Naruto 1. Let it Commence

AN: Ok, this is theoretically set after the end of the fourth war, Pein is dead, Madara is dead, and Sasuke has been imprisoned in some remote location and almost forgotten. However, there are still enemies in the shinobi world. Enemies that need to be dealt with. Like Kabuto and others that were formerly Orochimaru's followers.

I don't own Naruto, this is just purely for free entertainment.

A figure is kneeled on the floor behind a silver haired man in glasses. He turned around as the man began to speak in a low, almost reverent voice. "Everything has been put in place, Kabuto-sama. Their have each taken their orders and are ready to depart for Konoha." As he finished speaking, Kabuto turned away again, focusing on the monitors that had previously held his attention.

"Have they been told that there is no way this will work out as planned?" Kabuto asked the kneeling man.

"Yes. They want to do as much damage to Konoha as they can before they die. They want Orochimaru-sama to be remembered, and his name to be feared." He dared to lift his head off of the floor to gauge Kabuto's reaction to his next words. "Almost as much as I myself do."

Without pause the standing man spoke again. "I already told you, you may go with them is you choose, I'll not keep you here. Now stand, and lead them on." _You fool_. Kabuto added in his head as the man departed. _You knew that if you said that I would follow you also, didn't you? You always were more crafty than even I could think of being_. He smiled at the thought. _Maybe we will stand a chance then, slim as it is. _He switched off the monitors and promptly set exploding tags on everything inside the room. _If I'm leaving here, there is no need for any to know of what happened within these four walls_. As Kabuto glanced around one last time, he seemed to reminisce about all the time he had spent there. He began making a series of hand-signs before he turned and left. _No one can enter there without it going up in smoke. Well, unless of course I survive this stupid assault_.

**Somewhere near Konoha: 36 hours later**

An Anbu team was on a routine patrol when they noticed a large group of Shinobi from the former Hidden Sound Village approaching.

"Take word to the Hokage," A bird masked Shinobi ordered. "We will hold them here for as long as we can."

"Yes" was the only reply he received before the Anbu member next to him disappeared, seeming to reappear every so many trees as he vanished rapidly towards Konoha. _Damnit _The man behind the bird mask thought _We won't be able to hold them off for very long. They have larger numbers, and seem to have come well equipped. Either we call a retreat or_

His thought were cut off as the first of he guessed his team were discovered by their sensory Shinobi. For the approaching group slowed and began to ready their weapons. Strangely even though they were all of the sound, it seemed that none of them had any of the weapons that anyone would think they would have carried. Before they advanced again, each member of the group dropped anything extra that they had been carrying after pulling the weapons from it. Backpacks containing what could only be food and clothing were dropped.. The bird masked Anbu knew immediately why they would do that. This wasn't just and invasion. This was a last stand. _They're not going to give up until every single one of them is dead._ He reasoned _Which means... We've got to at least slow them down. We must make time for the others to prepare._ He signaled to the other Anbu members as they began to disperse among the trees. The basic plan for this kind of engagement was simple. You could either flat out run to a defensible position, or you could use hit and run tactics to slow the enemies advance. The only problem would be if they got bogged down into a serious fight. He sighed before readying his kunai _I knew that I shouldn't have gotten up this morning, how troublesome._


	2. It was fun until

**In Konoha, Training ground of team seven: Approximately the same time**

Uzumaki Naruto, would be Hokage of Konoha, was training with Haruno Sakura, and Yamanaka Ino. They had met some that morning to help each other train. Each one of them would take turns trying to disappear. When they had been found a two-on-one battle would proceed until the single person could not hold out any longer. Naruto, being the strongest, was the last to hide. He was currently hidden up in a tree carefully watching the movements of the two girls. _I really need to be careful, between the two of them they'll find me in nothing flat _He theorized _and if they do that, I'm in for a whole heap of trouble._ Just then the tree underneath him started shaking. Naruto looked down, realizing that Sakura had at last found him. The ground around the base of the tree seemed to split into pieces in record time. _Damn, she's still getting stronger_ he was pulled out of his reverie as the cracks in the ground she had caused began to spider even further past the tree, making it tilt precariously. Thinking quickly Naruto jumped out of his current hiding spot... Right into the view of Ino. She, of course, had already been preparing for this shot, and as Naruto came into view she caught him in her mind transfer technique. Except for one thing, as soon as her mind touched his, he disappeared in a poof of smoke. As her mind sluggishly returned to her body and her eyes opened blearily, she saw an orange flash above her. At the time, she thought it looked so pretty. That dark blue above the orange seemed to blend into it for a moment before she came to her senses and went wide eyed as the real Naruto flew over her.

"Damnit Naruto!" Sakura screamed as she saw the blonde Jinchuriki leap away from them deeper into the woods. She hopped across the broken ground before alighting next to a still groggy Ino. "You could have at least made sure that you hit the real one" She said irritably. Ino looked up at her pink haired friend so see her more preoccupied with where the man had gotten off to. _I know she doesn't mean to be so be so abrupt and rude, but she could at least try to tone it down some. It's not like it's completely my fault that I hit a clone instead of the real one_ She snorted _It's not even like I could tell a difference, they all have that same handso- Bad Ino! Don't think like that. Sakura likes him and you don't want to make her mad. _She picked herself up and began to dust off the dirt that had found it's way onto her back. Sakura chose that moment to speak "It seems we lost him again, because I know he's not smart enough to hide in thin air. He won't hide in the ground or anywhere too obvious."

"So your saying he disappeared pretty much?" Ino quipped.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. I should be able to sense him unless..." She let her sentence trail off into oblivion. She sat down and leaned up against a tree as she stared off into space. "I can't even think of an unless, I should be able to sense him"

"Now that you mention it, I can't find him either" Ino said as she sat down.

_Teehee, if they look up they are in for a big surprise. _Naruto had never even left the vicinity. He was currently right above them, and was holding the shape of a branch almost perfectly. _They're so busy looking further away in the direction I sent the clone that they aren't bothering to check here, right above their own heads. Now all I have to do is to find a way to subdue both of them. _An over dramatic plan came to mind, but was immediately dismissed by the blonde man. He would have to be careful about this, not flaunt it in their faces. He let his camouflage go and immediately formed two more clones with Kage Buunshin. Hearing the sound, both females began to turn around, but too late. They realized as they looked up into the face of Naruto that he wasn't as dumb as he used to be. The clones had landed silently behind them and had looped both of them in wire before they had even begun to turn.

A fuming Sakura looked up into the innocent face of the man that hand come down the tree as he sat between them. _He seems so cautious almost like he's trying not to touch either one of us_ she thought _Maybe that what's he is trying to do. I wish he would though, I wish he would hold me... No one ever holds me... It's not fair when we do this, we always lord it over him when he lets us win, but he's never even haughty when he wins in these matches. He just let's us clearly know he's won... _A blushing pinkette looked the other way as he began to untie her, accidentally brushing her hand in the process.

On his other side, Ino was having very different thoughts. _She probably knew he was there, she just wanted to let him win. She always lets him win when we team up against him. She's so in love with that man that... _She paused as she saw her friends blushing face turn to her. Ino's bonds were now being worked on, and every time that Naruto brushed against her while he worked the line loose, Sakura winced. Ino could tell that she didn't like what she thought of as her man touching another woman.

As all three combatants stood they heard something that chilled them to the bone. Standing in the tree above them was Aburame Shino, and he said three words.

"Konoha's under attack"

**AN: **Ok, I know that I'm turning this stuff out really fast right now, usually this doesn't happen though, so don't be surprised if it slows down in the future.

Next Chap should be up before too long I hope. I'd really appreciate any feed back you may have. This chapter was fairly simple, so I don't expect there to be too much, but the next one something big is going to start. By the way, in the I'm leaning towards starting out all of these shenanigans after the battle as a Naruhina kind of thing before it tapers off into more of Sakura and Ino. Please leave a comment with your thoughts on this. Based on what I see, I may change my mind and just keep it as the two of them instead of three.


	3. There goes the plan

Sakura and Ino looked up from the blonde they had both been admiring. Sakura wore an almost dazed expression, whereas the platinum blonde wore an expression more akin to anger. The man standing between them had no expression, he simply spoke, "Five minutes, meet back here. Who is it Shino?"

