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The Story of Us

'For those who never gave up'

Naruto x OC

Friendship, Adventure, Romance

Chapter 11

Training solo had to continue at 5am most days. Sensei sometimes showed up early enough to get a few words in before he wandered off to his own team. It would be mostly a solo effort from now on, but Sensei said if I got just a little bit faster he could show me a lightning technique to work on.

My speed was already impressive by normal standards, it was the one physical talent I could hold over other people's heads. I was fast, extremely fast. My body flicker technique had also improved significantly over the years, and now I could adequately perform it.

I had to admit that flashy jutsu and powerful strikes sounded great and all, in theory, but it put such a huge strain on the body in normal cases. My small frame would shatter under the force of something like Sensei's Raikiri.

Besides, I preferred simple jutsu. The substitution jutsu was quickly becoming a favourite of mine, and Sensei was often encouraging me to keep improving on the jutsu I had in my arsenal further. Perfect the technique so that I could use it subconsciously in battle.

I was currently experimenting with my range. How far away could I reach an object? Traditionally it had to be something you could physically grasp, but what if I was in mid-air?

It was then I remembered the wood release jutsu, and pondered over how to go about using substitution and that jutsu together. In a fancier version I had seen Tenzo create a wood clone similar to the dolls I had made previously, but what if I could do one better?

This training would have to go on the back burner unfortunately, for today was also the day I was expected to meet my new teammates.

The eastern bridge was all I had been told in a letter addressed to me yesterday. 8am. By some grace I didn't need to wake Naruto up anymore as he appeared eager to function each morning now that he was a ninja. It was kind of cute, to be honest, how he would flub around half asleep and still trying to keep moving. One time he bumped into me, jumped back, then waddled away without even realizing I had been there.

Saving all his energy to drive Kakashi-sensei insane. Nice.

I waited on the bridge, the sun fully risen and the stream beneath me lazily flowing by. Perhaps I would bring Shikamaru here to hang out someday, it was so nice to just relax against the bridge and gaze at the clouds. A perfect napping spot-

Something moved to my left. I readied myself was a kunai flew at me, but simply side-stepped it. A figured was behind me in an instant, and I felt a pressure on my back at the same time I used the substitution jutsu. I appeared behind that person and kicked them firmly in the back. It was enough to knock them over, but he was too big to send flying.

He let out a shout, landing hard on the bridge. The boy got into a crouch, turning to glare at me. I didn't recognize him at all, but he definitely had an intense look in his eyes and he reached into his pouch for more weaponry.

"Akira, that's enough."

I looked further behind the boy and saw two people slowly approaching. One was tall, likely our sensei, with his hands stuffed in his pockets and a slight limp in his walk. The other was probably the same height as Sasuke, I was taken aback when I noticed his eyes were covered by a leaf ninja headband.

The boy named Akira stood up, huffing and crossed his arms while the other two finished their approach. The taller man grinned at me, giving a slight wave as he took his hand out of his pocket.

"You must be Hikari. Kakashi mentioned you were fast, but that was a pretty smooth substitution, especially for a Genin." Akira snorted and looked away from me. What was his problem?

"You'll have to excuse him, Akira Nara has a bad attitude on a good day, and today isn't a good day." The boy with the covered eyes said in a snarky tone. Akira glared at him while the jonin sighed

"My name is Daisuke Kusajishi, but just Daisuke is fine. I don't like honourifics." Sensei patted a hand on the masked one's shoulder. "This is Reiji Hyuga. Don't let the blindness fool you, he can see you perfectly fine."

I looked between the three, trying to wrap my head around the fact that these guys were going to be my new teammates.

A hot tempered Nara, a blind Hyuga, and a sensei who didn't care to be called Sensei.

Well, this would be interesting.

"Nice to meet you all." I said, offering a smile. Akira glared, Reiji tilted his head, and Daisuke grinned.

"Good, well, why don't we move this to the training grounds to get better acquainted?" Daisuke offered.

