Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Author Prenote:

X: Technically there won't be a Yami Naruto because this Naruto uses everything at his disposal especially his darker impulses. In his eyes they all have a time and a place, that means he isn't going to be suppressing a part of himself. Canon Naruto just denied everything that happened to him, sure he "accepted" it but somehow I don't think you can just accept being alienated for no reason without even a simple "I'm sorry".

General Guest Reviews: Training chapters will be interspersed Naruto & Karin will learn things along the way, Kusa isn't going to be one long training arc it's going to be a bit more complex than that. This next chapter actually takes place a month or so after the last one. So I'm skipping forward but not years at a time.

Day by day updates is something I really want to avoid as that stagnates a fic. I want to move forward quickly but not so much that it loses cohesion. Hopefully we will be out of Kusa in a chapter or two.

As for pairing that can change over time, I'm not completely certain what Naruto will be like in the future, the same goes for Karin. In most cases it writes itself.

Chapter 5: Uncomfortable Stealth Secrets!

Two Months Later…

The night was at its strongest as it darkened the skies, if not for the twinkle of the stars it would be a dead black. It was a new moon tonight so the night was at its darkest. Tonight was a night of action for two young infiltrators. The objective was knowledge…or well anything they could get their hands on.

Their mark was the scribe's corps libraries, a minimally defended building where general jutsu scrolls and other material were copied and mass produced. No doubt they had bet on the fact they might find some material that could be useful.

A silent shadow zipped past a vigilant Kusa chunin in the dead of the night. He twitched at the sudden passing of wind behind him, he stared down the corridor behind him into the dead blackness of the library.

"...So creepy…I hate this guard duty…" His voice carried a hint of fear, even a trained shinobi knew well to fear the dark.

Crouched above the clueless chunin the two young infiltrators held their breath as the lamp light that the shinobi carried receded into the gloom.

Two sighs of relief sounded simultaneously as both took a moment breath easily. Well at least one of them did.

"Karin stop squirming…the straps won't last if you keep doing it." Naruto's voice came out a furious whisper as he hissed backwards at his companion and partner. A pair of red eyes peaked over his shoulder as they glared at him through a set of black framed glasses.

"It's not my fault you came up with this stupid plan! How was this ever meant to work?" Karin whispered back in a furious growl, she was nearly biting the back of his neck with comically jagged teeth.

Naruto reddened slightly, it had been a good plan at the time, so the execution was just a little bit off, fact was it was still working!

"I'm the brawn and you're the one to direct me! We wouldn't have even gotten in here if you couldn't sense the ninja's chakra and suppress my own at the same time…" Her cheeks puffed up in indignation at the position she was in even with Naruto's praise.

She was currently strapped securely to Naruto's back by several leather straps. She was also holding on tightly with her arms around his neck. It was definitely not a position she was enjoying, she felt so useless being carried around even if it was kind of necessary considering Naruto couldn't suppress his chakra much.

Karin pouted again snarling silently into his back. She twitched when she realized she still had a job to do. Focusing intently placing her hands together into a clapped position, it helped her concentrate on other chakras especially when she was trying to cloak Naruto with her own chakra.

It was the result of her own close proximity to Naruto over several weeks, she realized that if she put some effort into it she could push her own chakra into Naruto. This was definitely not the result of her own fixation on his chakra, and even more so it was definitely not the result of her trying to play with it!

Still it had the unique result of blanking his chakra even to her, it made him feel more like her than his own dazzling self. It wasn't perfect of course it came with the massive drawback of having to share direct contact with him, meaning they couldn't be separated while using the technique.

A month ago she hadn't even had the strength to do anything when she came back to her home, but now that Naruto had been bringing in so much food she could definitely feel herself growing stronger. She still pretended to be weak at the hospital of course, it wouldn't be a good idea to let them think they could use her more.

Karin cracked open an eye to stare at his clean golden hair, after the first few weeks of enduring his particular brand of mucky mud she basically poured freezing water over him and scrubbed him clean.

She still couldn't believe how strong and fast he was getting, he had shown her with great pride his first original 'technique'. Okay so it wasn't really a technique so much so as Naruto learning to direct the deluge that was his chakra in 'one' direction. A normal chakra user wouldn't be able to replicate it simply because they would exhaust themselves in seconds while trying to. Even then Karin wasn't sure if someone could recreate it, the tight threaded networks most ninja had were nothing to the canals that Naruto had in his body.