"Orochimaru's old subordinates. The remnants of the Sound. Anbu sent word that they had seen a large group of them approaching Konoha from the North," he replied "and it would appear that they are out for revenge." Naruto took all of this in, and his expression changed accordingly. It finally settled on an almost sorrowful look of determination. As he turned to leave Shino interrupted his thoughts once more "Be ready for anything, we're not sure if they planned a suicide mission or just to hit and run. Until we hear more we cannot be sure. Everyone is being gathered at the North gate, don't be late."

Naruto turned to both kunoichi. "Nevermind, meet up at the North gate." _And please don't be late, getting there, coming back, or for anything else, _He added mentally. _I've already lost enough friends. _The names began to scroll through his head as he bounded into the air away from the training ground. _Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru, Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee, Gai-Sensei, Asuma-Sensei, Shizune, the Third, Sasuke may as well have died because he will never be seen or heard from again by his own choice, Chouji was seriously wounded and had his left arm amputated, so he can't fight anymore, Ero-sennin... _He paused in his thoughts as tears threatened to form in his eyes. Jiraiya had been more than a mentor for those two and a half years. Even though he had always been found with a bottle of sake and women, he had acted like a father to Naruto. Every time that he thought of his old teacher, he vowed again to do his best to achieve piece. That thought again brought him back to what Shino had said earlier.

"_it would appear that they are out for revenge." _Naruto remembered, _Why are they attacking Konoha? Orochimaru died a long time ago, so why now? _The answer of course was that they didn't care anymore. The man they respected as a leader was dead, and Kabuto was not going to take his place as they had thought. Their village had started to crumble, so they had to take some sort of action. And even a suicidal action sounded better to them than no action at all.

As this though occurred to him, Naruto landed on the balcony outside of his house. He unlocked the door and slid inside, reminding himself of all the reasons he would join in this battle instead of sitting it out. Those reasons were his friends, and as he gathered his extra kunai and explosive tags from his stash, he ran through yet another list. _Haruno Sakura, Hyuuga Hinata, Yamanaka Ino, Tenten, Aburame Shino, Shikamaru, _He smiled at that because the lazy genius had actually become an Anbu member, _Kakashi-Sensei,_ _Iruka-Sensei, Granny-Tsunade, not to mention everyone in Konoha. _The last item on that list may have been the largest number, but it had become a smaller item as the time had gone by. As he hopped from rooftop to rooftop, he looked down on everyone he considered to be in that category. He still cared for and cherished every life of every person in this village, but he cared for his close friends even more. The blonde man stopped as he landed on a water tower. _Why does it seem like every time I say the list of the uninhibited living it seems to get shorter? I know there have been the same number since the war, but- _His thoughts trailed off as he leapt off again to join the rest of his team at the gate.

_Damnit, I said five minutes, and now I'm becoming like Kakashi-Sensei, it's been six. I really hope the girls- Women _He had to keep reminding himself they weren't that young anymore _aren't going to be mad at me for that._ As he landed next to them, Ino glanced up, but that was all the attention he got for being late. They could both see he had hurried, and both of them had different views but the same basic idea going through their heads.

_* Sigh * He might be later than he told us to be, but at least he looks like he hurried. I wonder why he has that faraway look in his eyes again. _Ino, being the less enthralled with the blonde man, thought to herself.

The pink haired kunoichi was staring at her feet with a slight blush on her cheeks. _I wonder if he even noticed he's late. He used to say stuff like that and then be so far behind the time when he'd told us to be ready. _She had to suppress a giggle at her next thought, _It's so cute that he's trying to be on time for everything anymore. I wonder if he asked me out on a date if he would actually be right on time for once..._

Her thoughts were cut short as another Anbu member landed just inside Konoha's gates. He had a bird mask on, but that couldn't disguise his appearance in the least. At least not if you knew who was the only shinobi in Anbu who had hair that resembled the leaves of a pineapple. As he spoke all the chatter from the gathering ceased. "We have a bit of a troublesome problem. They aren't going to stop until they are eradicated." Shikamaru paused for a moment to let that sink in before he continued. "They have spread out in a line and are trying to breach the wall. Our only guess from their tactics so far is that they plan to wreak as much havoc as the can inside the village before we wipe them out. Groups of two will be assigned. Stay close to your partner shinobi, and only engage if you have the advantage of numbers. If you need more people, signal to another group to join you. Sakura, you're with me. I'm going to need you to tend to some of my men. The rest of you, sort yourselves into two man cells, and be quick. We can only slow them for so long. Do you understand?"

All in attendence quickly spoke their agreement before beginning to pair up. Naruto looked at Ino, "You with me?" He asked hesitently. _Why, all of the sudden, do I pick now to start acting like I actually like a woman?_

"Yeah, let's get going then." She replied. A few other teams had already begun to head out of the gate, among them were Kurenai and Kakashi, and Shino and Iruka. Both in those pairs.

Hinata looked at Tenten for a moment. "Would you partner with me?" She asked quietly.

Tenten, having worked well with Neji in the past, looked a little sorrowful as she agreed. _I hope you don't take my look to mean I didn't want this Hinata, _She thought_ but with Neji gone... Working with you will bring back memories of him... _She pulled herself from her thoughts as she realized Hinata had spoken. "Sorry, what was that?

"I only said I know it isn't a great pairing because you were used to Neji's style, but I'd rather be with you than someone else." She repeated. In actuality she had said she'd rather be with "Naruto-kun" the first time, but since she had to repeat herself, she figured it would be better to not hurt Tentens feelings in the process.

"Oh, thanks Hinata." Tenten smiled as she spoke. "Are you ready to head out then?" At a nod both Kunoichi were off into the trees.

**Somewhere North of Konoha: Same time**

"Ino-chan slow down, we don't even know when we're going to run into one of these Sound Shinobi." Naruto called quietly. Ino dropped back closer to him, and together they slowed down to a more secretive pace. It was a good thing too, because not a moment later they saw movement ahead of them. Five figures were walking towards them, each carrying a drawn kunai and at least attempting to sneak along quietly. Both of the blondes ducked behind trees before they were seen, and cautiously looked the trunk. Naruto could tell that at least two of the enemy had seen combat already, because their footsteps were erradic. As he listened even more intently, he could hear something else, but couldn't seem to pinpoint it at the time. As the group slowed and came to a halt, he caught a glimpse of the last man. His blood ran cold. That face, coupled with the hair and the glasses, rang a distant bell in the blonde man's head. He'd seen that exact same person way back when he was young, clear back to the first time he took the Chuunin exam. Kabuto. He couldn't forget that face to save his life. That same face had shown up again when Ero-sennin and himself had finally found Tsunade. At the time, Naruto had thought that there had been some mistake. The silver haired man had clearly shown him that he was an enemy, and had no cares when it came to disposing of his own opponents. The sound Naruto had picked up on was coming from that same man, as he tried to heal his comrade on the move.

Ino saw Naruto tense as the last man stopped and sat down behind one of the others. As far as she could tell, he was some sort of medic. He had been healing the other team member as best he could while they moved. _He must be very skilled if he is trying that, because otherwise... _She remembered her own medical training_ Otherwise you cause a lot more harm than good. _As she contemplated exactly what this could mean, Naruto moved. Two kunai flew straight at the group, one taking down one of the unharmed men and the other only slicing a ragged hole in the fabric of the medics pants. _THAT BAKA! _Ino raged silently as she moved to follow the orange flash she assumed to be Naruto towards the group. _Didn't Shikamaru say not to engage if we were outnumbered? _

She didn't get a chance to continue berating her fellow blonde mentally as kunai began to fly around her, she dodged most of them, blocking the ones that she couldn't. As she stopped alongside Naruto she saw the look on his face. It was pure animal fury. His eyes were locked on the medic, and as he tried not to lose his cool in his own anger, she saw the medic smile knowingly. _Could it be these two know each other? _She thought, bewildered.

