Hello good members of this website! So what's happening everyone? I just finished the second chapter of this story, and proof read it a bajillion times (bajillion isn't a real word). I can't say that all the other chapters will be this fast though since school starts shortly from now. Anyway, so it should be a bit confusing or awkward, but Naruto does know Rock Lee. This will be explained much later. Also, just to inform you, I have changed the category from humor to adventure since I realized it fits that category better. Anyway, on with the disclaimer to save my rear end.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! So don't freaking sue me! You will get everything a poor college student has...which is nothing. So yeah, Naruto belongs to it's respectable owner. The only thing that is mine is the plot, because I have yet to see someone else to credit it to.

Another thing I want to now point out:

Revision: 11/16/09 - Alright, so I didn't realize how many problems there were with this chapter. Honestly, there was a lack of continuity, plenty of mistakes with timing, grammer, spelling, activities, posibilities, etc. It just didn't flow as well as I thought it did or should. So I decided to go back and edit this chapter along with the last one before I got around to posting the 3rd chapter. This is hopefully much cleaner than before. I added a bit more explanation, fixed the grammar, reworded most of it, and changed some of the events so they are hopefully more realistic. It should also be clear that Naruto is confused by what Tsunade and Lee are saying. He doesn't understand how he doesn't know everything he went through prior to waking up. I would now begin to state all the changes this chapter has gone through, however I really don't know anymore since a good bit of it has changed for the most part.

ON WITH THE STORY!


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The Contours of the Heart

Chapter 2:

Somebody Hates Me

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_=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=_ The Next Day _=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=_

_

Naruto rolled onto his back in his tiny bed, he didn't know which should hurt more: His chest, his back, or his cheek. The hit had been so powerful he was surprised she didn't break the bones in his face or the rest of his freshly repaired body. He silently thanked the Kyuubi's chakra within him for helping him recover so quickly. He could finally breathe easily as he took a few deep breaths.

As he laid in the small bed, his thoughts slowly wandered to the female about his age that had caused the strife the night before. In the back of his mind he could hear his own voice screaming he should hate her; loathe her for hurting him since she had completely escalated a petty misunderstanding. He also considered the possibility of being frightened of her immense power. But...he couldn't do either. He couldn't find it in his heart to be disgruntled, aggravated, or frightened of her at the moment. For some reason, those qualities only added to her internal beauty. He was amazed at how someone so gorgeous could be so powerful and dangerous at the same time.

The light slowly filled his small room as he sat up and looked out the window behind him. The sun was peaking out behind the tall evergreen trees, and he could hear the voices of the women downstairs. He remembered the agonizing pain of dragging his battered body up the stairs after enduring the physical and verbal beating only to get to his bed and fall asleep immediately.

'I should probably get down there and ask if they need any help even though I'm still weak as is.'

He stood up, and started unwrapping the rough, white bandages around his thoracic region. He was finally able to see the magnitude of where the initial attack had been. The scar was a sliver that stretched from his clavicle to his fourth rib down on the right side of his thoracic cage. Judging by the placement of the scar, he determined that the attack had pierced through the costal cartilage and ribs, barely missing his sternum and heart. It now made sense why it had hurt so much the day before since his ribs, costal cartilage, lung and muscles must have just been reformed by the women and the Kyuubi's charkra before he had woken up. This also explained his inability to walk properly since so much energy had been drained. He closed his eyes and tried to remember what happened. It clicked as he visualized a dark haired man puncturing the area with an electrified hand.

Finished thinking about the newly formed scar, he walked over to the closet, and put back on his orange ninja pants. Searching deeper into the closet he found a black ninja vest with long sleeves and a red spiral on the back of it. Whoever had owned the vest before had a similar body shape and taste in clothing to his own. He then put on his torn ninja sandals, and walked over to the door, opened it, and stepped into the hallway looking towards the stairs to his right. He suddenly felt someone bump into his left side, and instinctively reached out with his left arm, grabbing onto them.

