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The Story of Us

'For those who never gave up'

Naruto x OC

Friendship, Adventure, Romance

Chapter 14: Heroes

Heroes don't exist. People who have overcome great things do.

"Undone"- FFH

While we all still had to do rotations of night watch, it was a heck of a lot easier with six genin and one able-bodied jonin. I took the second last watch, ending at five, which worked out well considering that was when I would normally get up to train.

It wasn't like I didn't get enough sleep now, considering I slept for a clean six hours before my watch started at three. I was very tired after all the stress of the previous days and practically collapsed in my roll without changing. I was dead to the world until Sasuke came in and shook me awake.

I stayed up, sitting in on the window ceil as I kept watch. At 5am I woke Sakura to keep watch. From there, I to ready for the day with no desire to sleep anymore. I was surprised when Reiji stepped out of the boys room. A smile slipped onto my lips in greeting as I waved. Reiji nodded, motioning for me to follow him outside. I nodded back and did as requested, following the taller boy outside.

"Why are you up so early? Did you not sleep well?" Reiji asked me, but I shook my head.

"I took the previous watch and just woke Sakura. This is the time I usually wake up so I didn't want to go back to bed." I tilted my head, watching him silently. "You get up around this time too?"

"Ah, yes. I usually tend to my garden in the mornings. Something quiet and relaxing about being the only person awake for it." Reiji smiled, it was contagious.

"Did you want to come train with me?" I asked, jabbing a thumb over my shoulder in the direction of the forest. Reiji nodded, and soon we were both on our way to the forest to start training. Kakashi-sensei had informed his team that I would be teaching them a new training method, and that they were to meet me when they woke up. Daisuke, thinking it would be good for my teammates to also train, opted for us all to work together. It wasn't a bad idea, seeing as it would bring us all on the same page for the mission and allow us to advance our fighting skills, albeit marginally.

We picked a nice clearing with some solid looking trees not too far from the house. It was also the same clearing we found so many wild onions in last time, making it a great spot to also forage in between training sessions.

There wasn't much else to do all day otherwise, so training would take a front seat. Kakashi-sensei seemed certain that the greatest danger was protecting the bridge builder, which meant we would be fine while Daisuke watched the bridge.

What started out as a friendly sparring match soon turned into a real match. I knew Reiji was very intrigued with my counterstrike method, and he too intrigued me with the gentle fist taijutsu.

Both of us had been striking in a flurry of strikes and dodges, and broke apart when things got a little too intense.

I was a bit tired, but Reiji's stamina was better than mine. This battle would be won by him if it were simply a challenge to outlast the other, but instead of getting frustrated, I decided to make a plan.

Those eyes of his were sharp, but there was one thing that worked against him, and that was his over-confidence. Reiji could definitely see everything, but he had to be focusing on it to really see it. Something I had noticed during training sessions. He could also tell which of my clones were water clones right away.

Theoretically, my wood style clones would be perfect in this situation, they were identical down to their core. He wouldn't be able to tell which was which, but then I would be revealing my wood release abilities and gulped at the mere thought of Kakashi-sensei's anger.

No, wood release was off the table, I would have to come up with something else. There was one other thing that gave me an advantage over Reiji, one he wouldn't come up to at all.

My speed.

Up until now, he had only fought me with my bracelets on, but if I removed them I would be even just minutely faster than he was.

I toed my shoes off, then removed my bracelets before setting them down on the ground and taking a deep breath and readying myself. Reiji did the same, looking prepared to make the last strike.

I took off for him at the same he did for me. We met in the middle, he went to strike me in the shoulder, but I used a substitution. On instinct Reiji began to shift to gaurd, but I had only used the substitution to appear below my initial stance. I pulled out some wire from my pouch and carried on my momentum. Now crouched on the ground, my small frame slid feet first easily through his legs. I wrapped a piece of the wire around his left leg, using that to stop my movement and also catch him off balance. Reiji stumbled, but didn't fall. This wasn't a problem as my next move was to kick his right shoulder at the same time that I yanked his left leg. He fell, and I landed on his back to keep him there.

It was quiet for a moment, Reiji seemed to be stunned, before I got off of him. Huffing and puffing away, I tried my best to breathe deeply but that sheer speed was difficult to maintain since I wasn't used to it.

"Ok…. That's it….. I need a break." I sat down in front of Reiji, noticing he hand't moved. "Reiji?"