The walk there was strange as I observed the three of them, namely Reiji. He walked like he knew exactly where everything was at any minute, not at all bothered by what was around him. Akira, was fixing his glare on me again, so I raised a brow but said nothing. He huffed, and turned to storm off-

And ran right into the train grounds fence. We all stopped, and I vaguely wondered if this would become a regular occurrence.

We finally did make it to the training grounds, and I found a little humour in the fact that we were in my usual training spot. Part of my new training, according to Tenzo, was to remake the landscape after I had altered it with my jutsu. Leave no evidence, in other words.

I happily noted that nothing looked out of the ordinary at all.

"Alright, here will be good," Daisuke said, pulling three bells. At first I expected a bell test like normal, but instead he tossed each of us one. "The test is simple, last one with a bell wins. You have until lunch. Oh and Hikari, I'm not like Kakashi. This isn't some trap, in fact I want to see your abilities and this is the best way to show your teammates."

I glanced at my supposed teammates and noted they were both staring at me from opposite sides. It was definitely going to be an interesting fight indeed. Daisuke sat against a stump that was nearby and raised his hand.

The three of us all separated, standing in a triangle to look at each other, though the boys were both slightly angled to look at me. I gulped, observing how Reiji lowered into the Hyuga fighting stance of the gentle fist. Hinata had shown it enough times for me to recognize it by sight. Meanwhile Akira was preparing to pummel me from the looks of it. I too lowered into my stance, ready to fight back.

Daisuke waited for a moment before thrusting his arm down.

"Begin!"

The boys wasted no time, both coming at me quickly. I used the substitution jutsu to escape into the tree line quietly. Reiji immediately looked in my direction, and I began to wonder just what it was he was doing to see me. It had to be a sub-sensory jutsu, then it dawned on me.

The Byakugan.

It was a jutsu that I thought needed one's eyes, but perhaps there was more to it than just ocular, and this guy had figured this out. If that was the case, there was no use hiding from him. I'd have to go with plan B.

Akira struck at Reiji, choosing to attack his other teammate instead of go hunting after me with the Hyuga. Reiji blocked, and sent a burst of chakra from his palm into Akira's leg. The Nara fell over immediately, and the blind boy was after me in an instant. I prepared myself, leaping from the tree at the same time that he jumped up to me. We both stood across from each other in the clearing before Reiji ran at me. I stayed on he balls of my feet, ready to counter at any moment.

With a Hyuga, however, I had to be very mindful. I couldn't, under any circumstance, allow him to land a blow with his hands. If I did, he could definitely mess with my chakra and movement.

He would strike, I would evade. It became a dance of sorts, each time he gave a controlled strike I would be equally careful in my defence. Reiji was quick though, and I had to stay balanced and in control in order to keep up with him. He started to throw in a kick here and there, which I completely evaded to stay with him.

He kicked up to my face, so I ducked under his leg and swept his other leg out from under him. It was like he expected it though, and did a flip in order to land gracefully in a crouch away from me.

At the last second I sensed a burst of chakra behind me, so I glanced behind to see a winding shadow crawling up behind me. I used the body flicker technique to get behind Akira, surprising him as he attempted to stand correctly. It wasn't much of a fight to block his strike and get underneath his punch to grab his bell, but Akira was very unhappy with it.

"Akira, come sit. No need to get in their way." Daisuke said lazily form where he was sprawled out. The Nara was steaming, but limped over to the jonin. I turned back to find Reiji coming at me already. He caught me off guard, and so I was forced to back off quickly.

There had to be something I could do other than dodge or deflect! Learning how good his eyesight was would be a start. There seemed to be a clear distinction that he was in fact seeing what I was doing and not just sensing it. As he was able to tell the moment I started doing hand signs for a water clone. He kicked my forearm so hard it went back into my chest and I went flying.

I did a flip to right myself on landing, shaking off the tremble in my arms from the impact. He had jarred me, his taijutsu was better than mine, no getting around that. I was too small to get at him firmly, and the best I could do was dodge-

Oh, that was an idea.

