The Chunin Exam - 3

Hinata's favorite garden was on the west side of the compound. It was a discreet place that was often overlooked, full of young sapling trees and lilies: white, pink, and orange everywhere one looked.

Naruto knew he would find her there.

She sat humming to herself beside a koi pond, scattering feed on the surface of the water and watching as the orange and white fish flapped about eating to their hearts' content. The blonde stepped clumsily on a twig and alerted her to his presence.

The white eyed girl turned to him and put down the small bucket she had been holding, "Oh! Naruto-kun! It's so nice to see you!"

Hinata quickly got to her feet and dusted her pants off. Her bright smile made him feel a bit livelier.

"Hey Hinata-chan!" He tried to give her a foxy grin, but it seemed pained, "I hope you don't mind that I stopped by!"

She looked slightly alarmed and raised her hands up, "N-No! I like it when you come to visit!"

He nodded but his smile faded.

It was his lack of a smile that had her worried, "Naruto-kun, are you feeling alright?"

"I'm not really sure."

Hinata decided to cover the basics of formality first, "I see. Have you...had anything to eat yet? It is still quite early."

Right on time, his stomach answered her in a low growl. He frowned to himself, wondering where her precognitive powers had come from. When the noise subsided, they laughed together heartily. Naruto, as usual, was a bit louder.

"Well I...I guess if you have any leftovers lying around, I'd really appreciate it..." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

She nodded shyly, "Yes, it is about time for breakfast I think. Let's go inside. I'd be glad if you joined me."

She stepped up on the porch, already barefoot, upon which he hastily removed his shoes. He followed her inside and down a short corridor, "Your dad, he...won't get mad if I hang around for a bit?"

Hinata gave him a puzzled look, "No, I don't think he will, Naruto-kun."

He nodded as she opened a sliding door and they ventured into the dining room. There was a long, low table in the center of the room with a traditional tatami mat floor. A window was left wide open for fresh air.

Hinata took a seat next to the only girl at the table, and motioned for Naruto to sit at the free place beside her. The blonde plopped down next to her ungracefully and scratched his head. He smiled at the younger girl.

The girl who was already present gave him an incredulous look before going back to her tea. A moment later a servant scurried in, head lowered, with a tray of dishes. He quickly laid them out in front of the girls, bowed, and then left.

Naruto blinked at how fast he had come and gone.

Hinata smiled, "What good timing. Do help yourself, Naruto-kun."

"Sure!" Naruto reached over to a plate, secured himself a pair of chopsticks, and after a grateful, "Itadakimasu!" he was off.

The younger girl gave Hinata an odd look, which Hinata interpreted as confusion.

"Oh yes...Naruto-kun, this is my sister, Hanabi." She turned to Hanabi, "Hanabi, this is my good friend Naruto."

"Huh." She didn't seem very interested. Hinata sighed, expecting such a reaction.

Naruto, after swallowing, grinned at Hanabi, "It's nice to meet you!"

Hanabi sniffed at him and then turned to Hinata, "Remember Onee-san, you will be training with father later on...you shouldn't get yourself distracted."

Hinata's cheeks became beet red remarkably quick.

Naruto didn't like Hanabi's attitude, "I'm not a distraction! Sheesh! Can't I guy hang out with his friends once in a while?"

Hanabi smirked, wondering how such a loudmouth had befriended her quiet, older sister.

Hinata proceeded to serve herself something to eat, then asked, "So um, Naruto-kun...what brings you here this early?"

Naturally, he had wanted to blurt out the first thing on his mind: 'Do you happen to secretly adore me? According to Gaara this may be true, and I just wanted to get my facts straight...'

Naruto busied his mouth with some egg to buy himself a moment of thought. With Hanabi around it was much more difficult to touch on the already-difficult subject.

'What am I supposed to say to her anyway?'

For once he didn't know.

He swallowed and then replied carefully, "I just wanted to...come over and...train with you. Yeah! You're an awesome sparring partner Hinata-chan!"

It took him a moment to believe his own bluff.

Hanabi raised an eyebrow as she sipped her tea, wondering what all his stalling was about.

Hinata, for a moment, looked like she had been expecting a different answer. She was quiet as she thought on it, and then nodded, honored, "I...I'm glad that you think so, Naruto-kun, but...wouldn't you prefer to train with Haku-kun or Gaara-kun?"