Naruto knew he'd be getting in trouble for this later, but he had engaged this group anyway, heedless of the danger. Kabuto smiled that damnable smile that he used when he was sure he could win. If only he knew how much Naruto had improved since their last little fight had occurred. Naruto knew that the silver haired man had probably improved somewhat too, but he knew what the teme was capable of now. He knew that Kabuto could heal himself with his chakra. As the two men stared at each other, one of the injured men threw a desperately aimed kunai at Naruto's chest. It didn't make it. Before anyone else could react Ino had grabbed it out of the air and flung it back at the sitting man. _If you dare, _She thought with a dreadful smile on her face _hurt my best friends crush, I will kill you. Not to mention the fact that I think he isn't all that bad of friend. _The knife thudded into the man's neck and he fell, quite dead. Of the two remaining men from Kabuto's group, only one was uninjured. He picked up his fallen comrade, "Kabuto-sama, please, finish this fight quickly and proceed to the wall. I will meet you there." Confident that Kabuto could finish the fight, he leapt from the ground, pulling his injured teammate with him.

Ino looked at Naruto. "Go after them," He said. "I have something I want to discuss with this vile rat before I follow." At that, Ino took flight after the shinobi with the wounded man on his shoulder. _Heh, I'll have it easy with these two, almost too easy. _She thought. If only she knew that it wasn't going to go anything like what she planned.

**AN: **Ok, so I'm going to put it out there one more time. If I don't get anyone elses opinion I'm going to go on what I've got. Should I leave it with just Naruto and Ino/Sakura/Hinata, or should I cut Hinata out and put it with just the two kunoichi vying for his heart?

Aside from that, I was planning to put the fight in this chapter as well, but I'm slowly working on making my chapters longer. (As suggested, thank you for pointing that out to me) However, I didn't want to go from very short to Very long chapters, so I'm stepping it up a little at a time. The fight will commence next chapter.

Thank you very much to all of you who have favorited/followed this story. You make me really happy knowing that I'm not too bad of a writer. I hope to have the next Chapter out inside of a week from now, but I'm not sure if that's going to work. I've run into a few kinks in the story line, and really need to work them out before I post the next chapter. Please, oh please, respond to the three kunoichi question, because that is one of the biggest reasons that I haven't finished the next chapter.


	4. Promise me

**AN: **Some of the reviewers have asked for me to add another female to this story, namely Tenten. I'm not going to do this. As it unfolds you'll see why, though in this case it is partially personal preference. I will be doing another story later in time in which Tenten is included, so don't worry, it's not like I'm trying to leave her out, she just doesn't fit with where I want this story to go.

On another note I've received mixed feelings about leaving Hinata in this story, and all of you that object seem to have the same reason. "She wouldn't get involved in something like this." Ok, point taken. I'm not going to say you're right or wrong, but it has been my experience that if a woman has a serious crush on you and starts to lose you to competition, she will become more assertive until you make it extremely clear that you don't want to be with her.

I'm sorry if you view it as changing the nature of the characters. I'm just trying to be creative, and it's not like I'm going to be the first one ever to change a few things about how the characters act. On that note, I'll shut my trap and get backing to writing the story that you all seem to be enjoying.

Neither Naruto or his opponent moved for the longest time, each expecting the other to strike first. _I know I should finish this quickly, but getting myself killed in the process _He swallowed _It wouldn't help Ino in the least if I wind up dead or injured._

Kabuto was having other issues. _If I engage him now, alone, I don't stand a chance. I've seen what he can do, and he's probably only gotten better since that time. I have to find some way, I have to- _His thoughts were cut off as he heard an all too familiar sound, except this time, it was accompanied by a current of air he could feel.

"Rasen Shuriken!" Naruto yelled as he launched it at Kabuto. _It only has to nick him for this to work. So long as he's distracted dealing with that I can put the rest of my plan into action_. Naruto watched the shuriken for a moment longer before he formed an all too familiar seal with his hands. Three shadow clones poofed into existence around him, and each seemed to spontaneously disappear as the blonde man nodded to them.

Meanwhile, Kabuto was trying to figure out what this thing was that was coming at him. The center of the mass seemed to resemble the exactly same technique that had ended their last fight. _But when and how did he learn to launch it?! _Kabuto began to see that he couldn't dodge it in time. He desperately moved towards one side, only to find that his feet were pinned to the ground. Without looking he knew that Naruto had reached up and grabbed his ankles. _Shit! I can't dodge this and- It's a shadow clone! The real one is over there, behind this thing. _As soon as he realized this he began to fling kunai at Naruto.

Without warning, Naruto couldn't dodge all the projectiles that seemed to appear in front of him. Two caught him full in the chest, and a third sliced through the outside of his calf. He doubled over, hissing in pain as he heard Kabuto's scream. He didn't look up. He didn't need to. He knew that the clones had stopped the worst of the projectiles before they had reached him. He knew that the clone he had sent into the ground had reached Kabuto long before the man could even analyze what the shuriken was. He also knew since he dispelled the clone underground, that it had been a direct hit. If he looked up, all he would see was the remains of a once silver haired man. One who had painted the area behind and around him red. Red with his own blood. At that thought Naruto reached up and removed the kunai that had peirced his chest. It wasn't going to be anything fatal. His other two clones had seen to that, but it was going to be a nuisance to move. His arms weren't responding right because the some of the muscles in his chest had been severed. _Damnit, _He cursed _I shouldn't have been reckless. Even a beat enemy can still react... _His thoughts were washed away by the pain as he forced himself to stand. _I'm not done yet. Ino still needs me. That man, the one that wasn't hurt. I've seen him before. _Naruto shook his head, trying to remember where. The face was so familiar, but at the same time not a single person matched it.

He leapt into the trees, heading towards the wall. _Shikamaru is going to kill me for not listening to him, especially if I let Ino get hurt._

**Outside the base of Konoha's wall: Minutes before Naruto began his fight**

Ino had stayed just beyond their sight as she followed them. She knew that they were probably aware of her presence, but she didn't want them to confirm it until she was ready for them. She watched silently as the uninjured man sat his companion against the wall and began to heal him. His back was turned to her. She wasn't sure if this was intentional or not. _I could hit him with mind transfer, and hold him until Naruto gets here. _She shook her head, she didn't know how long that was going to be, and she couldn't hold that technique forever. Thinking of a better plan, she began to set traps all around the area, ones that could be set off if she needed a quick getaway. Something about the confident manner in which this shinobi was acting set off alarm bells in her head. He was too confident. Almost as if he had rehearsed how to do this a thousand times.

He still knelt beside the injured man with his back so obviously a target when she returned. _It's almost as if he's just waiting for someone to..._ And then she saw it. There, not five feet from the man, was something unusual. A bird sat in on a branch that just overhung his head. That same bird had some very, very strange qualities, as Ino found on closer inspection.

_It looks like it's made of metal, probably is. Which means that kunai and other objects would just ricochet off of it. Based on the fact that it is a similar design to a hawk, it's probably made for hunting things. Meaning that I would have to avoid it and still try to attack him. That's why he's so confident. If I engage him that thing will attack, but if I engage it he will have time to ready a defense. _As she thought this through she attached an exploding note to one of her kunai.

As she launched it she leapt for another position that still afforded her a view of what happened. As she had suspected, it was intercepted by whatever that bird was just feet before it hit the man. However, the exploding note attached to her weapon went off just after it ricocheted off. The man on the ground was slammed into the wall as the other man dove to avoid the blast. Ino was fairly sure that from the new angle of the injured man's neck, that blast had probably killed him. As she was observing this though, the man with the bird turned to face her. _No way, he can't have seen me. I'm on the other side of the clearing from where I threw that! _Just as she finished that thought she was forced to move as the man threw several shuriken in her direction. Each one of them impacted on the ground behind where she had just been.

_Somehow he knows I'm here. _She thought _And not just that, but he's also got some really good reactions. _Studying the man further she realized that he didn't seem to have anything on him other than a standard shinobi kunai bag and that bird.

