Chapter 4

Leaving the house behind, the group started on their way across the village to where the blond ninja's favorite ramen stand was. As they proceeded, Sakura noticed that Naruto actually seemed to calm. She thought it strange… three years ago he would have gotten more frantic and impatient as he got close to the ramen stand.

"So how did this happen?" Sakura asked. Naruto glanced over at the pink haired shinobi. He had learned how to use his head over the last three years, but he had also learned how to not jump to conclusions.

"How did what happen?" Naruto watched as a befuddled look spread over Sakura's face.

"This," she replied, pointing between Hinata and Naruto. Naruto and Hinata glanced at each other, each trying to find the right response in the other's face.

"Yeah!" Kiba chimed in, a smirk on his face. "How did Naruto notice you when he was so obsessed with Sakura?" Hinata began to blush a bit at the implication that she was easy to look over, while both Naruto and Sakura shot dangerous glares at the boy in a parka.

"I was not obsessed with Sakura-chan!" Naruto protested. "Besides…" his voice calmed down as he looked over at Hinata's blush. "Hina-chan understands me like no one else can…" Hinata glanced up at Naruto and he could see it in her eyes. She was uncertain. He had reassured her so many times that he loved her and felt nothing but friendship towards Sakura, but even so, facing it in person she still had that lingering vulnerability that both got Naruto's attention and caught him off guard whenever he saw it. Showing such vulnerability to someone was in Naruto's mind a sign of infinite trust, and so he felt a sudden obligation to mitigate her fears.

"Sakura-chan wouldn't be a good girlfriend for me. Hinata-chan is exactly what I need." Hinata smiled at him fondly. At some point they had learned how to convey feeling with simple looks. Maybe it had been all of the partner training; maybe it was simply the time together. But whatever it had been, right now Naruto's face was telling Hinata that in different company the last sentence would have been finished 'exactly what I want'.

Naruto suddenly realizing what he had said turned to brace for the inevitable wallop that Sakura was sending his way, only to find her looking oddly dejected as opposed to homicidal. The look confused him more than anything, but Ino could see what was playing out, and hastily changed the focus of the conversation back to what she was really interested in.

"So tell me Hinata…" Ino began, a Cheshire-like smile creeping across her face. She lowered her voice into almost a guttural whisper. "Is he any good?"

Hinata 'meep'ed in surprise at the question and turned an interesting shade of pink, while both Kiba and Naruto looked at Ino with some incredulity.

"W-we… haven't done anything… like that…" Hinata said softly so that everyone could barely hear.

"Hey hey! Stop teasing Hinata-chan!" Naruto said with a finality that seemed to stop Ino for just a moment from continuing. "Besides, lots of interesting things happened the last three years besides what me and Hinata did together!" Hinata blushed redder, but everyone noticed with some surprise that instead of retreating into a shell because of her embarrassment, she picked her head up and had a fond smile on her face, as if remembering something which was special to her.

"Ne, Naruto-kun…" Sakura began. Naruto turned to her, and saw that she still had an expression which didn't seem very Sakura-like on her face, almost as if Sakura was unsure of what to say. "What happened when you left the village?" Naruto pulled his hand up to his chin, thinking about how to answer. He was about to start his answer when Ichiraku came into view, and he bounded off happily, intent on getting his food before beginning the long story of their time away.

The rest of the group came up to stand moments behind him where he was already engaged in a happy conversation with Ayame and her father who seemed genuinely happy to see him back once more. They all smiled at the shop owner and placed their orders before turning back to Hinata and Naruto anticipating their story.

Once again they looked at each other as if having a conversation with their eyes before looking back at their friends. Naruto began with a carefulness of words and conversation that took the rest of them a bit off guard. In some part of their mind, each of them thought of Naruto as not being able to think about things in any sort of contemplative manner.

"When we left, Hinata-chan and me were forced to walk to Onee-chan's house," Naruto began. Hinata smiled, thinking of the memory before correcting her boyfriend.

"Hinata-chan and I," she said gently. Naruto smiled.

"Ne, gomen Hina-chan." All four of the chuunin guffawed at Naruto as he continued his story.

