Hello and welcome once again to my story. Not much to say on this chapter though it does have a bit of a twist. Well hope you enjoy and thanks for the reviews.

"Speech"

'Thought'

"Kyuubi"

(Standard Disclaimer)

Chapter 18: Painful

Naruto sat in the realm of dreams, his sensei sitting before him as a game board sat between them. "Hey," Kyuubi said harshly snapping Naruto from his daze. "I said your move," Kyuubi said with half closed eyes showing his aggravation. "Hm? Oh yeah..." Naruto said looking at the board with his thoughtful gaze. He quickly moved a piece then went back into his vacant stare.

"Kid, your mind isn't here right now," Kyuubi said as he called Naruto's attention back into the living for what seemed to be the sixteenth time tonight. "Hm? Oh sorry but I'm a bit distracted. I have training tomorrow and..." Naruto trailed off but Kyuubi knew where this was going. "Courting the Hyuga girl," Kyuubi finished to which Naruto turned his head away with a blush.

"Hey, it's no big deal kid. With your Kitsune seduction on even partially she can't help but love you. Besides if not her, then you could have any number of females at your beck and call for ANYTHING you could want," Kyuubi chuckled. Naruto groaned at his teacher, this fox was worse then Ero-sannin some times. "It's not that...well it is but...I just, I'm lost here. It's not like...well I do like her but...courting her? I don't know how...but maybe I do...but how...agh! TO CONFUSING!" he said as he grabbed his wild golden hair.

"Kid, you've said it yourself. You would do anything to protect her. You would give your life for her. I'm no expert in human emotion but I'd say that damn well counts as something," Kyuubi said with a serious expression. Naruto sighed and looked away, his mind still a jumble from this experience. "Try kissing her," Kyuubi offered to which Naruto nearly choked.

"K-KISS HER?" Naruto asked in surprise. "Yeah, that's what I think you humans call it," Kyuubi said looking down in concentration. "Uh...if you don't remember my first kiss wasn't the most ideal thing in the world," Naruto said with a sickened expression on his face. "Kid, what would you have done had it happened now and had it been that Hyuga girl?" Kyuubi asked as he looked at Naruto with a raised eyebrow. Naruto thought then his face turn dark red in embarrassment.

Kyuubi laughed at Naruto's position but calmed himself quickly and said, "all I'm saying is how are you going to know? I know you're really confused right now, I'm in your head so it's all I hear all day. You just gotta go with instinct on this one, I know you can at least do that well." Naruto sighed and nodded, this could either be the biggest mistake of his life or this could make his entire existence.

Right now he was happy to have her by his side but, he was hoping when he attempted a kiss she wouldn't pull away. He was hoping that he could live up to his promises. "Alright Kyuubi-sensei, even though it's probably not the best advice I'll take it," Naruto said causing the demon fox to smirk. "Damn straight, now get up kid, I think it's time for your little lesson from the Hyuga guy," Kyuubi said as Naruto felt himself slowly drift from the world of dreams.

Naruto woke up, got dressed in his fighting attire, and left quickly for the training grounds. Naruto arrived just in time to see Hiashi sitting on the ground, his legs crossed and his eyes closed in a type of meditation. "Ah Naruto, you finally woke up," Hiashi said as he opened his eyes and stood up.

Naruto yawned and nodded, "Yeah I'm awake Hiashi-sama. Sorry but I had a few things to work out with...yeah anyway, what am I learning today?" Hiashi shook his head at Naruto's attempt to escape mentioning Kyuubi but he let it slide. "For all of the attacks the Hyuga clan uses one needs perfect chakra control with all of their tenketsu. They must know how to bend their chakra to their will under any circumstances."

Hiashi walked up to a tree and pulled a rope releasing four planks of wood from the high branches. The planks were arranged so a person could fit in between all of them comfortably. "You have to hit these planks of wood hard enough to break them into pieces," Hiashi said with a solemn expression.

Naruto smirked, "That's it? Easy..." "Without your hands, feet, or tails," Hiashi finished causing Naruto to blanch. "...what?" Naruto asked in confusion. "To gain a perfect sense of chakra control you must be able to release chakra from all of your tenketsu points in sync. You have to break these boards that surround your body without the use of your physical form. You only have your chakra to use, and no lightning or fire," Hiashi said noticing Naruto getting an idea.

Naruto groaned, "fine Hiashi-sama. After I break the boards what will I have to do?" Hiashi smirked as Naruto got into the center of the boards. "You'll find that out when you break the boards, now get to work."

Naruto sighed and concentrated, he felt the chakra building up and collecting at all of the tenketsu points along his body. In a instant he released it sending a wave of chakra from his body. The wave made contact with the wooden planks to his front and his right but they were only blown back slightly. 'Damn...' Naruto thought as he began to gather his chakra once again.

