I said I would, and I never go back on my word, for that is my nindo... my ninja way...
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This chapter was... long. The longest I have ever written, and it puts me nicely in the 10k word mark. Stay loyal and lets hope we can go farther. Redyoshi, out
I do not own Naruto
Chapter 5: Results of Training
Naruto was panting, obviously out of breath while he jumped out of the way of an attack. He was sweating hard trying to keep up with the barrage that was being sent his way. He tilted his head to the side, narrowly dodging the attack that broke apart the tree behind him. He couldn't help but smile as he looked into the pale eyes of his sparring partner, Hinata Hyuuga. He took this chance to get away, and with a bit of what little chakra he could muster up, he ran his chakra infused hand over his body, reopening his tenketsu points. In an instant he was back to his old, energetic self, while Hinata was still panting. He ran over to her and prepared his punch, stopping it just before her face, ending the match in…
"A draw", said the proctor, Hinata's father, Hiashi.
Naruto laughed, looking down at his stomach where Hinata had pulled out a kunai, ready to stab him if he pushed any further. A punch to her now would have ended him as well, yet he could tell she didn't have enough energy to push it into him either.
"Both of your postures have improved drastically since you started sparring. Naruto, your knowledge of the tenketsu points and your way of opening them have improved as well…"
"Thanks Hyuuga-san, it was Hinata who helped me to develop it" said Naruto.
"Yes, I know, do not interrupt me next time." Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, but otherwise stood at attention, not wanting to break the code of conduct made mandatory by the Hyuuga teacher.
Hiashi continued, "Your reaction time has improved as well. Hinata, you are no longer a failure. Your skills have moved into the acceptable parameters expected of a Hyuuga from the main house. You need to work harder though, your cousin Neji from the side branch outranks you by leaps and bounds."
Hinata looked depressed, but Naruto put his hand on her shoulder and whispered, "Ne, don't worry Hinata-chan. He's complimenting you, in his own way." Hinata smiled a bit, and turned back to her father, her face betraying no emotions, just as her father showed her.
Hiashi remained emotionless on the outside, but on the inside he was a little proud. His daughter was beginning to shape up to be a fine ninja, and a fine heir, but she still had a long way to go. He decided to reward his students, only this once. He dismissed them for the day, and while they were turning to leave, he tossed them both cinnamon buns. They sensed something was being thrown and that it was not hostile, and caught it without even turning. Hinata immediately turned and bowed to her father for giving her, her favorite treat. Naruto was a little more reluctant to, seeing as Hiashi knew he didn't like the things. He couldn't outright refuse it out of respect for his teacher, but he couldn't eat it either. He knew this was sly punishment for interrupting him. They left right after they got the buns, and Hiashi turned to do his own errands as head of a clan. The day would be almost enjoyable for everyone in the Hyuuga house. When Hiashi had his cinnamon buns, the day seemed to go a little smoother.
XxX
Naruto and Hinata had leaped across rooftops to get to the one place Naruto ever wanted to go, Ichiraku's Ramen. When they were a little over a mile away from the Hyuuga estate Naruto gave Hinata his bun, knowing that Hiashi would be looking and that a mile was the farthest he was willing to look with his Byakugan.
As they walked in, they saw their stools empty and their usual orders hot and ready for them. For Hinata, she had a small Miso ramen. Naruto had two pots of pork, seeing as Teuchi and Ayame was tired of cleaning bowls all night.
As they sat down, Hinata used her Byakugan to check the surroundings for any Uchihas in a henge, or any neon pink banshees. They had been banned from the shop on their last visit there, and have since snuck in several times to harm Naruto or the business. Naruto was happy to "escort" raven boy off the ground, while Hinata was more than happy to do the same with Sakura.
Today however was one of the few days they had to have peace.
They said their thanks for the meal, before digging in. When they were finished, they paid their bill and decided to have a walk through the town. They were on their way to training ground 3 ½… It was there where they would receive their headbands and their team assignments…
Hinata looked up at her hero and crush. His beaming face and radiant smile always made her warm inside. She was thrilled when he told her…
They dodged kunai and fruit thrown at them.
… that he had been promoted to genin. When she asked how, he said that he'd tell her later. She decided that now was as good as a time as any, so she grabbed his arm and rooted herself to the spot.