"Anyway, like I was saying, Onee-chan wanted us to walk all the way to her house instead of running. It was frustrating at the time, but I can see what she was thinking," Naruto commented off handedly. Naruto had a better appreciation for his actions and words after three years with his sister, who acted more like him than he liked to admit.

"She brought us to a house built on the side of a mountain. The house was one of the biggest I had even seen… it was like a giant clan house almost. It was also very isolated, which made it perfect for the type of training that Onee-chan wanted to teach us. It was… frustrating though…"

Naruto thought back to the scroll of 100 techniques. It was in his pocket where he always kept it now.

"Onee-chan started us with some basic techniques designed to be basic test of chakra control and manipulation," Hinata offered. "Things like cleaning the floor or doing the dishes with chakra."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked quizzically. Hinata glanced at the counter which had a small bit of dirt on it from the day. She did the seals more out of habit than necessity and almost instantly a small pile of dirt collected at her hand, which she easily wiped off onto the ground. Ino was looking at the cleaned counter with intrigue on her face.

"It was so frustrating," Naruto said. "I wanted to train right away, and it didn't feel like cleaning floors was going to help at all." Naruto thought about the control and technique required for the Shino-Tsu-Hiko form and the Nine Principals. "But she was right of course… learning those 100 techniques helped us with the real training when it did come."

Hinata glanced up at Naruto with a look of mild wonder on her face. Even though she was sure he understood the reasons Sora had done the things she did, she'd never heard him acknowledge or admit it out loud. Naruto, it turns out, had understood for a long time but felt that he had to provide a counter-balance to Sora's ways. It was only when she was not there… when he was on his own… for some reason he didn't feel like he could go without admitting the things she had done right when she wasn't there to call him an idiot.

"After a few months we went down to visit Onee-chan's friend… Yasu…" All of the ninja there could sense the gloom that passed over the two at the thought of this new person, but none of them could decipher what it meant. Hinata shared another look with Naruto.

He was just about to continue his explanation, when Ichiraku came over with their bowls ready. "For my favorite customer," he said with a smile. Naruto grinned as he looked down into the bowl, seeing that the old man had put in extra meat and egg for him.

"Thank you, jii-san," Naruto said softly before looking back up at everyone emphatically. "It's great to be back!"

Everyone began to eat, and with great amusement, all four of their companions noticed that Hinata seemed to eat her ramen without the same shy reserve, while Naruto refrained from making a public scene out of his meal. 'They really are good for each other,' Sakura thought with a bit of guilt.

"You were just telling us about coming off the mountain?" Ino probed, hoping to hear more about their adventures. Naruto seemed to beam at her, the melancholy of first saying Yasu's name seeming to dissipate.

"Ah, right!" Naruto took a bite before continuing. "Whee cam uff tha muntan—" his sentence was cut short by a look of disapproval that Hinata was giving him.

"Sweetie," she said softly, "don't talk with your mouth full." He smiled sheepishly, swallowing his food.

"Sorry." He smiled again turning to the rest of the group who looked on a bit dumbfounded. "Anyway, like I was saying, we came off the mountain to visit Yasu and her husband…" he paused thoughtfully before continuing. "Onee-chan had been training us in a taijustsu form she had learned from her time in the west with the Kaze clan. Hinata had been learning the Shina-To-Be form while I had been learning the Shino-Tsu-Hiko form. She'd been able to teach both us because the forms are similar in the basics, but she'd only been trained in the Shina-To-Be form, so we had to visit Nori, Yasu's husband if I was going to learn more about the Shino-Tsu-Hiko form.

"As it turns out, Nori was kind of a prince of the Kaze clan, but he'd left when his mother had died because he hadn't wanted to lead. With that in mind, he was hesitant to teach me or Hinata at first, but it didn't take much to convince him to teach us. In fact, by the end of the day he'd suggested that me and Hinata become partners."

Hinata watched the others carefully, unsure of how they'd take that statement. Partner training was a very serious and heartfelt decision, but they didn't know that. Still… 'partners' was a moniker that lent itself to quite a bit of interpretation. Hinata thought back to how Sora had described it as "being married without the sex". Hinata blushed as, unbidden, she thought that perhaps their partnership might include that little caveat at some point.

