7)Foxy Adventures: Ch.7

'What…the hell?' I thought in shock as I looked down at the green-skinned amphibian below me, its stature matching that of Gama with yellow patterns all over its body, wearing a large red-violet bow on his back & red lipstick, pink blush on his cheeks & eye-liner that gave him an effeminate appearance.

“Hmm, is he perhaps broken? Ah, Jiraiya sweetie, I didn't see you there.”

“Hey, Gamariki. How have you been?”

“I've been absolutely wonderful. Did you notice my new lipstick?”

“Ah, the red suits you. It's a better look than the yellow.”

“Isn't it? So, who is the cutie on my back?”

'Is this normal in this world?' I thought as I watched Jiraiya and the toad, who I now learned to be Gamariki, speaking casually as if they were old friends.

Which…in hindsight, they probably were.

“That's Naruto Uzumaki, the new summoner.” I tuned back from my thoughts to hear Jiraiya's response, glancing down at the toad before frowning slightly as I saw its gaze flicker up to me for a brief moment before looking back at Jiraiya.

“As in…?” The toad trailed off and my frown deepened as Jiraiya simply nodded.

“As in what? Is it something I should know?” I asked before sighing in frustration as Jiraiya waved his hand dismissively.

“Nothing you have to be concerned about right now.”

'So, he still doesn't trust me with information about my family, eh? Fine, keep it that way.'

“Fine, keep your secrets. Anyway, Gamariki, nice to meet you.”

“Oh, it's my pleasure, sweetie. Now then, may I ask why you have summoned me here? I was in the middle of a nice exquisite dinner of earth worms & bee lava.” Gamariki asked and I hid my disgust at the explanation of his meal as I leapt off of his head and landed next to him.

“Oh, nothing much. I just summoned the scroll and see what the biggest toad was that I…could summo-Woah~”

“And here comes the exhaustion. Quite frankly, I'm surprised it took this long for you to notice.” Jiraiya spoke with an amused tone, which I ignored as I tried to find my footing under me before giving Gamariki a thankful smile as he held out an arm that I could use to stabilize myself.

“…Hah…thank you.”

“It is my pleasure, dear. So, I'm guessing he used most of his chakra to summon me here?”

“Like an idiot, yeah. Honestly, I should have expected it but he continues to surprise me.”

“You want me to beat the crap out of you, Pervy Sage?”

“Pervy Sage?” Gamariki asked with an amused smile and I ignored Jiraiya's ranting about his nickname in the background as I shrugged.

“He's a pervert and a 'sage' if you believe him calling himself the Toad Sage. So…Pervy Sage.”

“Ufufufu~It is quite fitting for you, Jiraiya dear.”

“Don't you start agreeing with him, Gamariki, or else he won't shut up about it.”

“You damn right I won't. Anyway, I thought you said that it was supposed to be a hard jutsu to learn.”

“Oh, it's hard when you're not trying to exhaust yourself in trying to summon something.” Jiraiya said with a knowing look and I looked away while whistling as Gamariki & Gama just shook their heads.

“Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time. So, how much chakra should I use to summon a toad?”

“Preferably, half at the most since you still want to keep chakra for jutsu that you want to us-Wait, you're already charged?” He asked in surprise as he processed my question and I snorted whilst shaking my head.

“Nah, I'm only half-way full right now from the quarter of my chakra that I had left after summoning Gamariki here.”

“You know that's abnormal, right?”

“For most people, yeah, but I have been called a stamina monster by most people who know me, especially with my fluffy & foxy friend in my belly.” I said while patting my abdomen, to which Gamariki smirked while Jiraiya frowned slightly.

“And have you made contact with this fluffy friend of yours?”

“Have I talked to him? No, not at all, but I have used his chakra once.”

“Hmm, and when was it that you used 'his' chakra?” Jiraiya asked and I didn't say anything about the sarcastic way he said 'his'.

“On a C-Rank turned A-Rank mission to the Land of Waves. Kakashi-sensei fought against Zabuza and Sasuke & me had to fight against his sidekick, Haku. The only thing I even remember about it was feeling nothing but hatred & anger towards Haku before I stopped myself from…well, killing him.”

“I see. Anyway, are you going to stay Gamariki or are you going to head back home?”

