Disclaimer: I own neither Naruto, nor Star Wars, so... yeah...

"Speaking"

"Radio"

'Thoughts'

"Bijuu/Jinchuriki/ Force Spirit Talking"

"Bijuu/Jinchuriki/ Force Spirit Thinking"

Chapter Two: Squad Eight

"For a Weaponmaster, the Lightsaber, or any other weapon you may be using, it's just not an extension of your body, you are the weapon, your body becomes your greatest weapon, it has become a rare title to bestow upon someone in these times of 'peace', and when it is, they become the Sword of the Jedi, cutting the approaching Darkness." - Ryu Hisanaga on his role as a Weaponmaster

Naru's Apartment

Naru sighed as she sat cross legged on her bed, wearing her sleep clothes consisting of a white tank top and a pair of panties, staring at the mirror sitting atop of the ageing dresser across from her, studying her features carefully as she contemplated the changes she had underwent since the beginning of her new life.

It was hard not to change really, she had spent the last sixteen years as a female, even going through her menstrual cycle, by the Force that was an experience, especially since the only reliable female she could go to was Ayame, thankfully she stopped the waitress from having to go through The Talk, saving the both of them from that embarrassment.

There was more that she was considering about the reincarnation then just the physical changes, it was the mental as well, objectively she knew that the change was bound to happen, after all, male and female brains developed differently as a result of the oestrogen, for females, and testosterone, for males, that run rampant through their bodies during their puberty. Before her puberty started, she referred to herself using masculine inflections, something most attributed to her being an orphan, but throughout her period she began to refer to herself as female more and more often, kind hard not to with her large chest greeting her every morning, even more so when her 'monthly visitor' came around.

It fascinated her on how easily she was able to adjust her own mind to take into account that she no longer had the same physical strength she had as a male, unless she augmented her muscles with chakra, but her new found speed and agility more than made up for the lack of strength. It actually suited her style more than in her past life, having been initially trained in the Jar'kai Ataru style, later picking up the Makashi, Soresu, Juyo and the basic Shii-Cho that all younglings were trained in, it all blended together into a completely new form, almost like Master Windu's own Vapaad style, that she had dubbed the Inso Form,

It was a style that took the Mandalorian ruthlessness and blended the Jedi grace and skill into a deceptively brutal style that took full advantage of any and all blind spots with lightning fast hammering blows. While as a female it was slightly weaker, it was far faster than before, augmented by her new body's seemingly unending stamina, overcoming its previous weakness of being extremely tiring when used for long periods of time.

However, there was one thing that worried her above the rest, she could no longer feel the Force, at all.

She chewed on her lower lip as she puzzled that fact over, it was a troubling thing to consider, while there were vary degrees of Force Sensitivity, she had never heard of a complete absence of the Force in any living thing, the closest thing he could think of were the Ysalamir who 'repelled' the ability to manipulate the Force in response to their predator, the Vornskrs' ability to track their prey through the Force, but even that itself was an action through the Force, he had even found a Holocron from a Jedi Master who was attempting to replicate it with some success.

'Could it be because of the Chakra these people are able to use?' She wondered curiously as she dipped into her vast reserves of Chakra and drew some out, consecrating it enough into her hand for a hazy aura to form. 'The Force is in all living things, but... could it have been forced out of them when they developed the ability to Manipulate Chakra? Maybe it's there, but suppressed by the Chakra?'

Letting go of the chakra in her hand she allowed it to dissipate before standing up. "Best get ready," she said with a sigh. "Need to get my registration finished anyways."

Hokage's Office

Sarutobi Hizuren frowned slightly as he worked steadily through his paperwork, briefly casting a look over the final ANBU report from the watcher who looked over Naru throughout her Academy years, no longer necessary now that she was going to be a registered genin of Konoha, apparently she had invited Rooster in for evening tea again, he always wondered how the hell she could sense the ANBU watcher assigned to her, but dismissed it, Chakra Sensors amongst the Uzumaki were not unheard of.

Letting out a sigh, he could feel his shoulder sag as he remembered the upcoming conversation he was going to have with her about the Kyuubi sealed within her, objectively he knew that she would be able to take the revelation well, she highly intelligent and was able to get a strong grasp on Fuuinjutsu with some books she had managed to get a hold of without any assistance from anyone.

A knock on the door broke him out of his train of thought and allowed entrance to a heavily bandaged man who lent heavily on a cane. "Danzo..." Sarutobi sighed, shaking his head slightly as he greeted his rival for the position of Hokage. "I know why you are here, and I will not hand Naru over to your ROOT Program."