"I train with them all the time. They're pushovers!" He smiled at her, trying to be convincing, "You're different. I like training with you, Hinata-chan, really!"

In his head, he was upset with his evasion of his primary subject, 'Wow...I really didn't think it'd be this hard to talk about...'

Her face was bright red again and her sister rolled her eyes.

"Well then...I suppose it would be alright." A small smile crept up onto her face, "I like t-training with you too, Naruto-kun..."

After finishing breakfast and retrieving their shoes, Hinata lead the way to an empty courtyard behind the Main house. All the while, Naruto searched for any signs or actions given off by Hinata that may prove Gaara's theory true.

Strangely, he saw nothing unusual: just the same old, soft-spoken Hinata.

It was clear that she had been befuddled by his random appearance that morning. She had still seemed happy to see him, which was normal for her.

Naruto, unfortunately, had no talent picking out the subtle hints like his red haired friend had. So much of the girl's blushing and stuttering went overlooked, which was also normal.

"Shall we begin with taijutsu first?" Hinata asked, noticing him stretching off on the side of the yard.

"You bet!"

She giggled at his perky answer and then slipped into a perfect Gentle Fist stance. Nearby, a lark called out into the cool morning air. Naruto did his best to recall the last time he had fought her, 'She whacked the crap out of me! Better try to dodge more this time...'

He gave no warning when he ran at her. Not that it mattered, she was ready, and he saw the veins surrounding her eyes appear as he leapt, beginning with a heel kick that he often used to off-balance Gaara.

She countered with a small cry, pushing him back with a flat-palmed hand. He couldn't restrain his laugh at her utterly adorable counterstrike, but managed to evade another palm that came swiping for his head.

Suddenly he had forgotten why he had come in the first place and began to believe his own bluff.

After a tangle of shuffling feet and a number of resounding slaps, "Oh Naruto! Your head! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!"

Naruto had realized just how grateful he was that she wasn't using real Jyukken blows against him. With a strained leap, he landed behind her and she evaded his sweep kick thanks to her Byakugan. Then the rounds of punching and dodging began again.

Ten minutes turned into twenty, twenty became a half hour, and after a long while of laughing and dodging, Naruto finally thought to ask, "Say Hinata-chan, why aren't you with your team right now?"

She paused in their scuffle and admitted sheepishly, "Today is my team's day off."

Naruto felt his brain turn mushy, "What? But...if today was your break and I've been making you..."

"No, it's alright!" She assured him, "I train on my days off as it is, Naruto-kun, sometimes with my father, but...you are much more fun."

The blonde still felt guilty, "I'm sorry Hinata-chan, if I had known you were resting I wouldn't have-"

She shook her head again, "Please! It is quite alright!"

He nodded, grateful that she was so easygoing, and then an idea popped into his head from a completely unrelated topic.

'Didn't Ero-sensei make me swear not to tell Haku-kun or Gaara-kun about the Rasengan?' He smirked to himself, 'He never said anything about Hinata-chan though...'

It was truly the perfect opportunity. The Rasengan, which he had nearly mastered fully, was something he desperately wanted to get off his chest. Every time he was near his teammates, his mouth burned to talk about it, 'Argh! But Ero-sennin made me swear!'

Here was Hinata. She was shy, innocent and certainly not the type of person to spread gossip, 'I can totally trust Hinata-chan!'

"Hey Hinata-chan," He had regained his foxy grin and her heart fluttered at the sight of it, "How about I show you this super cool new jutsu I've been working on?"

Hinata gave him an odd look, "A...new jutsu?" Instantly her mind went to Sato and his coincidental revealing of the new jutsu he had pestered his uncle to teach him. She knew better though. Naruto wasn't exactly on the best of terms with either Sato or his uncle, so he was probably unaware of it at the time.

The blonde nodded sagely, "Yeah, if you promise not to tell anyone, I can show it to you..."

She nodded fervently, "Of course!"

He grinned at her predictable cooperation before her curiosity got the better of her, "So um...what sort of jutsu is it?"

"It's this move called the Rasengan!" He shouted, feeling the weight lift off of his shoulders like magic, "My sensei taught it to me, but he won't let me tell Haku-kun or Gaara-kun about it."

"I see," She murmured, "It sounds so exciting...can you teach me, maybe?"

He scratched his head, "Eh...I don't know...it uses a lot of chakra. How about I just show you?"