How's everyone doing. I know it's been a while since last post. It wasn't my intention to take so long and I'll try to put chapters up at a decent pace again. Anywho I know alot of people want me to get to the romantic part of the story and I'll try to comply. Sorry, I never knew how long it would take me to develop all the other aspects. I hope everyone enjoys the chapter and don't forget to review.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

TEAM 8 BEGINS TRAINING

Hinata's eyes fluttered open as she felt Shino shaking her softly to wake her up. Hinata got up slowly blinking her eyes several times and letting out a soft yawn as she groggily asked. "Is it time to go yet?" She had lay awake for a long time before falling asleep, but she felt as if she had slept for a much longer time. She was a little surprised to see it was still dark. She reached up to wipe her eyes.

Shino lowered his gaze and spoke to her in a soft voice. "I don't think we're leaving yet. Jiraiya is gathering wood to cook our breakfast so I think it'll be a while. I wanted to inquire about something before we began the day. I apologize for waking you up so early." Shino said.

Hinata looked up at him and said. "It's no problem, Shino. What's do you want to talk about?" She was just realizing how early it was, the sun was just barely starting to come up.

Shino wasted no time in getting to the point. "You seemed troubled last night when you returned. We're a team and I would like to know if something was bothering you." Shino said.

Hinata thought about how to answer this without lying and said. "Jiraiya said we would start training today and that our mission may call for us to be more prepared. Gomen, I didn't mean to worry you. I was just a little nervous about what today would bring." Hinata said. She looked down at the ground not knowing what Shino would say.

Shino saw she wasn't being completely forward, but he wasn't going to press the issue. He had faith in Hinata and said so. "You shouldn't worry about that which is out of our control. I'm sure you can handle whatever is in our path and also remind you of something. We all have a bond and if ever you have something on your mind, it does not inconvenience me and I assume Kiba to listen to your concerns." He looked at Hinata for a moment and then rose and went back to prepare himself for the day. Hinata lay there with a few thoughts running through her mind. She would get up shortly and prepare for the day as well.

A while later Jiraiya had finished preparing the meal and had everybody gather to eat breakfast. Once everyone finished eating an uneventful meal Jiraiya looked around and began speaking. "Today will be different than yesterday. Our destination is much shorter than it was yesterday, but the reason for this is that I want us to commence training." He waited to see if there was any protests, but saw they were all interested in what he had to say so he continued. "Yesterday I asked each of you to think of an area you would like to improve upon so we will start there. Shino I didn't ask you, because to be honest you have your own training to do in getting used to using your chakra. I'd like to talk to each of you individually. This morning we will start and get an idea of what best to do and train lightly, this afternoon we will train some more. I'll give you some time to think over everything and get ready for our journey and then I'll start with Kiba." He was about to continue when Kiba interrupted him.

Kiba didn't expect to be the first one picked, he voiced this with a little displeasure. "Why me! I thought you would start with Shino, you talked to him first." Kiba said.

Jiraiya wasn't too upset with this, he had a good answer prepared. "I chose you first, because you travel a little bit different than us. Also once we finish I can leave it up to you how long you want to train before making your way to our first meeting point. If you wanna go last it really makes no difference." He paused a moment and looked at Kiba with a questioning look on his face. "Do you wanna go last?" he asked.

Kiba thought about it and thought a little extra training time wouldn't be so bad. He shook his head and replied. "Naw, I see your point. I'm ready whenever you are."

Jiraiya smiled at this. "Alright, get your stuff ready and then come find me. Hinata and Shino you two can take your time getting ready." with that they began putting up everything and beginning to prepare. Jiraiaya left right after he finished wiping down the dishes and went to a clearing to wait for Kiba and Akamaru.

