata pulled out some kunais and shurikens and stuck them all in a straight line on a log. "I need to learn how to dodge faster and to increase my overall speed. It'll help in close combat."

Hinata jumped to a nearby tree, turning a back to Naruto. "Alright Naruto-Kun! Give me your best shot! I have plenty of medical cream so scratches and bruises won't do much!"

Naruto had a secret fear, she really didn't want to hurt Hinata, and she was a good friend. But he doesn't mind sparring with Sakura and going all out, he usually does hurt her, but she rarely minds. It was like his heart was being stretched out, having to throw, even injure Hinata. She was just a good friend... isn't she? Hinata was a good two hundred meters away. Naruto shook his head and threw six shurikens with great precision. Hinata's Byakugan saw the metal projectiles flying at an incredible speed, but years of Taijutsu training paid off as she flipped back, her fingers instinctively grabbing the shurikens with her fingers. Her dexterous fingers slid into the small holes, giving her a perfect hold on them. She landed on a tree branch, taking time only to throw the shurikens back at her crush.

"Oh no!" Hinata only then realized what she had just done. It was based more on instinct then in sense, as Hinata has become something even the Hiashi has come to recognize as skill. Though nowhere close to Neji, Hinata has gotten much better since before.

Naruto flung six kunais in response, his keen senses detecting the shurikens flying back. "Wow Hinata..." Sure he realized what had happened, he saw it but couldn't believe it. She had grown so much; her battle skills were almost ten times better than before. It was Naruto that pushed Hinata to her limit, and it shone like a star in the darkest of mists.

The two continue to train together, until it was nearly three in the afternoon. The two ninjas stopped together, gathering around Hinata's delicious ramen (which was still warm). They had focused mostly on speed, evasion and defensive maneuvers for the morning and afternoon. For the remainder they were to focus on close combat.

Small talk emerged as they were eating, Naruto commenting on Hinata's incredible growth. It was very friendly but it still annoyed a certain pink haired ninja. "I shouldn't be annoyed, no of course not; I like Sasuke-Kun, Naruto is just a friend. A close friend but he's not who I want to get romantically involved with..." Sakura told herself. Her voice was saying it, but her heart, her mind and everything in her body screamed with jealousy and want, a want for a certain blonde haired ninja.

Sakura buried her doubts and focused her eyes on Hinata. "Naruto..." Sakura mumbled. Her hands balled into fists as jealously almost erupted inside her like a volcano.

Hinata and Naruto finished up their lunch, chatting and laughing throughout the entire event, all during the time Sakura felt like she could implode from jealousy. Hinata practiced her blocking and parries (but not actually closing Naruto's chakra holes) while Naruto practiced his overall attack formation. He learned a lot from Shikamaru, and was taught that the first attack makes way for the second. Though in real combat, Naruto goes into such a rage he rarely does so, the blonde haired ninja would feint and fake many attacks before going in from behind with a shadow clone.

Naruto was starting to get the hang of it, and in real combat tried to remember how to fake and attack, how to stay calm and collected. His training had paid off in some cases, but when Naruto gets really fired up, all manner of strategy is thrown away for brute power.

Sakura couldn't stand the sight anymore and left. Hinata's Byakugan saw the pink haired ninja and was quite intimidated, but her undying love of Naruto would see her through. She knew it would. It was closing in to six o'clock, and she would have to go home. She had heard that Naruto trains until ten before going home.

"Ah, Naruto-Kun?" Hinata called out.

"Yes Hinata-Chan?" Naruto said, jumping down from the heavy brush above.

"I think we should finish up with some Taijutsu training. I have to go soon, and you won't be able to see if that theory on re opening chakra holes is correct."

"All right then." Naruto got into his fighting pose, which was basically a basic brawling style. Hinata resumed her 'Gentle Fist' stance, her palms opened for parrying and closing chakra holes at the same time. Naruto charged, though his battle cry seemed to suggest he was going all out, Naruto refrained himself, afraid that he'll hurt his girlfriend. Wait a minute, what did he just cal Hinata? He was pretty sure... no he was thinking CLOSE friend. That's right, nothing more.

Hinata's Byakugan saw major points on Naruto's right wrist, which was barreling down on torso. She quickly parried at the last moment and slammed the two points closed then twisted back, slamming two more points around Naruto's abdomen. She then made a huge sweep with her leg, tripping Naruto.

The blonde hair ninja was completely caught off guard, if he was being serious and holding nothing back, he could've easily had avoided all of Hinata's attack but he didn't expect her to be so good! "Wow... Hinata you're truly wonderful." Naruto muttered, hoping that the Hyuuga heir did not hear him.

Hinata's palms came up again, one of them charged with chakra. It blew into Naruto's chest, but it did not send him flying, the chakra caused him to stay still, but her incredible control of the chakra let him turn into a perfect position for six points to be closed by Hinata's other hand.

Naruto could feel pain coursing through his system, it wasn't very harshly done, and Hinata was gentle, even during a fight. She seemed to be tapping each holes closed, effectively and quickly. Soon, Naruto had to fight back, an inner urge that was fighting inside his gut. It growled and roared as Naruto's chakra emerged. He grabbed Hinata's wrist, not too hard, but enough to stop her assault. He tripped her down and pushes both her wrists to her own neck, forcing he to stop moving. His legs vaulted over and landed onto Hinata's own feet, making sure they won't be doing any kicking.

"Got you!" Naruto smiled, their faces really close, and inching closer every second.

"Aw Naruto-Kun!" Hinata laughed and giggled, her wrists though bounded to the wood, she happy and content. She didn't even start blushing until she noticed the awkward position they were in. "Ah... Naruto-Kun..." She muttered, her eyes not leaving Naruto's.

Their faces inched closer and closer, a premonition of what was to come. They could see each feature on the other person's face. They could feel each other's warmth, each other's own chakra, stirring within them.

Alright that's all for now. Have fun with the cliffhanger!