A/N: A/N's will now be at the end of the story but the wise quote will remain at the top.

"You may admire a girl's curves on the first introduction, but the second meeting shows up new angles." -Unknown.

Chapter 1- The Meeting

Uzumaki Naruto, jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, is standing on the same bridge that Team Seven has used as their meeting place for the past month since the activation of their cell. Naruto is the shortest of the people standing there, standing only at 4'9" with blonde hair and bright blue eyes filled with mirth, happiness, and a hint of mischievousness. He is wearing a orange and blue jacket which is rolled up at the sleeves. His black undershirt peeks out at the top of the zipper of his orange jacket. On his back is a red swirl emblazoned between his two shoulder blades. His legs are covered in orange pants which are rolled up, a length of tape strapped to his right thigh, above that is a kunai pouch for easy access to his throwing weapons of choice. His feet are covered in blue open-toed shoes common among ninjas. His hitai-ate, the proof that he is a ninja, flashes in the sunlight as it stands proudly on his forehead, holding back his spiky blonde locks.

Next to him stands his teacher and mentor since he graduated from the academy, Hatake Kakashi. He is the tallest and stands at an impressive 5'11". He is wearing the usual Konoha Shinobi attire, His Hitai-ate is wrapped around his forehead but slanted so the cloth covers his left eye. The lower half of his face is covered by a blue facemask, his silver hair and single black eye are the only distinguishable features available with his face so heavily covered. His chest is covered by his green jounin vest which has many pockets for placing various things. His blue undershirt is shown as his shoulders, and arms are covered in the blue fabric from his shirt. The only break of the blue is the same red swirl presented proudly on his left shoulder. His hands are covered in fingerless black gloves with metal handguards from his ANBU days. His pants are a dark blue which are rolled up allowing for his shins to be wrapped in tape and his feet to be covered with the common blue open-toed shoes. His leg is wrapped similarly to Naruto's with tape and his kunai pouch on his right leg.

Across from them the remaining two members of Team Seven stood, First was Haruno Sakura, she is the second shortest standing on the bridge and she stands at a rather normal height of 4'10". Her bright, bubblegum pink hair draws the stares of any passersby, her green eyes almost in the shape of a star as she looks at her crush. She is wearing a red qipao dress with circular designs, which reaches down to her knees. Underneath the skirt, she wears tight, form-fitting dark green shorts. Her legs are bare which lead to her feet covered in the same open-toed shoes that Naruto and Kakashi wear. Her Hitai-ate is used as a bandana to keep her long pink hair from fraying too much.

The final member is Sasuke Uchiha, he is the tallest of the genin there, standing at a 4'10", only slightly taller than Sakura herself. He wears his Hitai-ate around his forehead much like Naruto, his black hair combined with his pitch black eyes making for a very dark look. He wears a blue shirt with the Uchiha Clan crest, a red and white fan, on the back of his shirt. His forearms are covered in blue and white bracers. His shorts are white with blue tape around his right leg and his kunai pouch on top of that. His shins are covered in warmers just as his forearms are. His feet are covered with the same open-toed shoes that the rest of his team wears.

Naruto smiled as he watched Kakashi poof away after their teamwork excerises. He turned to Sakura, still with that goofy grin on his face, "Sasuke-kun, would you like to go on a date with me?" Sakura asked Sasuke who was standing a few feet away.

Sasuke turned around and said, "No." before walking off. Naruto's eyes narrowed at Sasuke's back for turning down the 'beautiful Sakura-chan's' invitation for a date before he turned to Sakura, and his grin returned full force.

"Ne, Ne Sakura-chan would you-" Naruto began only to find himself looking up from his back at the sky.

"Shut up Naruto-baka." she said as she huffed and retracted her fist, which had planted itself onto his head causing his fall to the ground. "I will never go on a date with you, get it through your thick skull!" she shouted before turning around and walking away.

Naruto picked himself up out of the crater his body had made when being punched and dusted himself off. He looked back to the sky with a longing expression. "Is she really never going to accept me?" he thought in a depression before his normal exuberance shone forth, "No Way, I will beat Sasuke-teme's ass then she will have to acknowledge me and go on a date!" he thought as he raised a fist to the air in a pump of victory.

