Author's note: Thank you all for your reviews! I really appreciate them. And sorry for the long update… I've been away from the computer.

Disclaimer: Look in other chapters.

Chapter 4: I'm sick of making up leaf and tree metaphors.

Hinata sighed blissfully for what must have been the ninth time the five minutes she'd been awake that morning. Her heart swelled with joy at the recollection of the previous night's events…

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked Naruto, hours after they'd met each other for dinner.

"Yeah?"

"I've had so much fun with you tonight, but," she said, the disappointment apparent in her voice, "My father doesn't like me to stay out so late at night."

"Oh," said Naruto, a hint of disappointment in his own voice. He'd been having a fun time, talking with Hinata. He never knew she was such a good conversationalist. "Well, if you have to go, I don't want to get you into trouble with your father."

"Ah, Naruto-kun, so thoughtful as always," she thought, getting up from her stool at Ichiraku. "Well… I'll see you around, Naruto-kun. Thank you very much for the meal."

As she turned to leave, Naruto called for her, "Hey, Hinata!"

"Yes?" she said, turning back instantly to see him.

"I… really enjoyed this, tonight, so… I was wondering, maybe we could do it again sometime?" he asked, looking into her eyes, "I'll treat you again."

She blushed, barely able to believe what he'd said. "R-r-really?" she asked, her stutter returning in full. Naruto nodded. "N-Naruto-kun… I'd like that!" she said, barely able to contain her excitement.

Naruto smiled. "Great! So, what about the same time this weekend?"

"Th-that sounds g-g-great!" she answered, a large smile on her face.

"Alright, see you then, Hinata-chan!"

Sighing a tenth time, Hinata remembered how wonderful it sounded to hear the honorific attached to her name. She felt proud of herself for not fainting at any time during the previous day. "Maybe," she thought, "Just maybe, it's not a far-off dream…"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Meanwhile, in Tsunade's office, the fifth Hokage yawned as she finished the paperwork for some Jounin's mission. "It is way too early for it to be morning," she thought, dragging up the next sheet of paper. The previous night, she'd been hitting the slots pretty badly, and hitting the sake ever worse. Not only had she gotten the smallest amount of sleep she'd had in a month, but also her hangover was giving her a massive headache.

Suddenly, she heard a knocking at the door. Due to her condition, it sounded as though several large elephants were trying to break the door down. "Ugh… it's open, it's open!" She called, rubbing her temple. The door opened to reveal Uchiha Sasuke. "Eh? Sasuke-san?" she asked, her vision still a tad blurry, "What do you need?"

Sasuke stepped further into the office and bowed. "Good morning, Hokage-sama," he greeted her, trying to be as polite as possible, "I'm sorry to bother you at such an early hour of the day, but…"

"Just… say what you need, Sasuke-san. And if it's not much trouble, keep your voice a little lower, please," she said, wincing at the brightness of the lamps.

He nodded. "I am fully healed from all of my injuries and have received word that my former teammates are almost all fully recovered also. So, I am formally requesting to resume performing missions with Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura as soon as possible." He felt nervous. Perhaps she wasn't going to grant him permission because of what he'd done. A wave of guilt washed over him. "It's not like I deserve it, or anything," he thought.

But to his surprise, a smile came over the face of the Fifth. "Permission granted. But seeing as Kakashi's still recovering from… certain wounds, missions for your team will either be postponed or will be run with a different team member." After Sasuke bowed and began walking out her door, she called, "Sasuke-san?" He turned around. "How's that bruise of yours doing?"

"It's still a little sore," he said, turning once more to leave, "but I feel much better than I used to."

Tsunade smiled as he left.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

As Sasuke walked from the Hokage building, he realized felt much more energetic than he had in the past few days. The air seemed fresher, the sun seemed brighter, and it was just generally a nice day outside. Because he was caught in his reverie, he didn't notice he had walked into someone until it was too late.

