Partners

Chapter 3: A dream

Thinking/Dreaming

A/N this Chapter and many other chapters to come are going to be mainly Naruto and Hinata based.

Hinata woke up the next morning still debating if last night was a date or not. After some thinking she put her clothes on, ate breakfast and headed to find Sakura. She'd know. Hinata thought, she is the one who knows him the best and can actually understand him.

"Hey Hinata-chan." Hinata squint her eyes to see Ino walking down a dirt road towards her.

"Ohio Ino-chan." Hinata replied.

"Hinata, Tsunade wants us in her office now she said it's important."

"Oh, okay Ino-chan."

As they were walking to Tsunade's office Ino decided to make some small talk, "Hey, Hinata is your teacher a complete pervert? Because that's what Sakura told me."

"Well, yeah, he always just leaves us to go spy on girls at the hot springs."

"Gross, I'd watch out if I were you, you could be the next one he spies on," Ino warned. That sent chills up Hinata's spine that sick old man spying on her eww she thought. I better change the subject.

"Ino-Chan, have you learned how to heal people now?" She asked

"Yeah, but I can only heal scrapes, bruises, and sprains. Maybe a broken bone, but that would probably take up most of my chakra." Ino replied

Ino and Hinata walked into the fifth hokage's office to once again find many of the current genin.

"Hey Hinata-chan, Ino-chan." Naruto greeted.

"O-ohio, Naruto-kun." Hinata stuttered.

"Alright everyone, we meet here again to discuss what I decided two weeks ago." Tsunade announced, "The groups of two were meant for you to prepare for the chuunin exams coming up." There were a few mutters and whispers among the genin, but Tsunade ignored it. "The exams are in two weeks." Everyone gasped.

"Two weeks!" Shouted Naruto, "How are we supposed to be prepared in two weeks?!"

"That's what your training partner is for." Tsunade answered

"If we're training with partners how are we going to do the chuunin exams? Don't you have to have a group of three?" Neji asked.

"No you can have a group of either two or three as of this year. That is because this year there will be no outside villages participating due to security reasons. So, I will be the judge, along with a few feudal Lords, of who is appointed Chuunin.

"Well instead of you all standing here why don't you go train?" Tsunade asked. In a flash everyone was gone.

"So, Hinata-chan, where should we begin?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know how about with Suiton: Hahonryū?" A/N means water release rapid crasher creates water in users hand and shoots it at the enemy.

Naruto and Hinata were observing a scroll that Jiraiya had given to them with a list of ninjutsus that they could do.

"Sounds like a good one to start with, wanna try it first Hinata-chan?"

"Hai."

"We did it Hinata-Chan." Naruto said between large breaths as he sat against a tree. They had just completed the water Jutsu and were extremely tired.

"H-hai, Naruto-kun we did."

Naruto and Hinata both just sat next to each other for awhile, staring at each other. Naruto looked into Hinata's blank eyes and studied her facial features. She really is kinda pretty. He thought.

Hinata was blushing, I wonder what Naruto's thinking about he's been staring at me like this for a while, but I could do this all day. After that thought Hinata blushed even more and decided she should get up and break this awkward silence.

"Where are you going Hinata-Chan?" Naruto asked sadly, he liked looking at her, he didn't want her to leave.

"U-um t-to get dinner Naruto-kun." Hinata stuttered thinking on the spot.

"Wanna come with me to Ichiraku's?" Naruto asked (I have no Idea how to spell Ichiraku)

"Sure, Naruto-kun"

At Ichiraku's

"Hey old man." Naruto greeted.

"Hey Naruto, Hinata-sama." He greeted

"Hello sir." Hinata muttered.

Hinata and Naruto took their seats and looked at the menu deciding what they should get.

"Well what'll it be today?" asked Ichiraku.

"I'll have miso ramen." Stated Naruto eagerly.

"And I'll have the same please." Hinata said politely.

Hinata sat awkwardly remembering the chuunin exams. Everyone in the Hokage-sama's office seemed so strong. Maybe, I'm not strong enough to fight them yet.

"Um, Naruto-kun, do you think we are strong enough for the chuunin exams? Because we have a lot of tough competition, I bet everyone is getting really strong."