Naruto sighed and let his arm fall, an air of depression around him as he looked at the ground, something not seen for Naruto since his discovery almost a month ago when he found out about the demonic fox in his belly. "How can I beat Sasuke-teme when all Kakashi-sensei teaches us is teamwork exercises!" he thought still standing on Team 7's bridge meeting place. "I don't want to pester him as he said that he would teach us when he felt we were ready, but it has been almost a month and we haven't learned a thing!" he lamented. Naruto had asked Kakashi for help early on, but he had informed Naruto that their teamwork needed the most work and that he would not teach any of his genin something else until he felt their teamwork was up to his satisfaction. As such, Naruto had dropped asking his sensei for help since it was obvious the man was adamant about this requirement.

Suddenly, Naruto looked up, "Well, guess I will just have to try and train by myself, just like always." he thought with some slight bitterness at the end. He was a happy-go-lucky guy. He could even ignore many of the bad things in his life. But he was completely tired of being alone. He had been alone since his first memory, it was of him walking along the street from the Hokage tower back to the Orphanage and he was being glared at as he walked by. Alone, again. That was all of his memories. Even his times as a team made him feel alone, though less so as his teammates did actually interact with him. He knew they only interacted with him because they had to though. He shook off those bad times and began to walk into the forest heading to a clearing he had used since the formation of his team.

Not a single person saw the shake of a head with spiky silver hair and a single eye shining in the darkness as Naruto's teammates left him and then Naruto left himself. Kakashi shunshined away, disappointed at his team's teamwork.

Naruto walked onto Training ground 7. He looked over at the memorial stone and wondered, not for the first time, who his parents were. He hoped they had been awesome shinobi that took down corrupt governments and rescued princes and princesses alike. He imagined his father, tall, handsome, with one wicked set of kunai standing in a ferocious pose as he looked out along the battlefield ready to risk life and limb to defeat his enemies. His mother stood beside him, her mouth spread into a fox-like grin much like his own, she had a dangerous looking katana that seemed ready to drink the blood of her foes as she stared down her enemies. He let a smile cross his face as he thought this, though it was bittersweet as he knew that he had no idea who his parents were.

He shook the bright image out of his head before extending his senses a bit as he didn't want anyone to find his new practice clearing. His previous clearing had been disturbed after his last training session there after he had graduated. As such, he searched for and found a new training clearing for his awesome new techniques that he would create and learn as a ninja. So, once he found it, he tried as best he could to keep others from finding it this time. Once he knew that no one was watching him, Naruto used the stealth techniques he had learned while running from the ANBU after his pranks to sneak away into the forest and headed off to his clearing.

Naruto crept along the underbrush keeping quiet and making nary a sound as he continued on his way. His orange clothing was not the best for his stealth but he loved the color orange and no one would ever talk him out of wearing it! He smiled as he finally walked into his training clearing. He looked around and nodded his head as he was satisfied he hadn't been followed. He walked into the middle of the clearing and put his fingers together in a cross-like shape, with a soft cry of "Kage-Bunshin No Jutsu" 3 other Naruto's popped into existence next to him. Two went and sat down on opposite ends of the clearing as one clone faced off against Naruto. Each took the beginning stances of the academy style and began to lunge at each other.

Instead of hitting his clone, when Naruto would make contact, Naruto would lightly tap his clone easily stopping almost all of the force from his attacks. He had learned early on that his clones did not last for strong hits so he had adapted his hits so he could pull his power away from them at any point he wanted. The first clone continued fighting him for close to 30 minutes before it was dispelled. When it did, his other clones did not give him a chance to rest as one of them jumped in and continued the furious fight he had begun with the other clone. Continuing in this manner until he had beaten his three clones and fought for an hour and a half straight, Naruto collapsed on his back breathing slightly labored as he lay there.

"Kuso!" he screamed. A few birds leapt from the trees as they heard his scream but many just flicked their feathers and looked down at him as if they were trying to understand why he was making such a noise. Naruto took a deep breath and let it back out while relaxing his muscles, "This is pathetic! I can't train anything other than my own Taijutsu and it doesn't even get any better because I can not improve on it at all!" he yelled in his head. "I wish the librarians would let me into the library so I could look for stuff." he thought sadly with a downcast look.

Naruto sighed and picked himself up, deciding he didn't have any other workouts he could do, he began to walk through the underbrush heading towards a little waterfall he knew was near that he could wash the grime of his training away. The amazing thing about this waterfall was it was slightly heated, he had followed the river back to the natural hotsprings that gushed from the mountains around Konoha. So, it was better for him to take a bath out here than to take a freezing cold shower in his own apartment. The water heater never seemed to be working and Naruto could never understand why.

