A/N: As promised, here's some Naruhina, with a few unconventional aspects; I find Hinata's anxiety is often ignored in favor of rushing to a confession. That will not be the case here; I'm trying to take the best of canon Hinata and work it into the fic. On another note, this chapter will, again, feature some combat, but I'll leave it at that till the end where I explain my motivations. Please enjoy, and remember to follow, review, and favorite! Every little bit helps. Oh and just a warning; Marijuana appears in this chapter. If you have a problem with that, please don't read.

By the time she came to, Hinata had been passed out for nearly an hour, and Naruto had figured it would be a good idea to make sure she was okay. Kiba, however, had left about five minutes in, wishing Naruto luck. He wasn't really sure what he needed luck for, but then, Kiba tended to say stupid things quite often, so the blonde didn't see it as anything out of the ordinary. Regardless, when she woke up, the Hyuuga's first sight was a blonde leaning straight over her, poking her forehead as if trying to stir a sleeping animal.

"Hinata? You awake?"

Her eyes fluttering, Hinata shot up with a start, her cheeks red and her eyes evading meeting Naruto's for fear of collapsing again. Embarrassed that she'd passed out, Hinata tried to make herself seem a little less pathetic.

"Ah! U-um... sorry, N-Naruto-Kun. I didn't mean to pass out, I was just t-tired I think..."

Scratching the back of his head, the blonde gave the Hyuuga a dumb smile that made her heart melt as he enthusiastically responded in kind.

"Oh, no problem! Kakashi-Sensei got here late, so I get what you mean. Can you believe it? Eight in the morning? The guy's insane! Although, I didn't plan on getting any sleep last night in the first place, so I guess it isn't his fault."

Being used to waking up at 5:00 AM to train with her father prior to him declaring her a lost cause, Hinata had to stifle a laugh at the thought of 8:00 AM being early, but was more interested in why Naruto had avoided sleeping. Not wanting to pry, the Hyuuga girl tried to preface her words with an apology, something her father had stated was a bad habit. She had a lot of those, in his eyes.

"Not to be r-rude, but w-why didn't you sleep last night, Naruto-Kun?"

Ignorant to the girl's obvious nervousness about the question, Naruto simply gave her an excited look as he began to explain what he'd been up to all night.

"Oh! Well, I did a lot of stuff! I-"

Suddenly, the blonde moved closer and lowered his voice, as if afraid of revealing a dark secret. Hinata gulped.

"-I've been learning stuff from this scroll the old man gave to me; like that clone explosion I pulled off today."

THAT was his dark secret? Training via a gift from the Third Hokage? Hinata's eyes widened and this time, she actually couldn't stop herself from laughing. At the sound of the noise, Naruto moved to raise a complaint at the girl's laughter, but instead, he stopped upon noticing the look on her face.

For a moment, the boy didn't even realize he was staring. Unfortunately for the perpetually under-confident Hyuuga, the expression broke before she turned to look at the boy, who only then managed to voice his reaction to her laughter.

"H-hey! Don't laugh; I wasn't supposed to tell anybody, but y'know, since you're on my team and all I figured that the old man wouldn't mind."

At that, Hinata nodded and stopped laughing, although now, instead of returning to the usually nervous features which sat upon her face, she looked happy, sporting a soft smile and a relaxed demeanor.

For once, Hinata Hyuuga was comfortable around Naruto.

After the moment passed, she spoke again, changing her tone to one more in line with the questions the blonde's statements had raised.

"Wait... N-Naruto, did you learn that technique just last night?"

Unaware of how impressive the feat he was admitting to truly was, the boy simply nodded his head excitedly before further explaining his exploits last night.

"Oh yeah, I didn't just learn that one though! I taught myself two others. I think there were...uh...five, on the scroll? So yeah, I learned three! Only that one I used earlier had to do with clones though, and they're my best jutsu."

