Thanks for reading Chapter 0! Hope you enjoy this chapter, will be much more action and comedy. Enjoy.
CHAPTER: 1
The Wave Country Plus Ramen!
It was a rather uneventful trip except for the constant arguments of Kiba and Naruto. Other than that not much had occurred and the eleven had a peaceful walk to the Wave country. When they began to get close to the Wave Country's borders Naruto remembered that he had told Hinata he would tell her about his first trip into Wave Country. He slowed down his pace until he was walking next to her near the back of the group.
Naruto and Hinata walked together, slightly behind the rest of the gang, because Naruto had slowed down in order to demonstrate to Hinata what happened. Naruto created four shadow clones and had them use a transformation technique to make them appear like the people in the story.
"So this masked ninja, Haku," Naruto pointed to the clone wearing an ANBU mask, "was beating down Sasuke with these throwing needles and these strange ice mirrors, then Sakura threw a kunai towards the masked ninja but he caught it. Then I threw a shuriken to his face! If it wasn't for that mask he had on I would have got him. That is when I showed up in this huge puff of smoke making a dramatic entrance!" So Naruto continued the story all the way to the end where team 7 left the wave country. Hinata listened intently to Naruto's story and enjoyed the antics and terrible acting of the clones. She suppressed a sniffle when Naruto arrived to the part where Zabuza and Haku met their end.
Sakura had over heard Naruto telling the story of Team 7's first real mission. "Sasuke....." she said with a sigh. Every time Naruto mentioned his name she would become a bit more depressed and lost in memories of her old teammate. Just as Naruto finished his story all the other ninja found it hard to believe what they considered an overly exaggerated story. They quickly changed their minds when they finally arrived at the bridge.
Every one of the young ninja, minus Naruto and Sakura, stopped in their tracks when they saw the bridge. "What the Hell!?" They exclaimed as they saw a sign on the side support beam that said "THE GREAT UZUMAKI NARUTO BRIDGE"
"See Hinata, they named the bridge after me!" Naruto said with his usual smile as he pointed at the sign. His actor clones returned to non-existence in a small puff of smoke. The bridge was packed full of merchants and tourists, which showed the wave country's improvement since Team 7's mission.
The gang continued to walk into town, some still in complete shock about the bridge's name, as they looked for the hotel they were to stay at. The town was full of life and commerce, shops now lined the entire town, vendors walked around with their carts, offering odd little knickknacks at "Unbeatable prices!" Naruto was busy looking for a ramen stand when he noticed a sign that pointed to the Red Ocean Hotel, and everyone could see the beach located right behind it.
"WOW! IT'S RIGHT NEXT TO THE BEACH!!" Naruto yelled "This is going to be great." The group entered the hotel's lobby and quickly scanned their surroundings, some habits of ninja life never being forgotten even during a vacation. This particular hotel did not look cheap in the least; bell hops, an area for dinning, a high class kitchen (Naruto considered it to be less than because they did not serve ramen), the works for a 4 star hotel.
The Konoha ninja stopped their examination of the hotel lobby and made their way to the front desk. Shikamaru took the lead and rang the bell on the counter to got the receptionists attention.
Shikamaru said, in his lazy way, "We're the ninja from Konoha. I believe we have a reservation." The clerk smiled and nodded her head. She turned around and grabbed 5 sets of keys from their holders and gave them to Shikamaru. She also pulled an envelope from a drawer and gave it to him. Shikamaru took the envelope and keys back to his friends. Naruto and the others formed a circle around Shikamaru.
"Tch, how troublesome, there are only five keys...." Shikamaru muttered. "What a drag. Two people will have to share a room and one room will have three people."
'What if Naruto-kun and I ended up sharing a room?' thought Hinata, her face blushed at the thought, and her face turned towards the ground.
'Man, if a girl and I shared a room, hehe, we could have all kinds of fun,' thought Kiba, as a smile appeared on his face after a quick scan of the young ladies of the group.
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"Well, the girls and boys will obviously be in separate rooms," said Tenten. Shikamaru took two of the keys and handed them to Tenten. Tenten tossed one of the two keys to Sakura, who caught it easily.
