Chapter Four

"Welcome home, everyone," Kakashi said as the team approached the large set of gates that protected Konoha. They'd been traveling for several hours, and the sun was starting to get low in the late afternoon sky. Kakashi had taken the lead with Sakura and Sasuke in the middle and Naruto and Jiraiya taking up the rear. Naruto's eyes scanned the gated as he took it in. He clenched his teeth and swallowed. He didn't want to be there. Konoha wasn't his home; it just happened to be where he was born.

"Even after all these years, I never get sick of this view," Jiraiya said with a large grin as they got closer.

"It does feel good to be back," Sakura replied with a small smile. "I've never left the village before, and I feel like I haven't been home in ages."

Naruto and Sasuke didn't say anything. Truthfully the two of them didn't have many reasons even to come back. Jiraiya and Kakashi had emotional attachments to Konoha. Sakura had her family. Sasuke and Naruto both just associated the village with everything they'd lost. Sasuke had lost his family here, slaughtered in their own home by one of their own. Naruto had lost his childhood ripped from him by his parents. To a certain extent, both of them had lost their innocence here as well.

"We'll need to get to Hokage tower first," Kakashi called back to them loud enough for Naruto and Jiraiya to hear. "He's waiting for us to debrief and to see Naruto and give him his headband."

"Hey there, Kakashi!" One of the guards yelled from their post to the right. He was relatively short with spiky black hair that fell over his face. A white bandage wrapped tightly over the bridge of his nose, and he had a small black goatee.

"Hey there, Hagane," Kakashi said with a wave as he crossed through the open gates and into the village.

"How was the mission?" The other guard asked with interest as he walked over to Kakashi. He was a bit taller than his friend. His dark hair was pressed down with a bandana and covered the right side of his face.

"Not too bad, Kamizuki," Kakashi said with a smile under his mask. "We picked up a couple of stragglers while we were out." He said, motioning towards Naruto and Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya-sama!" Hagane said with surprise. He turned and looked towards Naruto, and his eyes widened in shock. Naruto looked away with a sigh and kept moving.

"Let's go see the old man," Naruto said shortly as he walked past Kakashi and the others. Kakashi looked back at the two shocked guards and scratched the back of his head.

"You can go ahead and sign him in. Uzumaki Naruto. In case you didn't remember it." Kakashi then started to follow Naruto down the road.

As they passed the guards, Sasuke shot them a dark look with his Sharingan. The other guard Hagane looked away and turned towards the clipboard near their station. Sakura looked between the guards and then back at Naruto's back in confusion.

The others quickly caught up to Naruto, who was navigating the streets as easily as he had when he lived there. Naruto kept his eyes focused on the roads in front of him, trying to ignore some of the looks he was getting. It seemed like a good chunk of people seemed to remember him. Based on the stares and the hushed whispers that followed soon after.

"You know Sasuke," Kakashi said lazily. "I'm surprised you thought to keep your Sharingan active like that. It's a pretty good training exercise. I remember a few people in your clan that kept it active as much as possible." Kakashi shot a look to Sasuke and then one towards Naruto.

"Why don't you keep yours's active sensei?" Sakura asked as she looked up at him.

"Well, I'm not technically an Uchiha. My body wasn't built to handle the Sharingan. It puts a lot of strain on me and my chakra." Kakashi trailed off and didn't say anything else about it. Sakura was about to ask Kakashi another question when Sasuke spoke up for the first time in hours.

"It was Naruto's idea to do it."

Sakura looked back at Sasuke in shock and then swiveled her head to look at Naruto's back. She couldn't believe Sasuke admitted it wasn't his idea and that he took advice from someone else willingly. Sasuke had gotten so irritated when she had tried to help with the tree climbing. Just another thing that was starting to confuse her about her new blond teammate.

"Not a bad idea Naruto," Kakashi drawled as he shot another look at the young blond.

"Weird to be back, huh?" Sakura said to Naruto, falling into step next to him. Naruto looked at her with a forced, soft smile.

"Yeah, you can say that." He muttered as they turned left. As they rounded a corner, the entrance to Hokage tower came into view.

"People seem to be acting weird today," Sakura said as she looked at Naruto again.

"Yeah," he replied as a random ninja stopped in his tracks and then immediately walked to the other side of the street. "Good to be home."

There was a bitter tone to his voice both Sakura, and Kakashi picked up. Sakura opened her mouth to ask, but Kakashi stopped her by gently placing a hand on her shoulder. Looking up at him, he seemed to smile under his mask and shook his head gently. Sakura resisted the urge to sigh and looked back at Naruto, who was laser-focused on Hokage tower.

