Hey everyone.
Sorry for being really, really, late with this post.
Sometime yesterday i had tripped, and got a bone bruise on my ankle. It still hurts, but at least i can walk on it today.
And I suppose i should confirm something; I don't own a laptop, just a desktop so if i can't walk on my foot, i can't make it to the computer.
Enjoy guys
I don't own Naruto
Chapter 17
There was silence for a moment. Naruto looked at the fox and the fox looked at Naruto. Then…
"Hahahaha, this is rich. To what would a human wish to talk to me? I know were stuck together, doesn't mean we have to keep ourselves company" The Kyuubi said, laughing so hard that the cage echoed with its laughter.
"Hey, stop it! I seriously need to talk to you about that fight that happened with Sasuke. I know you hate me, but I've never felt such hatred for anyone else whenever I would use your chakra. That fight with Sasuke was the most malleolus I've ever felt" Naruto retorted. He had been keeping himself mostly busy with training and missions to either ignore the feeling of guilt for not brining Sasuke, or to get stronger for next time.
"That must be quite some slow brain of yours if it took you now to figure that out. I wonder how long it would take for you to process what I would say to you. We may be in here for quite a while" the kyuubi said, poking fun at his intelligence.
"Shut up, I was busy and distracted; I've only now had the time to contact you, and this needs to be confronted. What is it about Sasuke that made you react so violently?" Naruto asked.
"I guess hanging and flirting with that girl would indeed be considered a distraction" the Kyuubi says, still laughing.
Naruto started to feel both hot and embarrassed by that, "I wasn't flirting with anyone. And I haven't seen Sakura-chan for a week. Me getting chased before team 8 got involved doesn't constitute to flirting."
"Kit, I don't really pay attention to names, but I'm sure what you and white eyes do are more than just training. You're truly amusing to watch" Kyuubi's laughing had been reduced to snorting.
Now Naruto couldn't help but feel both embarrassed and flustered at that; he knew who the Kyuubi was talking about.
"Hinata and I weren't flirting! We were training!" Naruto yelled out.
"I didn't know her having her arms around your neck meant training; it's quite a show" the grin was unmistakable.
"Ugh, that's it, I'm leaving" Naruto opened his eyes to see that he was back in his apartment, showering.
'Curse that fox, I didn't know he saw my daily life too. He must have seen all of the mistakes and embarrassments it did daily. I can't speak with him when he makes fun of me; I think I would prefer it better if he treated me with resentment more than with amusement' thinking of the conversation with the kyuubi made him remember something.
"Dammit, I didn't get my answer about what happened with Sasuke!" Somewhere during the conversation he had forgotten what he wanted to talk to the Kyuubi about.
Naruto decided to do it tomorrow night. He shut the water off, dried himself, put on his pajamas, and went to bed.
The next morning seemed to be slightly cloudy. It was still warm outside, but with the way the clouds were, you thought it was still night.
Hinata, as usual, would get up early for training, but felt like she was putting more effort into it. She had gotten changed, eaten a light breakfast, and was packing her things for the day.
"Hinata-sama" Neji's voice caused her to jump slightly.
"Neji-ni-san, you're up early" Hinata said.
"As are you" he answered in return.
"As am I" the voice behind him said.
The two turned around to see Hanabi up and ready.
"Hanabi-chan" "Hanabi-sama" both Hinata and Neji said together.
Hanabi pouted a bit, "Neji-ni-san, when no one's around just call me Hanabi or Hanabi-chan; it really feels really weird being called 'sama' when your way older than me."
Neji sighed as Hinata giggled; she had wished the same thing when they were younger, but back then Neji held resentment towards her.
"Very well Hanabi, what are you doing up so early this morning if I may ask?" Neji said.
"You still treat me formal. Well, I want to go with you guys like I did last time with nee-sama. I promise not to distract you guys, but I need some help training and I don't wish for tou-san to know about it" Hanabi explained.
"Is this because Konohamaru-kun's invitation?" Hinata asked.
