Hello readers and welcome back to another chapter of my story. Now I know this one is really going much longer and slower than my first but I do feel that it is turning out relatively decently. I mean sure there are people who still hate it and such but it is the best I can do right now…I think anyways. Besides I am getting a lot more practice with writing more romance stuff now. Though for those that want lemons (even as bad as my few attempts were) know that they won't be here for a while. For while I don't really mind writing them they are more just fluff. I mean unless it is straight porn no one should want to read a story and see sex in every chapter. It should be about the story and having stuff like that could easily destroy a good story. Anyways I will shut up and start writing.

Chapter 27

After Hinata got over her embarrassment and came back to Naruto they managed to enjoy the rest of the day even with Naruto looking at her with a blush on his face every now and then remembering the scene. Course much to the disappointment of Hinata she couldn't try and build up the confidence to repeat what happen after their training seeing as Hanabi for some reason decided to come with them and Naruto didn't see a problem with it. So, of course while she still enjoyed her time with Naruto she was still a bit annoyed with her sister even as she watched him walk back home in the end.

(I know this is a bad transition from last chapter but I am sure you all don't want me to ramble on with another chapter of just Naru/HIna)

+Next Morning, Naruto+

After enjoying yesterday as much as he could and spending a good bit of time with Hinata Naruto was still in a real good mood. So, instead of forcing himself to eat a normal breakfast he decided to treat himself with the food of the gods made by the best chef he knew; and with that in mind he quickly got ready for the day and ran to his favorite ramen shop.

"Hey Oji-san six miso ramens." Naruto called out happily to Teuchi who was just setting up his shop for the day.

"Oh Naruto you are here early aren't you?" Teuchi asked the blond with a smile while now beginning to prep his food. For seeing as he has known the blond Teuchi pretty much knew a basic of his best customers 'ramen schedule.'

"Yea, but I just couldn't wait. After such a great day yesterday today needs to start just as good." Naruto told him with a large smile on his face. A smile that only increased when he saw Ayame coming over to them. "Good morning Ayame-chan." Naruto added just as happy.

"Hello Naruto-kun how is my favorite chunin doing?" Ayame asked with a small smile and a small giggle after seeing Naruto puff up his chest a bit clearly proud to now be a chunin.

"Very good and how is my Ramen angel doing?" Naruto asked her trying to make a loving nickname for each one of his girls though failed to notice the sweat drop form on Ayame's head.

"I know that he loves giving people nicknames but could he do better on mine…I mean he calls Hinata hime now and all I get is to be named for his food. Though I suppose it just let's me know that even though my favorite blonde while changed is still very much his old self." Ayame thought but still was a bit annoyed with him. "Um, Naruto-kun how about calling me something else?" She asked hoping that he would listen.

"Huh? Why wouldn't you want to be known as one of the helpers of the godly food?" Naruto asked causing Ayame to just shake her head at how far his ramen addiction is ingrained into his head.

"Yes, Naruto while ramen is good BUT I would rather be called something else. After all I can give you a lot more than ramen." Ayame told the blond suggestively while giving him a quick kiss over the counter. Course this managed to make Naruto blush even though he didn't fully understand what she meant. For her words made him remember his make out time with Hinata and how great it felt for him. Course due to this he now placed Ayame in the same place…while sharing some ramen making the boy drool a bit while keeping his blush.

This made Ayame laugh a bit at how he looked but made Teuchi glare a bit seeing as while he knew about their relationship, he still wanted to protect his daughter from men.

"Now Naruto you wouldn't be dating my daughter only for her…..'services' now would you?" he asked glaring at the blond thinking the drool was for something much more perverted than what it actually was, which also was making him push out some KI subconsciously as well.

