New Adventures

With Kagome

'What could he possibly want now?' Kagome thought as she glanced at Naruto. Sakura and Sasuke had just left, Naruto had brought them all to his favorite Ramen stand and they had finished already.

"Naruto you have never been one to beat around the bush, what do you want?" Kagome asked as she looked at him sharply.

"Well you see I was wondering if you could teach me some genjutsu. When we were traveling with Jiraiya you used some genjutsu to deal with all the bandits. Could you please teach me?" Naruto turned towards her and tried to give her the best baby face he could.

"No." She said as she paid for her ramen and started walking away.

"Wait, why not?" Naruto asked as he ran after her. He didn't even realize where they were going until they stopped.

"Jiraiya taught you how to dispel an illusion on the way back, didn't he? That is all you have to know, you aren't a genjutsu type." Kagome said as she looked around the field team seven always trained at.

"Okay." Naruto said as he turned around and started walking back the way he came.

"I won't teach you genjutsu, but I will teach you a technique that could really come in handy. You are half way to mastering it, seeing as you can use shadow clones." Kagome said as she listened to his steps. "I will also agree to helping you learn to use your ears with more skill." She smiled when she heard his steps falter.

"You mean how you can also tell you is approaching based on their footsteps?" He questioned as he looked at his companion over his shoulder.

"I think that I can also help you to control the fox's power without having to worry about losing control." She said as she turned around and looked him dead in the eye.

"I never told you about the fox, but you have always seemed to know, how is that?" Naruto questioned.

"I can sense it; you can't really hide his presence. Well you could but not at your level." She said as she shrugged at looked at her shoulder where she brushed away the non-existent dust.

"When do we start?" Naruto asked as he smiled at her before walking closer. She threw him a scroll and then pulled out a blindfold.

"That is how you will learn the technique; it is called 'Clone Great Explosion'. Now I will put this blindfold over your eyes and we will test your abilities with your sword. This is the only way to sharpen your sense of hearing so relax and enjoy." She appeared behind him a moment later and then tightened the blindfold until she was satisfied. She started walking circles around him slowly adding more distance.

"Now let us begin Naruto." Kagome said, as she watched as his head snapped in her direction and he started his approach.

With Kakashi

"Who is she?" A voice said from behind him.

"Who is who?" Kakashi asked as he turned towards the voice.

"The girl on your genin team, you know who I am asking about." Jiraiya said as he frowned at the younger man.

"Sakura Haruno, well she is a genjutsu type. She has perfect control and is rather quickly advancing in her use of medical techniques…" Kakashi was stopped in his description as Jiraiya gave him a really dirty look.

"Cut the crap, Kakashi. The Kagome girl on your team, I traveled with her, spoke of her and with her and yet I know nothing of her. Tell me what you know." Jiraiya demanded as he tried to force himself to relax.

"Kagome Higurashi is a rather interesting girl; I don't know that much about her. She lost her blood family when she was a small child and then a few years later she lost her adoptive family. Anko trained her for a time and Kagome makes a point of observing other people. She has also made up some of her own techniques." Kakashi said as he looked Jiraiya in the eye.

"Is she a threat?" Jiraiya asked.

"I don't think she would ever betray someone and I don't believe that she could ever kill someone in cold blood alone. I do however think that she would not hesitate a moment to kill you if you were to threaten someone she cared about. She is extremely protective and I would feel great sympathy towards any person who would harm someone she cared about." Kakashi said seriously as he looked at Jiraiya for a response.

"During the time she traveled with Naruto and I she was aloof and seemed to avoid all contact with people. Who does she really call a precious person?" Jiraiya asked as he looked away from Kakashi.

"She does care about Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto and myself. I think that the four of us are the only ones that she has. She seems to have the ability to get along with just about everyone, but she doesn't let people get to close. If you are going to train Naruto, you may want to be careful. If anything happens to you, she'll hunt you down." Kakashi said the last part with a smile on his face, but she stopped his chuckling when he realized that it was true.

With Kagome

'His greatest ability is his ability to adapt. Three hours and he can already pick up on my footsteps, granted I am making sure to take heavy steps. This is good if I were to walk normally he wouldn't do so well, but this is a great start.' Kagome thought as she smiled at her panting friend.

"That's enough for today, Naruto." She said as she sheathed her sword and took back her blindfold.

"Hey I could follow your footsteps." Naruto said happily.

