Disclaimer: Do I really need to put this? If so, then here goes: I do not own any animes including Naruto!

FYI: I live in the United States and am so used to its monetary system rather than Japan's. I have no idea how to convert cost from American to Japanese costs, so I'm sticking with American monetary system. So don't be freaked out if you see dollars in the story!

I Know! It's been a while! Putting this chapter up before I forget! Meant to do it a couple of days ago, but Thanksgiving was hectic!

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"This is normal conversation."

These are thoughts.

Bijuu (demon) voices/speaking/thoughts

Enjoy!

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=============+++++Chapter 5+++++================

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The heat was getting more intense and it was only June. Naruto had just had her meeting with Kyoya-nii to discuss her portfolio. Apparently, he wanted her to take an active part in her finances. Little did she realize it, but Kyoya was actually helping her reading, writing, and mathematical skills as well. Kyoya did not bother with baby words and had little patience for ignorance, which caused Naruto to study on her own or seek out advice from either the Hokage or Kyoya himself whenever she was confused. As a result, her reading and writing skills were on par with someone several years older than her and her math skills was on par with someone twice her age. Naruto massaged her hand as she tried to work out the cramps. I can't believe that Kyoya-nii is also making me practice calligraphy as well! Naruto grumbled as she remembered their first lessons and him making her sit properly and write correctly.

As Naruto made her way down the street, she noticed a girl looking lost. Mentally, Naruto started to catalogue the girl's appearance. Expensive clothes yet simple for a child, well-groomed, and oh what's this? Pale pupil-less Eyes? Must be a Hyuuga by the looks of it. Noticing that the girl looked a bit more depressed, Naruto decided to make her way to her.

"Hi!" Naruto said perkily. The Hyuuga jumped and looked at her. Naruto was currently wearing her ever present mask, this time dark blue, and her hair was tied back in a short, low ponytail. Dark blue shorts and a burnt orange shirt with blue sandals on. Add in a short-sleeved red vest and this was her outfit for the day. "I saw you standing around looking all sad so I came over."

The Hyuuga child, who looked around Naruto's age, clasped her hands together and poked her two index fingers at each other. She mumbled something that Naruto couldn't make out.

Never one able to resist helping out another, Naruto coaxed the girl to speak louder.

"Um…I'm lost. I just wanted to get some takoyaki but…I don't know where I'm at."

Naruto grinned and clapped her hands. The Hyuuga girl jumped up and looked at her hesitantly.

"I love takoyaki! It's my second favorite food after ramen! Nothing can beat ramen though. At least not that I've seen so far!" Naruto smiled, not that anyone could see, but the outline of it could be slightly noticed. "Wait here alright?"

Before the Hyuuga could say anything, Naruto left and returned not three minutes later with two orders of the octopus dumplings. "I got one for both of us. Here you go!"

The Hyuuga, after some prodding and prompting, grabbed it and thanked the sunny-haired girl. Naruto decided to lead the Hyuuga back to her clan compound. She decided to fill the silence with some of her trademark chatter.

"I'm an orphan and when I'm not with my Kyoya-nii, Jiji, or at the Ramen Stand, I explore Konoha. I'm Naruto..Uzumaki Naruto! At your service!"

The other girl smiled softly. "I'm Hyuuga, Hinata."

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After that day, Hinata and Naruto would meet up at the park every Monday and Wednesday to play tag or watch the clouds. Before leading Hinata back to her clan compound, the two would order takoyaki at a small stand near the park. The Takoyaki Stand wouldn't refuse to service Naruto because unknown to many, save for a select few, it was also one of the establishments that Kazuma Arashi was invested in. Before Arashi's investment, the Dumpling Stand was failing a bit, and when 'he' offered his assistance, the main stipulation of their contract was that they could not refuse service to any without an extremely just reason. And so, Naruto became one of their regular customers. Over the months as Naruto balanced herself between homemade meals, the ramen stand, takoyaki stand, the clientele and workers of both stands became used to her comings and goings. Habituation and familiarity helped Naruto have one more place that welcomed her…only 95% of Konoha to go. Not that she knew it of course.