A familiar voice began, "I'm sorry, I didn't see where I was… Sasuke-kun?" The two looked at each other and Sasuke saw that it was none other than Sakura whom he had bumped into. Her face was bright for a moment, but a sorrow-filled frown came across her face as she walked past him, saying, "I'm sorry I bothered you."

Quickly turning and grasping her shoulder, he said, "Wait, Sakura!"

She turned, a looking at him with a hopeful look in her eyes. "Yes, Sasuke-kun?"

Excited as he was that he'd found her, he couldn't exactly just reveal his feelings for her. "It's not like I could just say, 'Oh hey, sorry I've been an utter jerk to you, now I love you, do you still love me?'" he thought, trying to say something as she gazed up at him. "You… weren't bothering me," he said, finally, "In fact, I'm glad to see you."

"You are?" she asked, her eyes lighting up.

"Yeah… listen, I'm sorry for the other day… can I make it up to you?"

"Wh-what are you trying to say?" she asked, her heart hoping.

"I mean, tonight, can I make it up to you by doing it over?" he asked, answering her prayers.

"Of course, Sasuke-kun!" she said, embracing him tightly.

Sasuke thought to himself what a wonderful day it was so far. "Hey, listen," he said after she let go, "I was just going to go visit Kakashi in the hospital… wanna come along?"

She nodded and the two went to visit their sensei.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"This book just gets better and better every time I read it, I swear," thought Kakashi, relaxing in his hospital bed, reading his copy of "Make-Out Paradise". After finishing up a chapter, he heard one of the nurses talking to what Kakashi guessed were some visitors for him.

"And he's right in here," said the nurse, opening the door, "Kakashi-san, you have visitors! Two of your students are here to see you."

"Sakura and Naruto have come to see me, eh? That's nice," thought Kakashi cheerfully. He raised a hand to greet them and said, "Hey Sakura, N- Oh. It's you, Sasuke." "This is a surprise."

"How's it going, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sasuke.

Kakashi raised his one visible eyebrow. "What's this 'Kakashi-sensei' thing? The Sasuke I know never calls me that."

Sasuke grinned. "Sorry about that, my memory's a little dull. How's it going, Kakashi?"

Kakashi flashed his one-eyes smile. "I'm fine, Sasuke. The nurse says I'll be out and about by the end of today… but still no missions for a while."

Sasuke's grin faded as he said softly, "Kakashi… I'm really sorry… I don't know if there's a way to-"

"Listen," Kakashi cut him off, meeting him eye-to-eyes, "The Sasuke I know didn't do this," he said, motioning towards his abdominal wound. "The Sasuke that did do this is dead, and if I remember correctly, he had a cursed seal."

Smiling at his sensei's words, Sasuke replied, "Thanks, Kakashi." Sakura's heart swelled with joy at her love and her sensei's understanding.

"Don't mention it," said Kakashi, whipping out his book again. "By the way, the chuunin exam's coming up in a few months. You should take it."

"I'm going to."

"I knew you'd say that. Your skills are above and beyond the chuunin requirement already, but…" Kakashi narrowed his eye, "You're a bit lacking in the strategy department."

"What do you mean?" asked Sasuke.

"Shikamaru was the only one of your class to become a chuunin the first time around. That's because he used his brain to fight. Now, recall when you fought Gaara the first time. After he went into his cocoon of sand, you had to use the Chidori to pierce it. That was a good bit of thinking, there, using the time he wasted in the shell to power it up and gain speed."

"So what's the problem?"

"Well… recall what happened afterward. You injured his shoulder heavily, cutting directly through his armor, but you were unable to extract your hand for a while until you powered electricity through it again. Your mistake was in failing to wonder what would happen if you missed his vital spots, a very likely occurrence."

Sasuke remained quiet contemplating this mistake.

"You think a step ahead of the game, Sasuke. That's very good. But the difference is that people like Shikamaru, and even Naruto, who was able to defeat a genius like Neji, is that they think more than two steps ahead of everyone else."

"I see…" said Sasuke, "So, how're you going to train me to overcome that?"