XxX
Naruto looked back to see Hinata grabbing his arm and pouting. He knew that face well, it was the face she made when she wanted something, and he knew there was no getting away from it when she rooted herself down…
Although, Naruto couldn't say no when she made that face, not that he would ever tell her… he didn't quite understand it himself.
Naruto sighed and put his hands into several seals before hugging Hinata tight and whispering "Flashback No Jutsu", into her ear. They were transported into Naruto's flashback.
Flashback No Jutsu
Mizuki was laid face down, tied up in the cavern inside the Hokage Vault. He was unconscious after the Jyuuken attack. Sarutobi had sat Naruto down in a chair he had summoned. He knew this would be a long night.
Naruto was already sitting there in total shock. He was surprised that he actually belonged to a clan… and that clan was actually a founding clan of Konoha!
Hiashi returned from above, having resealed the hole down to the cavern and closing the door to the vault. He knew he wasn't supposed to be down here, but after explaining it and being sworn to secrecy he was allowed. He knew the story about to be told, having experienced part of it, and being told about the other part from the elders of his clan.
The Third exhaled deeply, then began his story…
"Naruto, do you remember the tale of the Nine Tailed Fox, the Kyuubi No Yoko?"
Naruto nodded.
"Well, it was not entirely true. It is impossible for a human to kill a demon. It was therefore sealed into a baby boy, but it cost the boy both of his parents…" the Third stopped hoping that Naruto would catch on and make this so much easier… He didn't so he just continued, "That baby, Naruto, was you."
By this point Naruto had started to hyperventilate, not believing the things he was hearing. He had the Kyuubi in him? He is the son of the Fourth Hokage? He belonged to a founding clan of Konoha? This was a huge load on his brain, and so he did the only thing that you were supposed to do when your brain overloaded… he blacked out.
The Hokage sighed, he picked up Naruto and carried him back up through the cave and back into his office, with Hiashi right behind him carrying Mizuki. Hiruzen returned the ball to the drawer in his desk, and dismissed Hiashi after the Anbu took Mizuki.
'Naruto barely listened to history classes in school… how the hell am I supposed to teach him about that?' Hiruzen asked himself.
As if on cue, Naruto woke up from his fainting spell. He looked around and recognized where he was instantly. His ears perked up, and he sat at attention, ready to hear the rest of the story he was sure there was left.
Hiruzen straightened up as well, as he told the story of the Uzumaki. "The Uzumaki were a mysterious clan founded in Uzushiogakure, in the Land of Whirlpools. They were distant cousins of the Senju, and therefore distant cousins of the Uchiha as well."
Naruto winced a little at the thought of being related to Sasuke in any way.
"When the Senju and the Uchiha decided to come together to form the Village Hidden in the Leaves, they were backed and funded by the Uzumaki, and subsequently Uzushiogakure. The Uzumaki were very active in the events of The Hidden Leaf, as they already had close ties to the Senju anyway. In fact, the wife of the Shodai Hokage was an Uzumaki.
"R-really Hokage-sama?"
"Yes, she was beautiful; she was also the first jinchuuruki of the Kyuubi. Naruto, your mother, Kushina Uzumaki was the second."
Naruto had started to tear up again, but he held it back as he listened for more.
"The Uzumaki were known for their incredible fuinjutsu. Their seal techniques were a force to be reckoned with. A skilled seal master from that clan could probably change the flow of time itself given a lifetime of training. From their basis, is where exploding tags, sealing scrolls, and most other of the seals we use every day come from. These seals were from the time they were still a village however… No one has been able to really improve it besides Jiraiya…
"Wait, what happened to Uzu?"
"Naruto, do you know where the Land of Whirlpools is?" Naruto shook his head no. Hiruzen wasn't surprised; after it was wiped out it was removed from all archives. He pulled out a map from a very long time ago. He pointed to a small country in between the Lands of Fire, Rock, and Waves.
"That is the Land of Whirlpools."
"But gramps… it's so small, I thought they were a powerful nation."
