J3F \\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Six

Hello! It's been a while, but finally here it is! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!

I read over the last chapter and some others and found tons of mistakes; I read over chapters before I post them, but it seems like every time I only catch mistakes afterward. For example, I called Shikamaru a "former chuunin," except from where the story started he was never a chuunin to begin with, and I called the Land of Rice the Land of Sound, I had one of the seals in Fireball Jutsu wrong, I misspelled Suiton, I forgot Leaf Hurricane and Leaf Whirlwind are two different moves, I mixed up here and hear…

Real quick – funny conversation in Spanish II class!

Guy sitting next to me to get answers off my paper: "So, are you a sophomore, junior…?"

(I start giggling)

"Senior?"

Me: "Freshman."

"You're a freshman?!"

"Yeah, I'm fourteen."

"You're fourteen?!" (Turns around to face his friend) "Hey, she's fourteen!"

The guy's friend: "What?!"

Someone else: "Wait, you're fourteen?!"

And it went on and on. And on. And, I had a similar conversation in Geometry. Lol, I am kind of taller than average. Anyways!

Disclaimer: Gawsh, lyk know, eye do'nt one NARUTO or teh character's. An arnt' u glad i dont tyep liek this?

:D I couldn't resist. I don't own NARUTO!

Journey of the Three Failures

Six: Dawn of the Red Moon

Lee リー

"Please, Lee-kun?"

"No, thank you. I am sorry, but I must decline."

"Can't you at l-least try it on?"

"I have a few body suits still; I do not really need a new outfit."

"C'mon, Bushy Brow, are you serious? You've got to admit that thing looks pretty goofy. Enemies won't even take you seriously if they're busy laughing at your green spandex, y'know?"

"Look at who is talking! No matter how much we insist you get rid of it, you are still wearing that impractical orange jacket!"

"Hey! I replaced the pants already – what more can you ask? The jacket, it's a part of me!"

"Precisely, my friend! So you understand how I feel, do you not? Therefore, I will continue wearing my bodysuit and you can keep your jacket!"

"Deal!"

Hinata sighed, dipping her head. "Naruto-kun…"

The young kunoichi was now dressed in a black jacket with sleeves that went to mid-forearm, decorated by three inch thick stripes of a beautiful, moderately light blue color down the sides and the sleeves, as well as lining all the garment's edges except for the neck, which had a blue hood instead; her black pants had similar lines of blue down the sides. A matching blue sash around the waist, which the bottom of the jacket was neatly tucked into – of course along with the bandaging on her forearm and her hitai-ate around her neck – completed the new look. Naruto, on the other hand, wore his famously fluorescent orange jacket and a dark blue pair of pants.

We were in a store in the town we had been staying in; they had apologized for their deceptions, and we had a free stay in the inn for as long as we liked. In the past few days they had rounded up bounties for some of the outlaws and bandits we had captured, and a particularly large one from Iwa for Kuri's hitai-ate – identified by the ninja registration number, which only Iwagakure had record of – and given it to us along with the original reward for helping them.

As far as money went, we were set for a good while.

Hinata frowned sadly.

"Wh– What is wrong?"

"S-so you mean after I s-s-spent this time picking out this n-nice outfit f-for you … you won't even tr-try it on, Lee-k-kun…?"

"Wait! You are not about to–?"

"Look what you did, ya' jerk! You're about to make Hinata-chan cry!"

"I am sorry! I did not intend to hurt your feelings – of course I will try it on!" I said, quickly taking the bundle of folded clothes she held out to me.

As I started toward a changing room, I was certain I heard the slap of a high five, a small giggle, and a whispered "Goal!"

I whirled. Naruto was looking innocently into the distance, and Hinata was staring straight at me, a finger to her lips. She sniffled, eyes moistening dangerously.

"Okay, I am going!"

Thirty minutes later and feeling very suckered, I was leaving the store wearing a long sleeved green sweater and matching pants, the reddish fabric of the hitai-ate around my waist replaced by a black sash of cloth; a long black band tied around my forehead, the ends several inches past the knot and hanging to the center of my back; and the black leather straps across my body now much better fitted to secure the sword sheaths to my back.

Hinata giggled that it was a start.

Naruto chuckled that I almost looked like a ninja now.

I growled very seriously that his jacket was next.

Needless to say, the blond kept his precious orange friend very near him that night, for fear that I would "kill" it while he slept.

Being a border town that Leaf ninja on patrol duty had at one time frequently passed through would explain why the town had a shinobi store.

"Welcome, young heroes!" the shopkeeper exclaimed, brightening and waving as we entered, and I knew the place had probably been low on business lately and a regular target of Kozue's raids. "How can I help you?"

We all got shinobi boots made for the cold, Hinata's blue and Naruto's and mine black. Though we had originally come solely for shoes, another backpack, and a few supplies, the shopkeeper urged us to check out some of the other collections. At his insistence and strong recommendation, we found ourselves drawn to a book and scroll section. After a few minutes of browsing, I ended up picking out a small booklet on sword care; though I did not intend to use the blades often, I would do well to know how to properly care for them if I did.

As we went to the counter to check out, Hinata placed a small book titled The Sealing Arts: Guide to 700 Basic Seals and Their Uses next to my booklet. I was wondering what it was for when Naruto, oddly quiet and deep in thought, placed on the counter a small scroll on simple wind manipulation exercises and a thick book that he lied cover down. That he got a book at all seemed strange enough; that he had selected a volume that appeared to contain at least five hundred pages was downright unnatural.

"What is your novel about, Naruto-kun?" I asked with concealed curiosity as the shopkeeper began adding the total for the items.

"It's not a novel, it's nonfiction…"

APOCALYPSE! my mind screamed, while I simply nodded.

"…And if I tell you, you're just gonna laugh," he finished, facing away.

"I am certain I would not," I assured, wondering what could be embarrassing him. "But you do not have to tell me."

We soon left the shop, and later that day we left the town. We agreed that this detour had taken longer than planned; it was time to get back to training.

The next day of training was ranked among one of the most peculiar days of training in my life. This status – which definitely said something of whatever day in question for any of the members of my former team – was not attributed to anything I did, but rather to a number of oddities discovered surrounding Naruto and Hinata.

The first discoveries were made while we were jogging in the morning, our first hard run in a while. Normally at around thirty minutes I would set a slower pace for Hinata, and remind her to stop and rest when she needed to. However, she showed no outward sign of beginning to tire, so that I actually forgot to cut the pace until at forty or so minutes Naruto, losing energy and gasping for air, began to cough hoarsely. Five minutes later I asked if he needed to take a break, but he insisted on staying with us. Bewildered, I kept a close eye on the two of them as we continued (concerned for Naruto and not sure whether or not I should be concerned for Hinata), and when we stopped forty minutes later Naruto dropped like a rock, chest heaving and eyes shut as he panted heavily. A worried Hinata sprang to his side – not walked, not trudged, but sprang, after an hour and a half long run – and helped him up, offering a water bottle. I eyed her, unnerved. Sweating and panting, yes. Exhausted? Not even close, I realized.

So, out of nowhere … Hinata-san can suddenly run tirelessly? And, at some point, Naruto-kun randomly lost his stamina?

After a few minutes spent cooling down, and then a short break, we set up camp by a lake and began working individually. Even as I pummeled a tree with taijutsu combos, I could not help my attention's occasional wandering to the others. I glanced at Naruto to catch him standing doing nothing; in ten seconds he formed a hand seal, grumbling in frustration as he did so, and five clones popped into existence near him. Two of the copies quickly steadied him as he began to sway.

Shaking my head in confusion, I looked to Hinata to see her arms blurring as she pounded a tree trunk with fists and palms, sending splinters of wood chipping off. As she stopped a troubled expression crossed her face, and it dawned on me that perhaps she was as lost as I was. Nevertheless, I turned from the tree to move through taijutsu forms. The next time my gaze strayed to the young kunoichi, she was doing steady push-ups; with each "up" movement her hands pushed momentarily off the ground to quickly clap together. When I had shown that exercise to them a few weeks ago, it had exhausted her quickly. Since when could she…? I shook my head again; maybe she was using chakra. Yes… That was it.

It didn't occur to me at the moment that the muscles of her right forearm, at least, were most certainly not being supported by chakra.

So, Naruto is having problems with a technique he has done thousands of times before, and Hinata-san … I do not even know.

Eventually we stopped for a break, after which I practiced moving with the two katana, easily adjusting to their weight. Naruto and Hinata began working on their ninjutsu arts.

Neither was prepared for the results they were about to get.

Naruto ナルト

"Kuso! I don't believe this!" I ran through the seals yet again. "Uma, Tatsu, Tori, Saru, Inu, Hitsuji…!"

I inhaled deeply and carefully charged the air in my lungs with the chakra I'd molded. I could feel the chakra-enriched air begin to leave my lungs, and the – what had that Oto-nin's scroll called it? – that's it, the branchy tubes feeding the air to spiral up the windpipe. The spiraling air began rolling into my mouth, at this point easily manipulated as the chakra mixed with it, and rapidly formed into a tiny, spinning little ball as more air was fed into it and compressed by my chakra. Within a second, I'd emptied the air of my lungs, impossibly, into my mouth.

I reared my head back. And now – a perfect air bullet!

I leaned forward, opening my mouth to launch a tightly packed sphere of spiraling wind chakra hurtling at a shadow clone. At least, that's how it should have happened. Standing up straight and flat-footed, the replication didn't even bother blocking as the ball of air dissipated on contact with his chest, knocking him a step back. "No good, boss," he confirmed with a thumbs-down, and vanished.

Darn it! The last time I used it was… That's right, the jutsu worked just fine when I knocked that earth clone's sword away from Hinata… But I knew that it was different; then I had needed it to work, and now that I thought about it I had believed I was hugely over … chakra-ing the attack as I'd rushed in, and it had turned out just barely normal strength.

Normal for before Kyuubi had cut its power off, that is.

That's probably it after all… So maybe that small amount of the kitsune's energy that would normally leak into my chakra system … with it suddenly gone, it's thrown my chakra control off and cut down my supply. I still have a lot of chakra, just not as much as I'm used to. That's why all those shadow clones totally drained me. I never realized … I depended on the fox's chakra this much…

Hinata ヒナタ

"Katon: Gôkakyû no Jutsu!"

