"You know, I'm starting to think that maybe I just can't do it!"

"You're not supposed to say that!" Naruto was walking back and forth on the branch of a very tall tree, so high up that his face was indistinguishable. We were practicing some sort of jump that we'd learned earlier in class. You climb a tree with your chakra and get your running headstart before you leap into the air and slide down the trunk of the next tree to reach the ground. Unfortunately for Naruto, he was having trouble with focusing the chakra to his feet and found it difficult to climb the tree in the first place. Now he's got to propel himself forward, grip the tree, and slide down. All by focusing his chakra at his feet.

"You're the Naruto that never gives up, remember? Believe it!" I shouted up to encourage him. We'd been trying with two trees closer together nearby, and he wasn't doing too good there either. This jump must seem impossible compared to the first one. "Once you're done with your jump, just one, and then I take mine, we can go to the ramen stand and order takeout!"

But even the ramen didn't convince him. His orange figure still paced nervously on the branch, causing a few dark leaves to float down to me. "I won't be alive to eat the ramen!" He shouted back at me. I could hear the nervousness in his voice.

I sighed and walked a few paces from the tree he had to slide down. "I'll stand under you the whole time you jump, and when you reach the tree I'll be there to catch you at the bottom! Just trust me!" My voice echoed eerily throughout the branches.

Naruto was silent and still for a moment. I thought he'd given up. But then he jumped a few branches back for his headstart. "I trust you!"

And then he leaped into the air hiiiigh over my head, his right foot way out in front of him to catch the tree. It did, and held as he slid down slowly. He did it!

When he reached the bottom I saw him grinning from ear to ear with bubbly excitement that he let out with some sort of weird jumpy dance and happy screaming. I jumped up and down with him, the same grin on my face, and let him hug me and jump around with me in his arms. This must be a big accomplishment for him. I didn't tell him that I'd already mastered this move, because then he'd feel left out.

"You're awesome!" he exclaimed right into my ear. I flinched and shrugged (as best I could with his arms around me, pinning them to my sides). "You totally helped me do this! Usually it would take me days and days, and then it would still suck!"

After a few more praises and thank-yous and jumping and screaming, he finally let me go and tried to stand still as I climbed the tree for myself. "I'll do what you did for me, ok?" he called to me as I climbed. It was a little strenuous to talk. I could use my chakra, but there were knots and multiplying branches as I got higher, and had to use my arms instead. But I trust him just as much as he trusted me.

I finally made it to the top. "Ready?" I called down, and he gave me two thumbs up. I think. His arms went into the air, so I'm taking that as a yes. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath to prepare my chakra, focused it on my feet, and jumped from branch to branch closer to the gap between the two trees. I picked up enough speed and propelled myself from the tree branch into the air-

-and time slows.

It is so weird being in the air, nothing on your body touching anything but oxygen. My stomach wanted to head straight down to the ground, but my arms and legs were ready to fly. It's thrilling, exhilarating, terrifying all at once, but overall enjoyable.

Until I see a black mass heading towards me out of nowhere.

It was like slow-mo. I can see my path to the tree becoming shorter. My chakra is ready. But when I look to the right, there's a bullet-fast figure in all black heading to me. And then it hits me what I assume is head-first in my chest. It feels as hard as metal, crashing into my lungs and tearing the breath out of me. I'm no longer heading for the tree I'd been aiming to slide down on.

Slow-mo stops. I'm having too much trouble breathing to do anything, literally. I can't even see anything because this guy's black cloak thingy is covering my face, in my mouth, wrapped around my neck. It's suddenly so cold...

Then it becomes light again, and I'm falling. I open my eyes and am able to breath deeply, and see that Naruto's holding me in the warmth of his arms as we fall many, many yards from the ground. "Just stay calm," he shouts over the wind swirling around us. "We're ok, we're ok..." He's saying this more for his sake, I can tell.

But the wind stopped, and I looked to see Naruto sliding slowly, carefully down another tree trunk to the ground below. His eyes darted around frantically, up into the trees for the attacker, through the trunks, on the ground, then at me with his blue eyes full of worry. I think. My sight is so bad right now. I feel... dead. I smile weakly at him. "You've really got this technique down, don't you?" I whisper. My throat hurts with every word.

And that's the last I remembered before passing out.