"N-no Oji-san I wouldn't ever think of treating my tenshi-chan like that." Naruto told him now terrified of the large amount of KI in the air coming from the old man holding his ladle like some sort of weapon. "Who knew Oji-san could be so terrifying." Naruto couldn't help but think even though in reality he could easily beat the chef in an actual fight. In fact, he was so focused on this that he didn't even notice the blush on Ayame's face

"Now THAT is a nickname I can get used to being called." Ayame thinks happily while pretty much ignoring the fact that her father looked about ready to kill her boyfriend thanks to her perverse comment. Thankfully though Naruto's words calmed the cook down seeing as Teuchi knew that Naruto would never lie about something relate to those close to him. Still the stand was a strange sight to anyone who would come in seeing as they would see a blushing girl, a terrified boy sitting down looking carefully at an older man that was now happily cooking the order.

Thankfully for Naruto though he was broke from his fear after his first bowl of 'godly' breakfast was place in front of him. "Itadakimasu" Naruto quickly mumbled out before grabbing a pair of chop sticks to break apart and start eating. He then went through several bowls while simply chatting with Ayame. A peaceful time that was possible thanks to Naruto being the only person who they knew to ever eat ramen so early in the day.

"…and that is why I need to keep training. I need to get a better control of my chakra and get stronger." Naruto finished telling Ayame.

"Wow Naruto-kun I never knew that you ninja train so much. I only do a bit of martial arts for exercise." Ayame told the now surprised blond.

"What? You actually know how to fight?" Naruto asked shocked.

"Hey! Just because I am not a ninja doesn't mean I don't want to protect myself." Ayame told him offended.

"No! I mean wow I never would have expected the kind and pretty girl that helped me through my childhood actually knew how to kick some ass. You have to show me what you got." Naruto told her happily making said girl blush before hearing the last part.

"What?"

"You gotta show me how much you know. Now come on let's head to a training ground." Naruto told her.

"Umm but I don't think I would stand any chance against a ninja and I have to wor-"

"Go with Naruto and have some fun." Teuchi told his daughter interrupting her.

"See Oji-san is letting ya take a break so let's go." Naruto told her.

"….oh fine if you both insist. Just give me a few minutes to change and we will go." She told him with a sigh hoping that Naruto didn't expect her to be able to fight like other ninjas. After all when she saw them fighting in the arena she knew that even against genin she wouldn't stand a chance. Still she left to get changed from her work clothes into something more proper for exercising.

"Oh and Naruto make sure you take proper care of my girl, and no funny business." Teuchi told Naruto after she left scaring Naruto again as he went into what Naruto would later call his 'angry dad' mode.

"Of course Oji-san I promise to take care of Ayame-chan and protect her from harm." Naruto told him now able to ignore a bit of his fear through determination. Thankfully though Ayame came back rather fast now wearing a red t-shirt and black pants that hugged her curves quite well.

"Okay Naruto let's go get this over with." Ayame told her boyfriend still nervous about actually fighting with Naruto.

"Sure Tenchi-chan let's head out…though I do have to say you look nice in your workout clothes." Naruto told the girl as she walked out from the back of the stand causing her to blush.

"Thanks Naruto-kun but this is just something simple I wear when dad gives me a break or a day off." She tells him not thinking she was wearing anything special.

"Well it still looks good on you. Plus, it is the first time I have seen you in something that isn't your work clothes." Naruto told her honestly causing her to smile at the blond.

"Thanks Naruto-kun" she told him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "This is one of the reasons I love my childish blonde. He clearly doesn't even mean to be flirting but still manages to make a girl feel happy and special." Ayame thought to herself happily as she followed Naruto to a training ground. Though her mind wasn't just on this one time but all the times throughout the years she knew him that he would make her smile through his compliments. For, while she got them from a lot of other people most of the time when she heard it from guys it was just them trying to flirt with her. A problem that made her go through several failed dates with other men who she thought wanted something special but really just wanted her body. A problem that eventually lead her to getting a crush on Naruto seeing as he would complement her just like the rest of the boys but never once tried to push for anything but a friendship with her.

