She wasn't entirely sure how she stumbled upon this situation. The once twenty-nine-year-old woman was staring blankly up at the neon lights that hung brightly overhead. From her point of view, she couldn't pinpoint where she was, everything looked incredibly fuzzy, unfocused and images were blurred. Try as she might, the woman tried to get up but her body felt heavy and sluggish. She managed to extend her right hand upwards, she was startled to find that it had shrunken immensely and gained several layers of fat.

A shocked scream erupted from her throat, or at least she tried to scream. What came out instead was a wail, a loud cry of an infant that echoed through the barren road of the red-light district.

The front doors of the grand Crimson Lotus creaked open and an older woman took a curious peek out the door. It was just after closing hours and the woman wondered if the racket was coming from an injured drunkard or pair of feral cats fighting. However, when her eyes strayed downward she gasped loudly.

Before her, lay a small brown woven basket, the edges frayed and worn. Inside rested a baby, crying its little lungs out. The woman's heartstrings tugged at the sight and carefully she picked the infant up from the basket, wrapping its small body in the soft fabrics of her kimono. Placing the child's head on her heart, gently rocking the infant back and forth in soothing attempts and she took both the baby and the basket inside.

The loud lub-dubs of the heart began to mellow the child and soon the infant began to drift off, falling fast asleep, completely spent from its wailing fit. The older woman couldn't fight the smile creeping up to her lips and the warmth that settled in her heart. It was almost like a blessing from Kami-sama himself. She knew instantly from that moment she laid eyes on this baby that she was going to keep it.

"Hello little one," she whispered gently as she shifted the infant in her arms so the baby was vertical of her body. With one hand supporting the neck and head and another supporting the body, she whispered again "-my name is Aimi and I am going to be your Okaa-san." Taking note that the little baby would continue sleeping she leaned down to press her lips against the baby's temple. "I am going to call you Masaharu" she murmured as she connected their foreheads together and closed her eyes. "-my flourishing spring."

Chapter 1

Naruto scowled impatiently, crossing his arms over his chest. After three long hours of boring lessons, it was finally time for interesting: one on one sparring! He was thrilled, ready to show off to the class his awesome butt-kicking skills.

However though, and he could barely contain his deadly glare at the two people before him. A few minutes had already passed and both pineapple boy and the fat kid hadn't made a single move yet! So far the only action he's seen; the pineapple boy takes a huge yawn, slouch lazily and stared off to the side disinterestedly. Choji just stood there, awkwardly.

Unable to just stand there watching and waiting, the blond boy decided to scrutinize the rest of his classmates, looking to see who he might be paired to fight. The number of female classmates outnumbered the number of male classmates, so he wondered if he would fight the hooded-glasses guy, dog-hat wearing dude or maybe… His glower settled on the scowling pale boy flocked with his female classmates.

His thoughts were broken when he heard Iruka-sensei ask Shikamaru and Choji to make the Seal of Reconciliation. He watched as pineapple boy hook fingers with the fat kid, sharing shy smiles. Naruto instantly grinned, pumped that it might be his turn next. However, his mood deflated when he heard the teacher call some girl's name, pairing it with "Uchiha, Sasuke" and almost instantaneously; the female portion of the class began to squeal, shouting out his name enthusiastically.

Naruto scowled and watched with disinterest as both the frowning pale boy and glasses girl stood off inside the sparring circle. Before the instructor could even begin the match, the glasses girl immediately surrendered completely flustered and flushed. The female portion of the class began to cry out again, cheering loudly and spewing compliments as the duo returned to their original spots, though the pale boy seemed to wear an even deeper scowl.

Iruka-sensei exhaled again, this time slapping his palm against his forehead. He called the glasses girl over and proceeded to scold her with the history behind the sparring exercise. But the instructor might as well have been spewing gibberish as his words went through one ear and out the next.

Massaging his temples, Iruka glanced down at his list again. "Alright, let's have… Uzumaki, Naruto-" at the sound of his name the blond boy punched a fist into the air, crowing his enthusiasm boisterously. His excited mood couldn't be dampened, even despite the whispers that began to disperse amongst his classmates. "-and Sakata, Masaharu!"

Naruto looked around curiously, wondering which of his classmates' butt he'll be kicking. However, all of his brimming confidence washed away when a tall pretty girl stepped forward and entered the circle with him. His cheeks flushed a bright pink when she flashed him a cute smile and he watched as she gave him a weird hand folded bow before positioning herself into another weird stance. Her fighting stance wasn't anything he recognized; she kept her feet apart, the right in front of the other, knees slightly bent and arms held out mirroring her feet with one arm outstretched and the other kept centered. Her hands were not clenched like his, but her fingers were loose and palms open.

The blond boy tried mirroring her fighting stance with one of his own. A girl, he deadpanned. He would have to fight a very tall, very pretty girl. He gazed up at her and as her smile quickly melted into a frown, he swallowed audibly.

"Begin!"

Instantly Naruto sprinted forward, throwing out his first punch. The girl shifted to the right, sidestepping away to avoid his punch. "You know your stance is wrong," she commented as she easily ducked away from another punch. "You shouldn't be pulling your arm so far back to strike," she remarked weaving around his series of quick hits. She looked so graceful and she pulled those dodges with ease, almost like she was dancing.

With his constant misses and the jeering of his classmates reached his ears, Naruto could feel his anger and frustration begin to rise and his hits began to become more sloppy.

