"You're so slow, Big Brother Naruto!" complained the three with Konohamaru, who had been waiting at the village gate since early morning.
Naruto scratched his head sheepishly and gave an awkward smile. "Sorry. Something held me up."
Naruto recalled the awkward incident that morning. After they parted at school that day, Hinata had returned home to find Hanabi waiting bashfully at the entrance. Hinata had been puzzled at first, but what Hanabi said next delighted her. Her proud, stubborn little sister had actually asked for help mastering chakra nature transformation-something Hinata had not experienced since Hanabi turned five. She had spent the past few days helping Hanabi master chakra shape transformation, and the sisters had grown much closer, just as they had been when a much younger Hanabi used to cling to her.
Hanabi had finally mastered chakra shape transformation yesterday. Early this morning, Hinata had come to Naruto's house to thank him in person, only to find that he was still asleep. Kushina and Minato happened to be busy in the kitchen, and Kushina seemed to have forgotten something when she asked Hinata to wake Naruto up. And so... (Karin seemed to be at home. Hehe, imagine the rest yourself.)
Naruto had spent ages explaining before Hinata believed that there really was nothing going on between him and Karin-it was just Karin's bad habit. Whether Hinata actually believed that explanation, Naruto had no idea. Just thinking about it gave him a headache.
Naruto slowly walked over to Konohamaru, muttering, "What a pain."
Naruto led the three with Konohamaru out through Konoha's gates. Once outside, the three became incredibly excited, taking an interest in everything they saw. Watching them, Naruto wondered whether bringing them along had really been a good idea. He muttered under his breath again, "What a pain."