Normal Grammer

"Normal Talking"

'Thought/Mink-link'

Chapter 1: Familiar Faces

==Unknown==

Will felt herself floating in a vast expanse of white. 'What was even more interesting was This must be another dream,' she thought.

A presence behind her snapped her back to reality. She had just enough time to register the shadowy outline of a figure before launching a lightning bolt towards it.

"Whoa, easy there Will. Jeez, who knew you were this violent."

Will froze. That voice, she thought. The figure came into view, and Will saw it. The spiky blond hair, the amused expression on his face. The three whisker mark on each cheek. "Naruto!"

Naruto oomphed as he was tackled by a flying hug. He smiled and hugged the girl back. "Enthusiastic aren't you? Oh yeah, and what's with the wings, and since when were you able to shoot lightning bolts?"

Will broke away. She was suddenly conscious of what she was wearing and the fact that she was flying. "Uh, yeah about that…."

"I can't say I'm happy that you are risking your life for no good reason, but I guess I can't say you were the only one." Naruto's gaze wandered downwards and Will followed it. That was when she really saw him.

He was wearing a black long sleeved shirt with matching pants. The ends were tied together with white bandages. Over his shirt was a green flak jacket. This followed by was a short-sleeved long white coat that swept down to his ankles. The hem was decorated by red flames. His forehead carried a long black bandana-like piece of cloth with a metal plate in the centre. On his back was an ornately carved katana. But most striking of all were his eyes. Naruto's old eyes were a piercing sapphire blue. These were a duller blue without a pupil. Instead it was made up of six concentric rings.

"Naruto, what happened to your eyes?"

Naruto sighed. "Long story, longer explanation," he replied, much to Will's ire and confusion. "But that doesn't matter; the important thing is that…." Naruto's form suddenly flickered for a moment before reappearing. "Blast, looks like I don't have much time left."

"Naruto, what's going on, where are you…."

"Sorry Will, I don't have much time left. Before that can I'd like to give you something."

Will could barely reply before she felt Naruto's lips press gently on hers. Will's eyes slid close as she felt her arms move of their own accord, wrapping around his neck. She didn't care, as she felt herself immerse in pure happiness. Finally Naruto pulled away. "I've been waiting years to do that again. Will, I…." Naruto's form suddenly flickered once and vanished.

"Wait," Will reached out, "please don't go."

Will bolted upright in her bed gasping. 'There's no way that could've been a dream,' she thought. 'So what was going on?'

Will quickly shot out of bed. 'I have to go find Yan Lin.'

==Later==

Hay Lin groggily opened the door to find her frantic friend. "Will? It's like one in the morning."

"Sorry, but I have to speak to your grandmother. Is she awake?"

"Is now." Hay Lin turned to see her grandmother. "Who could sleep through all that racket?"

"I'm so glad you're awake," Will said. "There is something I really need to talk to you about alone."

==Later==

"I'm sure it wasn't a dream," Will told her after all the events. "It felt too real. It was like he was really talking to me."

"Hmmm," Yan Lin rubbed her chin. "Don't know. We'll have to go to Kandrakar to find out."

"Can we leave as soon as possible?" Will asked. "This is important."

==Hidden Leaf Village==

A twelve year old Naruto snapped out of meditation. 'Damn, can't believe that actually worked. He looked at the clock on his bedside. Six AM, well better get ready to meet the brats I'm getting assigned.' Naruto was tall for his age. His early shinobi career as well as his status as a jinchūriki has enhanced his physical aspects. Despite being twelve, he looked more around fourteen or fifteen.

Naruto sighed and got dressed. First a black version of the standard Leaf shinobi uniform with the ends tied up with bandages, then the chūnin vest over it. On his arms and legs were black combat boots, bracers and fingerless metal backed gloves from his time in ANBU. Finally, he donned the black Leaf headband along with a long white coat with red flame designs etched along the hems. Over his back he slung a blade of pure white silver.

Naruto he looked to the right of his master bedroom inside the Namikaze Mansion. There on the table was a picture of him and Will two years ago, when he was accidentally stranded in her dimension. Naruto picked the picture up and stroked the face of Will.

Finally he sighed and set down the picture, and pulled out a note of who he was to be assigned. He read through it and raised an eyebrow. 'Well, well, The Hyūga heir, Itachi's brat, as well as the Nara's future clan head. This'll be interesting.' He quickly pocketed the note. Might as well get going, he thought to himself dully. Naruto made a half ram seal and disappeared in a yellow flash. His last thoughts were, 'Itachi, Fugaku-sensei, you two owe me big time.'

==Leaf Village Shinobi Academy – 7 AM==

Today you have started down the true path of becoming Shinobi of the leaf village. However, your journey is far from over. You must now learn to overcome obstacles in your way. Now I will announce your genin squads and your sensei. Team 1…."