Naruto's technique was basically just him channelling too much chakra into a surface. He noticed quite quickly when he started using the enhanced training techniques they had dreamed up. Stones cracked and tree bark splintered. Let's just say it didn't take much for Naruto to come up with an ingenious way to infuse his blows and attacks with the ability to shatter and break things with impunity.

If Karin was honest it was a terrifying technique, at its strongest she tried to imagine what he could do to a human. The images of splintered trees and shattered boulders flickered in her mind's eye. Somehow she doubted many ninja could survive it.

Still as useful as it was it wouldn't matter unless he could actually connect with a ninja. From what Naruto had told her that could be a much more difficult task. He had told her all about the ninja that had attacked his grandpa and him, how they had vanished from sight just like his caretaker. Faster than the untrained eye could follow.

That was the power they needed to crack. There had to be some secret to their movements, was it just because of how much more powerful they were or was it a learnable skill?

"Ugh…how are we going to find anything in all of this?" He was right, scroll after scroll mostly useless. Either they talked about concepts they had no frame of reference for or it was more esoteric theoretical knowledge. And it wasn't like they had all night to search. She could feel the ninja patrols moving around at the edge of her perception. They were lazy but they still followed their pre-set watches.

"We don't even know the name of the technique they use…" She could feel Naruto's depression through his chakra, it was a skill she had picked up but it seemed she could only tell what Naruto was feeling because she was very familiar with his chakra now days. Other people just felt confusing.

Looking up the aisles she noticed something that had escaped them in the dark. They were noted with kanji.

"Naruto look there, the aisles are marked by rank. You remember the ninja ranks don't you? D through to A…and I guess S but they won't have anything on that level here…" She pointed at the helpful signs sticking out from the massive shelves. They were currently walking down an aisle marked 'B' probably a bit advanced for them all things considered.

"Right…so I guess we should be looking in 'D' right? Cause nearly every ninja we've ever seen can do that super speed thingy so it should be pretty common then?" Naruto glanced back over his shoulder at her, his blue eyes inquisitive.

"I suppose so…I'm guessing we should just search the next aisle over. There might be some school books we can find too." At Naruto's quizzical look, "I know they might not have much but they could definitely have the basic information about chakra we are missing out on…"

It wasn't long before they found the largest section in the whole building. The D-rank section was huge and had its own separate hall, there were also lots of huge archaic printers nearby to create more copies whenever a new class joined the Kusa academy. Karin guessed that even if it was low level knowledge it still needed to be tightly regulated.

They pocketed a few books on basic chakra theory and hand seals. It wasn't long before they came across the few jutsu scrolls in the section. There were plenty of copies so they took as many different ones as they could find. Their packs were full before they decided their midnight excursion had been a success.

Sneaking past the rest of the patrols was again a simple waiting game, one move forward and wait for them to pass before moving on again. The pattern repeated itself until they were far enough from the area to feel confident enough to race on home.

Naruto couldn't believe how easy all of this had been with Karin helping. Honestly he had been thinking about doing this on his own, had he done so he would have been caught seven times over by now. Karin's chakra sense thingy was a really amazing skill, plus the fact she could even hide his own chakra was seriously useful considering he couldn't control his chakra that well yet.

Next to her he almost felt embarrassed, sure he was the better fighter but in this context Karin's skills really showed themselves to be something special. Hell if she was strong enough she probably wouldn't need him tagging along, she could manage this on her own.

It was near the middle of the night when they returned and Karin went to sleep almost immediately, that left Naruto to clean up and organise hiding places for all their ill-gotten gains. Obviously they had to be careful if any of the ninja ever decided to inspect the house, stolen scrolls and other materials left lying around would be a dead giveaway.

An hour later Karin's small house was illuminated by a single guttering candle. Naruto could be seen slouched tiredly as he poured over the scrolls. He once again tried to focus his bleary eyes and winced at the tiredness. He couldn't sleep so he decided he would look though some of the scrolls they had acquired.

The Bunshin, Henge and the Kawarimi jutsu it seemed were pretty standard fare for any ninja in the elemental nations. They were very old techniques known to all the five nations, still they sounded useful on paper. He searched through the other scrolls before he figured he had hit gold.

The Shunshin jutsu, an accelerated movement technique capable of making it appear to a bystander that the user had simple disappeared. It was however a trick, somehow the jutsu allowed you to supercharge the chakra in a user's body for a brief burst. There was also a small note at the bottom that explained how enhancing the eyes with chakra would also allow you to perceive that level of movement whereas normally it would be impossible.