The best part of it though, was no one but himself knew about it. He had never seen anyone ever come to the waterfall and he had once camped out there for 2 weeks during summer vacation. It was fun and he quite enjoyed the experience. Of course, he returned to the village every few days for some supplies but he basically lived out in the forest, he hadn't known about his new training clearing, having never searched for it. So, he quietly crept to his heated waterfall so no one could follow him.

He made it close to the edge of the brush and was pushing the last bush out of his way as he stepped forward when a woman shunshined in front of him on the banks of the small pond the waterfall emptied into. Naruto froze for a second before slowly putting his foot back down and crouching down with the bush hiding his presence as he watched the woman. Normally, he would immediately jump ahead and ask who the hell she was but something stopped him from even revealing his presence to her, a sixth sense he had honed over the years running from the occasional mob that would happen around his birthday compounded with the constant glares his village gave him. This sense told him not to move nor to make a sound or horrible pain would befall him. He had always listened to the voice as it protected him from the mobs until he could defend himself. When he could defend himself, the mobs stopped. So he listened and crouched down spying on the woman he now inspected scrutinously.

She was very beautiful. Even only seeing her from behind, Naruto could tell this woman just exuded a confidence and grace not found in many women, at least not in comparison to the women Naruto met. Her black hair fell from her head in an almost messy fashion but, for all its messiness, it seemed orderly, almost as if she willed it to follow her demands. He followed the hair down to her mid-back, underneath it he could see the wrappings of white bandages with a pattern of something that looked like rose thorns, but he couldn't see any blood stains. He concluded that the woman was using those wrappings as clothing, his assumption was proven correct as he followed her hair to the edges of it and saw that the bandages wrapped around her whole body.

Below her hair, he could see the bandages but he followed that lower to her posterior. Now, Naruto was not perverted, like many people assumed because of his Sexy jutsu, he was simply looking for a way to beat people when he made that jutsu. As such, he was surprised when a bit of blood leaked from his nose when he saw how shapely her backside appeared and the way it jiggled slightly when she moved. (Seriously, I don't know why some sites say he is perverted, he obviously knows nothing about sex and sees no problem using his sexy no jutsu on who he claims to be perverts! Not just to use on a whim.)

His eyes continued their downward journey to see some of the most toned legs he had ever laid witness to. He could see that this woman's legs were shaped with muscles, nothing too drastic but enough to prove that she worked out enough to keep her body fit. Even through the bandages on her thighs, he could see her muscles ripple as she shifted from foot to foot. Her calves were sculpted just as perfectly as her thighs. Her feet covered in sandals just like his own.

His eyes snapped up from her feet when he saw her shift her upper body to look around. He couldn't manage to see anything about her chest or face because of his angle, so he had no idea who this was. He did notice though, that her right arm was covered in a red sleeve as her hands and forearms were wrapped in tape. He was about to leave, intent on coming back later, when he saw her relax. Curious, he stomped on the urge to leave and continued spying on the woman. He wiped his nose to remove the one blood droplet he had and flicked it onto the ground next to him as he watched the woman completely relax.

Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the woman reach up and untie something from under her curtain of hair. They widened further when he saw she had untied a Hitai-ate from her head. "She's a ninja! Shit! Now I can't move. Wonder who she is." he thought to himself as his body froze up upon the discovery of her profession. He knew she wasn't a genin. That left her being a Chuunin or Jounin and he couldn't help but shake the feeling this woman was a jounin of the highest caliber. For some reason, when he thought of jounins, her dress seemed familar. He shook that thought as he saw her reach up and begin to unwind the bindings that were her dress.

He watched transfixed, as inch by tantalizing inch, her skin became exposed to the outside world and to him. His eyes darted around quickly as she laid the clothing on a nearby rock. His eyes then locked onto her posterior as he saw she had bandages covering her 'downstairs' as Naruto would call it along with her chest. He noticed she also had a mesh shirt on that was connected to her right sleeve. She reached down and pulled her mesh shirt off along with her sleeve leaving her back completely bare besides her bindings, and Naruto saw her muscles ripple as she did so. It was very obvious she trained extensively to keep her torso well muscled but not overly so.

