Hiya all! I'm back from the dead! Sorry for another long wait, but homework does come first... and when I have a project in every class to get done that means no time to really do anything else (sigh). On top of that, it was a busy holiday! I barely had any time to myself! There was Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day, my birthday, and my aunt's birthday, as well as New Years! (sigh) Although the updates will be coming real slow –like until exams – well, I'll try my best to keep the updates coming as fast as possible! Hope you all had fun during the holidays! ONWARD!!!
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A tired sigh echoed around the forest as Naruto yawned from atop a tree. The blonde was watching the Hokage monument with a somewhat worried expression. In two days he'd know, he'd know if there really was going to be a war. In the past weeks Naruto had done nothing more then help with preparations for the oncoming attack. Kakashi gave everyone on team 7 something to work on and then dispersed them having to help with preparations himself.
Sakura was to try to get her charka levels up. Kakashi had reluctantly taught Sasuke the Chidori and Sasuke was off practicing that. Naruto was told to work on chakra control as a front, and Haku was told to practice on different ninjutsus in a scroll he was given, but he too got roped into preparing Konoha for war.
Naruto closed his eyes and sighed again. "So much to do, so little time..."
"And still unsure if half of it will even work out the way you hope." Kyuubi said jumping up beside him on the tree branch.
"So, find anything?" Naruto asked, opening a single eye to glance at the fox.
"No, though I'm rather sure he's just being extra cautions." The fox said flatly.
Naruto had been sending Kyuubi out to watch the Sound and Sand Shinobi while everyone worked on their preparations. Kyuubi had found nothing helpful to alert if Orochimaru was still alive or not. "I'm sure everything will work out in the end. Especially since both Tsunade and Jiraiya will be close to Sarutobi during the fights."
"At least tomorrow I have the day to myself because I'm fighting. I can get a good rest in." Kyuubi jumped onto Naruto's shoulder and Naruto jumped down to the forest floor. Naruto stole one last glance at the Hokage monument before turning to head for home.
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Naruto groaned as he glared up at the sun. "I wanted to sleep in..." He half moaned half yawned out. He turned and picked up his alarm clock and gave a satisfied snort when he realized it was about 10 o'clock. Once he was done with his morning routine, he was out the door and looking for an empty training ground. It took him a while to find one that was deserted. Unfortunately his solitude didn't last long, though he smiled once he realized who it was coming out from the brush.
Hinata smiled back and ran over to him. "I-I was looking for you N-Naruto" she said some what nervously.
Naruto tilted his head to the side "Hm? What for? Oh! You wanna go out after the competition is over? Alright!" Naruto smiled.
Hinata blinked a few times then giggled slightly. "Well yes, b-but that's not why I'm here." she began fiddling with her fingers. "S-since you were going up against N-Neji I thought I could help you t-train against the Byakuugan..." she said.
Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Sure, I could use the help."
"D-don't go easy on me." Hinata said getting into a fighting stance.
"I won't, just say whe.." he was cut off by Hinata striking him in the chest. The force knocking him backward, more so since he was unprepared. Naruto coughed, but smiled up at a startled Hinata. "when..." He finished lamely.
Throughout the rest of the day, Naruto and Hinata trained together, both enjoying themselves. When the sun began passing behind them Naruto decided to call it quits, almost receiving a punch to the head as he called for a time out.
"I don't want to be too tired for tomorrow." Naruto said as he and Hinata picked up some of the various weaponry that was scattered about.
Hinata nodded. "I'm still surprised how many blows you evaded. I only closed a few points." Hinata smiled as she handed Naruto a Kunai she dislodged from a tree.
"Well, I really didn't want to be hit by them! They hurt!" Naruto laughed nervously. Hinata laughed as well.
"So, would you like me to treat you to dinner? It won't be much though..." Naruto rubbed the back of his head putting the last of his equiptment away.
"O-okay." Hinata agreed with a blush.
"Just let me do one thing first, alright?" Naruto took off diving behind a nearby bush and quickly summoned the fox. When the smoke cleared, Kyuubi merely nodded knowing what he was summoned to do.
"Still paranoid, hm?" The fox said with a yawn.
"Can't hurt to take one last look around, right? Look for anything, not just Orochimaru." Naruto said quickly, urging the fox to start his search.
Kyuubi let out a long sigh. "Yeah I'm going..." And with that he trotted off. Naruto turned and raced back to Hinata, who narrowed her eyes as Naruto extended his hand.
Naruto instantly understood what she was thinking and put his hand in his pocket. "Sorry..." he blushed slightly. Hinata blinked in surprise as if not realizing what she was doing. "Well, when ya gotta go ya gotta go!" Naruto plastered a smile on his face and the two left the training feild.