I created several water clones, Reiji coming at me to try and stop the jutsu. I was successful though, and surrounded the boy with the clones. I then sent one of them underground as the other four struck at him. Not to my surprise, Reiji destroyed the four, which left me and the clone underground. If he could see it underground he made no move to get away as I ran at him. Reiji prepared himself, but was taken aback as the clone reached up to grab his legs from below. He instinctively fought back as I came flying at him and kicked him square in the chest.

Off balance, Reiji fell backward, but my strike was pretty pathetic and it only served to knock him down. He wasn't even really hurt, which frustrated me a lot.

I stood over him, huffing at the effort that took. Even now my stamina was pitiful and it was so painfully frustrating to see that. My recovery time, however, was very good, all it took was a few minutes and I could go another round, but I would need another break shortly afterwards.

"Three hours left." Daisuke called out after yawning. I seethed silently, regretting the challenge already as Reiji stood up and ran at me again.

I was exhausted by lunch. Reiji and I both couldn't get the other's bell, and I had fought tooth and nail for it too. He was strong, and a fast learner, which made it difficult to go against him for so long. I barely had the will to lift my arms afterwards. Akira was silently seething while Reiji politely ate his lunch. It was silent as Daisuke took a nap and we ate all staring at each other. Well, Reiji just sat there, but Akira glared at me while I ate.

"Um, are you alright?" I asked, to which the Nara slurped the rest of his noodles before turning his back to me.

"Like I said before," The Hyuga cut in with a snarky smile. " Akira has very few good days, and today isn't one of them."

"Shut it Hyuga!" Akira yelled as he spun back towards us. Reiji completely ignored him though.

"I'm not the one who lost their bell in the first ten minutes."

Akira glared at me then, and I immediately felt the need to back track from another fight.

"Well, the truth is I'm just out of used to the Shadow Possession Jutsu, I've seen it a few times." I confessed, making both of the boys look at me. Or rather, Reiji looked in my direction. I continued to explain myself.

"I'm good friends with Shikamaru Nara, and he's shown it to me a few times. When he's not sleeping that is." I giggled a little, remembering all the poking and prodding it took for him to show me. Akira looked scandalized.

"You mean…. The clan head…. You're besties with his son?" Akira stared. I nodded, and the boy fizzled into a glare before turning away from me again. What was his problem?

"Ah, so maybe you're the one Lady Hinata talks about?" Reiji asked. I looked at him, surprised.

"Oh, Hinata? Yes we're good friends. She's very sweet." I said, popping some tempura in my mouth. Naruto didn't appreciate them that much, but I had a weird soft spot for all things fried. Except fish of course.

"Lady Hinata is of the main branch, and the heir to the entire clan. She is very kind yes, even to someone like myself." Reiji said while tidying up his meal. He glanced my direction, an almost smile on his face. "I imagine, if Lady Hinata thinks so highly of you, that you must be a good person then."

Akira sneered.

"Yeah yeah, besties with the kids of the clan heads and you get your name written in the stars." He muttered with his mouth full. I stared at him for a moment, noticing the scowl on Reiji's face as well. They started arguing, and I took the time to properly look at the two.

Reiji Hyuga was androgynous in his appearance, with a slender but sturdy build, and long hair kept neatly in a high ponytail that lightly dusted his shoulders. No hair was out of it's grasp, and his headband looked more like a bandana that covered his eyes, forehead, and part of his hairline. I imagined many of the girls would call him attractive, and I would have to agree he was. He had a tan well-fitted long sleeved shirt with the Hyuga clan logos on his left arm. Over that he had a black vest that also was quite fitted. The only thing loose was his traditional shinobi pants that were wrapped in bandages at mid-calf and black ninja sandals. He also had a dark red scarf that carried down to mid-back, both ends flipped over his shoulders. His shuriken holster on his left leg.