"What do you mean by partners?" Kiba asked with just a tinge of nervousness in his voice. Naruto looked at Hinata and noticed her slight blush. Undoubtedly she was thinking about the type of commitment that partnering entailed. Naruto hadn't forgotten Sora's crass description of partnering either.

"Well, you see the Shina-To-Be and Shino-Tsu-Hiko forms are complementary, and in the Kaze clan they had taken to 'partnering' two fighters together and training them to fight as a single unit. To play off each other's strengths, make up for each other's weaknesses, and know what the other was going to do before they did it.

"Because of the styles, Shina-To-Be is a woman's form, while Shino-Tsu-Hiko was taught to the men. So for Nori, it made a lot of sense."

"And did you partner?" Ino asked with a hint of excitement in her voice. This was almost too juicy for her… it almost sounded like marriage to her… minus the sex. Naruto glanced at Hinata, but it was her that answered.

"Yes, we trained as partners." Hinata paused for a minute. "It turned out to be a very good thing once we went into the West."

"WHAT!?" the four burst at once. Sakura looked at the startled Hinata incredulously. "You went into the West!?" Hinata shrugged, unsure of what exactly was so surprising about this piece of information. Tsunade had reacted the same way, and although before leaving Hinata had been told that the West was full of chaos and should be avoided, she didn't understand how it was such an astonishing thing.

"Onee-chan took us there for some real experience," Naruto explained matter-of-factly. "We didn't get very far though. You see… the Kaze clan was not too happy with Onee-chan, Yasu-san or Nori-san. When Nori-san and Onee-chan had left, the clan head had just been killed and a new leader who was… less than concerned about the clan or its members was vying for power.

"We weren't in the west for more than a few minutes before a few Kaze warriors tried to apprehend Onee-chan. We of course beat them, but then a bunch of their fellow clan members showed up, including a younger girl named Shivani, and tried to beat us up. When they figured out just how powerful we were, two of them grabbed some kids and threatened to kill them if we didn't agree to come with them."

Everyone scoffed in disgust, and for the first time in a while Shino spoke. "Doing such a thing is a sign of weakness. Both as a fighter and as a person." Naruto nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, but there wasn't much we could do, so we went. The new ruler of the Kaze clan, known as the Lady of the Wind, or simply the Lady, had poisoned the mind of the clan. She'd convinced them that ninjutsu and genjutsu would pollute their purity if used, and so the Kaze used taijutsu exclusively.

"The Lady wanted to execute us at first, but some of the people on her council were sensible. Particularly a man named Raoul. So the Lady agreed to a test that she thought we wouldn't be able to pass… we tested for our blacks. It's the Kaze equivalent of the chuunin exam, except the Lady had turned it into something terrible.

"The first part was simply demonstrating the forms of the Shina-To-Be and Shino-Tsu-Hiko forms, but the second part was a fight to the death." The four ninja all had a sharp intake of breath. "The Kaze thought that Nori was dead, so the Lady thought that we would fail during the forms since Onee-chan hadn't learned all of the forms before she left.

"But when we completed the forms, she had arranged for us to fight two Kaze warriors." Naruto looked over at Hinata, silently asking her to tell this part. She nodded and picked up where he left off.

"One of them was a boy named Toril, who was loyal to her. But the other was Shivani." The faces of everyone listening softened. "Shivani was a good person. She'd come to us the night before and told us what was going to happen… kind of…" Hinata paused. "She thought we were there to overthrow the Lady and restore the clan… so she'd decided to throw the match and let us kill her." Naruto nodded solemnly.

"It was worse though. Raoul was her brother. Fortunately, Hinata is the smartest girl I know, and she'd figured all of this out the night before!" He gave her an affectionate hug as a mild blush spread over her face. "Because of that we'd been able to come up with a plan. We'd fight the pair, and Hinata would try and cut off the chakra flow to everywhere except Shivani's brain, making her appear dead. It would be extremely difficult since they wouldn't let Hinata-chan use her bloodline limit." Sakura looked at him disbelievingly.

