Author's Note: In case you guys haven't realized this yet, this story takes place just after Naruto Shippuden episode 175. Also, just like in the first chapter there will be some parallels with the actual series. It's not that I don't have an imagination, it's more like I'm trying to write a story where the change in feelings of the characters happens slightly sooner and is more noticeable. There will be plenty of material that is my own but I'm just forewarning you of similarities. Lastly, please read and review. I was ecstatic to see such interest in my story so please, please, please tell me what you think! I want to know! That being said, here is the second chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 2: A Master and a Student

Naruto was running. Not just any light well paced run, but an all out sprint to his destination kind of run. The only problem for him was that he had no idea where his destination was. Turning another corner in the hospital his shoes screeched across the polished tile floor. All he knew was that he had to find Sakura. He had to find her before it was too late. Seeing a door on his left, he burst through it to find the room empty except for a rather alarmed patient lying in bed looking dumbfounded. Turning from the room, he saw a nurse walking towards him looking over some documents. Running up to her he didn't even waste his time with formal greetings.

"I need to find Sakura-chan, where is she?" He yelled quickly.

Caught off guard, the nurse needed a second to process what she had just been asked and only managed to get out, "Uh?"

"Please! You need to tell me where she is, it is extremely important that I find her!"

Sensing the urgency in his voice the nurse quickly regained her composure. "Sakura Haruno is in room 325. Go down this hallway, hook a left, go down that hallway and hook a right and its two doors down on your right."

The nurse hadn't even finished her sentence and Naruto was already rounding the corner at the end of the hallway. "Thank you!" He managed to yell as he sprinted as fast as he could.

Time was running out and he could feel it. The once brightly lit hallways seemed to get dimmer and dimmer with each step he took towards the room. Sensing he was nearing his destination he drew on every bit of energy he had left until he was screeching to a halt outside of the room with the door that read 325. The numbers on the door gave off a menacing gleam that caused him to hesitate, unsure if he wanted to find out what was on the opposite side. On the other side he could hear commotion and the sound of frantic voices. Quickly approaching the door he could feel the eminent dooming increasing with each step he took, the darkness enclosing around him. Suddenly there was a scream and Naruto kicked through the door.

Two things caught Naruto's attention when he entered the room. The first was the sight of Sakura, dressed in hospital white scrubs, covered in blood, and slowly sagging to her knees as she clenched her sides. Her body began to shudder as blood dripped from her hands down onto the white polished floor.

Looking up she could only speak in a whisper. "Naruto…I'm so sorry…"

Turning he looked at the second thing that caught his attention. Realizing who it was all he could manage was, "Sasuke!"

Shaking his head slowly Sasuke turned his back to him.

"You couldn't save me, and now you can't even save those who care about you." He said in an even tone. With that he seemed to just drift away like smoke through the open window, disappearing into the night air.

Quickly turning back to Sakura, he saw that she now was lying on her side staring off into nothing. Kneeling down beside her he tried to get her attention as best he could.

"Sakura," he whispered.

His voice fell on deaf ears. She made no acknowledgement that she heard him, her eyes locked on some distant image.

"Sakura…Sakura...SAKURA!" His voice getting louder and louder each time he said her name.

Finally she averted her eyes and met his worried gaze. Shuddering again and wrapping her arms even more tightly around herself as she began to cry softly and quietly.

"I'm so sorry Naruto," she whispered again. "I've let you down."

"What do you mean Sakura?" He didn't understand what she was saying and panic was beginning to set in from seeing all the blood. He didn't want to lose her too. "I don't understand."

"I'm sorry," was all she said again. Closing her eyes her body went slack.

"Sakura!" he yelled. His emotions now getting to him, he could feel the tears in his eyes and his heart racing. "Sakura! No, I can't lose you too!" he cried out. "No, No, NO! SAKURA!"

His voice echoing, the floor beneath him crumbled away and he fell into a deep dark abyss. The void swallowed him up and all the light vanished. The only thing with him was his voice still screaming Sakura's name. Suddenly two bright, red, glowing eyes opened in front of him and a slow, deep, demonic laugh erupted from the darkness.