"Girls, always so troublesome, you can figure this out on your own." And with that Shikamaru headed over to the males of the group.
Shikamaru took one of the keys and gave it to Chouji, "Chouji and I will share a room, obviously, since we are teammates." He proceeded to give a key to Neji and then the last one to Naruto "I trust you two to settle the last of the room arrangements." Shikamaru and Chouji grabbed their bags and headed on up to their room. Naruto looked at Kiba, then Lee. His head slowly turned his gaze came upon Shino, who has yet to actually say a word this whole trip.
"Umm, hey Neji, do you think you could take Shino with you? That guy creeps me out." Neji visibly twitched as he thought of the bug user in his room.
"Naruto, I shall share a room with Lee since we are teammates like Shikamaru and Chouji. That leaves Kiba and Shino to be in the same room as you." Naruto turned to Neji and yelled "That's not fair! I don't have any guy teammates left!!"
Sakura looked at the ground after hearing Naruto's remark. "Sasuke..." she said under her breath. Ino saw the look on her friends face and walked over to her, whispered a few words in her ear before she grabbed their bags and moved towards the elevators.
"Look, that guy scares me; he's staying with you Neji." Naruto continue to try to get Neji to take Shino with him. As this was said Shino walked by them both, went to the front desk and requested another room. The clerk gave him a key and Shino moved towards the stairs.
"Hey guys, it seems Shino's taken care of it." Kiba said as he pointed at the silent shinobi as he walked to his room.
"Well, I guess I'm with Kiba." said Naruto.
"I guess that leaves us two, eh Hinata?" asked Tenten, a smile on her face. "Come on, we can talk about Neji and watch some chick flicks."
"H-Hai, Tenten-san." Hinata nodded and followed Tenten up the stairs to their room. The young ninjas quickly went to their rooms to settle themselves in and unpack their bags. They left their gear and clothes in their rooms; none of them actually bothered to unpack before they regrouped in the lobby. All the girls gathered together and talked about what they should do. The boys formed their own circle and put forth the same question to each other. Suddenly, from the girls came a shout of "SWIMSUIT SHOPPING!"
Hinata blushed. 'Naruto will see me in a swimsuit'.She began to push her fingers together and looked at the floor.The guys nodded, firmly agreed to that plan, and followed the girls to go shopping for swimwear.
The gang searched around the hotel for a decent clothing shop. After a quick look around they settled on a shop that was located not to far from their hotel. It seemed to be the only shop with reasonably priced outfits. The girls looked carefully at the suits in search of some nice two piece outfits. That is, except for Hinata. She browsed through the store's one piece rack but did not find an outfit that really felt right.
The guys simply picked out some swim trunks. Naruto chose a pair of bright orange swim trunk with red swirls on the front legs, Neji chose a basic black design, Shikamaru chose white, Chouji chose a light blue that resembled the chakra wings he formed after he ate the red pill, and Kiba chose a brown pair. Lee terrified everyone with what he had chosen to wear. He stepped out of the changing room wearing a dark green speedo that seemed as though it was cut out of his usual green spandex outfit
The girls stepped into the stores changing room and tried on the different bikinis that they had picked out, except for Hinata who was trying on a one-piece she had found. Sakura had decided on cherry red bikini with cherry blossom pattern and a mesh wrap skirt of the same design, Tenten found a pink set with small hearts with a tankini top and Ino went with a yellow crop top tee and moderate bikini bottoms. Hinata had pulled a black one-piece swimsuit to try on but the others girls secretly decided that Hinata needed their invaluable assistance. Ino reached under the door, stole Hinata's regular clothes, and left her an indigo bikini with a tankini top and embellished cotton skirt. The girls refused to give back Hinata's clothes until she put the outfit on.
Hinata sat for several minutes before she decided to get this over with quickly and put on the outfit. She slowly went outside the dressing room, looking for the other girls so she could get her clothes back. However, at that moment, as she left the dressing room, Naruto walked by. He looked at Hinata and his gaze went up and down before settling back on her face, which at this point was completely red.
"Hey, Hinata, nice out fit. It looks good on you. Is that what you are going to wear to the beach?" Naruto said in his usual fashion. He was back in his normal clothes going to the check out counter with his suit in his arms. Hinata went and turned another shade of red. She used almost all her will to keep herself from fainting right then and there.