"Well, that's later on during the day. I figured if I train now, I'll be making up for it when it's time to leave" Hanabi said.
"And did you talk to Hiashi-sama about it?" Neji asked.
"No….what if he says no?" Hanabi asked nervously, and Hinata could relate.
"We will just let him know you trained with us and ask him if you can go out of the compound. If you're not ready to tell him yet that's fine, but you need to do it soon Hanabi-chan" Hinata said. She didn't know what type of person Konohamaru-kun was if Hanabi was scared to tell tou-san about it, but if he hung out with Naruto he couldn't be a bad one.
"That's what Neji-ni-san said last time" Hanabi pouted.
"And now you can see that it's not just me. Well, shall we be off to the training grounds then? We've already spent a good deal talking, and I wish to get some training in" Neji said.
And so, all three walked quietly out of the compound, and towards the training grounds to begin their training for the day.
Naruto woke up to the sun shining brightly on his face, and he knew it was earlier than the usual time he would wake up at.
'Damn, I should have closed the curtains today' his training yesterday, plus the conversation he had with the kyuubi, had worn him out, thus making him forget to close the curtains on the days he didn't have missions.
He tossed and turned, but knew there was no getting back to sleep. He got up and headed for the washroom to begin his day.
After he got changed, he decided to head out for breakfast today; something with eggs. He was craving them.
'I'm glad some of the villagers have started to see me as Uzuamki Naruto instead of the container for the fox' it was both a blessing and a curse after the chunin exams fight with Gaara.
He left his apartment, and began to search for a restaurant that served eggs, when he bumped into someone.
"Oof, sorry, I didn't see where I was go- Sakura-chan?" The shock that appeared on his face was imminent.
"Hey Naruto, I was just going to a café for a quick breakfast. What are you doing up so early? Sakura asked.
Baffled, Naruto composed himself back to grinning, "Well, I slept early, so I woke up early. I also was going for some breakfast. Can I join you?"
He knew that in the past this would be considered a date, but he honestly meant to hang out this time. Somewhere down the line he started seeing Sakura as more of a close friend than an old crush.
"Sure, I have another hour and a half before needing to meet up with Tsunade-sama. This way" Sakura began to lead, while Naruto followed.
'I hope this time we can have a conversation where she doesn't hit me' he knew that she never meant any harm by it, but he couldn't help himself if he had his idiot moments.
Jiraiya had just made it to the borders of the land of lightening. It was cutting a great deal on his research, but he figured since when he takes Naruto with him, there would be plenty of time to ditch him while working on his training, it would make up for it.
He wondered if the cloud village would really work with Orochimaru; although they haven't been on good terms, the village tends to be prideful of not asking others for help.
'I hope we don't have to go to war with them' the last thing anyone needs with Akatsuki running around is a conflict between villages. It would make them vulnerable.
Once he reached the gates of cloud village, he greeted the guards at the gates, and proceeded in. It helped to have the status of a sanin and a writer.
He decided to check in a hotel first to set his things in order, and then summoned a small toad.
"Master Jiraya, what can I do for you" the toad croaks.
"Please send this note to my spies here. Once they're done, tell them that you will be staying with them until they give you a piece of information that is required" the toad nods, and poofs away.
Now all he had to do was wait it out. He pulled out a notepad and pencil, and decided that while he's waiting, a little 'research' wouldn't hurt. Already the though is leaving him drooling at the prospect.
"Ha" the eight trigram: Vacuum palm shot forward, but halfway began to disperse before hitting the tree in front of it. Neji just grit his teeth in frustration. His uncle wasn't kidding when he said it required a great deal of chakra control. Just the sheer concentration he was trying to enforce was an effort.
"Ha" Neji turned his head to see that Hinata had released an eight trigram: Vacuum palm of her own. It was more condensed than his based on what his eyes told him, and it shot faster. It never wavered as it got closer to the tree, but even though the tree took more damage than his did from the attack, he could tell that wasn't enough power.
