Hey all. Me again. I've only gotten one more review and I'm starting again. Lol. The crazy thing is, I have absolutely no plan for this whatsoever. It's crazy that anyone finds this interesting. Whatever. Chapter 7.

Yeah I know…I stole the whole Hina-chan bit from Two Halves. I just liked it so much that I couldn't NOT steal it.

That's actually the fic that inspired me to write mine

Chapter 7: When trying to sound cool, try to make sense

Naruto stood in horror as he looked on. Itachi was holding his teammate by the neck. Remembering his fights with Itachi in the past, Naruto readied himself to counter any genjutsu that Itachi might throw. Itachi dropped Lee to the ground and started towards Naruto.

"Do not worry Naruto-kun." Said Itachi. "I'm not here to capture you…today… I've merely come to pick up my package." He said eying the box Kakashi put on the table only an hour before. He changed directions, his motive, the package, only a few inches from his hand.

"HOLD IT!" Yelled Naruto. Itachi stopped and looked at him.

"I have no wish to deal with you today Naruto-kun." Said the Akatsuki member.

"You beat up my friend, and THEN you want to take something that Kakashi-sensei charged me with protecting." He pointed to himself. "Unfortunately for you, I have EVERY wish to deal with you!"

Itachi looked at Naruto and said.

"You DO realize that what you said makes no sense, right?" Naruto almost fell over. "Luckily no one was around for you to embarrass yourself." Itachi moved towards Naruto, his movements graceful as if he was floating. He positioned himself in front of Naruto. "What do you plan on doing to stop me? Hmm?" Itachi tried to use a Genjutsu on Naruto, but it failed. "Hmm, a clone." Itachi turned around, not concerned with the fake Naruto behind him. He looked around for and signs of chakra flow. Nothing.

Itachi looked out the window. Hinata, Tenten, and Naruto who was carrying Lee were running away. Itachi looked over to the table where the box was. It was still there.

"You're getting more clever by the day Naruto-kun." He took the box, "But your negligence will cost you dearly." He said as he opened the box. Inside was a piece of paper, it read:

Dear Itachi,

You suck. I hate you. Go die.

-Love Naruto

P.S. You got owned.

Itachi removed the letter to look underneath. In the box was an explosive tag whose fuse just ran out.

"Dam-" he said as the explosion engulfed him.

To Naruto and company

"What's the big rush Naruto!" Yelled Tenten.

"I'LL EXPLAIN LATER! JUST KEEP RUNNING!" Naruto looked back at the inn, "Any second now"…then, BOOM! A huge explosion came from the side of the inn. "Awesome." Said Naruto.

The group slowed to a stop. Naruto smiled.

"What was THAT Naruto!" Yelled Tenten.

"That," Naruto said with a wink, "Was a victory."

Everyone looked at him. Well, Lee didn't because he was unconscious. Naruto explained what happened.

"So, you have the package Naruto?" Tenten asked.

"Yup!" Naruto showed it off.

"I'll take that." Said Kakashi as he took the package from behind Naruto.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei!" Said Naruto in excitement. "I protected the package just like you asked!"

"Yes, you did." Kakashi said disappointedly. "But I DIDN'T ask you to blow up the inn."

"ACK!" Naruto looked back. Sure enough, there was a giant hole in the side. Luckily, everyone was out and about so no one got hurt. In an attempt to change topics Naruto asked, "So Kakashi-sensei, did you find that Kaoshi guy?"

"Yup. I sure did." Naruto looked around. There was no one even CLOSE to resembling Kaoshi in sight.

"Err…. I don't…" Naruto started.

"Hey everyone!" Kaoshi said as he walked out from an alley. "How are you guys?" They all stared at him.

"Where were YOU!" Naruto yelled.

"Doing stuff." He said. Naruto was about to yell at him but Kaoshi continued, "We should probably leave before they realize who blew up the inn…"

"Agreed," said Kakashi.

On a mountain somewhere

"The got the clone, eh Itachi?" said Kisame.

"Yes," Itachi nodded, "And at 1/3 of my chakra per clone, that's a rather large loss."

"What now?"

"Let's leave them be for a while."