He slowly shifted to look up at me, but said nothing for a few moments.

"That was….. how did you….?" I giggled a little at the confused tone in his voice.

"Kakashi-sensei always said speed was my greatest asset, so we've been working on me using my top speed in short bursts like that." I explained, proud to see Reiji looking so surprised. I hadn't thought it was that quick, but apparently it was. Reiji sat up after a few moments, cutting the wire from his leg. He looked at me, then to the side of the clearing. I followed his gaze to find Sasuke standing there, staring at us.

"Oh, morning! Did you want to start training too?" I asked, giving a smile. Sasuke walked forward, staring at me for a moment. It always felt a little awkward when Sasuke stared at me, but I said nothing and waited patiently.

"Kakashi said you had something to teach us." Sasuke replied. I stood, dusting myself off, and went to speak. Reiji cut me off though, standing as well and taking a step towards the Uchiha. Sasuke and Reiji stared, though I could tell even Sasuke found it unnerving that he couldn't see Reiji's eyes.

"Problem?" Uchiha asked.

"It's impolite not to say hello to someone in greeting." Reiji countered, and I sensed a fight about to break out. Gently, I placed a hand on Reiji's shoulder, making him tilt his head towards me.

"Don't worry about him, he's a sour puss on a good day," I teased, making Sasuke glare at me. I wasn't intimidated, and just grinned back.

Sasuke gave a short grunt, looking away from us.

"Well, we might as well start. I think you and Sakura are the only ones who don't know the tree climbing exercise already." Sasuke looked back at me, though a frown was still on his lips. Instead of explaining it, I went over to a tree and stepped up the bark without slowing my momentum. Eventually I reached a branch and hung upside down on it, looking down to Sasuke and Reiji.

"Whenever we perform a jutsu, there is a precise amount and type of chakra needed for the jutsu. If you don't perform these steps correctly then the jutsu is either too weak or unbalanced, and it's a waste of chakra. This type of training makes you learn how to control your chakra to a precise point on your body. By doing that, and learning to maintain a steady flow, you are training yourself to control your chakra in jutsu. This will allow you to perform higher quality jutsu with more ease."

I tossed a kunai down to Sasuke, and then struck a line in the trunk beside me.

"I think by the end of today you'll reach here, and by the end of the week you'll reach the top," I smirked at him. "You were the top ninja in class, after all."

At the hinted challenge, Sasuke narrowed his eyes before picking up the kunai.

"Alright, now draw the chakra to the bottom of your feet. You'll have to take a guess at how much you need the first few times." I explained, waiting for him to do so. I watched as he focused for a few moments before he opened his eyes.

"Take a running start to give you a hand until you're confident." I called, and the Uchiha immediately started to run at the tree. He surprised me, getting a little further than I had the first time I did this training, but he too got kicked off the tree for putting too much chakra in. Sasuke looked surprised as he flipped of the trunk and landed in a crouch.

Probably harder than he thought it would be, considering how aloof his attitude was earlier. He tried several more times, only getting a few inches more each time. I turned to see Reiji meditating nearby, and figured it might be a good idea to join him.

However, I was supposed to be training the Uchiha, so I sucked in a breath before flipping down and landed on the ground near him. He didn't spare me a glance, but I could see he was getting frustrated.

"Don't let your emotions cloud you," he glared at me, "I'm serious. Chakra is reactive based on our emotions. Getting angry will make it unstable. You'll end up working twice as hard for the same amount of success."

He ignored me, launching at the tree, and only got half as far this time before growling under his breath. I stood quietly, watching him a few more times, before deciding perhaps letting him get through this part by himself was better. I retrieved my bracelets and put them on again, along with my shoes. The weight of these bracelets only totalled to maybe twenty pounds, but considered I only weighed sixty five it wasn't a huge shocker that these bracelets felt ridiculously heavy when I first started training with then.

I sat down next to Reiji, quietly entering a trance for my half hour of meditation. There was always a nice feeling to meditation, a blankness that helped ease the overwhelming sensations being a ninja brought on. I could look at my problems and let them go, if only temporarily. This was the part to being a ninja that was crucial for me, and I had to learn to let go of any panic, fears, angers, and focus on my job as a ninja.

"A ninja's emotions don't belong on the battle field."