It sounded great in practice but in reality reading it and doing it were two very different things. Enhancing the eyes? Was it literally just pushing chakra into your eyes? Somehow Naruto guessed there was way more to it than that. He knew formless chakra would do little damage to his body but uncontrolled chakra floating about in his eyes wasn't going to do much other than give him eye ache.

It was the same with his first original technique. Pushing chakra out in an uncontrolled fashion would do little other than make him tired, but building it up until it was a rising wave of dense power allowed it to shatter rock and splinter wood.

Naruto had already grasped the basics of enhanced chakra based movement from his taijutsu training with the old man. But enhancement of this kind would be seriously hard to do, a full body enhancement? He could barely imagine the concentration needed for that. Maybe that's why they could only do it for short bursts.

Well he knew what he would be training over the next few weeks. Hopefully the minimal explanations would be enough alongside the weirdo handseals.

He glanced backwards over his shoulder at Karin's sleeping form a few meters away from him. It had been tough to know she was having to suffer every day like this but they didn't have much choice in the matter. Until they were strong enough to flee there wasn't much else they could do but endure.

Still it was frustrating to him, they had both come a long way but it was not nearly enough. Especially with Karin's time completely taken up with her 'duties' it left precious little time for her to train safely without stressing herself.

He sighed to himself massaging his tired eyes. He wouldn't be getting much else read tonight, it would have to wait until tomorrow.

Collapsing into his coldish futon next to Karin's bed he tried once again to sleep soundly. He hoped for a dreamless sleep, that the nightmares of the temple would stay quiet tonight.

The next morning was a frantic affair of thrown clothes and half eaten breakfasts. Karin watched as Naruto dived out the back window clutching nearly six scrolls to his chest. Pouting she stared at his half eaten food, did he have so enthusiastic? Leaving food while in their situation was a sin. Hmph well he can eat it for dinner when he gets back!

Gengyo had stopped coming to pick her up nearly a month ago after she had started presenting herself at the hospital before he was set to 'escort' her. It was galling to do but they had secrets to hide now and having Gengyo come snooping around every morning was just asking to be found out.

Finishing up she closed up the house and left at a brisk pace. It was early enough that the sun hadn't greeted them fully yet, still the birds were singing merrily in the sky and the wind was warm enough to be pleasant. Too bad not everything was right in her world.

But some things had gone right.

Another change in her life had happened, much like Naruto someone else had forced themselves into her life. True they weren't living with her like a certain golden haired train-aholic. The white haired girl that thanked her before had become the second light in her life. Ryūzetsu was her first girlfriend, she had never been friends with any girls before and it was definitely different than being with Naruto.

With Naruto she couldn't help but feel drawn to him, it wasn't just his chakra that was so dazzling. His mannerisms and smiles never failed to make her feel lighter for the day. She also knew why he was trying so hard, it made her feel embarrassed just thinking about it. Even so in her heart of hearts she couldn't help but be beyond grateful to him.

Ryūzetsu was different, their friendship wasn't quiet as deep and she tended to be quiet ignorant of the real nature of ninja kind and the village. But Karin didn't have the heart to tear and stamp out the innocence in her friend. Even if it was foolish it was still something to be protected until there was no other choice.

If Karin were to put it into words Ryūzetsu was an escape for her. When they talked together or walked about in the village whenever Karin had time, it was like she could pretend she was a normal girl with her friend playing about, just laughing and having fun.

For Karin those times with her were some of the most precious she had, she would trade them for nothing.

She was nearly into the village proper when a familiar head of white hair swung down backwards from the forest canopy, the long hair forming a shimmering curtain of silvery white hair.

"Karin-chan! I knew I'd find you here!" Her friend back flipped with alacrity down to the ground and started walking alongside her. She was wearing a finely made tunic shorts with banded designs, her sandles were bright red. Ryūzetsu was wearing a very happy smile, so unlike what she was so used to. "Do you live near here? I tried to follow you back yesterday but I ran out of time. My family would have be really angry if I'd stayed out longer…"

"Ryu-san! Ah you surprised me there. You shouldn't be following me home in the dark it can get dangerous." Karin scowled at her half-heartedly before pouting shyly as she fingering her glasses, "And y-yes I do live here, just up the hill at the top."