"That was good for a start, but I was taking heavy steps. If I were to walk normally you wouldn't stand a chance, also you will want to start trying to strain you ears to pick up things around you. I have the ability to identify people and their emotions by the way they walk, but that isn't all I can fight without seeing. I know when that punch is coming in behind me because I can hear it as it parts the air. Train you ears to identify sound like that, understand?" She said as they started walking into the village side by side.

When they were gone most of the damage had been repaired, looking around they found it hard to believe that a battle had taken place at all. They finally ended up at their destination, the bridge. When they arrived they saw Sakura and Sasuke waiting there looking bored as usual. Sakura looked up and smiled when she noticed their approach.

"Long time no see." She smiled sweetly before she realized something, "You guys arrived together, did you have an early date?" She asked with a mischievous look on her face. Naruto turned bright red and started stuttering, Sasuke sharply turned his head in their direction.

"No we didn't, actually we had an early morning training exercise. You should try it some time, Sakura." Kagome said coolly without missing a beat as she walked right by her and leaned against her normal spot. That day they only had to with an hour for Kakashi to arrive, normally they had to wait three.

"Lady Tsunade was a mission for the four of you." He said when he appeared in the middle of the group. He didn't even wait for a response as he immediately disappeared and left them to head for the Hokage tower.

///////////The next day. /////////////////////////////////

Team seven walked quietly down the road on their way to Tea Country.

"Hey, Sakura, are you hungry?" Naruto asked as he walked by her side, following Sasuke and Kagome.

"A little." She answered as she turned her attention towards him for a brief moment.

"Then it's decided. And conveniently, we've found a tea shop!" Naruto exclaimed rather loudly as the pointed ahead of them, "Let's take a break there." He continued as he ran ahead.

"Hey, Naruto." Sakura called after him.

"Don't bother, Sakura." Kagome said as she looked up from the book she was reading, "He runs on a one track mind, we should just let him eat and then leave." With that said she picked up her pace and the three of them followed their orange clad teammate.

"Welcome." The lady working at the shop said as she laid down the tea for team seven.

"Oh, miss, I'll have oshiruko." Naruto said as he nodded his thanks.

"I'll have dumplings." Sakura said sweetly as she gave Naruto a look to settle down, "What about you Sasuke?" Sakura asked as she smiled lightly with a blush on her face.

"Tokoroten." Sasuke said as he started straight ahead.

"Kagome, what are you going to have?" Naruto asked the girl sitting beside him; she closed her book and turned her attention the shop lady.

"This tea is enough, thank you." Kagome said as she smiled at the lady, who smiled back kindly.

"Okay, please wait a moment." The shop lady said before she turned and started walking away.

"Kagome, aren't you hungry?" Naruto asked as he looked at her with concern.

"Naruto, we were put on the same team seven months ago. In all that time have you ever seen me eat lunch?" She stated as she looked him directly in the eye.

"Come to think of it, no." Sakura said as she gazed at Kagome with curiosity clearly evident.

"Why don't you eat lunch?" Naruto asked as he looked at Kagome with wide eyes, imagine only having two meals a day.

"My second family, we traveled all day. We didn't have time to stop and eat lunch so we just settled for having a bigger breakfast. Dinner was light because we would train every evening before going to bed." Kagome said as she opened her book and started reading, her teammates knew that when she opened her book she was ending the conversation. Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto just sighed as they looked down.

'Konoha ninja?' Thought someone sitting in the back, as he watched the group talk amongst themselves. He stood up and started walking to the door, located right next to them.

"Relaxing with some shiruko on a sunny day like this? Ninja must have it easy." The man said as he stopped walking right next to team seven's table.

"What?" Naruto said with annoyance clearly found in his voice and on his face.

"Konoha must be too peaceful." The boy said as he ignored Naruto, "I only see dumb-looking faces in front of me."

"What did you say?" Naruto slammed his hand on the table top and stood up.

"Oh, wait there's a cutie here." The boy said as he turned towards Kagome and ignored Naruto, yet again, "I take back what I said." He stood back and looked her in the eyes.

"Excuse me." Kagome said sharply as she looked him in the eyes, her teammates didn't miss the way her hands clenched as she closed her book and roughly put it in her hip pouch.

"My name is Idate Morino. What's your name, young lady?" He put his elbow on the table and held the side of his head as she gazed her gently.

"Hey, you. Don't get so friendly with Kagome!" Naruto yelled as he rolled down his arm sleeve and moved like he was about to attack.

"Kagome, eh? That's a wonderful name. We must've met for a reason. Do you want to talk about our future with me?" He winked at her when he finished as a lop-sided smile appeared on his face.

"Our future together? I think I'll pass." Kagome said with an innocent smile on her face.