Sensei's words always rung clear in my head, a reminder that even if comrades were injured I had to keep a level head at all times. Even if the mission was a failure, keep a level head. There would be time for crying later, for anger, but not in that moment.

After the blank remedial period, I opened my eyes to gauge Sasuke's progress.

It was slow, but he had improved by a foot. He looked pretty tired though, so I decided to cut in and offer more advice.

"Hey," I called, though Sasuke took a long moment to turn and look at me I didn't take any offence. "If you only focus on climbing the tree you'll get too worked up. Mix it up a bit, do some different training to help relax."

"And I suppose you're the expert now?" Sasuke's words were sharp, but I didn't flinch. Instead, I smirked back at him.

"Well, there was a reason Kakashi-sensei asked me to train you and not the other way around. So yeah, right now, I'm the expert." I replied bluntly, making him glare. I crossed my arms, nonplussed by the adamant behaviour. "So, what'll it be?"

He grunted, frowning, then turned his back to me again. I sighed.

"So, you'd rather push by yourself, and waste so much time, than ask for help?" I was disappointed, to say the least. When Sasuke didn't reply, I turned away from him. He'd probably only take my advice if he asked for it, so I would have to wait on it.

"Hey!"

I looked up, happy to see Naruto and Sakura arriving into the clearing with Akira in tow. I waved, smiling at the three. I was even more excited to see rice balls packed in a container upon approach.

"Tsunami said we should all eat if we're training so hard." Sakura said, holding the container out for us to take one. There were plenty, so I took two before she continued around the circle. A smile broke out across my lips as Naruto grinned.

"You not eating?" I asked, noting he had nothing in his hands. Akira snorted.

"He ate three on the way here."

"Ok, then we can start training right away!" I said as Sakura went over to offer Sasuke some rice balls. He ignored her, so she returned to our group as Sasuke painfully inched his way up the tree, and sometimes didn't make his previous goal.

"So, what do you have in mind, Kari-Sensei?" Naruto teased. I felt a bit of heat creep up my neck at the mention of being a sensei, but kept the emotions at bay the best I could and refocused.

"Well first, let's see where everyone is at." I gestured to Sasuke as he prepared for another climb. "As you can see, we're doing the tree climbing exercise today. And those that can do that, I've got the next part in training for us to cover."

I explained the basics to Sakura, who had never seen the exercise. Akira and Reiji both knew it, and Naruto had learned it from me.

"So… we just have to climb the tree?" Sakura asked. Naruto grinned and jumped up and down.

"It's easy Sakura! Watch this!" He immediately settled, concentrating the chakra into his feet. I watched him casually jog up to the tree and straight up the bark until he got to a high branch. From there he hung upside down on it, giggling like crazy.

A small smirk formed on my lips when I noticed Sasuke was very much surprised and pissed that Naruto got that far. Sakura, on the other hand, looked impressed.

"Whoa! You can get that far?" She looked over to Sasuke, and I could see the Uchiha slowly crumbling under the realization that Naruto was way ahead of him. I nodded to Sakura, patting her shoulder.

"That's right! Naruto and I have been doing this for a few years now, so his chakra control is a lot better than you'd think. Why don't you give it a try?" I offered her a kunai, and she gulped a bit.

"Don't panic, keep calm the entire time and let yourself feel the flow. Once you're ready try it out." I coached, feeling confident in how quickly she focused. She took a good running start at the tree, and climbed a heck of a lot farther than we did, coming to sit on top of the same branch Naruto hung from. I was shocked, but very happy with the result.

"Well well! Looks like the kunoichi takes the lead on this one! Excellently done Sakura!" I beamed, making the girl blush. Sasuke looked even more pissed, but I ignored him and turned to Akira and Reiji. "So, how far can you guys go?"

"Keh, further than you can." Akira snapped, but I gave him a cheeky grin.

"Is that a challenge?"

Akira glared, but I turned to the nearest tree. He caught on quickly, turning to the tree next to him. Reiji squared up with us at another.

"Don't count me out." The blind Hyuga taunted. I chuckled.

"Go!"

We all rushed, knowing full well this wasn't a challenge of chakra control, but rather how quickly we could go up. I burst forward ahead of them, climbing much faster than either did, but it also required much more delicate control.

My foot broke part of the tree, pushing me off, but instead of flipping backwards I refocused mid-air and halted the movement of my leg still connected to the tree. It took a total of a second, but that second cost me the lead as we were all neck and neck.