"S-Sorry," he said as he turned his head towards the person, "I should have been-" his whole body froze when he saw which of the females it was, "...more careful."

The arm he had grabbed was none other than Sakura's right arm. He felt as if her green eyes had shot straight into the back of his head like a cannon; nearly shattering him completely. A sudden thought of terror crossed his mind while staring at her, 'I'm probably the last man in the world she wants to see right now...especially after last night. I thought I just concluded that I wasn't going to be scared of her, but now I'm not so sure.'

He looked down to see he was still grasping her forearm, and immediately released his grip, snapping his hand back next to his thigh. 'She's going to murder me. It's as simple as that. She's going to hang me in front of this place as a warning to outsiders!...Please don't commit homicide! Spare me! IT'S ALL A MISUNDERSTANDING!'

A small grunt emitted from her mouth, "It's okay."

'What?' his mind yelled, confused by her actions.

"I was thinking about something, and wasn't paying attention." Without saying anything else she walked past him.

As Naruto watched her, he felt suddenly relieved until his mind jumped to another conclusion, 'I can't leave this relation like this...I'll be afraid of her every time I see her, or feel awkward to talk to her, or...Um...Um...I KNOW!'

"Wait!"

"What?" Sakura stopped on the first step of the stairs, and turned around to look at him.

"Um..." his mouth suddenly felt dry as he stepped closer to her so he was standing over her, "I-I never properly introduced myself to you," he said softly as he raised his hand to the back of his head to scratch it, "My name is Naruto. I believe you were the one who rescued me," his heart was beating rapidly in his chest, "and I-I never got a chance to thank you for saving my life," he gave her the biggest, toothy smile he could muster, "I wanted to apologize for what happened last night. I didn't mean to walk into your room."

She returned his smile with one of her own as she extended her right hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Naruto-san." Naruto stopped scratching his head, and took her hand in his to shake it.

"My name is Sakura," with those words, her grip immediately increased tenfold. Startled, Naruto let out a yelp from surprise as he tried to free his hand from hers, but to no avail; she didn't budge one bit. He felt like he was a poor, defenseless animal stuck in a bear trap trying to escape. "I am happy I was able to save your life, and I accept your apology. However, I will only warn you this once." Naruto found himself focusing on Sakura's smooth, delicate lips as she moved her head closer to his and lowered her voice as she spoke, "If you ever happen to do something perverted like that again I'll make sure not to hold back at all. Am I understood?"

"Loud...and...clear..." Naruto barely managed to say as he endured the pain through his whole arm which felt like it was going to be ripped out of the rotator cuff. He could feel the metacarpals in his hand grinding against each other.

"Good."

The bear trap finally released. He could feel life restored to his fingers as he clutched his hand with the other, and began to examine it to make sure it still worked. Sakura turned around on her heel, and continued her descent. Naruto lifted his head to watch as she glided down the stairs in what he assumed her red mission uniform he had originally seen her in. He should once again be angry or annoyed, but instead he felt somehow entranced by the way she moved. Graceful, confident, and frightening all in one motion.

'She looks just as good clothed as she does half naked...' He shook his head, 'No, she's a freaking monster! Who the hell does that?' He released his hand as it was no use holding it, 'Why is it that she can hurt me, and yet I forgive her so quickly when I've only just met her? This doesn't make any sense! I should be head over heels for Hinata-chan who I've known for years...Not this crazed, merciless bitch.'

Naruto continued to ponder these thoughts as he moved down the stairs. As he entered the kitchen, he noticed Tsunade sitting at the table with a large stack of papers, and Shizune at the stove cooking. Sakura was standing in front of the table across from Tsunade. He unwillingly took his place standing next to Sakura who didn't acknowledge his presence, but continued to look at Tsunade.

"Good of you to join us at such an early hour, Future Hokage. We were afraid you would sleep all day again."