I spewed a pathetic little spout of flame that rolled ten yards over the lake and dissipated. …Obviously that weak mess of a fireball I spat at Kozue's clone … wasn't due to weariness alone after all…

What specifically was wrong with my chakra I wasn't entirely sure. So, I thought with a wry smile, I'll do the best thing you can at a time like this: look inside myself.

"Byakugan!" That, at least, I could do without difficulty. In terms of range, the bloodline had gradually returned to normal in the days following the full moon. Still, I had found that some days I could easily keep it active for longer than I ever had before, and others it would fail abruptly and be extremely difficult to use.

I examined my damaged keirakukei, feeling a small pang at the arm that, from forearm down, was practically dead to the blue energy that flowed through the rest of my body. It was then that I realized what the problem was.

I interlaced my fingers, forming the hand seal Mi. Just as I thought, the chakra I had pulled aside and focused in my chest for the technique was shaped in a strange way for the seal I'd used. I couldn't much put the chakra movement in words, but I could read it. At the first seal, it seemed, the jutsu had already been ruined.

I released the chakra and started over.

Mi.

The chakra moved in precisely the same incorrect way.

Hitsuji.

The already poorly shaped energy was twisted into a new form.

Saru…

By the time I went through I, Uma, and Tora, the chakra was so utterly contorted, so wholly different from the form it would always be molded into before being unleashed as the fireball technique, I was actually baffled at how I produced any fire at all.

…It's because of my arm that the seals are unbalanced. The signs aren't working normally because my chakra network is asymmetrical now…

I looked up, blinking away tears that were trying to form. No. There IS a way to do this.

I formed the sign of the Snake, watching as the seal molded the chakra incorrectly. Okay … Normally, Mi would look more like this… Focusing on the chakra, I shifted it with my will into the correct shape. So, that means every time I use Mi, I'll have to focus my chakra in this way at the same time… Easy enough. But…

Hitsuji… Problem. I knew what Hitsuji should look like applied to fresh chakra – as in the first seal in a sequence – but what was it supposed to look like on chakra already shaped by Mi? With each seal, the form would only grow in complexity by an exponential degree. That meant simply forming a seal and then shaping it clearly wouldn't be enough; by the time I tried to reshape any but the initial sign in a sequence, the jutsu would no doubt be ruined. Hand seals were essentially tools to help mould the chakra into forms too hugely complex to be shaped by will alone. Often shinobi who used a simple jutsu frequently enough memorized the chakra shape required to a point that they could recreate it and perform the technique without need for its seals, or even through a mixture of will and signs that allowed one to skip the first few signs of a jutsu. But I had by no means been an expert of the fireball technique – and even if I were, shaping the complexity of even a six-seal ninjutsu through manipulation by will alone was next to unheard of.

So, if I try to use a seal and then shape it to how it should look at that point in the sequence, I'll virtually be doing the same as trying to mold a highly complex chakra form with will alone. That won't work … so…

"So…" I continued aloud, "So, I need to memorize what each seal does to fresh chakra, and how I need to alter the chakra with my will. If I can practice exactly what I need to do, how I need to correct each seal on fresh, unmolded chakra … then theoretically, I should be able to apply any seal as a simultaneous mixture of its hand sign and simple will, at any step in a sequence!"

Grinning, I got to work analyzing what my unbalanced chakra network now caused each of the six seals required to do to unmolded chakra, figuring out and memorizing how I would have to change it at the same time in order to get the chakra to correct form.

The phrase 'easier said than done' had never been truer.

"…Huh…?"

"Hey! We didn't think you'd be back so soon!"

"Naruto-kun…?"

The boy next to me was going up in a plume of smoke as my vision came into focus. Not long after two people were beside me.

"You really scared us, Hinata-chan. Try to be more careful, will ya'?" Naruto said with a smile.

"What h-happened?"

"You had been working on your Fireball Jutsu for some time when you suddenly fainted two hours ago. You used too much of your chakra. Anyways, I am just glad you fell backwards and not into the lake."

That sounded right. I hadn't been sure how much time had passed. My Byakugan had been active the entire time. I had been getting tired, but I'd wanted to keep going; I was finally on my way to producing halfway decent fireballs. Then my neck had started aching…

I sat up and whimpered, a hand grasping at the mark.

"Hinata!"

"It's n-nothing," I assured him with a small smile. "I must've slept in a bad p-position, and there's a bit of a crick in my neck, that's all." No. No, what are you doing? I'm going to have to tell them sometime – and sometime fairly soon, too. Now is as good a time as any–

"So, do you think you're feeling up for some sparring?" Naruto asked.

I nodded. "Just let me stretch a bit first."

I will tell them soon. I will…

Lee リー

So, both of my young comrades are experiencing chakra control issues…?

I stowed this thought away as Hinata and I prepared to really face off for the first time in over two weeks. She assumed her stance. "R-ready when you are!"

"Yosh! Prepare yourself!" I rushed forward and threw the first attack. I went easy on the younger ninja, and as unhappy about this as she surely must have been, I had a feeling she was aware of it and had accepted that I refused to harm her.

After a series of traded blows I put her on the defensive, giving her a challenge and pushing her to find a chance to counterattack. If I spotted any glaring holes in her defense, I would finish it.

The match was soon cut short, however. Defending from her attacks, I jumped onto the lake's surface to retreat and refocus (for I did have chakra, of course, simply lacking the ability to mold it and release it in the form of a jutsu). Hinata followed, leaping to a spot on the lake thirty yards away… and vanishing in a splash of water.

"…Nani?"

After that initial moment of confusion, I raced toward where she'd gone under; the water was far too cold to intentionally hide in for a trick or trap. My fears were confirmed as she surfaced a second later, coughing and sputtering. Her left hand tried a moment to hold onto the water, slipping and shifting with instability before it broke the surface and she fell through again.

At this point I jumped and dived after her. Once I pulled her above the water I handed her to Naruto, who had come running and was waiting on the surface. He helped her up while I got out.

Then I noticed Naruto was shaking oddly, like someone trying to stand on a floor covered with marbles…

"LEE!" he shouted suddenly, shoving Hinata back into my arms before his feet slipped from under him and he went crashing into the freezing water.

"NARUTO!"

He quickly surfaced. "I'm good! I'll s-swim!"

"No you will NOT!" I said, plucking him out and slinging him over my shoulder. It was in this fashion – carrying Naruto over my shoulder and holding Hinata around her waist – that I hurried the shivering younger genin to the shore. In haste I knelt down and unceremoniously dumped Naruto onto the ground before sitting Hinata up.

"H-H-Hinata, are y-you ok-kay?" Naruto managed through chattering teeth.

She nodded slightly, coughing out some water as I firmly hit her on the back a few times. Her breaking the surface was so unexpected and sudden, she breathed in some water before she could even realize what had happened…

A few minutes later we were all in dry clothes and huddled together, wrapped in a shared blanket and warming our feet by a fire. Naruto and I sat gratefully on either side of Hinata, who held the sign of the ram; she had been able to quickly warm herself with a jutsu. She explained to Naruto and me how her now asymmetrical keirakukei had unexpectedly thrown off her chakra control.

"B-but it won't be as hard to get by as my hand seal problem. I'll just h-have to relearn tree c-climbing and water walking, until I c-can get the amount of ch-chakra right again," she finished.

I nodded. "Naruto-kun, what about you?" I asked.

"Huh, me...? I haven't practiced my water walking in a while."

I sighed.

As Naruto and I soon began a sparring match, Hinata started working on her tree climbing. When I defeated Naruto in a couple of minutes, I looked to see she was already progressing nicely; she got several meters up the trunk before the bark buckled under her chakra, repelling her from its surface. As she landed in a crouch, Naruto called her over for her turn.

I watched closely as the two battled. Naruto again used one shadow clone – if any – instead of his usual two, and Hinata's dojutsu didn't once awaken. At one point Naruto, forced off balance by Hinata's taijutsu, gritted his teeth in focus; a plume of smoke popped in between them, but no kage bunshin. He smacked aside a palm strike and lunged through the small cloud of smoke, within Hinata's guard, with a fist drawn back.

Hinata was caught by surprise. She closed her eyes, and her fist flashed toward Naruto's face… And then…

"AH!"

Naruto … flew.

Quickly at his side, I sat him up. Next to me, Hinata's face was going through a number of colors as she looked at her idol … who she had just knocked at the very least fifteen yards. So Hinata-san ... doesn't know her own strength ... I guess...?

"Naruto – can you hear me?"

"Mmshuujshmaagrnnnnn…" he drawled with a crooked smile – and went limp.

"…He is unconscious." I opted to state the obvious to my currently petrified friend.

With Hinata's near-drowning experience and Naruto out like a light–

THUD.

As I was saying, Naruto and Hinata out like lights – I decided we would cancel sparring for the day.

Hinata ヒナタ

Where … am I?

A crisp snowflake landed on my nose; it stung a moment and melted away.

"Is this … a dream?" The whispered words echoed strangely, the ghostly reiterations chiming eerie and clear.

Snow lied as far as I could see in any direction; which truly wasn't far at all, for a blizzard churned and raged all around me. Oddly enough, I was completely unaffected, as though wrapped in a cozy little bubble that shielded me from the violent snowstorm's icy wrath. I looked into the dark grey sky. I knew I should have felt panicked, but I simply wasn't. Trudging a few steps through foot deep snow, I called out. "Hello?" Again the word resonated clearly, to be heard as if spoken three times more.

The wind shifted suddenly, blowing hard from the direction I faced. For a brief few moments I shut my eyes and held my arms out, choking on my breath as icy wind blasted against me and threatened to bowl me over. As it faded I cautiously opened an eye.

A sharp gasp escaped me.

A hazy silhouette was towering before me. The dark figure was shaped like an animal, an impossibly enormous four-legged beast, and swaying lazily behind it (barely visible through the storm) were what appeared to be more than one massive tail.