"No, they had a powerful village, but the land itself was by no means powerful. Their affiliation with Konoha kept it safe under the power of the Fire Daimyo, but the Second Great Shinobi War threw all of that out of balance. They were caught in the crossfire between our countries, and they were exterminated for working alongside us. It was a complete devastation, with the other three working together to destroy them. They attacked while we were recovering; we weren't able to mobilize in time…"
Naruto looked visibly depressed, but Hiruzen continued his story.
"They ended up crippling our power greatly, but it was not a loss only on our side. Uzushiogakure was a powerful village for a reason. It took all of the opposing army's forces to take them out, and by the end, half of each of the armies were decimated. They were the reason we were able to gain the most favorable outcome of the war; alongside the Sannin and the rest of the ninjas of course."
Naruto was listening eagerly, this news was astonishing to him, but he had to ask the question, "So… am I the last of my clan?"
Hiruzen was dreading this, but he answered the best he could, "I don't know Naruto… After the war the remnants of the village scattered throughout the lands."
"So what about my dad… the Fourth? What about his clan?"
"Unfortunately, he was the last of his clan as well. I don't know a lot about their clan, I just know that they were really gifted. They have been shown to have unbelievable combat skills. This included incredible speed, fluid reflexes and amazing strength. They were also skilled in the Yin/Yang Release, being rather odd. As a result, they were starting to experiment with Space-Time jutsu before they disappeared."
Naruto nodded, tears threatening to flow from his eyes. He couldn't bring himself to look up at his grandfather. His parents were orphans just like he was, and yet they became such strong and powerful ninja.
Hiruzen saw the hesitation of the kid he considered a grandson and spoke with a slightly softer voice, "They loved you a lot. They both risked their lives to protect you. If there was any other way they would have avoided it, but it was the only way. I'm so sorry, but if it makes you feel any better, they both left you something."
Naruto had now looked up, surprise evident in his tear soaked face, "Really? W-what was it?"
"Well, your mother, having being out of contact with her family and village for so long was not able to leave behind many of her family jutsus. She herself was a prodigy of her clan, and her own discoveries alongside the techniques of your birthright down in the vault, I'm sure that you could learn a lot from them. As for your father's clan, he was a little more direct. He was known as one of the fastest ninja in the world. He was respected and feared throughout the entire ninja world, and created various jutsu and seals of his own, being a seals master in his own rights. Among these techniques are the Rasengan and the Hiraishin, just to name a few. The Rasengan was his ongoing experiment, so its instructions were never written down, but the Hiraishin, among others were recorded for future use. I don't plan on giving any of them to you, however, seeing as many of them were deeply rooted in fuinjutsu, most of them being boosted by its influences."
"So basically, until I master fuinjutsu and become a seals master, my father's jutsu if off limits. So my mother will lead me to my father?"
"In a word, yes"
"Well, I can't learn this stuff if I'm not a ninja."
"Well, about that…"
Flashback No Jutsu end
Hinata, after the jutsu was dispelled, promptly fainted from the amount of knowledge she was receiving. Naruto had moved to carrying her the rest of the way to the training ground. He looked over the sleeping form of Hinata, her being a lot lighter than she looked. A strand of hair fell over her face, and her lips fell into that pout of hers, as if she was fighting something that was being unfair in her dreams. Every so often the sun would shine directly over her closed eyes, causing her to scrunch up her face, and coo whenever he moved her out of it. Overall it was a pretty cute scene, and Naruto felt his attention glued to her. As such he didn't notice when he walked into Training Ground 3 ½.
"Always the entertainments aren't you, Naruto-kun?" said Ino, sighing at the romantic sight before her.
"Ne, always being troublesome for the sake of Hinata. Huh?" said Shikamaru
"Eh, isn't this supposed to be romantic, Shikamaru?" asked Choji
"…" It was Shino, what did you expect?
"Haha! Good job Naruto!" yelled Kiba.
"Bark!" said Akamaru, ever the poetic knight.
Iruka said nothing as he looked on with a smile and a proud heart. He was going to let them have their little moment, but of course, there people that were just plain mean.
"Wait, what the hell are you doing here, dobe?" asked Sasuke, who seemed disinterested. It wasn't so much as he was surprised he was here, as much as he really just wanted to know.