The man spoke, "You may as well come out girl. He can see exactly where you are even though you hide from me." Ino dropped into his view and looked at him, stunned. "That's right, I haven't even been kind enough to acquaint you with my not so fine feathered friend. This puppet..." He continued rambling but Ino had her mind on other things. _So he's a puppet user? As in that thing is just an extension of him? But how did it know to move when I threw that kunai. How did it tell him exactly where I was hidden? _As these thoughts crossed her mind, his voice faded back into them. "You're probably wondering how we communicated if he's only a puppet. I'll tell you now, but be ready, because I'll only tell you once before I send you to your doom. He is no ordinary puppet. This is my greatest tool. It took me nearly a decade to perfect and master the technique. I don't need strings to manipulate him, all I need is a thought imbued with chakra. How long can you hold out against that kind of power, I wonder?"

As he finished his rant Ino's mind was reeling. _A puppet, controlled by thought? Not even Kankuro could dream up such an extravagant ability. _The bird seemed to choose then to fly in her direction. As it approached Ino noticed that the edges of it's wings and feathers gleamed, as if they were sharpened. She leapt aside just as it passed the spot she hand been and looped around to come at her again. This time, she was not so lucky. It seemed to anticipate what she was about to do, and adjusted it's flight just before she left the ground. One of those gleaming wings caught her side, and she felt blood begin to leave the wound as she once again regained her feet. Before she could begin form any hand-signs to start the mind transfer technique, the bird was back again and she drew her kunai. Each time it dove at her it would manage to make another cut, though with the knife in her hand they appeared to be shallower that the first one. Each time she blocked, her arm got a little more numb. _Where is Naruto when I need him? He'd know what to do. I can't even think of anything because I have no time with this thing always slicing little holes in me. _As she turned to face her attacker again she made a fatal mistake. The gash in her side had been leaking blood out onto the ground, and as she turned she stepped into a puddle of it. With the unexpected terrain beneath her, she turned too far, and the bird opened another cut in her back. _I can't take much more of this before... _She shook her head, trying to clear the haze both from her thoughts and her vision. _Why is it getting dark already? Isn't the sun still up? _She wondered lazily as the wing swept in again. The knife was knocked from her hand as she did her best to block yet another blow to her already pain filled body. And then she heard something terrible. It pulled her back from the edge of unconsciousness. A scream. Somebody was in serious pain. It came from the direction that she had left Naruto in, and she could only hope that it wasn't her tall blonde friend. _He's been through so much with all of us... to think that we would both die here... _She thought of the traps she had set earlier, and how futile they really were. She tried to stand to move in that direction, but her legs failed her. She looked up to see the man standing where he had when the battle began.

"You really are incompetent aren't you? You baka girl. No one can beat me. Even Kabuto-sama couldn't really stand against my ultimate technique. And now you're going to be one more to die on the list. I will take my revenge against Konoha for taking Orochimaru-sama away from me!" He finished his words with conviction. And pointed his hand at the bleeding form before him. As the bird came down one last time, she began to cry in her head. _I never had the chance to become what I wanted to be, and now I'm going to die here... I'm so sorry Naruto... I couldn't keep my promise... _As she thought this she sank into her memory.

"He made us all promise the same thing Ino. You can't complain about it any more than we can." Sakura said. She was getting tired of her platinum blonde friend and her ranting.

"I know Forehead, but did he have to say it like that? I mean it's like he's in love with us or something! 'Just promise me, whatever happens, don't die ok? I don't want anyone else to die.' I mean come on Sakura! I know we're his friends and all but did he have to make us promise that?" Ino wouldn't stop until she got her point across. She didn't think it was fair that so many of their friends were gone, and now this boy who was half the reason was going to make her promise to live just so he wouldn't suffer.

"Just shut up, Ino. At least he's trying to care!" Sakura said. _It's the most caring he's ever been towards any of us since Sasuke-teme came back. _She thought. _At least it's a step towards caring more for us... maybe even being in love with one of us... _She blushed as her thoughts turned to which one she always wanted the blonde to pick. _Oh, if he would just hold me in his arms forever and I'd never have to be alone again. _Any further thoughts from the pink haired woman were interrupted by her best friends ranting.

Ino came back to the present. Sakura had told her all about what she had been thinking when Ino had finally cooled off enough to listen. And now here she was, she was breaking the promise she'd made to that same blonde man all that time ago. _At least it will be quick. _She closed her eyes as she saw the bird get closer. _I'm sorry, Naruto._

What happened next, Ino couldn't understand. One moment the bird was approaching her for the killing blow, and the next something bright and orange had landed in front of her. She heard a crash and her eyes flicked open. _That wasn't there a minute ago, _She thought sluggishly. _So what- _She gasped as she realized that it was none other than Naruto standing in front of her. The bird that had been about to end her life was now trapped with his hand around it's neck. He looked over his shoulder. "Damnit, when I made you guys promise not to die I meant it, so why in the hell are you giving up like that Ino-chan?" She never had a chance to reply. She just passed out from loss of blood.

Naruto was angry. Even more angry than running into Kabuto had made him. One of his best friends was laying on the ground behind him, bleeding from multiple deep cuts to her body, and the man standing in front of him had been the one that caused it. That could only mean one thing. _This teme just tried to kill my friend. _His thoughts beyond that became tinted in red as the Kyuubi awoke.

The man seemed to think twice about approaching this thing that now stood before him. Not only had his bird been stopped dead, but it was now being slowly crushed as the man's eyes changed from a deep cerulean blue to a lighter shade of ruby. He couldn't believe it. His puppet wasn't responding to the commands he was giving it. He pulled out a tiny flute and had almost put it to his lips when the being in front of him seemed to disappear. It didn't take long to see where as the sky above him was filled with that exact same blonde haired, ruby eyed menace. The older man turned to flee as he saw this, but was intercepted by yet another of the clones, except this one held his bird. His precious work, all for naught.

Naruto stood in front of the man responsible for Ino's injuries. The bird in his hand now completely crushed as he took out his anger on the weapon used. "Nobody. Ever. Hurts my precious friends!" he cried as he lifted the bird up before the mans eyes. "You're no exception." He brought the bird back down before using that same hand to hit the man under the chin. His body flew upward as all of the Narutos above him brought their feet down in mighty kicks. The body hit the ground and would later be found in a crater nearly eight feet deep.

Naruto dispelled his clones as he ran to where Ino's body lay. _Ino-chan... _"Ino-chan, please don't die on me." He carefully picked her up as his eyes once again faded to their old blue state. He pushed off the ground and landed on top of the wall before speeding away in the direction of the hospital. He was so concerned about getting her there safely that he almost didn't notice how much his own wounds pained him when she moved.

She looked up at the face of the man that had saved her. His short, spiky hair was blown back in the wind. She shifted a little bit, trying to figure out why she was in his arms. As his eyes looked down on her, she blushed slightly, which gave her quite a headache. _He saved me, and now I'm in his arms. _Ino thought about it for a moment before she decided she liked the feeling. _Sakura is going to kill me later._

She looked up again into the concerned eyes of this person that saved her life, and she realized, _No, she isn't. I'm not going to die now and I won't let her kill me later. _She was pulled from her thoughts as Naruto's voice reached her. "Ino-chan, you're going to be ok. Just have to make it to..." He stopped as he realized that she had faded back into unconsciousness and took it to be loss of blood. In actuality though, Ino had had what all the girls called a "Hinata moment", she was so taken by Naruto and his caring attitude that she had partially fallen unconscious do to her embarrassment.

**Outside Operating room 3, Konoha hospital: Two hours later**

Naruto was so worried that he didn't even go and rejoin the battle. By the time that he had brought Ino to the hospital, there had been word that most of the enemy had been eradicated by now anyway. He had played his part, and now he stood waiting for word of his friend. As each of the other surviving member from the Konoha 11 came back from the fight, they were all told about what had happened. Even Shikamaru, who would normally never have shown emotion while under his Anbu mask, came to visit with Naruto as he waited. The air was very tense as he rounded the corner to find everyone waiting. Naruto looked up, saw him, and quickly looked down again. He'd already told the others basically what had happened when they had gotten split up, but he didn't want to face Shika about this.

He didn't get a choice though."You didn't listen, did you baka?" Shikamaru asked with a concerned look under the mask.