I-it's a … a demon… my mind squeaked. I tried to move. My feet wouldn't budge. Instead I toppled clumsily onto my backside.

My body shook uncontrollably as I stared up at the beast, gaping like a fish as my eyes quickly moistened and spilled over. The monster growled softly, and a hoarse ghost of something lodged halfway between a scream and a squeak arose pathetically from my throat.

I remained frozen as it continued growling.

…Why doesn't it get it over with? But then again, something about that sound, a slight pattern or note in it…

…Laughter?

I started again as a tremendous yet gentle voice emanated from the beast. "What a pitiful scrap of a human. I'm almost sorry for dragging you into this mess. Almost…"

Scrap… It's talking about me like f-food, my mind whimpered. "Wh-wh-wh-wh…" I cut myself off and forced myself to work my way through a deep breath as it began laughing once more. "What do y-you want?"

"I want to help you … and it looks like you could use all the help you can get."

Two large eyes lit up on the figure's face, black where whites should be and with piercing blue irises containing a round pupil. Its eyes captured mine, its gaze crushing me like a solid force. In the shortest instant a hundred images flashed through my mind.

I fell onto my back, unblinking and dazed.

"Come to me. If you agree to help me, I will help you…"

What … is … happening?

A massive shadow rose into the air in the corner of my eye.

"But this is taking quite an effort, despite the bond we share… Now begone, koinu."

Lurching toward me, sharp black claws tipping an immense snow white paw rapidly came hurtling into focus.

I jerked upright, a hand immediately smacking over my mouth as if to catch the yelp that leaped to escape it. I lowered my hand a few deep breaths later, and sat silently for several seconds after I glanced to my still-sleeping friends. I blinked.

"…'Pup?'"

I shook my head and began slipping out of my sleeping bag; I wouldn't be getting any more rest tonight. "What a … s-strange dream," I murmured unconvincingly as I left the tent.

As I walked I sorted through these strange images I somehow remembered; an enormous body of water, a forest, a mountain range… I'd never seen any of these places in my life. Just what could it mean?

My eyes narrowed, and I dropped into a push-up position. After a few I began pushing off the ground on the "up" motion, easily clapping my hands together before they came back down – an exercise that used to tire me quickly unless I used chakra. I did twenty, tucked an arm behind my back, and continued with one hand.

I got up and jumped into a one-arm handspring for a backflip, and then went back again, this time springing to my feet from both hands. I rolled to my left and ran through a few evasive moves, and then without a thought took two quick, almost natural feeling strides on all fours. I rolled forward and snatched a rock from the earth, and came out of the roll lashing my arm out. The stone dented a small tree fifteen yards away.

In a second I had cleared the distance and slammed my right fist into the trunk of the stunted tree, barely a foot in diameter, with next to no harm to my knuckles. My left palm flashed in, and then my hands blurred through a dozen rapid strikes, each punch chipping off splinters of wood. I jumped and kicked, and a great deal of splinters broke off even as the strike pushed me back. Landing, I stepped and then whirled as I leapt into a Leaf Hurricane kick, and the trunk crackled audibly under the blow. As my feet lightly met the earth I spun the other way, and then shot in with a Juuken palm. The trunk burst, and the small tree fell.

I was hardly panting.

…What's happened to me? I thought, looking at my hand.

And, from the day back when this strangeness had begun, I remembered a pale, nearly snow white hand, tipped with dangerous black claws, an inky black ring encircling the wrist. My cousin's hand.

"Nothing makes sense anymore," I whispered with a dismal shake of my head, continuing on my predawn stroll.

I splashed my face with cold water at a pond. After drying it on my sleeve, I looked into the water's rippling surface. Something caught my eye as the surface stilled; a tiny sliver of curved light. I looked into the sky.

Waxing crescent – it's just past new moon. That means there's only a bit less than two weeks until…

My neck throbbed sharply, and as I grasped at the mark I turned my head suddenly to find myself staring wide eyed to the northeast. The wind picked up, tousling my hair and sending little waves scampering across the pond, whistling and howling forebodingly through the trees.

"Come..."

I got to my feet, still holding my neck. That's right… It all started when I received this mark. I glared into the distance long after the winds had died down.

Naruto ナルト

Crap! I thought as I prepared to turn the page. I let my mind wander again. I backtracked a paragraph, rereading just in case I'd happened to miss something important.

"NARUTO-KUN! HINATA-SAN!"

"Wah!" I started and slipped from my perch on a sturdy tree branch. Lee easily caught me, and placed me on my feet as I began swearing. "Bushy Brow, what the heck're you yelling for?! Some people are trying to focus here! It was hard enough getting up there, darn it!"

"Ah, gomen," he said with a sheepish grin, "You see, when I woke up to find the tent empty I kind of panicked. It seems you in particular never want to get up early."

"Guess I can't really blame you there," I admitted. "Hinata mumbled something about nightmares when I asked her. I woke up coughing, then I couldn't get back to sleep with my nose bothering me, so … yeah…" I trailed off and paused, glancing about myself, behind me, at the ground, at Lee–

"GIVE THAT BACK!" I shouted as I lunged at him, arms outstretched. He held out an arm so that his hand clapped against my cheek, effortlessly holding me back; his arm was a good two inches longer than mine, and thus despite my efforts to grab the book my fingers only flailed pointlessly at the air as he held it in front of him, reading the cover.

"You're just gonna laugh, give it back, do you hear me, hand it over, come on!"

Lee, in fact, wasn't laughing. Instead his mouth had fallen open, and it gave me the feeling that laughter was soon to come when the disbelief died down. I was wrong again, and found myself crushed in a hug. "How brilliantly youthful of you, Naruto-kun! Brilliant! Way to devote yourself to studying a grand art of such great complexity!"

"Bushy … Brow … Air…"

I sucked in a huge breath as he released me, promptly thrusting the thick volume back into my arms. Deciding I was still angry with him, I tucked it under my arm and turned on heel, storming over to the shade of a tree and flopping down again. He walked up and knelt down next to me, grinning broadly as he glanced over the page I opened to. I shot him a look when he began chuckling merrily. "Do you mind? I thought you said you wouldn't laugh."

He smiled. "Naruto-kun, you are being defensive. You really are embarrassed, are you not?" I set my eyes back on the page, carefully scrutinizing a diagram. "There really is no need to be – but I must wonder, what on earth inspired you?"

Holding my spot with a hand, I flipped to the back of the book to consult the glossary. "I can study hard when I feel like it," I grumbled in annoyance. "A few weeks ago, Kyuubi had to cut off our connection so my chakra network could have time to heal. That's why my chakra control is messed up now. You might think it'd be pointless for me to try relearning all my jutsu and chakra control now, because unlike Hinata's my problem is temporary; I'll just have to relearn it all over again as soon as the fox reopens our connection. I don't plan on sitting around doing nothing, though; I'm vulnerable the way I am now, so I'm going to train to get used to this. Not like I care how I look in the eyes of that demon, but I intend to show the stupid fox I can be just as good as I was before, without his help. Still, training too hard might make it take longer for my keirakukei to heal and for this cold to go away. So I'll have a little extra time, and I thought I could try spending it learning something helpful. I picked this 'cause I thought I'd heard the author's name before."

Lee blinked. "You are kidding, right? You should have heard it before – after all, the author is one of the Densetsu no Sannin, Konoha's three great shinobi of legend!"

"The what?"

"...Never mind."

I read for a minute – during which time Lee peered curiously over my shoulder. Finally I marked it with a leaf, snapped the book shut, and rounded on my grinning, pajama-clad friend. "Seriously! You're distracting me!"

"Ah, of course! Gomen!" he said. He looked at me a moment, simply smiling. Just when I was beginning to feel wierded out, I found myself caught in a headlock and my hair being tousled playfully. "Study hard, my friend!" he exclaimed as I protested colorfully.

He released me, and took off before he could be attacked. "Hinata-san!" I heard him calling, "You will not believe it!"

My face was warm; I had started blushing when he ruffled my hair, from the unexpected contact in the form of a fond, brotherly gesture. My expression softened, and I eventually managed a hint of a smile as I looked at the two talking just beyond hearing range. My gaze shifted to Hinata, and my face grew serious once more. She looked toward me and waved timidly as our eyes met, and I waved back before settling down yet again.

That's right… That battle gone awry – a moment later, and Hinata-chan would have been sliced wide open. She shielded me without a second thought; she would have given her life for me, and what have I ever done for her? She's too good a person to have endured so much pain, looked death in the face so many times already. Next time … I'll protect you, Hinata. I couldn't train too much, but it didn't matter. It was time I did something beneficial – something useful – for the "team."

Once more I opened Introduction to Medical Ninjutsu and continued reading. I had to say, when I paid attention the stuff could actually be kind of interesting…

Lee リー

"That's great," she said as I happily told her of the news. She looked toward Naruto, blushing as she saw him gazing directly at her. She waved bashfully, and he returned the gesture before getting back to his reading. "It really is the last thing I'd expect f-from him; it doesn't s-seem much his style, does it?"

"I thought the same, but after all that is Naruto-kun for you – always full of surprises. He certainly picked well by luck alone. His book is by the legendary Tsunade-sama!"

"Hm," she said, looking back to the book she was reading. Bringing a thumb to her mouth, she shut an eye and nipped her thumb. She held it over the small dish of ink next to her, allowing three drops of her blood to fall into it.

"…What are you doing?" I asked, watching as she stirred the black ink with a brush, and then injected a burst of chakra into it from a finger of her left hand, causing the surface to quake momentarily. In response to my question she dived into a complex explanation as she activated her Byakugan and began very carefully writing on her bare right arm with a brush awkwardly positioned in her left hand, rolling through large words as though they were commonly used in everyday conversation, and thoroughly losing me in a speech that, from what I could gather, had something to do with seals and chakra.

"…Come again…?" I said when she finished in two minutes, and she looked up, surprised, from the arm now decorated with a few kanji and some odd symbols I did not remotely recognize. She blinked, giving me the sense she had forgotten I was there; she really had been in her own world.

"G-gomen," she said, blushing in embarrassment. "I used to research into th-these sorts of arts a lot … in hopes of understanding and someday finding a way to remove a Hyuuga curse s-seal."