"Well what do you think?" Naruto asked her bringing her out of her thoughts and making her realize they were at a forest clearing. A clearing that had a small stream going through the middle of the clearing

"This is nice. Are all of Konoha's training grounds this nice?" She asked enjoying the gentle wind that gave some coolness to offset the warm day.

"Well no a lot of the training grounds are a lot more basic and some are pretty destroyed. Though this is one of the few that are designated for light training only. After all it is so close to the village that it needs to be kept nice so that people can see the beauty that is the village." Naruto told her honestly remembering the times he practiced a few of his more destructive moves in stone filled area that already had clear burns and damage to the stones around him. "Anyways let's see what you got." Naruto told her before getting into a light fighting stance out in the clearing.

*sigh* "Yeah let's see how this goes." Ayame mumbled out still nervous about fighting an actual ninja seeing as she knew that she could easily get hurt. Though much to her surprise when she was ready Naruto ran at her at a speed that she knew was nowhere near his best. Course this surprised her enough that she forgot to try and block his punch and ended up getting hit in the stomach which much to her surprise only stung a little bit.

"What is going on? I figured Naruto would be a lot stronger than this…wait he actually knows how to control himself this much? Wow, I actually feel bad seeing as I always thought he didn't know how to control himself seeing as all the ninja who ate at the store said he was a loose cannon and other things…now I feel bad for assuming stuff." Ayame thought with a frown realizing that she thought so little about her boyfriend but promised herself to never do it again. Sadly, this lapse of focus ending up making her receive a kick to the chest that actually knocked her off her feet and onto the ground.

"Are you ok Ayame-chan? I promise I didn't mean to hit you that hard." Naruto told her now worried about her health until she shook her head and got up.

"No Naruto-kun I just got too lost in thought and didn't pay attention. You actually are doing good; still thanks for worrying about me." She told him with a small smile before getting back in her stance. " Now let's continue so I can show you what I really got." She added now determined to show she actually was decent at martial arts.

+Hour later+

Ayame was now panting due to fighting for the better part of an hour while Naruto barely looked to have broken a sweat. She was right now a bit sore seeing as while Naruto wasn't actually trying to hurt her he still managed to leave a few bruises on her. Still she felt pretty good seeing as while fighting Naruto she actually was able to block some of his attacks and even get a few hits on him as well. Course she couldn't help but realize just how much stronger a ninja was compared to the average civilian. This didn't stop her from prepping her defense for another attack that to her surprise never came.

"Ok, Tenshi-chan how about we call it here. After all I don't want you to get too tired this early in the day." He told her with a smile. "Besides just from this I can tell that you really are a great fighter. You must have put a lot of effort into learning seeing as I bet you could easily beat a few thugs if you ever needed to." Naruto told her honestly.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far but thanks for the compliment Naruto-kun." Ayame told him with a smile and sat down trying to catch her breath now that she knew that they were done fighting. Naruto then took out a towel from a seal to hand to Ayame who thanked him and wiped the sweat off of herself while they both simply enjoyed the nice day for a few minutes.

"So, how about we go get some drinks?" Naruto asked after Ayame stopped panting.

"Sure anywhere in particular?"

"Nope, I just figure you probably want something to drink after working so hard."

"Oh, thanks for looking out for me Naru-chan." Ayame told him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips then smiled. "And I think I know the perfect spot." She added now dragging him back to the village with the smile never leaving her face seeing as she now knew that Naruto truly cared for her unlike the other people she dated.

~Leaf Café~ (note random name due to not wanting to say "random restaurant")

Ayame eventually lead Naruto to a small restaurant about a block away from the Ichiraku stand. It was a plain looking building but it had large windows that let in a lot of natural light and had several tables spread a part enough to give people plenty of space for private conversations. The place itself had light green walls and surprisingly enough even a few small water fall decorations placed into each corner of the building to give the peaceful sound of running water. Finally to add to the peaceful natural feel of the restaurant there were plants ranging from flowers in pots to bonsai trees on each table.

