AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys how goes it? Happy Halloween btw, although I regret it took so long to update this, but I'm pleased I finally finished it. From now on I'm going to write a little bit every day so that this doesn't happen again, but I'm glad to say I'm doing really well in my classes so it hasn't all been for naught. Well I don't have much to say this A/N other then I turned 22 last Sunday, and that I wrote a Naruto/Hinata one-shot if any of you are interested in my profile

Last but not least, the winner of the pairing votes is….

KURENAI

It was close between her and Sakura, but in the end she pulled through (thank god) haha j/k. I hope you guys are good with that, I really think I can make work and I'm happy many of you see it that way as well. This chapter has A LOT of fuzzy moments, but I needed to offset the angst and also it needed to be done. Next update should be better.

Chapter 10

After narrowly escaping the enraged Hokage, Naruto and his young companion set out on the familiar path that would lead to them to their salvation; Ichimaru Ramen. He walked briskly along the road weaving in between the bustling villagers as his stomach rumbled, wondering if perhaps using a Kage Bunshin to lead the Hokage all over the village even after he escaped would perhaps make things worse the next time he would see her. His eyes drifted towards the curled up girl that he held in his arms, her breaths flowing quietly as she huddled close into his chest. She was wearing the blue kimono when he saw her in the hospital but didn't have time to get her shoes because of their "escape" so he grabbed them quickly and gave them back to her later. She had fallen asleep a few minutes after jumping through the window which in its self was pretty astounding considering how fast he was moving between the different roofs and buildings. The hunter nin summarized that it was probably the hospital food, because he knew eating it himself would probably result in death (at least that's what he thought). He was brought out of his thoughts when his baggage began to move in his arms, her eye lids lazily began opening, her eyes squinting in the bright afternoon sun. He watched in hidden amusement under his hunter-nin mask as she looked up at what was holding her and noticing she was still in his arms. Her face suddenly flashed towards the ground, her soft features becoming very interested in the dirt as a red haze on her face began to grow. At that point he couldn't help it; he laughed.

"I was wondering when you were going to wake up, you snore louder then Baa-chan" her face took on a mixture of embarrassment and horror and she pushed her face into his chest hiding it from view. He let out another chuckle as he continued on their path, watching as people moved aside to allow him by while giving him nods of respect, seeing his mask. He wasn't ignorant to the fact people knew of him from his past "assignments", but how much they really knew or if they in fact knew he was the "Kyuubi brat" he wasn't sure. The thing that confused the blonde the most had to be the way the children had acted towards him at the academy.

'What do they really know about me…and why?' he mused to himself, unable to ascertain the truth. His thoughts then drifted back to the raven haired child in his arms, her quiet breaths flowing into a peaceful rhythm having fallen back to sleep. Her past concerned the blonde more then he showed, unable to ignore the fact the child was some how emotionally damaged. The girl's eyes were dimly lit when he did manage to maintain eye contact with her, which she seemed to be doing more and more while they interacted, but there was still a fear in her he could not place. His arm hooked underneath her shoulder inched around to her face as his hand brushed against her cheek, the pale skin clashing against his rough tanned fingers. As he began retrieving his hand he felt her face ease further into it, almost is if snuggling into a soft pillow, confusing the blonde.

'What are these feelings…'

He looked down at her calm sleeping eyelids, her dark hair cascading behind her shoulder as it swayed with every step. The hunter-nin had not had any kind of physical contact with anyone since the master until recently finding this girl, and even now he was beginning to wonder why such a thing kept triggering his own desire for that contact. His defensive measures quickly counter acted such a thought.

'I must not allow my own selfishness to get in the way' he thought.

The blonde's hand retreated back underneath the sleeping child, cradling her as they drew closer the ramen stand. His nose was battling with his stomach the more he took in the faint scent of his favorite food, the stall finally within view. The trek was nearing its end before he heard labored voices battling it out around the corner. Keeping quiet he inched his way to the side of the ramen stand and listened quietly while Hime-chan remained dead to the world.

"If you had a brain perhaps you wouldn't need me to knock some since into you baka!" a young feminine voice shrieked.