Ah, the odd little discoveries went on and on. So Hinata had had a comprehensive background knowledge on seals all this time.

I sat down beside her. "May I take a look?" I asked, and she held out her arm. I studied her work; evenly spaced around her forearm – not far from the first of the dark scars that ran across it – were four kanji for 'chakra,' each framed by a set of a few various little markings. Among some other symbols she'd painted was a fifth 'chakra' kanji on her palm, with a different assortment of neat arrows and lines and other complicated gibberish decorating it. "So … I am guessing that these seals will help you channel chakra to your arm?"

She nodded. "Th-that's the idea." She pointed to one of the symbols on her forearm. "There are a number of t-tenketsu along the chakra lines here. I c-can't channel chakra through my keirakukei lines, but the arm itself isn't so badly damaged. The chakra I channel here should be drawn from the lines through the tenketsu by these seals. Then, it'll h-hopefully travel down my arm, drawn to the seal on my palm from the link I've m-made between the seals, and pass through the palm m-more or less like a normal Juuken strike."

I sprang to my feet. "Truly a genius idea, Hinata-san! Are you ready to give it a try now?"

"Yes," she said, standing as well.

Watching closely in eager anticipation, I stood beside Hinata as she closed her eyes and concentrated. She formed a seal with her left hand and took a long, deep breath. Then she opened her eyes, stepped forward, and with a shout thrust her palm into a tree.

"…Well?"

She sighed, shaking her head. "The ch-chakra moved too slowly past the scars. It didn't even reach my hand until a few seconds after I struck, and instead of p-passing through the chakra just collected on and behind my palm."

"Oh…"

"But it was only a rough t-test. I w-wasn't expecting success on the first try, and–," She paused all of a sudden, and then shifted oddly and blanched. Her left hand flew to grab her arm, the hand of which she had for whatever reason yet to remove from the small tree. She moved slightly again, and then bit her lip.

"What is the matter?" I asked, eyeing the girl's strange behavior and perturbed expression. "What are you doing?"

She mumbled something.

"Pardon?"

"I'm … stuck."

"What do you mean … 'stuck?'"

"I mean the film of chakra that's collected over my hand just so happens to be the amount that would be used to stick to the tree!" she shouted wide-eyed as she planted a foot on the tree and attempted again to pull away.

"Um … oh… Naruto! Help!"

"Okay, d-don't panic!"

"Did you try more chakra? The surface should repel you!"

"Not working! It's j-just building up behind the seal; the amount o-over it isn't changing!"

"Are you sure?"

"Y-yes! I think I could tell! And now my hand hurts!"

"Sorry! Then why not draw the chakra back?"

"I would if I could! I wrote the seals one way!"

"The seals! You can draw more of them going the other way, righ–?"

"What's up, guys?!"

"BAKA!" WHAP! "You have knocked over the ink dish!"

"Nani?!"

"Hinata-san's hand is stuck!"

"How'd you manage to do that?!"

"I'm SCARED!"

"Did you try pulling?"

"Do you not think she would have tried that first?! It is how we have established that she is stuck!"

"And I can't be sure which connection is stronger – my hand to my wrist, or my hand to this tree – and I'm not sure I want to find out!"

"AH! Got it, never mind!"

"So what do we do?!"

"Wait! Both of you, calm d-down!"

Naruto and I fell silent.

"N-Naruto-kun, can you lend me your water b-bottle?"

"Uh… Sure," he said, handing it over – or at least, he prepared to. I grabbed his hand to halt him, and he blushed as I unscrewed the cap first.

Hinata took the bottle in her (no pun intended) free hand. "Stand back; I'll w-wash the seal off, and the chakra should be released."

We did as told, standing back and still as statues as we waited. I gulped nervously, and Naruto grabbed my hand and crossed his fingers. Trembling, Hinata squared her stance and held the bottle over her hand for several moments, and finally tipped it so that the water ran along the bark and trickled down between the tree and her hand.

…BOOM!

A sharp crackling of energy, and Hinata slammed into me, knocking me off my feet, and by his grip on my hand Naruto was pulled with us.

"Are you okay?" I asked as she rolled off me, hissing and massaging her hand.

"Hai, but either w-way I th-think I've had enough seal testing for one day…"

Naruto sat up on the other side of me and gasped. "Cool!" We followed his eyes to the tree – or rather, what remained of it. The tree still stood, but the point of contact and a good two feet above and below it had been reduced to crackled columns of wood, split and cracked clear through to the other side of the tree by the blast of chakra. It looked like if the wind blew, it would tip over.

"Hinata-chan, like, you – you totally just blew up a tree!"

We sweatdropped. "It's not what was supposed to h-happen…"

"But, at the very least you know we will have a good laugh about this in the future," I pointed out.

Naruto nodded, crossing his arms and happily declaring, "And it was cool!"

Hinata giggled, her face pink, and I smacked my forehead but still fell back and broke out laughing at the boy's silly, childish grin.

"What? Hey! Come on, guys, what's so funny?!"

"We are somewhere around here." My finger tapped onto the map. "Still fairly near the Fire-Earth border."

"Hm," Naruto nodded, "So, any ideas for where we head next?"

"A-ano…"

"Did you say something, Hinata?"

She gulped quietly. "Um … c-could I m-maybe ... lead today? I don't know, b-but … I'm getting a feeling we should head this way." She indicated the direction on the map.

I shrugged. "All you had to do was say so. It is not like there is any specific place we must go. But…"

"…B-but…?"

I looked her in the eye. "…Is there anything you need to tell us?"

She froze up, and I knew she was panicking inside. "Wh-what do you m-mean?" she squeaked, voice higher than usual.

"Never mind; forget it." I rolled up the map and stood. "Naruto-kun, do not overexert yourself this time. We will not hold it against you if you require a break."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine."

"You are absolutely positive you do not need a break?"

"Oh yeah … p-positive … could go … f-for hours … believe … it!"

Hinata and I exchanged looks, and I nodded. She said, "Well, it d-doesn't matter either way, Lee-kun … We've just f-finished."

Naruto crumpled to the ground. We rolled the panting boy over, and I helped him sit up. In a moment Hinata held a water bottle to his mouth, and he drank gratefully between gasps for air. "Th-thanks," he managed.

He soon tried to stand up, but his legs wouldn't cooperate. "Kuso… It hurts! My legs were still burning … from yesterday…! Are you sure … it's supposed … to hurt this … much?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun, we are sure – but what did I tell you about overexerting yourself?"

"So you guys … n-normal people … are always this sore after … a jog…? So I guess I'm … just a b-big wimp…"

"That's not true, Naruto-kun!" Hinata said.

"She is right, you are not mentally or physically accustomed to this. It is only natural that it is far more difficult and painful for you now. You said it yourself; you need to work your way back up slowly."

Hinata picked up my backpack, which I had put down when Naruto collapsed. "I'll start s-setting up camp."

"I'll help!" Naruto said, but he whimpered as he tried to move. I held him down. "No, you will not. And you are not training today, either."

"Demo–!"

"Shh…" I covered his mouth with a hand.

"Mmbfmmr–!"

"Shh. You are hurt and you know it."

He mumbled in protest again.

"SHH…" I waited until he quieted down. Then I removed my hand and held the water bottle to his lips. "Drink."

Hinata ヒナタ

"He's asleep… He said he s-still wanted to spar today, but…"

"I agree," Lee said, "We should allow him to rest. He exhausted himself earlier; it is only understandable that he is tired." Naruto had spent much of the day lying on a blanket and determinedly reading; the book currently served as his pillow. My face warming at the rather adorable sight, I gently removed the book so that he wouldn't drool on the pages, and Lee fetched a blanket for him.

That taken care of, the two of us moved a good distance away to ensure we wouldn't wake him. "Yosh! It is time to pit our skills against each other and see how far we have progressed today!" Lee declared, settling into his stance.

"Lee-kun … about that…" I had begun poking my fingers together – a gesture I noted I hadn't used in a good while.

"What is it, Hinata-san?"

"How … just how easy do you g-go on me?"

He seemed surprised, and not at all happy to be asked this. "I do not hold back very much…" he answered, diverting his gaze.

"Lee-kun … you're lying, even I can t-tell. I've seen you spar with Naruto-kun; it's clear you're more serious against him…"

"Hinata-san–,"

"It's because I'm so weak, you would feel bad actually a-attacking me, wouldn't you? I know you're a nice person, and I a-appreciate the chivalry, but the fact is … y-you'll only be hurting me if you pull your punches. I know my taijutsu was only mediocre before, and now my r-right arm is useless in my style. Aren't you the one who s-said I would need to work even harder now to overcome my d-disadvantage?"

"Well, yes, but…"

"I won't make p-progress if I'm not pushed to get better. I don't h-have a lot of time … and you know as well as I do that I'll need to be stronger than I am now … if I hope to face my cousin without getting myself killed. I guess what I'm s-saying is … as a friend, if you really care about me then you'll come at me with everything you've got!"

"A – are you sure?" he said, giving a frown of uncertainty as I took my stance.

"Hai!"

He nodded, and four things happened in blinding succession.

Lee vanished.

One knee gave out.

The wind was knocked clear out of me.

A fist clipped my chin.

…What just happened? I wondered as I hit the ground, holding my stomach. But I knew exactly what had happened. "I kn-knew we … w-were f-f-far ap-part, but…"

"First of all … get up. It is a task ninety-five percent mental; I promise you can."

"H-hai," I sputtered, forcing myself to stand up.

"Second… Hinata-san, I do not think much good can come of this – at least not now. You are simply not at that level yet, and I do not wish to hurt you. I am not aiming to discourage … but did you even see me just now?"

I had seen a blur of movement; I had a feeling that didn't count. "…No, I didn't see you," I admitted. Then I assumed my stance. "But without using the Byakugan, before we go to sleep I will. That's a–,"

"Please do not!" he exclaimed in fear for my wellbeing, waving outstretched arms.

I smirked playfully. "That's a promise."

He sighed, and then managed a smile. "That grin – Naruto-kun is rubbing off on you every day," he remarked, shaking his head. "Alright … we might as well get started then, shall we not? No holding back…?"

