It is barely two days until Kakashi's inauguration when Naruto gets the idea.
Unsurprisingly, it strikes him in the most inopportune of moments.
"Dammit!"
For the umpteenth time, the jinchūriki's irrepressible impatience has caused him to take his instant ramen too hot; in instinctive recoil, one panicked arm has struck the small picture frame resting beside his apartment window, sending it clattering to the floor.
Naruto regards it with a panicked eye, and quickly composes himself to recover the fallen item.
Dusting it off, he observes no real damage done. A new scratch adorns the already tarnished nameplate reading TEAM 7, but Naruto, satisfied with its condition, simply replaces the picture in its place beside the window without concern.
He hazards a glance at the image.
Heh. Sasuke's hair was ridiculous.
Look at Sakura, so innocent.
And there's Kakashi-sensei, remember his dumb bell test-
Wait.
Memories well in Naruto's chest like needles.
The genin bell test.
The one mission the original Team 7 had never truly completed together.
He frowns down at his steaming ramen, suddenly in thought. Now that Kakashi-sensei is going off to be Hokage, Sakura's been drafted for the hospital, and Sasuke's set to leave the village, he'll never get closure.
Unless…
Suddenly Naruto's scowl melts into a trademark mischievous smirk.
Abandoning the hazardous ramen, he snatches up his jacket and bolts for the door.