Hiya Guys, first allow me to apologize for the really late update of this chapter. I had exams and only finished them last week. Also, I suffered from a bit of writers block halfway through the chapter adding to the time it took to publish this. I hope you all enjoy it despite the wait.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and Neverwinter Nights 2

Chapter 5

Tarek stared at Tenten in disbelief, not quite understanding what she said. "Excuse me?"

Tenten, ignoring him for the moment, slowly removed one of the scrolls from her back and opened it. Tarek's eyes widened as he realised that it was a weapons summoning scroll, and not just for one weapon. Biting her thumb to draw blood she ran it over one of the seals on the scroll. There was a sudden cloud of smoke hiding Tenten from view. After a few moments, the smoke cloud dissipated revealing Tenten spinning the scythe end of a Kusarigama above her head, holding the chain that connected to the weight end. Tenten was gazing right at him with the same smirk she had worn when she had tossed the kunai at him.

"I said I challenge you to a duel, your weapon against mine." Tenten finally replied in the same cold formal voice she had used when she first issued the challenge.

Tarek regarded her a few moments longer then sighed in disgust. He slowly lowered Blazing Phoenix and picked up the scabbard he had dropped while drawing the blade.

"Sorry, I'm not interested" Tarek replied coolly, beginning to slide Blazing Phoenix back into its scabbard.

Tenten's smirk turned to a frown. "It's not up for discussion!" She yelled angrily before throwing the Scythe end of the Kusarigama straight at him. Tarek dropped his scabbard and blocked the Scythe with Blazing Phoenix, making the scythe recoil back towards Tenten. Tenten caught the scythe and began to swing the weighted end quickly. Tarek watched her spin the weight grimly. It looked like he had no choice but to fight her. And the worst of it was the fact that he was at a distinct disadvantage against her weapon of choice. The Kusarigama was a weapon designed to immobilize an opponent with the chain, especially those who used swords and spears. He had to try and get close to her, and that was going to be difficult with the Kusarigama being a long distance weapon. Sure he could use Sword Art: Climhazzard, and if he cut himself, Sword Art: Crimson Wave, but those jutsu were way too dangerous, especially since he didn't know how fast she really was, although seeing how quickly she was using her weapon she was probably pretty fast.. He was interrupted from his thoughts when the weighted end suddenly flew towards him. Tarek jumped backwards, and when the weight hit the ground where he had been standing, Tarek charged towards her. Tenten reeled the weight back in quickly and then threw it straight at him again. Tarek jumped backwards once more to avoid the weight and began his charge once more. This continued for a few minutes, Tarek trying different ways to get past her weight but failing every time. Finally, Tenten decided enough was enough. Spinning the weight above her head to get enough momentum, Tenten tossed the weight at Tarek once more. As Tarek moved to jump back, he suddenly felt that he couldn't. Startled he looked at Blazing Phoenix and realized that Tenten had managed to wrap her chain around the blade. He looked up to see her closing in fast, scythe in hand. Tarek gritted his teeth, as he tried to think of a way out of this situation. He was about to give up and let go of Blazing Phoenix when suddenly he remembered something. Smirking, Tarek released one hand from his sword and then swept it over the blade, focusing his chakra into it.

"Sword Art Element: Flametongue!"

The blade suddenly blazed and instantly melted the chain. He then swung the blade, throwing the goblets of liquid metal directly at an astonished Tenten. Tenten dropped the scythe and rolled out of the way, pulling out her weapon scroll in the process. As Tarek charged toward her with his blazing sword, Tenten quickly opened the scroll and ran her bleeding thumb over another weapon seal. The smoke cleared to reveal Tenten holding a Katana. She ran and met Tarek head on parrying Blazing Phoenix with her own Katana.

Thank god dad gave me this chakra enhanced Katana…That blow could have killed me with that fire surrounding the blade! Tenten thought in relief.