The hunter-nin peeked slowly around the corner observing 3 nin who looked to be in their young teens standing in front of the ramen stall. On the far left stood the girl of the group wearing a black chunnin vest with black capris that had cargo-like pockets on them with the standard black ninja sandals. Her shoulder length dirty blonde hair had the bangs held up by her forehead protector keeping them out her dark brown eyes. The next stood in the middle facing the girl who had yelled at him the blonde assumed. He stood a few inches taller then his aggressor looking to be around the same height Naruto had been around the time of his return from his training trip with Jiraiya. His wore a green chunnin vest matched with black military issue pants that were pretty much identical to the hunter-nin's along with the standard set ninja sandals. He had short black hair that shot out in random directions like his own with green eyes that seemed to almost glow he noted. Unlike her he wore his forehead protector on his neck. The last person stood quietly a few feet away from his comrades, his attention focused on the trees beyond their argument. He didn't wear a chunnin vest but instead wore a completely black body suit similar to Lee's, however it wasn't ultra tight like the green beast's. His hair was tied into a tight pony tail which was white as snow with onyx eyes that seemed focused way out into the distance. Had not known better he would think the boy was daydreaming but realized he was probably just tuning out the rabble around him. The one feature they all shared in common was their forehead protectors; they where sand shinobi.

"I see you have taken an interest into my students…hunter-nin" a bored voice spoke behind the blonde. Naruto recognized the voice immediately but remained silent, feeling the cold iron of a kunai against his neck. He peered back towards the sand shinobi and noticed they were gone.

"tssh, I'm on my way my favorite cloud gazing spot and I find a hunter-nin I don't recognize ogling my subordinates" he said with a sigh, mocking the fact hunter-nins were meant to be unknown.

"How…troublesome"

Naruto would have laughed if he had in him, but decided to wait until his friend realized who he was; 'Shikamaru isn't that stupid after all' he summarized. Things couldn't turn out more differently it would seem. He saw three speed trails pass by him and heard the sound of blades drawn behind him, but didn't turn to see.

"I'm sorry sensei… but step away Naru-kun" a girl said behind him.

Naruto had to smile.

He felt the coldness ease from his neck as he turned around, facing his would-be attacker. The girl smiled evilly with her blade at Shikamaru's neck from the front while the other two stood on either side of him with their kunai drawn at the same area with stern looks on their faces. Shikamaru's face some how remained bored during all of this.

"It seems I have underestimated you, Naruto" he said.

"Perhaps, but you're students have no excuse regarding you" the blonde returned.

Their eyes turned to him in confusion, noticing he had removed his mask smiling lightly at their confused expressions. A second later both he and Shikamaru disappeared into clouds of smoke. They heard a loud sigh and their heads ripped towards it seeing Shikamaru mumbling something "troublesome" with Naruto chuckling at their expense with Hime-chan standing next to them looking rather confused.

After a few awkward moments and introducing Hime-chan, they went together inside the ramen shop and sat down. He met the squad of chunnin when they were still gennin with his master when they went on a supply run. The girl was named Yuka and the boy she argued with was Jin, with the quiet one being Batou. Shikamaru and Naruto sat on the far end with Hime-chan two stools down from him sitting next to the squad of chunnin. The blonde and lazy jounin sat quietly waiting for their ramen while the same two chunnin kept arguing.

"So the great Naruto returns to the village." Shikamaru said. "Back to cause more trouble have you?" the blonde put his hands up in mock innocence.

"Trouble? I'll have you know I never did anything that wasn't within the realm of decency….most of the time" he whispered the last part, hoping he didn't hear.

"Ahh I see, well either way it's great to see you back. Ino came running to me a few days ago saying you had returned at the hospital, and I see now who the girl was that she mentioned." He said as his gaze drifted towards the tiny girl, her face remaining glued to the counter while the two chunnin argued loudly beside her.

"Has she said a word to you since you found her?" the lazy jounin said, remembering Ino mentioning the girl seemed mute. The blonde's eyes fell on her for a moment.

"No, not one word," he said. "Her eyes tell a sorrowful story, yet her lips will not yield a word." He frowned. "When she is ready she will speak again" she looked up at saw him peering down at her. He smiled in return, but her face remained blank.

Suddenly he heard Yuka release a ear splitting shriek.

"Those two haven't learned to shut up yet have they." Naruto said. Shikamaru arched his neck to see them and then returned his gaze back to the table top.

"No they haven't, but then again they sort of sound like someone know who used to be loud and obnoxious all the time" Shikamaru said.