“That depends. What are you working on right now, Naruto?” He asked and I blinked before shrugging.

“I got this Water jutsu but I'm stuck at the spot where I need to create the water in my stomach…”

“By changing its properties to that of water itself? Well, you're in luck because I am a skilled practitioner of Water Style in the Toad Clan.”

“Wait, really?” I asked in excitement, Gamariki nodding with a proud smile while I ignored Jiraiya sighing in the background.

'Wait, I remember him now. He was that one toad in that Three Tails filler arc & when Jiraiya wanted to teach Naruto genjutsu. Holy shit, am I lucky or what?'

“Indeed. So, would you like me to help you with it so you can figure out this new jutsu of yours?” He asked and I grinned as I nodded.

“Did you even have to ask? Let's get this training arc started.”

“Wonderful. Jiraiya, you can leave now since you'll only be a nuisance.”

“B-But…but I-!”

“Uh-uh! No buts. Go and do your usual peeping and return in a few days.”

“…Argh, fine~! See if I care.” I simply smirked as I watched Jiraiya walking away whilst sulking, Gama hopping after him while Gamariki gave me an amused smile as I leaned closer.

“I need you teach me how to do that.”

“Another time. For now, first show me what you can do.”

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“Ow…ow…ow…ow…” I groaned with each step as I slowly made my way through the streets of the Hidden Leaf towards my apartment, my left hand softly rubbing my left side after it had been hit by a stray water bullet from one of the clones that got too distracted.

When Gamariki had learned about my training method with the clones, he was both shocked & amazed to hear that I learned of such a cheat code, but he promised to not say anything when I asked him to keep him a secret before he made me up the number of clones from five to twenty.

At first, I thought it would have been too many and that the Nine Tails might break out, but I severely underestimated Gamariki as he had shown me he was more than capable of stopping me when he spat out a water bullet that carved a hole through five trees & almost through a sixth.

After that, my whole morning & early afternoon was nothing but focusing on how to change my chakra to that of water and wasn't that a riveting conversation.

As it turns out, I may be a genius at ninjutsu as my idea to first learn how water acts & feels were the best way that I could have gone about it if Gamariki was to be believed.

According to him, I first learned how water feels & how it operates by constantly taking sips from the river & spitting out out repeatedly.

After that, my second step in learning how to infuse water with my chakra was the correct next thing as doing so allowed me to learn how the water currents work & how I can learn to shape & manipulate it as I please.

However, it was the third step that knocked me for a loop.

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“Wait, what?” I asked, wondering if I heard that right as Gamariki simply giggled before nodding.

“You heard correctly. The final step…is vomiting.” Gamariki's answer threw me for a loop as I looked at the effeminate toad, who giggled behind their hand.

“Vomiting? N-Not…not spitting?”

“Nope, vomiting. You must learn to expel a large amount of water before you can learn how to spit water out accurately.”

“…I feel like I might be working backwards with that method.”

“Hey, all I'm teaching you is everything that was taught to me by my sensei. See, water cannot be forced to move how someone wants it to since it would just slip past your fingers. First, you need to learn how to expel a large amount of water through vomiting before you can learn how to guide a small amount through spitting.

“Hah, okay. You're the master here. So, how do I create this large amount of water?” I asked before blinking as the toad simply smirked and answered.

“Simple. You're going to create twenty clones & let them surround you in a large circle from all sides on the river.”

“…I'm playing whack-a-mole, aren't I?”

“You most certainly are. Now, the sun's setting and daylight is burning so let's get this training started.”

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After that, it was just hours upon hours of diving & surfacing from the rapid currents of the river to learn how water tastes & feels inside my body while also dodging water-infused bullets from every direction.

Well, they were actually spheres than bullets, but a small object hitting you hard enough to form a small welt will still hurt no matter what shape it takes.

After the torture/ training session that was being attacked by my clones, Gamariki had to unfortunately leave since he finally remembered about the food he left on the table, leaving me alone as I dispelled the clones & processed the training memories from them.

Then, I had the bright idea of trying some reflex & agility training to finally get the last of my muscle memory by using two clones to shoot water at me from both sides while I dodge them and at first, it seemed to work splendidly.