"I-if you r-really think it looks g-good N-N-Naruto-kun, then I guess I will get t-this one." she said shyly. Her gaze was on the floor as her fingers pressed once more against each other. She refused to meet Naruto's eyes because she knew she would be unable to hold off the fainting spell if she were to look at him.
"Yeah, it looks great on you Hinata. I'd say it looks better than what Sakura's wearing," Naruto said. Naruto went to catch up with the other guys after he payed for his trunks. The kunoichi had hidden behind some of the clothing racks and watched the exchange between Naruto and Hinata. They came out of hiding when Naruto had left and returned Hinata clothes. They also handed back the original one piece they thought she was going to buy. Hinata changed back into her normal clothes and surprised the three female ninja when she purchased the other outfit.
As expected, Shino didn't get anything. He had shown a small interest in a pair of trunks with centipedes and millipedes on them, but knew that his bug friends would not enjoy the water. He left the store and followed the others back to the hotel.
The gang quickly changed at the hotel into their newly acquired outfits (except for Shino) and then went down to the beach. Naruto, Lee, Ino, and Tenten ran down to the beach while the rest walked. Luckily the beach was not very crowded and everyone was able to find a good spot to relax or had plenty of room to act a fool. Hinata placed a white blanket she had brought with her down on the sand. Next she placed a red beach umbrella above the top of the towel to block the sun and rested in the shade afforded by the umbrella.
Hinata laid back on the blanket, closed her eyes, and enjoyed the warmth of the day and the gentle breeze from the sea. A loud thump occurred near to Hinata, causing her to sit up and check around her. She looked to her right and saw a small picnic basket. Next to that picnic basket stood Sakura in her red bikini. Sakura laid out a blanket next to Hinata's and stuck an umbrella in the ground. She looked over at Hinata and smiled.
"I hope you don't mind me setting up next to you," said Sakura.
"Of course not Sakura-san. I would be happy if you joined me." Hinata smiled at Sakura then looked down at the basket. "What's in there?"
"Oh, it is only just a few drinks and snacks. I brought them in case I got a bit thirsty or hungry. Would you like some?" Sakura reached to the basket and opened the lid. Inside Hinata saw a variety of soft drinks, a few bags of potato chips, and a red apple. Hinata pointed at the apple and Sakura reached in and pulled it out, and gently tossed it to her. Hinata easily caught it and looked at the apple over before taking the first bite. She enjoyed the deliciousness of the apple and swallowed that first bite.
"Mmmm, arigato Sakura-san. It's delicious." Hinata smiled and took another bite.
"Hinata-san, we've known each other since the first day of school. Please, call me Sakura-chan." Hinata looked at Sakura and smiled, nodding her head. Sakura pulled out a can of soda, popped the top, brought it to her lips, and enjoyed a nice long drink.
"Hai, Sakura-chan. However, I insist that you call me Hinata-chan also." Sakura lowered the can and nodded at Hinata.
"You got it, Hinata-chan. Ne, Hinata-chan, where is everybody? I lost track of them after I went to get the snacks.
"Oh, well over there is Shino-kun." Hinata pointed to the ninja as he knelt in the sand close to the shore. What truly surprised them was the amazing sand castle he was had built. The best way to describe it is the magical world of Disney castle. He was putting the finishing touches on one of the outer walls while his bugs assisted him as they smoothed out the walls and secreted a substance to add to the integrity of the castle.
"Wow, would you look at that? That is amazing," said Sakura, as she and Hinata stared in amazement at the structure. Sakura got her mind back on track and asked, "What about the others?"
"I'm not sure. I saw them go into the shack over there, but I did not see them come out."
"KAWABUNGA!" Out on the waves Sakura and Hinata could clearly see Naruto, Kiba, Neji, Lee, Tenten, and Ino on surfboards.
Kiba was on a black and red surfboard, his dog, Akamaru carefully perched at the front while he barked with joy. Ino had a yellow surfboard that matched her hair. Tenten was next; her bright pink surfboard easily maneuvered through the waves. After her was Lee, who proudly showed off his stuff, both his moves and otherwise. Hinata and Sakura giggled as a wave poured over him and causing him to be thrown off his bored.