As the team reached Hokage tower, they were swept in by a young woman who smiled at them. "Hokage-sama has been expecting you. This way, please." She led them up a set of winding stairs until they got to the top level. Then she showed them down a rounded hallway that stopped right outside a large set of double doors. "Here you go," she chirped. Then she opened the doors and stepped away.

Naruto and the team stepped into the large open office, and Naruto's eyes roamed around quickly. Not much had changed. It was an open floor plan without much furniture and large windows with the shades left open against the far wall. The office was bathed in the golden light of the late afternoon sun. The smell of pipe tobacco filled Naruto's nose as his eyes finally found the Hokage. He was sitting behind a large wooden desk adorned with at least half a dozen separate stacks of paper. He was dressed in his standard Hokage fair. His hat was sitting on the desk unworn.

"Naruto-kun," The Hokage said softly as he looked up from his paperwork with a slight smile on his face. "I'm glad to have you back home finally."

"Old man," Naruto replied with a nod. Sakura turned to look at Naruto in shock at the blatant disrespect.

"Show some respect, Naruto!" Jiraiya barked at his pupil, his face turning bright red.

"Sure thing, Ero-sennin," Naruto said in a drawn-out tone turning to his master. Jiraiya's face got bright red.

"Why you litter brat! How about I beat you right here!" Jiraiya shouted as he shook his fist at Naruto.

"Wouldn't be the first time someone gave me a beating right under the Hokage's nose." Naruto quipped as he shot Jiraya a look.

The room went silent for a moment as everyone seemed to pause in the awkward silence. The only person who didn't seem to be affected by it was Sasuke. He continued to sit there with his arms crossed, uninterested in what was going on.

"Ero-sennin," The Hokage said with a smile. Breaking the silence and looking at Jiraiya with an amused look."An appropriate name well earned, no doubt." The older man let out a loud laugh.

"Sensei!" Jiraiya shouted with a look of betrayal on his face.

"Kakashi," The Hokage said with a loud tone. "I received your mission report via hawk, and It seems pretty straightforward. I'm glad you all got out alive." They all stopped and became more somber once the mission was brought up. "Was there anything else that needs to be added to the report?"

"Not that I'm aware of Hokage-sama," Kakashi replied in a lazy tone.

"I was quite surprised Naruto-kun…to hear that you were able to fight Zabuza without any major injuries. Not many of our chunin could have survived that." The third Hokage reached under his desk, pulled out a Konoha forehead protector, and set it on his desk. "I was going to have someone from the academy give you a quick test, but it seems unnecessary at this point."

"Thanks," Naruto said as he strode forward and scooped it up. He held it in his hands for a moment and stared down at it. He ran a thumb over the leaf engraved on its center and gave the Hokage a slight nod before sliding it into one of his pouches, which didn't go unnoticed.

"Now, as for living arrangements, I was able to procure you an apartment in the building you lived in before. It's been paid up for the next few months to give you a chance to get on your feet- "

"Naruto will be staying with me," Sasuke said as he took a step forward and locked eyes with the Hokage. "Hokage-sama," Sasuke said as an afterthought.

"Oh?" The Hokage and Kakashi both said in surprise.

"Really?!" Sakura shouted as her head sprang back and forth between the two ninjas.

"Oh yeah," Naruto said, not missing a beat. "I forgot to mention that I'm sorry." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Makes sense since I'll be helping Sasuke out with his training a bit."

"WHAT?!" Sakura asked even louder than before. "You help Sasuke? Sasuke, you're getting help!?" Sakura looked between the two as everything she seemed to know about her teammate was thrown out of a window.

"That's fantastic that you two are getting along so well," The Hokage said with a smile as he pulled his eyes away from Sasuke's. "However, it might be best if you stay in that apartment, Naruto. It might make things easier considering…" He trailed off and eyed him gently.

"I don't personally see how that has anything to do with it," Naruto said back as he locked eyes with the Hokage. "I'll be staying there," Naruto said firmly.

Sakura looked between the two once again, wondering what mystery was hanging over her teammate's head. The room had gotten quiet as Naruto and Sasuke's tones shifted the feeling in the room.

"Naruto…" Kakashi said in a low tone but sternly.

"Well, that settles it then." The Hokage said with a laugh. "You can stay there, and I'll see about getting my deposit back on your apartment." The mood had quickly shifted as the Hokage laughed everything off and agreed with Naruto and Sasuke. "Well, why don't you three head on out. It's been a long day, and you three just completed your first A-Rank mission. Don't forget to collect your payment for it on the way out."

"T-thank you, Hokage-sama," Sakura said as she bowed to the Hokage. She turned to see Naruto and Sasuke were already leaving. "Sorry about them," she muttered as she turned to follow them.