Naruto nodded with a smile in response. He was unsure whether the remark was good or bad. He then noticed his black head band in front of Tsunade. The black band was longer than before, and the silver plate with the Konoha symbol was shined and polished. He extended his arm so as to grab it.

Tsunade noticed Naruto's movement, and handed the headband back to him, "It was torn and ratty when you had it on, so we had to replace the band and metal plate."

"Thank you," Naruto responded as he took it, and tied it around his forehead.

Tsunade returned her attention to Sakura and continued, "I received an emergency message from the village in the mountain earlier this morning. They reported that a few days ago there was a gigantic rock slide that blocked the main path out. They have tried to remove it themselves, but they aren't quick enough. Apparently there are a few huge boulders they are unable to break or push, and need assistance dealing with it. I responded saying that you will be there mid-day today."

Sakura nodded, "That should be a sufficient amount of time."

"Um, Granny Tsunade," both females looked to Naruto, "Is there any way I can help out?"

He could feel Sakura's stare intensify as Tsunade responded, "That would be excellent. Shizune can stay with me, and you can accompany Sakura. The two of you should be fine on your own."

Before Naruto could respond, Sakura cut him off saying, "Tsunade-sama, you can't be serious. He's barely recovered, and-"

Tsunade held up a flat hand so the palm faced towards Sakura, halting her words. Tsunade then focused on Naruto as she spoke the words to Sakura, "One would think that. However...he was able to withstand your assult last night seeing as he is standing tall next to you. A rather remarkable feat if I say so myself. To top it off, he is offering his services," Tsunade turned her head back to Sakura, "I can't reject such a noble act. Therefore he is going with you, and that's final."

Sakura bowed in respect, "I understand Tsunade-sama," she replied bitterly.

Tsunade's lips curled into a smile, "Good to hear! Oh! And the village has already made arrangements so you should be able to stay the night there, and head back within a couple days."

"What?! A couple days? This is a mediocre assignment! A genin could do this easily in a day!"

"Good thing you are one then, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto grumbled at the comment made by Tsunade, "How did you know?" Another question also dawned on him, "And how do you know my last name?"

"Simple. Sakura had run into some of your teammates who had been looking for you on her way back, and they accompanied her here. They were also kind enough to tell us your full name. Upon request, Konoha sent a copy of your file so we would know whether you were dangerous or not. It showed that you had trained with Jiraiya for a few years, but failed to pass the chunin exam before he had taken you as an apprentice."

"Humph, I see."

"So according to your own standards you are qualified to do this job with Sakura."

Naruto crossed his arms in discontent. He didn't appreciate being called out like that, but the information also confused him more, "So you're telling me that you knew who I was, yet you didn't acknowledge that yesterday because...why?"

Shizune came up next to Tsunade, and put a plate of food down in front of her. She then handed both Naruto and Sakura an egg sandwich as well as a sack filled with food.

"Though it isn't as important, one of the reasons is due to making sure you were who your teammates and you claimed to be. If your teammates said you were someone, but you then claimed to be someone else...You can see how there would be a problem. Also, by getting your files I had a better understanding of what kind of previous injuries you may of had. Realistically, I wanted to make sure that my pupils and myself were not in any danger from your presence."

Naruto nodded. The reasoning was legitimate. He took a bite of his sandwich which tasted delicious, but something else triggered in his head, 'Teammates...I had teammates...I thought...No, it's not possible...After I finished my training with Jiraiya...I visited the village only to see Hinata-chan after not seeing her for 2 years...but then I left looking for him again by myself...it's been a year since I went back to Konoha...so...there must be a mistake. Who were the people who claimed to be my teammates?' He pushed the thoughts away when Tsunade began speaking again.

"Anyway, you two should get going. Sakura knows the way to the village. Even if you two go at a slow pace, since you are not at full speed Naruto, you two should still be able to get there by the expected time."

"If you say so, Granny Tsunade."

"We'll take care of this, Tsunade-sama." Both teens turned around, and headed out the house, finishing the rest of their sandwiches.