In response, Naruto laid Hinata down against the trunk of a tree that gave shade, causing Hinata to almost purr. This made Naruto almost pained to actually have to leave. He went over to where Sasuke was standing, now flanked by Sakura out of fangirl devotion and Ino out of obligation to her crush? She wasn't really sure why she was on Sasuke's side, but now that she was here she might as well stick it through to the end.
Naruto relaxed, and pulled out his headband, and used it to replace his old goggles. With a chest full of pride, he tied it around his head, and screamed, "By special order of the Third Hokage of Konoha, I am now a ninja!"
Almost everyone in the training ground was overjoyed, but there are always haters…
While Sasuke was actually a little relieved that the only person that might have been able to beat him had become a ninja, Sakura was a little less regal about it.
'He assaulted Sasuke-kun! He is NOT getting off the hook so easily'
"Well, now that that's over with, we have to get ready to announce the teams shall we? First off…
Team Kurenai! Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, and Hinata Hyuuga. (Naruto was a little disappointed, and he knew that Hinata would be as well, if the rustling she did when it was announced was any indication) Shino and Kiba just walked over and sat down on either sides of her, complacent with their team.
Team Asuma! Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akamichi, and Shikamaru Nara. (Ino was severely disappointed, but she didn't know why. Naruto was disappointed as well, as that only left…)
Team Kakashi! Naruto Uzukami, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha. (Dammit)
'Dammit' thought Naruto
'Damn' thought Sasuke
"WHAT THE HELL!" screamed Sakura, "He not even a ninja! Wasn't he disqualified for assaulting Sasuke-kun? How do we know he's not just making it all up? He's the dead last that couldn't even do a bunshin!"
"Calm down Sakura. He may be the dead last, but he was recognized by even the Hokage, I think we should give him a chance" said Iruka, trying to defuse the bomb getting ready to explode, "now please be quiet, I have more teams to… where are the rest of the students in my class?"
"Well, Hinata knocked out all of the females…" said Kiba
"And I crippled all of the other boys" said Sasuke, "I'll do the same to you if you slow me down, dobe" he said, now looking threateningly at Naruto.
"I think you'll find our next fight to be a lot unlike the last, bastard." Naruto replied, his appearance that of a still calm. Before he only had academy jutsu and some of the clan jutsu he learned here and there, and he couldn't even use it because he wasn't given permission to outside of their respective clan houses. But now, he had his own clan jutsu, and he was more than happy to be able to use it.
"I agree dobe. This time I will win" Sasuke pulled out a kunai and readied to charge, but he was stopped by Iruka.
"No fighting until your jonin sensei gets here"
"I keep forgetting you're just a chunin, Iruka. Get off me before I beat you too" said Sasuke, struggling out of the grip of his former sensei, who promptly let him go. He stomped over to the far end of the training ground, and sulked over in his dark corner."
"Why'd you let him go, Iruka-sensei?" asked Naruto
"Yeah, I would've sliced him up" said Asuma, dropping down from out of nowhere.
"He would've been in a genjutsu that would leave him emasculated had he said that to me" said Kurenai, doing the same.
Naruto looked around expectantly for his new sensei to say something, and then mentally slapped himself. He knew the Copy Ninja Kakashi was infamous for being late.
After Hinata and Shikamaru were woken, they departed with their respective sensei, Hinata giving him a quick hug before leaving, something not missed by everyone else, but they chose to ignore it.
XxX
Minutes turned into hours, as Team Seven waited for their sensei. Everyone was started to get restless, so Naruto started playing catch the kunai with Iruka. Granted it was not the safest or the smartest game he could think of, but they were bored.
After about two hours Kakashi finally shun-shinned into the training grounds. He didn't choose the best place to appear, and joined in the game of catch the kunai… with his face… It hit him square between the eyes… then right through him…
"A bunshin?" asked Naruto.
"Why yes, a bunshin" said the lazy ninja, Kakashi.
"Hey Kakashi-san, now that you're here I can leave, good luck" said Iruka as he shun-shinned away.
"Should I be worried about that?"
"Probably Kakashi-sensei. Why were you so…" started Naruto
"Why were you so late, Kakashi…" asked Sasuke, cutting him off.