When Sakura left and the doors closed, Kakashi let out a small sigh of relief. That hadn't gone how he thought it would. He turned to look back at the Hokage, who was staring at the doors solemnly.

"He doesn't want to be here," The Hokage said as he turned to look at Kakashi and Jiraiya. "I can't say that I blame him." The Hokage lifted his pipe and took a deep drag off of it. With a sigh, he blew out the smoke and sunk back into his chair. "The council won't be happy when they hear he's living with Sasuke-kun. They already think it was the Uchiha that summoned the Kyuubi to Konoha that night. They won't say it out loud, but I think most of them are happy Itachi did what he did."

"I think it's for the best," Jiraiya said as he crossed his arms and sat down in one of the chairs in front of the Hokage's desk. "Naruto doesn't want to be here, and honestly, I don't think he has any intentions of staying. If those two can bond over what happened to them, maybe, it will give Naruto some incentive to stick around."

"You think he'll leave Konoha?" The Hokage asked as he looked at Jiraiya with a weary look. "Minato's son a missing-nin…" He said as he took another drag from his pipe.

"Jiraiya-sama is right," Kakashi said. "Naruto needs to bond to the people here. Those bonds will be what convinces him to stay and fight. It might also be good for Sasuke."

"Sasuke-kun is driven by revenge," The Hokage said softly. "His desire to kill Itachi is no doubt what drives him. Hopefully, it doesn't rub off on Naruto-kun. It could end up doing the opposite of what we want. The Hokage stroked his goatee for a moment. "It might be best to have them participate in the upcoming chunin exams. It will help build up their bond and maybe give Naruto-kun a type of team pride."

"We were discussing that the other night," Kakashi said as he crossed his arms. "Sasuke and Naruto could probably pass, but Sakura, on the other hand." He trailed off as he looked at the Hokage.

"Take the next month off missions, Kakashi," The Hokage said as he looked up at the tall ninja. "Focus on training them…help Naruto with Sasuke and help the three of them form a bond. Going through something like the chunin exam will help bring them closer together. Which hopefully will be a good thing."

"Of course, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said with a nod as he sighed and looked out one of the windows. 'This is going to be a lot of hard work.'


"Thanks, miss!" Naruto said with a smile as he collected a small envelope from an older woman behind a counter.

"Your ID will be ready in a few days. Be sure to come back and collect it." The woman said with a stern voice.

"Got it!" Naruto shouted as he walked away and opened the envelope. A thick stack of cash rested inside. His payment for their first A-Rank mission along with back pay from the graduation date. The extra money wasn't earned, but Naruto wasn't going to say no to the extra cash. Sakura and Sasuke had waited for him while he got his photo taken.

"Let's go get something to eat! I'm starving!" Naruto said excitedly as he walked up to them. His attitude had shifted since leaving the Hokage's office. It had taken everything in Naruto not to shout and scream at the old man as he sat there smiling at him. However, he couldn't help but be a little excited about the prospect of living with Sasuke. Someone his age and didn't seem to hate him even though Sasuke didn't seem to like him much either.

"Pass," Sasuke said as Naruto arrived. "Follow me, and I'll show you to the compound."

"I'm a bit hungry myself," Sakura said as she looked at Naruto and back to Sasuke.

"Come on, Sasuke! I know a great ramen place here. It's the only good thing about being back here." Naruto said with a wide grin. "Don't be such a spoilsport."

"Pass," Sasuke said as he turned and started walking away. "You can find it yourself, I guess."

"Sounds good!" Naruto shouted at Sasuke as he walked away. Naruto turned and threw his arm around Sakura. "Guess it's just you and me then. Come on; it's a date!"

"No way!" Sakura said, shoving Naruto's arm off hers. Her face turned red, and she looked away towards Sasuke's back. "I'll go with you, I guess, but it's not a date," Sakura muttered as Naruto started walking away.

"Sounds good to me," Naruto said with a sly smile. "Wouldn't want Sasuke getting jealous…" Naruto chuckled and rubbed his nose with his finger.

"That has nothing to do with anything!" Sakura thundered as she followed him down the street. 'How can he go for super serious to acting like this out of nowhere?'

"No judgment from me," Naruto said as he shrugged and winked at her.

"I can't believe you and Sasuke are training together."

"Oh yeah, I was a bit surprised when he asked me, to be honest. He didn't give me the whole teamwork vibe at first."

"He never wants to train with me," Sakura said dejectedly as Naruto led her around a turn. "I've asked before, but he always just grunts and walks away."

"That's because you don't have what he wants," Naruto replied as he rubbed the back of his head. He tried to focus on Sakura as he walked through the streets, ignoring the people around them. He didn't want it to bring him down again.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you're weaker than him, and your specialties probably don't line up."