Danzo eyed the Sandaime carefully, weighing his words before speaking. "I am aware of your feelings on that matter, as you are aware of mine, Sarutobi," he informed neutrally. "But that is not the reason I am here... not the only one anyways."

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow and gestured for the warhawk to take a seat across from him. "Please, do tell."

"As Jiraiya no doubt informed you, there have been some strange stirrings in Ta no Kuni, correct?" At Sarutobi's nod Danzo correct. "My spies managed to find out the source, Orochimaru has taken over the country."

Silence reigned over the room, the slight noise of the villagers going about their own days reaching them. "That... is most certainly news to me," the Sandaime informed, no longer looking like the venerable grandfather that watched over the village, but the hardened shinobi that earned the moniker 'The Professor' for mastering almost every Ninjustu within Konoha, of every element. "Have they been able to find out what he is planning, Danzo?"

The founder of ROOT shook his head negatively. "They have not," he informed. "They almost died getting what information they had to me, I think I can guess, however."

"The Sharingan," Sarutobi concluded. "Weasel had said Orochimaru had attempted to obtain the Sharingan from him a few years back."

Danzo nodded in agreement. "What shall we do with the Uchiha, he has been showing some... disturbing signs," he informed, which said a lot given Danzo's definition of disturbing. "His obsession with Itachi is dangerous, given how easily his anger triggers, not to mention if you simply offer him power he will do anything you wish of him..."

Sarutobi sighed as he considered Dano's words. "It may also depend on who is assigned as his genin squad..." he informed contemplating his choices. "The right people may be able to help him with his issues..."

"From what I understand, he and Uzumaki are on at least speaking terms," Danzo pointed out speculatively. "Which is far more than most of their age group."

Sarutobi nodded in agreement as he let out a gusty sigh. "Thank you for the information Danzo," he said gratefully. "I should have the Academy recommendations for the squads in a few hours, I'll see what they say and make a decision from there."

Danzo nodded as he stood. "Very well then, I will take my leave." He informed, bowing his head in respect before departing.

Sarutobi sat in his chair, staring at the wall opposite of him for a long while, lost in his memories of his younger years, wondering where he went wrong with his wayward student. A knock on the door broke him out of his reminiscing as he allowed entrance to one Naru Uzumaki. "Hey Jiji," she greeted with a happy smile. "Kaede-san said you wanted to see me?"

Sarutobi nodded, mentally thanking his receptionist for sending the girl over. "I did, Naru," he informed, a soft sigh escaping his lips. "There is something you must know, it is connected to the hatred that the villagers show to you..."

Naru blinked, her smile smoothing into a neutral line, her eyebrow raising as she waited for him to speak.

"Ten years ago, the Yondaime did not defeat the Kyuubi like it is taught in the Academy," he informed in a quiet tone, only to get cut off.

"I know, it was sealed within me," Naru informed him, shocking the elderly Hokage. "I remember that night, Jiji, I have perfect memory, it's... a little hazy at some points, but... I remember the Kyuubi and... my parents."

Sarutobi could have sworn that his heart stopped for several moments at her revelation. "I... see, may I ask, why you haven't said anything up till now?"

"Because, Otou-san was the 'Yellow Flash', Iwa would've jumped at the chance to kill me, Kumo may have even tried to kidnap me, Okaa-san was the 'Red-Hot Blooded Hanebero', another reason Kumo would've wanted to capture me."

Sarutobi was stunned by his surrogate granddaughter's mature outlook on the situation and the way she was able to identify the problem. "Naru... you continue to surprise me at every turn," he informed finally, a helpless laugh escaping his lips, making the girl's smile return brightly. "I suppose, I should give something to you then, I've been holding the key to your parent's home for a while now, for the day that you were ready to accept your inheritance."

"Thank Jiji," Naru said gratefully. "I don't think I'm ready to announce who my parents are, yet, but I will make them proud."

Sarutobi gave her a grandfatherly smile. "You already have my dear," he informed her, making her smile even brighter at her. "Now go, they should be announcing your teams in a few hours, correct, go look over your new home in the meantime."

"I will, and... thanks, Jiji." She said before accepting the key and written address he handed to her and ran off.

With a pleased sigh, Sarutobi settled himself into his chair and got back to work on his paperwork, eager to see what the future held.