"What do you want?" Naruto screamed.

"Hahaha…You!"

Waking with a start, Naruto sat up quickly drenched in sweat. "Another damn night terror," he thought to himself. It wasn't that he had never had them before or even the fact that he had been having them a lot lately. No, the strange thing was that it was the same night terror over and over again, and each time he saw a little more. Finally giving up on what the dream meant he sighed to himself and glanced at the time; five o'clock in the morning. "Well," he thought, "guess it's time to get up and get going." With a loud groan he pushed himself up out of bed and headed for the shower. Picking his way through his room he made it to his dresser. Grabbing a clean pair of boxers he then navigated his way to the bathroom, stopping at the door to look again at his bedroom. The room looked as if a tornado had gone through it. Dirty clothes lay everywhere and dirty dishes were piled up on top of his dresser and his nightstand.

"Damn," he said to himself, "I really need to clean."

Then with a shrug, he walked to the bathroom to get a shower. Once he was done he pulled out Hinata's ointment and opened it. The smell of mint and ethanol reached his nose and instantly put him into a lax mood. Taking a pea sized amount on his index finger, he began to rub it on the mark of his opposite hand. As soon as it made contact with his skin instant relief began to radiate through the mark as a small amount of steam began to rise. "Wow," he thought to himself, "this stuff is amazing!" Once he was done applying the ointment to all the marks he could reach he capped it and popped the container into his side pouch. He then made his way into the kitchen.

If his room looked like a tornado had made its way through it, then the kitchen looked as if it was in the middle of monsoon season. It wasn't that he was messy on purpose, or didn't care about how the place looked. He was just so used to living by himself that he never had any reason to clean and since he never had any parents it just became a habit. Picking his way through the dirty dishes he finally found a bowl that wasn't too dirty. Rinsing it out he proceeded to make a bowl of instant ramen.

"Ah, the breakfast of champions!" he cried happily to himself before digging in.

Once he was done he tossed the bowl with an audible bang into the kitchen sink and left to go train. The way to the training grounds outside the city was a decently long walk and since it was still early none of the villagers were out and about yet except for a few preparing to open up shop. The quiet walk caused Naruto to begin thinking about all that had happened recently; mainly, a particular lavender eyed girl who had saved his life. However, the thoughts weren't happy but quite the opposite. Walking down the dirt road he berated himself over and over again for not being strong enough, not having enough will, not having enough drive and determination to protect someone that had actually cared for him all along and ultimately loved him. That last thought caused him to stop in his tracks. "That's right; she actually admitted that she loved me." The idea of someone actually loving him filled him with happiness yet at the same time he felt a different feeling too. Once again he couldn't quite put his finger on what the feeling was. "What is it?" he asked himself. "What is this feeling? I know that I like her, I care for her, and yet I don't think that I would go as far to say that I love her. I've always had feelings towards Sakura-chan."

A sudden snort from somewhere in the recesses of his mind reminded him that he wasn't the only one listening to his thoughts.

"Well Kyuubi," he said openly since no one was around, "what are your thoughts on the matter?"

"You think that I care for such petty things like human emotions?" Kyuubi snorted at him.

"Not necessarily, but it doesn't hurt to ask." He said off handedly as he raised his arms behind his head and continued down the dirt road.

Slightly taken back by Naruto's response Kyuubi answered after a pause. "Listen boy, you need to realize that you live in a dangerous world. Death lurks around every corner and if you busy yourself with emotions like love then you're only distracting yourself from becoming more powerful."

"Power isn't the only important thing in this world fox." He said almost sage like. "I've lived my life scared and alone thanks to you. So is it so wrong to look for a little affection?"