"Team 7 is Sasuke Uchiha, Hinata Hyūga," the two friends high-fived each other, "and Shikamaru Nara." There was a muttered 'troublesome' from the sleeping Nara. "Your jōnin sensei will be Naruto Namikaze." At that exact moment the screen door slid open. "Right on time, as usual, Naruto."

There was a chuckle followed by an absurdly young voice. "Why thank you, Iruka. I do try."

All three heads turned to see an absurdly young boy at the doorway. He looked like your run-of-the-mill jōnin except for a pair of strange faded blue eyes made up of a series of concentric circles, and the strange whisker-like marks on his cheeks.

His eyes roamed across the room falling briefly on the three team members. Finally he spoke, "Team 7 please meet me at Training Ground 7 in fifteen minutes. With that he disappeared in a flash of yellow.

"Alright, my cute little genin," Naruto smiled in amusement when all three of them twitched, "why don't we start with introductions? Tell me a little bit about yourselves, things you like and hate, dreams for the future and hobbies."

All three cocked their heads in confusion. "Why don't you tell us, sensei, just to see what we should say," Sasuke suggested.

"Well, alright, I guess, I'm Naruto Namikaze. I like ramen, training and my friends. I hate perverts traitors and waiting for ramen to boil. My hobbies are working with seals, training and drinking sake with my friends, and my dream for the future is," the young sensei looked towards the Hokage monument with a small smile, "is to become Hokage and protect my village and its people." He turned back to see his three young charges staring at him. Hinata raised her hand. "Yes, Hinata?"

"Sensei, how old are you?"

Naruto smiled. "Me? I just turned twelve last October."

The three genins looked at him dumbfounded. 'He's the same age as us!' was the combined thought running through their heads.

"Wait," Sasuke spoke up, "my brother likes to tell me stories of his time in ANBU. One story was about his captain, who was much younger than him and made ANBU at age six. Did you happen to know him?"

This made Naruto chuckle. "Ah yes, little Itachi, a trouble maker if I'd ever saw one." Sasuke blinked sporadically, hearing Itachi described as anything but calm and collected. "To answer your question, yes I did know Itachi in ANBU, I also know whom you are talking about."

"Really? Who?"

"Why, that would be me," Naruto smirked. "Speaking of which, how is Fugaku these days."

Sasuke blinked. "You know dad?"

Naruto nodded. "Fugaku is a good man. He saved my life when I was younger, a debt which I have not, and probably never will, fully repaid, but enough about me. Let's hear about you guys, left to right, starting with pineapple head."

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered while both his teammates snickered, "I'm Shikamaru Nara. I like clouds and shōgi, I hate anything troublesome. My hobbies are sleeping, cloud watching and playing shōgi. My dream for the future is to become chūnin, and marry a girl who's not too troublesome, have one boy and one girl, retire at 50 then die before my wife does."

'This kid's lazier than Shikaku, if that's even possible,' Naruto thought with a sweat-drop. "Pale eyes, your next."

"I'm Hinata Hyūga, I like my friends and training. I hate the Caged Bird Seal and my clan's superiority complex. My hobbies are hanging out with my friend and training my taijutsu. My dream for the future is to become the Hyūga clan head and remove the caged bird seal."

An admirable goal, Naruto thought to himself. "Last up, duck-butt boy."

Sasuke shot a giggling Hinata and his new sensei the Uchiha Death GlareTM. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha. I like my friends, family and training. I hate arrogant people and fangirls. My hobbies are training an hanging out with my friends. My dream is to become an ANBU Captain surpassing my big brother."

'Just like you said, Itachi. Kid gets worked up way too easily.'

"Alright, looks like my team is pretty well balanced. Now, go home, get some rest, and tomorrow you have your genin exam."

All three stared at him. "Err, sensei?" Hinata said uncertainly. "We already took our genin exam."

"Oh, that?" Naruto waved his hand in dismissal. "That was just a preliminary, to see who had a snowball's chance of becoming genin." The young boy looked at each and every one of them. "Go home, get some rest and plenty of food. Meet me here tomorrow at 9 AM sharp." With that, he disappeared in a yellow flash.

==Uchiha Compound – Later==

"I'm home!" Sasuke called as he opened the door to his house.

"Hello, Sasuke," Mikoto came forward and gave him a hug.

"Hello son," Fugaku looked up and smiled at his youngest son. "How was today?"

"Pretty great, I got to meet my new sensei."

"Oh, you don't sound too happy," a voice came from the doorway. Sasuke turned to see Itachi standing in his ANBU uniform, Weasel mask discarded.

"Hi big brother, and yeah, our sensei is kind of young. But he says he knows you and dad."