Sakura looked away from Naruto and towards the ground. 'I know I've always been weaker than him, but hearing it out loud like that.'

"He doesn't see the value you bring. He's too short-sighted."

"Value?" Sakura asked as she looked back up at Naruto, who was grinning at her.

"Yeah! You have smaller chakra reserves than both of us, but that means you have better chakra control than both of us. I bet it comes naturally to you. You'd be a great help to him with that! But he's so focused on getting stronger he thinks it's all about huge exploding jutsus."

"Oh," Sakura said softly. 'What use will I be if that's all I can do?'

"I know a couple of things in theory that would work well for you," Naruto said as he laced his fingers behind his head and took them down another street. "I can't teach it to you, but you had the best grades in the year, so you should be able to pick up with the theory and run with it."

"You'd really help me just like that?"

"Yeah! We're a team, aren't we? Besides, maybe you can help me with getting him to lighten up a bit." Naruto said as he turned the corner again and collided with something small and soft. There was a thud, and Naruto looked down in shock.

Laying on the ground was a small girl around his age. She had a soft round face with porcelain skin and a small nose. Her long blue hair was splayed out on the ground underneath her. She looked up at Naruto and met his eyes. Her eyes were the most striking thing about her. They were wide and framed by long dark lashes and an off-white color with no visible pupils.

"Sorry about that!" Naruto said with a grin as he crouched down and held out his hand. The young girl looked at him, her eyes wide with shock and her pale cheeks flushed.

"N-n-naruto-kun?"

Naruto's eyebrows shot up into his hairline in surprise. He couldn't believe someone his age would even remember him. He'd been gone for so long, and he never had any friends before.

"Hinata-chan?" Sakura said in surprise as she looked down at the young woman. Naruto looked up at Sakura and then back at Hinata.

"Here," Naruto said softly as he grabbed her hand. 'So soft,' he thought as he stood and pulled her to her feet. "I can't believe you even know who I am," Naruto said with a laugh as he let go of the young woman's hand. Her face was even redder than before as she looked around in what seemed like a slight panic.

"She was in the academy- "

"I remember," Naruto said with a grin. "Hyuga Hinata-chan," Naruto said with a smile. "Your hair is a lot longer than it used to be." Now that she was standing, Naruto noticed two long bangs that came down and framed her face.

"I just figured since you and Sasuke couldn't really remember me, no one else from back then would either."

"S-s-sorry," Hinata whispered, looking away with her bright red face.

"My fault! I wasn't looking!" Naruto said as he rubbed the back of his head. 'Why is she so red? Is she mad at me?' "Why don't you join us for some ramen?" Naruto asked. He pointed between himself and Sakura. "My treat! To make up for knocking you down."

"O-oh," Hinata stuttered as she looked around. "I-I should probably g-go."

"It'll only be for a bit!"

"Come on, Hinata-chan," Sakura said with a small smile.

"I-if you insist," Hinata said softly as she looked between them, her face red. "I-its really no problem."

"Come on, it's just up the street," Naruto said as he started walking past her. Hinata stood there looking between Naruto and the direction she had been going before.

'She defiantly still has a crush on him,' Sakura thought to herself as she gently pushed Hinata in Naruto's direction. 'I can't believe after all these years, she still likes him.'

'It's really him; he's finally back.' Hinata thought to herself as she followed behind Naruto. She looked down at her hand, still warm from him holding it. 'He grabbed my hand…I can still feel it.' Hinata felt a small smile pull on her lips as her face flushed red with embarrassment.

"I can't believe you remember where this place is," Sakura said with a small smile as she and Hinata caught up to Naruto. "I mean, it has been what 7 or 8 years?"

"Yeah, about that long," Naruto said with a smile as he looked back at the two girls. "I could never forget this place, though!" Naruto took off into a slight jog. He passed by about three more storefronts until he was standing in front of it. It was a small and unassuming building with a large opening out front. Crème colored noren with red lettering hung from the ceiling's edge covering the top half of the restaurant.

"Don't go running off like that! You think me and Hinata-chan want to come jogging behind you?"

"I-I really didn't mind," Hinata said softly in response to Sakura's boisterous voice.

"Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen," Naruto said with a smile. "The only good part about coming back here."

Sakura frowned at Naruto's words and looked away towards the ground. 'Why does he hate it here so much?' Sakura's eyes drifted towards Hinata, who looked a bit gloomy and looked longingly at Naruto's back.

"Well, I mean besides you guys and Sasuke," Naruto said; he turned them around and flashed them a thumbs up. "Come on, I'm starving." Naruto rushed forward, throwing back the noren, and stepped into the small restaurant.