"You made Hinata try to shut off the girl's chakra that precisely without her being able to use the Byakuugan!?" Naruto put his hands up in defense.

"What else could we do?" Naruto paused for a moment. "Unfortunately, Toril was a much better fighter than we'd anticipated, and we were having trouble separating Shivani from him. You see, when one partner is killed, the other is expected to kill themselves to preserve their honor." Naruto looked at Hinata, and she knew exactly what he was thinking. Should he mention using intention? Hinata silently shook her head.

The others watched this exchange, wondering what they were thinking. Naruto turned back to them before continuing. "Fortunately, it turned out that Nori-san was an excellent teacher, and I was more proficient in Shino-Tsu-Hiko than he was. Unfortunately, the Lady had decided not to take any chances, and had genjutsu users sitting on the towers overlooking the arena, trying to mess us up."

"But I thought that she thought ninjutsu and genjutsu were heresy?" Kiba said confused. Naruto shook his head.

"No, that's what she said, but all she really thought about was power, and ninjutsu was just another type of power. In the end, the genjutsu almost messed Hinata up enough to accidentally kill Shivani, but like I said… Hina-chan's the most talented girl I know!"

Sakura had been listening intently. She watched as Hinata blushed slightly once more and turned to look up at Naruto fondly. Naruto returned a warm look… almost loving. Could they… love each other? Sakura had been feeling jealous of the attention Naruto was paying Hinata since they'd seen him, and now she found herself jealous of all of the praise and admiration he gave her. She even felt jealous about the time that they'd spent together.

But feeling that way had also brought on a heavy dose of guilt. So what that Naruto had finally realized Hinata liked him? So what that they were apparently head-over-heals now? It's not like she liked him, right? … Right?

Sakura shook the thoughts as Naruto continued his tale.

"In the end, Toril knew about the genjutsu and betrayed the Lady. Everyone was unhappy with the Lady, but they seemed to be waiting for someone to do something about it. I told them all that they were being stupid, and that if they wanted something they should do it themselves. Right as the Lady was about to retaliate, one of the towers collapsed on her.

"Raoul became the new Lord of the Wind and began to try to rebuild the clan. We stayed with them for about a year or so before beginning on our way back to our mountain. On the way though… things went wrong…" Naruto stopped.

The look on the now tall boy's face startled Sakura and Ino. Naruto seemed to be very troubled by the events that took place next. They couldn't recall ever seeing him look so… powerless.

"We were on our way back when we were ambushed by two members of the Akatsuki," Hinata began, drawing their attention off the troubled shinobi. "We hadn't been expecting them, and because of the surprise attack it took us a lot to defeat them. In the end, we were only able to defeat one. The other didn't want to fight us, and left his partner to die.

"We discovered however that Itachi was going to try and kill Yasu and Nori." Hinata stopped. She didn't look flustered in the same way she normally did… or at least the way she normally did before she left. No, Hinata looked much like Naruto looked; troubled… powerless.

"Nori and Yasu have the nicest little girl," Naruto said a bit jerkily. All four of the shinobi were floored at Naruto's manner. The way he'd said that… it sounded as if he were holding back tears, and yet it was said lovingly. "Her name's Miki. She's a natural at Shina-To-Be, and she loves her little dog." He turned to his ramen and concentrated on the food, a tear or two silently sliding down his face. Hinata, much more accustom to showing her emotion, decided to spare Naruto the scrutiny that continuing his explanation would bring.

"We can't tell you about the fight itself. Hokage-sama has it classified." Hinata paused and sniffed, wiping her face. "But by the end of it… N-Nori-sama… w-was dead." Hinata hung her head. If only she had been stronger, maybe he wouldn't have had to die. No… she wasn't allowed to think like that. She looked back up at the group who clearly had no idea what to say to that.

"We escaped to our house in the mountains, and trained for the five months left on our mission," Hinata finished quietly. Sakura and Ino looked at each other. They felt as if they should say something to brighten the mood a bit.

"Well we're certainly happy to have you back," Ino said gently. Naruto looked up, his face dry, but his eyes still slightly red. He smiled.