Outside of Konoha's Shinobi District

Naru looked up at the house that Sarutobi directed to her, it was a simple two story house, a six foot brick wall circled the property, the only break in it was the steel gate that allowed entry into the house. Opening the gate she took immediate notice of the overgrown garden that dominated most of the front lawn, making a mental note to retame it, she continued forward and into the house itself, it was quite obvious that it had been uncared for for quite some time as she walked through the house, 16 years of accumulated dust layering the entire house as she moved through it, she paused as she reached the second floor, staring at the door in front of her, a name plate stating that it was her room, gingerly opening the door she took in the room, tears building up in her eyes as she looked around the soft blue coloured room, taking in the numerous amounts of stuffed animals laying around, her parents no doubt going overboard when were preparing for her arrival.

Unable to look anymore without losing control of her emotions she shut the door softly, and took a couple of deep breaths to soothe her emotions, allowing the tears to spill as they wished. As soon as she gathered herself she turned and headed to the next room, her parents room by the look of it, and looked around a smile on her face as she spotted a picture of her parents standing next to each other, each having a hand on her mother's swollen stomach as they beamed at the camera.

"I'm home, Okaa-san, Otou-san." Naru informed simply as she picked up the picture.

"Welcome Home..." A soft feminine voice informed her making the girl whirl around, her hand slipping into her sleeve, ready to hurl her throwing knives at the intruder.

She held her stance for a few minutes before relaxing it and dismissing it as her imagination. She was just about to leave when something on the dresser caught her eye, specifically a small black hair clip, glancing back at the picture she saw her mother's hair being parted by that same clip and smiled, picking up the clip she brushed her spiky bangs to the left and held them there with the clip.

With that she stepped out of the room and continued onto the final room of the second floor, a study chalk full of assorted books and scrolls neatly placed on shelves with a pair of desk full of cluttered notes and opened books. Blowing the dust off of one of them, she saw notes in a messy writing detailing a ninjutsu idea of some kind, the second desk yielded the same result with neater writing on fuuinjutsu.

Closing her eyes a bit she let out a soft sigh and smiled. "I guess I should clean up around here..." she said quietly. "Thankfully, I know just the jutsu to use." Bringing her hands up she formed a cross shaped seal that was taught to her by one of her ANBU watchers when they helped her with her clone technique. "Kage Bunshin!" She called out, and with a poof of smoke ten clones formed around her. "You all know what to do," she informed confidently before checking her watch. "I'll head to the team assignments to behave!"

"Right!" They all confirmed as they saluted her before moving off to begin cleaning the house and arranging the items she brought from her old apartment.

Naru herself left her new home and headed towards the Academy.

Academy Classroom

The graduated class were mingling with each other, excitedly chatting with one another about their recent graduation, there were a few who stood apart, genin who were being reassigned to a new team, some of them talking quietly with one another, but for the most part maintaining an air of respectful professionalism. Naru's entry was relatively unnoticed, a few people looking over as she entered, but they mostly returned to their own dealings after confirming who it was that entered.

She waved over at Chouji and Shkamaru who also had Kiba Inuzuka seated with them and took the seat available next to Sasuke. "Uchiha-san." she greeted politely.

"Uzumaki-san." Sasuke returned, nodding at her. "Do you know anything about the teams that are being assigned?"

Naru shook her head negatively. "Not a clue," she informed with a sigh as she pouted. "I tried pry Iruka-sensei last night over Ramen, but he was tight lipped."

Sasuke's eyebrow rose slightly as he looked her over, before shrugged. "Hn." he replied noncommittally.

Naru snorted before reclining back in her seat, her feet resting up on the desk as she linked her hands behind her head. "Whatever, brooder," she countered, her eyes closing. "Oh, and you can thank me later for keeping those rabid banshees from sitting directly next to you."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Ino and Sakura barged into the room, making a beeline towards 'their' Sasuke-kun only to freeze at the sight of the redhead reclined in a relaxed manner next to the object of their 'affections'.

As Ino bit her lip in consideration on what to do, unlike her friend she had a bit more interaction with the red head through Shikamaru and Chouji and was fully capable kunoichi, and while she hated to admit it, who stood equal to Sasuke in nearly everything, he was better than her at ninjutsu, but her fuuinjutsu capabilities more than made up for it.

Sakura on the other hand...

"Get out of my seat whore!" she shrieked out angrily as she stomped toward the res head, intent on delivering her 'Judgement'.