"Oh, I'm not going to train you this time around," said Kakashi.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"This is troublesome, but Godaime said that I'd get paid for it and that's why I became a shinobi in the first place," Shikamaru said flatly a while later. He was sitting across from Sasuke, who had been sent to the former's house to train.

"Alright, I get it. You're lazy. So how are you going to train me?" asked Sasuke, wondering how in the world Shikamaru could help him.

"By doing the only thing that I do without the need for outside motivation," replied the chuunin, placing a board and some pieces between the two of them, "We're going to play Shogi."

Sasuke was puzzled. "… What?"

"Shogi is the ultimate game of strategy. Kakashi told me that's what you lack. Is this getting through?" Shikamaru asked smugly.

"Yeah, yeah," said Sasuke, brushing off the comment, "So we'll play Shogi for a while and that'll make me a better strategist?"

"Yep, that's it," replied Shikamaru. "We'll play until you can beat me twice in a row."

"Is that all?" asked Sasuke, raising his eyebrow in disbelief, a grin on his face, "That shouldn't take too long."

Shikamaru smiled. "Alright, if that's what you think, this will be easier for both of us," he said, moving his first piece. He and Sasuke played until ten minutes later, when Shikamaru said after one of his moves, "You lose."

Sasuke's eyes widened, scanning the board to find that the other man was right. "That… was just a practice round. It's been a while since I've played. Let's do it again."

"That's what we're here for," said Shikamaru, and again they played. Again, ten minutes later, Shikamaru announced, "You lose." At Sasuke's expression of shock, Shikamaru told him, "You should know, that Asuma and I have played for years, since before I became a genin," he narrowed his eyes and leaned toward Sasuke, "And I have never lost."

Closing his mouth from its agape position, Sasuke said, "Well… I guess now I know why Kakashi chose you."

"Do you?" replied Shikamaru rhetorically, folding his arms with an amused expression. "I thought you would. Come on, let's play again."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Naruto paced in frustration at the "bell training" grounds. "Argh, where is he?" he asked himself. "I should've known better and just waited three hours before coming. He's so… so…" said Naruto, trying to think up an adequate word.

"Helpful?" asked Kakashi, appearing before Naruto. "Perhaps patient or friendly would work as well," he offered.

"I was thinking more along the lines 'annoying,'" replied Naruto. "What took you so long this time, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Oh, I just got caught up when I found some very nice flowers…"

Naruto sighed. It was just another terrible excuse thought up by his sensei. "Okay, whatever. Now, what's this all about? Why'd you ask me to meet you here?"

"I thought it was obvious," said Kakashi, as calm as ever, "I'm going to train you for the chuunin exam."

"What?" asked Naruto incredulously, "Kakashi-sensei, with all due respect, I think I'm way stronger than I need to be to become a chuunin."

Now it was Kakashi's turn to sigh. "I've already given this speech to Sasuke. I know your power is immense and though you're battle instincts are great," he said, recalling what he heard about the battle he'd had with Neji, "You're not the greatest thinker, Naruto. I heard you left the written exam blank three years ago."

"Yeah, well, that's because I couldn't think of the answers! I did know them, though!" said Naruto, defending himself.

"Exactly," said Kakashi. Naruto looked as though he were going to respond, but then realized he'd been defeated by his own words. "I'm going to teach you how to call upon knowledge and logic better. On a mission, a chuunin needs to be able to find the best possible way to complete a mission, and that is often without a large fight. Trust me, this will make your missions about ten times easier."

His eyes brightening, Naruto exclaimed, "Really? You should've said so before! Let's get down to business! Tell me what I have to do, Kakashi-sensei!"

"Too easy," thought Kakashi. "Well, Naruto, the first step to this training is sitting down and being completely quiet."

"What?" Naruto couldn't believe his ears. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope," answered the jounin. "Just do it, okay?"

He grumbled for a moment, but Naruto sat down cross-legged. "Okay, now what?"

"I want you to just sit there for a moment and take in everything you feel. Close your eyes and be silent." Doing as he was told, Naruto went silent and shut his eyelids. Kakashi's voice was heard through the darkness. "Shinobi are trained from the moment they enter the academy to have every sense other than sight enhanced. Try relying on those instead."

