Hello there, and sorry for the delay. I wanted to wait and see if that creative writing course helped. (Aced the class btw) Also I have other projects in the works…Blah, blah, blah.

_I-I_

(0...0)

(_:_) ((Holiday fail))

Recap: In hospitals, anything can happen that can brighten anyone's day.

Jiraiya awoke the next day with a mild hangover; wincing-ly he slipped out of bed and proceeded to the rooms' adjoined bathroom, where he turned on the tap. Readily, the aged shinobi collected the water into his palms and splashed some onto his face, but not before examining his appearance in the mirror.

'Kami, I look horrible.' He thought; deducing that it would probably take a lot more than just a little water to bring him back to the world of the living. With that in mind, he took a towel from the nearby cupboard and shrugged his garments off. Stepping into the stall he twisted the dial, the pipes gurgled before a plume of water completely engulfed him.

Jiraiya sighed contently; grabbing a bar of soap. "Woo man, what a night!" With a smug grin he concluded. "I still got it." Seems as though the double vision hasn't cleared up quite yet…

After mere moments the sage concluded his shower and began dressing himself in one of his finest robes. As he was shrugging into the article of clothing, he was struck with a sudden epiphany. Rushing over to his backpack he pulled out a scroll as well as a bottle of ink and a brush; unfurling the scroll, he carefully laying it out in front of him. From there he uncapped the bottle and dipped the brush in to the infinite darkness.

"Now then," He positioned the writing implement just above the paper. "Where were we..."

The cicadas hummed in the mid-afternoon light; wings oscillating, shaking the liquid remnants from their varying perches. All but a few people took notice however, as the group made headway in their trek. One of the shortest in the group frowned as he peered up at the trees above. "So when do ya think we'll reach the village, Neji?"

"Soon Naruto, soon." The blond scoffed at his teammate's answer. That just wasn't soon enough! Narrowing his eyes, he focused his sights back to the rest of the group. Lee was currently rummaging through his pack, finally pulling out a cluster of WHATEVER the hell those were...

"These are Gai sensei's medicinal balls. He told me, to eat one hundred of these a day when I was hospitalized during the Chunin exams... EAT THESE AND YOU'RE SURE TO REINVIGORATE THE SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH. He finished by striking a nice guy pose.

The blond glanced over to the clones that were carrying the injured; the unimpressed looks of his friends said it all. Tenten, whose face blanched a pale hue. Next his gaze shifted to Mizura who seemed rather contemplative to the offer. Lastly to Sumaru , whose eye started twitching at the prospect of what's to come. The blond snickered, shaking his head slowly as not to disturb the owl from his makeshift nest atop his head. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted the teal-clad form of Hokuto, who at the moment seemed lost within her own thoughts. Naruto's expression turned into one of complete befuddlement. 'What's with her?'

She hadn't said a word ever since they'd left, and with the permission of Hoshigakure's esteemed to find a cure for celestial cell damage at that. Naruto thought she'd be just a little excited. Ever so puzzled, he continued watching as the girl continued pace; eyes glued to the road in front of her. His focus intensified, hoping to make even the slightest headway in this mysterious mystery.

'Bam!'

"…Tree." Neji announced casually, paying no mind to the tree sprouting in the middle of the path.

The blond backed away from the hostile flora; rubbing his nose ruefully in thought. Awakened by the sudden face-plant; rim shot, the bird pecked the blonds' hand in annoyance. "Gomen Fukurou…That tree must've snuck up on me." Sated with his apology the owl resumed his original post, as Naruto recommenced walking again.

Naruto's actions did not go completely unnoticed by a certain brunette, as her eyes studied the ground. Despite the soft contours of her body caressing up against the clone beneath her, her expression remained sullen. Shaking herself, she decided to put her plans off for another day. Her frown deepened considerably. 'She hasn't been acting so since we left the village. I wonder…'

"Tenten…" It bothered her that one of her newest friends was acting this way. It was a bit… disheartening.

'Maybe I should talk to her .I'll get to the bottom of this, no doubt!'

"Tenten…"

The girl awoke from her stupor, staring into globular eyes.

"Ack…Lee what is it?"

"Tenten," He started. "YOU MUST TRY GAI-SENSEI'S BALLS, THEY'RE MIRACULOUSLY MARVELOUS!"

"No Lee."

"Aww…" The fuzzy-browed ninja's posture slumped into a state of depression, before his resilient spirit bounced back and began bothering Sumaru.

The weapons mistress of Konoha sighed to herself, as she concentrated on the road ahead. It was sure to be a long one.

When group grew weary with the passing time, they decided to settle and make camp to conclude the day.

One by one the stars came out to play. One after another, forming clusters upon clusters of constellations, scaping across the sapphire sky. Ambiance beyond no comparable deity could have requested such a twilight-ic night that was to be tonight. A lone figure stood awake, watching the dying embers of what was once a roaring fire fade away. She watched as her comrades slept peacefully before turning her attention to the snoring heap that was Naruto Uzumaki. She offered up a small smile before hiding her favoritism with sigh before looking to the heavens above.