"HE won't like that."

"HE can blow me."

Naruto and company

The group was walking in the woods outside of town. They weren't in any rush seeing as this mission had no real time limit.

"So, Kaoshi." Naruto said, "How long do you think till we get to the lightning country?" Kaoshi turned around, walking backwards, to talk to Naruto.

"I'd say about a day or two at this rate." Kaoshi said scratching his stubbly beard. In the past few days, he hadn't had a chance to shave, so his beard started to grow in.

"Cool," Naruto said. For some reason he liked the idea of being outside for a little bit. Especially being outside with Hina…NO! NO! NO! He yelled at himself. SAKURA! SAKURA! He was smashing himself in the head while he had his internal conflict.

Kaoshi walked over to Kakashi. "You know Kakashi. I think the only one who can't see what's going on between those two…are those two."

"Yeah…it's a pain in my ass."

It was summer in the northern areas of the world, birds were chirping, and they kept running into animal life, which Hinata and Tenten just LOVED. Naruto and Lee however, could live without it.

After a while the group set up camp. It was early, but they didn't really care. They were in absolutely no hurry. They pitched their tents and decided to lie down for a while.

Kakashi motioned over to Lee and Tenten. "Hey, why don't you guys go get some firewood?" He said motioning over to Naruto and Hinata who were lying side by side.

"Of course Kakashi-sensei. We'd love to." Lee and Tenten left to go gather firewood. Kakashi motioned over to Kaoshi.

"Err… I'll go scout. See how far we are away from the Lightning Country." He said as he poofed away in a cloud of smoke.

"I feel like sightseeing." Kakashi said. "I'll be back in a bit." The four had left Naruto and Hinata alone in the woods. The four looked on from a safe distance so they wouldn't be seen or heard. Unfortunately, their plan didn't seem as if it would work. Both Naruto and Hinata were out cold.

"Tenten…" said Lee. "see if you can wake Naruto-kun up."

"How would I do that Lee?" Lee handed her a rock.

"Get creative." Tenten threw the rock at Naruto, hitting him in the head.

"Wha-?" He said as he awoke. "Holy Shi-!" he almost screamed as he woke to Hinata's face literally four inches from his. After a moment, when he had calmed down, he looked at her. A strand of hair split her face down the middle.

Naruto sat there for a moment. Finally, he thought, "Damn…I'd hate to admit it…but that's a face I wouldn't mind waking up to more often…" he shook his head. "But I still like Sakura!" He looked at her again, "…I think…" He scratched his head. Hinata stirred next to him. He looked over at her. "Hey Hinata-chan." She immediately woke up.

"N-Naruto-kun!" She looked around. They were in a camp. The only person she saw was Naruto. "N-Naruto-kun…where is everybody?"

Naruto looked around having only noticed that they were alone. "I dunno." Naruto said. "They're probably off doing stuff." He scratched his head in thought. "I think that it was Lee and Tenten's turn to get wood…that's all I can think of."

"Y-You don't suppose they left us alone on p-purpose do you?"

"Damn…she's quick." Said Kakashi from a nearby tree.

"Nah." Said Naruto. "Why'd they do something like that?"

"Naruto on the other hand…not so much…" Kaoshi, who was next to Kakashi said. "How long do we give them." Kakashi signaled to Lee and Tenten.

20 minutes.

The pair nodded in agreement and continued to watch the amusing play in front of them.

"Well, I guess I'll go back to sleep," Naruto said with a yawn.

"NO!" Lee, Tenten, Kakashi, and Kaoshi said under their breath. "DO something girl!" As if she heard their prodding Hinata tugged on Naruto's shirt.

"N-Naruto-kun?" she asked.

"Neh? What is it Hinata-chan?"

"A-Actually I was hoping we could chat for a little…"

"YES!" The four hidden in the trees said.

"About what?" Naruto asked

"I don't know…" Hinata said shyly. "Haven't you ever just talked before?" Naruto looked up in thought.

"Not that I can remember." Naruto said. Hinata looked down.

"Oh…" she said quietly. Naruto noticed the change in her voice. In an attempt to cheer her back up he said,

"So…what do you wanna talk about?" he asked her. She looked up at him and smiled a bit.