"I knew it. See I followed you here and you didn't even know it. I'm getting better as a ninja!" Karin smiled outwardly while berating herself internally, she had to be more alert, the next time someone followed her it might not be someone as benign as Ryu-chan. Nobody could discover that Naruto was living with her.

There was silence for a bit as Ryūzetsu looked slightly awkward before asking her next unfortunately loaded question, "You're going to the hospital again aren't you? I didn't realize that anyone so young had a job there. Are your powers that amazing?"

Karin bit back a wince, she didn't want her friend to go digging sticking her nose into things better left alone. She forced a smile, "I'm the best healer in Kusa. Remember I helped your friend Muku, nobody else could have done what I did. That means I have to work at the hospital, they can't go a day without me…"

"That's so amazing. You're only my age and Kusa already sees you as an important person!" Ryūzetsu looked depressed for a few moments, "Muku wants to be a hero of Kusa, to bring it back to glory…but I…I'm not as good as him." She looked like she was trying mightily not to look bitter, "He picks up everything so fast that they call him a prodigy!"

"But Ryu-san don't you have a…kekkei genkai, doesn't that make up for it?" Karin tried to remember the term, didn't it refer to some kind of inherited ability from your ancestors?

"Yeah but it's useless. My clan just says it's not important unless someone really important to you dies. They wouldn't tell me why though…" Karin could almost see the dark curtain of depression hanging over her friend. Karin smiled and decided she would try her best to cheer up her friend later today.

Karin nudged her friend and smiled brightly, "Listen the days are getting longer, we should have some time before it gets dark. Do you want to go to the market with me?" Sure she would be very tired by that point but Ryu-chan's smile was worth more to Karin than that.

Instantly it was like someone had flipped a switch, and a bursting smile broke out across her face. "Really!? Okay! We can look at the ninja tools, I heard one of the new merchants had brought some new swords from iron country, they're supposed to be the best!"

With Ryūzetsu practically bouncing all the way into the village Karin's spirits were definitely buoyed. Maybe today wouldn't be so bad, she just had to focus on the light at the end of the tunnel. She just hoped she found the time to make good on her promise.

The training clearing as it had come to be known was filled with splintered trees and large cracked boulders either shattered with what looked like titanic force or split with precision edged power. Amongst the debris Naruto stood with a very constipated scowl on his face as his hands jammed in the same set of seals he had been practising for the last few hours.

Naruto had nearly blacked out from the overwhelming feeling of sickness when he first attempted the Shunshin no jutsu. The speed had been impossible to control to the point of extreme disorientation, combine that with blunt force trauma of hitting a tree and he had nearly knocked himself out.

Successive attempts at the jutsu hadn't been helpful to him. True he had been able to avoid vomiting up his breakfast but that was all he had managed. The speed did not get more manageable the more he tried it, within the first hour he had realized that brute forcing this training would get him somewhere sometime around when he got old and grey.

The jutsu itself did nothing to aid perception, the description did say it was most useful for running away from a dangerous attack or fight, not for battling the enemy directly. So was the jutsu he saw those ninja using different from this one? Was it a better version?

If only he could speed his perception somehow.

For the last hour he had tried pushing chakra into his eyes and brain and it had helped. Just nowhere near enough to make a real difference. He knew then that he would need to somehow shape and control that chakra instead of just pushing it in and leaving it.

"Damn it! What the heck do I know about eyes or how they work?" He grumbled glaring at a particularly badly exploded boulder. He didn't really like the idea of messing about with it until something happened. What if he accidently made himself blind wouldn't that be the ultimate stupid move?

Maybe some of the school books had something on the eyes? Yeah that might work, learn how they work first then try something!

Deciding to leave the shunshin for now he decided he would work on some of the other jutsu they had attained. The kawarimi was way too much like the shunshin for his brain to even consider trying it at the moment. Henge seemed like a really useful technique, think of all the disguises you could use without needing expensive supplies! If he and Karin learned it they could even escape with minimal hassle. Sure it wouldn't make pursuit any less dangerous but the initial escape would be way easier.

Naruto pulled out the scroll and pulled it open, he pinned it to the ground with several rocks. The description of the jutsu was pretty simple, think of an image what you wanted to become and then complete the hand seals. It did say that a very strong image was needed to complete the technique, a weak focus here would cause mediocre or useless results.

A memorable image? Grandpa in his robes half smiling in the morning light, his pristine white and green robes and rugged face etched into his mind. All that remained of him were memories, at the very least Naruto would keep him alive in his mind.