Suddenly Sakura and Hinata gasped. Neji rode a pure white surfboard and easily swept through the waves as he did flips and spins. Neji caught a huge wave, easily crested to the top of it, and rode it out. 'Where and when did he learn to do that?' wondered Hinata.
Lastly came Naruto. His blonde hair, orange swim trunks and orange surfboard easily recognizable at any distance. He rode a wave easily and wore a smile that ran from ear to ear. After he caught sight of Sakura and Hinata, Naruto started to perform a wide assortment of tricks on the board. First he stood on one foot, flipped to where he stood on one hand, followed by a flip and where he landed back on his board. Hinata and Sakura smiled and cheered him from the beach.
'If they thought that was cool, wait till they see this!' Naruto quickly preformed the Shadow Clone Technique and formed multiple Naruto clones on the board. They quickly formed a pyramid and had the real Naruto stand on the top. He gave a big thumb up, and continued his antics. Next the clones switched positions and formed a long line up into the air. Finally, they repositioned once more and made a reversed pyramid with one clone on the bottom to support the others. All went well until the Narutos' hit a small swell that caused them to become unstable. Suddenly a powerful wave swept in and blew the Narutos off the bored and sent them back to the beach. When the wave finally settled, all its force expended on the shore, Naruto drifted onto the beach with his face towards the sky, and a dazed look in his eyes.
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata and Sakura said at the same time and rushed to his side. Before they could get to him Naruto started to rise. He rolled over and got on all fours. He looked up at the worried faces of Hinata and Sakura and smiled. He gave them a thumbs up. Suddenly a new wave crashed into the beach and it brought Naruto's surfboard with it. The board crashed into the back on the blonde's head, which sent his face straight into the dirt, his body went limp.
"Oh, Kami. Naruto!" Hinata and Sakura rushed to Naruto as fast as the young girls' legs would carry them. Hinata pulled the genin's head out of the sand. Naruto spit the sand out of his mouth before passing out and his eyes rolled in the back of his head. "Sakura-chan, what do we do?"
Sakura quickly looked around the beach. Her eyes stopped on a sign that hung from a small building a short ways away and took off running towards it. Hinata stared, confused as to why Sakura ran off. Sakura reached the front of the building which had the top half of the wall removed, a small counter installed and four stools to sit on. Inside she saw two men, one wiping down the counter, the other standing in front of a pot of hot water.
"I have a ramen emergency. I need a bowl of miso pork ramen and I need it NOW!" Sakura yelled. The two people looked at her for a moment before they burst into action. The one who was wiping the counter grabbed a bowl from the shelf while the one that manned the stove pulled a strainer full of noodle and tossed it in the air followed by a ladle full of broth. The one with the bowl skillfully caught the noodles and broth not spilling a drop, placed a pair of chopstick on top of the bowl, and handed the bowl to Sakura. She ran back to the spot where Naruto had passed out, his head lay in Hinata's lap. She kneeled before the blonde boy and waved the bowl under his nose.
Naruto's eyes popped open as the smell of his favorite food snapped him out of his coma. He quickly sat up and grabbed the bowl from Sakura.
"Itadakimasu!" shouted Naruto, as he snapped the chopsticks apart before he dug in. After his first mouthful he looked at the two faces looking at him. First he saw Hinata. A look of happiness and relief on her face as she looked at him. Next, he saw Sakura. At first he saw a look of relief on her face too, but it was quickly followed by one of anger.
Sakura quickly stood up and hit Naruto on his head, causing him to drop his chopsticks in his ramen bowl, that hand previously held them went to hold his wounded head.
"Baka! Don't ever do that again. I can't believe you'd pull a stupid stunt like that. Errr!" Sakura turned around and strode off back to her beach blanket.
"I am g-glad you are s-safe, Naruto-kun." Hinata smiled at the excitable boy, truly glad he had not been hurt. Naruto looked back at her and smiled in return.
