"Uuuuuuuuuuugggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh." Naruto groaned in frustration, drawing it out so it lasted for a good twenty seconds. It had already gotten dark and the two boys were no closer to figuring out the exercise than they were when they started.

Sasuke was laying down on the floor of the forest, annoyed beyond words. Not only had he not figured out the exercise, but he was now being grouped in with Naruto. Sakura had left almost immediately after the exercise had started, as she got it first try. Kakashi left them an hour ago to go and find Hitoshi, who hadn't come to the lesson at all. Sasuke wouldn't have been surprised if the ginger already knew the exercise, given his backstory.

A slight rustle in the trees caught the boys' attention, and they smiled when Hitoshi dropped out of the trees. "I'm sensing that you two are over here," the ginger noted, "but it's so damn dark. Can you two even see anything?"

Naruto and Sasuke then noticed that they couldn't. It had gradually gotten dark as they trained, so they hadn't even noticed the shift. "I guess we can't, dattebayo." Naruto laughed sheepishly.

Hitoshi sighed, and walked closer to the pair. "That's what I thought. That's why I brought some firewood, because I'm assuming you two aren't going to sleep until you get the hang of this." The two heard a loud clatter as a pile of wood was dropped onto to forest floor. A small flame burst to life as Hitoshi lit the fire, and surrounded it with rocks. Within minutes, the fire was roaring loudly.

Hitoshi brushed off his hands. "So, you two are having trouble with the tree-walking exercise?"

The two boys burned red with embarrassment, before nodding shamefully. "We just can't seem to get it, dattebayo." Sasuke wanted to argue with the blonde, but unfortunately, he was right. The two of them had been at it for hours, and still had no idea how to use their chakra properly.

"That's okay." Hitoshi smiled. "You guys have a lot of chakra, so it makes sense that you can't control it very well." Naruto and Sasuke sighed in relief over the fact that the ginger wasn't disappointed with them. "Would you two show me what you can do as of right now? I need to figure out what you're doing wrong."

The two nodded, and charged at their respective trees. Naruto started running up his tree, and fell back down after a few steps. Sasuke sprinted up his tree, and had to fall back as the bark cracked beneath his feet.

"I see what's wrong." Hitoshi nodded wisely. "Sasuke you're using to much chakra, and that's why the bark is breaking beneath your feet. Naruto you aren't using enough, so you aren't sticking."

"Really? That's it?" Naruto asked, tilting his head.

"Honestly, I thought we were doing the technique wrong." Sasuke admitted.

"No, no, you guys are doing pretty well." Hitoshi smiled at them, making them blush slightly. "You just need to relax. You guys are getting so stressed out and worked up that you can't properly control your chakra."

The pair took in this information and tried again. This time, they each stuck to the tree for a few more steps. "Wow, dattebayo! You're right!" Naruto grinned.

"...Thank you, Hitoshi." Sasuke said quietly, surprising Naruto. The Uchiha rarely ever showed gratitude towards anyone.

"Of course." Hitoshi smiled. "Now, I'm going to attempt to go to sleep."

"What?!" Naruto and Sasuke shouted.

"Well you don't exactly need my help anymore." Hitoshi laughed. "And you still have to do the exercise by yourself."

"But- couldn't you stay out here with us?!" Naruto begged, before blushing bright red. "I- um, wait, that came out wrong-"

Hitoshi laughed slightly, and laid a blanket out onto the forest floor. "Sure. Since you asked so nicely."

Naruto flushed at the fact that Hitoshi had actually stayed, and Sasuke was scowling. He was upset with Naruto for disturbing the ginger's sleep schedule. The Uchiha knew about Hitoshi's nightmares and insomnia, and didn't need the blonde dobe to go making it worse.

Hitoshi noticed the look Sasuke was giving Naruto. "It's fine, Sasuke. I probably wasn't going to be able to sleep anyways."

Sasuke sighed in defeat. "I know, but I was hoping."

::

"So, wait, you're older than us?" Naruto inquired. It was the next day, and the two boys had already gotten the tree-walking exercise down. The four, including Sakura, were now walking to a small lake, where they could practice water walking. Hitoshi knew that water walking was going to be extremely useful on this mission, so he was going to teach them.

"Apparently." Hitoshi laughed. "I can't believe you guys are only thirteen."

"Well, we assumed you were thirteen too! You're really short for a fifteen year old, chibi." Sasuke noted, and Hitoshi flushed red in embarrasment.

"It isn't my fault that my genes decided to make me a short person!" Hitoshi shouted, and the group laughed.

The two demon sisters had taken over guarding Tazuna, mostly because they were bored in the demon realm. Not that there was much happening. Gato and his hired mist-nin hadn't tried anything since that incident the day before. With how injured Midnight had left Zabuza, she assured Hitoshi that it would be at least a week before he attacked again. So, the ginger needed to teach the three of them as quickly as he could.