"No holding back."

We stopped at one in the morning, both covered in sweat and me covered in bruises. But I had begun to occasionally dodge some of his attacks.

I could anticipate. I had seen him.

"If I cannot avoid f-four successive attacks today … I'll kick a tree two thousand times!"

Naruto was awake when we had the next such session the following afternoon, and watched curiously. In a minute he protested angrily:

"Bushy Brow, you're hitting too hard!"

"No, he's hitting his hardest. I asked him to."

By the time darkness fell, I had several times dodged or blocked three blows in a row. I rested a minute, and then completed the task I'd assigned myself without complaint.

And the next day, I successfully defended against seven attacks in succession.

Lee, brought to passionate tears, could do nothing more than proclaim with pride, "This … is … YOUTH!"

And the next day, Naruto wanted in.

In the days that followed, we poured our hearts and our souls, our time and energy, into focusing on taijutsu and little else…

My hands moved in a steady rhythm, fists rapidly striking into the tree. My breath came in short, weary little gasps, but I plowed on, kept going. Ten yards away Naruto was doing the same, and Lee as well did so between us. His tree looked significantly worse for wear.

"Keep it up! Let every strike fall just as your first; do NOT start slowing down now! You said thirty minutes, did you not?! Only five left!"

"Hai!" Naruto and I chorused.

"Do not forget to shout with it! I cannot hear you!"

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

"Push yourself, Hinata-san! You are never sure what attack will hit, so whichever one does land it must be sharp enough, fierce enough, to send your enemy reeling!"

"Hai!"

"Faster! Strike with the full blazing ferocity of your YOUTH! I am afraid you will not be hitting me with that level of speed!"

"Oh–!"

"And protect your center!"

"H-h-hai!"

He helped me up – and attacked again.

"Do not allow me to break your stance! You are off balance – recover!"

Smat-SMAT-fwoosh-THUD!

"You must counterattack!" he said as I quickly stood, "I will leave openings – find them and strike through them!"

If I can't land one blow by the end of the day … an extra hour of jogging tomorrow!

The next morning I kept running, in a half mile circle, until I thought my legs would fall off. And two hours later, I was finding my fist meeting Lee's shoulder.

The three of us struck at three trees, Naruto and I struggling to keep Lee's pace, to match his form, to equal his speed.

"Just a little more! Finish strong! The sweat, the blood, the tears, pain, work – it WILL pay off!"

"HAI!"

"Anyone could keep this pace – Neji, and Sasuke, and all the rest! Push yourselves beyond it, my friends, and through rigorous training you will succeed!"

Smat-smat, fwoosh-smat-thud-THUD–

"DONOTFALL!"

THOP!

"Unh!"

The uppercut lifted me onto my toes. I staggered away, grimaced at the pain in my gut, willed myself to stay on my feet–

"AGAIN!"

POW!

Thinking past the sting in my jaw, I opened my eyes, caught myself with a hand, and sprang off of it and back onto my feet, nearly stumbling but staying up. He observed the stance I'd landed in.

"…Not bad, my young pupil," he said with a hint of a smile. I was panting hard, dirty and sweaty, lightly bleeding in some places and hurting in more – but I smiled back nonetheless.

"Arigatou, Lee-sensei."

The three of us punched in sync, shouted in sync.

"That is right! You are not tired yet, not now, not ever! No negative thought can enter your mind! If you are able to strike once more, step once more, stand once more – then I guarantee you are able to do so FIFTY times more!"

"AVOIDTHEFOLLOWUP!"

THUDD!

"Urgk!"

I refocused in an instant.

My palm met a fist, shoved it away, supported the other arm in blocking a kick to the side.

The three of us struck in unison, shouted in unison, breathed in unison.

Naruto punched.

Lee punched.

My right was a fist. My left was a palm.

I'd been forced off balance. I backpedalled, dodging and blocking. He got through my defense. I ground my teeth as a fist flashed in.

It came to sudden halt for a split-second an inch from my chest. Then his arm snapped straight, and I fell back at the impact – quickly executing a neat backwards roll onto my feet.

"How did I knock you down?"

"Because I abandoned my stance. I lost control and allowed you to catch me f-flat footed."

"Correct."

Four aligned figures were soaked in sweat. They struck as one. Moved as one. Shouted as one. Breathed as one. Were as one.

Lee's fists pummeled a tree in a blur.

My right fist and left palm, alternating just as rapidly.

Naruto, both fists.

A Naruto clone, both palms.

I failed to avoid a heel dropped sharply in a jumping kick between neck and shoulder. I moved with it to lessen the impact; it still hurt, and I grunted as I quickly rolled forward. Even as I was returning to full height and facing my opponent, a fist slammed into my cheek.

I caught myself on both hands and swiftly sprang back onto my feet, absorbed every detail of what I saw in an instant, slid into my stance in a fluid motion as my feet lightly reached the ground – and shot forward.

Lee had been closing in for a follow up attack. His eyes only had a moment to widen.

POW!

My fist crashed into his chest dead center, throwing him five yards. He landed on his backside, gasping lightly.

He blinked incredulously.

I blinked incredulously.

"…Wow," he said simply, and smiled.

"Bushy Brow, what're you crying for?"

Sniffling and sobbing freely, he grabbed us around the shoulders and screamed his answer at the sky, for the whole world to hear and bask in all the glory of its enlightening greatness:

"YOUTH!"

"Yeesh, no need to get all emotional."

"B-but … I have a feeling that we've just crammed maybe even a month's worth of progress into a w-week!"

"Months," Lee whimpered the correction in an overjoyed squeak. "I could not ask for more devoted students! So BEAUTIFUL!"

Naruto met my gaze, his eyes dancing. He threw an arm around the older boy, and I did the same.

"Well, it is all thanks to you–!"

"–Lee-sensei!"

Another youthful wail of triumphant pride was elicited from the boy.

"Ew – ew, ew! Heck no! Wipe your snot on Hinata's shoulder!"

"Hey!"

Naruto ナルト

I took in the crisp, fresh air, and slowly I let it out. A cool, pleasantly salt-scented breeze rolled by, slipping through the forest and breaking over the outcrop of rocks I was waiting on. The view, though it didn't have anything on the sight of the Leaf Village from atop the Hokage stone faces, was one of the most spectacular I'd ever seen; rocky areas, and a ridge of a few small mountains to the east, were hugged by a lush, lightly frosted forest of tall, slim trees. A great distance to the north the trees ended, giving way to a short stretch of beach and the most water I'd seen in a long time. In nine days we'd ventured north of Hi no Kuni, nearing the northern peninsula of the beautiful and little populated land between Rice and Waterfall.

But I wasn't here to kick back and enjoy the view just now, for they were drawing near…

I sprang from the guise of a stone as I launched myself from the side of the rocky outcrop. Lee gasped as in surprise as I reached for the plundered possession.

"Gotcha!"

"NEVER!"

He kicked hard off a tree to the side, changing course to escape my trajectory; I knocked heads with the kage bunshin that had chased him here. I swore, latching my hands onto the tall tree before I fell, and flung myself off in hot pursuit as Lee took off up a rocky trail.

"This is so not cool!"

"I am sorry, but we have already asked nicely! You have forced us to resort to drastic measures!"

"Drastic mea–?! Bushy Brow, if you so much as tear it, I swear–!"

"Tear it, you say?" he called back laughingly as he reached an edge and hurled the bright orange article out into the open air. He leapt after if, smoothly unsheathing a katana and moving through a sharp yet graceful spin as the wind whisked it back toward him.

Hands flashing through seals, I had jumped to a higher point on the sloped cliff side, and after running a few steps shot forward again in a chakra-powered leap for a better angle.

Air Bullet!

The burst of compacted wind smacked the jacket away, and Lee slashed at empty air.

"Thank-you!" chirped a shadow clone as it popped into existence above the jacket to snatch it away. I stuck out my tongue as I flew past Lee, and the three of us plunged into the trees below, the clone and I a nice distance from him.

A memory sparked into my mind as we fled: 'Someone just replaced with me!'

So you're in on it too, huh? "This way!" I called, jumping between and swinging my way through the trunks of slim trees that lacked the abundance of level, sturdy branches we were so accustomed to. "Hurry up … Hinata!" I shouted, abruptly turning and tackling the clone as it drew level.

In a burst of smoke the henge was released, and an odd feeling took hold of me. Caught unprepared, I was replaced with before I could block the jutsu, and grunted as my back hit a tree trunk.

"S-sorry!" she said with a smile, cheeks glowing as she pushed away, and she moved for the ground in a controlled drop with the object of the chase still in hand. I grabbed a branch, and just swung there a moment, fuming.

"Grr… Two against one!" I complained, swinging myself forward and dropping down after her.

"For a good cause!" she defended sheepishly as she grabbed a branch, skillfully maneuvering from the path of a flying kick. We moved in blurs as we shot between a collection of trees on our way to the ground, one attacking, the other defending with such grace one could easily forget about her handicap.

Grasping a somewhat sturdy branch, I swung forward on a fall's momentum to put both feet in her midsection. She activated her bloodline as she flew back, and held onto a tree behind her with her feet and left arm as I shot toward her. She held out my treasure in front of her.

"Surrendering? About time–!"

In a flash she spun herself around to the other side of the tree. Baffled by the instant disappearance, I crashed into the trunk.

She hit the ground running, and I tried to protest.

"Cheat–!"

"Shinobi art of deception!"

I followed, hands moving into a seal. Just as she glanced back I cast the technique, causing a shadow clone to swiftly slide-kick at her feet and vanish. I jumped forward as she tripped.

"Lee-kun!" she called, throwing the target. A green blur shot in to scoop it up as I pinned Hinata down.

"You people are CRAZY!" I screamed as I got up, forming three seals in frustration. "Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Hundreds of illusory copies all holding a certain illusory object filled the area, and in that opportune moment of confusion two kage bunshin popped up behind Lee, one shoving him over and the other swiftly snagging the genuine article of clothing.