Wincing at the heat emitting from the blade, Tenten countered the blow to her head with a slash at his midsection. Tarek blocked this slash and countered with a spinning overhead blow, puzzled over why Tenten's Katana had not yet been seared in half. Tenten quickly blocked the overhead blow and spun aiming a thrust at his chest. With a speed and skill that Tenten had never before seen on a person, Tarek blocked the blow, spinning his body so that Blazing Phoenix could meet her Katana. He quickly spun a second time and followed it through with a slash to her left shoulder. Tenten jumped back as quickly as she could, the blade barely missing her. As she landed she suddenly felt a searing pain on her left shoulder which brought her to her knees. Hissing she turned her head and saw her shoulder was burned. Tarek stopped immediately and walked towards her, concern evident in his eyes, the fire on Blazing Phoenix dissipating. Before he could get any closer however, Tenten jumped up and came at him more fiercely with an overhead blow, a determined glint in her eye. Surprised, only Tarek's reflexes saved him as he blocked Tenten's Katana though he did it rather clumsily. Berating himself for letting his guard down, Tarek, determined more than ever, countered by beginning a complex series of maneuvers which put Tenten on the defensive. Tenten was barely keeping up with his speed and the complexity of the maneuvers had her blocking some of the strikes rather clumsily. It didn't help that each strike made her arms shake from the strength of them, and it only led to her arms slowly getting heavy, and her counter strikes getting sluggish. The burn on her shoulder wasn't helping matters either, often dangerously cutting off some of her blocks and counters. She realized that Tarek as far as swordsmanship goes was way out of her league. She had thought that using a Kusarigama would give her an advantage and had never thought that he had a jutsu which could melt normal metal. Likewise, when she had summoned her chakra enhanced Katana, she had thought that she could at least fight against him at an equal level, if not better, only to discover that she had been sorely mistaken. Jumping back from a thrust aimed at her midsection, Tenten decided that if she couldn't beat him in relatively close combat, then she would have to beat him with that jutsu. Sticking her Katana into the ground, she jumped away from a charging Tarek and removed both of her scrolls. Tarek got into a ready stance, puzzled at what she was planning to do. Opening up both scrolls she suddenly gave him a warm smile.

"You really are a brilliant swordsman, especially for a rookie Genin." She said sincerely.

Taken aback by the compliment in the middle of a battle, Tarek could only nod his head in gratitude. Her face then turned into a serious expression, the determined glint in her eye returning once more.

"However, no matter how good you are, this technique will finish this battle once and for all." With those final words, Tenten placed the scrolls on the ground and began doing hand seals, finishing by crossing her arms.

"Rising Twin Dragons!"

Two dragons made of smoke suddenly shot into the air twisting and turning until finally reverting to fully opened scrolls. Tarek's eyes widened when he saw how many weapon seals there were on the fully opened scrolls. Tenten jumped so fast she was barely visible to Tarek and then hung motionless at the top of the scrolls. She then began running her hands over the weapon seals, various weapons appearing in small clouds of smoke. Then she began tossing them at Tarek, replacing a weapon she had thrown with another from a different weapon seal. Tarek's eye's widened at the barrage of weapons coming his way and he jumped backwards. However this didn't stop the barrage, as Tenten only had to adjust her aim. Dodging the continuous barrage and knowing that he had no choice, the Sword Art Element: Flametongue unable to melt all of those weapons, Tarek opened his palm and cut it open with Blazing Phoenix. Wincing at the pain, he made sure the sword had enough blood on it before focusing his chakra on the blood.

"Sword Art: Crimson Wave!"

Tenten, wondering why he had cut his palm open, widened her eyes in shock as he swung the blade sending a blood red wave shooting from the bloodied blade. The wave consumed her weapons and kept coming towards her. Face pale, Tenten frantically cancelled the jutsu and slowly dropped to the ground, the blood red wave cutting the top half of the scrolls in half and shooting past her, barely missing her. She landed on the ground heavily and stared at Tarek, brandishing two kunai she had been about to throw when she had had to cancel the jutsu, the two halves of each scroll landing on the floor on either side of her. Her shocked mind was going over what he had done.

He managed to counter my best jutsu. Only Neji has ever been able to do that and that's only because of his Kaiten She thought as she stared at Tarek with awe filled eyes.

