Sakura never thought she'd see the day the Hero of the Hidden Leaf bent over an academy textbook with a hilariously determined expression on his face. Ichiraku Ramen was hardly the best environment to study in, but Sakura was glad there was one thing predictable about her whiskered teammate.

She took a seat next to Naruto, looking over his shoulder at the information on the textbook. It was on Nature Transformation and its applications in the shinobi world. Naruto's blue eyes bore into the book with the same intensity as in a battle, but his expression still gave away the fact that the blond was not absorbing any information.

"Need any help?" The kunoichi offered.

"Oh! Hey Sakura-chan," her teammate's face had lost all its intensity. "I'm just studying for the Chuunin exam."

Naruto gave her an annoyed look when she giggled. How could she not? The savior of Konoha, the teen who trumped Pain, a Genin. Using this as a distraction, she snatched the book from the table and propped it onto her lap.

"Naruto, you took the Chuunin exams before. You know this stuff won't be on the test," She scolded as she flipped through the pages. The entire point of the chuunin exam was to cheat. Then again, she remembered him being the only one to pass with a blank test. A pang of nostalgia hit her as she envisioned a twelve-year-old Uzumaki Naruto, trembling at the idea he might never become a Chuunin.

"Granny says the exams change every year, and they'll be keeping an extra sharp eye on me since I'm older. If I can answer at least one question without cheating," He shot her a knowing look. Sakura smiled back. They both knew that while they were both able to pass without cheating, Sakura had actually managed to answer every single question. "I'll be much better off."

Sakura's gaze dropped back down to the textbook. "We'll start off easy. Name the five basic Nature Transformations."

"Uhh... wind, fire..." Naruto's finger scratched at his cheek. "...wood..."

Naruto found himself being hit lightly on the head with the textbook. "Idiot," Sakura chided. "Wood isn't basic. You should know this! You see it during fights all the time,"

"That's different!" Naruto complained. "I think better when I'm running on adrenaline!"

She sighed. "Just try it. You can remember things better when you can relate it to yourself. Put yourself into battle mode and think of all the elements you've seen the most often when you're in battle."

Blue eyes blinked back at her, then he crossed his arms. "Uhh... Kakashi-sensei uses fire, lightning and water- that's three. My Rasenshuriken - Wind. Yamato-taicho uses wood - don't hit me!" Naruto held up his hands in response to Sakura holding the textbook tauntingly. "When I was practicing wind release, he told me that he uses water in one hand and earth in the other. That's five, isn't it?"

Sakura answered with a grin that could match even Naruto's. "Good job. Next," she flipped through the pages in the textbook, stopping at a random page. "Name the five Kekkei Genkai that you need to be familiar with at Chuunin level."

"Sakura-chaaaaan," Naruto groaned. "I've seen tons of those! Your strategy is flawed," He wagged a finger at her.

"Well," Sakura pondered. It was a good thing she had read so many textbooks on Psychology. "You can use a mnemonic device, then. Better yet, use peg words!"

Her teammate stared at her indignantly.

"The five Kekkei Genkai you need to know are the Sharingan, Byakugan, Lava Release, Magnet Release, and Ice Release," Sakura paused, wondering if Naruto could just flat out memorize those five. It would be easy to store in short-term memory, but he would forget before the Chuunin Exam. "Before you memorize those, memorize this: One is a bun, two is a shoe, three is a tree, four is a door, and five is a hive."

The jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi looked a little miffed that he was supposed to memorize a nursery rhyme. After repeating it to himself a couple of times to himself, his azure eyes went back to Sakura for the next step.

"If we assign each of the Kekkei Genkai a number, you can form an image from the rhyme. So, for example... Sharingan and the number one. One is associated with "bun", so imagine Kakashi-sensei fighting a giant bun, and he's so worn out that he has to use the Sharingan."

Naruto burst out in laughter. "Wouldn't it be easier just to give the bun the Sharingan? Or, better yet, Kakashi-sensei as a bun?"

"The more outlandish, the better," Sakura forced out between stifles of laughter. "Okay, two is Byakugan..."

"Neji and Hinata having to use the Byakugan to tie their shoes!"

The ridiculous brainstorming went on, from the Mizukage burning down a thousand trees with her Lava release to frozen beehives. "Okay," Sakura exhaled from giggling too much. "Repeat the five Kekkei Genkai back to me."

"Sharingan, Byakugan, Lava Release, Magnet Release, Ice Release," Naruto recited with ease. A ghost of a smile was on his face from envisioning all of the situations.

Sakura rewarded Naruto with another blinding grin, but her eyes caught sight of the dark sky. "It's probably so late! There aren't even civilians walking the street anymore..."

The blond reached over and closed the textbook that was still residing in the kunoichi's lap. "Is the great apprentice of the Fifth Hokage scared of the dark?" He taunted.

"O-Of course not!"

While Sakura cursed her momentary stutter for giving herself away while Naruto helped her up. In truth, she was just worried about what her parents would say. An idea struck her. "Naruto, will you walk me home? My parents will be alright if I come home late because I was on a date."

The boy in question's eyes sparked with excitement, but at Sakura's warning glare they dimmed slightly. "Alright then," he said simply, and began walking along his 'date' towards her house.

Sakura was only mildly surprised that he knew the route to her house so well, not even stopping at forks in the road in the middle of a crowded neighbourhood. She dismissed it easily, since he had walked her home occasionally before.

"Hey, Sakura-chan," Naruto said. "Do you have any other study tricks?"

She pulled herself out of her thoughts and looked back at her companion, his face illuminated by the streetlights. "Uhh," she started lamely. "Don't highlight while you read - that's actually really bad. Test yourself a lot! Also, think about what you learned repeatedly so it stays in your mind, and avoid interferences. And, and..."

"Sakura-chan," Naruto interrupted. He gestured towards the house in front of them, the words HARUNO RESIDENCE written in big letters above the door.

Just then, her parents wrenched open the door, looking about ready to scold her until sunrise. Her father's peculiar hair had wilted in the late hours, but its silly appearance did nothing to soften his stern expression. "Sakura..." he warned.

"Dad! I-"

"She was on a date with me, Haruno-san. I'm sorry we got back so late, she was helping me study," Naruto interrupted. His hand was at the back of his neck, his easy-going smile breaking the atmosphere.

Both her parents looked absolutely stunned. Naruto apologized again before thanking Sakura for her help...

...and kissing her right in the centre of her forehead before dashing off into the night.

The entire Haruno family went ballistic, each for a different reason.