Naruto's heart beat increased and his lower head started to swell slightly. Naruto was confused at this reaction. He had never experienced this before. He looked down, tearing his eyes away from the woman in front of him for a moment to see his member poking at the fabric of his boxers and creating a slight bulge down there. He shook his head and turned his attention back to the woman, deciding he could figure that out later.

When he managed to look back at the woman, he saw her slowly unwrapping her chest bindings. His heartbeat seemed like a drum in the silence of the forest but he could only see her arms as she slowly unwrapped herself. She draped the bindings ontop of her dress and reached down. Naruto, guessing what was going to happen, yelled at himself to move but his body stood, transfixed as he watched this woman start to reveal her creamy skin to the world. He watched as, wrap after wrap, uncoiled itself from her skin. When she had finished, Naruto was presented with a scene many men would die for, a shapely posterior completely bare and staring right at him as she bent over to pick up he Hitai-ate. His brain was almost fried as his better than normal eyesight seemed to hone in on something he had only seen in pictures on the adult magazine rack.

He saw a small slit, pink in color. It had no hair around it, just her perfect creamy skin. Her luscious thighs framing it perfectly as he felt his nose begin to almost gush blood. The thing to finally put him into blessed unconsciousness was the fact he saw her breasts from between her legs hanging from her chest he noticed how she had these little things on the tip of her breasts that stuck out. He felt his member throb painfully as he took this sight in before he felt his eyes roll into the back of his head.

Somehow, his body remained locked in a crouching position as Naruto fell unconscious. It was only a few minutes but Naruto recovered from his sensory overload and returned to the land of the living to witness that same woman underneath his waterfall, completely naked! He stayed in his position, completely immobile as his member throbbed painfully with her back turned to him. He looked down and frowned at his body. What the hell was this? He didn't even know why he had fallen unconscious or why his nose was bleeding, he only saw that happen when the old man read that stupid perverted orange book! His eyes widened as he took that in. "I am NOT a pervert!" he yelled to himself as he fell onto his butt from pumping his hand into the air.

Unfortunately, this was right when the woman turned around and heard his movement. Naruto caught a glimpse of pink circles on the woman's chest just like his own and a trimmed black bush of hair down by her pink slit before the woman covered herself and was suddenly right by her clothes as she spoke in a ice cold tone. "Come out." she said. Naruto's body moved on its own again as he suddenly leaped out of the bushes and stood in front of the woman, startling her.

Naruto stared at her slightly before he felt some KI coming from her and his eyes snapped to her own. He noticed how her hands were covering her chest and downstairs before he saw her face. His eyes started at her jawline. He noticed she had a rather dainty looking jawline but he was sure that this woman used her looks to her advantage, some part of him idly noted that those looks were obviously weapons. So he ignored her daintyness and looked closer, his eyes picking out the strong muscles underneath her skin, even for her face she was trained, her cheeks were dusted a light red with something on her skin, her lips were a full luscious red covered in red lipstick. His eyes traveled further up and finally locked with her own. His own eyes widened as he saw ruby red eyes glaring back at him, her eyes had two rings of black within them, one so small it almost seemed like a pupil but Naruto's eyes picked out the speck of red in between them.

The two stayed in that position for almost a full minute, Naruto just staring into her ruby red eyes and her glaring back at him before she spoke, "What do you have to say for yourself?" she asked. Naruto's ears almost flew off of his head. That voice was heavenly, almost as if listening to an angel. The musical notes seemed to draw him in and confuse him as she glared at him. He almost stuttered a response but his sixth sense kicked in and, in one of his once in a prank genius moments, he responded.

"I have nothing to say, for the beauty which lies before my eyes is beyond comprehension and, as such, would be an insult to try and put in words." Naruto said, the words spilling from his mouth as if he had always been capable of speaking to women like that. Truthfully, in his own head, he was wondering where the hell those words came from.

Her response would have stunned anyone who knew her. She blushed. Her cheeks went red and her hands almost moved away from her body as she took in his words, almost as if his words had triggered something within her. Her eyes glazed over a bit as she stared down at the whiskered blonde boy in front of her.

Naruto, his moment of intuition having passed, immediately lowered himself onto the ground his head between his hands as he bowed on his knees, "Please don't hurt me, I didn't mean to peek on you. But I just always clean here... and I was tired, but my senses told me to stay... and then my body, and... and..." he stuttered as he feared he did something wrong by making her blush. "Gomenasai!" he cried as he remained in his bow.

