Naruto sighed contently as he patted his belly. Four bowls of ramen was always put him in a good mood. He reached into his pocket and dug out some money.

"Later old man," he said walking out.

"Take care now, don't get yourself in any trouble now!" he said shaking his finger at him.

Naruto gave him a halfhearted wave from behind and dipped under the hanging cloth overhang. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and started wandering around town. He ignored the fact people were steering away from him in the streets and how they averted their eyes when he looked at them. He'd grown used to it by now. It didn't bother him as much as it used to since now he had people who would at least talk to him.

"I wonder what Sakura-chan is doing today?" he asked himself. He shrugged his shoulders and set off to the pink haired kunoichi's house.

Hinata greeted people as they walked by with her gentle smile and a polite bow. She'd been thinking about all the places Naruto might be visiting and went out looking for him. She stopped by the ramen shop, but the owner said he had already come in and left. She was running out of places to look.

"Oi! Hinata!" she heard someone yelling behind her. She turned around and saw Kiba and Shino walking towards her. She smiled at them and gave a small wave.

"H..hi Kiba-kun. What are you doing here?" she asked softly.

"Kurenai-sensei asked us to come by the academy to pick up a new mission slip. Want to tag along?" Kiba asked, his eyebrows raised.

Hinata nodded "Mmm…"

"No, I'm sorry, Sakura isn't here right now. I think she's out training with Sasuke. You want me to tell her you stopped by?" asked Mrs. Haruno.

"Nah, that's okay. I'll just see her some other time. Thanks anyway."

"No problem Naruto-kun."

Naruto always liked Sakura's family. They never tried to shoo him away or avoid him. Stuffing his hands into his pockets again, he continued wandering through the village.

"Hmm…What now?…I wonder if Iruka-sensei has time to do something…" he thought to himself. He started walking towards the academy, looking for his old sensei. Along the way, he absorbed the sights and sounds of the village as the people were coming out to do their daily business. He listened to kids being scolded by mothers and shop keepers yelling out their items for sale. Down the road, he saw Hinata and the rest of her team walking into the academy entrance.

"What are they doing here?" he thought to himself. Naruto never saw himself getting along with Hinata's team, mostly because of Kiba. They were both rather loud and tended to get into hot tempered fights pretty easily. Naruto suspected it was from the time he beat Kiba in the chunin preliminaries. He didn't mind Shino, but he did find him a little on the weird side. Shino never did talk much, and he was always by himself, playing with his bugs. And then there was Hinata. Naruto couldn't quite place what it was about her. He knew she was rather quiet and distant, and even though they didn't talk much, they always had something to talk about. She was always fidgeting around him and it made him kinda nervous. His thoughts would get jumbled in his head and he had to think a little bit longer on what he was about to say. Before he knew it, he was already right behind them.

"Hey guys…What brings you round here?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Our sensei told us to pick up a mission scroll in the front office. Something about the sound nin organizing again." Shino replied.

"Oh…," said Naruto looking down.

"N…Naruto-k-kun, what are yo…you doing here?" ask Hinata shyly hiding behind Kiba.

"Ah, I'm just looking for Iruka-sensei. I have nothing else to do, Haha…" Naruto said rubbing his hand behind his head.

"Sounds like you need to get a life dropout," said Kiba snickering.

"Hey, shut up dog boy! "

"Why don't you make me!"

The sound of a door opening behind them stopped their arguing momentarily.

"Oi! What are you kids doing? I have a class to teach! " yelled Iruka.

Naruto's eyes snapped up. "Oh,…sorry sensei."

"What are you doing here Naruto-kun?"

"Um, I was just wondering if you were free to do something…"

"Ah, sorry kiddo, but I have a class right now. Maybe later yhea?"

Naruto slowly nodded his head, his eyes downcast. "Sure." He turned around and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Later sensei," he said without looking back.

Hinata watched silently as he walked away. She couldn't help but feel sad for him. He was always so alone. Just like her…

"Man, what the hell's his problem?" asked Kiba. "The guys always so irritable, it's annoying ."

Shino rolled his eyes from behind his glasses. "You're one to talk," he thought silently.

"Um…K-kiba-kun?" started Hinata. "I'm going to…to catch up to N..,Naruto-kun. I'll s-see you later, ok?"

Kiba just stared at her with an eyebrow raised.

""Mmm, ok Hinata-chan," said Shino. "Come on Kiba, we need to get our mission," he continued dragging Kiba by the sleeve.

Hinata waved goodbye to them and sprinted off to find Naruto.

a/n Been a while, sorry, I'm a little on the lazy side. I guess it's starting to pick up now, or at least I think it is, lol.