"You know you can quit your job as a ninja and marry me." He said cheekily. Sasuke turned his head sharply towards Idate and glared.

"Hey! Why the hell are you trying to pick her up when you've just met her? Do you take us for fools?" Naruto yelled loudly as he made another move towards Idate.

"That was a joke. Hey, loser! I, the great Idate, hate ninja. If you continue to hang around the Country of Tea, you're going to get hurt." He said as he stood up and turned his full attention towards Naruto, Kagome didn't calm down.

"I like that! If you want a fight, I'll give you one!" Naruto yelled at Idate with his fist still in the air.

"This is stupid. We don't have the time to deal with this punk." Sasuke said as he turned his gaze away from the two boys glaring at each other, and toward the girl stuck in the middle.

"Naruto sit down." Kagome said in a cold tone, all eyes turned towards her, "Idate Morino, leave now and I will spare you." Her gaze was hard and as she spoke he backed up a little.

"Kagome, come on I can handle this guy…Huh?" All eyes had turned towards Naruto and when he pointed at Idate he realized that the guy was gone.

'What? I didn't even feel him move away.' Sasuke thought before he shifted his attention towards Kagome, 'She realized it right away. How? After all this time, I still don't understand how she can be this strong.' He was pulled out of his thoughts by Naruto.

"Where did that guy go?" Naruto said as he stomped in place.

"Here you go." The tea shop lady said as she gave them their food, Naruto sat down immediately. "Thank you." The lady said as she turned to leave.

"Two recipes?" Sakura questioned as she picked them both up.

"Oh, that man left, saying you'd take care of it." With that she started walking to the back.

"That bastard…He's played us for fools!" Naruto yelled as she started grabbing at his hair.

"Kagome, can you track him down?" Sasuke asked.

"What? Do I look like Kiba to you?" She asked with no emotion showed on her face.

"Can you sense his presence?" Sasuke asked, as he glared lightly at her.

"Can you keep up?" She asked matching that light glare with an added smile, to which he returned.

"I'll not sit here after being mocked like that! Let's go after him!" Naruto yelled as he started out the door.

"Thanks for the food, Miss." Sakura yelled as she paid and started running after Naruto.

"Hey Naruto! It's this way." Kagome yelled calling the attention of her team as they all headed back the way they came.

"He sure has speed. He's had lots of training." Sasuke said as he ran next to Kagome. She just nodded and took off at a fast pace making it hard for the others to keep up with her. She stopped on a tree branch and pointed down at the tangled up Idate who had tripped over a tree root.

"Ha, ha. That serves you right!" Naruto said as he looked down at Idate.

"You've got guts trying to outwit us." Sasuke said as he looked down at the boy. Sakura was by his side and they were on a branch across from Naruto and Kagome.

"You dropped this when you so graciously fell." Kagome said as she threw down the knife. Idate grabbed it immediately and looked her in the eye before he took off running again.

"He sure didn't learn his lesson the first time." Sasuke said as the slowly caught up the Idate, however a moment later Idate found his true speed and took off like a rocket.

"He's too fast." Sakura said as she watched the cloud of dust slowly get farther and farther away.

"What? Even we can't catch up?" Naruto questioned with complete disbelief. They stopped on a branch and were panting heavily.

"Forget it… we can't catch up to him." Sakura said as she watched the dust cloud.

"Damn it, if we see him again I'll give him a piece of my mind." Naruto said as she watched the dust cloud disappear from view.

"Just make it a small piece, you can't spare any." Kagome said trying to lighten the mood; it worked because they all laughed for a moment.

//////////////An hour later. //////////////////////////

"Everyone, I'm glad you made it." Boss Jirocho said as he gazed at the four genin.

"It seems that we are done with introductions so let's get down to the point." Sasuke said killing the happy mood that Naruto had set minutes earlier, "The Fifth has told us to get the mission details from you."

"Yes, about that…" He stopped and cleared his throat for a moment before he continued, "Do you guys no about the Todoroki Shrine Offering Ceremony?" Jirocho asked.

"Todo…what?" Naruto asked.

"Todoroki Shrine Offering Ceremony." Kagome said, "It began a long time ago. Legend says that people offered the jewels of the Dragon and Tiger in the Todoroki Shrine to quell the storms and they indeed calmed the storms. That's how it started. But now it is a ritual that takes place once every four years. At first they only offered the jewels at the shrine, but ten years ago it became a race where the first one there becomes the man of power." Kagome said as she looked Jirocho in the eyes.