"Wow this place is nice" Naruto told her shocked that he never knew such a pace as in Konoha.

"Yeah, one of my friend's family set this up about two years ago to give both ninja and civilians a place to truly relax. An idea that has made them quite successful in fact." Ayame told him happily seeing as this was also one of her favorite spots to go seeing as her friends would regularly gather here and simply chat.

"Ayame-chan!" They suddenly heard someone call out from across the relatively busy restaurant and then saw a girl run up to them and eventually give Ayame a hug. "Oh, what a surprise I mean we haven't seen each other in weeks." The girl told Ayame seeing as her and her friends were all super busy dealing with things after the attack on the village. For they like many civilians had to work on fixing problems the battles caused such as crushed stones, slash marks, and in some cases even complete destruction. Though luckily for all of them they manage to not get too much damage but still had to work through paper work and many other things. Which made it so that they really couldn't take too much time off from their family's businesses. Course Naruto didn't know this and simply was surprised by the sudden reaction of the girl that he now could take a look at.

She was about 5' 3"with a lean figure that was covered in a simple light purple kimono that seemed to be a uniform seeing as the other workers had simple kimonos on as well. She also had what looked to be B sized breast and a decent hour glass figure that made her look to be around sixteen or seventeen. Also, she had a cute face with warm brown eyes and light make up on that accented her facial structure nicely. Her hair was pitch black and went halfway down her back tied into a simple pony tail that held back her hair from falling into her face. Overall, she looked rather pretty and seemed to be quite friendly if her reaction to seeing Ayame was her normal personality.

"Yes it is good to see you Satomi-chan. How are you doing?" Ayame asked her friend happily after the hug ended.

"Pretty good I mean really all we had to deal with was our windows breaking but sadly we had a several bodies in here as well. It was so disgusting and it gave me nightmares remembering them for weeks...luckily though a few of the ninja took them away rather quickly after we were given the all clear but still I can't believe there was fighting going on in our restaurant…which reminds me that I still need to try and push Ma to go for some new flooring." Satomi told her friend before noticing Naruto was standing there as well. "Oh and who is this blondie?" she asked now looking over Naruto.

"This is Naruto." Ayame told her friend which caused the girls eyes to widen.

"Oh, this is THAT Naruto…well I do have to say even though he is a pervert for having a harem I can see why you fell for those looks." She said with a small shrug.

"Hey I am not a pervert!" Naruto told her angrily seeing as that was one of the things he was proud of seeing as he managed to keep his 'innocence' even while having two…technically three perverted teachers. Basically making him think the fact that he isn't a creepy pervert himself to be a good accomplishment in itself.

"Hmm, and how are you not a pervert mister harem?" Satomi asked him.

"I didn't ask for the harem it was the council; and they all agreed to be with me even with it. I would never force a girl to be in it if she didn't want to be." Naruto told her firmly.

"…I take it back he really is a great catch if he is being honest…though I still think you are a bit crazy for accepting to be in a harem." She told her friend simply.

"ANYWAYS can we get a seat please Satomi?" Ayame asked forcing the conversation away from her relationship.

"Oh, sure right away." Satomi quickly told her friend before taking them to a table by the window and quickly taking their orders for some green tea and some simple snacks for a light lunch. This led them to having a nice lunch date with them talking about random things and even having some interesting conversations with Satomi when she came over to them every now and then. Overall making their whole unofficial date quite pleasant with Naruto learning quite a bit about his one older girlfriend. They then paid for their meal and Naruto brought Ayame back to Ichiraku holding hands the whole way.

"Thanks for the date Naruto-kun even though I never would have thought I would have such a strange date it was still surprisingly enjoyable." Ayme told him honestly.

"Hehe ya thanks for making today start off amazingly. Also, it is good to know that you can really kick some ass." Naruto told her unintentionally ruining the romantic moment they were having.