Once again Kyuubi was surprised by Naruto's response. However, he knew that he could never allow the boy to fall in love. "No, he can't do that. If something ever happened to that person it would be his undoing."Taking a breath he answered Naruto. "Look baka, Pain was right when he said that love only ever led to suffering. If you want to chase love fine, but when something happens to that person and all that anger, pain, and hate bubbles up out of you I'll be waiting." He smiled evilly at the last part.

Now obviously annoyed with Kyuubi Naruto spoke, "Well it's not like I wouldn't be able to find love anyways thanks to you!" he spat. "Sakura-chan will never give me a chance and once Hinata finds out that I'm a package deal she'll turn and run!"

With a loud "humph" Kyuubi left Naruto's thoughts. Worked up now, Naruto doubled his pace trying to get to the training grounds to let off some steam. Kyuubi's words still echoing in his head. "You're only distracting yourself from becoming more powerful." Instantly his mind shifted to Sasuke. He gritted his teeth as he thought of his old friend and rival. "I bet you've become more powerful," he thought, "that's why you left the village right? To avoid distractions and become stronger." He had to become stronger. He couldn't bear to watch another one of his 'precious people' be hurt in front of him again. "I have the ultimate attack, there's no denying that. But what good is an ultimate attack when I can't defend those I care about." Defeated now, he sighed and hung his head. His thoughts slipping back to his old rival he couldn't help but look up at the blue sky and ask himself, "Where are you Sasuke?"

Hinata slowly opened her eyes. Sunlight was beginning to trickle in through her window brightening the room slowly. Rolling over she put her head under her pillow and closed her eyes, snuggling down into the warmth of her bed. "Wait! Bed?" Snapping her eyes open she sat up quickly. "How did I get here?" she asked herself. Looking around the room she confirmed it was hers. "But how?" Suddenly the previous night came flooding back into her memory. The images of Naruto talking, walking, and touching her flashed through her mind. Feeling slightly woozy she lay back down with a faint blush across her cheeks. "I wouldn't mind him touching me again…" Realizing what she was thinking she quickly broke her train of thought by glancing at the clock beside her. The clock told her it was 5:15 a.m. Feeling suddenly full of energy, she decided that if she hurried she could make it to the training grounds by 5:30. Jumping out of bed and stripping off her pajamas at the same time she rushed to her huge walk in closet and grabbed her training clothes. However, as she was reaching for clothes on the hangers she caught sight of herself in the mirror on the far back wall.

Her body seemed to glow in the morning light. Slender arms outstretched for her clothes seemed to contrast her legs which were sleek until they reached her full and well exercised thighs. Naturally because of this, her butt had a rather bubbly disposition that had nice gentle curve to it. Her ample chest easily filled out her top half completely balancing her and giving her curves that any other girl would kill for and her flat tight stomach complimented them further. Her midnight blue hair fell in waves over her shoulders since it had not yet been combed and gave the finishing touch. Any sane man would say she looked like an angel that had just rolled out of bed, natural beauty and perfection radiating from her. She, however, shook her head embarrassingly and quickly pulled on her clothes to cover herself. She just simply wasn't comfortable with her body.

Quickly eating a brief breakfast she ran out the door with her destination being the training grounds. However as she walked alongside the house she ran into her father meditating in the courtyard. Bowing to him politely she spoke.

"Good morning father."

Not even turning his head to her Hiashi asked, "Where are you off to?"

"To the training grounds, I should be there all morning. Do you need something of me father?"

Sighing, he shook his head. "No, but you should realize that you are nothing like that boy. You are as strong as you are going to get. Why do you continue to lie to yourself?"

"I know I can become stronger." She said quietly looking down.

With that Hiashi shook his head again and went back to meditating leaving Hinata standing there defeated. Wanting to get out of there as quickly as she could she bowed and made her way quickly to the gates. As she jogged through the empty streets to the outskirts of the city her thoughts began to drift once again to her blonde hero. Then she remembered what he had said to her the day before, 'I was thinking about how strong you are and how much butt you kicked when you fought Pain.' She couldn't help but asked herself, "Naruto…do you really think I'm that strong?" But quickly she shot herself down. "If I'm so strong I should have been able to save you. In the end I only hurt you and you saved me." Feeling her confidence slowly start to sink she became frustrated and could feel her emotions starting to run. She had to get stronger, she needed to prove to herself and to him that she wasn't helpless and that he wouldn't always have to protect her. Suddenly Pain's comment echoed in her head. 'Why do you try, when you are so weak?' Tears now threatening to fall, she ducked her head and began to sprint finally giving into her emotions. Rounding a corner she did even see the man in front of her and slammed straight into him.