Weary from lack of chakra; Tarek grimaced in satisfaction before charging towards her once more. Acting quickly, Tenten threw the kunai in her left hand at him and made a bid towards the Katana she had left in the ground. With a sudden burst of speed that surprised both of them, Tarek shot past the incoming kunai and stopped in front of her, Blazing Phoenix inches away from her neck. They both did nothing but stare into each others eyes for a few moments, both panting heavily. Finally Tarek gave her a small smile.

"Looks…like it's…my win." He said breathlessly. His smile turned into a frown when he noticed her smirk and the mischievous glint in her eye. Suddenly he felt something tapping on his stomach. He looked down and his eyes widened in disbelief when he saw the flat part of the kunai she had held in her right hand patting him on the stomach. He lifted his head to gaze at her once more.

"Huh…a draw…damn…I was hoping to win." Tenten said breathlessly.

They stared at each other silently a few moments when finally it was broken by Tenten's laughter. After a few moments of staring at her as if she was mad, Tarek's expression suddenly lightened, no longer able to keep a serious face, and he began to chuckle. He didn't even know what was so funny, her laughter was just infectious. As they removed their weapons from each other, Tarek couldn't help but feel his heart pound heavily, not from exhaustion but at the musical tone of Tenten's laughter.

Why would my heart feel so heavy from just hearing her laugh? Tarek thought, puzzled, his chuckle slowly dieing.

Tenten noticed Tarek's thoughtful and far away expression and slowly stopped laughing catching her breath as she did so.

"What's on your mind Tarek?" Tenten asked cocking her head and giving him a small smile.

Tarek suddenly felt his cheeks grow warm and he cursed mentally as he realized he was blushing.

"I-I was just wondering how you managed to block Blazing Phoenix with your Katana when I used Sword Art Element: Flametongue." Tarek lied giving her a nervous smile.

Seeming to accept the lie, Tenten began to explain. "My father is a weapons smith. He reinforces some weapons with chakra to make them a lot more resilient. He gave me the Katana on the day I became a Genin." Tenten smiled fondly at the memory.

That explains a lot, I'll have to be careful of that in the future when facing against enemy ninja Tarek thought.

Tenten suddenly hissed in pain and held the arm that was connected to her burnt shoulder. Upon hearing her hiss Tarek immediately rushed forward and held his free hand out just over her burnt shoulder.

Grandfather, is it possible to heal others wounds with the Silver sword? Tarek asked mentally.

He didn't get an answer, instead he was startled to find his hand glowing silver and Tenten's burnt shoulder slowly healing. Taking that as an obvious yes, Tarek kept his hand over her shoulder until finally it was fully healed. Dropping his hand back to his side and taking a step back, he watched silently as Tenten, with an astonished look on her face began to experiment with her shoulder. After finding out it was just fine, Tenten gazed at him stunned.

"You know medical jutsu?"

Tarek looked uncomfortable for a moment before finally answering. "Yeah…"

Tenten was puzzled over why he looked so uncomfortable from such a simple question but shrugged it off.

"Well thank you, I wasn't looking forward to treating that burn myself." She said gratefully.

"It's the least I could do considering I am the one who gave you the burn." Tarek replied rubbing the back of his head.

Tenten giggled at that but then stopped and frowned when she glanced at his open palm.

"Wasn't that the hand you cut open to use that jutsu? Where is the wound?" she asked suspiciously.

Tarek cursed mentally as he realized his mistake. No Genin had enough skill with medical jutsu to heal an injury on the same hand they had used the medical jutsu on without using their other hand. He searched his thoughts for a valid excuse shouting at his Grandfather mentally to help him only to get no answer in return. Tenten narrowed her eyes and began tapping her foot impatiently waiting for his explanation.

"Tenten, your fires of youth shine strong this day!"

