Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters.

Author's Notes- Thank you for the comments and I will do my best to please you guys with the story so here is Chapter 2. As for one of the Comments I like to say I do like to intergrate the current events of the Manga and the Filler episodes ( I know they suck.)Please bear with me for this is a FANFIC! not the official thing. If I owned Naruto I would do my own thing. Anyways I digress enjoy Chapter 2 and I'll start working on Chapter 3 now.

Pairings-Mainly NaruHina and some hints of ShikaTema

Summary-Spoilers Ahead if you are not up to date with the translated Manga Naruto completes his wind manipulation training and Kakashi and Yamato are summoned to an important briefing. During this Naruto will train on his own and will soon discover what it truly means to protect those who are precious to you.

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Chapter 2: Storytelling
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Naruto wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and made a little fox-like grin, obviously content with his Instant Ramen breakfast. He decided that he should continue his training and began to pack enough required necessities, along with a sleeping bag, to prepare for a two-day training period.

'I might was well practice some new techniques now that I finally have the hang of my wind element.' He thought to himself, grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Yamato and Kakashi-sensei are just like Ero-sennin. Always leaving me when I need the next step of the lesson to improve." He grumbled out loud, clenching his fist.

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Naruto made his way down the streets of Konoha, passing various shops and restaurants. He stopped in front of a store that sold paintings, and observed a particular painting. Now, Naruto wasn't usually one who was fascinated by art. In fact, he couldn't even name one famous artist. However, this painting intrigued him.

It was of a beautiful lake with a full moon that reflected off the water, creating a lovely shade of baby blue.

Naruto closed his eyes, remembering the night he had seen the mysterious figure dancing on the lake. Still lost in his thoughts, he began to walk once more. Unfortunately, he failed to notice WHERE he was going, and the next thing he knew, he was lying flat on his back, staring up at the sky with a dazed look on his face.

"Hey Naruto... you should really pay attention to where you're walking..." A familiar voice reminded him.

Naruto snapped out of his daze and sat up, surprised to find Iruka sitting across from him.

"Iruka-sensei?" He peered over Iruka's shoulder and noticed that he was accompanied by Kiba, Shikamaru, and Chouji.

This only confused Naruto more.

"What are you guys doing here?" He asked.

"Watching YOU make a fool of yourself!" Kiba laughed, standing up a brushing some dirt off his pants.

Shikamaru followed suit, looking none too pleased.

"Being dragged into situations that seem troublesome..." He muttered.

"We were just going to Ichiraku Ramen to celebrate a mission we were successful in." Chouji told him.

"Naruto, why don't you come along with us? My treat." Iruka suggested, smiling warmly.

The mysterious figure by the lake still lingered in his mind, but Naruto had never (and would never) pass up an opportunity to get free ramen.

"ALRIGHT!"

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-At Ichiraku Ramen shop-
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"Looking at you guys... I can honestly say that I'm impressed with how you've grown up. I mean... all of you were just a bunch of slackers when you were kids, and now look at you." Iruka laughed. "It's hard to believe..."

As the group continued to stroll down memory lane, Naruto was unusually quiet and unenthusiastic, and couldn't get the mysterious girl out of his head. Iruka was quick to notice this and grew concerned.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" He asked. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, you usually eat your ramen within seconds." Kiba joked. "Are you sick? See, didn't Sakura tell you that if you ate too much ramen, you'd eventually get sick? You're immune system is probably dead by now..."

Naruto shook his head.

"No, it's not that... it's just..." He paused and hesitated, "It's just... I saw the most incredible thing the other night, and it's all I've been thinking about lately."

There was an awkward silence.

"Well?" said Kiba. "What was it?"

"A beautiful girl... dancing on the lake."

This sparked the interest in all of the guys... even Shikamaru, who was listening carefully even though he hid his face within his crossed arms as he pretended to be asleep.

"Kiba," Naruto turned to face his canine-like friend, "Do you remember that mission we went on a few years ago? The one where we had to look for the legendary Bikouchuu?"

"The one you screwed up in the end?" Kiba asked.

Naruto paused for a second before nodding. "Yeah."

Kiba thought for a few seconds before shrugging. "I guess."

"Do you remember when I told you that I saw an ultra pretty girl?" Naruto asked.

Kiba pondered for a bit before nodding. "Yeah, I remember, but what does this have to do with anything?"

"I think she was real. I mean... the first time, I thought I just imagined her... but now... I saw her again... she HAS to be real... but... this time she had longer hair... and she was..." His face began to grow red. "She was... naked..."

Kiba and Chouji drooled at the images that plagued their not-so-virgin minds.

"What was her body like? Was she big?" Chouji asked.

"Did she have a nice ass?" asked Kiba.

When the other men shot him strange looks, Kiba shrugged.

"What can I say? I like girls with nice butts! And legs... speaking of which... do you know who I think has nice legs?"

"Who?" asked Naruto.