Naruto was lost in thought when a dark blur slammed into his chest jolting him back to reality. Hinata, who had been completely oblivious to him at first, was knocked back and after realizing who it was lost her footing and tumbled backwards. Reacting fast, Naruto put lightning itself to shame as he caught Hinata bridal style before she could touch the ground. Locking into a gaze, they became lost in each other's eyes. Naruto noticed that she had been crying, the tear stains on her cheeks were still fresh and a dead giveaway. "She's so fragile, so innocent and shy and yet so strong." was all he could think.

Hinata was thinking quite the opposite though. "He so quick and powerful, I wish I was more like him…I wish he didn't have to protect me…" Tears once again formed in her eyes. Staring deeply into those pools of cerulean she could see the care and concern for her.

"Are you okay Hinata?"

Snapping out of her thoughts she began to blush as she realized that they were still staring at each other and that he was holding her still.

Panicking she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "If you'd set me down I would be!"

Shocked, Naruto set her gently down on her feet and backed away from her averting his eyes and blushing.

Instantly regretting what she said she tried to apologized. "I'm s-sorry N-Naruto-kun. I-I d-didn't mean it l-like th-that." Tears began to make their way down her cheeks again. Damnit! Why can't I be strong! Why am I so weak?"

Smiling he replied, "It's okay Hinata. I didn't mean to rush you like that and it's my fault I knocked you down." Then realizing that she was crying he asked hurriedly, "Hinata is everything okay? Did I hurt you?" He quickly began to reach into his kuni pouch for the ointment that she had given him earlier. He didn't even know if it would work, but it was worth a try.

Upon hearing this Hinata completely broke down and lost it. Fling her arms around Naruto she began to sob uncontrollably into his chest. Frozen, Naruto did the only thing that his instincts told him to do. Wrapping his arms around Hinata he gave her a steady firm hug causing her to cry even harder.

Unable to control her emotions now, she began to talk. "I'm sorry Naruto…I'm sorry I'm weak…I'm sorry I'm defenseless…I'm sorry I'm such a burden to you and everyone else…I'm s-" Choking on her tears because she was crying so hard she was unable to continue and just buried her face deeper into his chest.

Stunned, Naruto could only absorb what the girl in his arms was saying. "How can she think that she's weak, that she's a burden to everyone?" Suddenly he remembered what everyone had told him about her; bits and pieces coming together, comments from here and there accumulating together. "She's this way because of her father, because of her family, because nobody is willing to give her a chance. She's been put down so much her self esteem has been eroded away to nothing." He could feel anger building up in him, not at Hinata but at everyone else. He knew she wasn't weak, that she wasn't a burden. She was very strong, strong enough to go toe to toe with Pain and even land a hit on him. "Not to mention that amazing defensive technique she has." Suddenly an idea lit up in his head. Grabbing her by the shoulders he thrust her away from his body staring intensely into her eyes. He waited until she met his.

"Hinata," he said, "I don't ever want to hear you say those things again, okay? You aren't weak and you aren't a burden. You saved me from Pain, no one else. When I was pinned to the ground it was you who saved me. So please don't say those things again."

Nodding, Hinata smiled meekly. "Th-thank you, Naruto-kun. I p-promise I won't s-say those th-things again." "If Naruto-kun thinks that I'm strong then I must be. I just need to believe in myself more! But I can get stronger, and he can help me." Looking at Naruto she saw that he seemed to be lost in thought just like her. Smiling to herself she brought him back to their world.

"Naruto-kun."