The restaurant was bathed in a warm and inviting yellow light. The inside was small, with only enough room to seat six people. Six wooden stools sat in front of a long bar just a few steps into the restaurant. The savory and salty smell of ramen filled the restaurant, and it made his mouth water. Behind the bar were two people in matching white kimonos. A large older man with short hair covered by a white hat, and a younger woman with her long brown hair tied up in a pony tail with a bandana tied over her head.

"Naruto?" The young woman asked as he entered. She was standing behind the large bar attending to one of the large pots of broth.

"Hey there!" Naruto shouted as he waved at her. She was staring at him, her brown eyes wide in shock. "How's it been?"

"Quiet," The older man said as he turned around from another pot that he was looking over. He, too had a smile on his face. "Since you've been gone, it has been quiet. Too quiet." He let out a loud laugh, "glad to have you back, especially now that you can afford to pay!"

"I haven't had a good bowl of ramen since I left!" Naruto said excitedly as he sat down at the bar. Hinata and Sakura followed him in and sat down as well.

"Back already, Hinata-chan?" Ayame asked as she, too, sat down. "You were just here a few minutes ago." Hinata's face turned bright red, and she looked down at the bar.

"W-well I-I uh," Hinata stuttered as she looked away from the young woman who was smirking at her.

"Oh, you come here too, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked as he turned towards in shock. "It's great, isn't it?"

"Y-yes," Hinata muttered as she looked at Naruto shyly. "They serve excellent food."

"Hinata-chan has been coming here almost every day for the last seven years," Teuchi said pointedly as he stared down Naruto.

"That's a shame! If you had started coming here sooner, we'd have run into each other." Naruto said as the point flew over his head.

'He's kind of stupid.'

'He's kind of stupid.'

'He's kind of stupid.'

Sakura, Ayame, and Teuchi thought simultaneously as they looked at Naruto with various looks of disappointment.

"Anyway, I'm sure you can eat another bowl, right, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked as he turned towards Ayame. "Five bowls of Miso Ramen for me and whatever they want."

"FIVE?!" Sakura asked in shock as she looked at Naruto with wide eyes.

"You don't think that's enough?" Naruto asked as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"It's more than enough," Sakura said with a deep sigh. "I'll also have a bowl of Miso Ramen, please."

"Me too," Hinata muttered as she looked up at Ayame.

"Coming right up!" Teuchi shouted as he and Ayame got to work.

"You came here a lot when you lived here, Naruto?" Sakura asked curiously as she looked around. It was a nice restaurant but nothing too special.

"Oh yeah, all the time. Teuchi-san and Ayame-san were the only ones willing to give me any food." Naruto let out a small fake laugh as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh," Sakura muttered as she gave Naruto a forced smile.

"What's your favorite thing here, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked.

Sakura ignored the exchange between the two of them as she looked down at the smooth wooden bar. 'They're the only ones that would give him any food? What's that supposed to mean?' Sakura knew Naruto didn't have any living parents, but she'd just assumed someone used to take care of him. As she sat there, she remembered the Hokage's words back at his office.

"Now, as for living arrangements, I was able to procure you an apartment in the building you lived in before."

Had Naruto lived on his own the whole time? Who took care of him back then? 'Why didn't my parents want me to talk to him? He was an orphan living on his own with no friends or family. What could they possibly have had against him?'

"So, you use Gentle Fist style, then, right? Since you're a Hyuga?" Sakura was snapped out of her thoughts by Naruto's question.

"Yes," Hinata muttered softly. 'Naruto-kun is asking me all these questions!' Hinata felt the blood rush back to her face.

"That's cool! I've only ever heard about it. My master told me a little about the Hyuga's. He said you were all mighty ninja!" Naruto said excitedly as he turned to look towards Hinata. "You have to show me sometime! Maybe we can spar?"

"I-it might be best to spar with Neij-nii-san." Hinata felt the blood rush to her face again as she got a bit light-headed. 'I can't spar Naruto-kun, then he'd realize how weak I am.'

"Well, you don't have to, but it'd really just be for fun," Naruto said with a laugh. Naruto turned and looked at Sakura. "What about you want to spar after this?"

"No way," she replied, shaking her head. "I saw what you did against Zabuza."

Naruto laughed just as Ayame set their bowls down in front of them. Naruto grabbed a pair of wooden chopsticks and passed them to Hinata. "Here you go, Hinata-chan."

"Thank you," She muttered, looking away from him.

"What am I chopped liver?" Sakura scrunched her nose and stuck the tip of her tongue out at Naruto.

"Of course not," Naruto reached over and handed her a pair. He quickly grabbed a pair for himself and held them between his finger. "Itadakimasu!" Naruto split the chopsticks and dug into his steaming bowl of ramen. The food was just as good as it always had been. It was creamy, savory, and just the right amount of salty.