The woman's red eyes looked down at him. and she giggled at his admission. His response to her question having evaporated her anger at him as she now knew he was not just a pervert trying to watch her, just a confused kid who was very good with words and willing to take his punishment as he hadn't tried to run. Her red eyes suddenly widened as she took in exactly who he was. She sighed as she spoke, "Uzumaki-san please get up and turn around." she said in her same melodius voice.

Naruto looked up at her with fearful eyes. She was surprised when she moved and his eyes still remained locked on hers and didn't move to her body despite his acceptance of punishment. "I wish to clothe myself Uzumaki-san, I will not hurt you." she said gently.

Naruto's fearfulness abated somewhat but he got up and turned around, making each action deliberate and keeping his eyes locked on hers before he turned around proving to the woman he was serious about this. When he turned around, he heard her rustling with her clothes and pulling them on. He took a discreet sniff of the area. The scent of the forest filled his nose but he could smell something sweeter in the air. It was a floral scent that he was almost certain emanated from the woman behind him. It smelled of roses and lavendar. Something he was almost sure wouldn't mix but somehow managed to meld together in a mixture of scents bordering on perfection. His eyes rolled as he almost purred in delight from the smell.

He took a few more sniffs before he heard her clothes stop rustling and asked, "Can I turn around now Kunoichi-san?" he asked politely.

The woman answered almost immediately, "Yes Uzumaki-san, I believe we need to have a talk though." Naruto shivered but he turned around to see the woman with a fiery gaze, though it didn't seem she had any intention on hurting him, just talking. Naruto walked over to a softer part of the ground and sat on the ground. He looked up at the woman and spoke.

"Alright, But Who are you? and How did you find this place? I thought I was the only one who knew about this place." he said, his fear of the woman had him acting a bit calmer than normal. Though he knew she didn't mean him any harm physically, he shuddered as he thought of what women did to perverts, Sakura being the prime example.

The woman looked down at him before moving closer to him a bit and sitting down so the two of them were facing each other. She looked him straight in the eyes, "I guess it isn't surprising you don't remember me, but you have met me before." she said.

Naruto's eyes squinted before he pointed a finger at her like he was accusing her of something, "Your Hinata's, Dog-boy's, and Shino's sensei!" he exclaimed his normal exuberance showing through.

The now revealed sensei of Team 8 smiled slightly, "Glad to see I made an impression." she said. "My name is Yuuhi Kurenai. I know about this place because I stumbled across it a few days ago and I like to take showers away from the village. I have problems with my own shower." she said with a bit of a dark tone in her voice. Although Naruto did not know it, she was the suspect of many men trying to peek on her just as any of the prominent kunoichi were. Unfortunately, many of the men in Konoha seemed to be perverts, so it was hard to feel safe while in such a vulnerable position as bathing.

Naruto nodded, surprising her, "I know." her eyes widened, "My shower is always cold!" he exclaimed as if that was her problem too, "This place is perfect for taking a shower though." he said. Kurenai chuckled slightly.

"That it is, hence the reason why I am here." she said with mirth in her voice, "Though that brings me to what you were doing Uzumaki-san." she said with complete seriousness in her voice.

Naruto's eyes lowered, "What you did was wrong and-" she started only for Naruto to cut her off.

"I know Kurenai-sensei, I just couldn't stop myself. You are very beautiful and I had never seen something like that. I am very sorry and I will never do it again. Please just don't tell anyone about this." he said in a pleading voice.

Kurenai's blush came back as his words struck her. She cursed herself in her head as she prided herself on hiding her emotions, luckily, Naruto was quite dense and currently trying to get out of a punishment. She looked down at him with a scrutinous eye. "Look at me Uzumaki-san." she said. Naruto's blue eyes raised and locked with Kurenai's. "Do you admit you peeked on me?" she asked. Naruto nodded. "Do you know that it is a crime to peek on people while they are taking baths?" she asked. Naruto nodded again. "You understand that I could take you to the Hokage and have you thrown in jail for this correct?" she asked. Again, Naruto nodded.