"Haruno-san, if you take one more step towards me with the intent of harm I shall shatter every bone in your arm and the proceed to throw you out the window, this is your last warning," Naru declared, not even opening her eyes to deliver the threat. "And if you do not believe me I ask that you recall what I did to Higa-san."

The entire room stilled at Naru's words, Todo Higa was a 'pretty boy' civilian born trainee that had gotten it into his head to 'claim' the physically attractive Naru as his own, via rape, he had received three warnings from the red head, and on his fourth attempt she brutally beat the boy, smashing the bones in his face before breaking five of his ribs and both of his shoulders. The boys parents had tried to file for a lawsuit, but it was headed off when several of the clan heirs in the class stood up for Naru confirming her, truthful, rendition of the events, Kiba even going as so far to describe everything that Todo had told him he had planned to do with Naru.

Sakura paled slightly as she stopped, her hand that she had raised up for the punch falling to her side as she stepped back, she wrestled internally for a few seconds, her self-preservation warring with her crush on Sasuke, and when her self-preservation won she slunked away to take the open seat two rows behind her crush.

"Is this seat available?" Ino asked Naru hopefully, gesturing to the seat next to the red-head, opposite of the one to Sasuke, she had quickly learned that Naru had absolutely no interest in the Uchiha, and that the best way to approach her was to be polite.

"It is, Yamanaka-san." Naru confirmed, her eyes still closed, an ever so slight nod accompanying her statement. "I am glad to see that some fangirls know the importance of being polite."

Ino swallowed slightly before taking the seat, minutes before Iruka walked in, covered in bandages and carrying a clipboard.

"Iruka-sensei?" Ino heard Naru speak up in concern. "What happened?"

Iruka gave the Uzumaki girl an assuring smile. "Unfortunately it turns out that Mizuki-san was a traitor and I was injured when apprehending him when he attempted to steal Hokage-sama's Forbidden Scroll."

As the class murmured at the revelation, Ino snuck a glance towards the red head who was now seated properly, her eyes intently watching the teacher. 'I had no idea they were so close...' she thought to herself as she looked between the two as they seemed to share a silent conversation. 'Guess I really don't know much about Uzumaki-san other than she isn't interested in Sasuke-kun...'

She was cut off by Iruka clapping his hands. "Alright, settle down now, I need to give you all your team assignments!" he informed, the class immediately stilling as they turned their eyes to the instructor. "Squad One consists of..."

Naru sighed as Iruka listed off the squads, retaking her reclined posture as she awaited for her name to be called. The news that Mizuki was a traitor was a bit of a surprise, she had felt ill-intent towards herself from him, but not towards Konoha in general, but then again, he seemed to have a near obsession with her whenever she was nearby.

"Squad Seven will be Uchiha, Sasuke, Inuzuka, Kiba, and Haruno, Sakura, you will be under Jonin Hakate Kakashi," Iruka announced, earning a shout of excitement from Sakura about true love conquering all as Ino complained about not being on Sasuke's team.

"I'm actually surprised I'm not on that squad," Naru murmured, catching Ino and Sasuke's attention. "After all, they normally place the 'Rookie of the Year', shinobi and Kunoichi, together while putting the lowest overall scorer with them..."

"And you were top of kunoichi of the class," Sasuke recounted with a musing look. "Another jonin must have requested you then."

Naru shrugged. "Must have," she agreed. "Find out soon enough I suppose."

"Squad Eight: Uzumaki, Naru," Iruka called out, catching the trio's attention. "Aburame, Shino and Hyuga, Hinata, under Jonin Yuuhi, Kurenai."

Naru glanced over her shoulder to her two new teammates who were sitting near the corner opposite of her. She never really interacted with the pair outside of a few team exercises, Hinata was a rather shy and timid girl who could be an amazing kunoichi if she would just get past her insecurities, Shino was quiet, plain and simple, she would be shocked to hear him speak three sentences in a row without a pause, but despite that he was a rather capable shinobi with his families insect-based abilities.

"-Yamanaka, Ino, under Jonin Sarutobi, Asuma." Iruka announced as Naru brought her attention back to him. "That is all of teams, please remain here while you wait for your senseis."

"Well, Uchiha-san, good luck." Naru informed with mock sincerity as she clapped his back, getting an irritated grunt from him. "A pair of loudmouths, just for you."

Sasuke sent an ineffectual glare to the smirking red-head who headed off to speak with her new teammates.

"Aburame-san, Hyuga-san, how are the two of you today?" she greeted the pair who looked over at her approach.