"Hm? Oh I'm sorry Hinata did you say something?"

Smiling and sniffling to herself she shook her head. "N-no but I am now. I h-have a f-favor to ask y-y-you." Blushing, she looked down quickly and then back up.

"Oh, that's funny because I have one to ask of you too."

Surprised that Naruto wanted a favor from her Hinata blushed even more.

"Okay." she meekly said.

Both of them stood there in silence expecting to speak, the awkwardness rising until it hit its breaking point. No longer able to take it any longer they both spoke at the same time.

"I want you to train me."

Naruto stood there stunned blushing slightly; however, Hinata gasped taking a step back and wore a blush that would cause a rose to turn green with envy.

"Y-you w-want m-m-me to t-t-train y-you?" Hinata barely stuttered out.

"I could say the same thing." Naruto said smiling and putting a hand behind his head.

She looked at the ground while speaking barely over a whisper, "W-what c-could you p-possibly w-want to l-learn from m-m-me?"

Shifting slightly he glanced around before looking at her. "I was wondering if you could teach me that really powerful defensive technique? You know the one that repels attacks back onto the attacker?"

"Y-you m-mean the K-Kaiten?" she whispered even more quietly looking around.

"Uh, yeah, that one. Can you teach me it?"

"It's a s-secret family t-technique, and b-besides that I d-d-don't even know if you h-have the ability to learn it." She said looking down.

"Oh." was all Naruto could say the disappointment evident in his voice.

"But…I s-suppose it's worth a t-try."

Naruto looked at her with a mixture of shock and excitement. "Are you sure? You just said it's a family secret."

Hinata gave a little smile, "I know, b-but the hero of the v-village has its b-benefits."

Full of excitement now, Naruto was about to scoop Hinata up into a hug until he remembered what she had said earlier.

"So, uh, what did you want Hinata? I don't know what I could possibly train you in."

"He thinks I'm that strong?" She couldn't stop the deep blush that now covered her cheeks. "W-well," she said, "you c-can s-start by t-training me in stamina. If I c-could even r-reach half of w-what you are n-n-now then I th-think I'll be good."

Thinking for a moment about what he needed to do he looked at her and flashed his famous fox grin. "Sounds like a deal Hinata. You train me and I'll train you."

Looking up at him she gave a small smile in agreement. Then realizing that they had been talking for some time she said, "N-Naruto, I th-think we should b-be going now. W-We're wasting time h-here."

He glanced up in the sky and saw that the sun was beginning to peak over the horizon. Not wanting to waste anymore time he flashed another smile at her and grabbed her hand.

"Come on Hinata, let's get moving!"

It took everything in her power to stay conscious at that moment and the several minutes that followed, the dizziness fighting her as she felt the strength and warmth in Naruto's hand. He had become so lost in thought thinking about the kind of training that he would put Hinata through that he forgot to let go of her hand and was dragging her along. To say he was dragging her would be an understatement. Naruto was so excited thinking about training that he was walking so fast to the point of almost running. Having trouble focusing aside from trying to keep up, Hinata had to do something. However, she couldn't find her voice. The fact that her love was holding her hand, however nonchalantly it was, completely left her speechless and dazed. This changed though when the gates to the city came into view as did the ninja on guard duty. Panicking, Hinata had to say something.

"Um, N-Naruto?"

"Yes Hinata?"

"C-can I p-please have m-my h-hand back?" A blush was now burning across her face.

Coming completely back to reality, he looked down and saw his hand still firmly grasping hers. Letting go quickly he said, "S-sorry Hinata." as he blushed slightly.

She giggled and smiled. "It's okay."

On the outside of the village walking at a painfully slow pace towards the front gate was an old couple that looked as if death was walking right next to them. However, there were a few things in the world of shinobi that death itself feared and these two happened to be at the top of its list.

Turning to his wife he smiled as he spoke. "Well Renge, it looks like we made it." His eyes creased even more and the lines cracked across his face as he smiled. She smiled back at him. "Even if you move with the speed that rivals a snail." This last comment, however, quickly wiped the smile off her face as she turned on her husband.

