Pearl: Yay! Chapter two!

I don't own Naruto at all...just a Kakashi doll. Meh, heh, heh...

To Jacque: Don't believe whatever I am saying. xD

Chapter Two: Water

Naruto had been clumsy that day. His mind was not focused, and he ended up staying out late to train correctly. They had trained in a forest clearing earlier, and the trees contained their marks. Naruto walked away to a river that now ran before him. He sat in the grass thinking and gazing into the sparkles of the water. What had been in his mind all day was Naomi's crystal. He wanted it for Sakura's sake just to show her how much he cared.

It was late, and the sun had nearly set. The trees behind Naruto swayed in a slow rhythm as the wind brushed their leaves. Their dance seemed to have lifted away the world's worries. Birds fluttered out from one tree to another, chirping in the distance. The warm breeze gently rustled the glossy grass and flowers near by. It carried the scent of the flowers into the air, making everything smell of their pollen. Naruto's thought of the crystal began to falter, and he began thinking of other matters. For instance, today's training.

Naomi had been watching in the nearby bushes for some time, and finally, she crawled out.

"Hey, Naruto. How are you?" She asked cheerfully.

Naruto quickly pounced off onto his feet and turned around in surprise.

"Whoa! Naomi…have you been in there the whole time?"

With a laugh Naomi said, "Well, I guess you could say that."

An uneasy smile crept onto Naruto's face, but it faded as he returned his gaze back into the rippling river. There was a silence, and Naomi's eyes admired the somewhat secret place. She found a spot next to Naruto and sat down in the soft grass.

"Do you come here often, Naruto? It's beautiful." Naomi asked curiously.

The silence wavered on until Naruto finally spoke, "Yeah, this place is where I just come to relax." He continued to ask, "Wait…how did you know I was out here?"

Lifting her head, Naomi now looked at the sky and said, "I ran into Sakura, Sasuke, and Mr. Kakashi in the village. You were missing so I asked them where you were. They told me how clumsy in training you were today, and then told me where you were. I thought you might be lonely so I just came to check on how you were."

"Mr. Kakashi?!" Naruto chuckled amusingly.

"What?" Naomi asked innocently.

"Nothing! It's nothing!" Naruto snickered.

Smiling, Naruto took a seat next to Naomi. He looked at Naomi and then at her bag, which contained her pass.

"Maybe if I became friends with Naomi, she might give it to me." Naruto thought as he smiled cynically at the plans that concocted in his mind.

"I guess something's on your mind, right? Is it about…Sakura?" Naomi slowly asked.

"Eh...what about Sakura? Naruto asked as his smile quickly disappeared.

Naomi laughed and replied, "Well, she's a great member of your team I'd say, and her knowledge about my town amazes me."

"Oh...well, yeah, she's great." Naruto agreed with a small blush.

Once again, a silence fell over, but this time, Naomi was staring curiously at Naruto who became very uncomfortable.

Finally he exclaimed, "What? Is-is there something on my face?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Naruto. No, there's nothing on your face." Naomi replied calmly.

"Then...why are you staring at me?" Naruto asked impatiently. Naomi hesitated before answering.

"Your eyes...they're beautiful...like sapphires." Speechless, Naruto just remained in his state of shock.

"Eh, okay..." he said scratching his head. "She's weird..." he thought.

Naomi turned to Naruto and placed her hand on his forehead protector. She gently tilted his head back to make his eyes glisten in the sun. Disturbed by Naomi's gaze through her white glasses, Naruto poked Naomi's forehead. Her attention restored, Naomi gave a small gasp, quickly pulled back her hand, and turned away.

"I'm...sorry," she muttered.

"Ah, it's alright. I guess there must be something between you and sapphires or blue eyes, right?" Naruto asked coolly. "Man, she's weird!" he thought again.

"My own eyes are blue." Naomi replied as she turned back toward Naruto who said, "Huh? Really? I've never seen a black-haired person with blue eyes. I mostly see them with brown or black eyes."

"Well, I can't say the same for Sakura. After all, she has pink hair and beautiful green eyes. Well, Sasuke does have black eyes." Naomi said as she smiled.