"Yes that is true, but recently another side has surfaced. Since the old days, this port town has sheltered two chivalrous groups. As embarrassing as it sound the two sides have been fighting for control over the town for a long time. It became very violent and innocent people were injured. To put an end to the violent strife and agreement was signed in the presence of the feudal lord. This event is used to instead of fighting to determine which group takes control. The other family has in the past used ninja, and I know that they will use ninja once again. Please lend us your help." Jirocho asked as he bent over and begged for his help with his story, "We cannot lose this race to the Wagarashi family again."

"Just leave it to me." Naruto said, before Kagome elbowed him in the side, "Just leave it to us, I mean." He said as he rubbed his side.

"So who do we have to escort?" Sasuke asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Oh, so you will accept?" Jirocho said with happiness in his voice, he clapped his hands and the door opening to the courtyard slowly opened.

"Did you call, Boss?" A voice that team seven recognized asked. The all looked at each other with shock.

"Oh, you know each other. That makes thing easier." Jirocho said as he smiled at them all.

"Not really." Sakura said as Naruto and Idate glared at each other.

"Welcome to hell, everyone." Kagome said as she sighed. Everyone was able to hear her with the exception of Jirocho.

///////////////////////Early the next morning. ///////////////////////////

"I didn't know it was this big of a race. What type of a race is it?" Naruto said as he looked at the size of the crowd.

"I'll explain the course of the race so that even an idiot like you can understand. The start of the race is here, Degarashi Port. Once the racers start they head for the halfway point, Modoroki Shrine. The fastest way to get to Modoroki Shrine is by ship. At Modoroki shrine we must take one jewel of the Dragon and one of the Tiger and take it to the Todoroki Shrine on O'uzu Island. That's the race." Sakura explained by using the map they were provided with. "But those are the only rules set, so using secret paths, stopping other runners, setting traps… anything goes."

"So hiring ninja doesn't go against the rules." Sasuke added as they all watched Idate stretch.

"What type of ninja did the other guy hire?" Naruto asked looking at Sasuke.

"They're probably hiding and observing how things are going. Don't let your guard down, Naruto." Sakura explained as she turned her attention away from Sasuke and back to Naruto.

"Yeah." Naruto said as he smiled dumbly at Sakura.

"All you guys have to do is watch." Idate said as he looked at the group on ninjas behind him, "You should stay out of this seeing as you already lost one of your team."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked as he looked around, "All of us are here."

"Aren't you missing the cute member of your team with the wide blue eyes?" Idate asked trying to get a rise out of Naruto.

"I'm right here." Kagome said from beside Idate, he nearly jumped out of his skin as he looked at her.

"Did you find anything?" Sasuke asked as she walked closer to them.

"No I didn't, I was close but they caught on to my presence so I pulled back." Kagome said as she looked up at the sky and closed her eyes in concentration.

"Ladies and gentlemen the Todoroki Shrine race will begin soon." Came the announcement.

"Wasabi family runner, Idate Morino. Wagarashi family runner, Fukusuke Hikyakuay." The cheers came and every clapped.

"Morino, that's where I knew his name," Kagome said as she opened her eyes and looked at Idate who was ready to begin his race.

"What do you mean, Kagome?" Naruto asked as he started at Idate and tried to think like Kagome.

"The examiner for the first part of the chunin exam his last name was Morino." She said, her teammates looked at her, but were unable to say anything.

"On your mark… start." Came the announcer and with that the two racer took off. Fukusuke ran to his boat, but Idate took off to the left and headed down the road.

"Where is he going?" Naruto asked as they ran after Idate.

"I don't think he is about to let down Jirocho, so let us just follow him." Kagome said as she started running after him. Team seven did follow after him, and Naruto ended up having to save him from a fall down the side of a cliff. It was then that they discovered that Idate had a ship farther up that would save them time. They made way and were almost to the island when a Konoha messenger bird landed on the ship.

"Kagome this is for you." Sakura said when she studied the scroll, the bird took off immediately and Kagome began to read.

"The Hokage wants me back, so try not to mess this up." Kagome said as she stood on the railing and made ready to jump. "Don't use your swords." She told Naruto and Sasuke before she jumped and started heading back to the Country of Tea.

///////////////////Early the next day. //////////////////////////

"So did I commit some kind of crime?" Kagome questioned as she looked into the faces of several jonin.

"Is that a guilty conscious?" Asked the head interrogator Ibiki Morino.

"No." She paused in thought and then looked him in the eyes, "Do you have a little brother, Idate." She inwardly smiled upon the slight look of shock on his face.

"We're not here about me, the main question is you." Ibiki said as he looked Kagome straight in the eyes and didn't turn away.