Kurenai sighed and ran a hand through her hair, "Very well, since you obviously weren't trying to peek on me deliberately." she shot a glare at him which had him smiling sheepishly. "And you did not try to deny what you did but instead accepted your responsibility to the consequences of your actions. I will not report this to the Hokage." she said drawing a relieved sigh from Naruto. Honestly, she never would have reported him. She would never admit it but the fact he had managed to hide from her senses and stay hidden until she was already washing herself required some serious stealth skills. Aside from that, the fact he had seen her naked was not something she wanted common knowledge. So, she scared him into silence while simultaneously gaining something to blackmail him with if she ever needed to.

She grinned evilly, "On one condition." she said as she figured something she wanted to do for the blonde haired boy in front of her. He had complimented her in ways no one ever had before and she was feeling quite connected to him as his burden must not be easy. Naruto's eyes snapped to her.

"What?" he asked, his eyes squinting, he would normally have run away as soon as she conceded not turning him in but his curiosity of her actions, i.e. not acting like Sakura, confused and intrigued him at the same time.

"You let me take you to go get some better clothes." she said as she eyed his orange monstrosity. "How in the hell did I not see him with that on!" she screamed in her head.

"What?" he exclaimed, "My clothes are perfect whats wrong with them?" he asked. He loved the color orange and it was a miracle the store had these orange jumpsuits on sale when he went to buy his clothing. He loved this thing. It had many extra pockets and it was extra durable, plus he had many different szes all for the low price of half of anything else he tried to buy.

Kurenai looked down at him with disdain, "How exactly, would orange help you in a fight?" she asked, "My clothes lead my attackers to focus on other areas before my own attacks." she explained, "Your orange just sets you as a beacon." she said as if it explained everything.

Naruto just mumbled something under his breath. Kurenai's eyes narrowed. "What was that?" she asked, her righteous fury coming into play.

Naruto shrank away but repeated himself in a louder voice, "It's cheaper than anything else!" he said, "I managed to get this for half of anything else I try to buy in any of the stores. I don't have the money to pay for new clothes." he explained.

Kurenai's eyes narrowed. "Damn Civilians" she thought to herself. "Tell you what, I will pay for it if you promise to let me use this spot seeing as you already knew about it before me." she said.

Naruto looked up at her with wide eyes, "You can use this anytime you want Kurenai-sensei. You don't have to pay for it. It's not like I own the place." he said.

Kurenai smiled at him, "Then just think of it as a friend helping out another." she said.

Naruto's eyes squinted as he looked at her, "Why would you want to be friends with me?" he asked.

Kurenai's smile disappeared. "Why wouldn't I?" she countered.

Naruto looked down. He spoke quietly, "You know what I contain Kurenai-sensei. Many people within the village glare at me. I am dense and stupid but I am not blind. I can see that many people would not like to be my friend, and the ones I have aren't too well liked." he said his morose sounding voice cut to Kurenai's heart as she imagined that. Her small group of friends was by choice, his was by necessity.

Kurenai leaned forward and smiled at him, "Then I will just have to join them. Because I want to be your friend, do you want to be mine?" she asked.

Naruto smiled brightly at her, "Yes." he said with his happiness almost boiling over. Kurenai couldn't stop herself and giggled at him. She looked almost startled as she hadn't giggled in years. But she shook it off as Naruto's smile seemed to disappear before being replaced by something. His lips twitched and slowly spread as they curved upwards. Naruto's smile seemed to be reborn as it slowly spread across his face. Kurenai's lips twitched upwards as she saw his first true smile.

"Then we are friends Naruto-san." she said. His happiness as infectious as always.

"Arigatou Kurenai...-san." he said. Kurenai smiled slightly.

"One other thing though Naruto-san." she said. Naruto cocked his head to the side as if he were confused. A demonic mask seemed to materialize behind her head as she smiled sweetly at him.

"Please refrain from peeking at me when I am taking a shower from now on." she said. Naruto blushed and nodded his head emphatically. Kurenai's slight smile returned. "Then, since it is getting so late, I will meet you here tomorrow right after your team training." she said. Naruto nodded and smiled at her. As she turned, Naruto spoke up.

"Would you like me to walk you home Kurenai-san?" he asked. Kurenai turned around, a bit surprised at his offer.

"Uhhh, you don't have to Naruto-san." she said. Inwardly, she was wondering why he would offer.

"It's no problem Kurenai-san, besides a gentleman should always walk a lady home." A light pink dusted Kurenai's cheeks as his constant flattery did not fail. He may not realize what he is doing but he is being the perfect gentleman. "Especially, since we just became friends." he said with a smile to her. She smiled lightly at his gesture, as any idea of an ulterior motive was swept from her mind with his blatant honesty.