Naruto looked up and sighed. "No, I didn't." This alone seemed to stun everyone, even Shikamaru had to admit it wasn't like Naruto to say he didn't follow orders. "I lost my head when I saw Kabuto. You know the one that Orochimaru had taken with him into those Chuunin exams?" He waited until Shikamaru had acknowledged, yes, he knew the one. "He and four other were coming towards us. Two of them were injured, so I thought we could take them, no big deal. I already know how to take care of Kabuto, so it'll be a breeze." His face turned sullen as he continued with his tale. "I took two of them out, leaving only Kabuto, one good man, and a guy that seemed to be just about dead anyway. Ino followed me when I started the fight, and before I really knew what was going on the guy beside Kabuto had picked up his friend and told Kabuto to catch up. He took off through the trees toward the wall." Everyone was listening in rapt attention. They knew this was the part he had been vague about with the rest of them because he only wanted to say it once.

Naruto almost lost his nerve when he looked at their faces, but he kept going. "I told her to follow them, I thought that with just one guy really able to fight that she could handle it. I took care of Kabuto and ran to go after Ino, thinking that maybe she'd already beat the guy, you know?" He looked up with a little bit of a knowing smirk on his face, they all knew Ino, she hated to make fights last very long. "When I got there all I saw was this weirdo looking bird circling around the clearing and this guy was talking. I looked around and..." He choked a little bit through the next part. "Ino was kneeling in the grass as that thing came as her, she was crying and her eyes seemed like they were glazed over. She couldn't even move to avoid it." He sobbed a little bit just thinking about it. Sakura put her hand on his knee and gave a little squeeze. It seemed to bring him out of it enough to finish. "I don't exactly remember what happened after I stopped the bird thing from getting too her. At least not until I was walking back over to pick her up." Sakura looked a little jealous at that part, but nobody noticed. "I brought her here as fast as I could." He paused to take a breath. "I'm sorry guys... Especially you, Shika. I didn't listen and now..." His voice trailed off as the door opened. Everyone turned expectantly and none other than the Hokage, Tsunade walked out.

All of them gather around and seemed to hover until she opened her mouth. "She's going to make it."

The next thing any of them knew, the was loud sigh and a thump. Everyone looked around until they saw Naruto, laying facedown on the floor, in a growing puddle of his own blood. He'd been so tense that those holes in his chest hadn't even affected him until now.

**AN:** Ok, so I'm not the greatest at writing fight scenes. Sorry. :) You'll only have to bear through this once because I'm not planning on putting another one in this story. Anyway, Ino has now been saved, thankfully that was the easy part. Now the real story begins. Ino has realized that maybe Naruto really does care for them all as a little more than just friends. Sakura is desperately trying not to all out tell Naruto that she thinks she loves him. And our little, shy Hinata is about to become a little jealous of the other two. Maybe even enough to get the nerve to talk to him.

I also probably wouldn't have posted this chapter this soon, as I was hoping to make it longer, but I think now is a good place to end it.

Find out what happens, next chapter.

P.S. Don't kill me for the cliffhanger, I'm not feeling great so I don't want to continue writing right now. Besides, I'm developing a troublesome headache. As always, thank you to all of you who favorite/review/follow this story. Makes my day. :)


	5. Dreaming Reality?

**Konoha Hospital: Four days after the incident**

He was aware, he just wasn't conscious yet. The light coming in the window stung even through his eyelids. It seemed like everything that had happened since he heard the news of of Ino's survival must have been a dream. He liked it so much that he let sleep take him again, his friends could wait just a little longer, he decided. He just wanted to see that dream one more time before he was dragged back into real life and his temporary happiness would be shattered again.

**Inside Naruto's Dreams: Team Sevens old training grounds.**

"Hey Sakura-chan!" he called. She turned to look at him, and he stopped cold. There were tears forming in her beautiful emerald eyes. He couldn't help himself as he walked up to her and hugged her. "What's wrong Sakura-chan? Are you ok?" He did his best to make it sound very caring, not like his usual blunt questions.

She stood there for a moment, stunned. _Not only is he hugging me, but he wants to know why I'm sad... _She sighed mentally _And he even calmed down enough to do it without that stupid act he always has up. _The longer the silence lasted, the more he worried about her. She just stood there. The blonde opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word as suddenly she moved. She took a tiny step closer and leaned her head on his chest. _I can't let him know why, he'd just think I was being a silly girl or that I was lying to him... Again. _She couldn't stand the thought of him thinking that she was lying, so she had just moved closer as if she was seeking comfort. She didn't really hug him back, but she didn't force him away. This confused Naruto greatly.

She had her head on his chest and kept pressing up against him, but at the same time she wasn't hugging him. _At least she stopped crying, _He thought _I hate it when she cries. It makes her look so pretty, but at the same time... It just seems so wrong for her to feel sad. I don't like it when she's sad._ The man hugged the pink haired woman a little tighter before he asked again, "What was wrong Sakura -chan?"

She pulled back from him a little before she answered his question. "It's nothing, just being a silly little daydreaming girl like I am sometimes." _I just pray that he buys that story, I don't want him to know I've been sitting here thinking about him, and that I was crying because I knew he would never pick me out of all our friends. _

He seemed to think about what she had said for a moment before he shrugged his shoulders and let go of her. This caused her to look sad again, but he didn't notice. Naruto's mind was somewhere totally different at the time. _She's probably still thinking of that damn Sasuke-teme. Stupid son of a bitch always rated higher than me on her scales anyway. She just sitting here daydreaming about how he will forever refuse to see the light of day again and how he'll never love her back. _He looked up from his thoughts before sitting next to a tree nearby. _At least I know a little bit of the pain she's probably feeling if that's what she's really thinking. _Naruto could never really be sure about these things. He hadn't been all that interested in the female portion of his group until after the war. He'd only just begun to understand what went through their heads, and even he knew that he was only scratching the surface most of the time.

She chose that moment to come sit next to him, and fortunately for him she was looking away, or she would have noticed his blush as she leaned against him. _If I didn't know better then maybe I'd think she wanted me and not him. Seeing as how I do though... _He let that thought drag itself into his list of things that made him sad. Once he put something on that list, he would only think about it when he knew he was totally on his own. He wanted piece and quiet to sit and contemplate each unique item and the pain it brought on. Most of the time when he was alone he spent learning how to deal with the things on there. Learning to hide all the sadness in one of his usual smartalec smiles. He'd learn to just cover up all his sadness and let it go. He didn't want to burden anyone else with his troubles.

Without either of them noticing, another member of the 11 had quietly snuck into the ground. The platinum blonde head of hair that was currently hidden under a bush watching the two was growing more than a little jealous of the fact that they weren't just sitting together, but were sitting together leaning into one another and just staring off into the distance.

She couldn't take things like this, and promptly stood up and walked up to them. Naruto seemed almost greatful to her as he found an excuse to extricate himself from his thoughts. Sakura, on the other hand, seemed to be glaring pure death in her direction. Ino didn't seem to care. She just didn't want to be left out of whatever was going on with the blonde man.

She noticed the still slightly far away look in Naruto's eyes and snapped her fingers to get his attention. His head snapped up so he could look into her more playful eyes. Sakura had by this time regained some composure, and seemed to be contemplating leaving before anything happened. To Naruto's disappointment and Ino's apparent glee, she spoke.

"I should be headed home. Said something about extra chores that she needed help with. Bye Naruto-kun, Ino." She walked away without looking back.

Had she done just that, she wouldn't have been able to stop herself from laughing at the two blondes she had left behind. They both had the exact same look of almost pure terror written on their faces. _She didn't... She couldn't! Why did she just call Naruto, "Naruto-Kun"? Is she losing it or something? _

Naruto hadn't even registered that fact and wouldn't until much later. _She didn't even insult Ino. That pink haired beauty always insults her. If for no better reason than because she's a rival for the heart of the boy they both want. _As he finished that thought he dropped the look on his face in favor of a sour one. He thought he knew who they both wanted, and it was the same guy that they had been after since before the academy all those years ago.

Just as Ino opened her mouth to speak, he heard Sakura's voice. _Wait what didn't she just leave?_ The world around him seemed to go dark all of the sudden as the dream faded.