"Oh really?" he said "I don't seem to recall any people of that sort hanging around you. Have you been making new friends Shika-kun?" he said in a babying tone causing Shikamaru to sigh yet again.

"An old friend, someone who used to smile like a big idiot all the time" he said bluntly. For a few moments nothing was said, both sitting quietly waiting for their meal.

"Ehh, things change and so do people, it's only natural for that to happen over time" the blonde answered.

"That depends on whether you believe they changed because they wanted to or because something or someone changed them" Shikamaru retorted. The blonde's eyes angled sharply as he sent a deathly glare at the lazy jounin.

"let sleeping dogs lie" the blonde said coldly, and that was the end of it. Shikamaru felt as though he had been punched in the gut, but he knew he shouldn't of been so bold; the last thing the self banished hunter-nin wanted to talk about was why he had left in the first place. As if it were timed the cook's daughter Ayame appeared from the kitchen with a tray full with their orders, and inwardly Shikamaru thanked the heavens for a nice distraction.

"I saw you're squad in the Suna a year ago, Temari sure broke Konohamaru pretty quick" he said quickly. He opened his chopsticks whispering a quiet "Itadakimasu" and began to dig into his beef ramen.

"Yeah, I figured that troublesome woman would do that," he said. "Ebisu allowed him to get away with murder before I came into the picture, and for a while he kept it up until the sand agreed to the chunnin exchange program" he said sighing.

Naruto quirked an eyebrow at that, momentarily stopping his ramen onslaught to stare him down.

"I wonder whose idea that was. I mean after all, it's not like someone would purposely suggest such a noble idea in order to pawn off their unruly subordinates?" Naruto said.

For once the lazy chunnin was caught off guard, yet he remained impassive.

"tsh, troublesome" he replied.

"She was definitely a lot rougher with her 'lesson' to Konohamaru about being too hot headed then that one I received," He said. "If Kakashi had been that brutal to me during the bell test I may have ended up hating him forever"

"What did he do to bring on that woman's wrath?" Shikamaru questioned. The blonde hesitated to answer, almost wincing at the memory.

"When I came back to visit the Suna I came upon them training outside the village on team exercises," he said, shaking his head at the memory. "I wasn't aware of the deal you guys made about exchanging students so I was a little surprised to see them. I got in close enough to hear him yelling about not being taken serious, and Temari just laughed at him in return. That's when he used my technique…" he trailed off.

"He didn't." Shikamaru blanched. "There is no way he would be that stupid to try that jutsu on HER of all the people in the ninja world"

Naruto only nodded solemnly.

"When the smoke cleared, it was me and you hugging each other"

He audibly gulped.

"…Naked"

If Shikamaru's eyes could go any wider they would have taken up his entire face.

"I had to pull her off of him…and stop the bleeding so we could get him to the hospital. She was…mad.."

After that they ate together in relative silence, starting casual conversation here and there. The sun was beginning to set and everyone was finishing up their meals as Naruto talked to the chunnins from the sand about Temari and how her training was going with the konoha nin; which they all agreed that Shikamaru could try a little harder. They shared a laugh at that while said lazy jounin grumbled about it getting late and that they needed to do some "night exercises" since they claim he wasn't hard enough. Naruto stood with them watching them pay and tried his best not to stare at Hime-chan's tall pile of ramen bowls stacked next to her.

'She's going to get the scurvy at this rate if she keeps it up…not that I'm jealous' he thought.

"Can you help me with some extra training if you get some spare time?" Jin pleaded as they were leaving the tent. As if manifested by his voice, Yuka's hand found the back of his head and slapped it hard.

"Baka! Naruto-kun doesn't need to waste time on you when he can have me all to himself for training." She said while her face took on a shade of crimson. The hunter-nin pretended to not notice her implication, trying to get rid of his sheepish smile.

"Where is the old man?" Batou said quietly. The question hung in the air as the other chunnin waited, while Shikamaru looked at them puzzled. Hime-chan tilted her head from her bowl of ramen, watching Naruto's face through her peripheral vision. His face did indeed lose the smile. He stared blankly at Batou's face, yielding nothing.

"He died" he said quietly. The other two chunnin seemed to sag a little at the news, but Batou remained as a stone. A gust of wind blew at the door-flaps as they stood in silence, and slowly the silver haired chunnin nodded to the hunter-nin and walked through the flaps.