"Oh? That was quite funny was it?" she asked. "I'm surprised it didn't take us longer with you stopping to use the bathroom every ten minutes."

The old man was about to counter with another comment when he stopped dead in his tracks and stiffened.

Seeing this is wife stopped and looked at him. "What's the matter?" she asked with a smirk. "Have to go again?"

However, the old man ignored her and focused more. Then he turned and looked at his wife with a smile on his face. "No, but it appears that someone in this village has an enormous amount of chakra and is heading our way."

His wife turned and began to focus and sure enough she felt it too. However, there was something else as well.

"They aren't alone. Someone else is with that person and they have a fair amount of chakra as well."

The husband nodded in agreement. Then they both began to hobble as quickly as they could towards the village.

"Well, it looks like this trip is going to be an interesting one."

"Yes," his wife agreed, "this is going to be very interesting indeed."

Naruto and Hinata had just passed through the gates of the village when they came upon an elderly couple. Not wanting to be rude they both took a side step to give them the right of way and bowed their heads slightly smiling at them. The old couple stopped, however, and looked at them intently, to be more particular, at Naruto.

"Can I help you sir?" Naruto asked.

"Heh, would you look at that." the old man replied still staring intently at him. "Tell me something ninja, today is supposed to be a day of rest is it not?"

Naruto nodded to confirm that what the old man said was true.

"Then why are you leaving the village? I doubt you have a mission. Unless…" The old man trailed off as he averted his attention to Hinata who was quietly standing at the side of Naruto. "Hehe, I guess you have special plans for you and your girlfriend."

Hinata instantly began to blush at being called Naruto's girlfriend. "It is nice that someone mistaken us for that though."

"Oi, what are you trying to say?" Naruto asked, clueless as ever.

This caused the old man to laugh uncontrollably for a few moments and made Naruto become irritated. He didn't like it when people laughed at him, but judging by what he said it obviously upset Hinata and he didn't like that.

"All I'm saying is," as the old man composed himself again, "we were young once." At this the old man winked.

Hinata thought she was going to die. Not only had the old man just mistaken them for a couple but he was also suggesting that they were about to go off somewhere to be a little more…intimate. All she could do as the fire on her face grew was shake her head vigorously which once again caused the old man to lose it. Suddenly the old woman who was quietly standing there next to him lost her patience. In a flash she took the walking stick she was using and brought it down hard on the old man's head causing a yelp of pain and tears to stream down his face.

Turning to the two shocked ninjas she spoke. "Please excuse my husband, he can be rather immature sometimes and the long journey here didn't help." As she said this she shot him a killer look that caused him to raise his hands in a defensive manner. "But I must ask, what are you doing out here?"

Looking at the old woman critically for a moment Naruto answered. "Hinata-san and I were on our way to the training grounds for some training. I know that it is technically our day off but we don't want to lose our edge and I personally have some things that I wish to work on."

"Oh I see," replied the woman raising an eyebrow. "So not only are you two respectful but hard working as well. Not many shinobi can say that these days." Then she turned to her husband. "Come along Jihibiki; let's leave these ninja alone so they can train."

With that they old couple went on their way and Naruto and Hinata continued on theirs. As they were walking he glanced over at Hinata who still had a faint blush.

"Hinata?"

"Yes Naruto-kun?"

"Did something seem slightly off about those two?"

She was silent as she thought. She was so busy thinking about what the old man had suggested she didn't really pay attention to what else had been said or what had happened. "Should have I noticed something? They didn't seem out of the ordinary to me. Except…"

"Th-the old woman m-moved unusually fast f-for her age." Hinata replied.

He nodded, "I agree, something is definitely different about those two. But I say we forget about it," as he smiled, "we're finally here."