This time he gathered more chakra and began focusing it on his back and more to his left. He let the chakra go in a large wave but as before all that happened were the planks at his back and left moved and even then only slightly. "Oh damn it..." Naruto muttered. He continued this, experimenting with the amount and direction of his chakra waves but he never got all the planks to move with the same force at the same time.

"Naruto, try focusing the chakra at your center then slowly release it in a small wave," Hiashi offered as he watched his student inside the plank prison. Naruto nodded and took a deep breath and concentrated his chakra in his center. He slowly released the chakra feeling how it moved through his entire body then out all of his tenketsu points to cause all of the planks to move as if they were touched by the wind.

Naruto smirked as he memorized the feel of the chakra flowing through his system. Eventually he began to add more and more chakra to the waves. Slowly the planks began moving more and more. They went from blowing in a soft wind to blowing in a harsh gale but not matter what Naruto couldn't break them.

Naruto shut his chakra circulation and the planks returned to lying at his sides. "Now that you have how the chakra circulates memorized try to send it out in short bursts rather then a constant flow. Like a violent explosion rather then soft rolling waves," Hiashi counseled.

Naruto was feeling a bit weary at the amount of chakra this training was taking but in Naruto-esque fashion he threw caution to the wind. He swiftly gathered a large amount of chakra to his center and in a quick burst he sent it out causing the planks to fly and a deep dent to appear in all of them.

Naruto looked around and thought, 'so close...' Naruto took a deep breath and concentrated his chakra into his center once again. He continued to gather his chakra until he was sure he had enough to at least crack the boards. He released it in a great burst and with that the planks not only broke but they splintered out of existence.

Naruto smirked in accomplishment and would have cheered his success if he hadn't already been a bit light headed from all his chakra usage. "Very good Naruto, I'd say that is enough for today," Hiashi said as he turned briskly and headed for the main house. "What about tomorrow Hiashi-sama?" Naruto questioned as he watched the Hyuga leader depart. "Same time, same place Naruto," Hiashi said as he disappeared down the path for the main house.

Naruto yawned and looked to the sky, it only looked like it was late afternoon. That was good because he still needed to round up a team for the Chunnin exams. He thought of recruiting Sasuke but he found that Sasuke had already found a team where one of their members had just up and quit being a ninja. Naruto was kind of angry but shook it off, here he was looking at six scrolls, determining which would be the best on his team.

"Ok where were those guys that I saw the other day..." Naruto muttered as he sat looking at the scrolls in front of him. "Ah, here we go. Hm...good potential and power for a long term Genin. Heh, I see, only takes the exams that are held in the village," Naruto mused as he looked at the scroll to his left.

"And this one, he's a fire jutsu specialist? Wonderful, we have a human pyro and a kitsune," Naruto said with a smirk. "Their lucky day," Kyuubi laughed inside Naruto's head causing the fox boy to laugh to himself. "Hey, isn't today the day that Hyuga girl coming back from her mission?" mentioned Kyuubi.

'Yeah but they shouldn't get back until...oh crap,' Naruto thought which caused him to quickly roll his scrolls up and looked to the quickly darkening sky. He raced off to the front gates of the village. They should be getting back any second!

Kiba let out an exhausted breath as the village gates came into view. "Thank, fricking, god. Why did we take this mission, it was boring as hell!" Kiba ranted just like he always does. "Why are you complaining? You didn't have to walk," came Shino's solemn reply. It was true, Kiba barely had to walk a step since he relied on Akamaru. "...whatever," Kiba said as he dismounted Akamaru and began walking, just to prove a point.

Kiba stretched and in the process got a look over his shoulder to see the quiet girl of the team as quiet as ever. However she wasn't looking at the ground as usual and if he didn't know better he could have sworn she looked excited. Kiba smirked and shook his head as he turned his eyes back to the road. Hinata seemed really happy ever since Naruto moved into her home. A few days after the attack Shino, Akamaru, and himself visited the Hyuga mansion to make sure their friend and team mate was ok.

When Naruto answered the door in his new half human form they were pretty much thrown for a loop. Hell Kiba and Akamaru damn near attacked him until they recognized his scent. Naruto explained everything that happened and left them at the door to get Hinata.

"...holy shit," Kiba said, "that's Naruto?" "It would appear so," Shino said with a raised eyebrow the only thing showing his confusion. "Hinata must have a hell of a time around him now," Kiba muttered as the door to the mansion suddenly clicked and opened revealing Hinata and Naruto side by side.

"Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, Akamaru-kun hello," Hinata said, a stutter absent from her voice. Kiba blinked a few times and said, "wait a minute...this can't be Hinata." Both Hinata and Naruto stared at Kiba. "Every time Hinata is within ten feet of Naruto she stutters," Kiba said with a suspicious look.