"How did he-" Jin started before Shikamaru put and arm on his shoulder.

"It's time we left to train, unless you don't want to learn the new techniq"

"Lets go already lazy sensei!" he yelled. "It's getting dark already and all you can do is babble on and on with Naruto-san" he finished while quickly running outside to wait. Naruto exchanged glances with Shikamaru showing his appreciation however the lazy jounin sent back a look that clearly said he had some explaining to do later.

"I'm looking forward to that training Naruto-kun" Yuka said while blushing, and together her and Shikamaru left Ichimaru ramen through the flaps. He released a breath he didn't realize he was holding and slumped down next to Hime-chan, facing the way their guests had left. He turned to look at her and noticed she was staring at him. Her brown eyes bored into him as if seeing behind him, a feeling he didn't dislike but found himself wondering if she was actually looking through him.

'No one can see through this mask, even if I'm not hiding behind the real one' he thought as he eyed her intently.

'Do her eyes truly see past it?'

Crickets began to chirp as their eyes kept focused at each others unblinkingly. His brow bore fresh tears of sweat while her stare dug deeper at him, coaxing what ever hidden truth it could he imagined. Her face was entirely placid during their exchange, bearing neither judgment nor acceptance, yet it was beginning to make him weary. Then she opened her mouth.

'BURPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!'

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After climbing the last step he finished the last of his journey at his apartment's doorstep. They hadn't lingered long after Hime-chan's "outburst" and soon after her eyes drooped quickly from her ramen induced tranquilizer at which he carried her in his arms to her new home. He fumbled for his keys in the dark of night for a moment until he remembered the locks had been changed and decided to give the door a turn to see if it had been locked. Luckily it wasn't and he opened the door with a light turn and with a tiny push and he stepped inside. He looked towards the couch and was partially relieved and worried that Sakura was gone. He pushed that thought away as he pushed the door closed with his foot. Although it wasn't startling loud it did happen to wake the girl, which her eyes shot open wide like she heard a crash.

"Relax, we're home." He said while flipping the light switch and gently setting her down to her feet. He kicked his shoes off in the corner while sliding off his black fatigue jacket and laid it across the bed. The girl remained motionless taking in the sight of his little apartment, looking at all the different pieces of furniture and even craning her head to see the kitchen. After unpacking some cloths Naruto strode to Hime-chan and stood by her.

"Lets begin the grand tour of my illustrious apartment" he said taking her little hand lightly and walked her through the kitchen. He showed her the different cupboards of supplies (although he had yet to look through them himself so it was also a learning experience for him, but she didn't know that) and drawers of things he didn't recognize. He opened one cabinet he remembered and inside he found nothing. He frowned at the emptiness and used a hand to see if perhaps the contents were hidden but he came up with nothing.

'She got rid of all my sake…most unfortunate' he thought. He took a mental note to unseal some of his own alcohol that he acquired on his trip and refilling the cabinet. They veered back into the living room and he showed her his bed and dresser where he promptly cleared the bottom dwaare and put in her two other outfits. Time had flown he noticed seeing a clock close by reading 9:34; he wondered how it had gone by so fast since leaving the Ichimaru's. He was brought out of his thoughts when he noticed the smell of Ichimaru's ramen had some how followed them back to his little apartment, something he hadn't picked up on earlier. He looked down at Hime-chan and new immediately where it came from; her Kimono reeked of ramen.

'Perhaps I smelled it on the way here but didn't notice' he thought. Although he loved the smell of ramen, there was so much ramen in the air that he had no way of eating which irked at his senses.

"Hime-chan you need a bath." He said bluntly. She looked up at him in confusion.

'You know why all right' he thought while putting on a tiny smile. He took her by the hand once again and led her to the bathroom he had yet to show her. He opened the door and almost gasped when he hit the switch. It had been almost three years yet it looked the same, yet it would seem a woman's touch had been added with all sorts of different soaps and little hand towels he would never use that seemed to be everywhere. Hime-chan seemed to be comfortable with the condition of the place which pleased him, even if he was a little weirded out by the display. He slid next to the tub opening the shower curtain noticing all the assortments of body washes that had never been used in the far corner of the back of the tub.

'Ok, now I'm definitely feeling weird about this' he concluded. Looking back Naruto noticed Hime-chan had yet to move from her spot outside the door's threshold.

