Chapter 8: Progress Between Them

In yet another small village, Jiraiya and his young students were relaxing. Well, Jiraiya went to do some research yet again while Nia and Naruto were forced into getting to know one another once the girl had regained consciousness.

They were in a small room with two futons in it; The walls were bland but the carpet was a brown tan color. Nia was sitting against the wall, writing in her diary while Naruto sat on his futon eating cupped ramen while also glancing at his new comrade every now and then.

"Whatre wu doing?" He asked with a mouth full of noodles.

"Huh?" Nia looked up, "What did you say? I couldn't understand you."

Naruto slurped his noodles then repeated, "What are you doing?"

"Oh... Nothing. It's not important."

"It sure looks important."

Nia looked down, "I don't want to talk to you right now. Please leave me alone."

"But I didn't do anything." Naruto replied as he sat down his empty cup next to him.

"I know. I just... wanna be left alone."

The blonde tilted his head then stood up, "Fine, fine. I'll just go see what Pervy Sage is up to."

The dark-haired girl gave no response as Naruto closed the door behind him. However, after he left, Nia closed her diary and brought her knees to her chest then wrapped her arms around it while touching her chin to the top of it. Her expression was pensive and reflective.

Jiraiya-sensei told me that he would accept me as a student yet... I still feel... Underachieved. Could it be that I see him as being more interested in teaching Naruto solely. Am I being jealous of him?

Nia lowered her eyes.

Of course Jiraiya-sensei acknowledges Naruto more. I mean, he clearly met him before me so that would only make sense, right? In time, I'll be the one that he'll be impressed with. At least I hope that'll happen.

*****

Naruto entered into the bath house and saw his master being perverted as always. He sighed and approached him.

"Pervy Sage."

"Not now, Naruto," Jiraiya gestured his hand in a swatting motion while not bothering to look behind him, "Shoo! Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Being busy and being perverted are two different things; I need to talk to you."

"Can't this wait another time?"

"Pervy Sage, why can't we just get started with my training already? It's already been nearly a week!"

With a groan, Jiraiya stopped peeping through the small hole in the wall he punctured with his nail and turned around to see his pupil in a grouchy stance with a towel around his waist.

"Has Nia recovered properly yet?" He questioned.

"She looked well. She kinda didn't want me talking to her though but-"

"If you two aren't getting along then I can't train you."

"Wait! Hold on a second!" Naruto panicked, "I never said we aren't getting along; She just refuses to talk to me for some reason. Curly Brow doesn't look mad or anything. Just slightly uhh.. I don't know..."

"Well you better get to talking or your training will be pointless for the most part. Being on good terms is a key element in partnership."

"Yeah I know but you were originally going to train me alone: Why don't you just stick with that? Curly Brow and I can just have our own private sessions with you." Naruto suggested.

Jiraiya gave it some thought then replied, "I might do that to build up your individual weaknesses, but it'll still be better to train you together. It's a whole lot easier for me that way and it'll get you stronger quicker."

Naruto crossed his arms, "Yeah..."

I guess I'll head back to the guest room when I'm done cleaning myself up. The more I get along with Curly Brow, the sooner Pervy Sage will get to training me.

*****

Thirty minutes passed and now Jiraiya and Naruto were back in the guest room with Nia. The sannin occupied his time by getting prepared to write another few pages of his new Makeout Series book while Nia caught wind of this and immediately appeared by his shoulder, looking over it with sparkly eyes.

"Is that a new book?!" She asked.

"Why yes it is!" Jiraiya replied.

Nia's heart leaped with joy; She could barely contain her excitement at her sensei's announcement.

Naruto, who was sitting down with his back against the wall while also having a arm on top of his raised knee, gazed at the girl with glasses. How could someone be so interested in the dirty books Pervy Sage writes? What made Nia so drawn to them?

Wait, I forgot. She's not obsessed with the pervy books; Curly Brow likes the book that no one purchased.

With a raised eyebrow, Naruto crossed his legs then leaned forward, "When will you be finished with all that stuff, Pervy Sage? I don't wanna sit around doing nothing, ya know."

"Yeesh Naruto, what is with that attitude you've been having all day? Are you upset cause Nia gave you a difficult challenge not too long ago?" Jiraiya asked before he snickered.