Finally, at the top, I somehow shimmied in front of Akira, but lost to Reiji. We all crouched on the very tops of our trees, huffing at the expended energy.

"Okay, I think the point was proven." I huffed, Akira stared at me though. He looked put off, and I couldn't tell why. Frankly I didn't care in that moment, and instead made my way down the tree. When I got to the bottom, I saw Sakura and Naruto awaiting our return. Naruto grinning, Sakura looked amazed.

"Wow, you managed to completely halt yourself and regroup while still on the tree bark." Sakura commented. I smiled to her, trying to slow down my breathing.

"Yeah, I have decent chakra control, but my chakra is naturally unstable. It took me months to be able to climb as high as you just did. If I don't keep perfect focus it can still happen, it's not unconscious effort quite yet." I explained, sitting down against the tree trunk.

Sakura regarded me for a moment, and I noticed a frown on her lips as she looked over to Sasuke. Naruto leaned against the tree next to me while Reiji stood on the other side. Akira landed down, he too was frowning.

I was getting really tired of the glares, but there wasn't much I could do anyway. An idea sprouted from that, as I realized Sasuke was still barely inching up the tree.

"Alright, Sakura, I'm going to say your chakra control is pretty good, but I think you should do the exercise a few more times to make sure it sticks." Immediately after she looked very upset.

"What?! But I did it flawlessly!" She shouted. I sighed, then stood up to whisper in her ear.

"I need someone to be here to give Sasuke a hand. The rest of us are doing the next phase. Sound better?" It was like a lightbulb went off in her head, and she immediately nodded. Sakura turned and headed to the tree nearby the Uchiha and began to train. Ironically her training progress lessened because she was so focused on the boy, but that would work in my favour. I looked to the three guys around me and grinned.

"Alright guys, ready to walk on water?"

The day ended without the Uchiha asking for help.

Sakura reached a bit further than half way while Sasuke barely made it fifty feet. About what I expected from them both really, though Sakura should've been at the top of the tree by now with her chakra control. Likely she was slowing down to keep with Sasuke, but there wasn't much I could do about that.

When we returned to the house, Tsunami revealed she and her son Inari had gone out to fish that day and got enough for dinner. I was nonplussed to find out we would be eating the same thing again, but considering I didn't have to cook I wasn't about to start complaining.

Kakashi-sensei was able to sit at the table this time with us which was very pleasing to see. During our meal, Inari kept glaring at Naruto, but I wasn't sure why.

I offered to help Tsunami clean up, Reiji too offered to dry the dishes while I washed and Tsunami put away.

"Hey, Inari," Sakura called. "You were staring at this photo all dinner, but it looks torn. What happened to it?"

At once, the family all went horribly quiet. Tsunami stopped moving for several seconds, surprising me. The torn photo must've been something important to them.

"They called him a hero…." Tazuna began, and I felt my shoulders tense up in reaction. The way he phrased it…

Inari suddenly took off, and Tsunami ran after her son. She stopped briefly at the door, and turned to scold her father.

"Dad, you know better than to talk about him around Inari!" She scolded, before running out the door after the child. I watched the door for a moment, before turning around and going back to my chores. It went quiet again after that, before Kakashi-sensei pushed forward.

"You can tell us, if you'd like." He gently offered.

And so we were told the story of Kaiza, the travelling fisherman that became a 'hero' in this country. We were told of how he fought back against everything and anything that tried to take his home away.

Alone.

"The word courage was stolen from this island."

I gripped the sink tightly. Reiji looked over at me as I tried my best to keep myself together as I listened to Tazuna cry about the loss of Kaiza, how Gato crucified him in front of everyone, and executed him.

The whole time I couldn't erase the image of my own father, my big strong father, shaking and fearful as he took on the masked man. I couldn't forget how even then he wanted to protect me and sacrificed his life to protect me.

It was too much.

I dropped the dish rag and made to leave, but Daisuke reached out and caught my arm.

"Hikari, it's rude to leave after hearing a story like that!" Sakura called. My back muscles ached as they tensed further. My tiny balled fists trembling from the tension. I attempted to yank my arm away from Daisuke, and he let me. With closed eyes, I took a few quick breaths and focused myself again.