Tenten stopped her foot mid tap and groaned in despair. She slowly turned to see the racing figure of her teammate Rock Lee heading towards her. Rock Lee had wide circular onyx-colored eyes and huge black bushy eyebrows. His hair was the color black and was styled like a bowl. He wore a green spandex suit that made Tenten shudder just looking at it. His forehead protector was tied around his waist and he wore orange leg warmers around his lower legs. Bandages were wrapped around both of his lower arms, wrapped all the way down to his hands. She turned her head slightly to see Tarek's expression only to frown slightly as she noticed he had his sunglasses back on, hiding his eyes from view. She did notice however that one of his eyebrows were arched as her eccentric teammate closed in on them.

"Hi Lee…what brings you here?" Tenten asked weakly bringing her attention back to her teammate as he stopped in front of her, a wide smile on his face.

"Gai-Sensei has called a team meeting. He asked me to come get you as fast as I could, or I would have to run around Konoha five hundred times on my hands." Lee said happily, doing his 'Nice Guy pose'.

Tenten sighed knowing that he was serious. She glanced in Tarek's direction and burst out laughing as she noticed Tarek's bewildered expression his mouth wide open in disbelief. Tenten's laughter brought Lee's attention to Tarek. He began to scrutinize him carefully taking in Tarek's appearance. His gaze slowly fell to the sword in Tarek's hand and just as slowly worked its way up to Tarek's face. Tarek arched an eyebrow and returned the stare silently, studying him just as intently. Finally noticing the silence between the two boys, Tenten abruptly broke off her laughter and switched her gaze between the two, concern evident in her eyes. Afraid at what the two may do, Tenten made a move to get in between them both. She stopped abruptly however when Lee held his hand out, his serious expression softening to a grin.

"I am Rock Lee, Tenten's teammate; it is very nice to meet you."

Tarek grinned and took Lee's hand, shaking it. "It's Nice to meet you too Lee, name's Tarek, Tarek Swordstalker."

"So, do you know how to use that sword Tarek?" Lee asked casually after a few moments, letting go of Tarek's hand in the process.

"Why don't you be the judge of that?" Tarek replied, his grin widening.

Before Lee could enthusiastically reply and take up Tarek's challenge, Tenten grabbed both boys' by the ear and pulled them both down to her height since they were both taller than her. She gave them both an angry glare, ignoring their cries of protest.

"You two had me thinking you were both going to break out into a fight or something at any moment!" She yelled angrily in both their ears. After spending five minutes of constantly apologizing to her, Tenten finally let both boys' ears go.

Remind me to never anger her Tarek thought frowning as he rubbed his ear.

Tenten suddenly gasped and ran over to her torn weapon scrolls. She rolled the two halves of each scroll up together and then placed them in the two holsters behind her back. She then grabbed Lee's arm pulling him away despite his protests. She pulled her Chakra enhanced Katana out of the ground and continued to drag Lee away.

"Were late for the team meeting, damn it Lee! You have to stop challenging every new person you meet!"

Tarek just looked at her dumbfounded.

Isn't that what she did when she met me? He thought.

Tenten suddenly turned around letting go of Lee's arm in the process and glanced back at Tarek giving him a warm smile.

"It was very nice to meet you Tarek; maybe we could train together sometime."

Tarek's heart rate suddenly quickened at the prospect of training with Tenten, and he spoke before he could stop himself.

"How does tomorrow sound?" He asked eagerly.

Tenten pondered that a few moments, before finally nodding, her smile widening. "Ok I'll meet you here at the same time tomorrow then." Then with a wave of her hand, Tenten grabbed Lee's arm and pulled him away in the direction Lee had come, stopping Lee from saying his farewell's to Tarek. Tarek watched them walk away until they were both out of sight, then sighing happily, Tarek made his way past the weapons littered across the training ground and picked up the scabbard for Blazing Phoenix which he had left under the tree during the fight. He cleaned the blade silently then slid it back into its scabbard. He then mentally called for his Grandfather.

"Well you handled that quite well I must say, though you shouldn't have dropped your guard when you knew she still had a kunai in her hand"Raven replied in a tone that suggested he was ready to give Tarek a lecture. Tarek glared at his grandfather with his minds eye as he drabbled on and on about how he shouldn't let his guard down. After about five minutes of lecturing, Raven noticed Tarek's glare and gave him a confused glance.