"Of course not! I won, didn't I?" Naruto got offended, "Besides, I was holding back."

"Suuure."

Naruto looked down as he blushed in embarrassment; He really wasn't holding back too much.

"Did I really put up that much of a good fight, Jiraiya-sensei? I thought I wasn't doing too well." Nia stated.

"Ask Naruto over there if you really wanna know."

Nia faced her peer and briefly made eye contact with him before quickly turning away saying, "No thanks."

"And why's that?!" Naruto raised a fist in the air, "Am I not worthy asking?"

Jiraiya sighed, "That's it. Naruto, why don't you and Nia take a stroll outside or something? Get better acquainted with one another or whatever. I don't care how. I'll never get this work finished with you two distracting me."

"But I wanna study your writing techniques! I need to learn from the best and I can't do that if I'm out in town with someone who-"

Nia locked eyes with Naruto then looked down and whispered to Jiraiya, "I don't wanna be left alone with someone who'll make me feel... Feel... down about myself."

"What was that?! Try speaking louder!" Naruto demanded after seeing the whole secret talk between the two others in the room.

Nia backed up a little with fright written in her expression; She squeezed her hands together and stayed staring at the floor.

Naruto settled down and gawked at the strangely behaved girl.

What's up with her now?

"Ughh," Groaned Jiraiya, "Naruto, you said you want me to train you as soon as possible right? Get to stepping outside while I talk to Nia for a sec, okay?"

"I guess." The blonde stood up and walked out the room with his hands in his pockets.

Upon leaving, Naruto wanted to eavesdrop and so, made a clone of himself and had it make creaking noises as if to tell his master and Nia he left when he actually didn't; He put his ear to the door softly.

Inside the room, Jiraiya put his ink down and turned to face Nia.

"Listen, you don't have to be all curled into a ball whenever Naruto is here. He's a knucklehead, sure... and can be a bit inconsiderate at times but-"

"But I'm just not comfortable with... men my age or around it." Nia tensed up, "I get... Insecure whenever I'm by one and I just don't know how to respond without ignoring the guy or avoiding him."

"I didn't get to finish: I'm saying that as a growing kunoichi, you shouldn't allow anyone to tear you down emotionally and/or mentally. Being strong and not caring how others perceive you is a very crucial part of being a kunoichi and a ninja too. You must endure till the very end." Jiraiya flawlessly shared.

The girl in glasses looked down. However, she did understand what her new master was saying.

"Thanks, Jiraiya-sensei. I'll keep those words in my heart; I knew you were a good person. There's no way someone who wrote Tales Of A Gutsy Ninja, could possibly be a horrible, selfish person; Its just unthinkable!"

Outside the door, Naruto bangs shaded over his eyes.

I see... I keep forgetting about what people say to her that brings her down. No wonder why she's so hesitant, uncomfortable, awkward, and tense near me; She thinks I'll treat her the same.

Naruto listened in a little more before Jiraiya told Nia to catch up with the genin. He quickly maneuver himself out the building he was in and acted to be waiting for his new training partner to step outside after getting rid of his clone.

'Curly Brow just needs a friend; Someone who'll accept her for who she is.' He thought just as he heard footsteps approaching his location.

His gaze moved to the left of him and observed as Nia walked with her head down, not bothering to even look at him.

She dragged her feet, subtly rubbing her hands in front of her while thinking:

This is it; Time for me to question my existence all over again... Ugh, I bet he'll glare at me the second I look at him. The moment he does that, I'm outta here. I'll just try and sneak my way back to the guest room and read whatever Jiraiya-sensei wrote down on his paper.

Seeing the black sandals and orange pants just a few feet away, Nia holds in her breath.

Alright, this is it for real this time! I should probably put something in my ears so I don't have to hear wh-

"Hey Nia, you actually decided to hang out! Awesome."

"Hm?"

The kunoichi brought her sight upwards. Naruto flashed a teethy grin and held a friendly hand up as a greeting to her while having his right hand still in his pocket. The pose gave off a very friendly vibe and seeing it involuntarily made Nia's cheeks tinge with pink.

His greeting...