Hinata blushed and softly said, "I guess Naruto-kun is rubbing off on me."

Kiba smiled to himself as he remembered the teasing he gave Hinata and the flare in Naruto's temper that almost left him with his pants on fire. Now where was he? Oh yeah, they were at the entrance to the village. "Finally we're home, time for a cheese hamburger, how about you Akamaru? Ready for some of my dog food?" Kiba asked that caused Akamaru to bark in excitement.

"I must be going, goodbye," Shino said and turned towards his home. Only Shino could get away with something so seemingly rude, but Kiba and Hinata accepted it. With anyone else he wouldn't even say goodbye. Kiba looked around expecting to see that insane grin of Naruto's but he didn't see anyone except an anxious looking Hinata. Kiba stretched and said, "well I'm going home. See yah later Hinata and don't worry, the idiot'll be around sometime."

With those words said Kiba and Akamaru left to grab something to eat leaving Hinata to wait by the front gate of the village. Hinata looked around but didn't see a flash of golden fur that signaled the entrance of the number one unpredictable ninja of Konoha. Hinata activated her Byakugan and scouted the village for the elusive streak of gold but saw nothing. She did notice the Foxy Fan Club but shoved that in the back of her mind not wanting to look angry should Naruto appear out of nowhere like he sometimes did.

Hinata deactivated the Doujutsu and began the walk home until her eyes were covered by two hands. "Guess who?" came a voice she knew at once. "Hello Naruto-kun," Hinata said with a smile. "How was the mission?" Naruto asked as he removed his hands and began walking with Hinata home. "It was...interesting," Hinata said with a small smile. 'No where near as interesting as you Naruto-kun...' Hinata thought with a small blush on her cheeks.

Naruto laughed, "in other words it was boring huh? I heard Kiba all the way at the Hyuga mansion." "Kiba-kun yelled that loud?" Hianta asked, she was never to sure how loud Kiba was sometimes. She had been on his team with Shino so long she just didn't notice anymore. Naruto smirked and grabbed the lobes of his ears in his wild golden hair. "With these things I could hear a pin drop in the middle of Konoha," he said with a light laugh.

Naruto walked Hinata home to the main house, neither a word said between them, both of them just enjoying the silence and the knowledge that the other was there. While they accented the steps of the main house to the front door Naruto stopped few steps from the top and grabbed Hinata's hand before she reached the top step. "Hey, Hinata-chan," Naruto said softly with a smile. Hinata was stunned but turned to him, looking directly into his blue and golden eyes almost falling into the Kitsune's seduction spell.

"I'm entering the coming Chuunin exams," Naruto said bluntly. This took Hinata a while to register and when she did she responded with mixed joy and worry. "Naruto-kun...you know you can get killed..." Hinata said which caused Naruto to blink a few times in confusion. Naruto's eyes then turned serious but in some sense caring too. "Hinata-chan, I said that I'd protect you, I swore on my blood and Kitsune honor that I would," Naruto said in a soft and comforting voice. "I won't die and leave you unguarded. I swear it..." Naruto said trailing off at the end.

"C'mon kid...do it..." Kyuubi whispered in Naruto's mind. "You know you have to...do it...kiss her..." Kyuubi continued to whisper hoping to get this drama to an end. Naruto's heart sped, his mind was swimming, he had no idea what to do. Hinata was standing there, looking at him with a hopeful look in her eyes and he was lost. Instinct suddenlyfailed him and he couldn't follow his eons old teachers advice. Naruto sighed and let Hinata's hand slide from his own as he slowly turned, "good night Hinata-chan."

"Goodnight...Naruto-kun..." Hinata said sadly as she watched Naruto leave for the branch house grounds. She knew what opportunity had just arisen, and it had been horribly wasted. She gave a deep sigh into the darkness of the night and entered the mansion unable to feel the twin streaks of tears that streamed from her eyes. As she walked the halls to her room she heard the rain began to fall and the thunder roar.

Naruto lie on his bed, listening to the faint sounds of rolling thunder along the night sky, hearing the soft pitter patter of the rain as it landed upon the roof. He missed it, he had just completely missed it. "Kid...you are an idiot," came a scowling call from deep inside his subconscious. 'Shut up...' Naruto said sending the demons voice deep into the unreachable recesses of his mind. "I blew it..." he muttered to himself as he turned in his bed knowing full well that he wasn't going to get any sleep tonight.

End Chapter

Well that's that. I know it looks bad now (both the situation and my writting) but I will fix it don't worry. This is still Naru/Hina! Q and A time!

Q: Naruto's team mates?

A: ...you'll see...unless someone has an idea I like

That was short. I'm sorry but due to difficulties I don't have a preview. Well that is all so I'll see you guys later.