Kiba was preparing his things as thoughts went through his mind. He had thought a lot about what Jiraiya had asked them. He tried to analyze himself from a different perspective and at first was unable to do it. However after a while he took into account Akamaru's fighting style and thought about that as well, he realized he was at a disadvantage when in animal form and this led him to the conclusion that he wanted to work on self defense. Once he had that epiphany he needed to break down what he needed to work on specifically. Unfortunately he didn't know where to go with that he had thought about it extensively, but all that thinking just confused him. He thought about how people said the best defense was a great offense and thought he needed to work on attacks, but then those attacks often left a weak spot open. As he finished preparing he decided to just go with the flow. Even though he didn't just want to have Jiraiya boss him around he had gotten tired of thinking so much. He figured it would be best to tell Jiraiya what he thought and then go from there. He finished his little bit of packing and turned to Akamaru. "C'mon Akamaru, it's time to find the old man and see what he's good for." Akamaru let out an enthusiastic bark and bounded behind Kiba.

Not long after that Kiba and Akamaru came to a small clearing after following Jiraiya's scent. Jiraiya was sitting serenely waiting for him. When Kiba and Akamaru came into the clearing Jiraiya motioned for them to come to him. They did so as he got up. They came upon him and he looked at them for a little while. The corners of his mouth twitching upward as he asked. "So what do you think. What do you wanna work on." He waited patiently for Kiba's answer.

Kiba put his hand on Akamaru's neck as he answered. "We want to work on our defense." He wasn't really good with words or knew what else to say so he left it at that and waited to see Jiraiya's reaction.

Jiraiya smiled widely at this. "I can help you with that. I analyzed your style and have a jutsu that could really benefit you. Of course I don't expect you to master it overnight or anything, but it should come in handy. I call it the needle guardian. Of course you'll have to modify it for Akamaru, but you should be able to figure it out." He saw Kiba was becoming lost and backtracked a little so as not to loose him. "Okay I guess the best thing would be to show you and then teach you." Jiraiya saw explaining was almost futile with Kiba just like it was with Naruto. He took a deep breath and began forming his seals. His hair suddenly hardened and began to elongate. He didn't cover himself completely though he only had it come down halfway down his back. He looked at Kiba and saw he didn't know what was going on. Kiba turned around and said. "So what do you think?"

Kiba didn't see what the point was of growing ones hair longer so he said so. "I don't see the point of making your hair longer. What's the big deal here?" Kiba asked not seeing the significance of this.

Jiraiaya didn't think Kiba could match Naruto's stupidity, but right now he was giving him a run for his money. "Baka! You don't see! Throw a knife at my hair." Almost immediately after he said that he heard the kunnai clang off his hair. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT! You didn't even wait for me to get set." Jiraiaya yelled. He couldn't believe how easily Kiba threw the kunnai at him. Here he was thinking they were becoming friends so much for that idea.

Kiba now saw that the hair wasn't just a fashion statement. He didn't know why Jiraiaya was so mad though, he just did as he was asked. "I just did what you asked of me. If I had waited how could I be sure your jutsu would work?" Kiba said. He had just thought of the last part, but he threw it in there because it sounded good.

Jiraiya was surprised at Kiba's cleverness. He had not expected it, now that he knew it was there he would be more cautious of Kiba. "Whatever I know you had it in the back of your mind that you hoped it wouldn't work." Jiraiya saw no point in arguing this point so he raised his hand to stop Kiba before he could start arguing. "Don't argue, let's just move on with your training." Jiraiya did just that as he began showing Kiba the seals to perform the needle guardian. They spent about fifteen minutes on it until finally Jiraiya saw Kiba made his hair stiffen. It wasn't a successful operation however Jiraiya saw he grasped the concept and concluded the lesson. "Now that you know the concepts it's on you to refine it and adapt it to your necessity. Of course depending on the amount of chakra you put into it, it should be more effective, but you don't want to wear yourself out either." Jiraiaya approached Kiba taking out his map and they arranged their next meeting point. Kiba paid close attention.

When they finished Kiba asked. "Will you be late. I mean how long do you expect to take with Shino and Hinata?" He was once again scratching the back of Akamaru's neck.