Naruto breathed in deeply. He heard the slight breeze cross the field and felt the coolness of it passing his face. He felt the softness of the grass beneath him. He smelled the aroma of the flowers from a patch nearby. The sound of a squirrel chattering somewhere reached his ears.

After a few minutes, Kakashi's voice reached him again. "Okay, open your eyes." Naruto did as told. "Now, what did you feel?"

"I… I heard the wind and felt its chill… and the grass beneath me… and those flowers over there," he said, pointing.

"Did you hear any animals?"

"Yeah, there was a squirrel somewhere."

"Where and how far away was it?"

"I think it was left, or maybe right… I dunno, but how the hell am I supposed to know how far it is with my eyes closed?" he asked indignantly.

Kakashi sighed again. "Maybe it'll be easier to understand the point of this training if I just show you." Closing his eyes, Kakashi told his student after a moment, "The squirrel you are referring to is six point eight meters away from where you are, on the second lowest branch of the tree behind me, gnawing at an acorn."

Naruto gaped. "Are you saying… that this training will allow me to do that?"

"It usually takes a few years to be able to recognize distance based on sound and touch, and even smell, but you should be able to do it in a few hours."

Stymied for a moment, Naruto then widened his eyes in realization. Forming a cross shape with his fingers, he cried, "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Suddenly, about a thousand shadow doppelgangers appeared in the area around Naruto, all seated cross-legged.

Kakashi smiled at his pupil. "That's right. I'll be supervising your training, so just tell me if you need anything."

After a resounding "Hai!" came from all the clones, scaring the squirrel off of the tree, they closed their eyes and began to meditate.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Hours later, Kakashi called to all of the Naruto's, "Alright. Disperse the clones and show me how far you've gotten."

"Right!" said the replicants as they stood up and disappeared. After only the original was left, Naruto stumbled from the immense mental fatigue he'd gained, but remained on his feet. "Ooh… I don't think I'll ever get used to that," he said, rubbing his forehead.

"Okay. Try it again and see what you come up with," instructed Kakashi.

Nodding, Naruto sat down once more and closed his eyes. "Let's see…" he said after a pause, "There's… some kind of winged insect on those flowers ten meters away… I think it's a butterfly," he said, relying on the evidence from every sense except sight. "And there's a bird picking at a hole in the tree, eight meters away."

"Excellent as always, Naruto," thought Kakashi, pleased with the results. "That's good. Can you tell me how far away I am?" he asked, jumping a few meters away.

"Oh, sure!" said Naruto, trying to pinpoint where he'd last detected any trace of Kakashi. "You're… uh… hang on…" his eyes flew open. "You turned all stealthy or something!"

"Close your eyes again," said Kakashi, "And try it once more."

Naruto obeyed and tried to find his sensei again. Surprisingly, he found him in a quick moment. "I could find you this time," he said, opening his eyes. "Why is that?"

"That's the second part of the training. Chakra is used to negate the outpouring of evidence left when you move in an environment. It's almost like a thin film of chakra all over your body that jams the sound, scent, and even movement in the air which makes you, as you put it, 'stealth,'" explained Kakashi. "However, this action can only be controlled with a cool and calm demeanor… certain emotions tend to erase the chakra layer and make you more noticeable. Those emotions are then received as sense information."

Smirking, Naruto replied, "I guess this explains why you're so good at it, Kakashi-sensei!"

"Indeed. Now, Naruto, do you know which emotion gives you away the most? Think about all of the missions we've been on and how I've been able to find hidden enemies."

"Hmm…" said Naruto, his hand on his chin as he thought. "Wait a minute… it's bloodlust, isn't it!" he exclaimed.

Kakashi smiled. "Correct. When you have a strong desire to kill your opponent, your chakra becomes highly erratic and gives you away instantly. Now, try the meditation with the kage bunshin again," said Kakashi, sitting down against the tree with his book, "And concentrate this time on powering your other senses into your eyes."