It handed it to me as bunshin – and ten kage bunshin – ran about in disarray, but as soon as I'd taken one step to make a break for it another shadow clone raced by in the opposite direction, yanked it from my grasp, and launched itself away with a great burst of chakra. The 'clone' became Hinata, and she looked back to flash my own grin at me before she fled into the treetops.

My face heated in humiliation. I held out an arm. "Guys!"

A kage bunshin grabbed my wrist, and a second its wrist, and a third the second's wrist in both hands. The one at the end whirled with a shout of effort, and after a circle I was flung to the treetops at great speed. I altered my course slightly with light pushes and taps against tree trunks I passed as I shot after Hinata.

Apparently she saw me coming, as her arm flashed out to hook a particularly thin tree so that she was swung in a circle around it. I crossed my arms to catch a foot that would have otherwise quite painfully contacted my chest; shifting and pulling by her ankle, I flipped myself into some wild semblance of an axe kick. She narrowly blocked the strike at her shoulder with an arm, and then pushed backwards off the tree and hurled the prize I sought to the ground.

"Got it!" Lee declared.

"Give me a break here!" I growled as Hinata and I landed on different trees. I created two shadow clones, and Hinata watched and tried to keep track of me as we jumped rapidly between two close-standing trees for a few seconds. All at once the clones shot toward her, and I raced after Lee on the ground.

I'm ending this! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!

At the same time I flung a kunai into the air. A clone briefly popped into the air above Lee, snagged and threw the kunai, and vanished. Lee looked up in bewilderment as a kunai plunged into the ground before him – and I leaped forward in the first thing that came to mind.

"DYNAMICENTRY!"

BAM!

Lee was comically thrown off his feet at a flying kick in the upper back – but his arm swept up, sending the jacket flying forward.

I left the ground, arms outstretched, smiling triumphantly. There it was, right in front of me, hovering momentarily in a breeze. "I told you, didn't I? You're not about to do anything to my–!"

My orange jacket was engulfed in a mighty blaze of flame that erupted from the treeline and billowed out with a hellish glow as it slammed angrily into the earth.

I stared for several seconds at where the jacket had been even as Hinata promptly followed after the fire blast, landing lightly in the open and releasing the Tora seal to wipe her forehead with a soft sigh and a contented smile. I fell to my knees, gawking at the ashes. Lee waved a hand in front of my face.

"…Naruto-kun?"

"Naruto-kun, are y-you okay?"

"You … killed … the jacket…"

"We have wanted to for a while."

"That was cruel."

"It had to be done."

"You enjoyed it."

"Yes we did."

Hinata ヒナタ

"Really, g-guys … where are w-we going?" I inquired as we travelled up a wide stretch of trail.

"Up a mountain. Duh," Naruto said with a playful twinkle in his eye, his smile easily coloring my cheeks. The boy now wore dark blue pants and a matching hooded sweater under a warm, sleeveless orange vest. A slightly (but intentionally) sloppy, spiraling line of red adorned the center of his chest, below the neck of his orange shirt, and a similar spiral decorated the back of the vest. The outfit had been 'found mysteriously waiting' in our backpack.

"That's not what I meant… What a-are we doing? Why are we hiking all the way up here?" I jumped, and a leg swept beneath me; while I was still in the air a foot hit my upper back, throwing me to the ground. I was on my feet again in a swift motion, and held my stance a second longer.

"Good," Lee complimented with a nod as we continued, "And for your question – that is a surprise, Hinata-san! I am afraid you will just have to wait and see!"

"Come on!" Naruto called from up ahead, "We're almost there!" He vanished around a turn in the path, and Lee and I followed. The trail came out onto a rocky ledge – and what I saw took my breath away.

"It's … beautiful," I whispered, gazing out at the valley snugly blanketed in frosted trees, the mountains, the river that ran off into a now very near sea extending into a horizon that the sun was soon to begin sinking behind.

My neck throbbed, sending an unpleasant chill rolling down my spine. I had seen this place … in a dream. It's close. Across h-here – across the w-water and th-through the mountains and–

"What do you think? One heck of a view, isn't it?" Naruto said with a smile. "I came up here earlier, but it definitely looks even cooler now. But…"

"B-but…?"

"But," Lee picked up, "We are not here for sightseeing alone."

"Huh?" I asked.

Naruto was grinning. "We're getting rid of that stutter. And we're starting today."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"Just that, Hinata-san; if you are not confident enough to speak clearly, what do you believe enemy shinobi will think of you? It is not just in battle, either. If you ever want people to respect you and be able to have faith in you, then the first step is having faith in yourself!"

"O-okay then … so how do I do that?"

"You must first answer a simple question, and that is… Who are you?"

"Who … am I?"

Lee nodded.

I lowered my head. "W-well… I am–,"

"Do not tell us – tell the world!" Lee shouted enthusiastically, pointing off into the distance as his voice echoed momentarily.

I poked my fingers together, staring at my feet. The very thought of shouting out was awkward to me, and the way he worded it – tell the world? – the vast valley, beautiful moments before, was now fearsome, the massive emptiness of the open air intimidating. Despite this aversion I possessed, however, I felt I had to try… "Can y-you go first?"

"We're not the ones who really need to answer; we're pretty sure of ourselves and who we are already, don't you think?"

"He is right; you must answer on your own. You will not benefit by trying to copy one of us. I promise though, answering it will make you a stronger person!"

"Hmm…"

Naruto's hand clapped onto my shoulder. "Come on, Hinata! We're the only ones here to hear it. Loud and proud!"

"I … I am…"

"What? I can't hear you."

"I-I–,"

"No. Concentrate."

"I … am – I–,"

"Don't concentrate too hard."

"I a-am–,"

"Again."

"Believe in yourself!"

"I am H-H–,"

"Start over."

"I-I-I–,"

"Take a deep breath and just go for it! More than anyone else, you know exactly who you are."

"I am…"

I lowered my head. I slowly breathed in, and then slowly breathed out. And then I said who I was.

Naruto grinned. "Who are you?"

Very carefully, I said it once more.

"Come again? I didn't quite catch–,"

"I am Hyuuga Hinata."

Naruto walked up next to me. "Look me in the eye and say it."

I met his gaze, and forced the words out. "I am Hyuuga Hinata."

Smirking, he said one word. "Louder."

"I am Hyuuga Hinata."

"Put your heart into it!"

"I am Hyuuga Hinata!"

"More! Let me know you know who you are!"

"I am Hyuuga Hinata!" I screamed back in his face.

"Now tell the world!" he ordered, turning and pointing at the sunset.

"I am Hyuuga Hinata!" I yelled into the distance, thrusting my arms down.

"NOW!" Lee barked, "With all the passion of your youth–!"

"–Make sure the world knows and never forgets!"

"I AM HYUUGA HINATA!" The declaration boomed into the open air with power, daring anything and everything, the immense vastness of the world to challenge it. "HEIRESS OF THE HYUUGA CLAN, KUNOICHI OF KONOHAGAKURE NO SATO, FOLLOWER OF MY OWN NINJA WAY! I AM HYUUGA HINATA, and – AND I WILL BE STRONG!"

"YOSH!" Lee bellowed, and threw a punch at the air even as my shouts echoed. "I AM ROCK LEE, THE HANDSOME GREEN BEAST OF THE HIDDEN LEAF VILLAGE, AND THROUGH THE UNSTOPPABLE POWER OF MY YOUTH I WILL BE STRONG!"

"AND I, UZUMAKI NARUTO, KONOHA'S FUTURE HOKAGE, WILL BE STRONG! I'LL PROTECT MY FRIENDS TO THE END, NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES! LISTEN UP, WORLD! WE'LL KEEP GOING NO MATTER WHAT YOU THROW AT US, YA' HEAR?! HIT US WITH YOUR BEST SHOT, DESTINY, AND WE'LL JUST GET UP TWICE AS STRONG AS WHEN WE WENT DOWN! NOTHING'S GONNA STOP US, 'CAUSE WE ARE THREE DETERMINED FAILURES … WITH SOMETHING TO PROVE … TO THE WORLD!"

Naruto ナルト

"Man that felt good," I sighed with a smile as we sat together on the ledge, watching the sun set on the sea horizon.

"I do not think I have ever heard Hinata-san talk so loud," Lee teased.

I snorted. "I don't know about you, but I've never seen her talk half as loud," I said, and Hinata giggled quietly. I lied back with a long yawn. "I guess we'd better start making camp soon; I'm starting to nod off already… Huh?" I looked behind me a second, and then rolled over onto my belly for a better look. "Hey…!" I said, getting up and jogging over to the cluster of plants growing along the base of the cliff behind the ledge.

"What are we looking at…?" Lee asked as the two walked up. "Edible plants?"

"Medicinal herbs," Hinata said in recognition.

"I was right then!" I said proudly, quickly retrieving my book from the backpack. Kneeling down, I flipped through pages. "I thought I saw pictures of some of these in this section I read yesterday. Yeah – like this one's used for…"

Hinata knelt beside me, gentle hands expertly sifting through the herbs as she examined them. "I should be able to make some ointment with these…" She carefully picked out a few plants, being certain to get the roots. Glancing at the book as a guide, I asked her a few times whether a certain herb or another would be useful, and we chatted for another minute about the herbs.

"…And these are edible – just watch out for those flowers next to them. It's aconite, a very poisonous…"

I looked up at her as her voice slowed and finally faded out. "Hinata-chan…? You okay?" Unblinking, she didn't respond. Rather she simply reached her hand slowly toward the flowers she'd called aconite, mouth hanging open very slightly and a troubled but intense curiosity on her face. I watched in concerned puzzlement as her hand inched further at a crawl, the girl taking tiny, shuddering breaths through her mouth. Her hand was a centimeter away from the flower…

A fierce and terrible noise slashed through the air and met my ears, a sharp and vicious growl, and I jumped in surprise and fear, and Hinata had vanished.

I sat dumbfounded as I saw her knelt down ten yards away, almost defensively cradling her hand close, with a look of distraught fear containing a trace of anger plastered on her stark white face as she glared terrified at the aconite, teeth bared in a menacing snarl. And her eyes…

"What the–?! What is it, what's wrong?!"