"Well Naru-kun you diffidently have quite a few rough edges that need to be worked on…but somehow you still make me feel so loved and special." Ayame thought with a smile surprisingly not annoyed with him still not fully understanding how to be romantic. She then gave him a loving kiss on the lips that he quickly returned.

"Thanks Naru-kun. Now I need to get back to work so see ya later." She told him happily and began to walk into the restaurant but suddenly turned her head back up to him. "Oh and keep up this loving treatment and I will be sure to give you your reward before you know it." She told him then winked at the now confused blond before fully entering Ichiraku.

"Man I really need to figure out how to understand girls." Naruto thought after giving up on trying to decipher what to him was a confusing message. Course he didn't get much time to try and figure it out for soon after Jiraiya found him.

"Hey gaki I need to talk to ya. How about I treat you to some ramen?" Jiraiya asks knowing that ramen would be the best way to keep Naruto listening to him.

"Ok." Naruto told him happily for while he already ate a light lunch, he would always have room for ramen. So, they both entered the restaurant much to the surprise of Ayame.

"Hey lovely how about two beef ramens?" Jiraiya order while trying to flirt only to see Ayame give him a disgusted look while a large amount of ki filled the room.

"Oy Ero-sennin leave my girlfriend alone. She wants nothing to do with a pervert like you." Naruto ordered the old man trying to focus his ki onto him as much as possible.

"Ok kid calm down I was only joking…just get use two beef ramen please." Jiraiya tells Ayame who quickly walks away from them while Naruto stops leaking out his ki. "So, I was right the gaki really does care a lot for these girls. I mean he treats me as a close friend and he immediately was ready to attack me for messing with one of them…I really would hate to see what he does if someone actually tries to do something to them; especially after I am done training him." Jiraiya thinks mentally noting that he needs to work on Naruto's emotional control some more so he doesn't kill someone affiliated with Konoha just because they tried to flirt with one of his girls in front of him…well he already did but that was a drunk fool that didn't know when to stop. Dumbasses like that don't count.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Naruto asked now calmer.

"Well gaki I was talking to Tsunade about something and she agreed with my decision….so tell me what do you remember about how strong Orochimaru is?" Jiraiya asks deciding to give his explanation before he gave Naruto the information that would make him annoyed.

"He is way to strong…right now if I fought him. I would probably lose even with my new skills and…'special problem'." Naruto admitted slightly depressed by this fact while slowly eating the ramen that Ayame placed in front of him.

"Yes, right now you don't have a chance against S ranked threats…but I could help you get to a point where you could win against them." Jiraiya tells him seriously and watches as Naruto looks at him with his eyes wide.

"Really you would help me get to be stronger than that?" Naruto asked surprised.

"Yes, in fact Tsunade and me agree to have you trained to be at least low S rank due to…the Akatsuki hunting you down." Jiraiya told Naruto making him clearly more confused.

"Who are they and why would they be hunting me down?" Naruto asked now so surprised that he even manages to ignore the ramen in front of him.

"Well the Akatsuki is a group of several S ranked missing ninja from various villages that have grouped together to go after people like you." Jiraiya told him sadly after making sure no one was in hearing range of them.

"W-what they are after the Kyuubi?" Naruto asked only to get a nod in return. "What can I do? I mean while I am strong even I am not dumb enough to think I am good enough to take out a S rank ninja group." Naruto asked feeling a bit afraid.

"Well gaki you are going to come train with me for three years so that we can get you strong enough to have a chance against them. For while you are with me they will be less likely to attack due to my reputation but me or Tsunade can't keep you by us for the rest of your life." Jiraiya explained.

"Ok then I will train and make sure I can beat them down!" Naruto told him with determination in his eyes. For he now had precious people to live for and would not let them down.

"The only thing is I have to also keep my spy network working gaki so for all three of these years we will be out of the village." Jiraiya finally told the blond sadly.