However, his frustration melted away when his fist connected to the girl's open palm effectively catching his punch and he was struck with a sudden cold fear. He flinched, reflexively curving in on himself in defense.

"Here."

Much to his surprise; she grasped his fist in hers, loosening up his fingers and readjusted his fingers into the proper position. "Hold your hand this way, so you won't hurt your thumb while punching" she instructed. Then she smiled "would you like to try again?" she asked kindly, taking a step back.

The tips of his ears pinked and he nodded shyly, getting into his stance again and throwing out a punch. His opponent grinned and she pivoted away to avoid getting hit. "Good job!" she praised spinning away from another blow.

Naruto couldn't keep down the beaming smile that was creeping on his face. He opened his mouth to share his thanks but before he could make a sound, her eyes gleamed. Then with a single fluid motion, she stepped forward hitting the palm of her right hand against his chest and used one of her legs to trip his feet, sending him sprawling on his back.

The courtyard was completely silent for a moment. Iruka-sensei quickly shook his head, breaking out of his initial surprise. "Masaharu wins" he stated before gesturing to both students, "Now offer each other the Seal of Reconciliation."

Everyone watched with mild interest as Masaharu walked over to her opponent and offer her hand to him. The young Uzumaki had a bit of a reputation; he was one to instantly start another brawl with his opponent whenever he lost, as was seen multiple times whenever he paired with Sasuke Uchiha. It was also unexpected for the taller girl to offer a hand to him; for few to none would even exchange words with him, let alone offer a hand in assistance. Naruto was shocked as well, gawking at her hand for a brief moment before hesitantly grabbing it. The girl easily pulled him to a standing position and she placed both her hands on his shoulders to steady him.

"You did very well Naruto-kun" she grinned patting both his shoulders in congratulations. "Your form is a bit off though. If you ever need help, I can give you a few pointers during lunch." She gave him one final pat, this time on the top of his head before heading back to the classroom with the rest of the students.

Naruto watched her go, long ebony locks flowing as she walked. He unconsciously reached to touch his hair, at the place where she ruffled his head. He could feel the heat rising from the pit of his stomach stretching from his chin, to his cheeks, to his ears and to the top tips of his head. His heart began to pound heavily, although not quite in a bad way. Clenching a fist to the front of his shirt, he quickly dashed after her, stumbling with a "W-Wait!"

However, despite the fact that the raven-haired girl was the tallest person in their class, Naruto lost sight of her once a sea of his classmates entered his vision. He tried to elbow his way to the front but due to his tiny stature, his attempts were all in vain and proven futile.

Giving up, he sighed loudly. Being the last to enter the classroom, he began to sulk. He effectively ignored Iruka-sensei, who yelled at him to sit down and sat in the only remaining seat in the back next to pineapple boy. He huffed loudly and slumped in his chair. From the corner of his eye, he saw that tall girl sit in between the hooded-glasses guy and dog-hat wearing dude at a nearby table. He saw her hunch over the table, eagerly looking at the dark swarming pile that hooded-glasses guy had released onto the table.

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, jutting out his lower lip in a pout. He muttered softly to himself, wondering why the first pretty girl who's ever talked to him, would be so interested in talking to that other guy! He continued to grumble incoherently, not noticing the annoyed look pineapple boy threw him along with the "troublesome" that attached soon after.

Although his silent brooding came to a halt when he saw the girl look up momentarily and her eyes surveyed the room. Naruto unconsciously found himself sitting up straighter in his seat, his breathing hitched slightly when her eyes locked with his own. For a moment, she returned his stare blinking owlishly. She flashed a small smile his way before turning back to the black swarm.

An opportunity arose when Iruka-sensei needed to step out of the room and the blond boy seized it as a chance to jump out of his seat and dash over to the girl's desk, eagerly wanting to talk her. He came to a screeching halt, slamming both his hands onto the hard service of the desk, effectively startling all three students. He grinned widely, a pink hue dusting his cheeks when he saw that the girl was staring at him. "Hi!" he exclaimed loudly, ignoring dog-boy's flinch at the sheer volume of his voice. "I'm Uzumaki, Naruto and-" his train of thought came to a halt when he finally registered that the dark cloud on the desk were actually bugs. "Whoa!" his eyes twinkled and he bent down to take a closer look. "Your desk is swarming with bugs!" he reached out a hand to touch them but a hand him blocked before he could.

"Please leave them alone" this time it was the hooded-glasses guy that spoke. "Why? Because they are my pets."

The raven-haired girl smiled and she pointed her index finger towards him, showing off one of the kikaichū that rested on the tip of her finger. "Don't be fooled by their cute appearance. Even Sokka here is very dangerous" she explained and Naruto watched the little bug in awe.

The Inuzuka who was eavesdropping sweatdropped, choking on his saliva. Those bugs, cute?

Masaharu ignored Kiba's reaction, allowing a smile to grace her features. She wasn't fooled by Naruto's attempt at a nonchalant attitude when he came over to their table. After observing how their teachers and classmates treated him, she could assume she was one of the first to treat him kindly. So, she asked, "Would you like to join us for lunch later Uzumaki-kun?" Beside her, Shino cast his friend a bemused look but hesitantly nodded his head in agreement.

A warm feeling began to envelop his chest and his stomach fluttered, but in a good way, as tears began to gathered and threatened to spill from his eyes. "Y-Yeah!" the blond boy burst out with a wide beaming smile.

And it was at that moment the odd little duo turned into an unconventional trio.