"Temari... from the Sand village..."

Shikamaru nearly choked on air.

"So, Naruto, what were you doing peeping on cute girls in the lake?" Kiba chuckled, grinning slyly at the blonde.

"What? But I wasn't - it's not like that! I wasn't peeping on her on purpose! It just happened!" Naruto stammered.

Meanwhile, Iruka was stunned to hear what the boys were talking about and couldn't help but blush a little. Finally, he decided that the conversation had gone too far, and prepared to put a stop to it.

"I can't believe you are talking about this." He glanced over at Naruto. "Honestly, Naruto, you seem to be getting more and more like Jiraiya each time I see you..."

Naruto jumped up and glared, pointing an accusing finger at his former teacher.

"I'm nothing like Ero-sennin! Nor will I ever be! I'm not a pervert!" He shouted.

Shikamaru smirked.

"I beg to differ."

"What did you say?" Naruto shouted, clenching his fist.

Naruto was about to sock the lazy ninja in the face, but stopped when he noticed the folder tucked under Iruka's arm.

"Iruka-sensei, what's that?"

Iruka looked down at the folder.

"Oh this? It's nothing. Just some reports on a series of attacks happening on the outskirts of Konoha. It's nothing you guys need to worry about."

"Attacks?" Naruto repeated.

"Yes. It seems that a group of C-Rank criminals raged a series of attacks on people who passed by. Especially merchants."

"How troublesome." Shikamaru muttered. "I guess one of the Chuunins has to do the job. I just hope it isn't me."

"You probably will." Naruto joked. "Anyways, I have to leave now. I'm going away for a few days to train."

"Yeah... I'd better leave too... I have to meet up wth my team." Kiba added, standing up and stretching his arms over his head.

Naruto picked up his belongings and began to make his way towards the gate.

"Naruto," Iruka called out. "Be careful and keep an eye out for the bandits."

Naruto turned to Iruka smiled his trademark fox-like grin.

"Don't worry. I'll teach those bandits a thing or two." He assured him.

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-Meanwhile, not too far from the forest-
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Kiba rode Akamaru through the forest for a few minutes. Suddenly, they came to a halt. Kiba remembered what Naruto said earlier and couldn't help but chuckle.

'What an IDIOT...' He thought.

"You're late, Kiba." A voice spoken in monotone said from behind. "You're just lucky Kurenai-sensei is running late as well."

It was Shino.

"What seems to be so funny?", asked Shino

Kiba smirked and decided to tell Shino everything Naruto had told him. Just then, Hinata emerged from the edge of the forest. She blinked a few times and wondered why her teammates were whispering to each other, and decided to find out.

Hiding behind a tree, she began to listen in on their hushed conversation.

"So Naruto looks and sees a very beautiful woman dancing on the lake. He says he can't stop thinking about her." Kiba laughed, "I tell you... that guy just pushes himself too hard in training. He's starting to imagine things."

Hinata's breath hitched, and her face began to burn a deep shade of red.

'Naruto-kun... can't stop thinking about... ME?' She thought.

The mere thought made Hinata rather giddy. She smiled and closed her eyes.

Shino, on the other hand, noticed Hinata's presence and raised an eyebrow.

He furrowed his brow.

'Lately, Hinata's been practicing her Taijutsu skills... and judging from what Kiba has told me...' His thoughts trailed off.

He knew about Hinata's obvious infatuation with Naruto, but didn't want to get involved.

'It's just so unfortunate that Hinata's too shy and Naruto's as dumb as a rock...'

Suddenly, Kurenai appeared, interrupting Shino's thoughts.

"The Hokage needs me for a special briefing, so we have to cancel our training session for today." She said.

Kiba sighed.

"What a relief... I have to take Akamaru in for a check-up anyways..." He said.

Akamaru barked.

"And I have to run some errands..." Shino added.

Kurenai nodded and dismissed the two, before glancing over at Hinata.

"Hinata, will you be alright?" She asked.

Hinata snapped out of her daydream and nodded.

"Yes, Kurenai-sensei. I'll be fine." She said. "I'll just train some more."

With that, she sped off into the forest.

Kurenai watched her retreating form and smiled weakly.

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-Somewhere near the forest-
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Naruto walked along the the path leading towards the training grounds where he, Kakashi, and Yamato had been training.

He came to an abrupt halt when he heard some noises, indicating that someone was training. Curious, he followed the sound and was surprised to find a girl training in a small, secluded area in the forest. It took him a while to recognize the girl, but once he did...

"Hey Hinata! Is that you?"

The girl stopped training and whirled around, her face burning a deep shade of red.

"N-N-Naruto-kun!" She squeaked.

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Author's Notes: I would like to thank LadyAzura and DarkHope (at least for trying) for helping proofread and edit some of the parts of the story.

Please keep leaving comments I want to keep improving so I can entertain you with my story and I hope you guys like it so far.

Keep the NaruHina faith alive.