"Thanks Hinata. Ne, Hinata, why don't you try surfing. It's a blast. I guarantee you'll love it. If Neji can do it, I know you can too." Naruto rose out of the sand and returned his attention to the ramen so it would not grow cold. Amidst the slurping of noodles Hinata's face flushed as the blood rushed to the vessels close to her skin and turned her bright red.
'Naruto thinks I can do anything Neji can? I trust him. If he says I can, then I believe I can too.' Hinata rose from the sand, unable to look the blonde in the eyes. "Th-thank you N-Naruto-kun. I w-will try i-it." She bowed and hurried off to the surfing shack to get a board. She hoped they had one she liked.
Naruto watched Hinata leave, and finished his bowl of ramen. He took the bowl with him to where Sakura sat, her arms wrapped around her and her head down as she glared at the sand. He sat down next to her and placed the bowl on the towel away from anyone's arms and legs. He looked over at Sakura, considered his words, and then spoke.
"Oy, Sakura-chan, I'm sorry for worrying you. But you have to admit it was pretty cool! At least until I wiped out." Sakura continued to glare at the sand and ignore Naruto. Naruto pondered what he should do when suddenly he was struck with an idea. A huge evil grin split his face. He raised his hands above his head, palms open wide, and then he struck.
"NARUTO! HAHAHAHA. S-stop, haha, y-ou haha know I'm hahaha I'm tick hahaha ticklish hahahaha!" Sakura's laughter filled the air as her anger dissipated from Naruto's "attack." "Alright, Naruto, ahaha, I give, haha, I give."
Naruto ceased his offensive and relaxed next to his friend when he saw her smile again. "Glad you're feeling better Sakura-chan. I don't want to see you sad or angry."
"Thanks, Naruto. I just got worried seeing you there, you know. After Sasuke left…" Sakura's head began to droop again as she thought of the Uchiha. Naruto saw this and acted quickly.
"Ne, Sakura-chan, I got an idea. Why don't you try surfing? I know you'll like it. Use my board. It is well balanced unless there are ten idiots on it at one time. Hahaha." Sakura looked at Naruto, a bit unsure if she should try it or not. She had to admit, it did look like fun. Ino and Tenten seemed to enjoy it too. She made up her mind, smiled, and nodded at Naruto.
"OK, Naruto. I'll try it. You better be right about how much fun it is." She raised a fist at him in a mock gesture of punishment. She got up and walked to the edge of the surf and grabbed Naruto's board. She waded out into the water before she lied on of the board and paddled out towards the sea.
Naruto watched Sakura until she had begun to paddle out. He picked up the bowl from the spot he had set it down on the towel and walked to the ramen shack. 'That's odd. I didn't notice this place when I came past here before and I never miss a ramen shop.' Naruto took a seat at the far left stool and laid the bowl on the counter. The first man who was wiping the counter had returned to his job by now, though he had kept a wary eye on the person who took the ramen. He paused in his endeavor once more to take the bowl and put it in a tiny pile of dishes off to the right.
Naruto examined the two people in the booth. The one wiping the counter was of average height, had dirty blonde hair that would have fallen to about midway down his back except for the fact that he kept it in tied in a ponytail in back, had blue-hazel eyes, and wore a dark blue shirt and black pants, each article being a loose fit on his slender frame. The one watching over the pot of water wore identical clothing but had on a small red bandana around his right arm halfway between his elbow and shoulder. His build was larger than the first, his clothes being a full size larger than the first mans. He had brown slightly curly hair that if straightened would be shoulder length and stood a full head shorter than the first guy. His dark blue eyes were framed behind a pair of neon blue tinted glasses. His eyes stayed glued to the pot, watching the temperature carefully, making sure to preserve the entire flavor possible in his meals.
"So, is everything okay? We were a bit surprised when that girl came over here screaming about a "Ramen Emergency."" The one who had been wiping the counter took a seat on a stool that was hidden from view.
"Eh? Oh, yeah. Everything's fine. My surfboard kinda knocked me out. I guess Sakura ran over here and got some ramen to wake me up." Naruto grinned as his hand scratched behind his head. The salesman behind the counter laughed while the chef chuckled quietly.
"That's good that nobody was hurt. I'm Remington and the one back there is Randall, my brother. It nice to meet you." Remington extended his hand which Naruto grasped.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the next hokage of Konoha." Remington looked at Naruto, uncertainty on his face, while Randall sat in the back, a look of amusement on his face.