The moment they stepped through the door, a teen about their age ran up to them. Naruto recognized the black bowl cut hair, fuzzy eyebrows, and green latex suit immediately.

"Lee! What are you doing here? How have you been? I haven't seen you in ages!"

"Naruto-kun! It's good to see you have finally recovered!" He then tilted his head at the next comment, "But what are you talking about? I saw you less than a week ago?"

Naruto paused for a moment before chuckling, "Oh yeah, it just feels like forever after everything that happened," he lied. He felt nervous as the realization washed over him. He honestly didn't remember when he had last seen Lee, but had assumed it was when he had visited Konoha. Apparently this wasn't the case.

"Good to see you're still playing jokes," Lee commented, then paused as he looked from Naruto to Sakura then back to Naruto, "...But...why are you coming out of the same house WITH Sakura-chan?!"

'...how is this a question? I thought the teammates followed her back here,' he thought as he finally responded, "Huh? Uh...You know her?" Naruto pointed at Sakura, confused, "And how did you know I recovered?"

Lee froze for a moment, "Of course I know her. Why wouldn't I? You must have hit your head or something. You know Sensei and I have trained in these parts of the fire country for years now. Sensei comes to visit Tsunade-sama as well as to discuss official business while I typically speak with Sakura-chan." Lee then turned his attention to Sakura, "I have known you for years, right?"

While Sakura responded to Lee, Naruto glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, 'I had no idea fuzzy brows had known this crazy female all these years. How come I never met her?' The reminder of the incident the night before sprung to mind, 'Maybe it's a good thing.'

Lee then tilted his head again as he returned his attention to Naruto, "You really are acting strange today, Naruto-kun. I was in the team that went with you for the mission, remember?"

"Oh yeah! Sorry, I remember now. Everything has been jumbled in my mind from being wounded and out for so long," he claimed as he scratched the back of his head with a big smile.

In truth, he could vaguely remember anything besides the man's face, and parts of the final battle. However, now he had a team with him when everything had happened, and it seemed to consist of people who were close to him. He didn't understand why the information he remembered was conflicting with what everyone else was saying. He made a mental note to look at the file Tsunade had acquired of him when he returned from the mission with Sakura, but for now he needed to just agree and get moving.

"It is understandable," Lee remarked as his voice changed to that of a heroic tone,"You were injured in battle, collapsed in a mud puddle, and unconscious. By the time the team had completed the mission and gotten back to you, Sakura-chan was already picking you up. She then brought you here to tend to you since this was closer than Konoha."

A brief image flashed in his head at Lee's words. He knew it was just before he was knocked out since his clothes were ripped apart, blood was coming from his chest, and all he saw were red eyes searching his soul in front of him. He could see the man's lips moving, but couldn't make out what he was saying. He shook his head slightly, and the image was gone. The two adolescents were looking at him baffled.

"Huh? Why are you two staring at me like that?"

Lee finally spoke, "Are you really alright, Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah, couldn't be better," Naruto claimed with another smile, "It's good to hear we were able to complete the mission in the end, but Sakura-san and I should get going. We need to get to the village by mid-day afterall."

Lee nodded, "Definitely, it is good to see you back on your feet Naruto-kun, but-" Lee then turned his attention to the rosette, "I do have a question for you, Sakura-chan."

Sakura raised her eyebrow amused, "And what would that be?"

"WILL YOU GO ON A DATE WITH ME?!"

Sakura let out a sigh, "I don't know how many times I need to tell you this, but the answer is still NO!!!"

His head flopped downward in defeat, but immediately came back up to look at Sakura, "It's because you are going out with Naruto-kun, isn't it?"

A look of disgust spread across Sakura and Naruto's face instantaneously as both of them shrieked, "WHAT?!" at the same time.

"Naruto-kun, even though you are still recovering, I challenge you to a fight for Sakura's love!"