As the three of them ate, and later as the two watched Naruto eat, they continued chatting. They talked about Hinata's team and the missions they'd been gone on before. She told Naruto about Kiba and Shino. She also told them about her red-eyed sensei, the Genjutsu Mistress Kurenai, and their training. Sakura also shared her and Sasuke's missions and the bell test Kakashi had put them through. As the evening went on, Hinata seemed to loosen up a bit more but still kept getting red in the face almost every time Naruto addressed her directly.

As the night went on, Naruto's distaste for Konoha seemed to fade for a bit as he enjoyed interacting with people his age for one of the first times in his life. Naruto quickly picked up that Hinata was just incredibly shy, which was why she was always red. Also, Sakura seemed to come out of her shell and become much more boisterous and opinionated. Naruto also learned she could be kind of mean sometimes as well. As Naruto finished his last bowl, he couldn't help but smile as their conversation had turned to Kakashi.

"I swear he's always late! To almost everything! And he always has these super lame excuses. Like helping an old lady cross the street, or this one time he said he was saving a cat from a tree, or this other time when he claimed he had stopped the mugging of a blind cripple!"

Naruto burst out laughing as Sakura raised her voice and shook her fist in the air. "Kakashi-sensei does seem lazy, doesn't he." Hinata giggled when Naruto said that as he stroked his chin in thought.

"Hello," a deadpan voice came from behind them. Naruto and Sakura froze completely as they heard it. Naruto could feel a slight chill roll over him.

"Ahh, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said shakily as he turned around with an overly large fake smile. "You missed the part when we told Hinata about how brave and powerful you are too!"

"No, I didn't," he said lazily as he casually thumbed a page in his little orange book. Kakashi was casually leaning against the edge of the Ichiraku entrance.

"Yeah," Naruto sighed as his shoulders slumped and his face deflated. "You didn't, but we did mention how you beat Zabuza!"

"It's okay," Kakashi said as he looked up, and his visible eye crinkled at them. "I am kind of lazy."

'He just admits it,' Sakura thought as she stared at him. Her facial expression was changing from a kind of fear to annoyance. "Well, you could be better about it. Maybe try showing up on time."

Naruto and Hinata both stared at Sakura wide-eyed as she crossed her arms and stuck up her nose. Naruto turned to Hinata, who locked eyes with him for the first time, and they seemed to exchange the same thought.

'She's crazy!'

"Anyway, I'm glad I caught you two. We're meeting at Training Ground 9 tomorrow at 8:00 AM sharp." Kakashi said as he went back to his book.

"So really more like 8:45?" Naruto smirked at his sensei. This time Hinata's wide eyes focused on the blond.

"8:00 AM sharp. Or you'll have to fight me." Kakashi said as he locked his eyes with Naruto. "I won't hold back either." Kakashi snapped the book shut and seemed to give the three of them one last eye-smile. "Have a goodnight," with that, Kakashi formed a quick hand sign and disappeared, leaving behind a trail of floating leaves.

"Sounds like we should call it a night," Sakura said as she hopped off her stool.

"Yeah, probably," Naruto grumbled as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the envelope of cash. He pulled out several bills and placed them on the counter. "Have a good night Old Man; thanks for the grub," Naruto called back over his shoulder.

"Good to have you back, Brat."

Hinata got up and followed Naruto and Sakura out of the restaurant. The sun had set a bit ago, and the sky was a dark blue, almost black. Naruto looked up and took a deep breath of the cool night air as his eyes roamed over the stars.

"That was a good meal," he said as he looked back at Hinata and Sakura and smiled at them. As he turned away from Hinata, she returned the smile as she stared at him. Sakura noticed and gave a small chuckle. "What?"

"Oh, nothing," she hummed softly. "Well, I'm this way." Sakura pointed behind her over her shoulder. "Naruto, why don't you walk Hinata-chan home? The Hyuga compound is near the Uchiha one she can point you in the right direction."

"That sounds like a good idea! You sure you're good to walk home on your home?"

"I'll be fine!" She tutted as she turned around, her pink hair swaying with the motion. "See you in the morning."

"Well, I guess it's just us," Naruto said as he turned around towards Hinata. "Lead the way, Hinata-chan!"

"O-of course," she muttered as she turned and started walking in the opposite direction of Sakura. "You don't have to walk me back if you don't want to."

"It's no problem," Naruto laced his fingers behind his head and synced his footsteps with Hinata's. "Besides, I've had one of the best nights in recent memory. At least this way, it gets to last a bit longer."

'Best night?' Hinata turned so he wouldn't see her blush as she looked down at the ground.