"We're glad to be back! Right, Hina-chan?" Hinata wiped her tears away before nodding with a smile.

"Right." The six friends finished their ramen discussing how Konoha had changed since the beginning of Naruto and Hinata's training mission three years ago.

"So where's the teme?" Naruto asked playfully as they began the walk back to Naruto's house. At once the faces of Sakura, Ino, Kiba and Shino fell. Naruto's smile faded. This wouldn't be good news.

"He's gone," Sakura said simply, if not timidly. "He left."

"Did… he get a long mission?" Naruto asked hopefully. Ino slowly shook her head as Sakura simply looked at the ground in front of them as they walked.

"No," Ino said simply. "He defected." Naruto and Hinata looked at Ino in silent shock, before glancing over at Sakura.

"Why?" Naruto finally asked. Sakura closed her eyes.

"Because of Itachi." Naruto felt a darkness in the explanation. How could one wayward ninja harm so many people in so many ways? For a fleeting moment Naruto's thoughts went to how much hurt he could cause should the Kyuubi ever gain control. He shuddered.

"Sasuke left to train with Orochimaru. He wanted to become powerful enough to beat his brother… to avenge his clan." Sakura's words became uneven. "He left… even though he knew that Orochimaru intended to use his body."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked. "How would he use Sasuke-kun's body?" Sakura shook slightly and Naruto could tell she was sobbing. It was a moment before she answered.

"Orochimaru… has an immortality technique. It works by allowing him to occupy another person's body. More or less, he removes their soul from the body, and then puts his own in its place."

Naruto processed what he was told with silent fury. Orochimaru. He'd forgotten all about him. Vaguely Naruto wondered if there could possibly be anyone else intent on making his life difficult.

"Y-You mean… Sasuke-kun… is…" Hinata trailed off, refusing to finish her own thought. Sakura slowly shook her head, and relief washed over Hinata and Naruto.

"Orochimaru can only perform the technique every so often." A smile so dark that it actually made Naruto shiver crossed Sakura's face. "Not even his broken and dirtied soul can withstand that much strain."

"Then… how long do we have until Orochimaru will be able… be able to use it?" Sakura looked at Naruto briefly then looked back at the ground in front of them.

"We don't know for sure… our best estimates say that the earliest would be about six months from now." A heavy silence overcame the group for a few minutes as they continued on toward the house, entering the neighborhood it was in.

"We'll get him," Naruto said. Sakura looked up at him in a mixture of admiration and hope. Naruto had not spoken with confidence, he had spoken with resolve, and somehow that had given Sakura more hope that he would succeed. "We'll bring that teme back."

Hinata looked up at Naruto and examined his expression before nodding. "We'll do our best," she said. The group looked up as the approached the old house of the Fourth, and collectively heaved a sigh, as if shrugging past the last few years with a breath.

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Tsunade let out a sigh of her own as she looked between the papers in front of her. The reports came in from everywhere, and often conflicted with one another, which only made her work more annoying. Some days as she read over all the paperwork she seriously wondered why she'd taken up the position of Hokage… but such wondering was always short-lived. Especially when she saw the younger shinobi around the village.

Tsunade grinned. She'd been roped into this position by Naruto and his will to be his best. The last few years had been lacking without his usual tenacity and confidence, but she was glad to see him back. Especially after what Sora evidently risked, she observed curtly. Naruto had changed a lot… and pleasantly, so had Hinata.

Hinata… she seemed to be able to trust her own ability now. At least reasonably so. She'd do well in the Jounin exam. Tsunade looked over the reports once more before stacking and stamping them. Of course, Hinata's ability to perform would no doubt lead to confrontation with Hiashi now… that man… that was a conversation she wasn't looking forward to. Tsunade's thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Hokage-sama, Hyuuga Hiashi is here for an audience." Tsunade scoffed in annoyance. Figures.

"Send him in." The door opened moments later and Hiashi swept swiftly into the room, bowing briefly before taking the seat in front of Tsunade's desk. "What can I do for you, Hiashi-san?" Hiashi paused for a moment.Very few people in this town called him anything other than Hiashi-sama.