At the end of his sentence, Naruto tapered off into a slight sound of disappointment, as if he found his, in her eyes, tremendous accomplishment.

"N-Naruto-Kun, learning three techniques in one night is amazing, you m-must be very talented."

Perking up at this statement, Naruto shot Hinata a smile while replying.

"Me? Nah, I'm no good at school like you, Hinata, I guess I just pick things up quick is all."

Deciding not to push any further, the Hyuuga simply nodded before the blonde continued.

"Anyway, I was going to ask if you wanted to come get some ramen? I'm starving!"

Immediately, Hinata reddened. This had been the same question that had made her faint last time, but this time, she was determined to stay conscious and reply. Thus, with tremendous effort and a pair of fluttering eyelids, she managed to stutter out a reply while pressing her fingers together.

"O-Oh, I'd l-love to, Naruto-Kun, but m-my father expected me h-home as soon as we finished t-training. H-he'll want to know that w-we passed."

Frowning, Naruto let out an exaggerated sigh, something which simultaneously made Hinata feel rather sad but also encouraged by the prospect that he'd care about missing out on time with her.

"Awe, damn! Okay, next time though, for sure!"

Her eyes widening, Hinata had to force herself to look away to hide the beam spread across her face. Instead, she quietly replied, leaving Naruto with a few words that she hoped would suffice.

"O-Okay. Next time it is N-Naruto-Kun."

And with that, the Hyuuga ran off as quickly as she could manage.

I...did he just ask me out? No, surely not... Naruto-Kun is just being friendly is all.

And to her credit, she wasn't wrong; Naruto had initially only meant to bring friends along to ramen with him. He was only just now getting to experience social interaction with his teammates, and had wanted to spend more time with them. But, as Hinata left, a certain feeling arose within him. He wasn't quite able to name the heat that was pounding throughout his chest, but it felt interesting.

I'll talk to Hinata again tomorrow, he thought to himself. She seemed fun.

Upon getting home, Hinata was greeting by her father, who wore a stern visage upon his face. Such was a frequent occurrence when the heiress arrived home late, and even by her relaxed predictions on her arrival time earlier in the day, she'd gotten back close to 1:00 PM, which was a whole half hour after she'd said she would be home. To most parents, thirty minutes meant nothing.

Hiashi Hyuuga was not most parents.

Immediately, the man broke into a cold statement; simple and clear. Par for the course.

"Hinata. Come to my study."

Without another word, she did as she was told, following her father's back as he led her to the study in a reclusive part of the clan compound. One did not disobey Hiashi Hyuuga. Of course, while many children would say they obey their parents because they were, well, just that, their parents, Hinata obeyed her father because she feared him. Not feared the man himself, but rather, feared disappointing him, which in her eyes, was the only thing she was good at.

However, as she sat down across from him inside his study, she found herself holding on to a glimmer of hope.

Maybe... father will be happy that I passed. Maybe.

Hiashi sat, waiting for his daughter to speak.

After a few seconds passed, she broke the silence.

"I-I...my team and I passed Kakashi-Sensei's test, f-father."

His gaze remaining steadfast, Hiashi eyed his daughter for a brief moment before replying, his voice betraying no emotion.

"Good."

After another pause, the man spoke again.

"You may not understand this, Hinata, but while such an accomplishment would hardly be worth praise under most circumstances, but Kakashi Hatake has never passed a Genin squad. You have come first, as all Hyuuga should."

And yet another pause. This time, the words seemed more strained, especially coming from the stone-faced leader of the Hyuuga clan.

"Tomorrow we will train at dawn until breakfast, after which we will train until you are called to meet with your team, am I clear?"

Her eyes widening, Hinata nodded her head with something between forced enthusiasm and genuine excitement. Her father hadn't trained her for a long time; this was a good sign. As good as she could have hoped for.