"That's Kakashi-sensei, and I was saving baby raccoons from a raging madman who wanted to use them to power his toaster that would allow him to take over the country of beans" answered Kakashi. In his head, no matter how ridiculous, the longer a lie the more plausible it was.
"REALLY?" to Naruto, this was true as well.
"No, baka, it was a lie" answered Sakura
"A bad lie at that. How stupid can you get?" asked Sasuke.
'Hm, I think I already know which one of these guys I like the best. Might as well beat around the bush until I know for sure though.'
"So guys, tell me some more about yourselves, like your hobbies, interests, and dislikes? Also, a name would be nice as well."
The three looked around at each other, Sakura glaring at Naruto, before Sasuke finally spoke up, "Why don't you start?"
"My name is Kakashi Hatake, and I don't care enough to tell you anything else. Since you're obviously so talkative, why don't you start us off?"
"My name is Sasuke Uchiha, my hobby is training myself to avenge my clan. I'm interested in gaining more power to avenge my clan, and I dislike Itachi, cause he killed my clan."
'Wow, so he's the happy-go-lucky one' thought Kakashi. "What about you, pink hair?"
Sakura started to speak, but was cut off by Sasuke, "Wait, you just heard about the most interesting and important one of us here, why would you even want to bother with these two?"
Kakashi was a little surprised by his arrogance but he was a little more surprised by what happened next.
"Y-yeah, I don't even know why you would want to learn more… Sa-Sasuke-kun is all that matters…" Sakura was on the verge of tears, but kept her fangirl status in play. Sasuke didn't even turn to acknowledge her. Naruto, however wasn't as much of a fan of Sasuke.
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki! My hobby is training and becoming stronger to protect my precious people! I'm interested in Hinata-chan and ramen! My ambition is to become stronger and become the best Hokage, better than all the previous ones so that I can be acknowledged by everyone in the village. I dislike Sasuke-teme and people who hurt my precious people." He then looked at Sakura, "Now you speak pink banshee"
Sakura was a little surprised, "B-baka… Did you not l-listen to what I…"
"I did, and I don't care. Just cause the bastard believes that he's more important than other people doesn't mean he is. If you still feel fangirly about him then at least let Kakashi-sensei know your name."
Sakura started to talk, before she was cut off again.
"Everyone else in the village does, it's a belief that goes back generations. The Uchiha are better than you normal scum!"
Naruto responded just as vividly, "Well if it's something everyone else believes then I'll gladly be considered scum to object it! Personally, anyone who believes that crap is less than scum!"
Kakashi was impressed. His impressions of his students were complete. Sasuke was an a**hole, so he was gonna stop caring about that one. Sakura was misguided and had self-esteem issues, but at least that could be worked out, with time. Naruto was something else though. He reminded him a lot of Obito. He was exuberant, had boundless energy, and most of all, an idiot. Yes, he was the idiot of the trio, just as Sasuke was the genius and Sakura was the female.
"Okay, that's enough. Everyone, now that I'm done with the introductions, I couldn't care enough about the rest of this little argument of yours. Meet me at training ground whatever at 4:00 in the morning tomorrow. Make sure not to eat, as your genin test will surely make you lose it."
"Wait, I thought that we already took our genin test?" asked Naruto.
"No, that was the test to see if you are ready to take the test. This is the real test."Kakashi said, before turning and shun-shinning away.
The trio looked at the spot where their sensei was for a moment. Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other for a minute, before turning and leaving the training grounds in opposite ways. Sasuke was expecting the sound of fangirl footsteps shadowing his own, but they never came. He turned to see Sakura still standing in the middle of the field, staring lifelessly into nowhere.
XxX
Sakura was lost in her own world of nothingness. She was deep in thought, and so her eyes fixated on that rock as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. Her mind was racing, and going in circles. She was thinking about Sasuke, which was nothing new, but it was different this time. This time he wasn't her perfect pariah, he was sort of… cold? Why was he like that? Naruto appeared in her mind as well. He was being nice to her, even after all those times that she and Sasuke bullied him. Why was he like that? She replayed all of the memories of Naruto in her mind. This time though, she removed the opinions of him the village, and most importantly, her mom, placed into her. When she looked beyond the whole, "He is a virus this village must erase" mentality, he was really a nice guy. The rest of the kids in her class seemed to like him, and Hinata REALLY liked the baka… er… Naruto. Even Ino started to abandon Sasuke in favor of Naruto. She also stopped calling him "baka", and stopped calling Sasuke "kun". Come to think of it… when did she stop calling him "kun"?