"I have come to inform you that Hinata will not be taking the Jounin exam." Hiashi's tone was polite but firm. Tsunade observed amusedly that he'd managed to phrase it as a statement instead of a request without sounding out-of-place. He was certainly a master of the politics.

"Was she injured on her way to the Hyuuga house last night?" Tsunade asked in mock concern. Since they were putting up with formality and all, she figured why not feign ignorance.

"Fortunately nothing as drastic as that is to blame," Hiashi explained. "She is simply not ready." Tsunade raised a brow.

"Oh?" She took a sip of the sake on her desk. Sake has a bitter flavor that bites you after it's gone down, and because of that younger people always seemed to sip on something else. It was an elder's drink, for the most part, despite all of the other things she did to hide her age.

"Hinata is not prepared to pass the Jounin selection exam, and as her father, I came to inform you that she would not be able to participate after learning of the news." Tsunade was silent for a moment, contemplating how to continue.

"How is it that you know she is not ready? It's my understanding that she's been away for three years training." Tsunade paused again for effect. "It would seem to me that Hinata would be the best judge of whether or not she was ready." Hiashi visibly tensed at the mention of Hinata's absence.

"As I was neither consulted nor informed about her training mission prior to its commencement, I am painfully aware of how little anyone in the Leaf knows about my daughter's current ability." Hiashi glared at the Hokage. He had not been very happy upon learning of his daughter's departure. "However I refuse to let her shameful display of ability, or lack-thereof, tarnish the Hyuuga house once more."

"Hinata has spent three years training with one of the most talented shinobi I know of. She is more than equipped to enter into the Jounin selection exam." Hiashi grated his teeth.

"Three years training spent learning another form, from a shinobi who has no connection to the Leaf and took them into the West!" Hiashi brought his brows together. "Hinata is not prepared to face her sister, let alone the Jounin selection exam."

"How can you possibly purport to know Hinata's capability when you know nothing of her training, or the things she has done in the last three years?" Tsunade closed her eyes. This banter was starting to get on her nerves. "The Jounin selection exam is designed to select those shinobi which are prepared to become Jounin. If she is as far back as you claim she will never make it to the practical exam."

"That is unacceptable," Hiashi said simply, yet heatedly. "I will not have Hinata bringing shame to our clan again like she did during the Chuunin exam." Tsunade glared angrily at the man.

"Is that all you care about? Shame and the clan? Does any of your objection have anything to do with Hinata?" That was it. Hiashi stood abruptly and slammed his hands on the desk.

"You accuse me of not caring for my own child?! You understand nothing about our family or our clan! I do not wish to see her shame herself… do you think that that means nothing!?"

Tsunade stopped at that. She hadn't thought about that… in his own way, Hiashi thought he was indeed caring for his daughter.

"Well then why don't we compromise? We'll hold a private match for Hinata before the Jounin selection matches to determine if she is ready to fight in front of the elders." Hiashi picked his hands off of the desk and stood for a moment, pondering her suggestion. He returned to his seat slowly and calmly.

"She will face Hanabi." Tsunade threw a wary look at him.

"Don't you think--?" But Hiashi interrupted her before she could finish objecting.

"You send her away for three years without consulting me. She trains in a form other than the Jyuuken. You place her in the Jounin exam without my consent or input. Will you deny me the simple matter of choosing her opponent?" Tsunade was miffed at the rebuff. She'd been worried that Hanabi was too far below Hinata to provide a good test, but if Hiashi was set on it…

"Very well," Tsunade affirmed. "I'll make the arrangements." Hiashi stood, bowed, and moved quickly out the door. Tsunade smirked. Judging from everything she knew about Hinata's training and mission, Hanabi wouldn't know what hit her.

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Naruto let out a heavy sigh. For some reason he felt that his day spent lounging around his house talking with old friends had been more exhausting than many of his days spent training. It's not that he felt exerted… rather he felt stretched, as if the day had been very, very long.

But the day wasn't over yet, he observed glancing out the window at the orange sky. It would be dark in about an hour or so.

