I don't own Naruto.

I have decided that I will make the description and chapter titles less random from now on, so as to not make me look as crazy as I may be. Thank you for the reviews and whatnot, they inspire me and blah, blah, blah…Here is another chapter, which spans an entire day. If you have questions or comments, leave them in a review afterwards. Now read! (please?)

The Sun and the Moon

It was another bright day in Konoha; the sun had risen a few hours ago, and the moon still lingered in the sky as it often does, seemingly waiting for the sun to approach it but disappearing into space just before it does. At this time, there was an equally bright ninja strolling through the streets of Konoha. Not the kind of brightness that pertains to intelligence, but the kind of glowing personality that seems to warm the hearts of all it comes into contact with.

Jiraiya had given Naruto the day off from training today so that Jiraiya could attend to personal matters. Yeah right. thought Naruto as he passed by the bookstore, seeing an ad for a soon-to-be new book hanging in the window.

He continued on his way, not entirely sure where he was going. He could finally completely ignore the quick glares the villagers gave him. He now knew for sure that he wasn't the demon that attacked the village so many years ago; the proof was strolling nonchalantly along side him. Nobody seemed to notice him though. They all returned to their previous business quickly after glaring at him, so as not to grant him the recognition of his existence. It may not be in a good way, but everyone in the village did know the name 'Uzumaki Naruto'.

"Kakashi-san, you've disappointed me." A voice rang out at the site of the memorial stone, waking Kakashi from his memories.

"And what have I done to disappoint you?" the grey-haired jounin questioned respectfully.

"You interfered with my pupil's attempt to dispose of your student." came a calm reply.

"I apologize, I did not know he was yours; he seemed to be working for Orochimaru. Either way, I would like for my student to remain alive. With all due respect, if you attempt to kill him again, I will be left with no option but to stop you myself." answered Kakashi.

"As you wish, Kakashi-san. I will overlook your insubordination and adhere to your request. But I will need you to mend the growing darkness in his heart. If I leave him alive, you must use whatever you can to keep him from Orochimaru. You know as well as I do what will happen if that should come to pass…"

"Hai. I will do all I can to keep this village his home. Even if it means giving him the power he seeks myself…" Kakashi said, more to himself than to the voice. He had sensed the voice's presence fade away after the first few words. All it had needed was affirmation.

I've trusted you for six years now. You had tremendous insight and reasoning even in your young age. I hope I can continue trusting you now, after what I have done for you. thought Kakashi as he walked slowly to where he was supposed to have met Sasuke for training. He wasn't in a hurry; he had already been late before his little chat.

A dark-haired girl walked down the streets of Konoha. She had taken a different route than normal today, one that didn't pass by a certain apartment, Ichiraku's Ramen, or the training grounds. She didn't want to have to face him after yesterday. How would she answer his questions when she didn't know the answers herself? As she turned a corner, she bumped into someone and they both fell to the ground.

"G-gomen…" she began, but was cut off by the other person.

"Nah, that's alright, Hinata." came a familiar voice, followed by a small yipping noise. "I was just distracted, that's all. My thoughts were on that copycat I just ran into, or copyfox is more like it…"

"What do you mean, Kiba-kun?" she asked curiously.

"Here he comes now, maybe he can tell you. As for me, I told Shino I'd meet him about something. See ya later!" with that last confusing remark, he ran off, his pet dog following close beside him.

By the time she turned to see who he was referring to, it was too late; he had already noticed her.

"Oi, Hinata!" he called out, making his way over toward her. "What's with that look? Is there something on my face?" he asked, wiping his hand across his face.

He had already forgotten their awkward encounter. She didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed. Her eyes drifted down to the ground as they often did, and she saw something that brought Kiba's other strange comment back into her head. Standing beside Naruto was an average-sized, rather impatient-looking, fox, with nine tails flowing behind him.

"N-Naruto-kun? Who's that?" she questioned, looking at the fox.

"Oh, that's just Kyuubi, he's my pet." he answered casually, no longer having to worry about his friends thinking he's a demon.

"I-Is t-that K-Kyuubi, the d-demon that attacked K-Konoha?" asked the girl, hesitant to hear the answer.

Almost as if in response to her question, Kyuubi looked up at Naruto and said with a snarl, "I'm not your pet!"

Hinata just stared in shock with wide eyes at the two before her as Naruto mocked Kyuubi with a reply. Here was the boy she loved arguing with what appeared to be a harmless fox whom he called his pet, which she had just found out was the most powerful demon throughout the land that was supposedly defeated many years ago.

"If you're not my pet, why'd you fetch me some ramen yesterday?"

"I just wanted to stretch my legs."

"You could've just asked if you needed me to walk you…"

"That's not what I meant!"

"So you must have gotten some ramen for yourself without telling me. Don't worry, I don't blame you."

They continued this for a while with an awe-struck Hinata watching them from the sidelines, and after a while the argument drifted, and Kyuubi's words gave Naruto inspiration for a new technique…

"So if you're so sure you're not a pet, does that make you a summon creature."