Focusing on the image he completed the handseals, Dog, Boar and Ram. He could feel his unruly chakra flow into the forms imperfectly. Like throwing a rock into a pool he created ripples but not the waves he wanted.

Opening his eyes he watched as a massive plume of white smoke exploded around him. A moment passed and it cleared. Looking down he could see misshapen robes and comical almost cartoonish body within them. He was taller that was for certain but he didn't need a mirror to know he looked nothing like grandpa.

"Heh…looks like this could take a while." He rubbed the back of his neck as he released the technique. Sure he had managed to do something first time so he should be proud, but somehow he felt nothing. How can you be prideful of something nearly every ninja can do? He was badly behind the other dangerous chakra users, he had never felt it more intensely. Now that he had actually tried some of the most basic techniques he knew what he was up against.

In the past month or so he had read some of the general history books concerning a few of the most powerful ninja. These ninja, the Kage seemed to be larger than life. One of these guys, the first to be named Kage was called Hashirama the first leader of the village of Konoha. Apparently with his powers over chakra he could remake the land, grow entire forests from nowhere and overpower Biju like the one he himself carried.

It honestly felt like some inflated legend but somehow Naruto knew it wasn't an exaggeration. The Fouth Hokage had quelled the Kyuubi enough to seal it within him, and if even a tiny part of what he believed the Kyuubi was capable of was real then it showed the near impossible gulf between a kid like him and someone skilled enough to do that.

As long as that gulf existed their freedom was not guaranteed. He couldn't stop until he could face off anyone that would try to use them or hurt them.

It was that simple.

It was late afternoon in the market place, merchants and customers were bustling about buying and selling, all trying to get the best bargain. It was even busier than usual with the new caravan that had rolled into town. Everyone was out taking a look at the new goods.

A particularly drained Karin was following her friend through the throng of people, Ryūzetsu's hair stood out like a beacon to her through the press of people.

"Come on Karin! This stall has some crystals…Ohh", her friend could barely contain herself as she stared at the large geode that was sat proudly on display. Karin had to admit it really was pretty. Around it the merchant has arrange various necklaces with brightly coloured shards of crystal tied on.

Ryūzetsu examined them with barely disguised enthusiasm, the woman behind the stall smiled happily. Karin sighed, Ryu-chan was a truly terrible haggler she was far too good hearted to truly push a merchant hard enough to get a good deal.

"Come on Ryu-san before the nice merchant eats you alive…" A muted cry of dissatisfaction sounded out behind her as she dragged her friend away from what was sure to be a rip off.

Honestly what would Ryu-chan do without her?

Even as she dragged her friend away she could see the looks she was garnering from the villagers around her. It hadn't been easy being friends with Ryūzetsu, her friend had no idea but Karin had been confronted several times about her friendship with the girl. She had come away with bruises every time but it would take more than sticks and stones to force her to give up the only thing remotely normal in her life.

They spent another half hour browsing the other stalls, if Karin was perfectly honest with herself very little of it interested her. Well mostly, some of the exotic weapons imported from Iron Country captured her attention. Still even her untrained eye could tell the heavily engraved katana and kusarigama sets were little more than display pieces for foolish nobles with more money than sense. Still she entertained the thought of somehow buying a weapon for Naruto, it was a silly thought considering she had no means to speak of.

"Come on stop day dreaming Karin-chan! It's time to go home, it's getting dark!" Ryūzetsu broke her away from the silly thoughts she was having, honestly she should be day dreaming about a big meal not a useless lump of metal.

"Ahh, Sorry! I'm coming!" They left in a hurry following the path out of town, all around them the market was beginning to close up. Most seemed to pack up their stalls for security, there were few indeed that felt confident in leaving their goods in the night.

Soon it was time to part ways as Ryūzetsu lived on the outskirts in a modest clan compound. Still it was within the village proper unlike Karin's small house. She watch slightly wistfully as her friend jogged away as the sun set around her, she turned and called back.

"Bye Karin-chan! Next time I should bring you to meet Muku I'm sure he would be really happy to meet you!" Her friend waved happily as she ran.

Karin suppressed a wince and waved back, her friend was in many ways complete naïve about the world. She probably couldn't conceive of any reason why Karin might not want to see or even speak to Muku. If she was honest she didn't want to meet any of her patients again...ever.