Jiraiya looked at Kiba and responded as honestly as he could. "I'm not sure, but you need to wait for us once you get there. I don't expect I'll be too long though. We'll see what happens though." Jiraiya then turned around and headed back to meet with Hinata and Shino. Kiba stood there with a smile on his face. The jutsu he just learned was pretty badass. He was looking forward to getting to the next spot early so he could start training.

Back at the camp Hinata and Shino patiently waited for Jiraiaya's return. Hinata was sitting on a log with her legs stretched out and doodling in the ground with them leisurely. Shino was leaning against a tree with his gourd slung over his shoulder to the side and his leg propped against the tree. He looked at Hinata and asked. "The training you'll do with Jiraiya, what do you think it will focus on." He asked this off-handedly, but he was actually rather interested. He knew Kiba would focus on his defense, that was his major weakness. However Shino had known Hinata for a long time and he knew she had a vast untapped potential. No major weakness like Kiba, but areas where she could improve and excel, that was something else. He paid close attention to Jiraiya as usual. Shino had learned that Jiraiya gave out a ton of information, but you would miss it all if you didn't listen closely. Jiraiya had said he talked to them earlier and even though he hadn't talked to Shino he knew what was expected of him from his talk and he wanted to see if Hinata had picked up on this.

Hinata hadn't really expected the question. She still didn't have that much confidence in herself and thought she needed to work on everything, except close range fighting. That was the one area she had began to build confidence in. She answered honestly though. "I don't know. I feel there's a lot of things I would like to work on and I hope Jiraiaya has something in mind already. I, I guess what I mean is I wouldn't mind focusing on anything." Hinata really had no idea what she wanted to do. She just knew she wanted to get better at something. Maybe work on her range. Now that she began to think about it she wondered what it was Shino would work on. She hesitated a moment before asking. "What about your training? What do you think you'll focus on, Shino-kun." Hinata asked.

Shino was always taken by surprise by Hinata's manners. He knew to expect it, but for some reason it always surprised him. He answered promptly enough though. "I'm certain he wants my focus to be on basics. I rely on my insects for the most part to perform my moves and getting the basics down should be very advantageous for me." Shino knew this to be true. They didn't have to wait long to confirm this. Only seconds after Shino responded Jiraiya came back.

Jiraiya came back to find to very attentive teenagers. This totally shocked him as the last few years attentive was the last thing he usually encountered and had to work really hard to get the attention of his companion. He thought he might have been imagining the situation so he pinched his hand, but it was real. He smiled inwardly and approached Shino and Hinata. "Sorry to keep you guys waiting. I guess we should get straight to it." He looked at Shino and spoke to him first. "I assume you know your training will consist of mastering the basics?" Hinata started a little bit. It appeared Shino had hit it right on the head and she saw he was not surprised at all as he nodded his head. Jiraiya then said. "You can take some time and begin training while I work with Hinata. We'll get you before we leave. I don't think it'll be too long." He then turned his attention to Hinata and began speaking to her. "If you could follow me Hinata. We got a lot of ground to cover." Hinata nodded her head and began walking towards him. Jiraiya spoke once again to Shino as Hinata approached him. "I'm not gonna kidnap Hinata you know. You don't have to have your insects follow us." He said in a loud voice. Shino had expected Jiraiaya to notice, but he thought it wouldn't hurt to try. He called his insects back to him. He turned around and began thinking about how he would proceed.

Jiraiya turned and began walking with Hinata following behind closely. Hinata looked from side to side and finally asked. "J-Jiraiya-sama w-what are we going to do... exactly?" She asked a little nervously.

Jiraiya shot a quick glance back at her and answered her question with one of his own. "What do you think we should do." He asked he kept walking as he waited for her answer.

Hinata had been thinking about this for a while already so she did not hesitate much to respond. "I would like to improve on everything, so I g-guess I am open for suggestions. I... I trust your judgement so whatever you want me to work on I don't think I would be against it." She said she was looking down at the ground in front of her feet as she finished talking.

