Additional summary: This is technically the Naruto universe with the same aspects of the early story, but I've made some characters older (like Naruto and Shikamaru... etc). It's definitely relationship centered that crosses the teacher/student bond (which, let's admit, isn't new to this site XD). I hope that clears up any confusion you may have. Enjoy~

"Naruto, are you any closer to getting that paperwork done?"

The blond ninja frowned, making his displeasure incredibly noticeable as he scrutinized the margins before him. "What did I tell you, Shikamaru? Don't rush me."

"I haven't been rushing you for 3 days, and since you haven't shown your face, Hokage-sama is taking her frustration out on me," he replied with a slight groan. Naruto winced with sympathy knowing that the old lady must have been getting more agitated as he let the days pass him by. "I don't see why we have to fill out so many forms in the first place."

"You just became a jounin and you're really going to complain about the small things you have to do to maintain that?" the brunette asked offhandedly as he leaned against the doorframe. "If you needed help with it, all you had to do was ask."

"A regular jounin can take care of ordinary paperwork like this," he assured with an aggravated grumble as he set the paper down with a glare.

The other ninja sighed with an exasperated shake of his head. "Regular? I think the ship has sailed on that one, wouldn't you agree?"

Even as he was flipping his friend the bird, he found that it was still difficult to comprehend the terms in the questions he was meant to answer knowledgably. He had worked as hard as he could to join a few of his friends at these ranks, even if they were a few years older than him. There weren't many people he considered close enough to rely on, and he found comfort in people like Shikamaru and Neji. It was one step closer to becoming something more, but what was it?

"You're the youngest jounin to come along in a while," he chuckled as he closed the door behind him, deciding that it would be better to try and help the blond rather than patronize him. "It's not surprising that you are a bit confused with the reporting aspect of it all."

"It's still a bit hard for me to believe," Naruto finally admitted with a hint of a tired smile. He had been tired for a while, now. Pushing himself beyond his limits time and again did well to prove to his friends and Tsunade that he was more than capable in combat, but something as simple as answering a few questions on a piece of paper were his downfall? How pathetic.

"You might want to hurry if you're going to claim your first assignment," Shikamaru muttered with a gentle tap on the coffee table.

"What?" Naruto exclaimed, seeming more animated than he was just seconds before. "You know what my first assignment is?"

"I might know; I might not." Shikamaru shrugged, his poker face was too formidable, and Naruto found himself wanting to call the bluff anyway.

"You know, I think I might take a few more days off before I start my paperwork again," he mused as he leaned into his palms with a devious smile. "I'm sure the old lady would understand, right Shikamaru?"

There was a slight twitch of the brunette's brow, indicating what he had suspected from the beginning. Tsunade had made it his mission to make sure he wasn't another day late on his paperwork. "What was that? You don't want me to treat you to ramen after you've finished your paperwork? What a terrible shame."

"T-that's not fair!" he shouted, suddenly losing their short-lived battle of wits as he tackled his friend to the ground. "I'll do it! Please help me!"

"Get off me first!" Shikamaru wheezed while pushing the blond off his chest. "You are way too hyper, you know that? It's really troublesome."

Naruto leaned back against the couch with a sly smirk as he tapped the pencil against the table thoughtfully. "Quit slacking and help me get this done!"

"Well, that's one less thing I have to worry about I suppose," Shikamaru sighed as Naruto grabbed a pair of chopsticks. "The hole in my wallet, however..."

"You're fooling no one," he commented under his breath as the bowl of ramen was set before him, making his eyes go wide with excitement.

"Sometimes I wonder if you slack off just so I'll use ramen as an incentive to get you to work."

"You caught me," he admitted with a slurp of the hot noodles. Though, he never thought of something so clever until Shikamaru had mentioned it. What a good idea.

"Don't even think about it."

"I wasn't!"

"You were," he stated with a shake of his head. "You have to be a bit more dignified when you go about this."

"About what?" he asked with a mouthful of ramen as he gave as much of a concerned look as he could without looking too foolish. "Do you mean my mission?"

"It is... a long shot," Shikamaru admitted lightly as he rubbed his eyes with his fingers. "However, I'm not so sure if Hokage-sama is in her right mind to be assigning you such a thing."

"Is it an S rank mission?" He gasped, finding that the ramen in front of him was much less interesting than what was developing. "Are you serious?"

"Don't come up with such bold conclusions on your own," Shikamaru added before the blond's excitement could get the better of him. "You've been assigned a student. A genin who is being evaluated for the rank of chuunin."

Naruto sat back in his seat with a disgruntled expression. "Aren't we supposed to be... older when we take on a team of genin?"

"This is just one student, and Hokage-sama says that you are the perfect candidate for working with him."

"Bullshit!" He yelled, making his friend look up with a hint of concern. "She did this on purpose! I finally prove myself and am able to join you guys and she sticks me with something so insignificant? What does she think those chuunin exams are for?"

"By those standards, he has passed already."

Naruto paused, the silence letting him become more thoughtful of the situation he was getting into. A boy that already passed the chuunin exams but needed further observation? "W-who is he?"

"It hasn't been that long since he graduated from the academy, actually," Shikamaru answered with a yawn as he leaned back to stretch. "I believe you are familiar with the Uchiha name."

"Yeah..." He could feel his breath hitching in his throat as a familiar name came to mind. The face was distant and vague, but the name was infamous among the villagers. No one would forget the one survivor of the Uchiha massacre. "That's not a very funny joke."

"The only funny thing about it is that you think I'm joking," the brunette continued, his eyes glazed over in disinterest. Of course he wouldn't joke about something like that. It wasn't in Shikamaru's nature to joke around or find humor in something serious.

He was being put in charge of someone so young already, but this boy wasn't just any genin. He came from a genius bloodline that suffered one of the worst tragedies in the history of Konoha. "I..."