"Why don't you just tell me what ever it is that you want to know, I have more important things to do than to be interrogated by a bunch of bored jonin." She said as she narrowed her eyes and looked at Jiraiya, "Aren't you supposed to be on some trip? I thought that you were going to be gone for a while and that; there was a real reason as to why you couldn't train Naruto." Kagome asked as she watched him shift uneasily in place.

"You aren't an in type of trouble or anything." Kakashi said as he looked over the top of his book and smiled down at her.

"Then when are you all staring at me as if I may just make a run for it?" She questioned right back.

"How troublesome." Came the voice of Shikamaru as he entered the room.

"Now that you both are you, I can congratulate both on you on becoming chunin." Tsunade said as she sat down across from Kagome and Shikamaru. She handed each of them a chunin vest and smiled.

"Is that all?" Kagome asked with a bored tone, Tsunade turned red in the face for a brief moment. Everyone else backed as far away as they could with the look on Tsunade's face, except Kagome, "Couldn't this have waited until my team finished the mission that you appointed us?" Kagome went further causing Tsunade to stand up and glare at the girl.

"Leave now." Tsunade said as tried to rein in her anger, it wasn't working so well.

"Gladly." Kagome said as she stood up, turned and then walked right out the door. With one look from the Hokage, Shikamaru followed.

"Ibiki, would you like to go and meet the rest of team seven for their return?" Tsunade asked, Ibiki just nodded and headed off to meet them.

"Well that went rather nicely." Jiraiya said as Tsunade finally sat down. Everyone just looked at him.

"How so?" Asked Asuma as he took a drag from his cigarette.

"They could have fought and Kagome wouldn't lose without putting up one hell of a fight." Anko said as she leaned against a wall, "There probably wouldn't be much of a Hokage tower left. The jonin exams are in four months, I hope she takes them." Everyone looked at her strangely.

"She did mention something that I wanted to discuss." Jiraiya said in a serious tone that caught everyone by surprise, "I want to take Naruto out of the village for three years and train him so that he can handle the Akatsuki." Jiraiya stated.

"When would you have him leave?" Tsunade asked as she looked at her old friend dead in the eye.

"The day after he gets back." Jiraiya told her as he turned to leave.

///////////////////Three days later. /////////////

"Didn't I tell you to be careful?" Kagome told her team as they walked through the gates following closely behind Ibiki Morino.

"Hey Kagome, why are you wearing a chunin vest?" Naruto asked as he looked at her with a bright smile.

"She made chunin unlike some else I know." Jiraiya said as he came to the scene.

"Perverted Hermit, what are you doing here." Naruto asked as he pointed at Jiraiya with a look of shock on his face. Jiraiya only turned and motioned for Naruto to start following after him. Ibiki had already left as had Sasuke. Kagome and Sakura started walking back.

"Why was Sasuke in such a terrible mood?" Kagome questioned as they neared Sakura's home.

"We ran into some trouble and this man had a sword that Sasuke's chidori couldn't break. Naruto was able to break it with a move he called the Rasengan." Sakura said as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"So basically Sasuke is upset that he was out powered by Naruto." Kagome said as they stopped walking and Sakura headed inside.

/////////////////The next day, after Naruto's departure. ////////////////////////////////////////////

"Sasuke, sorry to inform you but you're in for a rough three years." Kagome said as she looked him in the eye. They were standing with only six inches in between them. She pulled out her sword and moved to attack. That was how things went for three years. Kagome and Sasuke trained for hours almost every day. Sakura worked under Tsunade hoping to better her medical skills and no one heard anything of Naruto.

"It's good to be back home." Naruto said as he looked over to Jiraiya. It had been three years and he was more than happy. They were walking to the gates, but stopped when they heard a huge explosion come from the woods. They ran in that direction and came upon two familiar figures.

"Kagome, Sasuke!" Naruto yelled as he approached his friends. The explosion had caused a huge amount of damage to the area behind his two friends. Jiraiya left and headed to the village to tell everyone of their arrival.

"Naruto Uzumaki. Long time no see." Kagome said as they started walking back to the village together, Sasuke on her left and Naruto on her right.

Hello, this chapter wasn't one of my best. I'm sorry for how it came out but I wanted to hurry through this chapter in their lives because nothing much would have happened. Orochimaru didn't have Sasuke and the Akatsuki won't make its move until the next chapter so this should have tied up lose ends. Review and tell me what you think, any plot ideas you may have for my original bad guys and names would be welcome.

Thanks,

AliKat89