A grin grew on Jiraiya's face. He would have worked on whatever aspect she chose, much the same way as with Kiba. Of course Kiba identified a good are to work on. He was sure Hinata would have been able to do the same, but her giving him the kind of liberty she just gave him opened up a lot of possibilities. Possibilities he was not about to let go by. "Okay, that's great to hear. Let me ask you something, do you know your elemental affinities?" Jiraiya asked.

Hinata thought about this a moment. She had learned that since she had a blood limit she had multiple affinities. She had never really been educated much on these things though. However she did know the answer to this question. "Hai, they're umm, wind and lightning... I think ." She said a little uncertainly.

Jiraiya nodded his head. "That is correct. While those two are what allow your blood limit to work it isn't out of the question you have a slight affinity to another element. That's something we're going to find out." He looked up at the sky and then thought "That's not the only purpose of our exercise however. Do you know what it is that makes the Uchiha clan so notorious?" Jiraiya asked as he kept walking.

Hinata thought about this briefly before responding from her point of view. "Their genjutsus." Hinata said.

Jiraiya immediately and loudly reacted to her answer. "WRONG! While that is indeed their most dangerous weapon it is not what they are most renowned for. They're best known for their ability to copy jutsus." Jiraiya stopped. "Are you willing to swallow your pride Hinata?" He asked in a serious tone.

Hinata didn't know why he asked in that manner, she didn't have much pride to begin with and thought maybe it wouldn't be to hard for her to do so. "H-hai." As soon as the affirmation was out of her mouth she began questioning it.

The grin returned to Jiraiya's face with a vengeance. "Then let's begin the training." without having really noticed her surroundings Hinata was stunned when she noticed they had returned to the hot-springs. When she looked back at Jiraiaya he was looking right back at her.

PREVIEW

What is Hinata going to learn and how will she handle her lessons. What's going on with Naruto and the others. Has Gaara finally woken up. Gotta read the next chapter to find out.

RSO'S

jeefus- thanx, I'm glad you enjoyed the ending. I thought it was pretty cool as well. You'll be surprised how much Naruto has grown and so will he. I'll try to put more fluff in. Or at least begin hinting at it. lol oh how I love holding everybody in suspense. Muahhahahahaha. Sorry, did I type that out loud.

causeiambetta- Hai it is alot of questions to be answered. Temari's words are pretty logical even without everything going on it's not smart to show everybody your most awesomest jutsus.

danny- Sorry, but better late than never, right? Yeah, I'm wanting to have her discuss it with Gaara in the very near future. Damn was that a giveaway. Okay, I guess I can live with it, moving on. There are some things that I'm gonna not let her know about just yet, but you just gotta wait and see how it unfolds. The way you read that dream was.. wow. I didn't put that much thought into it, but I guess that's part of the beauty of writing. Let me see. Wind, ka-ching that was pretty dead on. The cliff that separated them will be explained when Naruto does his deal with the Kyubii. It does fit well with the two and a half days, but that wasn't my intention. The fox's actions or lack thereof will also be explained. The person on the other side I'll leave a complete mystery for now. Theoretically the bottom of the cliff was the ground, so I guess slamming into it and having it take away your life would make it the enemy, but I didn't really think that much about it. However your interpretation was pretty cool. Soon. Sorry I know I've made everybody wait, but it'll be worth it.

dragonman180- don't jinx it. Keep the faith, Naruto'll figure things out... I hope.

crazygirlofmanynames-something like that.

chickenconcarne- damn, you need to slow down so I can have time to update. 2 days? Wow! Oh ey, no way if I start to read what I right and fix it I'd never get a chapter done. Man, then people would really be mad. I try to improve, but I'm doing this for the love of writing so I don't feel I have to be perfect. Thanx for the compliment though, I hope you don't hate me for not being perfect. I try.

shadowneji- Oh yeah!