"WHAT?! I JUST MET HER YESTERDAY FOR THE FIRST TIME, SO WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?! THE ANSWER IS NO WAY! You're the one making false assumptions! If you want her then she's yours." Sakura turned and glared at Naruto. He felt a chill run down his spine as her eyebrow twitched. With all his attention focused on Sakura, he said the words as clearly as he could, "You can deal with him on your own terms. I'm taking no part in this!"

"We are going to continue being rivals then from now on!"

Both teens snapped their heads back to Lee.

'Did he not hear anything I just said?! Wait, from now on? Why does it feel like there is something I don't know?'

"DROP IT, THICK BROWS!" Without warning, Sakura reached out and smacked the top of Lee's head so he went straight down into the ground, "I am not an object! And I already told you I don't like you in that manner! I'm not going out on a date with you! And Naruto-san has nothing to do with that! NOW DROP IT!"

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun," Lee said from his spot on the ground.

Sakura sighed as she took hold of Naruto's hand, "Come on, Naruto-san, we need to get going if we want to get back in a couple days." She then began dragging him beyond Lee who had just gotten back on his feet, perked up, and started asking more questions as he followed them.

"Can I come?!"

"NO!"

"I'll be good! Can I come?!"

"NO!"

Though Naruto felt repulsed by the fact that Sakura had taken his hand to drag him along like a child, he had completely blocked out the bickering, and felt himself blush slightly from the contact.

"I knew you two were dating! You're holding his hand! You lied!"

"NO! I didn't lie! We're not dating! I just grabbed some part of his arm!"

"Then will you go out with me then?!"

"NO! You're being extremely annoying!"

Naruto found Sakura's hand was warm, but rough from the training she had endured. He could feel the neurons shoot up his arm from the intimacy, and he could hear the words being shouted over his head, but none effected him at all.

"Then can I at least come?"

"NO! You'll help me more if you don't come!"

"Hello Sakura. Is Tsunade around?" Lee's sensei, Guy, asked as Naruto and Sakura walked past him. Guy was also dressed in a similar fashion to that of Lee with his ridiculous green suit, jonin vest, black bowl cut hair, thick eyebrows, and perky attitude.

"She's at the house," Sakura responded.

"Thanks. May your youth be the strength to glory!"

"Thanks Guy."

Though a short intermission, Lee hadn't given up.

"Can I come? I can protect both of you!"

"NO THICK BROWS! GO WITH GUY-SENSEI!"

Naruto finally tuned back in to the conversation with the last comment since Sakura had yelled it so loud. He could tell Sakura's words finally got through thick brow's head since Lee stopped in his tracks, and raised his fist up into the air.

"Alright! MAY THE POWER OF YOUTH GUIDE YOU TO ETERNAL GLORY!"

"Yeah, yeah," Sakura commented as she dragged Naruto into the forest surroundings. Lee went back to Guy who was now talking with Tsunade and Shizune in front of the house. Sakura's grip relaxed as she exhaled, finally letting go of Naruto when they were just out of earshot of Lee. She then faced Naruto as she began to stretch out her arm by pulling it across her body.

"I've never seen him try so hard before. He normally attempts a few times, but lets it go after that." She switched to stretching out her other arm.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen him like that either. He was even more eccentric than usual...If that even possible?" Naruto thought for a moment about it, "Nope, he's basically as eccentric as one can get."

Sakura giggled at the comment causing Naruto to smile from her reaction, 'She is pretty when she is normal.' Naruto felt himself perk up slightly at the feeling of finally breaking her cold exterior. The few seconds of joy left as quickly as it came as Sakura turned on her heel to point in a direction.

"A-Alright, so the village is about a half-day trip north from here," Sakura lowered her arm as she looked over her shoulder back at Naruto, "Like Tsunade-sama said, we can go at a slower pace since you've just recovered, but we definitely need to get there by mid-afternoon. The village is complaining that this is preventing them from trading with other villages."