"U-uhh…I don't know…" Hinata tried her best to think of something. All she could think of was, "I-I don't really know that much about you Naruto-kun…"

Naruto took this as an opportunity to show off. He started to talk…. and talk…. and talk. Hinata though, was happy to just listen. After about ten minutes of sheer unadulterated boring nonsense that Naruto decided to spew forth, he stopped.

"N-Naruto-kun?"

"You know Hinata-chan." He said thinking, "I don't know that much about YOU either." Hinata's face turned bright red.

"Y-y-y-y-you w-w-want to know ab-bout m-me?" She asked stuttering.

"Yeah!" He said with his smile. "C'mon! I just told you a lot about me! It's only fair." He looked at her again. "I mean I hardly know you."

"O-okay…" Hinata was nervous. "He wants to get to know me better!" The thought echoed in her head. "W-well Naruto-kun…" she began. She told him about anything she could think of. Except of course one crucial fact.

When she got to the topic of her childhood, she got quieter and more deliberate with her words. "…my father…he'd train me nonstop." She looked as if she was about to cry. "Weights…laps…everything. It's last all day…" her knuckles were white as they gripped her pants. "But…every night…when I got home…my mother would take me on her lap and I'd just sit there until I fell asleep." The thought of her mother brought a small smile to her face. 'Hina-chan,' she'd say, 'One day, you'll be head of this house and you'll need to be strong. I know you think your father hates you with all of this training, but he's just doing it for your own good…'" she looked down again. "Then…she caught a disease…no one really knew what it was. She was gone in a matter of days…"

Naruto didn't know what it was like to have parents, so he couldn't really relate. He tried to get what she meant. He imagined a world without Kakashi, without Sakura, Sasuke, Iruka, …Hinata. He guessed that's what it must've been like.

"…after she died…" she continued, "…father took his anger out on me, claiming it was my fault. He doubled my training, claiming that since I was almost nine…I had to work harder…" tears started to flow down her cheeks. "He…blamed me…for everything…" She tried to regain her composure, but failed. "…my fault…"

Naruto had heard enough. Gently he positioned himself next-to the crying girl and put his arms around her.

"It's okay Hina-chan." Her tears stopped almost instantly.

"N-Naruto-kun?" she asked surprised, tears still fresh on her cheeks.

"It's not your fault." He said stroking her hair. "Your dad is just a complete asshole." She didn't know what to do. He was hugging her. "There's nothing you could have done." She looked up at him. "I may not know what it's like to have parents." He said with his grin. "But I do know this. Your dad doesn't deserve to have a daughter as cool as you."

"N-Naruto-kun." She said, looking up at him. Naruto looked back at her. There was something different about her. Her face was completely pale. No hints of blush anywhere. "Th-thank you," she said looking down.

"No problem Hina-chan."

Kakashi, Kaoshi, Lee, and Tenten sat awestruck. There were no words to describe what had just happened.

"Damn." Kakashi said. "Now THAT…was smooth..."

"Since when did that kid get cool?" asked Kaoshi.

"Must be all his years hanging out with me…" Kakashi said.

"Phht." Kaoshi said. "The only things you know about women come from those smutty novels you read."

"…Shutup." Kaoshi started to chuckle. Lee and Tenten were just as amazed as Kakashi and Kaoshi.

"That was hot …" said Tenten.

"For lack of a better phrase…yes. That was hot." Lee agreed. Tenten looked at him questionably. Lee looked at her. "I mean that in the least homosexual way possible.

Back to Naruto and Hinata o

Hinata sat in Naruto's arms enjoying every second.

"Naruto-kun…" she said.

"Eh Hina-chan?"

"Why are you calling me 'Hina-chan'?" she said blushing once again.

"I kinda like it, it fits you." Naruto said. "Unless you don't want me to call you that."

"N-no…please." She said, "I don't mind…" she said with a yawn. She was asleep in a few moments, resting her head on Naruto's shoulder.

"That's good…" Naruto said trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. "Dammit Hina-chan, you got me all tired now…" he did his best to stay awake, but it was in vain. Shortly after, he fell asleep.