"What?"Raven asked puzzled.

Why didn't you answer me when I called to you for an excuse? You're the one after all who keeps reminding me daily to keep the Silver sword a secret. Tarek questioned his grandfather while he still glared at him.

Raven snorted "I thought you would use your intuition and just call it a Bloodline limit, after all no one knows why the Swordstalkers were such a prominent clan except for a few people who were trusted with our secret."

You could have suggested that to me in the first place and stopped her from getting so suspicious! Tarek exclaimed, his temper simmering.

Raven remained silent a few moments before finally replying. "While that is a fair point, I honestly don't think it matters if she knows about the secret of the Silver sword." Raven said with a serious tone.

Tarek's anger was suddenly replaced by puzzlement. What do you mean grandfather?

"Ahh…Never mind, call it the ramblings of an old man, anyway training is finished for the day since your low on chakra. Let's head home." Before Tarek could say anything, Raven cut off their mental link. Puzzled over what his grandfather had meant Tarek began the long walk back to the apartment he lived in with Naruto.

Meanwhile, in the Silver sword training hall, Raven paced around the area, lost in thought about the girl Tarek had fought. Unlike his grandson, Raven wasn't blind to the feelings Tarek had been feeling for the girl, and he was currently contemplating about the possibilities.

Hmmm…Tenten Agraweh, an interesting girl indeed Raven thought as he continued to pace the hall.

Naruto focused chakra into his feet and then began running towards a fairly tall tree with numerous slash marks on it. He placed one foot on the tree and then the other, continuing to run up the tree trunk. He got about halfway before he felt his control slipping. He quickly slashed the point he had reached with his kunai and then leaped off of the tree landing back to the ground. Wiping his forehead with the sleeve of his jump suit, Naruto measured the distance between the new slash mark and the previous one. He smiled with satisfaction as he realized he had gotten at least six inches further up the tree. The tree climbing exercise was indeed tough but he figured that he had made a lot of progress. Remembering his first few attempts at the exercise, Naruto couldn't help but wince and rub the back of his head where he had landed when his chakra imbued feet failed to stick him to the tree.

I have made a lot of progress Naruto thought proudly. As his gaze left the tree to look around the rest of the training ground, he did a double take as he realized it was the dead of night.

"Shit!" Naruto exclaimed.

Picking up the scroll for the Burning Rave jutsu, Naruto dashed off into the night, heading back to the apartment he lived in with Tarek.

Tenten slammed the door shut and let out an angry huff. She stormed past her mother who had come to greet her and rushed upstairs to her room, slamming the door behind her.

Damn it, why does Neji have to be such an asshole! Tenten thought angrily as she threw herself onto her bed. She thought about what he had said to her after mentioning her new friend Tarek to him.

Flashback

"…and that concludes our youthful meeting! You are now free to do whatever your fiery passions desire!" Might Guy exclaimed to his Genin cell, going into a 'nice guy' pose. Tenten just sighed at her sensei's antics and turned her head to glance at her two other team mates. Lee was enthusiastically bouncing on the balls of his feet exclaiming about the 'Fires of Youth' trash that their sensei had brainwashed him with. Her gaze then shifted to the other boy sitting on her left. Neji Hyuuga just sat staring stoically into the distance, not even paying any attention to Lee and Guy's antics. She studied Neji's figure, taking in the grey shirt with buckles, the standard ninja shorts and the bandage wrapped around his entire right leg.

"Is there something wrong Tenten?" Neji asked quietly, not even turning his head to look at her. Embarrassed at being caught staring at him, Tenten looked away, blushing furiously.

"N-nothing, nothing at all." Tenten replied, mentally cursing her slight stutter.

Neji remained silent a few moments before finally turning his head to gaze at Tenten. Tenten felt her heart flutter in her chest as she looked upon the face of the boy she had developed a crush on. He had the white pupiless eyes of the Hyuuga clan, though if you looked closer you could see the slight blue tint to them. His long black hair was held away from his face by the Konoha forehead protector wrapped around his forehead. She was so captivated by his face that she completely missed what Neji had asked her and only pulled herself out of her reverie when Neji waved his hand in front of her face.