Just this alone, though it wasn't very much, was perhaps the nicest approach someone has given to the timid girl in a while. However, just cause Naruto gave one friendly wave didn't mean she was going to let her guard down; She remained cautious.

"Hi..." Nia greeted awkwardly, "Um-"

"Hey," Naruto gently slapped Nia's upper back causing her to straighten up out of uneasiness, "No need to be all anxious. Let's just try and get better acquainted, 'kay?"

"Uh yeah... Sure." The girl nodded.

I hope he doesn't touch me like that again; My skin nearly detached from my body.

The sky was dark with stars decorating across it. The moon was in its quarter stage and the buildings were all lighted up and also had a crowd of people walking out and in from them. Despite this, the area was a bit quieter and peaceful than the last village Nia and Naruto were in.

The two genin were relatively quiet and didn't speak much for the first few minutes. A few mumbling here and there but nothing major. Naruto was mainly the one putting effort into trying to make Nia comfortable around him but his kind attempts didn't seem to buy the girl's acknowledgement.

He sighed softly as he thought of other ways to get the girl to speak a bit more.

This is harder than I thought it would be. She seems paranoid and distracted with seeing if anyone is either looking or talking about her; its easy to observe that.

Naruto glanced at Nia and received a curious, suspicious look from her; He smiled anyway and her gaze went to her feet.

It kinda feels like I'm walking with Hinata right now... Except, she actually smiles when talking to me... At least, I'm pretty sure she does...

Naruto placed a finger around his chin and thought about his friend and comrade at home.

I hope Hinata gave Sakura the message I told her to say. Wait! Of course Hinata told her. There's no way she would ever let me down with a small favor like that one.

Distracted by his own thoughts, Naruto did not know he was walking into the town's most troubling area. Nia didn't seem to know either as she too was distracted with thinking about how she should test Naruto's kindness with her.

Just a yard away, a group of average grown ninja with hot tempers spotted their next victim: A awkward looking girl who seemed to be incapable of defending herself. The one next to her didn't look to be anyone she knew and appeared to be a complete stranger who happened to be right there coincidentally.

"You guys know what I'm thinking?" The tallest out of the four asked.

A green-haired man with brown eyes pointed his finger at Nia and chuckled, "You mean her, right?"

The tall man nodded.

A ninja with spiky brown hair and eyes cracked his knuckles, "Okay! She seems like an easy target; She stepped into the wrong territory. Tch, almost feel bad for the runt."

"I say we get violent. I can't stand looking at a girl like her." The fourth man with long brown hair and black eyes stepped toward his target. He stroked his beard and smirked as his friends followed suit; Out of the whole group, he was the most muscular.

They waited for Naruto to pass by then circled around Nia; She looked at the threatening faces around her. The looks they gave her pierced her heart in a hurtful fashion.

"Ah, don't look down, little lady." The tall man spoke first as he cupped the girl's chin; She smacked it away and attempted to peacefully get out of the circle.

This time, the spiky-haired man got in her way.

"I don't think so," He said, "You think you're qualified to enter into our territory? Sorry to say, but we don't let Goats through."

The other three men laughed at their friends comment. Nia's insecurity made her bring her hands over her face; True she could just send the men flying with a punch, but these particular situations left her stiff and frightened to stand up for herself.

"You don't gotta hide your face," The ninja with green hair brought Nia's hands away from her, "We just wanna help you know what you look like to everyone."

He then yanked the teen's glasses off her.

"N-No! I can't see clearly without that. P-Please give it back." She reached forward but the man threw it somewhere behind him as all four men insulted and laughed at her.

The cruel laughter stiffened Nia's movements and she brought her hands to her ears and her body repeatedly fidgeted; She closed her eyes tightly.

Unfortunately for the men, the glasses ended up dropping right in front of Naruto, who hadn't notice that him and Nia had been separated thanks to his own wandering mind. He crouched and picked them up.

Wait... This looks like...

He looked behind him and saw Nia wasn't following. He stood up.

Damn! I lost her!

Multiple people were bumping into the blonde and it was hard for him to get around them gently.

"Curly Brow!" He shouted, "Curly Brow, where are you?!"

The strong man in the group, grabbed roughly at Nia's hair; She groaned.

"Hmph! Not even your hair is decent!"