It was around this time that Sakura noticed that she was standing here for a while. She felt a pair of eyes on her, and instinctively turned towards them, only to see Sasuke staring at her with that gaze of his. It used to make her melt, but now… Now she wasn't so sure how it made her feel. A small part of her felt hope that maybe he really did care for her… maybe he really was worth…
"Tch, stop acting like an idiot all the time" said Sasuke before turning and leaving, not even looking back at her again.
This left Sakura crushed. Her eyes welled up and her vision became blurry. She dropped to her knees and started to cry. Why was he like that? The boy she had a crush on… Even started to love… Why?
It was then she felt another pair of eyes on her. Only, this gaze didn't feel so cold. It almost felt warm and inviting. She looked up and saw some beautiful eyes, a warm and beautiful existence that made her almost want to gravitate towards them. The figure gave her a napkin, which she promptly took. Wiping her eyes, she looked up to see Naruto. He looked angry, but it wasn't towards her.
"Ne, I hope now you see why I call him Sasuke-teme." He said. Sakura felt small under his gaze, and looked down at her knees, before she was lifted off them by Naruto.
"Get up Sakura, its unseemly for a girl to be in the dirt like that. Besides, if I am going to be on your team, then I'm going to need to trust you to have my back. It's going to be hard to do so, and I know you won't like me watching yours either, but we just have to bear through it until we're chunin. I hear you're smart, Sasuke is considered a genius, and I'm awesome, so it shouldn't take too long. You can't watch my back if you're sitting down there watching your knees."
Sakura started to speak, but was cut off, as per the standard for today, "I know, I know… I'm a baka that should watch what I say about "Sasuke-kun", yeah yeah… I'm leaving" said Naruto, leaving the training ground. Sakura looked on, and then looked the way Sasuke went, and then thought… She stood there all night.
XxX
The alarm beeped a loud and obnoxious sound. Naruto woke from his deep dream and hit the alarm, breaking it. It repaired itself right after, as the seal it was standing on was designed to fix it every time he broke it. He thought it up after he had to buy his third alarm clock that week. For some reason his strength was a lot stronger than it used to be. Maybe it was weight seal he had placed on his body? Or maybe it was the extra energy he got from not having to repair his house from the villagers destroying it because the lock seals he placed on his windows and doors. Maybe it was just fun to break stuff when it automatically repaired itself.
Naruto rose out of his bed, scratching his head and yawning. He moved to get dressed, and took a shower. He was going to make his breakfast ramen, but then he remembered that his sensei told him not to, so he skipped it. As he was walking out the door, he could feel the ramen screaming to him to come back and eat them, but he walked on ignoring it, tears almost coming to his eyes from the betrayal to his favorite food. He promised himself that he would come back and eat it with more vigor than ever.
As he was walking to training ground… wait… where is training ground whatever? He would figure it out eventually.
Not knowing where to go, he just walked around aimlessly. His body seemed naturally attracted to the place, and his feet led him straight to Ichiraku's Ramen.
As he passed, he heard voices inside, which he thought was crazy, as if it wasn't for the training, even he wouldn't be up so early. He snuck up to the entrance, and hid in the doorway. Inside he heard Teuchi and... Hinata?
"I wonder why you come here so early Hinata" said Teuchi. His voice sounded weary and tired.
Hinata giggled, something that Naruto had come to love… wait… love?
"You ask me the same question every day, Teuchi-san. It's to make sure you don't "forget" to make Naruto-kun's ramen. Every day I don't come here Naruto has to wait for his ramen while mine was mysteriously made ahead of time."
Teuchi laughed heartily, "You know I can't say no to such a nice and well-mannered girl like you. Naruto however is too much of a knucklehead and deserves to wait for his food. He sure is lucky you come in everyday for him." To this, Hinata just answered with another giggle.
'Hinata comes in every day for me?' Naruto thought, 'How sweet of her, but why?'