"This is really good!" Hinata said after taking a bite of the stew set before her. It had taken a few hours to prepare dinner, but neither one of the cooks minded, as the end result was good company and good food.
"Glad you like it." Naruto said eating some of his own. "The rice balls you made are really good too!"
"Thank-you" Hinata smiled through the blobs of broth stuck to her face. As she got up to get seconds she spotted something that made her stop short. Naruto got up and stood behind her reaching for the pot when he spotted what she was staring at. "Is that your new pet?" she asked pointing to the startled fox in the kitchen doorway.
Naruto blinked. "Oh him? No. He's not a pet, but he does come in every now and then because I feed him." He said rubbing the back of his head. "It climbs up and in the window I can't close." Hinata looked down at the fox who looked back up at her.
"Does it bite?" she asked, bending down to make eye contact.
"Only bit me once when I first found it in here. I think it was trying to make a nest out of my dirty laundry..." Naruto lied.
Kyuubi flinched as Hinata patted him on the head. Then went through the motions as if to sniff her hand. 'Damn, I thought he'd be alone by now... must I be doomed to act like a mindless animal?'
"I can take him back outside if you want" Naruto offered.
"No it's alright. I like animals. He's cute." She smiled as she stood up. She turned and began rooting through the cupboards until she found a small dish. She scooped some of the stew into it and placed it in front of the fox. Kyuubi inwardly sighed and gulped down the food as fast as he could. When he finished he looked up at Naruto.
"Heh... guess he liked it. I'll put him out on the window box so he can go back outside." Naruto scooped up the fox and brought him to the window. "Whatever it is, tell Jiraiya." Naruto said quietly as he walked to a window.
"Well, I tried to leave unnoticed..." Kyuubi replied equally quiet "It's nothing too big anyway, I just knew where you were." The fox said with a grin as he was placed on the window ledge. "Just some Sound nin's poking around the wall."
"Check near the bathhouse if Jiraiya has nothing to do today..." Naruto said snidely. The fox nodded, his grin widening, and he took off. Naruto turned to go back to Hinata, intent on finishing the evening with her.
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Kyuubi crouched in a bush beside the bathhouse peering out from under it. He crept low to the ground as he stepped lightly out. No leaves rustled as he crept through the undergrowth. As he approached, his "prey" fidgeted, adjusting itself to a more comfortable position. As Kyuubi's prey settled he began stalking again, continuing until he was only a few feet away. He waited, watching as his prey made an odd noise to a movement within the bathhouse. Kyuubi lunged, clamping his jaws firmly around an appendage.
"YEEEEOOOOOWWWW!!!!" The scream echoed around the forest but more importantly, it echoed inside the bathhouse. A head poked over the fence, silhouetted by the fog.
"Is everything alright out there?" A gruff voice asked. A look of mild shock came onto Jiraiya's face at the sound of the voice. As the steam ebbed away, the face was revealed, making Jiraiya's face of shock turn into that of horror. The now revealed face that was hidden by the steam showed that it was indeed a man. He scratched his stubble as he looked to Jiraiya and the fox hanging from his hand. The man blinked and went back into the fog muttering something about rabid foxes and the lazy animal control.
Kyuubi let got of Jiraiya's hand and smirked deviously up at him. "Peeping in on the men's bath house now eh? Women no longer doing it for you? For shame..." Kyuubi shook his head in mock shame and clicked his tongue as if scolding a young child.
"..." Jiraiya tried to form words but still his jaw hung and none would grace him with their presence.
"Anyway, as much fun as it is to make fun of you, I found something you might like to know about..." The tone in Kyuubi's words snapped Jiraiya out of his stupor.
"Wh-what is it." Jiraiya shook his head, trying to clear it.
"I saw some Sound nin poking their noses around the interior of the walls. I think they may be finishing up their plan of attack." Kyuubi said simply.
"Where?" Jiyria asked.
"Exactly where we want them to attack." Kyuubi smirked.
"Hmmph. Well, still better to look around to make sure our defenses will do their job." The white haired ninja said, beginning to walk towards where the Sound should be attacking.
"Tomorrow we'll know if all this will work, or if there is even going to be an attack... Either way, I have a bad feeling about something..." Kyuubi said with a sigh.
"I just hope we're ready for whatever happens."
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well here's 26! I know it was kind filler-esque but I wanted to put in some fluff and stress some things. Will anyone pick up on my (not so) subtle foreshadowing? Either way here it is. Now I can go back to working on my script for drama! Bye now!! There isn't any omake this time mainly because all my creative energy is being zapped by drama class... I have to write a script! Ahh well (still fun though) tah!