"What?" Tenten said quite stupidly.

Neji sighed irritably and proceeded to pose his question once more "I asked you what you were up to when Lee went to get you. Your appearance suggests you were in a fight of some sort." He stated a measure of what she hoped was concern in his tone of voice.

"Uh…Well yes I was in a fight, I challenged this rookie Genin named Tarek to a fight, and he accepted. It was one of the most intense battles I have ever fought, he…" She trailed off as she saw the expression on Neji's face. Those of the Hyuuga clan were famous for their stoic expressions which could strike fear in to the enemy's heart. However, that stoic expression was nothing compared to an angry Hyuuga's glare, and at that very moment, Tenten was at the receiving end of Neji Hyuuga's glare. It absolutely terrified her.

"Was this Tarek's last name Swordstalker?" Neji asked coldly.

Tenten could only nod, having lost the will to speak under that glare. She had never seen this side of Neji before, and his anger only seemed to deepen as he got confirmation of Tarek's last name. Then as abruptly as his anger had come, his expression returned to its stoic visage. He turned his back to Tenten and began to walk away. After a few steps he stopped.

"You would do well Tenten to stay away from weaklings like Tarek Swordstalker, for his destiny is to fail and remain weak. That is his place in life, and you only lower yourself to his level by being around him." He told her coldly before he continued his walk away from his team.

Tenten stood there in shock, Neji's words repeating over and over again in her head. She continued to watch his retreating back, not noticing Lee and Guy staring at her, their expressions grave. Once Neji was had disappeared from sight, Tenten's shock suddenly turned into a simmering rage. Tenten turned on her heel and ran in the direction of the Training Ground where she had met Tarek. She needed to take her anger out on something, and the training posts there would suffice.

End of Flashback

Tears flowing down her face, Tenten sat up on her bed and opened her fists looking at her bruised and bloody palms. She had stayed at that Training Ground beating on the Training posts for so long that it had turned to the dead of night. She would have stayed there longer had it not been for the fact that her parents would have worried about her. Though her palms burned with pain, it was nothing like the pain that was burning her heart.

Why? She thought. Why must I always sacrifice something to please him?! It has always been the same ever since we became team mates. Now he expects me to sacrifice a possible close friendship with a nice guy like Tarek all because he is too 'weak' in Neji's eyes? She lowered her head into her palms and sobbed quietly, tears of frustration and hurt flowing down her face stinging her injured palms.

No more she thought as she cried. No more…I won't do it, not anymore.

Naruto ran up the stairs that led up to his apartment, grabbing his keys from his pocket and stuffing the Burning Rave jutsu scroll into the same pocket he had pulled the keys out of. He put his key into the lock and opened the door, apologising before it even fully opened.

"Sorry Tarek, I kind of lost track of time, I…" He suddenly trailed off as he saw the look of mischief on Tarek's face.

Oh hell no, I hate that look! Naruto thought as he turned around to head back out the door, only to be yanked through the doorway as Tarek grabbed Naruto's jump suit collar and started dragging him inside, closing the door with Blazing Phoenix's scabbard. Finally stopping at the kitchen table, Tarek pulled out a chair, again using Blazing Phoenix's scabbard, and plopped Naruto down in it. He then went over to the chair on the opposite side and pulled it out, sitting down and placing Blazing Phoenix on the table. He stared at Naruto with a big grin on his face, his silver eyes clearly visible. It was clear to Naruto that he wasn't going anywhere until Tarek got what he wanted.

Question is what the hell does he want? Naruto thought.

"So Naruto, why don't you tell me all about what happened between you and Hinata earlier" Tarek stated in a tone of voice that suggested he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Naruto just looked at Tarek, a confused expression etched on his face. "What are you talking about?" He asked puzzled.

"Oh come on Naruto, you know exactly what I'm talking about." Tarek replied.

"I honestly don't know what you are talking about Tarek, what happened between me and Hinata earlier?"

Tarek just stared at him in disbelief. "Oh well let's see, the fact that I caught you nearly kissing Hinata might have something to do with it." Tarek replied in an irritated tone of voice.