"Don't be shy now, The 100's of pink hand towels grow onto you after a while…" he trailed off uncertainly. Waving his hand he beckoned her in and she padded next to him looking down at the tub. Naruto knelt down and grabbed the bath nozzle and turned it to a relaxing hot temperature while pushing down the drain cork allowing the water to start filling. They waited watching the water fill, the steam from the bath swirled around them making the mirror fog over. A short while later he reached over and turned the nozzle to off, letting the last drops fall onto the warm water. He pushed himself back to his feet and nuzzled her hair.

"If you need anything I'll be close by, just yel……clap you're hands or break something haha," he said. "But try to clap your hands first"

He walked past her and closed the door, stealing one last look as she stared blankly at the water's surface. He waited outside the door and listened for her to get inside.

He waited

and waited

and waited

waited some more…

waited…

wai-

"Is everything ok Hime-chan?" he said knocking lightly on the door. He cursed himself remembering she couldn't speak. He didn't want to barge in but fifteen minutes had passed already and the water would be getting colder soon.

"Ok I'm coming in, I promise not to look" he eased open the door while looking at the ground and let his eyes travel up slowly. When they reached her feet her realized she was still dressed. He knelt down next to her and noticed her breathing was coming out uneven.

'Is she scared?' he thought.

"Is something wrong little one?"

Her eyes met his with a fear in them that made him mad at himself. He wasn't sure if she had never taken a bath or perhaps there was something else deeper that had caused such a fear, either of which he should have considered he noted with a slight pain. He put on his best smile.

"If I was in here with you would you be willing to go in?" he asked quietly. She looked at the water while she bit her lip, but after a moment she nodded ever so slightly. He stood back up and made for the door.

"I'll be right back, let me get ready" he said as he closed the door.

5 minutes later…

The door swung open and the hunter-nin entered in his new clothing. Over his eyes his forehead proctor was tied tightly obstructing his vision. The black fatigue pants were rolled up to his knees while he wore his usual black tank top undershirt. On one hand he had an orange oven mitt he found in the kitchen while the on the other was a long yellow dishwashing glove that went down to his elbow.

Saying he looked ridicules was an understatement.

He stumbled past the sink with his hands stretched out feeling around until one hand brushed over Hime-chan's shoulder.

"Found you" he said while he knelt down next to her.

"Well lets get 'Operation: Hime-chan Stinks of Ramen' underway shall we?" he patted her head through his rubber glove and felt her begin to undress. When she was done he felt clumsily through his gloves to her shoulders and moved his hands to her sides and lifted her into the tub. With a quiet dip he lowered her in feet first until she sat down with a tiny splash. Luckily the water was still hot and had not lost much of its warmth.

"See? That wasn't so bad" he said. He couldn't see anything but he had a feeling she was probably enjoying the heat of the water as much as anyone would. He reached behind him and felt around the floor for the little water pitcher he had noticed earlier until he found it and brought it to his front. He dipped it in the warm water and filled it half way before raising it in the air. He held it high over where he figured her head would be and dumped it slowly. The water found its mark and ran down her hair pooling it behind her back as it wetted it further. Dipping it again he did the same thing a few more times making sure he got everything, although without his eyes he got the sides of the tub wet along with his wet. After his last pouring he put the pitcher down on his side.

"Now comes the fun part, although I hope I can pick the one that is shampoo" he said. He put a knee on the rim of the tub as he reached into the corner with his oven mitt hand while the other braced on the side. He felt around the sides of the corner but kept coming up empty handed. He leaned a little further and stretched his arm out almost painfully.

"I could of sworn the shampoo was o-" he tried to finish before his words were silenced.

He fell in.

As his the upper half of his body splashed into the steaming water, he wondered if perhaps the hand with the dishwashing glove was not the best choice to support his weight, or that not drying off the water before leaning a knee on the tub's side was indeed wise. The thought washed away as he reemerged from the water, his legs flopping inside with him as he sat awkwardly in near the back.

"Well that makes two of us that have had a bath tonight" he said quietly, throwing off his makeshift gloves although still blind. He was going to stand when he felt her soft hands on his cheeks. He froze. Her hands moved slowly over his ears to the back of his head, fiddling with something.

The forehead protector splashed down into the water.

His eyes adjusted to the bright light quickly and then he saw her; she was kneeling in front of him, looking to him with relaxed eyes.

She was smiling.