"H... hello, U-Uzumaki-san," the shy Hyuga Heiress greeted, a slight blush on her features as she poked the tips of her index fingers together. "I-I'm w-well, h-how a-are y-you?"

"Uzumaki-san." Shino replied with a simple nod.

"So, do either of you know about Yuuhi-sensei?" Naru asked as she took a seat next to Hinata, opposite of Shino. "I don't remember hearing about her before..."

"S-she r-recently g-got p-promoted," Hinata informed. "S-she's a g-genjutsu s-specialist."

"I was expecting to be paired with Kiba-san in addition to Hinata-san as a tracking unit." Shino informed her. "Our three clans are the best trackers."

"Well, I must be apart of the squad due to my own sensory abilities," Naru commented musingly, cupping her chin in her hand as she placed an elbow on the desk before her, seeing the confused look from the pair she elaborated. "I am able to sense the presence and intention of everyone in a 250 meter radius, I trained myself to filter it better when I was younger so that I'm not overwhelmed by it."

"Useful." Shino commented.

"I c-can s-see w-why y-you a-are a-apart of t-this s-squad t-then." Hinata said, expanding upon Shino's brief comment. "W-what e-else a-are y-you g-good at?"

Naru hummed as she thought for a second for a second. "I mostly specialize in kenjutsu, taijutsu and fuuinjutsu, I'm decent at Ninjutsu, my genjutsu... not so great." she answered, giving a basic outline. "How about you two, I know Aburame-san has his clan's insect techniques, and you have the Hyuga Jyuuken."

"My taijutsu is average and I have master the basic tier of my family's jutsus, my genjutsu is also average." Shino informed neutrally.

"I am n-not t-the g-greatest w-with my f-families J-Jyuuken," Hinata informed, looking rather depressed with herself. "I s-scored a-average in t-the a-academy..."

Naru gave the girl an odd look. "What do you mean 'not the greatest'?" She asked incredulously, getting a surprise look from Hinata. "The only thing your lacking right now is self-confidence, your among the best here in the Academy, take some pride in that."

Hinata blushed as she poked her fingers together and tried to duck her head into her jacket. "Oh no you don't!" Naru informed as her hand darted out to gently prevent the Hyuga from hiding herself. "No more of that! From now on I forbid you from backing down!"

Both Hinata and Shino stared wide-eyed, well, Hinata was wide-eyed, Shino just stared, at the red head as she stared back. "I-I-I..." Hinata stammered out, her face flushing a red as dark as Naru's hair.

"You are a strong a capable Kunoichi!" Naru informed. "Say it!"

"I am a s-strong a-and c-capable K-Kunoichi..." Hinata whispered.

"Louder!"

"I am a s-strong a-and c-capable K-Kunoichi."

"I can't hear you!"

"I am a s-strong a-and c-capable K-Kunoichi!"

"What are you?"

"I am a strong and capable K-Kunoichi!"

"Let the world know!"

"I AM A STRONG AND CAPABLE KUNOICHI!"

By this point every eye in the Academy was zeroed in on the trio, Naru was beaming widely while Shino had an eyebrow quirked as Hinata realized that she had shouted it at the top of her lungs, flushed a cherry red, before her brain finally overheated and fainted.

"Well, wasn't expecting that to happen," Naru commented as she and Shino looked down at their unconscious teammate. "Well, at least I now know her stutter isn't a speech impediment."

Shino turned his impassive gaze to Naru who scowled back at him. "Of course I didn't try to get her to faint," she informed him, used to interpreting blank looks from Sasuke. "It's just happened, we really need to bring her out of her shell."

Another look.

"Well, maybe it is a bit funny."

Shino let out a sigh of disappointment as a raven haired woman with slightly curled tresses flowing down to her mid back, some of her bangs framing a pair of ruby red eyes, wearing a series of bandage looking wrappings as a dress.

"Squad Eight?" She called out, the two conscious members of the squad raised their hands, drawing the jonin's attention to them and their unconscious teammate, upon seeing Hinata's prone form she let out a sigh as she palmed her face. "Please wake up Hyuga-san and follow me please."

After rousing Hinata back to consciousness, in which she immediately started blushing and stammering out an apology, they followed their new sensei as she lead them out of the Academy and into the restaurant district of Konoha. As they walked an assorted group of villagers scowled and glares at the sight of Naru with her hai-ate proudly on display. Naru glowered back at the villagers, her hand slipped for the seal within her sleeve that contained numerous throwing knives, ready to defend herself from an overenthusiastic villager.