Naruto's face instantly turned bright red. "What the hell are you talking about I wasn't trying to kiss her!" Naruto yelled.

"Naruto, could you say that a bit louder this time, I don't think the people near the south end of town heard you." Tarek said in a sarcastic tone of voice.

Naruto's eye's narrowed and he crossed his arms. "I did not try to kiss Hinata alright she…had something on her face that's all!" Naruto replied calmer than he did before, though the furious blush was still evident on his face.

Tarek rolled his eyes "Right, something on her face. What do you think I am, an idiot?!" Tarek snapped.

Naruto's eye's narrowed "I told you nothing happened between us, now just drop it!" Naruto snapped back at Tarek. Ignoring Tarek's scowl, Naruto stood up and left the table, making his way to the Kitchen. As he was reaching into the cupboard to pull out some instant Ramen, he heard Tarek walk into the kitchen.

"Naruto why can't you just admit that you were going to kiss Hinata and that you have feelings for her?" Tarek demanded bluntly.

Naruto slammed his Instant Ramen container down on the counter and spun to face a glaring Tarek with a glare of his own.

"Why can't you just drop it Tarek?!" Naruto replied his voice rising.

This didn't faze Tarek at all "You have feelings for her Naruto that has been plainly obvious since we first met her, and if you think about it, I'm sure you will realize that Hinata feels the same way, so why are you trying to deny it?!"

Naruto's temper snapped. He rushed forward and grabbed Tarek by the scruff, lifting him slightly off of his feet.

"I can't have feelings for her alright, not now not ever!" Naruto roared.

"Why the hell not Naruto?!" Tarek replied unfazed, raising his own voice.

"Because of the Kyuubi you dumbass, because I am the container of the Kyuubi" Naruto answered, his anger suddenly abating. He slowly lowered Tarek to the floor and let go of him, turning his back to him. There was silence for a few moments as Tarek stared at Naruto's back, digesting what he said. Finally, Tarek took a step towards Naruto, standing by his side.

"What has the Kyuubi got to do with anything Naruto?" Tarek asked puzzled.

He regretted asking the question as soon as he saw the look on Naruto's face. His expression had changed from melancholy to anger in a second.

"The Kyuubi has everything to do with it Tarek. Don't you see?! If I admit my feelings for Hinata and it gets out, she will suffer everything we have had to suffer with since we were old enough to walk. Hell, if she finds out about the Kyuubi being sealed inside of me, she will grow to fear and hate me just like the other villagers do. I can't lose that friendship, I can't lose her." Naruto yelled desperately, waving his arms about and finally ending with a whisper.

Tarek gazed at him for a few moments before snorting in disgust. "Naruto, firstly, do you really think Hinata would care about what the villagers think, secondly, how can you believe Hinata will hate you for carrying that demon when she didn't react like the villagers do when they see my eyes?" Tarek demanded pointing at said-eyes.

Naruto's scowl suddenly returned and he glared at Tarek. "Have you told Hinata about your grandfather and the Silver sword?" He asked angrily.

Tarek's frown deepened. "Well no but that's-"

"Don't say it's different Tarek, it's the same thing!" Naruto snapped.

Tarek stared at Naruto for a few moments, sorting out his thoughts before speaking once more.

"Naruto, the only reason I haven't told Hinata is not because I'm afraid of her reaction, nor is it because I don't trust her. The reason I haven't told her is because I don't want to put her into any danger from the knowledge. What do you think would happen if someone finds out she knows the whereabouts of the Silver sword? There are enough legends about it that some will truly believe it exists. They would use her to get at me, and I can't allow that, she's like a little sister to me." Tarek said quietly.

Naruto digested that for a few moments before finally nodding. "Ok I see your point as far as you are concerned. But that just gives me more reasons over why I cannot admit my feelings for her."

Tarek sighed irritably. "Naruto, if you don't tell her how you truly feel, you will only end up hurting her. At the moment, because of that near-kiss, Hinata's hopes of being with you have risen. If you suddenly do a turn around and act like nothing ever happened between you both it will hurt her deeply. Do you really want to do that?" Tarek asked never taking his gaze from Naruto.