It was now August and Naruto and Hinata were becoming steadfast friends. Hiashi Hyuuga would have frowned upon the two's friendship if the Hokage himself hadn't remarked how nice it was to see the two children interact and play with each other. And so, the leader of the Hyuuga allowed his eldest to play with the Kyuubi-holder. But when the second Monday of August came, Naruto went to the park only to find that Hinata wasn't there. She waited all day and shrugged sadly when her friend didn't come. Wednesday came and went and Hinata still had not visited the park. Now, curious and worried, Naruto made her way to the Hyuuga compound on Thursday morning. The other Hyuugas were used to the blonde and Naruto recognized the two on guard at the gate.

She approached them cautiously. "Ano, Aizen-san, Roshi-san, is Hinata-chan ok? She didn't go to the park all week."

The two guards frowned and looked at each other. Both of them shuffled uncomfortably.

Aizen said gruffly, "The Hyuuga compound is under lockdown. No one is allowed to enter or leave."

Naruto frowned under her mask. "Why?"

The guards shifted uncomfortably again. This time it was Roshi who spoke. "Perhaps it would be best to ask the Hokage, Uzumaki-san." And the two guardsmen quieted once more, looking like the statues that their pale complexions and pupil-less eyes made them seem like.

Naruto huffed. She didn't understand why they just didn't outright tell her what was going on, but decided that she might as well go to Jiji to catch up anyway.

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At the Hokage Tower.

It took a bit of convincing, but Naruto was able to haggle her way into meeting with the Hokage. Of course, the intimidating Anbu on guard helped her plead her case by glaring at the receptionist. The poor woman was shivering under Tora-san's glare and practically shoved Naruto towards the door.

Naruto entered the Hokage's room and waited for him to put down his paperwork before asking him what was going on. Hiruzen sighed and puffed on his pipe.

"As you may have heard, Kumo had sent an ambassador here for peace talks. On Sunday, the ambassador had signed the papers and stayed over at the Hyuuga compound. Unfortunately, none of us realized that he had planned to kidnap one of the Hyuuga children."

What could be seen of Naruto's face paled. She had a niggling suspicion that Hinata was involved and said as much to the Hokage. A sad smile appeared on his face. He was proud of her deduction skills but saddened at what had occurred over the past week.

"That is correct. The Kumo ambassador had tried to kidnap Hinata-san late Sunday night. Her father was able to hear her muffled screams and saved her. In the process, he killed the assailant with a Jyuuken strike to the heart. Kumo is furious and demands reparations. The Hyuuga are on lockdown while we sort everything out. We are in the middle of hashing out an agreement."

Naruto looked at the man she considered her grandfather closely. And frowned as she noticed what he wasn't saying out loud. The talks aren't going favorable for Konoha. Feeling a little saddened at the revelation, Naruto decided to change to topic instead to inconsequential matters. Hiruzen's spirits lifted slightly as he realized her obvious efforts.

It wouldn't be until November before Hinata was allowed to play in the park with Naruto again. Only the girl was quieter and more restrained than before. Kumo had demanded payment and received it in the body of Hyuuga Hizashi, younger twin of Hiashi. The illusion that Konoha was all powerful faded just a bit for the two girls.

Naruto smiled sadly but tried to treat her friend all the same in order to try to cheer up Hinata. However things weren't the same. No longer were they allowed to play by themselves. An older Hyuuga would watch over them as they played in the park or mimicked their older ninja counterparts. And another piece of childhood innocence was lost. One lost a relative. The other realized that there is much more to the shinobi world that she had realized.

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So here' Hinata! Yay. Naruto is now Five years old! She's older than Hinata by a couple of months actually! At least I think so…Not sure how I want to warp the timeline and birthdays of all/some of the characters!

Hope you enjoyed

Read and Review. Reviews are always nice! Please no flames. Even though it's pretty cold down here! Anyway! Hope you enjoyed and liked it!

Updated 11/26/12

P.S. Go check out my poll! It refers to my newest story, "Ripples in the Ocean"- a HarryPotter/Naruto XOver.