That is until the fatigue began to set in and the first bullet landed in my side, which gave my clones the opportunity to pelt away at me with water bullets.

'I know I'm a bit sadistic, but why the hell are they even worse than me as the original?' I thought with a grumble as I continued to shuffle/ walk forward, ignoring the whispers around me before blinking as I looked up & caught sight of a bright red girl with short indigo hair looking shocked to see me.

“Hinata-ow! Just the girl I wanted to see!” I exclaimed with a grin as I walked forward, Hinata squeaking as I wrapped my free arm around her before wincing as I felt a stab of pain on that side.

“S-Sorry about that. Just got done training so still a bit sore.” I said as she gave me a concerned look, her concern slipping away & embarrassment taking its place once more as I began walking with her.

“U-Um, Naruto…y-your arm…” She said softly and I blinked before remembering that I had subconsciously put my arm around her.

“Ah, right. Sorry about th-!” I stopped as I went to remove my arm only for her to quickly grab my hand & pull it back, her blush growing deeper as I blinked with a look of surprise.

“Want me to move my arm?” I asked and watched as she rapidly shook her head.

“Want me to keep it there?” This time, she gave a hesitant nod and I smiled as I pulled her tighter, the squeak escaping her lips making me chuckle as I nodded.

“Okay, then. Well, I'm hungry so why don't we go & eat some ramen?”

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“Hey, Old Man Teuchi! One order of large miso char-siu and one order of…uh, hehe~I just realized I might have kidnapped you.” I said with a sheepish grin while looking at Hinata, who had calmed down enough to giggle before Teuchi spoke up.

“So, you're into kidnapping girls now, huh Naruto? Did the pranking start getting boring?”

“Of course not! I just finished training and I happened to walk into Hinata here, right?”

“Y-Yes, he did. I'll have a medium miso ramen, please.”

“Of course, dear. Don't worry, I'll put it on your 'Pay you back when I'm Hokage' tab.” Teuchi said before I could speak, a bright grin appearing on my face as I gave the old man thumbs-up before Hinata blinked as I walked forward & pulled out one of the three chairs in the stall.

“I know it isn't a chair, but I couldn't call myself a gentleman if I didn't at least treat you right.”

“Um, t-thank you.” She said with a blush as she sat down while I pushed in the chair, rolling my eyes at Teuchi's subtle thumbs-up and Ayame's giggle as she walked out from the back.

“Hey, Naruto~ I see you're not eating alone tonight.”

“Nope. Hinata, this is Ayame & that's Old Man Teuchi, the dad-daughter duo of Ichiraku Ramen. Ayame, this is Hinata, a former classmate & friend.”

“Just a friend?” Ayame asked and I snorted while crossing my arms.

“Just a friend…right?” I asked while looking at Hinata only to blink as her slightly dejected look was quickly wiped away for a smile.

“R-Right.”

“Hmm~” That was Ayame's only response as she gave Hinata a look and I simply shook my head as the older woman giggled & walked away.

“Don't worry about her. She just likes teasing people when she's bored.” I whispered as Ayame turned around, Hinata giggling as the woman turned around to give me a glare.

“Are you spreading rumours about me?”

“I would never! Ain't that right, Old man?”

“Last time I got involved, she kicked me out of the kitchen so I'm staying out of it.” Teuchi answered and I stuck my tongue out at Ayame while she huffed & turned back around.

“Are you two close?” I heard Hinata whisper and turned to see the curious look on her face.

“Pretty close. She's like an annoying sister that doesn't want to go away even when no one wants her in the room.”

“Says the short blonde idiot that didn't like vegetables until I fed them to you.”

“That was traumatizing and you know it. Also, I'm not short. I just have not hit my growth spurt yet.”

“In other words, short.” She answered with a smirk and I huffed as Ayama giggled before I turned to Hinata in surprise as I heard the melodic giggles slipping through her hands that were over her mouth.

“Hehehe~S-Sorry~”

“Heh, nah, it's fine.”

“Here you go. Two delicious ramen for two young lovebirds on a date.”

“Wait, what?” I asked with wide eyes while looking at Teuchi, feeling my face heating up while Hinata squeaked as the old man chuckled while placing our bowls down.