Akira had a completely different air about him. Under most circumstances I would've expected him to be a lot calmer seeing as the two relatives I knew were both calm and level-headed. Akira, however, had a fire about him.

He had black hair that was sightly longer and messier than Naruto's, with dark grey eyes that held the light in a funny way. I had never seen eyes quite as sharp as his, but they reminded me of Naruto's. They had something to prove. His attire was pretty straight forward with black capri pants and ninja sandals. He had a mesh shirt similar to Shikamaru's and a dark green vest he wore open. The vest had a hood, and the Nara symbol on the back. Akira wore his headband on his left thigh, with his shuriken holster on his left bicep. A strange place.

Daisuke interrupted us, our sensei having simple brown hair and black eyes that reminded me a lot of Tenzo. His hair was spiked and short though and his eyes weren't as creepy as Tenzo's.

Daisuke yawned again, snatching underneath his headband which was properly placed on his head.

"Alright, why don't we pick up a few D-ranked missions for today? Get used to each other a little bit more?" Akira pouted.

"D? We were doing C-ranked missions before she come along." He was pouting, and I was finding it borderline annoying. Naruto could get in the same mood, but I at least had enough authority with him to make the Uzumaki stop in his tracks. Akira on the other hand, had not qualms with his complaints.

"Yes, well Hikari shouldn't be tossed directly into some C-ranked missions just yet. She just graduated last week Akira. We'll get there, don't worry too much." Daisuke said before grinning at Reiji and I.

"Besides, D-ranks can be fun."

It became very obvious right off the bat that when Daisuke meant 'fun' he actually meant he could have a nap. Genin were the only ones who were required to actually do the D-ranked missions, so Daisuke borrowed my book and slept in a tree while we weeded gardens, watered plants, walked dogs, or cleaned houses.

I actually didn't mind the jobs, knowing full well I was getting paid to do something I did for free at home every day. On the roof top of Naruto's and mine's apartment I had started a mini-garden of my own at the beginning of spring. Several vegetables were growing in the small beds I made using my wood release jutsu. A sneaky tactic, but why not find a practical use for it?

When I got home, Naruto was already back with his head face down in his pillow. I was tired too, having gone to my apartment first to shower and change into sleeping shorts and a loose t-shirt.

I stopped by the roof to check the garden before heading in to find him as mentioned. It was a good thing I had pre-planned a lot of our meals out and prepped them, considering I was pretty tired too. It was dark out, and cooking an entire meal sounded arduous had half of it not be prepped that morning.

I was fully ready to marry Hinata for giving me a slow cooker.

"Naruto, come eat," I called, he grumbled and didn't move. That was strange. "I'll eat your portion."

Naruto mumbled, I blew out a puff of air before placing both dishes on the table and walking down the short hall to the single bedroom. Naruto had yet to move and for him not to be motivated by food something must've happened today. I leaned against the door frame for a moment, then made my way over to scoot in next to him.

"I need a hug." I told him, and he immediately wrapped his arms around me. A small smile played at my lips as he cuddled into me. His skin was practically on fire, though it had been hot today.

I hugged him back, my fingers lightly scratching at the hair by the base of his neck. After a few minutes he took a breath and rolled onto his back. I remained facing him, still playing gently with his hair, watching that pensive look that was pretty rare on the blonde's face.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked, waiting for him to do something. He was going to throw a fit pretty soon, that much I knew, but dinner was getting cold so he had to hurry up.

Sure enough, Naruto threw his pillow across the room. He gave out a frustrated huff as he did so, staring at the other wall.

"That stupid Sasuke! Always thinks he's so much better than everyone else! Always showing off too, y'know!" Naruto shouted, I sighed while rolling onto my back. It was a bit fo an awkward shuffle, the bed Naruto had would need to be traded out for a bigger one soon, considering this one was way too small for two teens to sit in regardless of my short stature. Naruto was short for his age, but not nearly small enough for the child size mattress.