"Nice night isn't it Hokuto?" The kunoichi shifted now that the silence had been broken, but relaxed once she identified the voice beside her.

"That it is Tenten-san... Shouldn't you be resting though?"

"We ya see…" The girl knocked the side of her head playfully. "I was, but I can't get back to sleep, so here I am."

"Ah… "Hokuto paused momentarily, turning to her friend before continuing. "Is it your back?"

"No, no it's much better than before, thanks. Tenten arched her back to prove her point. "I'm just feeling restless I guess."

"That's good; restless?"

The weapons mistress rubbed her numbing arm, to keep the chilled night air at bay. "Maybe a little homesick as well."

"You know I think I can relate."

"?"

"I've only just become a Genin recently, and well really haven't had too many missions outside of the village." She confessed.

Tenten paused catching the underlining meaning to her words, becoming slightly startled by this new information. "You mean you and your team have never been assigned outside Hoshigakure?"

The girl's gaze fell to the wayside. "That's right, that's why I've been on edge the whole time. She scoffed. "Then again same also holds true to the rest of the Star's Genin."Hokuto turned her head back on her friend who was now openly gawking, making Hokuto sweat-drop at the blatancy of it.

"How?"

"Two words: Star Training." Tenten silently motioned for her to continue. "That above all else took priority, over thing's such as experience."

"W-what else did this program entail?"

"Hmm…Since the star bound itself directly to the user's chakra, it essentially rendered all other disciplines other than Ninjutsu totally useless. That's why so many were weeded out back at the Academy since many weren't particularly affluent in it."

"Even Ken-"

"Kenjutsu? We only learned the basics, anyone more skilled than that was promptly dismissed from the program. "

The bun-headed girl's fist quaked with rage. "Who's the asshole that came up with that plan?"

"Akahoshi-sa…" Hokuto caught herself. "That guy." The fire in Tenten's eyes burned with the white hot intensity of a white dwarf, as Hokuto continued. "I'm kinda glad that's all over though, if it wasn't for Naruto and your team, I'm not sure how things could have turned out."

The flames cooled in Tenten's eyes as she began to look sheepish. "In truth, Naruto was the reason we stayed, otherwise we wouldn't have interfered. The freckled girl quirked a brow at her, as she went on to explain. "It wasn't anything personal, just politics." The girl nodded understandingly in acceptance; turning her face back to the sky.

"Ya, well it's amazing what he did for us." Hokuto blushed prettily with that admittance. A coy smile played on Tenten's features; her suspicions confirmed.

"Naruto, you like him don't you?" The older girl's smirk grew as her friend froze in place.

(A/N: I could have left it there, but 'tis the season!)

"I ah, I...maybe..."

Tenten relinquished a heavy sigh. "I can't exactly blame you…." Her comrade brunette's eyes rose upon realization; noticing the slight wistful tone in her friend's voice.

"You mean, you as well?"

"Hai. Funny thing is I don't even exactly know why I started liking him." Tenten pondered. "There's just about Naruto that sticks out compared to other guys, ya know?"

"Aside from the orange jumpsuit?" Both girls giggled.

"Yes aside from that." The weapons mistress scratched her cheek in thought. "There're so many rumors about Naruto. It's hard to tell fact from fiction at times."

Hokuto's ears perked. "Oh?"

"But I do know one thing for sure, he has to be lonely."

"Him lonely, how could that be? He has such a nice personality."

"That's a sigma I'm not too positive about, but I do remember him from the orphanage, when all the adults would come for adoption day and not even look at him." Tenten's eyes narrowed in remembrance, as the younger of the two lowered her own towards the soft loam underfoot.

"I see…Did he ever get adopted out?"

"From the grapevine, no he never did. The Third was kind enough to grant him an apartment when he got older and visited on occasion. But still…"

"It sounds as though that it left the void unfilled." The freckled kunoichi finished for her.

"Bull's-eye." Tenten turned before sighing. "Look Hokuto, I really value our friendship but if you do anything to hurt him I will never forgive you." She said before giving the girl a grin.

The lass blinked, turning her words in her head for a moment or two. Hokuto then offered a challenging smile of her own, jabbing her fist into the air. "Double to the same goes for you as well, Ten-san."

A comfortable silence fell over both brunettes as they shifted their gazes skyward. One with thoughts of what the future might hold the other the comfort of confidence. The weapons mistress exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding. 'Well, at least this didn't turn out as bad as what happened in Bird Country.' Then again, that's a story for another day.

Girl talk is amazing.

And then the eagles came, or not.

Well from North Carolina to all around the world, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you guys/girls a Merry Christmas, may it be as magical and as blessed as the first. The next updates are slated for next year, some of them feature other girls with Naruto, so be on the lookout for those.

Take care and stay safe,

Later…

-IR

((Pauses/Erases))

-Charlie