"Okay!" Hitoshi grinned and clapped his hands as they arrived at the lake. He turned to his teammates, now his temporary students. "So, to water-walk, you just have to do the same thing you were doing, just on water."

To demonstrate, Hitoshi stepped onto the cold lake. He didn't sink, but merely stood on the surface of the water, like he never left the solid ground.

"Woah! That's so cool, dattebayo!" Naruto shouted.

"Now, this is much more difficult." Hitoshi noted, making the three nod. "The water is constantly changing, so you'll have to change your output constantly as well. It will take some time to master, but it will be worth it. So, just take a few minutes to try it out."

"I bet Sakura-chan is going to get it first, dattebayo." Naruto nodded wisely.

Sakura laughed sheepishly. "Maybe."

Sasuke had stepped onto the lake, and immediately fell through the surface. Naruto knew better than to laugh at his rival's misfortune, as the blonde knew that he wouldn't be any better.

Naruto put a lot of chakra into his feet, and attempted to run onto the lake. He made no better progress than Sasuke, the large amount of chakra he used repelling the water's surface and making him lose balance. Seeing as Naruto didn't laugh at him, Sasuke thought he'd return the favor.

Hitoshi grinned at his friends. "Hm... Maybe we should make this a contest..." The ginger mused aloud, and the three looked over at him.

"A contest, dattebayo?" Naruto inquired, a competitive look growing in his eyes.

"Yeah." Hitoshi nodded. "I'm estimating that the three of you are probably going to have the same amount of difficulty doing this exercise. So, I'll give a prize to whoever gets it right first."

"No fair! Sakura-chan is obviously going to get it first!" Naruto protested.

"Not necessarily. Now that you've grasped the basics, all of you are mostly on equal footing. So, any of you could win." Hitoshi explained, and they nodded.

"So, what are the requirements to win?" Sasuke asked.

"Let's see... being able to stably stand on the water's surface for a minute?" Hitoshi mused.

"Sounds good to me, dattebayo!"

"Okay." Sasuke nodded.

"Perfect!" Sakura grinned. "So, what's the prize?"

"Hm... how about you guys get to order me around for a day? And that includes making me buy you anything you want." Hitoshi suggested, and their eyes lit up.

Sakura was unnerved by the looks in Naruto and Sasuke's eyes. She was a little more than unnerved, actually, she was disturbed.

'Perfect! If I win I can get to spend a day with Hitoshi! I have to win!' Naruto grinned maniacally, concentrating with all his might on the exercise.

'I want to take him on a date, without making it seem like a date...' Sasuke mused. 'This is my chance. I better not fucking screw this up!'

If Hitoshi noticed, he didn't seem to care. "Alright, and... begin!" The ginger shouted.

The three thirteen-year-olds began immediately, Sakura being more than a little put off by the boys' sudden fervor. The ginger watched over the three silently, surprised that the two boys were so motivated. He dismissed any idea that he had about the two liking him. After everything that had occurred between them, he was surprised that they were still talking to him.

The reason being what he knew about them. He knew that Naruto had the Kyuubi inside him, and his mother had helped to eradicate Sasuke's clan. How could they not hate him? Naruto probably didn't like the fact that Hitoshi knew about the Kyuubi and figured out about the Yondaime before him. It probably made him feel bad about not being able to see it himself, so the blonde should be resenting Hitoshi.

And with Sasuke, Yamiko helped kill his entire family! Why wasn't Hitoshi dead yet?! The ginger would have gladly given his life to help satiate the ravenette's thirst for revenge, but the Uchiha seemed to want to be friends! Is it because he wanted the betrayal to hurt all the more in the future? As Hitoshi begun to think about it, he grew more and more puzzled. Why did they like him? Why did they talk to him?

What was really going on?

::

Much to Naruto and Sasuke's dismay, it was Sakura who managed to keep her balance for a minute first. The pinkette was surprised, but happy. She wanted a chance to get to know Hitoshi better, because it seemed like everyone else on her team knew him pretty well.

However, the two boys managed to get it only a few minutes afterwards, and so they headed back to the bridge. They found the two demons playing cards with their sensei, Tazuna working in the background. Hitoshi happily joined in, and began to beat everyone at a slow game of UNO.

"So, Hitoshi managed to teach you three the water-walking exercise?" Kakashi inquired, glancing over his cards. Naruto nodded enthusiastically.

"He's a really good teacher, dattebayo!" The jinchūriki nodded, placing down a red two.

"Thanks, Naruto." Hitoshi smiled warmly at the blonde, and the boy felt his face heat up slightly. "So, I guess this has become a waiting game then." Hitoshi noted, setting down a blue two. "We just have to wait for them to return."

"Yeah, sounds about right." Midnight grinned smugly. "I did beat that Zabuza guy pretty soundly."

"We just have to wait." Hitoshi sighed, bored already.