Looking up the hill towards where her home was she could see the shadows already set themselves upon the land as the sun dipped beneath the horizon. It had been a tiring day and Karin was looking forward to rest and finding out how Naruto got on.

Throwing open the door to her humble home she was greeted by a domestic scene of Naruto crouched over a boiling pot of stew. He was stirring it carefully with an intense look of concentration.

"Karin! Your just in time, the stew is just perfect now!" It was a huge bright smile that greeted her when he noticed her. That never got old. Just having someone here to come home to…she couldn't put a value on it. He carefully started ladling out the stew as she took off her sandals, "That was the last of the rabbits, I'll need to find more tomorrow…"

He handed her the bowl carefully before sitting down at the low table, he smiled widely as he took the first sip. It was their staple diet now. She had forced him to swear not to steal anything else, of course that meant they needed to find other sources of food. He had taken to running down animals for 'training', Karin wasn't sure if she would define it like that. An absurd display of stamina? Yes, definitely.

"Karin…do you think the hospital will have any books on eyes?" That was an odd question, her red eyes pinned him.

"I guess…why the sudden interest? It's not exactly information most people want…" She probed for more information.

"Well…I tried out the Shunshin…its unusable for what I imagined. It's so fast I end up hitting trees more than anything. I need to figure out how to enhance my reaction times, that means somehow speeding up how fast I can see things." She could tell he was embarrassed asking for help, still she was glad Naruto felt he could ask her.

"Have you thought about not using your eyes? What about maybe sensing your surroundings like me?" Sure he might not have her sensitivity…well any sensitivity but still it was possible.

"Hmm…I didn't think of that." His face scrunched up as his eyes turned into slits, his chin jutted out as his hand seized it in a classic thinking pose. It took all of her control not to start giggling at his sudden childish look.

"Mmm I'm not sure that would work, I think it doesn't matter how I see it or sense it…its reacting in time to it that's impossible. Wait a minute…if that's true, then enhancing my eyes is mostly pointless…"

Karin had lost him at that point, wasn't it his eyes that couldn't track the movements of things around him?

"What'd you mean? Isn't the problem your eyes being too slow to move?" This time it was her face scrunched up in confusion.

"No…well sort of. I've got trouble with that, but some chakra and I can more or less get my eyes to move fast enough…it's umm. Jeez I can't think of a word for it!" He slurped on his stew until his bowl was empty, slapping it down with a gasp of satisfaction, he zoned out for a second.

"It's like when I used to fight grandpa, we would be fighting so fast that most of the time I didn't have to think about it. It was reflex! If I had to think about every little thing I would be really rubbish at fighting…"

"This though…I can't just rely on reflexes, I need to see what I'm doing and react to it. Every bit of ground is different, every situation will be different. With fighting, a lot of stuff happens just the same all the time. That's why you can rely on reflex. This not so much…"

Ah, she understood. It wasn't so much about the physical limitations but the mental ones. People could only think so quickly, seeing something didn't mean you could understand it and react appropriately in time even if the body was willing.

"You want to be able to think faster…Naruto I'm not sure you'll be able to do anything like that. To do that you'd need to know how your brain worked. Near as I can tell what you're thinking about might be impossible." Karin felt bad about raining on his idea, but somehow enhancing his brain to think faster sounded like fantasy. "I think the only way you'll get close to that is through normal practise. Chakra tends to flow along familiar lines, I can feel it inside you. The more you train the more chakra helps the user even without direction."

"So…what you're saying just to keep at it? That I should start seeing it more easily eventually…" He looked down, Karin could tell he was hoping for some quick avenue to strength. It made her feel bad that he was so desperate for power for her sake.

She smiled touching his ravaged and worn knuckles across the table.

"Don't worry you'll get it! I know you will."

A half-baked smile was her reward, did he have to be so serious? She wasn't going to disappear any time soon not now that someone cared about her.

With a deep sigh Karin took the bowls and started scrubbing them while her friend sulked. She was beginning to understand that boys tended to be really hard headed…or maybe that was just Naruto.

With a pout she declared it was definitely just Naruto…

Author note:

Yep I'm not dead….yet. Meh I've been writing on and off for weeks now, work has just gutted my time, and what time I do have just gets absorbed with lazing about. Sad I know but oh well.

I'm really wanting to push this fic forward so we're looking at another time skip next chapter where things will really start moving.

Anyway I hope people liked the infiltration scene.

Read and review :p.