They walked briefly through a short path in the woods off the main road and arrived at the training ground. Unlike the other training grounds in the village, this training ground was outside the village for ninja that were practicing more advanced techniques. The flat open space was adjacent to a large pond. All of this was surrounded and at the bottom of a hill, the reason being that if there was any kind of accident or huge explosion in the training ground then it would be contained. Walking down the hill the two made their way over to the edge of the pond and began to warm up. After that was done they began to contemplate the kind of training that they would be doing.

"I think it's best if we train together." Naruto said.

Hinata nodded in agreement.

"I will run the physical and stamina training in the morning, and you can run the chakra training in the afternoon."

"S-sounds good to m-me." Hinata said smiling. "I can't believe it! I'm actually going to train alongside Naruto!" She began to smile even bigger.

He noticed this and smiled back, but then it turned into an evil grin causing Hinata to instantly lose all emotion in her face.

"W-why are y-you looking at m-me like that N-Naruto?" she stammered out.

"Hmm? Oh because I doubt you will be smiling when I'm through with you." He replied.

She gave an audible gulp that made Naruto laugh but then he softened his look. "It's okay Hinata; I won't be too hard on you-"

"-No I want you to be." she interrupted.

Shocked, he stood there staring at her waiting for an explanation.

"I d-don't want you to g-go easy on me Naruto." she continued. "The ninja out there will not so I do not wish you to either." She finished off with her voice strong even though it was quiet. "Where the hell did that come from?" she asked herself, but she held her gaze to his.

After a moment he spoke. "Okay Hinata, I just didn't want you to worry that's all. I'm going to push you but I won't hurt you."

Instantly her boldness was crushed and a blush spread across her face. "He's worried that he'll hurt me?" She had to duck her head so that he wouldn't see her smiling to herself. Mistaking this for fear, Naruto put his hand on her shoulder. The sudden contact with her pulled her back to reality and with an "Eep!" she jumped back.

"I-it's okay N-Naruto. I-I want y-you t-to be h-hard on m-me. I w-want t-to improve as m-much as p-possible." she stammered out.

Naruto looked at her and then smiled melting her heart. "You already have become stronger Hianta; you just don't know it yet."

"In that case let's begin."

With that he produced a scroll from his pouch. Opening it up there was a seal that spread across the paper. Setting it down on the grass he bit his thumb and placed his palm on the seal as spoke.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

After the smoke had cleared away there were a vest, two sets of ankle weights, and two sets of wrist weights. Picking up the vest he turned to Hinata and held it out to her.

"Here put this on." he said.

As she grabbed it she instantly felt herself being jerked downwards. Crashing into the ground, she fell on top of the vest. "How heavy is this?" Looking up at Naruto she could see that he just looked at her expectantly. So struggling to her feet she was about to unzip her vest when she stopped and looked at him.

"Uh…N-Naruto?"

"Yes Hinata?"

"D-Do you m-mind t-turning around p-please." she said blushing fiercely.

"Oh." he said, "Sure thing." as he began to turn around. "Once again, how noble." Kyuubi taunted. Naruto sighed inwardly. "Damn and all this time I was thinking I would be rid of you for a little while." Kyuubi smiled menacingly, "Keep dreaming b-" he stopped short as both he and Naruto perked up. "Something isn't right boy." Kyuubi said warily. "I know," Naruto thought, "I feel it too."

The feeling of being watched radiated from the trees Naruto was facing. Something wasn't right, as if he and Hinata were being stalked. He then realized that the forest was dead quiet. All of the animals, the birds, the insects were quiet. Even the wind had died down as if waiting in anticipation of something imminent. Something violent. "Naruto move!" Suddenly the air was filled with high pitched whistling as the sound of sharp pointed metal objects cut through the air approaching them rapidly.

Without thinking Naruto did the only thing that was possibly left to do. Diving backwards he tackled Hinata to the ground and rolled them away, covering her with his body as he felt the sharp hot pain of kuni and shurikens being imbedded into his back. Doing his best to keep a straight face he looked at the girl underneath him and saw the surprise and confusion in her eyes.