"The word courage was stolen from you, huh?" I turned around and looked at Tazuna, but the moment I saw the grieving man I just felt angry. The night of my parents dying replayed again and again and again… my eyes narrowed when he looked at me. I could see it, the tiny little girl who sat in the hospital for several days after she lost her parents. I could see the vacant expression of someone who felt like everything had been taken from them.

She was so small, so scared, and she knew that what happened to her parents could happen to anyone. That little girl thought she could shoulder the world if she worked hard enough, she thought if she held on to everything it would stay with her.

It was a lie.

"You've got some nerve, talking like that to me girl." Tazuna warned, but I scowled.

"P-Please… I'm- please I-"

"Don't grovel, it's unbecoming."

"How can something be stolen from you if you never had it?" I felt my fists clench again, remembering the utter panic and fear of dying crawling through my veins. "You let him do everything! All alone! He stood up for you and you just sat there, didn't you?!"

"Ok Hikari, you head on home, I'll be there shortly, I promise."

"Y-…. You coward!" I yelled.

"Hikari!" Kakashi-sensei scolded, but I whipped my glare to him. His eyes were firm, but not angry. I gritted my teeth remembering the exact moment my big strong dad, who was rightfully terrified for his life, consoled me as he died.

"T'skay…. Hi… kari….."

I closed my eyes, the image of the sword gutting my father stuck behind my eyelids.

My fault, it was my fault. I was out when I shouldn't be, I was running around when I should've stayed home. I…. I-

A hand landed on my shoulder. My eyes shot open to stare up at Naruto as he looked down at me with those pools of blue. It caught up to me then, that I was being a child. I was acting like a spoiled brat in front of these people.

It was made worse when Naruto wiped a tear from my cheek. I didn't want to cry, and I didn't want to cry in front of these people.

"Dammit!" I cried, spinning around to take off out the door.

Naruto stared after Hikari for a moment longer, then looked down to his fingers where Hikari's tears had slid off them. He stared, then clenched his fist.

"That kid, if she weren't part of the squad that's protecting me I would've….!" Tazuna stopped himself, knowing it wasn't going to be something kind he would say.

Kakashi looked from Naruto still standing where he had been when Hikari ran out, to the bridge builder that was silently seething and crying. Though her words were harsh, they had certainly struck a chord inside the old man. He was afraid to say it out loud, afraid to admit the truth.

He really was afraid.

Akira stared at the door, silently tense as he replayed the words over and over. Who was she to talk so big? Who was she to tell someone what they should feel? He glared at the door, much like Sakura was from her spot by the picture still. To Sakura, Hikari had no tact in telling these people what they were. They had lost someone precious to them! They deserved to grieve.

Reiji stared downwards, but his Byakugan was silently following Hikari as she sat on the roof, huddling her knees to her chest. Such a visceral reaction to the story, as though it had triggered something inside of her…

Sasuke kept to himself, and said nothing. But despite this, his laced fingers he'd been resting his head on were tight and shivering. He wouldn't openly admit it, but they had struck inside him too as he remembered the night his bastard of a brother stole everything from him.

"While Hikari's words may be harsh," Kakashi started, earning several glances. "I think she's told herself the same thing a thousand times."

Sakura's brows raised at that, surprised to hear. Akira narrowed his eyes more at the door, while Reiji simply sat, sensing the girl shaking on the roof as she cried. Sasuke stared down at his plate.

"So you know then, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto started, still staring at his clenched fists. He brought said fist closer to his chest, glaring at the appendage as though it held answers for him.

"Wait… what do you mean he knows?" Sakura nosed in. Sasuke's fingers tensed enough that his knuckles cracked, earning a glance from Daisuke. Up until then the jonin had been quiet. He wasn't much for input, but he too also knew the story.

After all, he was the anbu member who took her to the hospital.

He didn't know her well, but he could recall the look in that girl's eyes, like she had caused the entire event to unfold.

Tazuna, who had begun to silently regard the blond boy, finally spoke up after composing himself.

"Tell me, kid. What's got the runt so worked up?" He asked it slowly, almost carefully. Tazuna knew in the back of his mind that kids didn't look at people like that over nothing. She looked genuinely broken at the thought that they had let Kaiza die. They had, they had failed him when he needed them most. He couldn't and wouldn't admit it out loud, but not a day went by where he didn't regret what he didn't do for the man. Not a day went by where he didn't hate himself, and in the back of his mind he saw the same thing in that girl's eyes.

"Kari….. She….." Naruto closed his eyes, remembering the dead look when she showed up at his door.

Reiji's head tilted, regarding the boy's outline. Of course Reiji could see the sadness in his eyes with, but he didn't have to. Naruto stood with such tense shoulders that he could tell the boy was on the verge of tears from this memory.

"About seven years ago… Kari lost her parents… And she…. She was alone.. And nobody….. Nobody came to help her.…" He hadn't come either, he hadn't known she needed him then and he hated himself for not being there.

While Naruto didn't understand what it was like losing a parent, he could picture losing Hikari. It sent a cold chill down his spine as he shook.

Tazuna listened, and he could tell that the boy had more that he was leaving out.

"You let him do everything! All alone! He stood up for you and you just sat there, didn't you?!"

There was a lot more, but the boy was doing his best to respect his friend and make him see. Tazuna looked to the table in front of him in contemplation.

Naruto turned to look at them, all of them.

"Y'know, Kari works so hard. She practically raised the both of us, she trains everyday for hours, and does regular missions. She works so hard, because she has a dream, Bridge Builder."

Sasuke, distantly, could remember Hikari's words from so many years ago.

"It hurts, doesn't it? The loneliness."

He glared down a his plate.

Tazuna looked up, staring at Naruto. The young boy looked so full of determination.

"Kari…. She doesn't believe in heroes. Which is why her dream is to protect. She wants to make sure no one has to go through that again. But I…." Naruto took a breath before offering a cheeky smirk.

"I'm gunna make her believe heroes exist."

I'm not sure how long I sat on the roof, but it was long enough for me to get a small chill.

A little sniffle alerted me that I wasn't entirely alone.

Tipping over the side of the roof, I could see a small figure huddled on the docking that surrounded the house. It looked like Inari had hidden himself away, as he clutched something tightly to his chest.

I wiped my tears and patted my cheeks to settle down before landing a little ways from the boy. There wasn't a reason to help him, I just did it. Inari didn't notice me when I landed, so I spoke.

"I…. Heard about your dad…." Inari spooked at that, but settled when he realized it was me. He shuffled to turn away from me, but I didn't react and instead sat down with my own feet hanging off the dock.

"Why…. Why do you guys keep fighting? Gato and his men are gunna kill you guys…." Inari mumbled, halfway still sobbing. I said nothing, and let the boy cry a little longer.

"You're all gunna die!" Inari insisted. I closed my eyes and took a breath of the cool air. The wind picked up gently, brushing my hair around my face.

What was I supposed to say to the kid? That this was a mission and we were supposed to be here? That was a lie, technically we had already completed our mission. Now…. Now we were here and…. Doing what?

I opened my eyes and stared out at the waters, cool blue and gently flowing by underneath me.

"Y'know, Naruto used to cry a lot too," I opened with, not entirely sure where my rambling would take me. Inari looked up at me, so I turned my gaze to him. "He never wanted me to see it, but he would cry whenever something bad happened, and I knew the whole time but didn't want to make him more upset."

Inari stared, wiping furiously at his tears. I looked back out to the water.

"I cried too. A lot more than he did. I cried when people at the orphanage separated us. I cried the day I was adopted….. I cried the hardest when my parents died." I took a deep breath and instinctively wiped my eyes gently. "I cried so much Inari, that I got so sick of crying anymore."

I looked down to the boy with solemn eyes.

"Naruto too. He keeps going on about heroes and how he wants to become Hokage. And, well, I don't think heroes exist but…. But I think he's gunna be someone special, y'know? So…. So I'm holding on tight to make sure he does. "

I sighed, giving a weak smile down to the boy.

"Point is, Inari, that if you care about something, you gotta protect it. So hold on with both arms, okay?"

Inari cried fresh tears, but I said nothing and silently let him. He wasn't quite ready to stand up for himself, and that was okay. That was why I wanted to be stronger, so that people like Inari had someone to look at and see. Someone to prove that you could move pass that pain. You could stand up and do it for yourself.

I wasn't there either, but one day I hoped I would be. Until then, I would be the silent support instead.

After Inari had settled down, I offered to take him back into the house. Tsunami, likely knowing her son wanted alone time, had returned before us. I found her in the kitchen fussing over the dishes still and felt a little guilty that I stopped before finishing. My gaze wandered over Tazuna along with the few genin and Daisuke still sitting at the table and gulped.

I stopped at the front of the table, Tazuna looked up at me with a cool look in his eyes. Before anything could be said, I bowed.

"I'm sorry for my outburst. It was extremely rude and unprofessional sir."

I waited, in the silence, for his scathing comment back. Again nothing I had never heard before, but something I had come to expect. Tzauna grunted.

"What outburst? You spoke your mind is all." He dismissed. I was surprised, peaking up to see him staring down at the table. "But if you talk to me like that in my house again I may have a few choice words myself."

"Yes sir." I said immediately. He looked up at me then, and a slow smirk settled onto his features.

"Well then, let's carry on, shall we?" I nodded, seeking out Naruto amongst the crowd but not finding him.

"He went to train." Sasuke supplied, sitting on the ledge underneath the photo. I hummed a reply, staring out the dark window.

"It's gotten so dark out…" I tried not to let the worry lilt in my voice, but considering Reiji looked up to me with a reassuring smile it must've sounded obvious.

"Akira went with him, so he's not alone." The Hyuga assured me, but I still felt worried.

Sasuke stood up, and walked up to me and around to the door with his hands in his pockets.

"I'll go get the two idiots. Probably would get themselves killed out there." He mumbled. I followed suit after him.

"I'll come too!" I called, shutting the door.

"Whatever." Sasuke muttered, and that was the last thing he said as we fell into step with each other and quietly walked to the forest. It was eerily quiet, s much so that I felt nervous something would jump out at us any moment.

Still, the walkway quiet and nothing eventful happened until we reached the clearing. There, I was greeted with the sight of Naruto and Akira both going at it. My first instinct was to intervene, but Sasuke put a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to him, but he was carefully watching the fight.

"They're training." Was all he supplied before dropping his hand. I turned and observed the fight too, and found that Sasuke was indeed telling the truth.

While the duo was fighting, there was a controlled aspect to it. Neither looked to be actually interested in finishing the fight, but rather learning from each other. I think the thing that amazed me the most, was actually watching Naruto fight.

It wasn't like when we were younger, when we had out little sparring matches and Naruto would swing wildly and I would mess up. He had gotten better. His strikes were precise, and he didn't throw himself off balance with his punches anymore. He didn't let Akira get behind him, and while he was slower, his strikes were much more powerful than the taller boy's.

When did Naruto get so good?

Akira wasn't bad himself, though he was significantly slower than me, but minutely faster than Naruto. His punches were definitely not as powerful though, as even when he hit Naruto the guy just kept going like he didn't even feel it.

Naruto punched Akira, who put up his guard but still got knocked away. Akira tumbled, but righted himself and knelt staring at his opponent. Naruto looked pretty tired too as both were heaving pretty hard.

"That was pretty good." I praised them both. Their eyes snapped to me, and while Akira narrowed his eyes Naruto grinned.

"Hey, Kari…. Sorry, it's late isn't it?" He huffed, I walked over to him. He gave a huge open mouthed grin while wiping some sweat away.

"It is, I got worried for you both." I lightly scolded. Akira scoffed, but Naruto chuckled a little.

"Sorry, I just…. I decided I had to start, y'know? Couldn't sit around and all." He said, strangely looking so adamant on something. I raised a brow and tilted my head.

"Start? I thought we had a pretty good training session today."

"Yeah, I know! But I had to start my hero training too." He said so quickly that it took a second for it all the register.

"H-Hero training?" I asked, surprised. Naruto gave me a cheesy grin before thrusting a fist towards me. He stopped it about a foot from me and started looking really confident.

"One day, I'm gunna make you believe in heroes. And one day you're gunna call me one, believe it!"

I didn't know what to say to that, finding it really struck an odd chord in my gut that made me so afraid of him becoming a 'hero' like that Kaiza. Or my father, or the fourth Hokage…..

And yet…

My fist met his in a slow fist bump, but I held it there and pursed my lips to stop anymore tears falling down.

"Okay," I conceded, trying my hardest to smile. "I believe it."

Naruto beamed at me, and a genuine smile pulled onto my lips. The moment was ruined by Akira whining in the background.

"Ugh! Get a room already! You two are so disgusting." Akira moaned, sitting back in the grass. My cheeks turned red as I realized the two boys who were watching- probably gagging- at the display. Naruto didn't seem the least bit bothered, but one look at Sasuke and I was completely embarrassed. The Uchiha didn't say anything, but he huffed as though agreeing with the Nara.