"Alright, lets go! I'm pretty sure I can keep up with ya!" Naruto commented with a wink.

"Lets see what you have then."

With that both shot up into the trees, and began the trip.

_

_=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=_ Mid-afternoon that day _=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=_

_

Several hours and short, silent breaks later, the two were approaching the village. Though both were still unfamiliar with each other, the journey had been comfortable.

"So where is the village?" Naruto questioned as he looked around while he walked next to Sakura.

"Straight ahead," she answered as she pointed straight ahead.

If Sakura hadn't pointed out the village, Naruto was positive he would have passed by it without ever noticing. From where they stood, the giant land mass looked like a regular, 150-foot mountain with extremely steep slopes, trees surrounding it, and a flat top. Upon closer inspection, Naruto could make out a path that lead into the village. It was cut directly into the mountain, but blocked by a 50-foot barrier of rocks with a dozen or so men chipping away at it. Naruto now understood why the rockslide was hurting the village's economy, as there was no way for the villagers to possibly get over it with their things nor destroy the wall quick enough.

'That's inconvenient...They only have one path in and out.'

Naruto and Sakura climbed up the barrier easily. Some of the men at the top stopped working when they noticed them, and began cheering and clapping happily at seeing their presence. Naruto and Sakura waved and smiled as they passed them.

As soon as they reached the bottom of the barrier, what seemed to be the whole village ran up to them with glee. Young and old surrounded them, all speaking different things at once. Shocked, Naruto put his arms up in defense. He looked over to Sakura to see that she hadn't budged at all, but instead was scanning the crowd. Her eyes finally landed on someone as she moved through the people to stand in front of the person she wanted to address.

"Where can I find the village elder?" She asked the middle-aged man.

"He is this way! I will take you to him!" He answered with a smile as he turned around, "He is this way," he said as he pointed. The whole crowd began to walk in the direction

Naruto and Sakura walked side by side as they followed him. As they walked through the village, Naruto couldn't help but observe what was around.. It was much different from the outside in that it looked like the village was surrounded by gigantic rock walls. Some of the homes were built into the walls while others were made of trees in the large, flat, circular area in the middle in the mountain. It reminded him of when he had visited the sand village a while back to speak to Gaara, except that this village wasn't made of sand.

"You did pretty well keeping up with me, Naruto," Sakura commented as they walked through the village.

"It's mostly due to your excellent abilities regarding the use of medical ninjutsu," he commented with a smile, "I'm pretty sure if you didn't heal me when you found me I would be dead right now." He looked over at her to see her smiling back at him. The smile felt familiar, but he couldn't place it.

After walking through the streets, they finally found an elderly man who greeted both of them. He looked up at them with his crystal blues eyes. He was about five feet tall, and dressed in light blue robe attire. Though he was bald he had a long white beard that went down to his waist.

"Ah, Sakura-san. It is good to see you again."

Sakura bowed, "It is good to see you too, village elder."

"I'm happy that the Great Tsunade is willing to help a village such as ours that is unable to pay very much."

"It is our pleasure to help you."

"And who is this striking young man standing next to you? Is it your new boyfriend? I was expecting Shizune-san to accompany you."

Sakura blushed several shades of red, "No, he is not my boyfriend," she said as she waved her hands in front of her body hoping to make a point, "He is merely accompaning me on this mission upon Tsunade's request."

Naruto took the moment to bow, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto," he responded with a dignified tone, "And who are you?"

"I'm the village elder, chosen by the village to lead."

"Ah, nice to meet'cha old man."

Naruto could see the vein pop out of the village elders head as he raised his arms, "OLD?! Who are you calling old? I'm fit and wise. Respect your elders!"

"You're not an elder of mine-" Naruto suddenly felt a jolt of pain go through his shoulder, his arm go numb, and his feet react by stepping to the left from the impact, "Ow..." Sakura had smacked him directly in the shoulder.

"Ignore him, village elder. He is just here to help," Sakura said with a smile as she looked at the village elder.