While he was thinking, Naruto lowered his guard, and Hinata was able to make out some of his outfit. When you wear bright orange jumpsuits everywhere you tend to be easy to spot in a crowd.
Hinata giggled, "Come out Naruto-kun, I see you" she said playfully.
Naruto stepped out from behind his cover, "I see you got over your stutter, Hina-chan"
Hinata blushed lightly, while Teuchi just laughed. He placed a plate of fresh dumplings on the table in front of them before walking away.
"Ne, old man, I didn't know you made dumplings"
"I don't, Ayame usually makes them for Hinata for breakfast before you get here because sometimes she gets tired of ramen" Naruto and Teuchi both glared at her, before being bopped on the heads by Ayame and her special weapon, "The Frying Pan"
"You two leave her alone" she said angrily, before stomping away.
Hinata spoke up after giggling hard at the beating they got, "S-sorry N-naruto-kun… I really do like ramen…"
"It's cool Hina-chan, you should just tell me when you don't want ramen, and we could eat somewhere else sometimes."
Hinata was overjoyed, while Teuchi was mortified.
"Thanks Naruto-kun, but they make stuff other than ramen. I can enjoy this place forever, as long as you're here…" Hinata said, blushing. Naruto blushed too, and Teuchi relaxed after hearing the comment. Naruto was never going to leave. "Tell you what guys! Free ramen! On the house for this day only! All you can eat for Hinata, and one bowl for Naruto!", he said, bringing out two hot bowls of ramen, one pork and one miso
"Ne, that's not fair!"
"Your point?"
Naruto was ready to argue some more, but Hinata grabbed his arm and beckoned him to the his seat next to her, which never seemed so inviting before…
"I can't, Hina-chan… Kakashi-sensei said not to eat!" he said, voice not completely convincing.
To this, Hinata pouted, and latched onto his arm, sealing his fate. Naruto was still being reluctant however, so Hinata pulled her trump card.
"C'mon Naruto-kun… who's gonna know?" She said in her most sensuous voice, pouting her hardest and looking him dead in the eyes. Naruto knew he was doomed, and sat down to eat. Deep inside, he felt defeated, while Hinata realized she had an amazing power.
When they were done eating, Hinata ordering more and more food for Naruto, the sun had begun to rise, and people were starting to come out of their houses to go to their jobs. Naruto started to panic, and he asked what time it was.
"Um, around six, why?"
Naruto relaxed, "Nothing, my sensei asked me to be at the training ground at 4 this morning."
"Then Naruto, you're late! Get going!"
"Don't worry about it, Kakashi-sensei is always late, but still, I'm cutting it close, I'll see you later" he said, before getting up and proceeded to run out the door, before turning back and tackle/hugging Hinata, which caused her to blush deeply, before running away.
"You really like that idiot, don't you?"
"Shh Teuchi-san!"
XxX
Naruto was halfway to absolutely nowhere at all, before he heard a familiar annoying emo. Now Naruto was cool with emo kids. They were pretty cool when you got past the entire anti-social attitude. But Sasuke was a complete jerk, so he just messed it up.
"Where are you going, dobe?" asked Sasuke, who was sitting next to a red Sakura, presumably from a blush.
"Yeah Naruto, according to the old textbooks, this is where Training Ground Whatever was located.
Naruto looked around; Training Ground Whatever was a bridge?
"Why were you so late, idiot?" asked Sasuke, who looked to Sakura to back him up, but it never came, instead…
"Ne, don't call Naruto an idiot, he just didn't know. I doubt he read any books." Sakura said the last part more playfully than before. Both Naruto and Sasuke sat there surprised. Sasuke because she didn't automatically agree with everything he said, Naruto because… Sakura didn't agree with everything he said… Also, did she just pick up his speech tick?
Naruto was the first to break out of the trance, "I'm not late, I'm right on time" he said smirking.
"How do you figure that dobe? You're two hours la…"
"I agree with him, Sasuke-kun" said Kakashi as he shun-shinned into the area. Sasuke almost gagged at being called that by a male.
"Why were you late Kakashi-sensei?" asked Naruto with a smile. His stories always bring a smile to his face.
"I was fighting a giant creature made of jello who wanted to take over the land of jellybeans for their massive supply of coffee beans, which he could use to attain limitless chakra and envelope the moon, taking its power and ruling the world."