To say things between Naru and the villagers were uneasy, would be like saying that Trandoshans kinda liked hunting.

She had been the victim of several attacks in the past, mostly occurring around the time of her birthday, the worst one occurring when she was twelve, one that resulted in Naru knifing and killing three civilians and several more being openly executed by the Hokage for assaulting and attempting to rape a minor and viciously shot down every attempt by the families of the three that she had killed to have her tried by the civilian courts. The Sandaime countered with a simple statement.

"I am the Hokage of this village, I make the laws, I enforce them, you all provide us services in return for both payment and protection, if you have a problem with my laws, leave."

Any an all attempts at bringing Naru through the civilian courts were ended then and there and the civilians kept a wary distance from her since then, especially when after one last attempt was made at assaulting her resulted in several more dead bodies, the Hokage giving his reluctant permission to use her training to defend herself from any attacks, something normal shinobi are not allowed to do when in peacetime.

She drew a look from Kurenai, who noticed not only the way that the civilians were looking at her new student, but the way her student tensed and how her hand disappeared into her sleeve, no doubt preparing to defend herself if necessary, something that should never have to be necessary in a shinobi or kunoichi's home village in the first place.

Kurenai glanced over to her other students, Hinata was the first to notice her teammate's reaction to the villager's glares, her body was tensed up with nervous energy, sending worried looks over to her former caretaker.

Shino, to the untrained eye, seemed oblivious to what was going on, Kurenai, with her experienced senses, could hear the anticipatory buzzing of his insects, ready to leap into action if necessary.

Kurenai stopped at her favoured tea shop, the 'Falling Leaves' and gestured to her team to follow her into the shop, a waitress looked up as the door opened, smiling as she spotted a regular customer, leading in three genin, only for her smile to freeze as she spotted Naru trailing in behind Hinata, she quickly glanced between Naru and Kurenai nervously, as if trying to confirm that she was indeed with Kurenai.

"K-Kurenai-san... I am terribly sorry... but... your... uh... guest... is not allowed on the premise... by the order of the manager..." the waitress informed, looking extremely nervous at the concept of informing the Genjutsu Mistress that she wouldn't be able have her tea.

Naru scowled as she darkly eyed the waitress, focusing her 'sense' upon the waitress, there was no malice that she could sense, only extreme nervousness and confusion.

Her gaze shifted to her sensei, curious as to how she would react.

"You are refusing service to a kunoichi of Konoha's forces?" Kurenai asked, her tone neutral. "For what reason have you barred her from service."

"I... I do not know the reason, K-Kurenai-san, d-do you wish to speak with the m-manager?" it was painfully obvious that the girl was looking for an escape.

"Yes, I do wish to speak with Tasano-san," Kurenai informed, again her voice was a carefully modulated neutral.

"O-Of c-course." the waitress bowed quickly and escaped quickly to the back room.

Seconds later a weasel looking man stepped out, his eyes instantly zeroing in on Naru. "OUT!" he roared to Naru who instantly shifted into a combat stance, throwing knives being held between her fingers, ready to be thrown.

Before she could take any action, however, Kurenai stepped in front of her, her ruby eyes glaring at the shop owner. "Why are you refusing service to a genin of Konoha?" she asked, her tone brooking no refusal. "I have been a customer here for ten years now and I have never heard of anyone being turned away from this shop."

"Kurenai-sama, Aburame-sama, Hyuga-sama, you are all always welcome here," the owner informed, smiling at the as he wrung his hands. "However, such people of your station should never have to lower yourselves to interacting with... things like that."

"Are you saying that genin Naru Uzumaki is something less than human, Tasano-san?" Kurenai asked, her voice ice cold. "Are you telling me, that my student cannot enjoy tea with myself and her fellow teammates?"

"Yuuhi-sensei, I would prefer to go somewhere else if this is the service to be expected," Shino informed plainly. "I shall also be telling my clansmen to avoid this establishment."

"I w-will be d-doing t-the s-same," Hinata informed, her back straightening as her eyes swept the crowd and spotted a pair of Hyuga's sitting at one of the tables, watching the scene, she took a breath to steel herself before speaking to the two Hyuga. "As the Heiress of the Hyuga Clan, I am hereby placing a boycott on this establishment due to unsatisfactory services towards a fellow kunoichi of Konohagakure."