She looked a moment to me, confused and startled, and grimaced as a mix of emotions flitted across her face before she turned away, a hand quickly covering her nose. "N-n-nothing!"

"Hinata – your eyes, they were just–?!"

"No they weren't!" she screeched without facing me. She reached across herself, clasping at her shoulders, and lowered her head as she tried with limited success to breathe deeply.

"Hinata-san…" Lee cautiously approached her, and took her by the shoulder to gently turn her around. Her eyes were normal again.

"Stay baaaaccckk!" she screamed in hysterics, utterly terrified, and her hand met his wrist with a sharp smack. Their eyes remained locked as she gasped rapidly. "G-g-get away!"

Lee slowly obeyed with a worried frown, backing away a few steps.

"Hinata…" I said uneasily, "Are you … okay?"

"Ye– No, n-no, I'm n-not okay…" she murmured slowly with a shake of her head, unfocused eyes spilling over with tears. "I n-need t-t-to … t-tell you something … it can't wait any m-more … just g-give me a f-few m-minutes…"

Lee and I nodded. Trembling violently, Hinata turned, stiffly walked a few steps, sat down, wrapped her arms around her knees, and quietly, miserably cried.

Sh-she – she's scared out of her wits. But of what? Just what is going on…?

Hinata ヒナタ

"So, um … Are you feeling better?" Naruto asked hesitantly. When I'd finished collecting myself we'd descended the mountain, trekked a few minutes through the valley to a grassy hill, set up camp, lied awake several minutes under the stars – all without a word between us.

"Yes," I answered. Determined not to let the awkward silence drag on, to let it seize my chance to come clean, I added in a moment, "I guess… I guess I have a few things to explain…"

Now, where should I begin? Naturally I went for the beginning of it all, from the moment I had been separated from them. The entire traumatizing, agonizing experience remarkably fresh in my mind, I gazed at the stars above as I spoke with surprising ease of what I had said, of what Neji had said, of all the horrible details of our battle, of Neji's seemingly eroding sanity, of the cruel abuse I'd taken, omitting nothing. At some points my voice held a hint of shame or bitterness, at others it was purely awkward, but I continued nonetheless.

Lee remained silent throughout the account. Certain he hadn't fallen asleep, I wondered what he could be thinking.

And several times Naruto angrily cut in, unable to bear what he was hearing. Each time I withstood the openly furious, secretly horrified outburst, and then closed my eyes and answered quietly, monotonously:

"Naruto-kun, I wasn't finished speaking. Please try not to interrupt."

Unnerved, he would fall silent.

I know it's painful for you both to hear as well. Just bear with me…

And finally I was telling of my falling unconscious at that crippling heel to the stomach; my waking up in time to hear Neji's declaring the name of a very formidable-sounding technique indeed; of my activating the Hyuuga seal before he could do Lee great harm; and finally I began omitting certain details as I told of what followed, Neji's crying out like a small child in agony, my attempts to comfort him (I skipped clear over the conversation that followed. Even if he had been delirious, that was between Neji and me.), the shared despair of imminent death. All the way up to the bite…

"And later, after we'd all gone to sleep … I woke up in the middle of the night, and for a reason I couldn't tell I started running from camp as fast as I could. Something happened to me, and it happened because of the mark and the full moon. I lost my senses and … woke up c-covered in blood and surrounded by destruction. Blood was … on my clothes, even in my m-mouth, and I was sickened at how … how good it sm-smelled. I had k-killed a hare, and probably much more, but I was so scared I just threw up and ran away…

"And the full moon is near again now; I can sense it. Tomorrow night, I – I think it'll happen again. But y-you see, two weeks ago, I had a dream…" I went on to explain. "That's why I've been heading north all this time, leading us here. Whatever it is, it's waiting in the forbidden lands across the sea, in the place they call th-the – The Lands of the Demons." I gulped; I was feeling sick to my stomach now. "It … it might b-be dangerous, but I have to go. Earlier some of the mark's energy spilled into my system, and … and it s-started to activate, and f-for a moment I – I caught a whiff of – of your b-blood," I squeaked the word, shuddering at the thought. "I was terrified, you see now – not of you, but for you. I was scared I might have lost control, and that before I even knew what had happened, I could h-have…"

I sniffled quietly. "That's why I have to go to the Land of Demons – alone – to see that m-monster… Whatever it is, I think it can help me c-control this thing…"

Have I estranged myself from them? I couldn't even blame them, not after all I've just revealed. 'So I'm fighting to save the life of a guy who would gladly tear me limb from limb, and I've become some sort of monster and lose my mind on the night of the full moon and kill defenseless little animals for the heck of killing, oh and by the way I've kind of been keeping it a secret where I've been heading all this time, but–,'

"First of all…" Naruto began, "I don't know about Bushy Brow, but I'm insulted. You honestly think we'd just tell you 'good luck' and send off you to the Domain of Demons alone? What kind of cowards do you think we are?! Some cruddy "friends" we'd be…"

I almost wished he would scold me, be angry – I felt I deserved it. His response caught me off guard. "Y… You're not at all disturbed b-by any of this?! There's something wrong with me–!"

"No, you have a burden now – a curse. There's a difference," he said sternly, "and don't you ever let yourself forget it."

I gasped as I understood just where he was coming from. After all, he'd had a curse for far longer than I had.

"If you want to control this and you think that demon'll help you do it, then we're going to find him and see what he has to say."

"Of course," Lee agreed. "You hope to meet the beast before the full moon arrives, right? Then we will set out first thing tomorrow morning.

I sighed, but I couldn't help but smile. "There's no point in trying to convince you not to come, is there?"

"And miss out on an adventure in a legendary land? No thanks!" Naruto said with a snort.

A feeble laugh faded out awkwardly. I gave a quiet sigh as I stared up at the multitude of white specks glittering in the sky above.

"But you're still uneasy, Naruto-kun. And I've already noticed; after all those interruptions before…" I paused, biting my lip. "…You haven't said anything about Neji-nii-san."

"…Hmph," he made a sound, and very quietly said, "I'm not sure what to say about him."

…He's angry…

We fell back into silence, each lost in the stars and in our own thoughts. And then, finally:

"I don't think you should go after him."

After him. After, as in into the condemned depths of Darkness where he was to be found.

"I have to … and I've already decided I will," I said, turning onto my side to face him. I started; his blue eyes were pointing straight at me, and for how long I could not ascertain.

His face remained unreadable as his hand, at first hesitantly, moved to gently brush my cheek. His touch sent a thrilled chill through my body, sent my heart pounding in giddy terror as my face flushed. What was he doing? Then I understood – the three thin, jagged pale grey lines, the claw scars on my face.

"Neji did this, didn't he…?" he asked softly.

Transfixed by his eyes, I could only nod dumbly. A nervous shiver escaped me, and his hand flinched away as he misread it for a reaction to discomfort. Of the things I felt right now, uncomfortable was not one of them.

Naruto sighed. "Hinata…" He seemed to waver a moment on exactly where or how to start. "You offered to let him beat you to death."

Pain filled his eyes and wrenched my heart, but I could not divert my gaze. "That was before I knew everything, before–,"

"Before you found out his need to kill you could keep him alive? Because as long as you live, he refuses to die – Right?"

I bit my lip again, wanting desperately to look away, to say something. I couldn't.

"Hinata, what does your life mean to you?" he asked in a disbelieving tone. "Do you think that guy's life is worth more than yours?"

"N-no!" And I truly didn't feel that way at all.

"Would you give up your life for him?"

"I – I…"

"H-Hinata…?!"

I found myself biting my lip yet again.

"Answer me!" he demanded, "Would you give your life for him?!"

"Yes!" I cried, "I would, okay! Without a second thought!"

"What are you, crazy?!" he said, and I winced as the scolding words, from him, hit harder than he intended. "Maybe this Neji creep doesn't fear death, but you're different from him, Hinata. Unlike him, you have precious people who you mean the world to. Whether you're prepared to throw your life away for this guy or not, we won't let you."

My eyes narrowed. "You're wrong about Neji-nii-san. He means the world to someone, too."

His mouth opened, and then closed with a sigh.

"I can't let him die, either."

"Hinata – I just don't understand it! Why does he mean so much to you, when you're nothing – no, less than nothing to him?!"

"Because … because at one time…" I looked into the sky.

Two sleepy young children, lying next to each other, gazing at a starry sky.

"And Tou-san says that when we're older, I'll need to protect you, Hina-chan. It'll be easy! Just wait, I'm gonna be an awesome ninja someday!"

"I will too, Nii-chan! Chichi-ue said I'm starting training soon, on my birthday!"

"Oh yeah? Well you won't be as awesome as me! I'll be the best, and someday I'll be big and strong like Tou-san!"

"At one time … things were different…"

A tiny young girl, waiting desperately for her Nii-chan to return. Terrified, confused by the previous night's events.

The door sliding open, the boy coming out. Pale and sickly skin, empty white eyes red with recent tears.

"Neji-nii?" The girl, worried. Something is wrong.

The boy looks up, trembling, teeth grinding. A strange look in his eyes as he holds her gaze.

"It's your fault!" he cries, running off overcome by tears.

"Neji-nii – wait!"

And I knew only too well where things had gone from there.

"I want things … to be right again. No matter how hard I've tried, I can't let go of the past."

"It doesn't seem like Neji is having too much trouble letting go of the good old days."

"You're right, he has tried to put the past behind him, and I almost thought he had. But…"

–"Imouto-chan, I'm scared!"–

–"I thought y-y-you'd be m-mad at me…"–

–"You d-don't hate me, Hina-chan?"–

"But that Neji-nii-san is still alive somewhere – just lost under hatred and rage. He can't forget it either, no matter how hard he tries or how much he hates me. Deep down in some part of him, he remembers, too. He remembers … and that means he can be brought back."

"And you'd risk your life to bring him back."

"Readily."

"Hinata, listen to yourself here! Neji doesn't care about his own life, and now it sounds like you hardly care about yours, either! You can't do this to yourself!"

"Naruto-kun…"

"If Neji wants to go down this road, he's not dragging you along with him – you don't deserve it and that teme's not worth it! As long as I'm breathing, I won't let him."