'Hiashi-sama wasn't joking when he said Hinata-sama would be capable of doing it faster than me' Neji could see the concentration was causing her to sweat from her forehead to the control of her palm. Hinata did have better chakra control (he will never admit this out loud) but not enough power to take down strong foes.
Hanabi just watches the two for the past two hours, her eyes activated. She had really wanted to practice with them, but they both had suggested to her to first master the tree and water walking exercises, before even attempting this. She had just made it about halfway up the tree before exhausting herself, watching the other two practices.
"Can you two take a break? Both of you look like your about to collapse" Hanabi yelled out. It was true though; both Neji and Hinata were barely standing straight without the slight wobble in their movements.
"Okay Hanabi-chan" both Hinata and Neji make way to join Hanabi under her tree. Hinata opens her bag, and pulls a couple of rice balls with plums in them. The three take one of the nine there, and take a bite.
"This is really good Nee-sama. You always like to cook" Hanabi says.
"I agree it is quite delicious Hinata-sama; the plum gives it quite a taste to the saltiness of the rice ball" Neji comments.
Hinata turns a little pink from the compliments, but thanks them none the less. The three eat in silence until Hanabi breaks it, "So…you think you guys can help with going over to Konohamaru-kuns house today? I promise I'll leave whenever you guys come to pick me up."
Both Neji and Hinata look at each other, and Neji sighs; he knew he wouldn't like what he was going to do, but he couldn't keep helping out like this.
Hinata had a different mindset however, "Only if you promise that after today you tell tou-san about it; he'll think its suspicious if you don't tell him right away, wondering why you kept it a secret. There's nothing suspicious is there Hanabi-chan?" Hinata asked playfully.
Hanabi, who was confused with her sister's question, answered honestly, "Of course there's nothing suspicious. He's just different from what the clan is use to, so I'm unsure if tou-san will approve of him being my friend. Neji-ni-san, is tou-san okay with some of the friends you have?"
"He wasn't too concerned about it at first, mainly because we were teammates, and because I didn't truly respond much to them. But Hiashi-sama seems to approve of Naruto though after the chunin exams so I think he'll be accepting of young Konohamaru; I hear the boy sees Naruto like an idol" Neji explains.
"Wow that makes it a lot easier. Okay, I promise to tell tou-san after today's hangout" she holds her fingers out to show none are crossed.
"Well if you two are done with the food, let us continue" and with that all three get up, Hanabi with the tree, and both Neji and Hinata with the new attack.
"Ha"
"Wow Sakura-chan, no wonder I haven't been seeing you around much since last week; you sure have your time filled. How is busy brow anyway? I know the surgery was a success, but since he came to help us out instead of resting, it must have tired him out fast" Naruto asks, eating the rest of his eggs.
"Yeah, because of that stunt it made his rehab pushed back, causing him to have another month longer than necessary to recover. It didn't help that he's so stubborn that he wouldn't listen to the nurses when they said not to overdo the workout they provided to him" Sakura answers, sipping on her green tea.
"So is that why you decided to take over? It would make sense; he trusts you more than any of the nurses, even if they have been in the field longer. And I get why bushy brows would be restless; I'm not even there a day and I already want to escape" Naruto laughs at this.
"Not all of us heal fast Naruto, some of us are normal enough that it takes longer to recover" Sakura scowls, but she can't help a little giggle come out as well.
The conversation felt relaxed and calm, something Sakura was glad for; she didn't know what she would have done if the same Naruto who used to gush over her was here instead of the close friend the two had become. She decided it was time to bring her to the next topic of why she had wanted to meet up with Naruto in the first place.
"So Naruto, there's a little talk happening, and I wish to hear it from you" Sakura says.
"Sure Sakura-chan, what is it you wish to know?" Naruto asks, sipping on his green tea.
What Sakura says, causes him to choke, "So how is things with Hinata going."
And pause
I can't wait to write for next weeks, it's going to be pretty funny seeing Naruto stumble on his words.
Anyways hope there was a bit of amusement in this, I plan on showing some Jiraya stuff since He's suppose to be training Naruto soon
Cheers guys