"Lair!" both Naruto and Sakura screamed playfully, which again, surprised Naruto, but this time Kakashi was surprised as well, but they ignored it.
(Mysteriously the highlight story in the newspapers of the land of jellybeans was about the statue dedicated to the one-eyed hero…)
"But anyway, we have something we need to do… something about a test", Kakashi pulled out two bells, "You need to retrieve these two bells. The ones who get them will be given food. The one who misses will be tied to the bridge as I let loose these hungry water snakes into the river", he pointed to the tank of water snakes behind him.
All three of them got ready, two of them dropping into the academy stances, the third dropping into the Uchiha stance.
"Piece of cake" said third one said, as he lunged forward with a kunai, piercing Kakashi with it. It just so happened that "Kakashi" was a log at that time.
"What? A log? I HATE THE LOG!" he screamed, before a voice rang put behind him.
"My my, such angst, and I never even said go…" said Kakashi, performing A Thousand Years of Pain
Sasuke rocketed forward, feeling the pain in his moonside. He landed in a tree, still rubbing it. "I WILL NOT BE HUMILIATED LIKE THAT! I AM AN UNCHIHA!"
Kakashi ignored him; as he turned to his remaining two students and said go.
Naruto and Sakura lunged forward, letting loose a barrage of attacks, all dodged while pulling out a small orange book. Their sensei started to read , and the students sweat dropped. Naruto jumped and threw a kick to Kakashi's head, which he dodged, and Sakura followed up with a punch to the Copy Ninja's lower body in the after math, which he shun-shinned away from.
He appeared behind them again, and reared up another TYoP"
Naruto saw this, and decided that now was as good a time as any to show what he could do. He released the weight seal he put on himself and immediately his speed took a boost. While he wasn't wearing as much weight as Lee was at any moment, his 75 pounds over his entire body was enough to wear down on him enough that without it, he was much faster. He managed to get away from Kakashi's attack, only to see he had turned it on Sakura. He groaned, before grabbing Sakura and pulling her out of the way.
"Wow Naruto, who knew you had such speed in reserve" said Kakashi, his one eye looking lazily at Naruto, who had a blushing Sakura in his arms, "do you think you have enough speed though?"
"Oh, you have no idea, Kakashi-sensei."
By now he had put Sakura down, and lunged at Kakashi, his speed anew. Kakashi moved to shun-shin away again, but Naruto was prepared.
"Not this time, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled, while making a hand sign. The ground beneath their sensei started to glow, and Kakashi found he was unable to move, as a large seal appeared around him, with the words "immobile" written clearly.
"What?" was all Kakashi could say, before Naruto reappeared next to Sakura with both bells, handing one to Sakura.
"I wrote it while Sakura and my bunshin attacked you. Sakura played her part perfectly, good job, pink banshee." Naruto said, expecting a rebuttal, but it never came as Sakura began to blush.
'Well their teamwork is perfect… for the two of them… but the Uchiha is a bit of a disappointment… as is this test' thought Kakashi.
"Fine, but since Naruto got both of them, I didn't get to see much of yours, or the Uchiha's techniques, so I thought of another way to…" he started before he was cut off by the emo duck.
"YOU WANNA SEE TECHNIQUES? I'LL SHOW YOU SOME TECHNIQUES!" he said, before doing his Grand Fireball technique.
Kakashi, who wasn't expecting it, managed to jump out of the way of the giant fireball just in time to just barely get singed. It was a rather large fireball, and he wondered if the Uchiha put all of his chakra into it. Sure enough, Sasuke collapsed to the ground, tired. He looked back at the fireball… then his one eye widened in horror. He had forgotten about his other two students…
XxX
Sakura screamed as the fireball soared towards them, she couldn't make it out of the way in time. Naruto looked down at Sakura, knowing that even without her, he wouldn't make it either.
"Crap, I'm going to have to get desperate." He thought, before throwing a three pronged kunai straight through the giant fireball, then grabbed Sakura. He focused his chakra, closed his eyes… and hoped…
Cliffhangers suck, don't they? In the end I'm a horrible basher if their name isn't "Sasuke"