"If you wish to Naruto-san, I would enjoy the company." she said politely to him. He stepped forward and fell into step with her as the two began to leave the clearing and their embarrassing moment behind themselves.

Edge of the training grounds

Kurenai and Naruto approached the edge of the training grounds as darkess settled across the land. Naruto smiled up at Kurenai as they began to walk into the shinobi sector of the village. They had been walking in comfortable silence from the clearing and they were nearing Kurenai's apartment. Naruto looked up at Kurenai as they walked and decided he could ask her for something.

"Kurenai-san, your a jounin right?" he asked.

Kurenai looked down at him and smiled slightly, "Yes Naruto-san." she said.

"Do you think..." he stopped feeling bad for asking his friend for something so soon.

"What is it Naruto-san?" she asked gently as they continued walking.

Naruto took a deep breath, "Do you think you could teach me a few things?" he asked.

Kurenai's stride faltered as she heard his question but she recovered fast. "You have Kakashi who can teach you anything I could." she said.

Naruto looked down slightly, "I guess that wasn't a good question, Gomen ne Kurenai-san." he said as he smiled at her and they approached her own apartment.

Kurenai was about to say something when she saw they were at her apartment building, "Here we are." she said.

Naruto looked at the apartment and smiled, "Well, see you tomorrow Kurenai-san." he said. "and... arigatou." he said before he turned around and ran back towards the town. Kurenai stood there, looking back at him for a bit before she sighed and entered her apartment complex.

Naruto ran from Kurenai's apartment. His happiness boiling over and giving him more energy. He wondered how he had managed to make friends with her but he just brushed it off as he ran down the street excited that he had another person he could call his friend. As he passed the main square, he slowed down and started to walk on the street. His smile could not be beat as he continued walking. He looked around at the slums of Konoha where his apartment was located. He didn't care about his apartment. It was homey and he enjoyed it. So he walked to his apartment complex and entered his house.

Because he had forgotten to take a shower, he stripped down and jumped into his cold shower smiling all the while. After he finished, he dried himself off with a old tattered towel and headed to his bed. As he lay in his bed, with his froggy headcap and orange pants, he began to think back and smiled as he came across his first new friend since his school days. During the school year, Iruka-sensei had helped him near the end of the year but that was it. He had his team but they weren't friends so much as acquaintances. He counted Iruka as a close acquaintance but since he had waited so long to help him, after letting Mizuki sabotage him for 5 months Iruka had quickly lost friendship status.

Finally, he thought about his Jiji. The Hokage. He frowned as he thought of him. He had trusted him explicitly and had followed his instructions to the letter. But all it had brought him was pain to this point. He had told him he never did anything against the villagers and that all they needed was time before they would stop trying to hurt him. He said he didn't know why the villagers were attacking him. But he knew all along. He knew why the matrons at the orphanage would not take good care of him. He knew why the mobs would amass on his birthday to find him. He KNEW why he was hated and he never told him.

Naruto rolled over to his side and let a choked sob be ripped from his throat as he acknowledged that his Jiji lied to him. He never let his jiji know he didn't trust him anymore but he didn't. If he lied about something so big, what else might he be hiding from him? Might he know who his parents were? Might he have known he would have never graduated if he hadn't stolen the forbidden scroll because he had abnormal amounts of chakra?

Unfortunately, because of his Jiji's actions, he no longer trusted the most stable part of his life up to this point. But, as he let the one tear fall from his eye, Naruto's frown turned into a bright smile as he thought of Kurenai. She was someone he felt he could trust even with their limited time together, she hadn't ratted him out like others would have. She actually asked for his friendship! He smiled brightly as he allowed himself to drift off into sleep.

A/N: Now There will not be much action in this story, I had written much more in my last story than I really wanted and the action almost killed my muse for the story. As such, expect this fic to be almost all relationship oriented, which my other fic was, to an extent, but with more focus on expanding the relationship before the two begin to like each other.

Okay, I have done some reasearch and it seems that Kurenai is about 27 right now according to canon. Scratch that! I am making the older generation 3 years younger. So everyone that is currently in Kurenai's, Kakashi's, and Asuma's generation is 3 years younger.

That being said, I hope you review this story as my original story did go over quite well in my opinion.