Hinata was in the process of taking her jacket off when suddenly Naruto dove on top of her knocking her down and rolled her a few feet away before staring into her eyes. "Oh my god, is he trying to have his way with me? No! Naruto would never do that! What is going on?"

Confused, she looked at his face and saw it was written with pain. Something had happened, but what? She had been so caught up in trying to get her jacket off as quickly as possible that she didn't even sense and danger. Had they really been attacked and she had been that unprepared?

Realizing that the first attack was over, Naruto quickly stood up pulling Hinata up along with him. Turning to look at where the attack came from and getting into a defensive stance as he pulled out a kuni he spoke, never once taking his eyes off the treeline. "Hinata, can you please remove the weapons from my back."

Failing to find her voice she simply nodded and quickly removed four shuriken and three kuni from his back. Once she was done she pulled out a kuni and got into a defensive stance next to Naruto.

Catching this out of the corner of his eye he spoke. "Hinata, I don't want you to put yourself in unnecessary danger. I'll cover you, try and make it to the village."

Instantly memories began to flood her mind, memories telling her to back down, to give up. Memories of people telling her she was nothing but a hindrance and a waste of space. Naruto had once again just saved her life and now he was telling her to run, to abandon him to save herself. "No," she thought, "Not this time!"

"I have a better idea." She said in an even tone.

Shocked, Naruto chanced a glance at Hinata. "And what would that be?"

A small smile crept across her face as she activated her Byakugan, "Let's fight these cowards together."

Naruto could see that something had changed in Hinata. He could see it in her eyes and in the way she spoke. "Determination." He thought to himself. He could see the drive she was carrying inside her now and it actually scared him a little bit. Unfortunately he didn't have time to think much more of it as two masked ninja appeared before them with no distinguishable markings and dressed in muted grey and black shirts and pants.

"Impressive." said the first ninja, a man judging from his voice.

"Truly it was." Said the second ninja, her voice giving away her gender. "No one has ever been able to detect us before we attack. You are most certainly an interesting person."

"Identify yourself! Who are you and what do you want?" Naruto yelled. He was pissed off that he had been attacked for no reason and even more pissed that Hinata had to be involved.

"Who are we?" asked the first ninja. "Hmm, well that's not really important. As for the second question, nothing really. Nothing but a good bloody fight. You see, it's been so long since we've killed anyone and we figured since your village was just destroyed then the only ninja left are ones worth fighting." It wasn't possible to read the ninja's face since the mask covered all but the eyes.

"However, we'll make a deal with you." replied the woman. "If you can lay one finger on either one of us then we will let you go."

"That doesn't seem like much of a deal." Hinata retorted.

"Oh but it is child," said the woman. "It is your life after all."

"Oh but she does have a point." continued the man. "How about this, if you win then we will turn ourselves in and hand over all the information we know on the enemies of the Hidden Leaf."

"That's nice," replied Naruto, "but who says that you know anything about our enemies?"

"Such a perceptive boy." the woman said. "We have traveled through all the elemental countries and have learned many secrets from each. If you can defeat us, all of our knowledge is yours."

Feeling the tension rising, Naruto looked at Hinata. "What do you want to do?" he whispered.

"It's not like we have a choice." she said. "And besides, their information could be useful."

He nodded in agreement. Then looking at the masked ninja he said, "Fine, and what happens if we lose?" he pretty much knew the answer already.

"If you lose then we kill you." the woman said off handedly.

"And I'll start with her," the man said pointing to Hinata, "so I can see the look on your face as she dies."

"You son of a bitch!" Naruto yelled; he could feel his anger beginning to reaching dangerous levels. "Forget the information; I'll kill you before you can lay a hand on her!"

"You have ten minutes so let us begin." replied the woman coolly "And one more thing."

Suddenly she disappeared completely before Naruto and Hinata and then reappeared between them, causing them to both jump away splitting them up. But just as Hinata landed the other ninja appeared behind Hinata and before she could act, pulled a kuni to her throat. Then he looked at Naruto and spoke evenly.

"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep."