Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto (either manga or anime!); the wonderful Masashi Kishimoto-sensei owns all rights. However, the plot and Namiko Uzumaki are mine!

Chapter 11: Training for Success

"As I mentioned earlier, you will conduct your final round of battles in front of some of the most powerful and important people in the allied nations," said Hiruzen as he took a puff of his pipe. "So we want you to exhibit and fully showcase your various talents."

Murmurs were heard amongst the genin as Hiruzen continued his explanation. "Thus, the finals will commence approximately one month from now. This gives us a chance to contact the remaining participants' countries and give you the opportunity to train and prepare for your matches. Each of you must embrace the opportunity to practice and learn some new tricks, and of course, get some rest as well!"

"How are we supposed to rest when there's so much training to be done?" whined Naruto, crossing his arms over his chest.

Namiko laid a hand on his shoulder. "We can do it!" She turned to Kurenai. "Sensei, can we go check on Kiba-kun and Hinata-chan?"

Kurenai gave a solemn smile. "We can try, but I doubt we'll be able to visit Hinata for a while. We can probably see Kiba though, and his birthday is tomorrow, so he'll probably appreciate the visit."

"Can we go now?" Blue-violet eyes pleading with Kurenai.

"Just a minute, Sandaime is still talking." She motioned to the old man below them.

"Now, one more thing before I dismiss you." Hiruzen motioned for Anko, who was carrying a box. "This will be how we decide the final matches. I need all finalists to come down and grab a number."

Naruto ran down the stairs as fast as he could, but Namiko decided to teleport down below. She winked as Naruto was running up to her, saying in a teasing tone, "Sheesh, you're so slow, nii-chan…"

"Ha ha," he responded, rolling his eyes, and playfully pushing her shoulder. "You may be faster, but I'm still stronger."

Anko interrupted them, holding out the box. "Alright, take one only!"

Each finalist drew a number and then was told to read them aloud to Ibiki, one by one. A moment later, he turned the clipboard around.

The roster for the finals read:

1. Naruto vs. Neji

2. Gaara vs. Sasuke

3. Kankuro vs. Namiko

4. Shikamaru vs. Dosu

5. Temari vs. the winner of the fourth match

"The matches are to be tournament style," explained Hiruzen. "So go home, plan your strategies, rest up, or whatever you please. Any questions?"

Shikamaru raised his hand. "You said this is tournament style, meaning only one winner. Does that mean only one of us gets to become Chuunin?"

"Excellent question," said Hiruzen, as he took another puff of his pipe. "That's not the case. We are looking at your skill, not necessarily who 'wins'. Even those who may lose in the first round can still become Chuunin…or it's possible that none of you could become Chuunin. The finals start on August 1st. You are all dismissed."

Namiko ran over to Kurenai. "Can we go check on Kiba-kun and Hinata-chan now?" Kurenai smiled and nodded.

"Can I come too?" asked Naruto, faking puppy-dog eyes at Kurenai. Namiko laughed as Kurenai nodded, stifling a laugh.

"Hey! Where's Sasuke's room?" asked Naruto loudly, running up to the nurse's desk.

The nurse shook her head. "Sorry, visiting hours are over for today."

Namiko frowned as she walked up behind her brother, looking at the nurses. "So, I guess that means we can't visit Kiba-kun or Hinata-chan…?"

"Not today," replied the nurse as she lowered her voice. "I'll let you know this though, Hinata is under close watch right now but stable." Namiko let out an audible breath she'd been holding as the nurse continued. "Kiba is doing fine, just spending the night for observation. He should be released in the morning."

Kurenai looked down at her student with a smile. "See, Hinata is stable. That's good news."

Naruto slapped his hands on the desk. "What about Sasuke?!"

"Naruto, this is a hospital. Be quiet," came a familiar lazy drawl.

"Kakashi-sensei!" cried Naruto. "I gotta ask you a favor!"

"Stop right there, I know what you're going to ask. I've been looking for someone to oversee your training for the final rounds." Kakashi shook his head in amusement. "Sasuke is fine, by the way, his body just has to adjust. He'll be in the hospital for a while though as they monitor the seal."

"What seal?" queried Namiko, turning to face the white-haired ninja.

"I placed a seal around the curse mark to prevent it from spreading." Namiko's shoulders relaxed at Kakashi's words.

"Wait, you're going to train Sasuke, aren't you?" Naruto narrowed his eyes at Kakashi. "That's why you're not going to train me!"

"Now, now," started Kakashi, waving his hands in front of him. "I'm just busy and I have some important things to do. I found you an even better teacher than me."

Naruto raised a brow. "Who is it?"

"It is I!" came a familiar voice from behind Naruto.

Naruto whirled around to see Ebisu. "You! You closet pervert! No way! He's weaker than I am! I used my Harem Jutsu on him and—"

Ebisu quickly clamped a hand over Naruto's mouth, whispering in his ear, "Keep your mouth shut and I'll give you anything you want…"

Kakashi and Namiko both stared at the two, simultaneously asking, "Harem Jutsu?"

"Nii-chan…what kind of jutsu is that?" Namiko asked, narrowing her eyes at her brother in a warning manner.

"Uh, nothing! Just a joke!" Naruto was trying not to panic. "Let's go train, Ebisu!" He said as he grabbed Ebisu's arm and dragged him out of the hospital.

"I'm not sure I want to know what that was about…" said Namiko with a sigh as she turned to Kurenai.

Kurenai nodded her head towards the exit. "Why don't I introduce you to a friend of mine? He may be helpful in your training for the finals."

Namiko followed Kurenai downtown, stopping in front of a sweet shop where Team 10 and Asuma sat, with Asuma talking to another shinobi with a scar on the left side of his face. Kurenai smiled brightly as they approached the group, calling out to them, "Hello there! Just who we were looking for! Out for some celebratory dango?"

"It was a safe bet for a reward for everyone after the preliminaries," said Asuma, turning to face Kurenai. "We'll do something bigger after Shikamaru gets through the finals. By the way, great job, Namiko. You put on an interesting show for sure."

Namiko poked her head out from behind Kurenai, blushing and giving a small bow. "Thank you, Asuma-sensei."

"Raido, I wanted you to meet Namiko. She's one of my students and just got through to the Chuunin Exam finals." Kurenai said, gesturing to the man with the scar.

"Ah," he said standing up, "this was the girl you sent me the message about." He gave a small nod of his head toward the redhead. "Nice to meet you. I'm Namiashi Raido."

"Uzumaki Namiko." She said with another small bow. "Nice to meet you as well."

"Uzumaki, huh?" Raido glanced at Kurenai. "You want me to train her?"

"Yes, I think you'd do a good job teaching her. Your skillset could help her immensely." Kurenai's crimson eyes shone hopefully. "I was thinking maybe you would be able to show her something now."

"Okay then," Raido agreed as he stood up. "Let's go."

"Good job you three, we'll see you all later!" Kurenai said addressing Team 10. She gave Asuma a sweet smile as she patted his upper arm, her hand lingering a few seconds too long. "Shushuya later?" she whispered to Asuma.

Asuma winked back at her, and while Team 10 couldn't see the exchange, Namiko definitely could and tried not to giggle. 'That's not obvious at all, sensei…'

Raido led them to a nearby training ground. "Kurenai, have you even told her anything about me?"

She chuckled. "No, I figured you could just show her. We could spar. I promise no genjutsu though."

"Fair enough. Let's go." Raido pulled out a jet-black katana that had been strapped to his back, almost appearing as if it was made from coal. Without a word, Raido lunged forward, his katana cutting through the air with precision.

Kurenai swiftly evaded the strike, flipping backward with incredible agility. She reached into her hip pouch and unleashed a barrage of shuriken, sending them hurtling toward Raido.

Raido deftly parried the shuriken with his katana, each clash sending sparks flying. He closed the distance between them, aiming a swift slash at Kurenai. The nimble kunoichi danced away, narrowly avoiding the deadly edge of the katana. It caught the fabric of her dress around her waist, edges sizzling after being cut. She retaliated by hurtling kunai with expert precision, forcing Raido to dodge and weave through the onslaught.

The fight continued, and Namiko was mesmerized by the dancing of blades and projectiles. Raido pressed forward, his katana strikes growing more powerful and calculated. Kurenai moved with grace and fluidity, constantly on the move, using the trees to her advantage. She threw explosive tags amidst the kunai, creating explosive distractions that forced Raido to adjust his strategy.

In a daring move, Kurenai leaped to the treetops to rain down shuriken from above. Raido, however, was not easily deterred. With a swift upward slash, he deflected all the incoming projectiles, sending them scattering in all directions. His keen eyes locked onto Kurenai's position and he sprinted toward her with determined resolve.

Kurenai leaped down from the trees, meeting Raido's charge head-on. She switched to a flurry of kunai, attempting to create a defensive wall. Raido, undeterred, spun his katana in a circular motion, deflecting the kunai with impressive accuracy. The clash of metal echoed through the training ground.

Kurenai leaped back into the trees, but Raido predicted her next move and leaped onto the branch beside her, sword stopping barely a centimeter from her throat. "Okay, I surrender," said Kurenai with a smile, hands up in front of her. "I guess I'm out of practice a little since I've had my students."

"Seems like it. You weren't like this in the Chuunin Exams when we were kids." Raido put his sword away and they both jumped back down to the ground.

Namiko walked up to the two. "You were in the Chuunin Exams together?"

Kurenai nodded at the young girl. "We were on a team together with Asuma." She ran a hand through her wild, brown locks. "So can you guess why I want Raido to train you?"

"Kenjutsu?" suggested Namiko.

Kurenai folded her arms across her chest. "Yes, I thought it could be beneficial to you in the finals. I know you're good with ninjutsu, but you are still lacking in physical strength. You do well with your mid and long-distance lightning-based attacks, but we need a plan of action if you get stuck with a close-range fighter."

"But I've never used a sword before…"

Raido stepped closer to the two kunoichi. "That's okay. We'll use practice swords for a little while at first. I definitely won't be using Kokuto with you either."

Namiko turned to face him. "Kokuto? Is that the name of your sword?"

Raido nodded. "It's a special blade that's heavily covered in a strong poison."

"Which is why it melted my dress on contact," Kurenai said, gesturing to the jagged slit in the fabric covering her stomach. The white fabric had turned black on the edges, almost as if it had been burned. She pointed a finger in his face. "You owe me a new dress, by the way."

"Maybe you should move out of the way quicker," Raido said nonchalantly with a shrug.

Kurenai scoffed. "Says the man that tripped walking into the Chuunin Exam finals arena…"

"We still became Chuunin though."

Namiko smiled hesitantly. "When do we start?"

"Tomorrow. Eight o'clock, right back here."

Namiko entered her apartment and sat down in the entryway to remove her sandals. "Nii-chan, I'm home!"

Naruto popped out of his bedroom door, tugging on a clean shirt, his hair a little damp. "Hey imouto, wanna go grab some celebratory ramen since we both passed to the finals? I can't wait to tell you about this guy that's training me!"

"Uh…sure," she said slipping back on her sandals. She looked up and noticed his hair was wet. "Did you just shower?"

"Nah, just changed clothes. I fell in the hot springs trying to walk on water."

She stood up and turned to face him as he put on his sandals. "Walking on water? What are you talking about?"

"Yeah, it's where you push chakra out of your feet to kind of glue yourself to the water's surface. It's pretty neat!" He stood up and opened the door, ushering her out. "Come on, I'm hungry!" Namiko rolled her eyes, but quickly followed her big brother down to Ichiraku.

Naruto plopped down in a seat at the counter. "Hey old man, miso ramen with char siu!"

Namiko smacked his arm. "Really, nii-chan? Could you be any more disrespectful?" She sighed heavily before turning to the chef. "Teuchi-san, can I please have an order of gyoza?"

Teuchi smiled at the pair. "Coming up!"

"So, what did you do today after the hospital?" asked Naruto as he broke apart his chopsticks.

"Kurenai-sensei took me to meet an old teammate of hers. He's going to teach me kenjutsu," Namiko said as she scratched the side of her neck nervously.

"Kenjutsu?" Naruto asked with a raised brow for a moment before a lightbulb went off. "Kurenai wants you to learn how to use swords?!"

Namiko smiled sheepishly. She knew he wouldn't like that idea.

Ayame set their food in front of them and Naruto shoved a large bite in his mouth before swallowing and speaking again. "Is that really a good idea? I mean, you're not bad with kunai or shuriken, but a sword could be really dangerous!"

"It's honestly a very good idea. Kurenai-sensei is right, I tend to fight mid or long-range. The only reason I got close range with Zaku was because he was injured and I didn't need to use a kunai to hurt him. His air tubes didn't give me a chance to weave hand signs, so I just went for up close."

"I'm honestly still kinda shocked at how you handled your fight with him. It was a good fight, but I never would've expected you to break his arm like that…"

"I know. He needed to be taken down a few pegs though." She took a bite of her gyoza before muttering under her breath, "That asshole Neji deserves a lot worse…"

Naruto swiveled on his stool, mouth agape. "Did you just—curse?"

Namiko's hands flew to her mouth, covering it tightly, eyes wide. She slowly lowered her hands. "I don't know where that came from…ugh…maybe I'm just tired after all this."

"You shouldn't be. You got a chance to rest after the Forest of Death." Naruto said as he finished his ramen and asked for the check.

Namiko shrugged and decided to quickly change the subject. "So, tell me about this guy who is training you."

"Ero-sennin is pretty cool! He was able to help me walk on water when that closet pervert, Ebisu, couldn't."

"Ero-sennin?" She raised a brow. "I'm going to assume that's not his name."

Naruto waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah, whatever, his name is Jiraiya something-or-other Sage…"

"Jiraiya…why does that name sound familiar…?" Namiko paid and the siblings started walking back home.

"Anyways, he had this big toad that just showed up. He bit his thumb and put blood on the ground and BAM! Instant toad!"

"Oh!" Namiko said with a look of surprise. "He's one of the legendary sannin! No one has seen him in years. What is he doing here in Konoha? …Wait…how did you convince him to take you on as a student?"

"Well, he was spying on some women at the onsen," Namiko's mouth dropped open as Naruto continued, oblivious to his sister's facial expression, "and he knocked out Ebisu when he tried to stop Ero-sennin from looking. I got mad and told him that he had to teach me since Ebisu was useless to me unconscious. Turns out Ero-sennin writes that pervy book that Kakashi-sensei is always reading," Namiko crinkled her nose in disgust as he continued once more, "So, I used my Sexy Jutsu to persuade him, and he agreed to teach me!" Naruto folded his hands behind his head as he walked.

Namiko stopped walking and facepalmed before her head snapped up to stare down her brother. "You used that disgusting jutsu!? I told you to stop that! It's demeaning and immoral! That better not have anything to do with the Harem Jutsu you mentioned earlier!" Her face was bright red from frustration and irritation at her brother's antics.

He turned to face her, trying to hide his laugh from his sister. "Whoa, imouto, you look like a strawberry right now. Bright red face with your freckles like the seeds on a strawberry!"

When she didn't laugh and her anger and chakra started flaring, he suddenly stopped smiling and ran as fast as he could home as she chased him, screaming, "I'm gonna get you!"

The next morning, Namiko got ready for her training with Raido, noticing that Naruto had already left for his training without saying a word. He had shut himself in his bedroom last night the second they got home. She wasn't that upset with the nickname; it was something he called her on the very rare occasion she got mad just to mess with her. 'Stupid brother and stupid nicknames…'

As she arrived to meet with Raido, he quickly threw her into how to hold a sword properly and swing. Her small stature of 140 centimeters made holding a normal katana difficult, so Raido decided to switch her to a short sword called a wakizashi. She was able to maneuver it much better than the katana before. She unsheathed the sword, examining the blade carefully. "I thought you told me we were going to use training swords first?"

Raido's face showed no emotion. "I thought about it and we don't have much time to train you slowly. I also think the danger of using a real blade will help motivate you to make fewer mistakes."

Her eyes went wide. "You're not going to use your Kokuto, are you?"

"No," he said, a hint of a smile ghosted his face. "not now anyways." Namiko paled as he continued. "Namiko, the key to mastering the blade lies not just in strength, but in precision and control," Raido advised, his eyes focused intently on his student. "Let's start by showing me how you attack the dummies."

Namiko nodded, her gaze fixed on the training dummies that Raido had made using Earth style. She rushed forward and struck one of the dummies, her sword bouncing off the surface rather than cutting it. She fell flat on her butt, turning to look at Raido. "What did I do wrong?"

Raido sighed, walking towards her to adjust her hold on the sword. "You were holding it with the dull side striking the dummy instead of the cutting edge."

Namiko blushed fiercely. "Sorry…I've never done this before at all."

"It's a lot different than holding a kunai. You have to be aware of your sword's position at all times. Now try again."

Namiko turned back to the dummies before her and struck again, this time making a small slash in the earth dummy. She looked back at Raido and he nodded his head for her to keep going. She swung wildly, making cuts but none were very deep. After a few minutes of this with the cuts still shallow, Raido stopped her again.

"You're making contact every time now, but your cuts are far too shallow to do damage to an actual enemy. You need to go deeper."

She nodded emphatically, striking again, but still not cutting deep. "Is there some sort of trick to this?"

"Practice, and more practice. However, when I first struggled with making deeper cuts, I found that getting angry at something or imagining those dummies were my enemy or someone I hated often caused more power behind my strikes. Anger can be a good motivator."

Namiko looked at the dummies and paused. 'My enemy. Someone I hate. Zaku hurt Sakura and Lee…that won't work. I already got my revenge on him. That Orochimaru guy cursed Sasuke and caused him pain. Still causes him pain. I didn't get a chance to meet Orochimaru though, so that's probably not a good enemy to imagine either.'

She sighed heavily. 'I don't hate anyone…no, that's a half-truth. I hate Neji. Bastard tried to kill his cousin who is also my best friend! Hinata-chan is the sweetest person I know. Yes, she's gentle, but she can still be a ninja too. I hate him. How could anyone be so cruel to someone so innocent?'

Anger started to snowball inside. 'Innocent. Naruto and I were innocent when we were ostracized by so many people in the village …all because we're hosts to the kyuubi. It's not like we had a choice in the matter.'

She gripped the sword hilt tighter. 'We were left to our own devices from the time we were four years old. Who just lets two four-year-olds take care of themselves? Some days we didn't have food and had to forage. We were pariahs in our own village. A village that should've respected us for being the jinchuriki, only hated us.'

Fire burned in her veins. 'We weren't allowed to play with other kids. Naruto was constantly picked on because he wanted to be liked, so he made himself as big and bold as he could. I hid at home or the library because it was easier to fade away on my terms than to be ignored or constantly criticized and verbally, sometimes physically, abused.'

She lifted the sword high above her head. 'I will not be a victim any longer!' Her eyes flashed red as she swung down with all her might, shattering the dummy into hundreds of pieces.

"That," said Raido as he raised a brow, "wasn't what I was going for, but that works too." 'How did she do that? Did she run her chakra through the blade?'

Namiko practiced until late afternoon with Raido and she was exhausted, however, she was happy to see at least one of her teammates. She and Kurenai were currently waiting to see Kiba when he was released from the hospital. As they waited in front of the nurses station, they heard a familiar bark followed by a "Hey!"

Namiko turned around to see Kiba and Akamaru coming towards them. Kurenai and Namiko both semi-shouted: "Happy birthday Kiba!" before earning a shhh from the nurses.

Akamaru surprised her by running up to her feet and barking a couple of times. She knelt to pet the ninken and she looked up at Kiba. "How are you feeling?"

"Almost back to normal, though my nose is still a little messed up thanks to your brother," Kiba said with a half-laugh as he rubbed a kink in his neck.

Namiko's quirked into a half-smile. "Sorry about that still, Kiba-kun."

Kiba raised a brow, crossing his arms over his chest. "Where did your brother learn that Shadow Clone thing? He was always awful at clones before."

"Kind of a weird story, but he read it in a scroll and studied it like crazy. It's amazing what he can do when he puts his mind to something."

Kurenai interrupted their conversation, "Would you two like to see Hinata? I'm hoping she's awake by now." Both students nodded before following Kurenai and a nurse down the hall.

The nurse opened the door slowly, trying to be as silent as possible. She ushered in the three shinobi. Hinata was lying in a bed, eyes closed with an oxygen mask over her face. "She's been unconscious since she was brought in. She's stable, but still fragile. That boy who attacked her chakra system did a number on her. It took our Hyuuga medic almost three hours to unblock all the damage. It'll take a while before her chakra system repairs itself."

Kurenai noticed the solemn looks on her students' faces as they watched over their teammates. "How long do you think she'll be in here?"

"It's hard to say." The nurse sighed. "She could be in here a month or six months. Honestly, it's going to depend on her motivation and determination."

"Is it okay to touch her?" Namiko's hand hovered over Hinata's.

The nurse gave a sympathetic smile and nodded. "Yes, just be gentle. Talking to her would be good too; even while she's unconscious, she can hear you." She looked pointedly at Kiba. "Just keep your voices calm and relaxed. Tell stories, talk about your day-to-day, whatever you want, just nothing that could be stressful." She walked over to the door before turning back. "Visiting hours are over at 5 pm. Stay as long as you want until then."

As the nurse closed the door, Namiko grabbed Hinata's hand ever so carefully. "Hinata-chan, I'm so glad you'll be okay. You're my best friend and I never want to lose you. Just take your time and gather your strength. We'll be here waiting for you."

The rest of the week passed quickly, but Hinata still hadn't woken. Namiko and Naruto passed like ships in the night, barely seeing each other except for a few moments after dragging themselves out of or just before falling into bed. They'd both spent their time training almost every waking hour. Which was where Namiko was currently.

A metallic clanging echoed through the heavily wooded training ground. Raido was sparring with Namiko, and while she had been progressing nicely, it still wasn't enough. Without warning, Namiko felt a sharp slice catch her hip and shoulder. It startled her, as she turned to see what it was, Raido's sword sliced right by her face. She panicked, tripped, and fell over onto her butt.

"You had good form, Namiko, but you can't take your eyes off of your opponent," said Raido, putting his sword away.

Namiko folded her arms across her dirt-stained, green shirt. "I was getting attacked from behind. I'm not Hinata-chan…I can't see in every direction." She noticed the shuriken that sliced her on the ground nearby.

Kurenai tsked from behind her. "No, but you can use your chakra sensing to know when someone is behind you."

"Kurenai-sensei! You were the one who threw those?" Namiko asked incredulously.

"Yes," said Kurenai as she leaned against a nearby tree. "and you would've known I was behind you if you were using your chakra sensing, or at the very least, just aware of your surroundings."

Namiko hung her head and sighed. "The longest I've ever held it is about ten minutes. It's hard to do when I'm fighting. It's…staticky."

"You need to work on it more then. Use it as much as possible, even at home. No more fighting without using it. It needs to become second nature." Kurenai knelt next to the redhead. "On missions, doing what you just did is going to get you and possibly your team killed. You can't lose focus as a chuunin. If you're team captain, you are responsible for everything that happens to your teammates. I know you think of Hinata and Kiba like family, so if you were captain, you should be prepared to protect them like you would Naruto."

Namiko nodded slowly before turning to face Kurenai, a look of determination coming over her face. "You're right. I can't let them down…I won't let them down."

One week later, Namiko was at kenjutsu training with Raido as she had been for the last thirteen days. She had begun to be more confident with her wakizashi, even landing a hit or two on Raido. He pushed forward, no longer taking it easy on her, not that he ever did to begin with. Raido was serious and strict in training her, always running her through her paces each time.

The two engaged in a fast-paced sparring match, their blades clashing in a dazzling display of skill. Kurenai stood off to the side, observing the two with a sense of pride at her student's progression.

"Raido-sensei," Namiko said between sounds of clanging metal, "I believe Kurenai-sensei is trying to get our attention."

Raido smiled at the young girl as they stopped their spar. "I believe you're right. Kurenai? What can we do for you?"

"Two things," said Kurenai, stepping forward and handing a scroll to Raido. "First, Sandaime is sending you on a mission and wanted me to pass on the summons since I was heading here anyway. Lastly," she turned to Namiko, breaking out into a full smile. "Hinata is awake and I thought you would want to know. You can visit on your own if you'd like to. I've got to go check in with another jounin about something so I can't go with you. Take tomorrow as a rest day and we'll start team training again on the 23rd."

Namiko beamed back at her sensei. "That's fantastic! Raido-sensei, may I be excused?"

"Go ahead and see Hinata-chan." He rolled up the scroll and patted her head before motioning her to leave. "You've been a great student. I'll be back before the finals, so I look forward to seeing you fight that Suna shinobi."

"Thank you for taking the time to teach me. I appreciate it more than you realize." Namiko bowed deeply before quickly running off to the hospital to visit Hinata.

Kurenai turned and started to walk off, calling over her shoulder, "See you later, Raido!"

"Tell Asuma I said hi," he said, laughing as she froze for a moment before continuing to walk away, blush tinting her cheeks.

Namiko let the body flicker of the teleportation jutsu take her all the way from the training ground to the hospital, approximately ten kilometers away, jerking to a halt in front of the building. "Whoa, maybe I shouldn't have used it for such a large distance." Using the teleportation jutsu was faster, yes, but not always better in the long run. Moving at high speeds like that wasn't easy, especially going ten kilometers in thirty seconds.

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath to stabilize herself, she reactivated her chakra sensing. 'I need to figure out a way to keep it active when I move like that.' She paused for a moment as she attempted to locate Hinata's signature and noticed a couple of other familiar chakras. 'I feel Lee-kun's chakra resting. He must be sleeping right now. He's been through so much; I don't know how he's going to heal from those injuries, they're so serious.'

She furrowed her brow as she continued walking down the hall toward Hinata's room. 'Hmmm…Sasuke is awake. His chakra seems a little muddled right now, but with that curse mark being sealed now, that's probably normal.'

She smiled as she neared Hinata's room, feeling her chakra awake and alert. She knocked softly and waited for Hinata to invite her in. The girl's lavender eyes lit up when she saw her friend and quickly placed the book she'd been reading on her bedside table. "Namiko-chan! I'm so happy to see you!"

Namiko hastened to her bedside and hugged Hinata tightly. "No, I'm happy to see you! You've been asleep for two weeks!"

"The nurses told me." Hinata looked at her hands in her lap as Namiko sat in a chair near her. "I didn't think I was that hurt…"

Namiko's eyes flashed with numerous emotions: concern, empathy, and foremost, anger. "Neji tried to kill you! You almost died! He was fully prepared to kill you in front of everybody without any remorse. If Kurenai-sensei and the other jounin hadn't stepped in…" Namiko's voice softened as she looked at her feet, "I would've lost my best friend…"

Hinata's head snapped to attention. "I'm your best friend?"

Namiko met Hinata's gaze. "Of course! You're the first person I've really been close to, other than Naruto that is, but he doesn't exactly count since we've been together since birth," she said, giggling.

"You're my best friend too," said Hinata with a soft smile. "You've never pushed me around like my own family. You believe that I'm actually important…"

Namiko sat up straight urgently. "You are important! Hinata-chan, I wouldn't have made it this far without you! Plus, Naruto thinks you're important too…"

The blue-haired girl dusted bright red. "W-what…?"

"Could you not tell?" Namiko had an amused smile on her face. "Your compliment to him on his win after his fight against Kiba meant a lot to him. He cheered for you more than anyone else during your fight against Neji. He didn't even cheer that much for me during my own fight!" She giggled as Hinata's blush grew to cover her whole face and neck…and promptly passed out.

"Hinata-chan!"

Hinata woke up a few minutes later and Namiko swiftly excused herself back home for the evening. She hadn't meant to fluster her friend to the point that she passed out. As she entered the apartment, she noticed Naruto's shoes weren't there. 'I did get back earlier than I thought I would. Maybe I can fix something for us to eat?' Since she was home, she decided to turn off her chakra sensing until the following day.

She had just finished cooking when she heard the front door open as Naruto called out, "I'm home, imouto…"

Namiko poked her head around the corner. "Nii-chan, you sound exhausted. Want to come eat some dinner? Nothing special, just some fish and rice."

"Sure," he said as he sat down at the small table. "Ero-sennin has been having me exhaust my chakra by water walking so I can try to summon a toad like him!"

"Summoning a toad? You signed a summons contract?"

Naruto nodded vigorously. "Yup! So now I can do it too."

"Really?! Can I see?"

"Sure! You should come to meet Ero-sennin! But…you have training too…"

Namiko shook her head with a grin. "Not tomorrow. Raido-sensei has a mission and Kurenai-sensei said she was giving me the day off because she has to be somewhere too. And maybe you can teach your imouto something…how to water-walk?" She said as she gave him a puppy-dog pout, "Please, onii-san?"

"Sheesh, don't be creepy by being so formal…just come with me in the morning."

"Sorry." Namiko giggled and stood up to put her dishes in the sink. "I'm excited to train with you tomorrow. I'm going to get ready for bed. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight!"

A/N: That's a wrap! The next chapter will be the last week of training up until the day of the finals. We'll get to see what happens when Jiraiya meets Namiko for the first time and a little surprise... See you next week!