Naruto stood there his head bowed, his fists clenched and his eyes closed. After a few moments of silence, Naruto slowly opened his eyes.

"No Tarek…I don't want to do that…" He said quietly.

Tarek nodded his head in approval. "Then you know what you have to do right?" Tarek asked already knowing the answer and smiling happily.

Naruto looked up at Tarek and then gave him a foxy grin before giving his reply

"Yes, I know what to do."

Kurenai leaned against the middle Training Post of Training Ground 8 waiting for her Genin cell to arrive. She had arrived at the Training Ground half an hour early so that she could go over the files of each Genin. She was looking over Tarek's file and his had to be the most mysterious of them all.

How is it possible for someone to have an unknown Sword fighting style when they must have learnt Sword fighting from someone within Konoha? And how can someone's jutsu list be under 'constant update'? Kurenai thought to herself completely baffled. Closing the file up, Kurenai did a single hand seal and the file disappeared. A few moments later, Kurenai could see both Hinata and Shino walking towards her.

Hmmm…They are here at the appointed time, now where are Tarek and Naruto? She thought.

"About time they arrived, man I was getting bored of waiting." A familiar voice said from behind her.

Kurenai's eyes widened as she turned to look behind the training post. Standing there were Tarek and Naruto, both with wide grins on their faces.

How did those two get behind me and how long have they been there?! Kurenai thought in astonishment. After a moment of contemplating it Kurenai decided it was something that could wait until later. She waited until Hinata and Shino reached them before explaining the exercise.

"Ok, now that we are all here I'll explain what we will be doing today. The purpose of this exercise is to test your capabilities as Ninja, to see if you are really ready for the title of Genin. Does anyone have any questions before I explain your objectives?" Kurenai waited a few moments but no questions were forthcoming. She took the time to study each Genin's face to see any signs of faltering. Shino she noticed was completely stoic, seemingly unaffected by her words. Tarek and Naruto both had determined expressions on their faces, with no signs of faltering. Hinata however had a worried expression on her face. Kurenai frowned at this. If she passes this test, I am going to have to really work on her self-confidence. She thought.

"Ok, the objective of this exercise is to track me down and then to take this red scroll from me." She held up the red scroll for all of them to see.

"You may use any means necessary to take the scroll off of me but remember this. You must come at me with the intent to kill." She waited a moment for that to sink in before continuing.

"Do have any questions about the objectives?" Kurenai asked.

Predictably Hinata's hand rose. "Um…s-sensei, a-are you sure that w-we must c-come at you w-with the i-intent to k-kill." She asked quietly.

Kurenai stared at her for a few moments before finally answering. "Yes Hinata, if you come at me any less, then you will definitely fail this exercise." Kurenai stated in a kind tone.

Hinata nodded before lowering her hand. Naruto suddenly moved towards her and put his hand on her shoulder. He lowered his head and whispered something into her ear. Hinata's eyes suddenly widened and the blush she already had from Naruto standing close to her deepened. However, Kurenai noticed immediately that the look in her eyes was replaced with determination. Whatever Naruto had said had obviously raised her self-confidence. Naruto took a step back and gave her a foxy grin before turning to face Kurenai.

"Ok then you have three hours to complete this exercise, and it starts now!" Kurenai stated getting into a ready stance. When Kurenai looked back on that day, she would admit that it probably would have been a better idea to have cast a Genjutsu to get away.

Tarek drew Blazing Phoenix from the scabbard on his back so quickly that he was just a blur of motion. Naruto moved equally fast pulling out two Kunai from the pouch on his belt and tossing them at her. Kurenai easily dodged them but soon realised that had been exactly what Naruto wanted when she heard the sound of a sword being thrust into the ground.

"Sword Art: Climhazzard!"

Hope you all enjoyed that chapter, please review and tell me what you thought. Also I was wondering if anyone may be interested in making a fan art drawing of Tarek Swordstalker and Raven Swordstalker. Please let me know.