"We understand Hinata-sama," one of the Hyuga's informed as the two stood, giving Hinata a slight bow as whispers spread through the small shop. "We shall also inform our Clansmen of your decision."

"My thanks, Nishi-san, Hayase-san." Hinata returned the bow as the two left.

"Come, this is obviously a place that has no wish to serve shinobi," Kurenai informed. "Naru, do you know any place that we can go too?"

Naru blinked, her face clearing showing her shock at the turn of events, she was no stranger to being refused service by various stores, but the fact that not only did her teammates and sensei stood by her, her two teammates, both heirs to their respective clans, openly announced their plans to have their clans boycott the store for their treatment of her.

"Ah, sure, I know a decent tea shop not to far," Naru informed, snapping out of her shock. "I'll show you."

Casting a look over to the shell shocked over what just happened, even as additional customers left, sending speculative looks towards Naru, she turned and left the tea shop, heading to the one she liked to visit after a hard day. The 'Shadow Tea Shop' was a small, unassuming stand that was frequently passed over and unnoticed due to it's unassuming front and sitting between two larger restaurants.

Leading her team in she was greeting by the shop owner, a motherly looking woman with greying dark green hair and dark blue eyes. "Naru-chan, welcome!" the owner, Teiha Surako, greeted her favourite customer with a near bone crushing hug. "Come in, come in, oh this must be your new team, welcome to the Shadow Tea Shop, please, make yourselves at home."

Naru smiled gratefully at the woman as she led them into the small, cozy, shop. Naru took a brief look around, spotting the only other patron, a silver haired man with three quarters of his face covered and reading an orange covered book with a slight giggle.

"Hello, Hakate-sempai." Naru greeted the other regular who waved in response, his one visible eye curving in no doubt was a smile.

"Hello, Uzumaki-kun, ah, Kurenai, is this your new team?" Kakashi Hatake returned, looking the team over.

"It is, are you making your team wait for you?" Kurenai asked, her eyebrow raising as her lips tightened.

"Ma, ma, they are shinobi now, patience is a job requirement." Kakashi informed dismissively as he turned a page of his book. "Go ahead with your little meeting."

Kurenai sent a glare over to Kakashi before taking a seat at a table for four with her new students and they each placed their orders.

"Now, as we are a new team, I thought it would be a good idea for each of us to get to know one another, so, I'd like you all to introduce yourselves and tell me some things about yourself, likes, dislikes, hobbies, your dreams and things like that." Kurenai requested, sipping lightly on her green tea. "I'll start, my name is Kurenai Yuhi, I like tea ceremonies, learning new genjutsus and spending time with my friends, I have a strong dislike for perverts," she sent a glare over to Kakashi who merely smiled and waved. "I also dislike rapists, my favoured hobby is tea ceremonies and I have a dream to create a Genjutsu that surpasses that of the Nidaime's."

She gestured over to Shino who was sipping a green tea of his own. "Shino Aburame, I enjoy time with my clan and I dislike pesticides, my hobby is Entomology and my dream is to bring rare insects into my clan." He spoke curtly and to the point.

Kurenai blinked and when she realized he wouldn't speak anymore she looked over to Hinata. "U-umm, H-Hinata H-Hyuga, I l-like c-cinnamon r-rolls a-and s-spending t-time w-with my s-sister, I d-dislike my c-clans t-treatment of the b-branch m-members of my c-clan," she swallowed some of her cinnamon flavoured tea. "I o-often p-press f-flowers a-and my d-dream is to a-abolish t-the C-Caged B-Bird S-Seal my c-clan u-uses on the b-branch m-members."

Kurenai gave Hinata a proud smile that had the timid girl blushing a bit before turning to Naru who sat with her peppermint flavoured tea in hand, a pensive expression on her face. "My name is Naru Uzumaki," she informed after a few more seconds of thought. "I like my friends and those who treat me as a human and not as a thing." she gave Kurenai a calculating look. "I hold a strong dislike for the majority of the villagers as of right now, as they cannot seem to differentiate the Kunai from the Seal." That statement garnered odd looks from her two teammates who looked to Kurenai who held a neutral expression, her eyes firmly on Naru as she spoke. "My Hobbies? Gardening and training mostly, as for my dream..." she trailed off for a moment, her eyes growing distant. "That one is private."

Kurenai nodded slowly, studying Naru for a second longer before addressing them. "As of right now, your status as Genin is currently in a state of limbo," she informed the trio who immediately tensed. "The Genin Exam you just went through was simply to weed out the week, this next test you will face, the one that decides if you continue as a Genin, or return to the Academy, has a failure rate of 66%."