"So I wouldn't be able to see Hinata, Haku, Ino, Ayame, or any of my other friends for years?" Naruto asks realizing what Jiraiya meant "…..ok let's do it" Naruto eventually told Jiraiya after seemingly looking down at nothing for a minute.

"W-what?" Jiraiya stumbles out surprised Naruto agreed to this part so easily.

"I am not stupid Jiraiya, we are ninja and fight dirty. If I stayed here and didn't take care of this they would probably hurt my precious people to get me….I want, no…NEED to make sure I am strong enough to protect them as well from these bastards. But I have one condition." Naruto told Jiraiya seriously "..the girls don't learn about my trouble. I don't want them to worry about me." He added to a surprised Jiraiya.

"Ok gaki I will make sure they don't and we leave the day after tomorrow." Jiraiya tells him then quickly finishes his ramen and leaves after handing Naruto some money. "Man this gaki really is more like Minato than I thought. After all while he acts as childish as Kushina he really does have his father's way of thinking as well. Just now when he acted like a spitting image of Minato being serious…if his skill is just as close to those two as well he really will become a real powerhouse eventually." Jiraiya thought now determined to make sure his student's son was given every opportunity to reach his true potential.

_Naruto_

"Oh Jiraiya-sama left already. Well what did he want?" Ayame asked curious

"…He offered to train me…but I will have to leave the village for three years." Naruto told her now thankful Jiraiya made sure she couldn't hear them before dropping his bombshell of news.

"Oh…well that is a wonderful opportunity…but three years without you?" Ayame mumbled out with a frown clearly unhappy. Though Naruto quickly grabbed her hand and gently rubbed the top of it making her look back to him.

"I know but I promise that I will make it up to you and the others as soon as I come back…I just need to do this….to make sure I can protect you from everything and anything." Naruto told her seriously.

"Ok..but Naruto please don't forget about us." Ayame told him after noticing how serious he is. "He is hiding something I know it…but if he is this serious, I won't torture him anymore than he already must be feeling." She though.

"I would NEVER forget you." Naruto told her firmly while gently squeezing her hand and then gave her a loving kiss. "Now I need to get ready I leave in two days…I will make sure we all make them count." He told her with a smile though she could see the sadness in his eyes. Still she accepted the money for the bowls of ramen and watched as he left.

"Naruto-kun…"

Hey readers so I just want to tell you while even I kind of hate how I rush these romance chapters I am still doing it for a reason. For right now I feel that I need to put some advancement in the story line so next chapter he WILL be leaving for his training trip, and while there will be more romance focused chapters for now they will kind of suck seeing as I want to let some romance be seen but yet get to a point where the story isn't all fluff.

Also while I know the explanation for leaving is OC (I think) it just seems to work. Though yes I know that it was in a non-private place…but come on Jiraiya is a spy master so he should know how to give/receive information in places like these. Plus people have been using seals to make 'dead zones' in many other stories. Anyways I am just saying that it seems to fit here

Finally for the girls seeing as Naruto does nickname a lot of people I have decided to give them some nicknames as well that he will lovingly call them…if that is even possible

Hinata= Hime (princess)

Hanabi= ? (not been made yet)

Ino= ? (not been made yet)

Ayame= Tenchi (angel)

Haku= Yukihime (snow princess)

?=? (not sure how many girls I am gonna add but at least 1 maybe 2 but not much more)

Now know that I AM NOT GOOD WITH JAPENESE so if I made a mistake with Japanese names for the girls let me know and I will fix them…also if you can think of a better 1 PM me and I will change it (and give credit for the change in 1 of my AN's of course) Also know that I will still use shortened parts of their names as well (ex: Ay-chan) this will just be his go to nickname for them. Meanwhile for all of them unless I decide or get PMed a good idea for a certain girls nickname for Naruto he will be Naruto-kun, Naru-kun, or maybe even Naru-chan depending on the girl and conversation…anyways feel free to PM me any ideas that may be used…if not I am fine figuring it out myself. But for now Ja Ne.