"What?" asked Naruto, "What does that mean?"

"Imagine as though your senses of smell, hearing, taste, and touch are being received through your eyes."

Naruto was still confused, but formed the cross-shaped hand seal anyway. "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"You lose again, Sasuke-san."

"Damn," Sasuke cursed under his breath.

Shikamaru sighed. His opponent hadn't been able to get so much as a 'check' on him while he'd been beating Sasuke with the most basic strategies. "Listen, Sasuke-san. You've got to start thinking ahead of your moves. Don't get so worked up over the current situation. Instead, calm down and think things through. Try doing this with your hands," he said, placing his hands into a circle.

"Is that some kind of seal that boosts mental capacity with chakra?" asked Sasuke.

"Nah," said Shikamaru, smirking, "It's just a habit that helps me think."

"Seems pretty useless to me."

"You still haven't won, Sasuke-san."

An agitated look on his face, Sasuke grumbled and mimicked the position of his opponent's hands. "Alright… let's play again."

"Not like we have much of a choice." And so, after a few more matches, Sasuke seemed to be getting the hang of the game. He'd forced Shikamaru into a corner, though Shikamaru pulled out a brilliant strategy and defeated Sasuke countless times. "You're getting better," Shikamaru commented after one game, "I guess it's true what they say about the Uchiha clan being geniuses. You're almost up to Asuma's level and it's only been one day."

"Heh, thanks," said Sasuke, a satisfied grin on his face.

"But, let's take a break for now, an-" he paused, hearing footsteps near the entrance to his house. "Eh? Someone's here."

"Hey, Shikamaru-kun," said a tall, cute blonde.

"How's it going, Temari-chan?" replied Shikamaru.

"Temari-chan?" thought Sasuke, raising an eyebrow, "Shikamaru doesn't seem the type to call anyone '-chan'. I guess they've gotten closer over the years… I've sure missed a lot."

"Ah, pretty well. Gaara-sama has been teaching some new students in his spare time and asked me to help. They show some promise. What's this guy doing here?" she asked, pointing to Sasuke.

"I'm just showing him the ropes in Shogi. He's training himself in strategy so he can pass the chuunin exam."

"Playing Shogi?" Temari's expression became amused. "That's pretty odd training… think it'll do him any good?"

"I beat you, didn't I?" Shikamaru said, a smirk on his face. Temari's expression reverted to normal. "So what're you doing in Konoha, Temari-chan?"

"Ah, I already told you, I've been teaching some students and they're going to take the chuunin exam. And let me tell you, they're all going to become chuunin," she said proudly.

"Well, they'll have to get past this guy first," said Shikamaru, motioning towards his semi-student. "Also, why are you here so early? The exam isn't for four months."

Temari looked away before responding. "Well, uh," she mumbled, a slight bit of red creeping barely across her cheeks, "I just want my students to get a feel for Konoha and its Shinobi's techniques."

Grinning, Shikamaru said, "Won't do you any good. I'll bet you that if they get to the finals, they'll be eliminated in the first round by a Konoha genin."

"How much?" said Temari, accepting his challenge.

"One hundred ryou."

"You've got yourself a deal."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Naruto, dispel your bunshin," commanded Kakashi. As Naruto obeyed, he felt the familiar dizziness and fell over. "Let's take a break and go to Ichiraku, eh? You seem pretty wiped. We can also talk more about this training."

"Y-yeah," said Naruto, breathing heavily, "I'd sell my soul for some ramen right about now."

"Well, luckily, Orochimaru doesn't run Ichiraku, as far as I know, so it'll only cost you a few ryou."

Naruto laughed as he followed his sensei to his favorite restaurant.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

So that's it for this chapter. It's longer than the others, but that's because I wanted to include both training sequences, the reconciliation between Kakashi and Sasuke and Shikamaru and Temari's little scene. Sorry, InoShika fans… I've got something planned for our favorite porker later. Please review, my lovable readers! Your reviews push me to great heights!