"I don't think Sasuke is trying to look cooler than you, to be honest." I said, making the Uzumaki whip around to stare at me with one part hurt and one part anger.

"But he just keeps doing it! I try to do something and he just has to do it better, y'know!" He slapped his head, falling back to lay next to me. "I can't be second best and become Hokage! I have to be the greatest! Believe it!"

I giggled, Naruto pouted at me.

"Naruto, if you're so focused on Sasuke's back, that's all you're ever going to see." Naruto's face went acutely blank before his eyes opened marginally wider. I looked at the ceiling. "That's what Sensei told me. If you focus on someone's back, you're always going to be chasing after them, but if you start focusing on yourself, and your own growth, maybe one day you'll look up and see Sasuke far behind. Maybe."

Naruto looked to the ceiling too, his cheeks slightly puffed.

"Still pisses me off." He muttered, I smiled while reaching to hold his hand. His fingers locked with mine as we both looked over to each other. A grin slipped onto my face, and soon the disgruntled boy had a matching one.

"C'mon, let's go eat dinner."

That became my life for the next few weeks. I would wake up, prep our meals, go and train privately, return to eat breakfast with Naruto, go out and train with my team, go on several D-ranked missions, then come home.

A few times I ran into friends, but they too were busy most of the time handling their own teams. I managed to briefly ask Shikamaru about Akira, and all he said was the guy was a drag. So, not much different than anything else I guessed.

Naruto's mood had modestly increased each day, and I think he took my words to heart, considering whenever I did meet with Kakashi-sensei he would comment on how Naruto suddenly started focusing more on the work at hand rather than chasing after the Uchiha. Though it was teased that it wouldn't last forever before he needed another reminder. The boy was impulsive as all Hell, very much a fight first talk later type.

It was also sort of funny to see Sensei slowly get dragged down having to deal with the trio, and I was beginning to be thankful I wasn't stuck in the middle of the Naruto and Sasuke.

My own team was…. Coming along. Reiji was actually nice to talk to, so long as you were polite to him he kept up pleasantries as well. I liked him a lot, he had some interesting stories about the Hyuga family, and fully explained how he managed to use the subconscious chakra to 'see' the world around him. He could even tell what I looked like, though no colours could be seen, but he could see my chakra. Reiji also commented that while most people had blue chakra, mine was pure white. It also made me blend in with he world around me, as I had such a small chakra storage. I wasn't too surprised by that to be frank, seeing as I got tired after two large jutsu.

Akira hadn't budged a single inch. He was still a complete jerk, but I was sort of used to it by now and didn't get overly excited. While I wasn't sure what his motif was, I had the feeling he was slowly reaching his breaking point as well.

It was, however, pretty obvious that Akira and I had a great combination to work with. Especially considering he could capture the enemy and I could use a jutsu to firmly trap them. Reiji could then jump in with a strike. Daisuke worked with us each morning to practice teamwork. Sometimes he pitted us in a two against one battle, or three against three. I learned that Daisuke had a limp because of an old injury, and so he preferred not to run if he could. It wasn't that he couldn't, he just felt uncomfortable each time and evaded it.

The man was fast though, almost as fast as Kakashi-sensei when he wanted to be. However, he then had to rest with his leg propped up for several hours afterwards and would make us train amongst ourselves.

By the end of the three week mark, I had to say we weren't half bad of a team, but we were definitely not in perfect sync yet. Which was why when Daisuke announced we would be going on a C-ranked mission, I was whole heartedly unprepared for it.

"Really? Finally!" Akira shouted.

Reiji simply smiled, while I forced down a nervous gulp. Reiji looked over to me, and I looked away from him. Daisuke grinned down at us.

"Yup, we'll be leaving on a cargo run tomorrow morning, so pack up and let whoever you need to let know that you won't be in the village for a full week. Oh and Hikari, you'll need to go to the Hokage's tower to get your identification papers filled out."

Akira jumped to his feet and pointed a finger at me.