There was a short silence while Naruto pondered the question then he made up his mind and answered; "Hinata-chan, remember the day before the final matches of the chuunin exams two years ago you said to me that you think you changed a little bit after the preliminary matches?"

"Hai."

"Well, I think that you learned how to be strong from that match and you never gave up or went back on your word, you protected our way of the ninja. That's what we're going to do this time we're going to pass these tests to protect our way of the ninja! That way we can't lose!" Naruto stated confidently

Hinata smiled, "Arigato Naruto-kun that made me feel a lot better."

The two partners finished their dinner in silence. They said their goodbyes and they headed toward their separate homes.

Naruto creaked open the door to his small, messy apartment. He sighed as he picked up a few instant ramen cups and old milk cartons. He did his nightly hygienic tasks and went to bed

That night Naruto found himself playing back memories as usual, but these memories were different than his ordinary valley of end flashback.

Naruto's dream

Naruto saw himself standing at team 7's training grounds listening to a certain girl tell him he is strong.

Naruto-kun, you make a lot of mistakes, but you learn from them and get better from them, and I think that is true strength.

Naruto saw himself with a gaping jaw obviously appalled by Hinata's words, but had a quick change in mood.

You're right Hinata-Chan; I can beat anyone, even Neji.

Naruto watched the seen unfold before his eyes (Or mind because he's dreaming), but one particular thing caught his attention.

You know, Hinata, I always thought of you as….. A dark, timid, and weird person, but you know what? I like people like you.

Naruto watched himself walk away and Hinata just blushed and looked like she was dreaming.

That scene faded away and up came a new scene in Naruto's dream. He recognized as the waterfall where he saw that mysterious beautiful girl.

Naruto saw himself once again gaping at an image of a beautiful girl around his height. She had a perfect slender but curvy body and seemed to be dancing at a pool under a waterfall. Her movements were fluent and the water was actually following the strokes of her hands. Naruto saw himself come out of his trance and step towards this mysterious girl, but slip on a mossy rock. "Sorry I didn't mean to scare you." He said, but she was already gone.

Again that scene faded away and a new one came. Naruto was talking to Kiba about what he saw last night.

"Ok, Last night I saw this ultra pretty girl by the waterfall and whenever her hand moved like woosh, then the water would go woosh right behind it." He stated excitedly with hand motions. At that Hinata blushed madly and almost fainted.

That scene again faded and a new one came on the same bikouchuu mission, but this time Hinata was fighting the bee lady.

Naruto saw himself, Shino, and Kiba watch Hinata as she made beautiful fluid motions with her hands making chakra lines that surrounded her body. After a while she beat the bee girl and dropped down exhausted. "Hinata that was amazing! You're amazing!" He heard himself say excitedly.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Naruto woke up confused as he hit the snooze button on his alarm clock he thought; what a strange dream, it was all about Hinata….weird. Naruto got out of bed took a shower, brushed his teeth and again put on his signature orange jumpsuit.

As he walked toward his team's regular training ground he thought about his dream intensely. Okay, the dream started out at the training logs then the bikouchuu mission and it was Hinata centric. He thought for another few minutes trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together, then, it hit him. I get it my mind was trying to tell me something, first it showed Hinata-Chan and I at the training ground where Hinata-Chan stood up for me and acknowledged me, and THAT indicated that maybe she used to have a crush on me. No, no she just thought I was strong. She wouldn't like me. Anyway then there was the waterfall….. Those motions, I've seen them before…..then Kiba and I talked about it, and Hinata blushed madly. Maybe she didn't have a fever, maybe it was her at the waterfall….. That's a possibility, I guess. Then it showed her fighting that bee lady with her new jutsu….HER NEW JUTSU! That's it! She WAS at the waterfall, she was practicing her jutsu… she was beautiful. And the way she blushed after it, gave it away that it was her. And at the training grounds that was showing me that she liked me….. wait, maybe she doesn't like me, but I like her…. Maybe, maybe I love her.

A/N: Sorry if the flashbacks were boring because you've already seen them, but Naruto had to figure out that he liked Hinata some way, and that was the only way I could think of.