"Brat! How dare you compare me to them! I'm not just some idiot who appears out of nowhere with the use of a few hand signs!"

Maybe you aren't…thought Naruto mischievously, as he raced off to where he was sure he would find Jiraiya. The sannin had taught him frog summoning just yesterday, which he still couldn't do right, but he hoped the man would be able to answer a few questions he had on the subject.

Kakashi arrived to find a very annoyed Sasuke waiting for him on the plateau. He had an idea how to draw the boy's attention from the power that Orochimaru had offered, but it wasn't going to be easy. There was one move of his that could rival the power of even Orochimaru's techniques, and Sasuke was lucky enough to have what it takes to learn it. But first he would have to attain a speed comparable to that of Rock Lee, Konoha's best taijutsu specialist. After that was accomplished, he could move on.

"Sasuke," Kakashi said, seriousness present in his voice, "I'm going to teach you a very powerful technique. I trust you to know to use it responsibly. Before you can learn it, you need to be much faster than you are now. That is why for the next week, we will be training your speed to the breaking point. This is necessary to obtain the power of Chidori."

Naruto arrived at the Hot Springs and, sure enough, Jiraiya was sitting in his usual spot. "Ero-sennin!"

The man turned around, obviously very aggravated. "Naruto! I thought I gave myself- I mean, gave you the day off. What do you want now!"

"I had some questions about summoning, and I thought it'd be best to ask you." the blonde-haired boy replied simply.

"Listen Naruto, I already told you, if you want your frogs to have legs, you just have to use more chakra. That the only way you can-"

"No, not that, I wanted to ask you about a kind of summon I saw during the second part of the Chunnin exam."

Jiraiya was justifiably suspicious at first, but realizing that his student wanting to learn was a very rare occurrence, he brushed off his suspicion and answered his student's questions.

Jiraiya sat on top of the Hokage's tower, at Naruto's request. He was told to watch from there, and keep a scroll Naruto had given him next to him. He looked down at the entrance, wondering what new skill Naruto was going to demonstrate to him, considering the nearly useless and seemingly unrelated tidbits of information he had shown Naruto.

The blonde-haired genin arrived at the entrance to the tower, receiving glares from the two ANBU that were stationed there. They knew something was amiss, as they were the ones who usually chased after him whenever he pulled one of his trademark pranks.

"Hey guys." he said as he reached behind his back to get something. The ANBU prepared for a prank, almost expecting smoke-bombs to come hurdling towards them. Instead, they saw him place the object on his face, drawing his hand away to reveal a badly crafted and just as badly painted ANBU mask, which resembled the face of a fox.

"Bet you can't catch me." he taunted, running behind the corner of a building. Before they could get to him, he performed three quick hand seals that Jiraiya had taught him, a type of activation jutsu. As the ANBU rounded the corner, all there was left where the boy had stood was a few wisps of smoke, quickly clearing away.

Jiraiya watched somewhat surprised to see Naruto just disappear. Thinking back to what he had shown him, he realized what Naruto had done just before he heard a noise next to him. He turned to see Naruto standing beside him on the now blank scroll, a triumphant look glued to his face.

"BAKA!" Jiraiya shouted, shattering his victorious look, "You used a summoning scroll to summon yourself!" Naruto now had his eyes closed and was rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

Opening his eyes he saw Jiraiya start to raised his fist, the perfect chance to prove his idea's usefulness. Activating three hand signs once again, he disappeared in another puff of smoke and Jiriaya's fist only hit air.

Good thing I had left a backup scroll in my apartment. he thought, but it took me all day to make those scrolls! Now I've got make them all over again! A loud growl from his stomach sounded through his thoughts. Okay, maybe after I eat.

"You." it said after the boy had run off. It took her a few moments to realize Kyuubi was talking to her.

"Y-Yes K-Kyuubi?" she asked, a bit scared.

"You don't have to fear me; that kid still has all my chakra."

"Y-you mean, N-Naruto-kun?"

"Yes, that's what he's called. Anyway, if you see him again, tell him I'm at his usual training ground. If that dog-boy's pet can fight, then I should be able to too."

"So you are Naruto-kun's pet." she teased, smiling at the thought.

"I said don't call me that." He replied, looking away in embarrassment. Maybe he was Naruto's pet now, as much as he hated the thought of it, there wasn't really any other word to describe him.

As the fox bolted off, sticking mainly to unpopulated streets and alleys, Hinata turned to walk home. She had managed to pull her thoughts from the confusion of yesterday, only to have them latch onto today's encounter.

She had trained all day after meeting with her team at their usual spot. She noticed her teammates whispering something to each other during training, Kiba at one point raising his voice enough for her to make out '…in the first match? That soon?'.

She was now walking home as the sun set behind her, the moon now clearly visible above her as it made its reappearance.

End of chapter 3

This chapter is longer, but still not long enough, correct? That's because I plan on increasing the chapter's length by about 500 words with each one I write. (The first is just over 1,000, this one is just over 2,000). Please leave reviews! Next chapter will be posted when I finish it.