"You better not slow us down!" He exclaimed, but I didn't take the bait and just smiled.

"I'm actually the fastest teammate, so it won't be me." Reiji covered a snort with his hand politely. I grinned while Akira fumed. It was sort of funny to get him riled up. He spun around suddenly and looked like a bull who was going to charge.

"That's it! Race me back to the village!" He exclaimed right as he took off. Reiji hesitated, then looked over to the raging Nara.

"Wait, Akira don't go that way-"

But it was too late. Akira took off right as someone else came storming into the clearing.

It was a cat, which leaped onto Akira's back and away, but the person chasing the cat fully mauled the boy and they landed in a heap. That person happened to be none other than Naruto.

The boys were yelling in a heap, both trying to get up and somehow thwarting the other in that mess. Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi-sensei all slowly arrived into the clearing. Reiji, who had been sitting on the ground nearby me, was now gently petting said cat who laid blissfully in his lap.

"Well that's one way to catch it." Sakura said before looking over to me. "Oh, hey there Hikari."

I waved before nodding to her two other teammates. Naruto and Akira finally separated, both pointing at each other with an almost comically dental expression.

"You ran into me!"
"You ran into me!"

"Huh? Shut up jerk!"
"Huh? Shut up jerk!"

"Stop copying me!"
"Stop copying me!"

I sighed, standing up to go and help the boys. Naruto looked up to me, and immediately the fury in his eyes died. A grin fell on his lips as he scratched the back of neck.

"Oh, hey Kari, this your new team?" I smiled, putting a hand on my hip and shaking my head. Akira huffed as I helped Naruto get to his feet. It was a bit of a struggle, but I managed. When I turned to help the Nara though, he just huffed at me and stood on his own. Naruto glared at him overtop of me.

"Hey! Don't treat Kari that way!" Naruto shouted. Akira glared, crossing his arms.

"Then tell your girlfriend to stop being annoying!" The Nara said. I sighed, feeling Naruto pressed forward to try and get at Akira, but I stood in the way and gently pushed him back. He receded, though I could tell there was seriously tension still in his shoulders. All that came out of his mouth was a bunch of angry growls as he bared his teeth. Akira huffed and looked away.

"Naruto, it's okay," I paused, giving my best friend a gentle smile. He looked down at me, took a deep breath, and settled himself. "Better?"

Naruto puffed his cheeks, looking away, but muttered a 'better' under his breath.

I looked over to see Sakura staring with mild surprise at me, while Sasuke stood with his hands in his pockets. He was staring at Akira as the boy stalked over to the Hyuga to sit behind him. Kakashi-sensei cleared his throat.

"Right, well, we were in the midst of a mission, but it looks like the cat is enjoying herself right now." Sensei flipped a page in his book. Reiji glanced up, still petting the cat as she lazed in his hold.

"Reiji is amazing with cats." I could remember the mission I discovered this tidbit. We had a crazy bag lady in the village, and she was hoarding 17 cats in her tiny apartment. We were given the mission of cleaning said apartment, but the cats hated Akira and I, so Reiji waltzed right in and distracted all 17 as we cleaned around him. Not a single cat left his side.

I called him the cat whisperer.

"Wow, that cat… we chased it all around the village this morning." Sakura said. She looked surprised when Reiji glanced in her direction with a smile. It didn't surprise me, seeing as when I met him I couldn't stop staring in amazement that he could 'see' the world around him.

"I can take her back to the Hokage tower with you, if you'd like." Reiji offered. Daisuke grinned.

"Good idea, then Hikari, why don't you go ahead and get your papers now?" Kakashi-sensei perked up a little at this.

"Oh? Could it be you're doing your first C-ranked mission tomorrow?" He said in a mocking tone. I knew he was trying to bug his squad, likely trying to push them to work harder to earn something other than a D-ranked mission.

Naruto gaped at me, I scratched my cheek while the two other teammates of his stared at me.