"We'll trust you with him," Shikamaru cut in before Naruto could voice his doubts. "You are more than capable."

"But..." What was he supposed to say? What did he possibly have to offer a kid like that?

"Don't worry, when we get back to her office I'm sure you two will hit it off just fine."

"We're going to meet him now?" There was something that struck him in that moment of shock that left him feeling more insecure, which was odd.

"Keep your confidence," Shikamaru added with a wry smile as he tossed money towards the server. "It'll help you." Without another word, the other man left, keeping Naruto in a silent state of distress.

He was kept in the wonderment of how strange this situation had become, and wondering if he really had what it took to take this kind of thing on. After he finished his bowl, feeling less satiated than when he entered the small shop, he met up with Shikamaru who was waiting for him at the base of the Hokage's building. The life of a jounin, he imagined, was one filled with adventure and mystery. Even though he had completed many dangerous missions alongside these ninjas, he believed that there would be a different sense of gratification when he became one of them. Somehow, he only felt a deep sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach as they trudged up the staircase in silence.

Their footsteps echoed off the concrete hallway as Shikamaru escorted Naruto down the familiar corridor that led to the Hokage's office. The blond took in a short breath before exhaling deeply through his nose, calming his nerves and giving him a temporary moment of peace as they approached.

"And give me one good reason why I should adhere to a brat like you!"

The two stopped before the doors with perplexed expressions, wary of entering. There was a deep mumble that made it hard to gather what the speaker was saying, but it had aggravated Tsunade just the same.

"That attitude is what will get your teammates killed! Who do you think is the one who denies your pass into the rank of chuunin?"

There was more incoherent mumbling before the sound of Tsunade's loud sigh eased the tension somewhat. "Regardless, I'll have you meet him now. Come on in, Naruto, Shikamaru!"

The brunette didn't miss a beat as he opened the doors obediently, leading the way to the center of the room. Naruto, couldn't help but keep his eyes glued to the blond woman sitting before them; his nerves refused to let his eyes wander to the other presence in the room without being properly introduced.

"There you are! My brilliant jounin who is incompetent with paperwork!" She greeted with a snide smirk, making the blond's brow furrow.

"It seems useless just the same, Tsunade obbaa-chan!"

"Naruto," Shikamaru hissed while digging his elbow into the blond's side.

"Your failure to complete simple tasks is not the issue being discussed at the moment," she continued, unperturbed by Naruto's bold insult. He was the only one brave enough to talk back to her, but it still sent others on edge when he did. "I'm sure you have been given a brief description of what your new job is?"

"Brief," he reiterated quietly, letting his eyes trail to his friend with a feeling of doubt.

"This is Uchiha Sasuke, Naruto," she stated with a gesture to his left.

His gaze shifted slowly before resting on the boy that was standing only a few feet away from him. His eyes were closed and arms crossed in apparent irritation, but he definitely carried a distinguished aura that signified that he was an Uchiha. His hair was the darkest shade of black, matching the dark tones of his clothing, and his headband was hanging loosely from his neck.

"It's nice to meet you, Sasuke-kun," he greeted with a pleasant smile, though it didn't seem to move the boy at all.

"You will report on his behavior weekly. He is a danger to himself and anyone else considered being his teammate. I expect you to work on his terrible cooperating skills as well as his insubordinate nature. It seems you two share similarities in some aspects."

"When I was a kid!" Naruto shot back defensively.

"We have taken him out of his first assigned team so he can receive more individual attention," she interrupted before it turned into the same meaningless argument they had carried on before. "Kakashi has specifically referred you for the job, so you can be sure to thank him later."

With my fist maybe.

"Take these," she added, holding out a large file with a stack of papers within it. "These are the different kinds of reports you may have to file, just in case any incidents occur while you're working with him. I'm counting on you to make good progress with this one, Naruto."

"Tch, whatever," came an audible scoff that drew their attention to the young boy who finally spoke his first words since they entered the room. He opened his eyes, focusing a hateful glare towards Naruto before turning toward the door.

"Sasuke!" Tsunade bellowed as she stood from her seat, making the other two ninjas stiffen in anticipation. "Whether you like it or not, Naruto will be taking over as your supervisor. You better learn how to listen before I straighten you out myself!"

Naruto couldn't help but shiver at the gruesome visual that presented itself in that threat. There was no doubt that if Sasuke was too much of a problem for anyone else, she would make him regret getting her involved. The boy stopped at the doorway, looking back at them with an unreadable expression before rolling his eyes and exiting the room in silence.

"I just don't know what I'm going to do with this kid," she admitted with a tired sigh as she sat back in her seat. "Ever since his team's last mission, Kakashi is at a loss for what to do for him without neglecting the other members of his team."

"What do you expect me to do about it, obaa-chan?" He couldn't help but sound resentful as he spoke the question dryly. "I have no experience with teaching like Shikamaru or Iruuka sensei. Why not give them the job?"

"Unlike any other ideal ninja, a lot of your judgment is based on emotion, Naruto," she explained with a playful wink, though he wasn't as amused. "I also think that will help you when dealing with a case like Sasuke's."

"Kakashi has faith in you too," Shikamaru pointed out, knowing that such a detail was more encouraging to the blond than anything else.

Of course things weren't going to go as planned in the beginning, and it was going to take some time, but if everyone else thought so, then he was confident in his abilities to improve Sasuke's skills and make him a better ninja. Even though he felt a twinge of sadness of having to push his own goals and ideals to the side for a while, he knew he had to approach this with an open mind to make it work.

"I guess it's okay then..." He began with a small smile. "How hard could this be?"

A/N: Welcome to Kataomoi! A story I wrote a while ago and decided to put up for the heck of it. I hope you enjoy it :)