"I remember, you know."

"Remember?"

"That day in the woods," Naruto muttered as he stared at the stars. "Those boys were bullying you…I never said thank you."

"I'm the one that should be t-thanking you, Naruto-kun," Hinata said lowly as she glanced up at him.

"Most people would have left me after they beat the snot out of me. You stayed until I got up, and you made sure I was okay."

"It was the right thing to do," she said louder than she had said anything else. "No one should have left you there."

"They would have though."

They walked in silence for several more minutes, each glancing at the other when the other wasn't looking. Naruto let his hands fall to his sides as they got closer to the village's south side.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked as they turned down a winding road.

"Yeah?"

"Why did you leave the village?"

The silence that seemed so comfortable before became deafening to Naruto as he looked down at Hinata. She was looking at him with a different kind of look than earlier. Her back seemed straighter, and her face was serious.

"After you left, I asked the sensei's every day where you went. They didn't say anything to me at all. They just said it was for the best and that you needed to leave anyway. Eventually, they got sick of me asking and told me to ask my father."

"Makes sense," he muttered as he tried to give her a reassuring smile. He was sure it came off lackluster at best.

"My father said that you had to leave too." She said as they stopped at an intersection. She looked up at him and locked eyes with him. "Father said what happened was a disgrace. That you shouldn't have been forced to leave, but it was for the best. He said that one day you might come back."

Naruto held her gaze as she spoke to him. As she finished, he looked around and let out a deep breath.

"You got serious there, Hinata-chan!" Naruto said as he looked back at her with a big smile. "I wasn't really expecting that."

Hinata's reaction was instantaneous. Her face became bright red, and she turned away from him altogether.

"I-I'm sorry," She said shyly. "I-I didn't mean to come off that way. I've just spent all this time wondering what happened to you."

"I was attacked," Naruto said as he started walking forward again. "Some people in the village decided to beat me up and put me in the hospital. I had no family and no friends. No one to take me in except my master and godfather."

"Why would they do that?" Hinata said in shock as she started walking with him again, her eyes wide. "That's disgraceful! You were a child!"

"I don't know," Naruto lied as they shrugged his shoulders. "It used to happen sometimes villagers would get together and hit me or throw rocks at me. That night it was worse for some reason. My godfather happened to be in town for the first time in years, and he told the Hokage he was taking me with him."

"I'm glad you were able to leave," she said softly as they kept walking down the same road. 'I just said I was glad he left!' Hinata quickly looked up and said, "I mean, I'm glad that stopped happening. Not that you left."

"I get it," he hummed back as they got closer and closer to another intersection. Hinata stopped at the corner, and Naruto followed suit.

"Um, my house is that way," she pointed past Naruto down the left side of the intersection. "To get to the Uchiha Compound, you'll want to go that way." Hinata pointed in the opposite direction. "You'll take your first right and second left."

"You sure you don't want me to walk you the rest of the way?"

"N-no, I'll be fine."

"Oh, okay then…I guess that means this is good night." Naruto paused and looked at Hinata with a small smile. "Thanks for hanging out with us tonight, Hinata-chan."

"O-oh no, It was f-fun. I'm sorry for intruding." Hinata looked away as she flushed again. She heard Naruto laugh.

"You didn't intrude! I'm sure you being there made it way better than it would have been with you. I'll see you around Hinata-chan."

"Goodnight, Naruto-kun."

Naruto watched as she walked down the street until the shadows completely enveloped her form. With a large grin, Naruto turned around and started down the road. As Naruto looked around, he couldn't help but feel conflicted. Almost every inch of this place held bad memories for him. From living in the orphanage to living by himself, and to the night he was attacked for the last time.

Today though had been fantastic. Meeting Hinata-chan and having dinner with her and Sakura. He had a great time eating and laughing with people his age. He let out a small laugh as his thoughts drifted to Hinata. 'I can't believe she remembered me.' Naruto's thumb traced the inside of his hand where he had held hers when pulling her up. Even with the stares, the whispers, and people avoiding him, tonight was still fun.

'Sasuke sure missed a fun night,' He thought as he turned left down a bricked path. 'Even he would have enjoyed himself…probably.' As the path winded through some low bushes and trees, Naruto arrived at a large grey wall that ran so long it disappeared into the night. Naruto assumed it wrapped around the whole compound. Two large wooden doors with the Uchiha crest in the center of each one were left slightly ajar. Sliding through, Naruto looked around in the darkness. 'Hopefully, Sasuke is still up. I have no idea where to go from here.'

"Finally,"

"What the- "Naruto turned and locked eyes with two bright red Sharingan with two small tomoe in each of them. "Did you have to be so creepy?"