'Why do I get the feeling she enjoys doing that?' Naruto thought has he massaged his shoulder.

"So what is the problem?" Sakura continued to say.

"As you can see, we are having difficulty clearing entrance path as our men have grown tired from working so long for the last few days. They were able to lower it down a good ten feet or so, but then they ran into huge boulders that they were unable to break easily."

Sakura nodded, "How long has the barrier been here for?"

"A few days. We are okay with food and water, but traders and merchants are complaining since they can't get in or out to trade or sell."

"Then leave it to us," Sakura said with a smile, "We should be able to clear most of it today. If we don't finish, we can clear the rest by tomorrow. Tell the villagers not to worry."

"Ha ha, I knew I could count on the Great Tsunade to send excellent ninjas. Get to it then. We will have a place for both of you to stay tonight or when you get tired."

With that, Sakura and Naruto turned around and walked back through the village to the barrier. As they walked, Sakura moved closer to Naruto so she could whisper in his ear.

"Don't you think it's strange," she whispered to him.

"What? What's strange?" Naruto said back.

"The barrier like that. The walls of rock next to it look unaffected yet there are all these rocks blocking the path. It's almost half the size of the walls. Also, the path way looks to be 30 feet across. I don't think there could be that many rocks above it."

"Now that you mention it," Naruto looked at the barrier they were walking towards, "I agree. That is quite strange."

"The more I look at it, the less it looks like a rockslide."

"Yeah..." Naruto paused for a moment, "Looks like there is something we should ask the old man when we get back."

They finally reached the bottom of the barrier and jumped onto the top of it. The very top of the barrier was at least 10 feet across, and there were several boulders sitting on the top. The men that had been working on it earlier had climbed down and were now waiting and watching a safe distance away.

Naruto began stretching, "Alright, lets get to it. Ladies first," he said with a smile as his arms went back to his side.

Sakura smirked, "Just try to keep up," she put her black gloves on then walked over to a boulder, stopping a few yards away from it, and crouched down. She then bolted straight at the exposed boulder sitting on the plateau where they stood, drew back her arm, and shot it forward into the boulder like a gun.

Naruto's mouth dropped open at the sight of this, "Awesome..." was the only word to escape.

The whole boulder had exploded from her hit. For a split second, he saw her face behind all the flying debris only to become entranced by it. She didn't close her eyes, which allowed him to see the determination that was within. It was frightening yet intriguing and motivational at the same time. He suddenly felt grateful his head and shoulders were still attached since his head could have been the boulder the previous night.

Sakura straightened up, and looked at him only to see his mouth agap. She then commented with a smile, "Are you gonna help out or just stand around catching flies with your mouth open like that?"

This somehow shook Naruto out of his state of awe, "Alright! My turn! Shadow Clone Technique!!!" Roughly fifty clones appeared from out of the air, began picking up rocks, and moving them down the barrier to the side.

It was Sakura's turn to drop her jaw in amusement, "Amazing..." was the only word she could think of since she had never seen a technique like that before. She had only ever experienced the clone technique in which a few clones were made, but not when they were able to lift objects like that and not to this magnitude.

Naruto glanced at her as his clones picked up rubble. He smirked as he said in a sarcastic tone, "So are you gonna help out or just stand around catching flies with your mouth open like that?"

"Humpth, guess you're not half bad," she remarked with a grin, "Try this out for fun!" She sprinted over to another boulder and nailed it as hard as she could. The boulder exploded like the first one.

They continued the pattern for the rest of the day. Sakura would blow up boulders with her immense power, and Naruto's clones would move all the pieces down the barrier and to the side. None of the villagers dared to intervene since they were too afraid of getting injured in the process, but they all watched in amazement from their safe distance away.

The sun had finally set when the two had decided to stop working for the day. The night would be more dangerous for them to work through than just resting. The barrier was half the size it had originally been, but they were exhausted from having to use up so much chakra to break and move the rocks.