"Yeah…. We leave tomorrow morning. I wanted to let you both know so I guess this works?" I was unsure if Naruto was going to blow his lid, but he seemed to mechanically keep it under control as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"This is great! I knew you could do it! I'll bet you'll be the first ninja in our year to get a C-ranked mission!" Despite Naruto's genuine happiness, I could tell he was a bit bummed it wasn't him going too.

Wait until he realized we wouldn't see each other for a week. That in and of itself was devastating to me.

"Let's wrap this up then. Akira, Hikari, Reiji, I expect to see you all at the front gates by 6am sharp!" Daisuke saluted before vanishing in a puff of smoke. I watched Akira huff and storm away before the rest of us made our way back to the tower. It was somewhat quiet, mostly Naruto chattering to me about how he wanted to know if any of the vendors would have unique ramen and that I should bring some back, oh and if they had that weird thing I made the others day to get more ingredients for it too. All this was said while he walked beside me with his hands behind his head.

"Jeez, this will be a mission tomorrow, not a vacation." I laughed, but Naruto pouted.

"But you never know! Maybe they have that amazing ramen you really like, y'know."

"The one you ate?" He froze, but quickly recovered.

"I bought you a new one!" His defence was weak, but he had indeed bought me a new one and chocolates. They didn't compare to the academy chocolates by far, but they were still good. Seeing that he was losing this battle, Naruto started to look a little bit embarrassed.

I looked to my other side to see Reiji walking nearby with the cat still in his arms. He smiled and turned his head to me. I noticed he often looked in the direction of his attention, which was odd for someone born blind. Especially since he described his unique vision as being able to see everything if he looked hard enough.

"You two are close." Reiji's observation riled Naruto a little, but I gently grasped the hem of his jacket and gave a small tug to settle him down while smiling to Reiji.

"Yeah, we've been best friends since the orphanage." I explained, making Reiji tilt his head.

"Ah, orphanage?" He asked, but before I could back track Naruto wrapped an arm around my shoulders and stuck a thumb at his face.

"You bet! It's been me and Hikari since day one! Believe it!" I giggled, Reiji smiled, and that seemed to be it as the Hyuga looked forward again.

"It must be nice, having someone who has your back, no matter what." I caught the almost wistful tone, but said nothing.

"So," Kakashi-sensei spoke up, "Where is this mission taking you?"

"We're going to the southern ports, I think. Just helping a caravan with some cargo transport." Naruto kept his arm slung around my shoulders but let go some to allow me to walk normally. I noticed Sasuke and Sakura were still silently leading to the Hokage tower. Sakura tried saying something I couldn't hear to Sasuke, but he would say nothing in return.

"Should be a good experience. The southern ports are just over two days of brisk travel, five for a caravan. You should be gone a little over a week then. Make sure you pack properly." Kakashi said off-handedly. I looked up at him and smiled.

"Yes Sensei."

I waited for Reiji after getting my documents all in order, but could practically hear Naruto's shouts in the upper levels about wanting to also get a C-ranked mission. It seemed to be a god given gift that I would be out of the village, because Sensei definitely would've murdered me for this.

Reiji was walking down the hall towards me, and although I knew he could sense me long ago he still looked a bit surprised.

"Oh, Hikari, are you waiting for Naruto?" Reiji asked. I shook my head.

"No, actually. I wanted to talk with you a bit." I confessed. The Hyuga tilted his head, as though the discussion didn't quite register.

"Alright, what did you want to talk about?" His voice always sounded gentle, which made rough comments and snide remarks so much more sharp when they came from him. When he was attentive though, it made him seem so inviting.

"I, um, well, is there anything I should be expecting on this trip?" I asked as we both continued walking down the hall.

"Expecting?" Reiji repeated.

"Yeah, like….. we camp outside, right? In the dark? In the open? I mean we're gone for a few days…." I scratched the back fo my neck, feeling cold and clammy at the idea of the mission tomorrow. While I should've gone straight home to prepare, my stomach was fidgeting and I didn't have a clue where Daisuke had flitted off to, and Akira was definitely not going to help me. Which left Reiji to question. Thankfully the boy was being nicer than he had to be. Reiji tilted his head to the side, again not quite understanding me.