"What is the test?" Shino asked, his eyebrow raising as he studied his instructor.

"Find me." Kurenai replied before she 'poofed' from existence.

"Kage Bunshin." Naru murmured in realization, her eyes narrowing. "A solid clone."

"How do we find her?" Shino queried, as calm as ever.

Naru's brow creased in thought as she considered the question. "The maximum range of my 'sense' can be up to 500m if I focus it into a single direction, but... picking out Kurenai-sensei amongst however many there are..."

"I can narrow down her location using my Kikaichu insects, however, she may be using a Genjutsu to fool out senses." Shino informed.

"T-Then I c-can u-use t-the B-Byakugan to l-locate h-her." Hinata informed. "It c-can p-pierce t-through g-genjutsus."

"Alright then, Shino-san, can you send out your Kikaichu to search for Kurenai-sensei?" Naru asked, Shino's eyebrow raising at her switch to his first name.

"Of course," Shino informed, a small swarm of insects left his overcoat and headed out the door. "What do we do when they are finished?"

"When we get closer I will use my sensory abilities to narrow down the search grid while Hinata-san will use her bloodline to locate Sensei." Naru explained taking another sip of her tea. "That way, none of us are overworking ourselves trying to find her on our own."

"Agreed." Shino informed with a nod.

"O-Okay." Hinata agreed timidly.

From his seat Kakashi chuckled lightly, clearly impressed by the team's willingness to come together so easily.

"I have an area," Shino informed simply after a few more minutes. "Market District."

"That will make it harder for me to pinpoint her," Naru informed. "Well... I know a place to give us vantage point and I might be able 'boost' my abilities if I meditate.

"Very well." Shino replied with a nod as each of them placed down money for their tea, Naru covering Kurenai's share, they stood up and quickly left the tea shop, heading for the market district.

They decided to take to the rooftops avoiding the crowds altogether as they moved from rooftop to rooftop, as soon as they reached the market district Naru sank to the ground in a seiza position, her eyes closing as she began to expand her sense to the area around her, filtering through the various emotions that emanated around them.

'Five ANBU, running patrols, three shinobi, heading to Hokage Tower, twelve are shopping, five are working,' she listed mentally, filtering through anyone who had anything over a Chunin chakra level. 'Three are observing us, of them two are curious, of those two, one seems proud.'

"Hinata-san, I have narrowed down to two possibilities, one is at our 3 o'clock at a 30 degree declination," Naru reported, her eyes remaining closed as she focused her sixth sense upon the two. "Second is at out six at a 45 degree inclination."

"R-Right." Hinata confirmed as she held her hands in a tiger seal before her eyes and channelled her chakra to her eyes. "B-Byakugan!" The veins around her eyes became immediately noticeable as they bulged, her clan's bloodline allowing her to see through any illusion and read chakra networks. "S-She's s-standing t-there, w-watching us."

Naru nodded in understanding as all three of them stared directly at the oddly empty looking spot, before a mirage like waver appeared, their sensei seemingly fazing into existence before them. "Well done, using each of your unique skills to find me," Kurenai announced, congratulating the trio. "From here on out, you three are now officially genin of Konohagakure, and members of squad Eight, recon division."

"Recon Division?" Naru asked curiously. "I take it all genin teams are separated into separate divisions based on their personal skills?"

"Correct," Kurenai affirmed. "When you become a Chunin you will be rotated through various divisions until you find one that you are most suited for."

"Interesting." Shino mused to himself.

Kurenai smiled at the three of them. "Go and celebrate how you wish tonight," Kurenai informed the trio. "But be prepared to begin your training tomorrow, it will not be easy, that much I can assure you."

"The harder the better," Naru declared firmly, getting surprised looks from her teammates and a curious one from her new sensei. "I've always enjoyed a challenge."

Kurenai's lips twitched into an amused smile, her eyes sparkling with some mischief. "Then I shall push you as hard as you can go," she informed. "I hope you will be ready to collapse into a heap tomorrow."

Both Shino and Hinata shuddered a bit at their sensei's tone, Naru merely smirked in response.

END CHAPTER

AN: Well, there's chapter two, our reincarnated jedi is now on a team with Shino and Hinata under Kurenai Yuuhi with plenty of adventures ahead. Please review! The more you tell me your thoughts, the more inspired I am to write!