"Yeah, well, Mr. Hokage, you owe 150 ryo for that bowl of ramen." Remington extended his hand out, palm open towards Naruto. Naruto pulled out his wallet and handed over 150 ryo which Remington quickly pocketed. "Is there anything else we can help you with?" Remington gave a small smile, his tone light and friendly.
"Yeah, I could use 2 bowls of barbeque pork ramen, 3 bowls of beef ramen, and 2 bowls of miso pork ramen." Remington seemed stunned, while Randall stopped in his stirring to look up and stare at the youthful ninja.
"Do you plan on eating it all? By yourself?" Remington and Randall continued to stare dumbfoundedly at the boy. Naruto simply smiled and nodded his head. He broke out laughing at the looks on their faces, unable to contain it. The two brothers slowly broke their stunned feelings and prepared to cook his order. Remington set out seven bowls while Randall got three pots cooking, each containing the flavor requested. Within minutes all seven bowls had been filled and were ready for consumption.
"Itadatakimasu!" shouted Naruto before burying his face in his meal and he showed no mercy to the defenseless noodles. Remington and Randall stared on, in horrified fascination, at the speed with which Naruto put the ramen meals away. Though they had run this business for some time, they had never seen someone devour ramen with such speed.
"Yum, that was great. It was almost as good as Ichiraku's." Remington and Randall both run over to Naruto, their faces inches from Naruto's.
"Ichiraku's? You mean THE Teuchi Ichiraku's?" asked Randall, his voice full of awe. Naruto nodded back and before he knew it the two brothers began jumping up and down with joy, singing some strange song of celebration. Finally they calmed down and returned to their normal expressions.
"Hehe, sorry, its just that Ichiraku was an old friend of our father's. Since you know him, half price on the ramen." Naruto shouted with joy and quickly ordered seven more bowls of ramen which the brothers were happy to prepare.
"Pardon me, I don't mean to interrupt your meal, but do you know that girl?" Randall had left his small kitchen to sit on the stool next to Naruto and was looking out on the beach. Randall indicated the person he was talking about and Naruto turned around to see who he was talking about. Naruto spotted Hinata as foam splashed up at her while she attempted to surf. Slowly Hinata balanced out and stabilized.
Naruto tried to shout out a warning, but before he could yell out the wave crashed into Hinata and threw her off her board. Naruto and Randall hurried to the shore to make sure the girl was alright. Hinata rolled onto the beach and gasped in air. Naruto rushed to his comrade and Randall grabbed the surfboard she had been using. Naruto lifted her head up as he called out her name.
Hinata's eyes slowly opened, and she smiled when she saw the man of her dreams in front of her. Reality began to sink in and she quickly sat up, a blush covering her body. Randall walked forward and extended his hand out to the young girl on the beach, which she accepted. He pulled her up and handed the board back to her, a small smile on his face.
"I'm glad you are unhurt miss. Do be more careful from now on, please. It would be most sad if one had to attend a funeral whilst on vacation." Randall turned around and walked back to the shop which left a confused Hinata and Naruto behind him.
"Ne, Hinata, what happened?" Naruto questioned Hinata as she turned back to look at him. Hinata tried to meet his gaze, but the heat in her face made her look away from Naruto so she would not suddenly burst into flame.
"I-I am not s-sure. I t-tried to b-balance myself b-but then a w-wave came and knocked me d-down." Hinata closed her eyes as small tears began to pool in them. 'Naruto-kun saw me wipe out. I am such a failure. Hanabi is a better fighter than me. Soon she will become the next heir of the family, removing me from the equation completely. Then Naruto will recognize how useless and weak I am and never talk to me again.' The small tears had grown bigger, and began to slip from her eyes to fall down her delicate cheek.
Naruto could hear small sobs escape from Hinata as she held the board tightly to her. He reached a hand out and gently touched her shoulder, making her jump a bit. "Hey Hinata, it is okay. Not everyone is able to surf right off the bat. In fact, most people can't. It's people like me and Neji that are the freaks because we can. Tell you what, how about I help you learn? I can give some pointers and maybe ride with you, and help you get it. Does that sound good?"