"Oh, really?" Fugaku raised an eyebrow from the kitchen table. "What's his name?"

"It's Naruto Namikaze." Sasuke was surprised when he saw both of them freeze. There was a moment of silence before they began to chuckle. "What?" Sasuke demanded.

"Itachi, I thought you said he didn't want to become a jōnin sensei."

"That's what he told me, but knowing senpai the Hokage probably had to threaten his ramen."

Fugaku chuckled again. "Makes sense."

"So you guys know him?" Sasuke asked in confusion.

"Yes," Fugaku nodded, "Naruto is an old friend of mine, and Itachi's captain from his ANBU days. A prodigy if there ever was one."

"Yes, he had quite the fanclub, too. Even bigger than yours."

Sasuke grimaced at the mention of his fans. Then he heard his mom call, "Alright enough war stories. Sasuke, get changed and get ready for dinner."

"Yes, mum."

==Kandrakar – The Next Day==

"Are you sure you want to do this, Will? A world without a heart is always a dangerous place. That is why this one was separated from the infinite dimensions."

"Yes, I'm sure. I need to see him," Will looked at the portal wistfully.

"Then regretfully, we must have the heart. In case something were to go wrong here."

Will nodded and handed the Heart of Kandrakar to the Oracle. In return, he gave her an amulet with a small sapphire hanging from it. "I have imbued this gem with powers. It will give you the ability to transform if needed and it will allow you to open a portal, only once, back to Kandrakar."

"Thank you, Oracle," Will dipped her head in gratitude. She looked at the portal, 'I'm coming, Naruto.'

==Training Ground 7 - Later==

Sasuke was the first to arrive at the training ground. Several minutes later, Hinata arrived. Five minutes afterwards, Shikamaru arrived to see Hinata's nose in a book and Sasuke idly twirling a kunai. He set himself down to doze off. At exactly 9 AM, there was a flash of light. All three genin turned to see their sensei standing in front of them. On his belt were dangling two silver bells. "Good it looks like you're all on time."

Naruto set an alarm clock on the boulder. "Alright, it's set for noon. That leaves all of you three hours to each attempt to get a bell." He gestured at the silver objects dangling from his belt.

"Err, sensei?" Hinata said uncertainly. "There are only two bells."

"Very astute, Hinata," Naruto nodded with approval. "Whoever doesn't get a bell will get tied to that post," he indicated to one of the three wooden posts. "And whoever fails, will be sent back to the academy." Naruto looked around at the stunned faces. "Remember this, just because you get a bell doesn't necessarily mean you'll pass, and just because you don't get a bell, doesn't necessarily mean you'll fail. I will be judging you on your abilities, knowledge, and how you handle combat situations."

He looked at all three genin and added. "One more thing, don't expect to pass if you don't come at me with the intent to kill." He looked between the determined faces and looked for a moment. "Begin!"

There were three flashes as the genin disappeared into the forest.

==Outside the Leaf Village==

Will groaned, trying to get to her feet. She was in the middle of a forest somewhere. 'W-what happened? Is this supposed to be the Elemental Nations?'

Whatever she was about to think next was cut off as several masked men appeared in front of her. "Who are you and what is your business here?" one man asked.

"Errr, I..." Will thought back to what the mage had said. 'It has been over a century since any of us has been there, but judging from his headband you should ask for the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village. He will probably know.' "I'm not saying until I know who you people are."

"We are ANBU of the Leaf, now I will ask again. Who are you, and what is your business here?"

'Leaf. Hoping that means the Hidden Leaf Village.' "My name is Will Vandom. I'm here to see the Hokage," Will said, trying to sound confident

"What is your business with Lord Hokage?"

"I need his help looking for someone. Please, you have to take me to him."

The masked men looked at each other, then their leader nodded. "Very well, we shall take you to see the Hokage."

Will sighed with relief. 'Well that went better than I thought.'

==Training Ground 7 - Later==

Naruto juggled a tri-pronged kunai with his right index finger. The test had gone as he had expected so far. Sasuke had been the first to attack him. A few choice words had left the young Uchiha screaming in rage, much to Naruto's amusement. The young jōnin had made quick work of the boy.

Then came Hinata. She lasted longer due to her knowledge in gentle fist. But when forced on the defensive, she quickly lost ground to Naruto.

Shikamaru has yet to be seen. With one hour left, Naruto was starting to wonder if they would pull this off.

"Okay guys, there is a hidden meaning to this test. We have to work together to get the bells."

"How do you figure that?" Sasuke demanded.

"Think about it. This guy's a jōnin, and an ex-ANBU Captain no less. No one expects a fresh genin out of the academy to beat him. This test is meant for us to work together."

Sasuke and Hinata looked at each other and nodded. "Alright, Shika," Hinata said, "what's the game plan?"