_Damn you... This had better be good..._

**Konoha hospital: 3:00 in the evening**

Naruto was once again pulled to semi-consciousness just before the best part of his dream. _If loud-mouth hadn't interrupted it Ino would have kissed me again..._ Even though she had never really kissed him before, he would never say that he didn't fantasize about it. _Come to think of it I've fantasized about them a lot more lately._ By "them" he meant the three girls he had become interested in. Only one usually had his dreams to herself, and that was Hinata. Sometimes he would dream of all three, and on those nights he was in heaven.

He was pulled back from his reveries of those nights by another irritated whisper. He could tell it was Sakura, but who was she talking to that it was making her both try to be forceful and quiet all at once? He could answer the question if he opened his eyes, but if he did that then he wouldn't be able to resume him interrupted dreams. He thought about it for a bit longer before he carefully opened one eye so that only a slit of the real world was visible. What he saw gave him a bit of a shock.

He was in the same room as the two females he had just been dreaming about. Every now and then one or the other would make a general thrust of their arm in his direction. _I wonder if they're talking about me, or just the world outside._ He thought about it for a minute and began to realize he could still hear their conversation from earlier echoing in his head. He remembered everything they had said even though he had been asleep. Naruto didn't even realize the miraculous nature of this development. He just started sifting through the material consciously. What he found startled him even more than waking up to them being there.

**Konoha Hospital: While Naruto was dreaming**

Sakura walked into the room with a two flowers in her hand. One was a simple orange cosmos, which she intended to leave for her teammate. The other was a white lily. She knew that Ino seemed to like the smell of them when she worked in her parents shop, so she'd brought it with her when she came to visit. After all, it would be rude to give the boy one and not her best friend since they were staying in the same room.

Sakura was constantly checking on the two, making sure that nothing was happening. _I don't want my man even looking at her right now. Why couldn't they have at least put them in separate rooms like I suggested?_ She knew it had been selfish, but she had done it anyway. She didn't like the thought of Naruto and Ino staying in the same room. Especially since he had a nasty habit of being so romantic when he was sleepy.

She had kept that one a secret from all of her friends. Every time they went on a mission and Naruto would get tired, he always seemed to get into this half-cocky romantic mood, even though he didn't realize it. He'd be that way every time he woke up too, but those didn't last anywhere near as long as the times before he slept.

Sakura lay the orange flower on the table next to the blonde man before she turned to her other blonde friend. By now Ino was awake more often, and seemed to be coherent most of the time, even though she didn't talk much. Nobody was sure why that was, because she always used to be so loud-mouthed and bossy. Now she just lay there, her head turned so that she could watch what Sakura was doing. _If I'm not mistaken, she looks jealous that I'm doing this for Naruto... Wait, _Sakura's face immediately started to turn into a pleasant mask as she realized what she had just thought. _She looks jealous... Why should she be jealous she knows I like him now..._

Ino, gaining a bit of her old demeanor, spoke. "You could have at least thought of something a little more original than orange for him, Forehead."

Sakura couldn't even come up with a stinging reply. She just stood there for a moment before she handed her the lily and whispered, "I know, I just thought maybe he would like it. Why do you care anyway?"

This caught Ino off guard. She didn't know that her look of jealousy was so easily read by her friend earlier. _I guess she noticed, so we may as well clear the air of this before he wakes up. _"You're not the only one who likes Naruto anymore Sakura... After he saved me I..." The pause in her speech lengthened as she searched for the right words that wouldn't upset her friend. "I guess I saw the other side of Naruto than the constantly loud and obnoxious guy. He's not totally oblivious to romance anymore, either. The way he treated me on the way here... it was more than just concern Sakura, it was like he genuinely cared about me. Not just as a teammate anymore, but as something more. I guess I kind of want to see more of that now that I've seen it once."

The speech shocked Sakura almost as much as the look of jealousy earlier. Ino had been blunt about it. Something that she was both thankful for and irritated by. How could this other girl just state so plainly that she liked Naruto? "Why? Why all the sudden do you want him?" Sakura asked.

"I don't really know. Maybe the fact that he literally swept me off my feet to save my life and was so gentle about it when I woke up on the way here. That and even you've told me what happened afterward. He only collapsed after he was sure that I was going to be okay. How many guys would do that kind of thing over a girl?" Ino couldn't help but be a little sarcastic.

_Only one, _Sakura thought. "But he probably would have done it for anyone." She sounded pleading as she said it, as if she didn't want to believe that maybe the blonde man in the room could possibly have moved on from his crush on her. _He was supposed to be mine, he wasn't supposed to outgrow that crush and move on... _Her confusion eventually traveled to her face. "I just..." She let the sentence die. "I guess this means we're rivals again, aren't we?" She said without any enthusiasm.

"Yeah." Ino said. "It would appear so."

Naruto chose then to sit up. Neither girl knew that he had heard and processed the entire conversation they had just had, but had they known, both would have been very embarrassed. _I can't even start to believe this. I've got to still be dreaming right? They couldn't be interested in me right? I mean the only girl that has ever been interested in me is Hinata and I haven't even had the guts to ask her out yet. She's just... _He shook his head, trying to organize the clutter in his thoughts. _So now these two like me for some strange reason, and I had it all planned out that I was going to ask Hinata out sometimes soon. Nothing too fancy, maybe just an evening out together doing whatever she wants... Is it going to change anything if I do that?_

Just then the very person he had been thinking about walked into the room. Hinata, ever being the shy and quiet person, was almost scared to death to see that Sakura and Ino were both there too. "H-Hello, everyone." she managed to speak in a voice just above a whisper.

Naruto put on his trademark grin and answered her, "Hey, Hinata-chan. How are you?" The instant he asked he could have sworn that the temperature in the room raised a few degrees from the furious blush that would still always appear on her cheeks. He knew he looked a right mess from the fight still, it hadn't been that long ago, and here he was acting like he was perfectly ok. All three girls were a little surprised at his act, because they all knew he was still hurting some, each of them had seen him at least once as he rubbed the spots on his chest.

"I-I'm f-fine. And y-you? How are you, N-Naruto-kun?" she managed to stutter out. _I bet he's sitting there trying not to laugh and make it worse for me. I mean he knows I only stutter like that around him, and I bet he thinks it's totally hilarious. _

_If she gets any cuter I'm going to have to go hug her. _Was the only thought going through Naruto's head. He almost didn't care that the other two kunoichi were there at this point. All he wanted was to assure Hinata that she was doing ok. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Eh, I've had better days than this, but I'll be out of here soon enough."

Hinata let a small smile grace her face at that. He'd admitted that he was hurt and might have to stay here, but it had only been to her. In her mind it was like the other to women didn't even exist for a moment. It was just her and Naruto in the room. He smiled at her and it seemed like she was in seventh heaven. Well, she was at least, until she passed out. Again. _He acknowledged me... even if it was something so small as this at least he admitted a defeat, and it was to me. Even with the other two here he put on a brave face and told me. _

As she woke up later, Hinata realized that she was sitting in the hall with Sakura in front of her. She realized quickly that the look the pink haired woman had on her face was not caused by Hinata's condition. It was caused by the fact that Naruto seemed to favor her.

"Sakura, is everything o-ok?" She asked tentatively. She didn't want to anger her friend, but she wanted to make sure that what she thought was going on behind that irritated face was what was really going on.

Sakura shook her head as she answered. "We have one man, and three women that want him, and he seems to only realize that one of us likes him because she had the guts to tell him as much. The third member of said group of kunoichi is only just realizing her feeling for him, so she hasn't entirely had a chance to figure out what her feelings are." Sakura looked up at Hinata and stated flatly. "In my opinion, this is a mess."