"R-really, Naruto-kun?" Hinata's sobs had slowed to a halt. All she could feel now was the warmth that radiated off of Naruto's hand on her shoulder. Naruto turned her around and brought his hand up to her face. He gently wiped away the tears from her cheeks.
"Of course, Hinata. I always keep my word. That is my way of the ninja after all." Hinata nodded, light once again returning to her pale eyes as Naruto took her hand in his and lead her to the water.
About an hour later the ninja gang had returned from their surfing excursion. Everyone was surprised by how quickly Hinata managed to catch on after her first unfortunate attempt. Naruto turned out to be a great teacher, although she felt like she would pass out every time Naruto held onto her to guide her. They returned their boards back to the shop before they headed to the ramen shack for a quick late lunch. Surprisingly even Shino was their, to enjoy the tasty meal.
"Hey guys. I got an idea. How about we play a few games of volleyball?" Kiba threw out the suggestion, eager to show off his skills to impress the girls.
"Yes. A great idea to show our youthful fire that burns strongly in all our hearts!" shouted Lee. The others quickly agreed and headed out to the sands to set up the game.
"Hey, Remington, Randall, would you guys care to join us?" Naruto invited the two ramen vendors to participate. Remington shouted out his confirmation while Randall simply nodded and both put a temporarily closed sign up on the stand before they joined the other young ninja.
Kiba, Hinata, Chouji, Shikamaru, Shino, and Ino were on one side while Naruto, Sakura, Neji, Lee, Tenten, and Remington were on the other. Randall sat on the sidelines and acted as the unofficial referee. The game lasted hours and ended only because it became so dark that it was getting difficult to see the ball. The final score was 8-7 for Kiba's team. Everyone congratulated each other on a hard game. While everyone was talked after the game Randall had snuck off and gathered a large stack of wood onto the beach. Everyone's head turned as a blazing fire erupted from the pile of wood, a smile framed on Randall's face, as light glinted off his glasses.
The others gathered around the fire and enjoyed its gentle warmth as they watched the sparks flicker into the night. Everyone separated into small groups, except for Remington and Randall who returned to their ramen stand. Ino, Chouji, and Shikamaru laughed at one of Chouji's jokes; Tenten, Lee, and Neji talked quietly amongst themselves except when Lee would shout about the "flames of youth!"; Kiba, Hinata, Sakura and Naruto sat close by, Naruto and Kiba attempted to out do one another with exaggerated tales of their past bouts while Sakura and Hinata quietly gossiped, most of the conversation occurred from Sakura's side. Shino sat off by himself and studied all his friends.
"Yo, who here wants some nice cold drinks, huh?" Remington and Randall had returned from the hut and bore trays of drinks with little umbrellas sticking out of them. Everyone eagerly drank for the tall glass and enjoyed the fruity flavor that fell upon their taste buds. The ninja enjoyed their time together, laughed at jokes, told stories, or in Naruto's and Kiba's case, competed in stupid competitions. As the party began to wind down, the young ninja huddled around the fire. Randall had initiated a ghost story contest and his story left chills down the teenagers spines. Many had tried to tell a better story and get more of a reaction than he had but none had done quiet as well.
Randall was sure of his superior story skills until Shino surprised everyone. He stood before the fire and told a long and fear filled story, complete with techniques. For his big finish Shino said "Though no corpse has ever been found, you can still feel the small pinpricks of his fingers nails on your skin, on nights with a full moon." As though he had planned it, the clouds parted and revealed a full moon which cast its light onto the beach. Everyone shrieked as they felt tiny touches all along their necks and back. Shino raised his arms above his head, laughed the entire time, and dispersed into a swarm of bugs that flew back towards the hotel, his creepy laugh filled the night and ninjas with terror.
Slowly everyone calmed down, realized their terror came not from the story, but from the fact that Shino had laughed. Some began to get up and leave the beach. Some returned to the hotel like Shikamaru, Shino, Neji, Chouji, Ino, and Kiba, while Remington and Randall returned to their ramen stand and began to lock it up for the night. Lee and Tenten had walked off down the beach until the fires light no longer was cast on them which removed them from sight of the last three on the beach, Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata.