"Oh, right...but that's just different!" Naruto defended. They both stopped and stared at each other. Then they burst out into laughter.

They finished their laughter and retired their eyes to the water.

Slowly, Naomi asked, "Do you have more feelings for Sakura than just...partnership?"

"Eh..." Naruto said uneasily.

A small chuckle escaped Naomi as she continued. "It's something I see in your eyes when you look at her."

Naruto remained quiet as Naomi slowly spoke on. "Are you...angry at Sasuke?"

Fidgeting uneasily, Naruto replied sadly, " No, I'm not angry at Sasuke. It's just...ugh, nothing."

"Ah, it's okay, Naruto." Naomi said as she tried to comfort him. "I know you will capture Sakura's heart one day. She sees you now and as time passes, maybe she'll see even more. I think she might already see a lot in you."

As he lifted his head, Naruto eagerly asked, "You really think that?"

"Sure!" Naomi exclaimed cheerfully.

Then Naruto stood up with determination as his eyes traced the water. He suddenly ran near the river's edge and sprung himself above the river.

"Wahoo!" he exclaimed. Naruto closed his eyes and thought of submerging into the depths of the cold river. Except to his surprise, not a drop of cold shuddered his spine, and he opened his eyes questionably. Naruto found himself floating in mid-air with a thin layer of water that carried him, and somehow it didn't soak him.

"AAHH!" he screamed.

Then he flipped his head around at Naomi, and his eyes couldn't believe what he saw.

Her right arm extended in front of her as she muttered ancient words under her breath.

Then she looked up at Naruto, smiled, and said, "You shouldn't swim right now. You don't have any dry clothes to wear when you are finished, and eh, there's an eel in the river right now. Look below you."

Naruto turned his face to the river, and his eyes landed on the slimy eel. The serpent's body was sparking occasionally, and it's red eyes glared into Naruto's.

"AAHH!" Naruto screamed again.

Naomi laughed and controlled the layer of water to bring Naruto back to land. When he landed on the grass, he ran up to Naomi, snatched her right hand, and looked at it with narrowed eyes.

"How did you do that?" he asked. "You can't control water or any other powers unless…you were born a demon with that power." He said with each word slowing down. "Like me..." he sadly thought.

Naomi looked into Naruto's eyes.

"I'm not a demon, Naruto. I'm still human, and I'm trying to figure out how I can control water so it's a big mystery to both of us. I'm sorry, Naruto."

"Please, you've been sorry too much, Naomi. Besides, it's pretty cool that you have that power! Hmm...water bending is it? Well, we leaf ninjas can leaf...uh, bend?" Naruto slowly replied having no idea what he just said.

Once again, Naomi laughed, but stopped to ask, "Naruto, can you not tell anyone about this? "

"Don't worry!" he exclaimed. "Your secret is safe with me!"

He finished giving her a thumbs up.

A smile came onto Naomi's face and she said, "Alright, it looks like I owe you one so I'll give you my pass."

"Huh?" Naruto said in confusion.

Naomi dug in her sack, took out her pass, and handed it to Naruto.

"B-but you need it for entering our village and-and…" Naruto stuttered.

"Ah, so I see you've done some thinking." Naomi giggled.

She grabbed Naruto's hand and placed her pass in it.

"Oh wait, one more minor detail." Naomi said as she muttered ancient words again.

She pointed her index finger at her name engraved on the pass, and water spewed out her finger. In a short while, the water stopped, and Naomi blew on the pass. The name now read Sakura.

"They'll know who I am, Naruto," she said. "Speaking of which, its late. Come on. Let's go back. You'll get your training right tomorrow now that your head is cleared up." With that, Naomi bid yet another hearty farewell to her new friend.

Naruto stood there in amazement and stared at the pass. He read Sakura's name over and over again until he finally lifted his finger and traced the delicate carving. He had the pass…the pass that would make Sakura happy and maybe, just maybe, like him.

Pearl: Ta da!

Sasuke: Omg! I'm not in it!

Sakura: Me neither!

Both Sakura and Sasuke: You call that a story?

Pearl: Eh...sorry?

Sakura: Apology not accepted! (glares at me then walks away)

Naruto: (smiles smugly at Sasuke)

Pearl: ...