Naruto was standing in the middle of the clearing when he heard a rustle behind him. Suddenly Hinata came out, charging full speed at him. Naruto caught the kunai he was twirling by the handle and prepared to leap to the offensive when his senses suddenly tingled. He leapt back just in time for a fireball to assault his positions. That was enough for Hinata to press her attack on Naruto.

There was a blur of movements as Hinata engaged her sensei in taijutsu. Naruto leapt backwards and prepared to move to long range when he spotted another fireball coming at him. With a casual wave, Naruto absorbed the jutsu. 'Well, that's two of them, but what about...' Suddenly, he froze. "Shadow possession success," a voice drawled behind him.

Sasuke moved forward to grab a bell, only for Naruto to dispel in a blast of smoke. A second later, before anyone completely registered, Naruto disappeared in a blast of smoke. A second later there was a ringing sound in the distance. Everyone hung their heads as soon as they heard it.

There was a lone clapping sound. Everyone turned to see Naruto leaning against a black block of stone grinning. "Congratulations, you pass."

"What?" all three of them cried out.

"Getting the bell wasn't the true objective of the test. There was another meaning, and your friend Shikamaru was able to figure it out."

"Teamwork," Shikamaru stated.

"Exactly," Naruto nodded, "teamwork is essential for a shinobi. Why do you think you were all put in three man teams? All of you were able to work flawlessly together. As a matter of fact, I haven't seen teamwork that great from fresh genin in a long time." Naruto grinned at the tree of them. "You all pass, with flying colours."

Naruto waited for the excitement to die down before speaking up. "Now listen up, before we leave there is one more thing I need to say to you." He patted the black stone next to him. "This stone is a memorial to the heroes of our village. Heroes who were killed on the line of duty." Immediately the three genin's faces took on a more sombre expression. "Those of us who break the rules nothing but trash, but those who abandon their comrades are even worse than that. Remember those words." Naruto looked at the face of each and every one of the genin. "Alright, enough with that. Why don't I treat you guys to lunch?"

==Hokage's Office==

Will stood before an old man wearing a red and white robe. "So," the man said, "you requested to see me, yet you are obviously not from anywhere around this land since you apparently know so little about it. Which begs the question of who are you and why are you here?"

Will sighed. "My name is Will Vandom, and I'm the leader of the five guardians of the infinite dimensions. I have power over quintessence, one of the five powers of the Heart of Kandrakar. It isn't with me right now, but I have this necklace as a substitute," Will pointed.

The Hokage blinked for a moment, looking at her like she was crazy. "I see, and why are you here?"

"I'm looking for someone actually, a boy named Naruto Namikaze."

The Hokage stiffened. 'Guardian or not, how did this girl know about Naruto?' "Why do you want him?" There was a sharp edge in his voice.

"I just need to see him, please. He's not hurt is he?" Will leaned forward, a slight edge of panic crept into her voice.

"No he's fine." So she's not here to harm him, I guess I could give it a shot. "ANBU, get Naruto Namikaze in my office!"

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

==Ichiraku Ramen==

The three genin watched in awe as Naruto devoured his sixth bowl of ramen. 'Where does he put it all?' they thought in unison.

Naruto slammed the bowl down with a clack and looked at the three genin. "Alright, time to give you my evaluation. Sasuke I'll start with you. Your ninjutsu is quite impressive and your taijutsu is higher than average. However, you're way too hot-headed," Sasuke shot his snickering teammates the Uchiha Death GlareTM. "Therefore, you tend rush headfirst into a fight without thinking. We'll need to work on that."

Naruto looked at the Hyūga girl. "Hinata, your taijutsu is the best out of all the academy, and your Byakūgan provides you with an incredible advantage. However, you lack a proper defence and are also more vulnerable to ranged attacks. Something we'll have to work on."

Finally, he looked at the final teammate and sighed. "Shikamaru, you're smarter than any genin I've ever come across before. However, I've seen more life from a brick wall."

Shikamaru muttered, "Troublesome," while his teammates snickered.

"Listen to me very carefully, laziness is a luxury you cannot afford on mission. Your father was the same, as lazy as an old bag of prunes when he was off duty, but when on missions, he was completely focused. Slacking off can easily cost you the success of a mission, and even," Naruto's eyes wandered to Hinata and Sasuke, "the life of a teammate. Do you understand?"

Shikamaru nodded seriously.

"Good," Naruto looked at all three of them. "Report to Training Ground 7 at 6 AM sharp. I'll give you your training schedules then."

Naruto watched as his genin headed off. There was a flicker of black, and an ANBU appeared beside him. "Senpai, Lord Hokage wants to see you."

==Ended==

This is the Re upload of Now and Forever. So please Review.