"What's on your mind?" Hinata asked him softly from the kitchen doorway. She'd insisted on making a meal for them to enjoy after everyone had left and they'd finished cleaning the house, a task made much easier with the techniques they'd had to learn from the scroll.

"The day…" Naruto replied offhandedly. "It feels strange to be home." Hinata nodded in agreement, turning back to the kitchen. Naruto could smell something savory being cooked.

"I know what you mean," she called from inside the room. Naruto walked over to the doorway and watched her move around, making something bound to be delicious. She was his Hinata, after all. "Seeing everyone today… it's been such a long time since they've been any part of our lives, you know?"

"Did you get to talk to your sister?" Hinata smiled faintly.

"I think she's grown a bit. She doesn't seem as… haughty… as high-and-mighty as she used to."

Hinata placed a lid on the pot, looking up at Naruto. His breath caught for just a moment. The way her head turned up slowly, the look in her eyes; the sort of exasperated love she wore on her face… for a moment she almost looked, and felt, like his wife. It was a thought Naruto wasn't sure if he was scared or happy for. She did look very beautiful… though he thought she always did.

"I think that Neji might have something to do with her change in attitude," she remarked thoughtfully. "I don't think he's been coaching her very much… but I get the impression that Neji has changed a lot of his outlook on his own nindo after the Chuunin exam, and Hanabi's noticed it." She giggled. "I think you and me had a pretty big impact on him." Naruto got a wide smile.

"Of course!" Naruto exclaimed. "I always leave a big impression on people!" He offered a goofy grin which only made Hinata giggle more, and they spent the rest of the evening together, enjoying their meal. Naruto was happy for the chance to not be alone for now, but tomorrow... Tomorrow, he'd train.

Jordan's Notes: Any feedback would be appreciated. This isn't a great chapter to judge how things will flow in my version of the sequel because of the things I had to cover in this chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it none-the-less.

I'd originally written this chapter but forgot to save, and my computer got nixed. That set me back to just before the Tsunade conversation… so I had to write everything from there a second time. I'm not sure if it's better or worse than the first time though.

A big "thank you" goes out to Spirit of the Abyss (or simply Seth) for beta reading this chapter, as well as Sora-chan, (honestly), for betaing also. These two are the editors, and they do their job splendidly. :)

I know everyone is used to chapters coming out every other day at this point, but I'm not nearly that quick at getting chapters out. I go through an entire review process when I write, so it takes me at least a week to get a chapter done. Still, I won't stop on you guys.

Here's a few more facts about me that you might enjoy.

1. I have only ever been to one other country besides the United States: Japan. (Haven't even been to Canada.)

2. When I was 19, I snuck in to a bar with a friend from England while we were in San Francisco. The place was hosting a networking event, and I was invited as a journalist. Long story short, we got in by using British accents.

3. I used to write a ton of poetry, of which almost NONE of it I can stand.

4. I love watching NBA basketball, and adore my home team, the Trail Blazers.

5. My last girlfriend and I dated for over two years. Originally, as I mentioned, we met at night school, and I first got her interested in me (inadvertantly) by giving my English class a verbose interpretation of Edgar Allen Poe's The Conquerer Worm.

6. Despite the fact that every standardized test I've taken since age 6 has put me in the 99th percentile, my GPA in high school was a meager 2.6.

7. My friends and I have an 8 year old inside joke, where "viscosity" is the answer to any question which we don't know. This inside joke comes from a practice session of Science Bowl in high school, where one question which we didn't know the answer to was read, and at random, we answered viscosity as the time ran out, which turned out to be correct, giving us the points to win by chance.

8. Back in early 2002, me and another person I know started on a project which was basically identical to MySpace, named "ThoughtGalaxy". Sadly, neither him nor me had the drive to really work at it, and to this day I shake my fist at Tom. He certainly isn't my friend...

9. I participated in an Air Force auxilliary program from age 13 to age 16, called the Civil Air Patrol. I reached the rank of Cadet Master Sergeant, and piloted a Cesna 182.

10. If I could change one thing about my life, it would be the mistake I made with my last girlfriend which led me to where we are now. We both deserved better...

I think this will be the last time I give you "10 random facts about Jordan", unless you guys really want me to keep going.