"Naruto, you don't understand! And you have no right to judge my cousin!"

He was silenced a moment. Calming down, he spoke in a much softer tone than before. "So... So I don't know everything about you and your cousin ... but I can tell that you believe in him. And … and I want to trust in your judgment, I do – but I'm afraid. I'm terrified that this Neji … he might not be the Neji you knew, might already be too far gone. If you go after him, he might end up breaking you even more. And if he does … he'll probably enjoy it. I wouldn't say that type of a person deserves to be saved."

I gave a dry laugh. "It's funny – it kind of sounds like you're telling me to give up because it'll be hard."

"This is different, and you know it!" he returned. "Why is it that of all the challenges you've faced so far, you just have to sprint frickin' headfirst into this one?!"

"Because if I do, it might just work."

"Except this obstacle is a brick wall. And when you hit it, you might just break your neck."

I was fighting tears; I felt betrayed. With my friends by my side, I was confident in charging into the fabled and forbidden Domain of Demons, but facing my cousin... I was going after him, but still... If Naruto didn't believe I could succeed here…

We angrily stared each other down.

"Naruto-kun, do not force her to make a decision. You have more sway over Hinata-san than you know."

We'd quite forgotten about Lee, who I realized had been very awake the entire time.

"Wh-what?" Naruto said, and I shook my head, turning over to look at the stars.

"Neji-nii-san and I will meet again. Call it destiny if you want, but we will duel for the Hyuuga Clan. And beneath that, he will fight to kill me as I fight to save him."

"Hinata…"

"And listen to me, Naruto-kun. When the day comes, it will be my battle – mine alone. However things turn out, you will not interfere. Promise me!"

"…Sorry, Hinata, but that's something I just can't promise. If he tries to take things too far, I will step in."

Before I could respond he had rolled over to face the other way, pulling his blanket up to his shoulders.

"I have faith in you, but all the same…" He was silent for a minute, and I assumed he'd fallen asleep.

"I've seen you walk the edge of death ... way too many times as is."

Neji ネジ

No tracking teams to be sent after nukenin Uzumaki Naruto (012607), Hyuuga Hinata (012612), or Rock Lee (012561). Traveling together and strong possibility of remaining loyalty to Konoha. However, all three of genin level and minimal threat.

Also, survival of the above mentioned nukenin, previously assumed dead, not to be known to the village. Would significantly boost the morale of many key figures of the New Konoha resistance effort.

I set the pen down as I finished reading over it. These … circumstances that I'd requested be applied to the trash had been in effect since three weeks ago; consequently, no one aside from myself and the other four, Orochimaru-sama, Kabuto, and a few more of the Godaime's most highly ranked and trusted Oto-nin knew that the three had been confirmed alive. Still, the Hokage had asked that I provide an actual written report to have on record.

The three were no threat, after all, and it would be rather inopportune if they were killed off by hunter-nin.

Because she … was mine.

Hmm… It's a shame I missed that opportunity, but that's how Destiny has written it. Besides … I have a feeling Destiny will draw us together again in the near future. In fact, it may be for the better – a year's worth of naïve struggle and effort is all the more to bring crashing down around her in all its devastating futility. I need not seek her out; she will come to take back her name. She will challenge me for the clan, and I will fight her … and end her. Yes… That is what Destiny holds…

Hinata ヒナタ

"Where's Lee-kun?! I thought we were leaving first thing in the morning!"

Naruto turned a page, looking thoroughly unconcerned. No tension lingered in the air; by the terms of some unspoken agreement between us, the touchier of the two issues covered the night past was not to be spoken of again for some time. "We left about an hour ago for that little village we went through yesterday. We should be back any minute now."

"Oh, this is a disaster!" I squeaked, embracing myself and pacing nervously. My voice grew higher and higher as I continued, "I overslept, and we don't even know how much ground we need to cover today, and this stupid seal is itching, and the full moon is tonight, and, and… 'We…?'"

He shut the book. "Take it easy, Hinata-chan! Breathe. Anyways, I'm supposed to tell when you're awake. Don't go anywhere!" he said with a wink.

POOF.

My mouth dropped open as I found myself alone. With renewed vigor I continued pacing.

They arrived five or so minutes later, by which time I'd paced a line of recently frosty grass flat.

"Calm down, Hinata-san! I know you are worried, but you must not panic. The sun has not yet risen; the day is young still. We can set out soon, but before we do surely you can spare at most ten minutes to celebrate?"

"Celebrate…?"

Smiling, they revealed what they'd been concealing behind their backs: Naruto a small box, and Lee something covered in paper wrapping.

"Happy birthday, Hinata-san/-chan!"

My mouth formed a small "o". I was thirteen.

The next ten minutes found myself blushing furiously as I happily listened to their less-than-wonderful singing; Naruto cutting – with a kunai he promised was clean – a small cake, four inches in diameter, into three pieces; and finally, embarrassedly saying they didn't have to, my removing the wrapping paper from a simple leather vambrace. Naruto said it was Lee's idea, and as I tried it on the older boy explained his observation that I often flinched a split-second when blocking with my injured right arm. I wasted no time in pulling the two into a hug.

Between the laughing and smiling, Lee's ear-burning singing voice, the present, and the thought my friends had put into it…

This was easily the best birthday I'd ever had.

"What is it, Naruto-kun?" I asked as I noticed him staring at me. Maybe I had crumbs on my mouth, or–

"It's been so long … since you've shown a real smile," he said gently, blue eyes ever so slightly beginning to moisten as a grin radiant with warmth crossed his face.

"Hey … Lee?" Naruto asked, helping me hold the wood in place as Lee swiftly secured the two pieces together with rope. Quick construction of a raft had been touched briefly on in Academy days, but we had retained the lesson for the most part. There were no boats in this area; none could be found in a place so close to the Land of Demons in the north. In fact, it was known that this sea that divided these lands and the dreaded north wasn't particularly large or difficult to cross. No one wanted to cross it.

"What is it, Naruto-kun?" Lee asked.

"…Say 'can't.'"

"'Cannot?' Why?"

"No, no, I said 'can't.'"

"And I have said it. 'Cannot.'"

"How about 'they'll?'"

"They will?"

"We're!"

"'We are?'"

"They're!"

"Their?"

"Yatta!" Naruto exclaimed, quickly on his feet and pointing at him. "Wait … Darn it!"

"Can you fetch my backpack?"

"Um, sure." Naruto nodded and went to get the bag ten yards away. As he turned to face us, Lee vanished.

"Gah!"

Lee slipped to the side as he began to bend over, and a moderate strike on Naruto's back helped him to the ground. He recovered, scrambling to his feet and soon facing Lee in a stance.

"Better, but you could do to be a bit quicker. Always be prepared!"

Naruto snorted. "Yeah, right. Sheesh, if I was annoying you you could've just told me."

"I am offended!" Lee gasped in false indignation, capturing Naruto in a playful headlock and mussing up his hair. "To suggest me capable of abusing my precious little "students!" I had not tested you in a while and had to see that your guard was not down!"

"Okay, I believe you, let go already!"

I watched silently. It's simply impossible for either of them to show it … but they're just as scared as I am. "Either way, we should be saving our energy," I intervened, standing, "We can't be sure what we'll be up against today–,"

If only I knew how right I was.

"MOVE!"

A kunai hit the ground. Someone crashed into me. I was thrown ten yards. I grunted as I landed on my back. An explosion rumbled through the earth.

Getting off of us, Lee stood and glared at the point in the treeline from which the knife had been thrown. Naruto and I hastily got up, finally processing what had just happened. I focused.

Byakugan!

I shrieked, my heart skipped a beat, I whirled so hurriedly I stumbled over my feet and fell on my rear. Naruto and Lee turned and froze, mouths falling agape in stunned astonishment.

When … H-h-how…?

A yard away stood two men, dressed in matching high-collared black cloaks decorated with red clouds. A blue-skinned man, with strange beady eyes and – Kami, were those gills?! – towered at over six feet tall. The other was shorter, comparatively normal looking … and gave off a deadly aura that I found twice as sinister. Though his crimson eyes were not on me, the pattern in them as much as the intensity of his gaze petrified me with fear.

He possessed the Sharingan. Which meant that the man was, without a question…

"Finally tracked him down," the taller man chuckled, reaching for the hilt of a massive, wrapped sword on his back. "Say, these other two brats…?"

"Do as you please…" the raven-haired man said in a voice low and indifferent as he continued to stare down at my trembling friend.

This man – he was…

"Uzumaki Naruto … you're coming with us."

I wanted to scream.

I wanted to hide.

I wanted … to run away.

"U-Uchiha … Itachi…"

ナルト / リー / ヒナタ \ ハナビ \ ネジ

End Chapter Six

Hinata: The ruthless man who single-handedly wiped out an entire elite clan, his own family … These two are nukenin in a different league than the three of us, villains on a whole other level than Kozue! They're too much for us to handle!

Lee: Our only option is escape!

Hinata: I don't think they plan on letting us!

Lee: We are on our own out here, and no one is coming to help! If we do not come up with something fast, then–!

Naruto: Hey! If I go with you … will you leave these two alone?

Hinata/Lee: NARUTOOO!

Naruto: Next time … Chapter Seven: To the Wolves.

Naruto/Hinata/Lee: If things get ugly … I might have to use that power…

Heh heh… Whoops… This one turned out a tad long…

Hmm… This chapter … didn't seem so great to me. Like chapter three, kind of filler-ish, I guess, but important (and loaded with foreshadowing ;)!), but I tried to keep it interesting. What was done well, or not so well? What did you think of the training? The humor, the drama? The bonding scenes? The foreshadowing? Did the made up hand seal explanation somewhat make sense?

And who knows why Hinata has a problem with aconite?

If you haven't noticed, I don't (or at least try not to, b/c I miss a few) have Lee say contraction words. It seems like he hardly ever uses any in the English anime, anyways, but it seems to fit him.

Oh, and the "branchy tubes" Naruto mentions are the bronchial tubes. I couldn't see him actually remembering the name for them.;)

Please tell me what you thought of the chapter! Every review is appreciated!

Laters!

:o)Hinata0321:o)