Then, without ceremony, Hiashi stood up and moved to the door, looking as if he would leave without another word. However, the imposing man stopped in the doorway, this time to deliver another set of words, ones which shocked Hinata.

"And Hinata? Good job. Your father is proud of you."

Unsure of what else to say, Hinata spoke the first thing that came to her mind.

"T-thank you, father."

Looking back, Hiashi nodded his head before leaving.

"Work on that stutter. It's unseemly."

Sighing, Hinata smiled to herself uneasily.

"Yes, f-father."

And that was the last time Hinata saw her father that day.

Kakashi appeared outside the Inuzuka compound as night fell, waiting outside the kennel as he'd been instructed to. Glancing down at his wrist, he read the time. 9:00 PM, on the dot. There was a certain irony to this situation. For once, the silver-haired Jounin had arrived somewhere on time, and for the next fifteen minutes, it looked like he was about to be stood up. It was only just as he was pulling out his Icha-Icha that a figure emerged from inside the building, calling out in a feminine voice with a vaguely accusatory, if playful tone.

"You know, for my brother's Sensei, you're not much of a paragon of virtue, Kakashi."

Glancing up, Kakashi stuffed the book into his back pocket as he scratched his head while managing a reply.

"I was actually just about to toss that book-"

Approaching him, the woman placed a finger to his mask-covered lips, silencing the man immediately.

"Please, your excuses are wasted on me. That said, it was pretty funny when he told mom that his Sensei read the same books he did over dinner. He was in for one hell of an ass-whooping, as I'm sure you are if she sees you around here."

Although only half of his eyes were showing, both of the silver-haired man's orbs rolled in response to that comment.

"Duly noted. So, what was the plan tonight?"

Looking up, the woman gave what actually looked to Kakashi like a stare of...longing? He gulped in response.

"I figured we'd go get sushi then head back to your place. Sound good?"

Kakashi sighed. This girl had one hell of an appetite.

"Right. Why my place, again?"

Instead of answering, first, the Inuzuka punched him in the shoulder, earning a curse under the breath from the Jounin. Only then did she reply.

"Your bed is more comfortable, and I don't think mom wants you in the house, like I said."

Nodding, Kakashi shrugged while turning back towards the village, speaking the next question on his mind.

"Fair enough. And I suppose I'm paying?"

From behind him, the man could only hear a snort, so he knew what was coming.

"Please, you're the one with a Jounin's salary. You make on one mission what I make in a month, Kakashi."

Deflating immediately, Kakashi's head fell to the right side as if he was acting dejected.

"Of course; and on Thursday the excuse is going to be that you've been busy working at the Veterinary Hospital as a volunteer, right?"

Again, he received a punch in the arm for that one, although he deserved it.

"Don't be an asshole, Kakashi."

Managing a pained smile while still clutching his arm, Kakashi replied in kind.

"I'll try my best, Hana."

"Damn straight."

On the other side of the Inuzuka compound, a certain 13-year old boy was walking outside to smoke something he'd bought off of a former classmate the night prior. Supposedly, it was a joint that didn't stick, scent-wise. This was, of course, the most important part of the whole operation, which the boy had codenamed "Operation: Get High Without Mom Finding Out".

Of course, a certain orange-jumpsuit wearing ninja had found a way to intrude on that plan. It was by pure coincidence that Naruto was running past the compound when he saw his teammate with what looked like from a distance to be a cigarette in his hand. Approaching the boy quickly, Naruto changed course towards him earning a lazy gaze from the Inuzuka. It was only when he got closer that he smelled what the "cigarette" really was.

"...Kiba, is that a joint?"

Raising his eyebrows, Kiba gave a half-hearted toothy grin because he was, admittedly, quite tired, but still managed to get out a snarky response.

"No Naruto, it's a line of cocaine. Yes it's a joint, you moron. Could you smell it?"

The blonde nodded with a frown on his face, more-so because of the 'moron' comment than anything else. Kiba cursed under his breath at the sight, before laughing at the realization that he'd been duped by a classmate.