"I've been waiting all night," Sasuke said shortly as he walked past Naruto stoically. Naruto followed him through the shadows. Soon they came up to a large open area with two rows of homes going down into shadows. "That's where I live," he jabbed his finger at the house to Naruto's left. It was a moderately sized two-story home with traditional architecture—a large wooden porch wrapped around the home completely. "You can stay there," he pointed to Naruto's right. It was a smaller home with just one story. There was a small wooden patio in front of the sliding wooden door.

"Works for me," Naruto said as he turned towards the house. "Training Ground 9 8:00 AM sharp, Kakashi's orders." Naruto started walking towards the home.

"What about our training?" Sasuke asked loudly in the night.

"We'll get started tomorrow once we know what Kakashi wants," Naruto called as he slipped off his shoes and slid the front door open. Sasuke didn't respond, and Naruto assumed he'd left for the night. Naruto entered the empty home and slid the door shut behind him. Feeling around, Naruto found a light switch and flipped it on.

The home was about as small as it looked on the outside, but it was cozy nonetheless. There was a small kitchen in the back right corner of the home. It had a small green fridge and a two-burner electric stovetop. A wooden table with three chairs around it was placed a few feet away from the stove. There were two cabinets above the stove and a shelf pressed against the wall. The rest of the house seemed to be just two rooms with a bathroom on the far-left wall.

Tucked into the right corner opposite of the kitchen was a folded-up futon with a blanket and a pillow. Naruto took off his haori and dumped it against the wall in a pile. Reaching into one of his pockets, he pulled out a thick scroll and kneeled on the floor. He untied the thin orange ribbon on the scroll and, with a flick of his wrist, opened it up on the floor. The scroll was covered in writing with hundreds of characters that stretched across the paper from each end. The writing swirled around the paper from each end, coming together in the center surrounding a large character.

Naruto touched his hand to the scroll and focused his chakra into it. The writing seemed to soak up his chakra, gorging on it until it overflowed into the rest of the script as his chakra flowed through the scroll until, finally, each character was full of his chakra. There were multiple popping noises as small white puffs of smoke appeared above the parchment and filled the home.

The smoke cleared to reveal a large wooden chest and two smaller wooden chests. Naruto pulled the scroll out from under them and wrapped it up before standing. The largest wooden chest consisted of one lid that opened up and two smaller drawers on the front. The other two chests were smaller with just lids on them. Making his way to the largest chest, he bit his thumb, drawing blood, and smeared it on the bottom drawer. There was a low click as it opened up and slid out. The inside was filled almost to brim with money. Everything from large paper bills to small 1 Ryo coins filled the compartment. It was every bit of money he'd ever had, from spending money from Jiraiya to rewards for fighting bandits to his winnings against Tsunade. Naruto pulled out the envelope from his pocket, pulled out two large bills and one smaller bill, and set it aside. Naruto gently tossed the rest of the envelope into the drawer and slid it closed. In the drawer was probably close to 2,000,000 Ryo, and he'd need a lot more if he was going to rebuild his home.

Naruto opened the second drawer to reveal a couple of folded-up pajamas and several pairs of boxers. Naruto pulled out a pair of boxers and a set of pajamas and threw them to the side. Opening up the large lid revealed the rest of Naruto's clothing. Including three more sets of ninja gear and some casual outfits. Naruto pulled out a set of ninja gear, including his pants, shirt, and a spare haori identical to his other. Naruto set that aside for the following day and pushed the chest against the wall next to his futon. Naruto moved the other two chests to either side of the larger one. The two smaller chests held all of the ninja equipment that he'd collected over the years. They had kunai, shuriken, wire, scrolls, ink, and other odds and ends. Naruto pulled out his sword and sat down cross-legged. Pulling the blade from its sheath, he ran his fingers over the jagged cuts Zabuza had carved out his blade.

Naruto had found the sword in The Land of Rivers with Jiraiya It was being sold at a stall at an open market. He'd recognized the symbol on the pommel immediately. Naruto wasn't a trained swordsman since Jiraiya didn't know much about kenjutsu outside the basics. Naruto rubbed the swirl pattern on the pommel with his thumb and slid the sword back into its sheath. He'd have to try and find someone who could fix or replace the blade in the village. He set it aside and stood up and stretched. Reaching into the trunk, he pulled up a small wind-up alarm clock. Setting his alarm, he wound the clock and set it down on the floor.

Naruto decided it was time for bed. Tomorrow would be his first day as a Konoha Ninja, and he wanted to get rested for whatever Kakashi threw at them.

A/N: That's chapter four! Updates will probably slow down a bit as I catch up to where I am in the story. I'll keep trying to update as frequently as possible

Please feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think!