Naruto and Sakura continues to talk about past experiences and tried to get Hinata more involved in the conversation. However, she stayed quiet, occasionally she stole a glance at Naruto, but mostly she sat and listened to the two teammates talk. Sakura stood up to leave, grabbed her towel and basket before she said goodnight to Naruto and Hinata.
"N-Naruto-kun, ano, I was w-wondering…that is, n-nevermind." Said Hinata, as her shyness forced to drop her request.
"What is it Hinata. You can ask me, no problem," replied Naruto since he wanted to see this weird girl finally open up a bit.
"Ano, well, th-that is, I was wondering if t-tommorow you w-would like to g-go somewhere." Asked Hinata, he face a slight red, all her nerve used up so she would not pas out.
"Sure, that sounds fine. Where do you want to go?"
"R-really? Ano, I d-do not know. I did not think th-that far."
"I know, how about we go see my friends here? I forgot to go see them in all the excitement today. Hehe, guess we all got a little distracted today, huh?"
"Th-that sounds g-great Naruto-kun." Hinata smiled, her confidence lifted a bit by his acceptance.
"And Sakura-chan can come along too. I am sure she would love to visit them too." Hinata looked away from Naruto, a little sad that she would not be alone with him now. "Well, it's getting late Hinata. We should probably head in and get some rest for tomorrow"
Naruto stood up, wiped the sand off his shorts and offered his hand out to Hinata. She grasped it, enjoyed the feel of his rough hand on hers, the strength in that hand. Naruto pulled her up and walked her back to the hotel. He escorted her to her room before he returned to his own. Naruto quickly took a shower to wash the sand and grit from his body before he got ready for bed.
Naruto changed out of his suit and into his pajamas before he climbed into bed. Kiba had left the room's window open, which allowed the room to air out while he and Akamaru slept peacefully on the couch. Naruto felt a chill come from the window as a breeze blew in. He walked over to the window to close it but instead found his gaze drawn to a large billboard outside, that was lit by a row of torches. He let out a shout of joy as he read the billboard.
The First Annual Wave Country Martial Arts Tournament
At Naruto's shout Kiba and Akamaru woke up, each none too happy to have their sleep disturbed. Before they could let out their frustrations on the blonde boy, Naruto had opened his door and ran out, formed a quick set of hands symbols and made several copies of himself. Naruto and his clones went up and down the hall, burst through the doors of all the other ninja. As he ran through the rooms he shouted "MARTIAL ARTS TOURNAMENT" over and over. The female ninja were not happy with their sleep interrupted and having been seen in their sleep wear. All they saw was a yellow blur fly through their rooms before they chased it out. The commotion of the shinobi filled the night with angry shouts of "TEME," "DOBE," and "BAKA."
It took the combined effort of all the ninja to bring Naruto and his clones down. They brought the real Naruto back to his room, tied tightly to a pole and a gag on his mouth. They threw the blonde into his room and waited till he had calmed down before they removed the gag to hear what he had to say.
"Guys, you gotta listen. It's a martial arts tournament and we get to make a request of the ruling council of Wave Country. We gotta enter."
A few of the ninja seemed intrigued by the thought while others felt it would be a waste of time. They untied Naruto and began to debate about who would enter and who wouldn't. Kiba and Naruto tried their best to get everyone to enter, but some people were steadfastly against it. After a long debate where in many fighting words were exchanged, a final report came out. Naruto, Lee, Tenten, Kiba and Akamaru, Chouji, and Shino would participate while Shikamaru, Ino, Sakura, Hinata, and Neji would simply watch. The ninja nodded their heads, and headed back their respective rooms. Even though they were annoyed with the blonde for the commotion he cause, they seemed excited about the next day.
Naruto closed the window and slipped into bed. He quickly fell asleep to thoughts of the upcoming tournament. He dreamt of defeating all his opponents with ease as Sakura cheered him on and Hinata also. Naruto had his fox grin plastered to his face all night as he slept and dreamt of his soon to be glory.
Anyway, hope you enjoy the re edited chapter 1 and chapter 2 will be up shortly. Please read and Review. Thanks.
Signing Up, Preparing for Battle