Nia stayed trembling, "I... Just please... Please let me go..."

The man spitted on her face just as Naruto finally spotted his partner.

Curly Brow!

"Now you can use that to make your face less disgusting." Said the leader.

"HEY!" Naruto stormed in and threw the man's hand out of Nia's hair, "Leave her alone! Don't touch her!"

"Hey look!" The tallest man smirked, "It's the dude that was by her earlier."

"The name is Naruto Uzumaki, Jerks!"  The genin introduced himself as he stood in front of Nia with an arm out in front of her in a protecting matter.

The voice of Jiraiya's pupil managed to reach through Nia's ears; She opened her eyes and was completely flabbergasted that Naruto was actually standing in front of her as if to defend her from the four men.

"We don't care who you are, kid. Our business is not with you." The leader responded to Naruto's actions.

"It is now!" Naruto fearlessly barked.

"Do you really want a beat down that much?!"

"I'll have you all kissing the dirt after I'm finished whopping your butts, ya know! Don't underestimate me."

"That does it! Men attack!" The leader demanded.

All four ninja charged right at Naruto. The skilled ninja swiftly dodged their attacks and kicked the green-haired man in the gut hard then threw his elbow down on his neck to make sure he would be knocked out. The first man dropped defeated and the tall man and the spiky-haired ninjas, attempted to jab Naruto in the face soon after, but the jinchuuriki jumped into the air and allowed the two men to bring eachother down. In a blink of an eye, Naruto descended and gave the man who physically harmed Nia, the muscular guy, a hard boot square to the face before he had time to react; He fell backwards with a large imprint of Naruto's sandal impression on his face.

"That was for spitting on Curly Brow's face!" Naruto mentioned as he dusted his hands off even though there was nothing on them.

He took the glasses he found out his pocket and turned to Nia. Using his own sleeve, he carefully wiped off the spit on the girl's face then placed her glasses back on her.

Nia's blurred vision returned to normal and she saw Naruto giving her a sheepish grin. His face was close to hers and he had his hands on her shoulders.

"You're alright now! Nobody will dare mess with you again! Not while I'm here!"

Like earlier, a pink tinge marked Nia's cheek. Someone really defended her. Someone actually stood up to beat down her bullies. The irony was the fact that it was a male of all people! A male was the very last person she thought would stand up for her.

Nia was so tongue-tied, she couldn't properly thank her rescuer without mumbling. Thankfully, Naruto catched her words and placed his arms behind his head, still wearing a grin on his face.

Involuntarily and without realizing it, a small smile spread across Nia's face. What Naruto did for her was definitely on par with Jiraiya's acceptance on making her his student in terms of kindness. Maybe Naruto wasn't a bad person after all... Maybe she was quick to judge him without getting to know him first. Maybe... she grew a new found respect for the younger boy.

She took a moment to calm herself.

That... was so nice...

"You're not as irritating as I thought you might turn out to be, Whisker Cheeks.... I'll talk to you now." Nia expressed with slow speed.

"Why do you still gotta call me that?! It's Naruto for the last time."

"And my name is Nia but you keep calling me Curly Brow; So stop bring so double standard."

Naruto sighed.

This is what I get for saving you...? Oh well.

"Let's get out of this area; It's pretty dangerous here." Naruto began to walk forward with his hands still behind his head.

Nia turned and followed him, "Kay, Mr. Whiskers."

"Curly Brooow," Whined Naruto, "I'm not some kitty cat, ya know. The name is Naruto Uzumaki."

"I know that but I'm still gonna call you that till you use my name properly." The older girl stated.

Naruto sweat dropped as Nia giggled.

'Maybe I should use her name; I hate Mr. Whiskers and Whisker Cheeks as some sort of nickname.' He thought.

Though she was still shaken up from the recent events, Nia now felt a bit more safe around Naruto after witnessing what he did. Though being friends with him wasn't what she really wanted, she still gathered enough respect for him to reply after each time he spoke to her.

The night was still fresh and Naruto knew that more progress would have to be made so that Jiraiya could get to training him; He continued using his time to spend with who he considered a potential, if not, already friend.

----

A/N- Thx for reading everyone! My next update will be my Gohan story. Please comment and vote before you go :)