"Hah, fucking Haru is going to give me my hundred and fifty ryo back for lying, the bastard. Anyway, what's up Naruto?"

Still eyeing the joint carefully, Naruto responded with a cautious interest.

"I was just heading home... have you ever done this before?"

His eyes widening, Kiba quickly shrugged before affirming the boy's statement.

"Yeah, once in a while. You?"

Naruto shook his head, finally earning a genuine smile from Kiba, this time laced with a little bit of mischief.

"Wanna try?"

"Woahhhhhhhh, and you say Shikamaru does this all the time?"

Kiba lay on the grass next to his teammate staring up at the sky, taking a second to process before answering.

"Yeah, how else do you think he ends up staring at clouds all day? He's lazy, but not that lazy without this stuff."

Naruto grunted something along the lines of "makes sense" before ceasing speech for a moment. As silence washed over the two usually loud Genin, something lit up in Naruto's brain as he thought of what, in his mind, was a deep and profound question.

"Hey Kiba, wanna be friends?"

To that, the Inuzuka snorted, initially unsure of how to reply at first. After yet another moment of silence, he spoke with a sort of resigned tone, although it wasn't as if he sounded bothered; more that he'd expected something like this from his teammate.

"Yeah, Naruto. You're not so bad."

To that, the orange-clad Genin beamed.

For another half hour, the two lay on the grass of the training ground, trading occasional jabs at the other, whilst intermittently commenting on how 'alive' the stars looked that evening. To any passerby, although there were none around the training grounds that late at night, they would have just looked like any two bored teenagers. But to the duo, what they were undergoing was a once-in-a-lifetime bonding session of sorts. To Kiba, it was a sort of initiation into the 'pack'. To Naruto, it was the moment he made his first genuine friend.

It was only as the time struck 9:30 PM that the night's next development came. Breaking the silence once more, Naruto asked a question that had been bouncing around his brain for a few minutes.

"Hey Kiba, wanna spar?"

Puckering out his lip as if he was thinking for a moment, the Inuzuka responded quickly, seeing no issue with the proposal.

"Sure, why not."

Springing to his feet, Kiba had to make sure he steadied his balance at first, but soon enough, his spacial awareness returned to him. Naruto, on the other hand, was a bit slower on the uptake, and struggle to make his way to his feet, taking a brief moment upon standing up to center himself. If you'd asked the boy then and there, he'd have told you he felt like he was falling off of the world. Kiba had to hold back his laughter at the sight, instead choosing to make a backhanded comment, as he tended to.

"You sure you're gonna be able to spar, Naruto? You look like you're having a tough time over there."

Naruto rolled his eyes as he finally steadied himself.

"Oh shut up, Kiba."

At that, the two jumped backwards, each struggling a tad with the landing. Across the grassy park clearing, Naruto called out to his teammate, explaining the rules.

"Taijutsu only sound good?"

Kiba gave Naruto a look laced with intrigue at his statement, instead suggesting a separate ruleset.

"Nah, we can use ninjutsu too. After all, if this was just a Taijutsu fight, you'd lose straight away."

Cracking his knuckles, the orange-wearing shinobi chuckled.

"It's your funeral man."

Kiba was the first to strike, launching himself forwards with a running right hook aimed at Naruto's face. From their previous experiences sparring one another at the academy, Kiba knew Naruto tended to try and take attacks head on, so he found himself surprised when Naruto redirected his fist with his right arm before rising up from beneath him and striking him across the face with a left handed straight.

Staggering back a few feet, Naruto took advantage of his teammate's stunned status, Naruto moved upon his opponent with speed, dashing forwards and following his punch up with a right knee to the chest, causing Kiba to kneel over. However, Naruto's reaction time was far from perfect at the moment, so even when he saw the uppercut coming out of the corner of his eye, he didn't have time to move out of the way. The punch hit home right under Naruto's chin, launching him backwards and to the ground as Kiba himself staggered from the force of Naruto's knee.