Hinata couldn't agree more. She wanted Naruto to herself, and now these other two women had come around to the realization that maybe he was more than he let on. _I don't want him to be theirs, I want him to be mine. To be my Naruto-kun. _She smiled at the thought before she realized how out of place it would be int the current conversation. Before she had completely extricated herself from her thoughts however she realized that the pink haired woman had already left to attend to other matters. Hinata settle back down, now deep in thought. _I guess it's down to whoever has his interest, and judging by what she said_ She glanced down the hallway where she thought Sakura had gone_ that would mean that I might still get my wish. _

As soon as Sakura had gently pulled Hinata into the hallway, Naruto dropped his grin and lay back down on his bed. He wasn't feeling too bad really, so he hadn't lied to the lavender eyed kunoichi, but his wounds did still need time to heal. _I almost can't believe that I told her I'd need to stay here. I mean it's not like I lied, but it just feels so... strange. Usually I would just complain about not being able to leave instead of accepting it like that. _

Both Ino and Sakura had both noticed it too. They'd seen exactly how the blonde man and the Hyuuga heiress had reacted to each other. Both of them had the same thought. _If this keeps up, I'm not going to stand a chance in the long run. At least not with this particular man. _

**AN:** Ok, so I know that was like a total drag, and you're either so totally into this right now, or your bored out of your freaking mind. To be honest I did this to establish the basic relationships so far. You'll all get to see where it goes in the next chapter. So far it seems that Hinata is not so much of an under dog anymore, and that may be a threat to the other two women beginning to seek Naruto's heart.

Thank you to all of you who favorite/follow/review this story. I'm really starting to get into this now, so hopefully the next chapter will pick up the pace again.


	6. My place to share

**Naruto's apartment: A few days later**

Naruto woke up in his own bed. Yesterday he had been let out of the hospital with strict instructions to do no strenuous activities. The only reason that he hadn't was the fact that it was Granny-Tsunade that had told him. The fact that she had given him a death glare had probably factored into it too. _At least I'm allowed to move again. Maybe I can figure out what I plan on doing with the information I gained at the hospital. _He'd thought about the conversation he remembered between his teammate and her friend, but he still couldn't believe what they had said. For them to like him, of all people, _They have to be crazy. I still wonder if that's why Sakura stopped overreacting to everything bad that I do. _The more he thought about it the more likely it seemed to be true.

He rolled onto his side and sat up. Today he was going to have to take it easy, more to save his life from Tsunade than because he wanted to. He took a shower before dressing in a much plainer outfit that his Shinobi gear. Even though his gear had toned down a large amount in the colors, it was still flashy in it's own right. His mission gear now included his Jounin flack vest, a sleeveless and faded orange shirt, and a pair of grey pants that just came to his ankles. His biceps were often covered in wrappings with that same outfit. Today, however, he was wearing a simple white T-shirt that had the Konoha swirl on the back of it, with black pants. He began to think of how he wanted to spend his day, and finally decided to head towards his personal memorial site for his fallen comrades.

Naruto, after the end of the war and the death, had set up a small memorial for the friends he lost. He put it in the same grove of trees as Ero-sennin's. As he walked among them, he stopped at each and remembered all the good times and memories that that friend had given him. He came to Ero-sennin's memorial, reached into a pocket in his pants, and placed a photo down next to his old Sensei's. He did this every so often when he came here, placing a photo down next to one of his old friends'. The photo always showed a happy memory of him with them, or at least one he had found of the friend enjoying themselves. Today it was one for Ero-sennin. It showed him and Naruto, walking down some tree covered trail during his two and a half year training. Naruto had his hands behind his head, and Ero-sennin was laughing at something he had said just moments ago.

He dragged himself back from his memories as he realized that he wasn't alone. _I know she's followed me here before, but she's never been so obvious... Maybe now... _Without giving it a second thought Naruto turned around and spoke. "Hinata, you can come out from behind the trees."

A very embarrassed Hyuuga stepped into view of the Jinchuriki. _I don't think I should have followed him so close. He might not want me here. What if he really wanted to keep this place a secret from everyone? _The look on her face explained exactly where her thoughts were going, and Naruto's own face seemed conflicted.

He wanted her to be here, to see what this place was and explain why it was so precious to him, but at the same time he didn't want to sound weird to her and make her think that he was stranger than he already was. He took a step towards he as he thought, _I'll tell her... it's a start to something. _"Hello, Hinata. How are you?"

His words stopped her doubtful thoughts and the blush returned to her cheeks. "I'm d-doing well, Naruto-k-kun." _He didn't ask me to leave, so maybe he'll let me stay with him. He always seems so sad when he comes here, and I don't like to see him sad. _"How are you?"

The question from the blue haired girl startled Naruto. She never seemed to really try to converse with him like this. He was thrown back into his fight with Pein, when she'd told him she loved him. _Is it possible that maybe she's really trying to prove it finally?_ His body, fortunately, was on auto-pilot and answered her for him. "I'm doing ok for now. I can't do much of anything strenuous for a few days, so I decided to take it easy and come visit my friends..." He stopped himself before he asked the next part, but decided he may as well seeing as how she was already here. "Care to join me?"

Hinata's face immediately turned a darker shade of red, but she managed to move closer to him. It was exactly what she wanted, but she was so embarrassed to be this close to him... Ever since the fight with Pein she had feared for the rejection she knew was coming, yet here she was being invited into his private place. She wasn't being rejected by him. _He's... He's accepting me. _She realized that she had remained silent for a very long time, and the longer the silence lasted, the more strained Naruto's attempted smile became. "Naruto-kun... I'd like that." _I didn't even stutter that time! _This surprised the Kunoichi as much as it surprised Naruto.

_She's getting better at talking to me at least, so this won't be so bad... I hope she doesn't faint if she gets too close again. I don't know what I'd do then. _Naruto spoke up when his thoughts had calmed. "Come on, there's something I want to show to you... Just please promise me you won't tell anyone?" He wasn't sure if that was the right thing to say, but he wanted this to just be something that only him and her knew about. Somewhere special that they could remember good times together.

He started to walk back to where he had placed a picture of Kiba, his feral friend and Hinata's teammate. The blonde man looked over his shoulder to make sure that his friend was following, see that she was, he approached the memorial and sat against a tree close to it. _I want... No, I need to do this. I can't just keep shouldering everything on my own. I can tell that they are figuring out that I'm not always happy. I can't keep doing it on my own... Now is as good of time as ever to at least let a little of the truth show. _Although he hadn't noticed, Hinata sat just a little around the tree from him. She studied his face as the silence lengthened.

_He isn't acting like he usually does when any of us are around. He didn't put on his usual grin when he saw it was me. He didn't even cover up his feeling when he sat down. _"Naruto-kun." It was just a whisper, but it pulled him from his thoughts when the dangerously blushing kunoichi spoke. "I miss them."

Three simple words can have a profound effect on someone. Especially someone who understands exactly what you mean. Naruto had been trying to think of a way to start a conversation the blue haired woman, and when he heard those words he found an opening of sorts.

"So do I, Hinata-chan. It's why I made this place. I needed a place where I could be alone and remember all the ones who gave up their lives for the peace I wanted." Naruto looked a little crestfallen as he spoke. "Most of the time I would just sit here and talk to them, let them know everyone is doing alright. Tell them that we all miss them and wish that they didn't have to die so that the rest of us could live on. I didn't want to forget what they did for me, for all of us. I never want them to be forgotten."

Hinata took all of this in before she spoke again. "I saw you earlier... What were you doing at Ero-sennin's?"

The blonde man leaned his head back and sighed. "I do that every now and then. It's a way to help myself cope with them being gone. I have a lot of pictures from different times in our lives. Sometimes I'll bring one of them with me, and set it next to the memorial." He motioned to a small stack next to Kiba's picture, and another beside Akamaru's that was sitting in a niche just beneath his owner. "It's my way of letting them know I won't forget them, the good times we had together, and the hardships they went through before they passed away. The pictures are usually of the two of us doing something together, or just of them enjoying themselves." He stood up and picked up a few of the photos before sitting down a little closer to the lavender eyed kunoichi. He set them on the ground between them. "Kiba and I may not have seen eye to eye on a lot of things, but I'm fairly sure he considered us friends. He and Akamaru and I were always running out of the academy, like right here." He picked up a photo and showed her. "We were always getting in trouble with Iruka-sensei for skipping class, and that time was no exception." He smiled a little at the memories before placing it back on the ground with the others. "They all have at least a little good in them, even if some of them are of fights. A smile here or a look of determination... It reminds me of who they are and what they fought for." He let his rambling end as he studied her face.