"Let's call it a day, Naruto-san, and head back into the village for some food and rest."

Naruto nodded, and released all the clones he had made earlier. Just as he put his arms back down to his side, he felt something clamp onto his right one, tear away his sleeve and skin, then release him immediately.

"OW!"

He only had time to see a small black, shadow-like creature bolting away from him, down the barrier, and away from the village. He couldn't make out what it was, nor would he be able to catch up with it.

"DID YOU SEE THAT?!" he yelled from surprise as he grasped his arm from the immense pain shooting through it where he had been bitten. He looked down at the upper region of his arm to see a large gash, and the dark crimson liquid dripping off his fingers. Part of his sleeve was now missing.

Standing still, Sakura looked over to Naruto. From what he could tell, she was geniunily surprised and worried as she ran over to him. "Yeah, it sprinted straight for you, bit into your upper arm and clothing ripping it, and then ran off." She took hold of his arm, and placed her hand over his which was holding the gash.

Naruto blushed from the intimacy, "Please move your hand," she said as he obliged. A green light emitted from where she was touching. Naruto could feel his muscle tissue reconnecting, and the skin being slowly reformed. The light faded as she removed her hand, and reached into her pouch for some white wrapping bandage.

"We should get back to the village so I can properly heal you. I've expended too much chakra breaking boulders, but this should hold until we get there."

Naruto nodded in agreement as Sakura stood in front of him and lifted his arm up so it was between them, and beginning to roughly wrap a bandage around it.

"Don't you think it's strange?" he asked Sakura.

Sakura looked up at him and nodded, "I've never seen anything like that before. I couldn't even make out what it was since it moved so fast."

It was then that Naruto realized how close her face was to his, and he felt his heart skip a beat as he looked down into her green eyes. Her lips looked so soft, and her skin so smooth as he pondered the thought 'I wonder what would happen if I lowered my head to kiss her right now? Would she accept it?' He slowly began lowering his head towards hers with that thought in mind, but stopped as another thought filled his head, 'She would rip off my arm and explode me like one of those boulders.'

By the time he stopped moving his head, he was mere inches away from her face, and he finally realized that Sakura was blushing from the closeness.

"Um, Uh...N-N-Naruto-san, what are you doing?"

He immediately retracted, and straightened up, "Oh! Sorry!" he said as he attempted to laugh it off as he raised his free arm to his head and started scratching the back of it, "I was just trying to see what you were doing. I always wondered what the proper technique for wrapping an arm was."

'Good save, Naruto. She totally doesn't think you're a pervert now. Let's just remember how you barged into her room last night, and got a preview of her body. Of course it would be brilliant to try kissing her NOW. It wouldn't allow her to get a running start again,' he mentally yelled at himself.

"Um, okay. I didn't think you had an interest in this?" Sakura responded slightly baffled, and still blushing.

"You never know when it's useful," he said with a smile, 'Like when I'm trying to bandage myself, because I pissed you off,' he remarked, 'At least she didn't blow this out of proportion as well.'

Sakura nodded, and went back to wrapping his arm. She finally finished, and harshly tied a knot on top of the gash as Naruto winced from the pain.

"I wonder why it ran away so quick?" Naruto commented.

"No idea" Sakura responded, "but it looks like we're going to be here longer than a night or two." She cocked her head towards the village, "We should go talk to the village elder, and see what's really going on."

Naruto nodded to comply with her idea, as both turned to the village, jumped down the lowered barrier, and walked towards the village elder's home.

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So yes, this is Chapter 2...No villagers were harmed in the writing of this chapter. Lol, jk, jk. Sorry for the corny joke just now. Anyway, it's already been said at the end of the last chapter, but just to reiterate: comments and critiques are greatly appreciated as usual ;) I enjoyed reading the comments for the last chapter ^_- it made me more motivated to get this chapter out faster. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter though it may have sparked up a few questions. So until next time!