“Don't worry about it. Enjoy and Ayame, let them eat in peace.”

“Aw~Fine, you get to live for today, Naruto.” I simply blinked as I watched the two vanish to the back of the stall before turning as I heard Hinata shuffling on her seat.

“Uh, I did not tell them to say that, if you're wondering.”

“N-No, it's okay. I…didn't mind.” She whispered that last part to myself, but I just barely caught it and didn't say anything as I smiled & nodded before taking a pair of chopsticks from the container in front of us.

Soon, the stall was filled with nothing but our eating, with me taking quick yet large bites of my bowl while glancing over to Hinata only for our eyes to meet every time.

“So…how has training been for you?” That was a pretty weak conversation starter, but it managed to get rid of the tension and Hinata gave a shaky smile as she answered.

“Um, it's been good. Kurenai-sensei and Kiba have been helping Shino & I with a few jutsu. W-What about you?”

“Eh, Kakashi-sensei wants to train Sasuke over me, but it's fine since I got Jiraiya to train me instead.”

“J-Jiraiya? A-As in J-Jiraiya of the Sannin?” I heard her ask and turned to see the shocked look on her face.

“Ah, right. Forgot that Pervy Sage is a big shot to others.”

“P-Pervy…Sage?”

“He's a Toad Sage and he calls himself the greatest pervert in the world. So…Pervy Sage.”

“I-I see. I-It is still a huge honour to train under him, though Naruto.”

“It is…but only when he actually wants to train me. Most of the time he's out and bout peeping & flirting with almost every single women in the village.”

“I-I see. W-Well, they do say that the most eccentric shinobi are also the most powerful.”

“He is pretty strong, I'll give him that. Anyway, going past the training, how did your family love you going on to the Third Exams?” I asked and I knew that Hiash was a dickhead in the early years of Hinata's life so her winning probably made him see her in a better light than before.

Unfortunately, it appears that I was wrong as she looked a bit dejected and looked down at her hands in her lap.

“W-Well, they were surprised & some were a bit joyful that I managed to pass alongside Big Brother Neji, but Father…h-he wasn't exactly impressed with my victory and said it was simply a fluke.”

“…He sounds like a prick, no offence. Besides, he wasn't there to see you fight and Sakura is pretty capable so you did a good job in taking her down without hurting her more than she was. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, okay?” I spoke with a smile and she blushed bright red before giving a slow nod.

“R-Right.”

“Glad to hear! So…do you maybe wanna train together a day or two? Just taijutsu and nothing else if you want to keep your trump cards hidden!” I quickly clarified as I saw her eyes widening, Hinata staying silent for a few moments before she spoke.

“R-Really?”

“Yeah, I mean…you're pretty good at it and I need a sparring partner. Of course, if you don't want to, it's completely understanda-!”

“No! A-Ahem! No, I want to.” She added softly with a blush after her shout, making me blink before I grinned & nodded.

“Great! Tomorrow at Training Ground 7, then?”

“O-Okay.”

“Cool.” I answered with a smile, Hinata giving a shy one back before it began to grow awkward once more as neither of us said anything.

“I-I should…probably get back to Kurenai-sensei.”

“Right, she's probably looking for you. See you tomorrow at 12 if that's all right?”

“Okay.” She spoke before standing up and walking out of the stall, leaving me to watch her leave before I nearly fell over as Ayame spoke up from behind me.

“So~How was the date?”

“Where the hell did you even come from?”

“She snuck back in.” Teuchi answered as he walked back out, Ayame giggling as I rolled my eyes and stood up.

“It wasn't a date. It was simply two friends getting together and eating some ramen.”

“Sure, it was~Anyway, you wanna help close up?”

“Hah, sure~I'll go clean up in the back.”

A/N: And a bit of romance, comedy and bonding as Naruto & Hinata has their first…'date'.

For those wondering, yes, she is the love interest but I'm also going to make a poll to suggest something.

Also, to clarify, the training arc will only be until chapter 9/10 where I will finally start with the Third Exams.

Another also, you guys have noticed that his personality is a lot like Naruto's but with a bit of sarcasm but know that it's about to change a fair amount in the near future.

When that is? You'll have to find out.

Anyway, as always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one…

Ba-Bye~!