She sat there, looking at the photos of her two teammates that hadn't made it as far in life as the rest of them. _Kiba... Akamaru... I miss you very much._ A tear began to form in the corner of her eye, and before she realized what was happening, it slid down her cheek. The Jinchuriki next to her sat for a moment, watching that single tear, before his hand came up and he wiped it from her face. He didn't know exactly what he was doing, he just didn't want to see her cry.

She blushed and turned away, but to both shinobis relief, she stayed conscious. Naruto's hand returned to his side as he turned and replaced his back against the tree, staring off into the distance ahead of him. His hands began absently collecting the photos that were still laying on the ground. He knew that he had brought one more, but he couldn't seem to find it without looking, and at the moment he was too absorbed in his thoughts to do that. His left hand held the ones he had collected, and his right kept searching until it encountered something warm and delicate laying over what seemed to be that last photo.

The blonde snapped his head to the right, seeing the thing that was covering it. He'd known what it was the moment he touched it, but he wanted to see. Hinata's hand was covering most of the photo, and in his searched his hand had lay on top of hers. He quickly pulled it back before she fainted on him, realizing almost too late that the look currently on her face was the same one she wore when that happened.

She pulled her hand back against her chest still clutching the picture and blushing profusely. _I... I just... I just touched Naruto-kun. Or rather he touched me, but still._

"Are you ok, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked. He really didn't want her to faint at this point. It would be really awkward carrying her home from the woods. He'd already been accused of taking several females virginity in the past, and it was an experience he didn't like. Anbu had eventually been involved in most of them, and they would always probe into his mind to make sure that he was being truthful when he said he hadn't. Carrying a girl home after she fainted was a sure way to get the same accusation again. Especially when said girl was someone who had told the blonde man she loved him.

"Y-y-yes. I j-just wasn't ex-expecting that was all." The more she stuttered the deeper she blushed. And the more she blushed, the more she had to fight against the wall of unconsciousness that was so close to overtaking her. She didn't want to have to be carried home, as it would invite too many awkward questions from her father. He would want to know where she had been, and why she had fainted, and why was Naruto carrying her home. _He might even go so far as to accuse him of something he didn't do again._ She thought.

Both of them stood up, and Naruto replaced the pictures he had in his hand to the pile he had taken them from. He started walking through the rest of the grove as Hinata trailed along behind him, never taking her hands away from the photo she clutched to her chest. Naruto never asked for it back, he knew she wanted something of her teammate to remember him, and he thought that was appropriate. It was a picture of Kiba standing on a hill, facing the sunset, with a full-grown Akamaru standing beside him. Both looked as if they were serious, but she could still see the tiny smirk that Kiba had plastered on his confident face. Naruto had kept that one for a very long time before depositing it in the pile. He always kept it on top because it said so much about the pair. _It won't hurt for her to have it. I know she'll take care of the memory. _

The blue eyed shinobi chose that moment to jump into his favorite spot in the grove. Hinata, knowing where he had gone, jumped into the trees and landed on a branch not far from him.

"I knew you'd followed me before." Naruto said with a smile on his face. _It's actually kind of nice to have someone to share this with... Especially someone who already knows a lot about it from observation. _He thought wryly. He motioned for her to sit next to him in a bough of the tree as he continued talking. "I found this place when I was building the memorials. It isn't much, but it's hidden from the ground, and it has a nice view... at least from over here." He smiled as the kunoichi before him suddenly caught on to what he meant and blushed.

Keeping most of her composure, Hinata managed to come even closer to him and sit just a few inches away. _If I get much closer, _She clutched the photo a little tighter as she felt her face burn again_ I'll be touching Naruto-kun again. _She was almost giddy at the thought, but she knew that if that happened she really would faint.

Bringing her mind back to the present, she looked out through the limbs of the tree. What she saw took her breath away. A small river ran through a clearing not far from where they sat. On the other side of the clearing was a hill that led up into the forest. Although that alone was very picturesque, the view behind it was even better. If she looked, she could just make out some of the taller building in the village, and she could just imagine how when evening fell the lights of the village would come alive and make a glow behind the clearing.

Naruto watched her sit there for quite some time before he moved again. He noticed that the longer she stayed like that, the more her hands came down until they were sitting on her lap. Extremely carefully, he reached over and gently took a hold on her hand. Her head turned to him as he turned his attention back to the view before him. _She hasn't fainted yet, and it doesn't look like she's going to, so good so far._ He pulled their intertwined hands out of her lap and set them on the wood between them. Before he even realized what had happened, the lavender eyed kunoichi had leaned her head against his shoulder. They sat like that for almost and hour before he leaned his head against hers and they both fell asleep. Naruto's last thoughts were going to be the first thing he thought of later. _I didn't even ask her out yet... Did I? _

**Six hours later**

Hinata opened her eyes. The first thing she realized was that she was leaning against something warm and soft, that had a faint smell about it that she liked. The second thing she realized was why she liked that smell. It was Naruto. This caused her to blush and shift positions a little bit before she had her third realization. _I'm in a tree, leaning against Naruto, and we're holding hands, looking out over the perfect view... _She shifted again, causing the blond mane to stir slightly _How did I get into this situation?_

Naruto woke up and opened his eyes. He already knew everything Hinata had just realized, and now he really wanted to do the thing he'd been planning since he'd noticed she was there that morning. He realized that it was now evening, and that it would probably be best if they got back to the village soon, or else they would be getting back after dark. He shuddered when he though of that piercing glare his father had given him on some occasions before. He didn't like that at all.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Hinata spoke first.

"Naruto-k-kun, maybe... Maybe we could do this again some time?"

"I'd like that Hinata-chan. Maybe we could get dinner before I take you home next time to?" He asked tentatively. _I don't know about all this... I hope she doesn't feel like I'm rushing her... Heck, I still haven't asked her out yet. _

Her smile and blush came before she nodded her head. She didn't trust herself to speak at this point. _Does this mean that-_

Her thoughts were cut short as Naruto asked, "So Hinata, does this mean we're... D-dating?"

Her smile got even bigger and she knew that she was blushing because it felt like her whole body was on fire. "Y-yes. I th-think it does." _Did he really just stutter? Like me? _

Naruto sighed, relieved. He knew that she had told him she loved him, but that had still been more than just a few years ago. He didn't know if the blue haired woman still felt the same. He was glad that she did.

The Jinchuriki stood up, pulling his girlfriend with him. "We'd better head back. I don't think it would be good for you to get home after dark. Especially now that..." He trailed off and instead gently tugged on her hand. They both jumped down from the tree and began walking back to the village. All the way back to the Hyuuga compound their hands were intertwined, and as they said good bye, Naruto still felt like he didn't want to let go. He gave her hand a little squeeze, which she returned before she turned and walked inside. Naruto left and headed to his apartment. Today may not have started out very well, but it sure ended as one of the happiest days of his life. As he wander through the streets on his way back to his apartment, he had a genuine smile on his face.

Had he known that two other kunoichi had been standing in the street watching when he said his good byes, he wouldn't have had such a smile on his face.

**AN: **Ok, so as you may have noticed it took a little bit longer for this chapter to come out and get posted. Sorry about that. I've been having a few... issues in life that needed to be dealt with.

That aside I'm pretty happy with how this part of the story came out. There are a few things that kinda got jumbled up and lost somewhere along the way to the end, so I'll have to add them in when I to the next chapter when I remember what they were. Keep up the favorites/follows please. I'm always glad when someone does that.

Also go ahead and review if you feel like it. I'd like to see how you guys like it so far and am always interested in constructive feedback. Yes, I will take a certain amount of flaming, so if you feel that is necessary then be my guest. Just please don't take it overboard.

On that note, I'll quit before it seems like I'm trying to write an entirely different story in the authors notes. Thank you to all of those who fav/fol/rev. See you all, next chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

Ok, so I have two stories up, I know that a lot of people have followed, favorited, and so on. To those of you who have I will be posting this same note on my profile and the last chapter of each story.

I am on a temporary hiatus. THIS IS NOT PERMANENT! Just temporary. I will be returning soon. I am in the process of moving, and will only have time to type little snippets at a time. As such it has been taking me much longer to finish the chapters than normal.

Hopefully, (At least I sure as hell hope) when I am able to upload again I will be posting a few chapters for both stories. See you guys in awhile.


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