"I g-gotta say Naruto, you pack one hell of a punch."

Picking himself back up, Naruto coughed out a retort of his own.

"You're not too bad yourself, but don't worry, now I'll get serious."

After that, the two avoided speaking. Instead Naruto made a single handseal, one which Kiba recognized instantly. One puff of smoke later and an identical clone of the blonde ninja stood beside him. Gritting his teeth, Kiba prepared to fight an uneven battle. Both Narutos rushed him simultaneously, the one on the right aiming to strike him with a right legged roundhouse kick and the real Naruto on the left aiming to strike with a left legged kick of the same nature. Quickly springing into action, Kiba drew a kunai with his left hand and raised his shoulder in time for his left arm to take the brunt of the attack. In tandem he raised his right arm to block the clone's right legged kick in a much more complete way, grabbing on the its leg and stopping it in its tracks. Then, with his left hand, he flicked the kunai towards the clone, causing it to burst into a puff of smoke much as it had arrived.

What Kiba didn't account for was how large a space that smoke would occupy. Feeling Naruto's right leg lift off of his arm, he couldn't make out the boy's movements for a moment with the smoke screen covering most of his figure. It was only when his right leg came plowing through the middle of the smoke aimed to strike him in his stomach that Kiba was able to react.

He was a faster shinobi than Naruto, especially at the moment, being far more used to the state of mind he was in as opposed to the inexperienced blonde. Thus, he had time to clamp both of his hands around the boy's leg, grunting at the exertion of doing so. If nothing else, Naruto could certainly throw a punch, or in this case, a kick.

However, as the smoke faded, it revealed a grinning Naruto, who had yet another surprise in store for the Inuzuka boy as it turned out.

"Taifū no Ashige - Tyhoon Kick!"

Kiba's eyes widened as the foot he held only inches from his chest suddenly lit up with a green glow before firing a sphere of wind into his chest which knocked him through the air, several feet backwards, where he landed on the ground. Then, before he could get up, Naruto was on top of him, fist inches from his face. For a second, the two boys simply stared at each other, locked in that same position. It was only when Kiba broke his stare with a wide grin that the Uzumaki's fist broke, instead opening into a helping hand to help the Inuzuka up.

As the boy was helped up, he cracked his neck a couple of times, exhaling heavily at the realization of how hard he'd been hit.

"That was one hell of a move Naruto; when did you learn that?"

Sporting his grin again, Naruto simply shrugged before replying a tad more discreetly than he had to the same question earlier that day.

"It's a secret."

Smiling back, Kiba offered a fist which Naruto bumped with his own. As he began to walk home, Naruto followed him for a few feet, trying to close out the night on a high note.

"We should do this again sometime, Kiba."

Raising his eyebrows, the Inuzuka asked the question on both boys' minds.

"The weed or the sparring?"

To that, Naruto could only laugh. For the first time in a long time, he had had a good night. A night with a friend.

A/N: So there are probably a few controversial decisions to be made here but yeah; Naruto knows Wind Release already! Obviously not to the degree he learns it later, but I'd like to diversify his arsenal beyond just the Rasengan and its millions of variants. Furthermore, he picked it up so quickly in Shippuden that learning a much simpler technique seems like it would take less time than the Shadow Clone Jutsu would have. That jutsu scroll comes in handy when you want to make your character know things they shouldn't I guess! As for the weed! It's weed, they're teenagers; there's no reason to suggest at least one of the Rookie 9 wouldn't be a stoner, and why not have it be Kiba? It works well as a contrast to his hatred of strong smells and I love anything that lets me play with character traits. Finally, Kakashi and Hana. This was something a reviewer asked about, and once I heard it, I realized I had to work it into the story; it'll be lots of fun, I promise!

Please leave a review! It helps so much!