"I…. I think I'm going back." I refused to look at either boy, but Naruto walked beside me and chittered about what sort of training we should do tomorrow. It preoccupied me enough to keep me from over-analyzing what my best friend had said.
"One day, I'm gunna make you believe in heroes. And one day you're gunna call me one, believe it!"

If I was being completely honest, I didn't believe that day was going to come. I hoped it didn't. I didn't want Naruto facing an enemy like that alone. I didn't want him to think he had to.

So, I would stand right next to him and make sure he never did.

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

So... I'm gunna level with ya, I don't like splaying out tragic backstories much to other characters. Something about the old days when I read fanfiction made by kids who all had the sad emo 'my parents died, I wear black and converse despite it not being a thing in the naruto world and feel the need to be all broody. Also I hate Sasuke yet he's somehow my love interest.'

Yeah... I don't like that.

However! I loved writing about Sasuke having the horrifying realization that literally everyone but him could do the tree climbing exercise. And don't worry, we ain't done yet! There will definitely be a little Sasuke/Hikari bonding time next chapter! I'm also so eager to be done the Land of Waves arc tbh, I never really liked it but I need it because plot.

Replies to reviews:

Random Fool: Eeek! Thank you! I love Hikari so much. I honestly can't wait for the story to progress more as she starts taking after Kakashi, because that's a dynamic I've only scratched the surface of so far! Yeah, don't worry, we aren't done with the tree climbing or the rivalry! I've just shifted it around a little to fit better with my plot.

Simmaris: Ahhhh yes she really does blend in well. Often, when I create a fanfiction, it's because I feel the world is lacking something. I wanted to climb into the TV and hug Naruto so bad even from the first episode I ever watched, and thus Hikari was made. However, she was initially supposed to be older and Kakashi's S/O instead and be his mom figure. But then I decided her character fit Naruto's way too well for just that kind of story. Thank you! I am well (though been a bit sick it's not covid related) and I hope you are happy and healthy as well!

Guest: Ahhhh we aren't at the point of Hikari and Sasuke becoming friends sadly. I cannot see this boy being open with anyone for long time, but next chapter will definitely be the bridge to a possible friendship. I'm happy the fluff is adorable and enjoyable. The only reason we didn't hear Hikari say her 'i love you' in this chapter is because it didn't fit anywhere. But I promise you she's definitely keeping to her word! As for the ending, well, I've decided which ending to choose, and I'm hoping y'all don't hate me for it. I love silver lining endings the most, so that should be a hint. And yeah, totally working on a single dad SHikamaru story on the side now. Also, I don't really see Hikari as the type to start panicking over her training, at least not to the point that people notice. Kakashi has instilled it into her that training and missions are times when your emotions have to be put aside. So, instead of freaking out about her training she simply trains. Not more or less, just trains and takes it very seriously. I don't consider Hikari naturally talented at all TBH. I consider her someone who has had to work very hard, like Naruto, to get where she is. Obviously her abilities don't count towards this comment, but they have the same idea.

Also! Just in case I didn't write it clearly, because I hate over explaining when I consider a character to look like, Hikari's appearance is this. She's 4', with blonde hair the same shade as Ino's, her skin tone is Asuma's, maybe a touch darker, and dark gold eyes. I actually consider her to have a mean look when she's mad, but otherwise has a very sweet appearance. You'll get characters commenting about how scary her eyes are and that's why, but when they get used to them people just don't notice. She's super scrawny too btw. She has on a black tight fitted sleeveless body suit that goes to her knees with a zipper up the back. Over that is her kimono with has loose sleeves and goes to just above the hemline of the shorts. She wears her headband around her waist as an obi.

Fun Fact! A lot of my characters are often portrayed as really short. Most of them are, actually. And that's because while I am average height (5'8) all of my close female friends are above 6'. One is 6'3 and it's infuriating because I wanted to be that tall so bad. So, yeah, it's a fun little tidbit. I rarely have tall characters anymore because i'm the runt of my group.

If you guys have an account, please check your inboxes. I reply directly to all reviews!

Also, who's your favourite clan int he series? I love the Nara clan. They've always really interested me since day one. Their jutsu and the sheer laziness appeals greatly to me.

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

Iland Girl