"Yes it's easier just to pack a light blanket, no tents unless the caravan has them. We usually sleep on the grounds and take turns with watch. Though I imagine between four of us the watches won't be that long." Reiji informed me as we got to the exit of the Hokage tower. I felt cold still despite the warm gush of air that hit our faces upon exiting.

"Right, okay." I said, staring at my feet. Reiji's feet appeared in front of mine. I looked up to the much taller boy, who was giving me a gentle smile.

"It's alright to be nervous for your first mission. We'll be there with you." Reiji's encouragement was kind, but I couldn't help but feel like I had to explain myself to him.

"It's not the mission, it's….. I haven't been outside after dark since….. since a long time ago." Since my parents…..

Reiji was quietly assessing me, but then smiled again.

"Well, it'll be an experience we can share then." He offered, and I forced a shy smile back. "Perhaps that friend of yours could help you prepare. He seems to bring a spark to your eyes."

"Ah, I thought you couldn't see that level of detail?" Reiji chuckled, pointing a delicate finger to his ear.

"No, but I can hear it."

My face flushed, Reiji seemed aware of this affect and chuckled. He turned away from me and carried on, waving over his shoulder.

"See you tomorrow, Hikari."

What's up my dudes? Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!

I'm not sure why, but this chapter just didn't want to come out! it was like pulling teeth, I didn't re-read it to make sure everything was okay, will probably do it later, and it had nothing to do with my regular day to day life. Oh but I've been hella busy with volunteer work, I built a pond all by myself, hay season (I'm a farmer, this time of year is awful) and a lot of other stuff happening. However I think I've jumped ahead too often and replayed the same 20 episodes of Naruto trying to figure out where I'm going with everything? Because I have a very clear understanding of where I want to go but holy cow I can never quite get there? Ugh.

Also, I apologize if this chapter wasn't what you were hoping for, but I really do love this rag tag team I've created. They're gunna be such a friggin' powerhouse in a bit! just wait! I think the dynamics might seem strange now, but I promise it's what they're supposed to be!

To the Guest reviewer: Thank you again for the review! Yeah I am trying my best to keep slugging at a fair pace. I'm unfortunately super busy with everything right now but things are getting back to order! I think I'm just super anxious for Shipuuden, because I NEED a flirty moment between Hikari and Naruto SO BAD it ain't even funny, but my wee babies are too young for that shit yet. So I started writing little bits and pieces for the third installment already to quell my hands from accidentally writing a flirty bit now.

Ah, side note, just to help everyone along a bit, I'll let you in on a wee little tidbit.

The second installment to the series (I call it the Interlude) spans the entire time Naruto is training with Jiraiya. As such, there is NO Naruto at all in it (which is actually very sad to write!) and is entirely focused on what happens to Hikari during that time. This is an entirely self-isoltaed plot with is 100% original with a few small tidbits of canon mixed in, so it won't be super long (Like... 20 chapters maybe? But lengthy chapters) but it will have a lot of detail having to do with Hikari's backstory.

As such, it's not necessary to read that installment, and you can jump to the third one. Everything that happens in the second (which is SO MUCH) will be explained in the third installment too. Meaning I plan to write the third installment as though you never read the second! I'm doing this because I want to start writing the second installment now so that I can quickly publish it leading up to the third book's release and not waste too much time! Just an FYI!

Also, I found out there's such a thing as Naruto Headcanon? Does anyone have a bit of Headcanon for our favorite blond bombshell? SFW only seeing as this is still a family friendly story! I found one that said Naruto was super handsy in his sleep and i'm a 1000000% believer in that. Hikari has already experienced it first hand!

Anyway, hope you're all doing well! Wash your hands, and STAY SAFE!

Iland Girl