Naruto fiddled with the sleeve of his new jacket as he, Kiba and Shino made their way toward the training ground they were to meet Kurenai at. As he'd thought, these new clothes were going to take almost as much adjusting to as the idea of Kiba being a girl, though not for the reasons he had expected.

Originally he'd thought the color change would be the hardest thing to adjust to but that had proven simple in comparison to all the compartments the tailor had add in. Honestly, he had never seen so many pockets in his life. Most were apparently for armor inserts, at least that's what the tailor had told him when he'd asked while dropping off his old clothes, but even subtracting those still left over twenty pockets, some hidden, others not.

And each one had any number of uses, from storing and hiding spare kunai, senbon or shuriken to holding food pills, smoke bombs, flash bombs or scrolls. The prankster in him was excited to have so many options, but the rest felt a bit overwhelmed by it all. The blonde began fiddling with his other sleeve as he continued to run everything through his head again and again.

"Would you stop that already?" Kiba asked, sounding more than a little annoyed. "The clothes look fine, so just stop, ok?" The dog user raised a hand to stop Naruto as the blonde opened his mouth, presumably to complain. "And I don't want to hear a word about there not being any orange."

Naruto looked almost insulted by the last part of that comment, and made to speak again, only to be cut off by Shino this time. "Kiba-san is correct; the new colors suit you much better than the orange and blue had Naruto-san." The bug user said as they arrived at the training field.

Naruto's eye began to twitch as he took a somewhat deep breath. "Would you two please stop assuming you know what I'm going to say already!?" The blonde near screamed before taking another deep breath, sighing lightly when neither made to speak. "Good...now as I was going to say..." He began, clearing his throat before continuing. "It has nothing to do with the color or how they look...I'm just sort of overwhelmed by the pockets..."

Shino blinked a few times behind his glasses, not fully understanding at first. Naruto's new clothing seemed rather normal to the Aburame as he looked it over, and in many ways the same as it had been. There were a few key differences though, such as the the change to a green and black color scheme, an addition of a hood to the jacket and pants that actually seemed to fit the blonde, other than that, they seemed very much the same. "I...do not fully comprehend what you mean Naruto-san..."

"Hmm...?" Naruto began as he looked over at Shino. It took him a minute to realize the bug user wouldn't know about the hidden pockets and that he'd need to be a little informative. "Oh...ah, the tailor who made these added a lot of hidden pockets...and it's just a little overwhelming to try and remember them all..." The blonde explained with a sheepish smile.

Kiba sighed upon hearing this, finally realizing why Naruto kept fiddling with the sleeves. "I see...so that old coot made you that sort of clothing..." The dog user said in an understanding tone. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised though...that sort of thing would be fitting for Konoha's prankster king."

Naruto blinked at that statement, and was about to ask exactly what Kiba meant by it, but Kurenai arrived before he could. It would just have to wait he supposed.

"Well, its good to see we're all here on time." Kurenai said with a smile as she walked up to the three genin. "Before we get started though, I heard from Hokage-sama about yesterday's events, and I just want to be sure everyone is ok."

All three genin nodded in response to the quasi-question, before Naruto spoke. "All things considered, I think we're all fine." The blonde said with a smile. "None of us were hurt, and though I lost my apartment, I didn't lose anything important, so it's ok."

"Ok, as long as you're sure." The red eyed woman said with a small nod. "But I want you to know, if you need anyone to talk to, about anything at all, my door is always open, ok?" Getting a nod from Naruto, she went on a little. "That goes for the two of you as well, Kiba, Shino, if you need to talk, I'm always willing to listen."

Both genin in question now nodded their understanding as well, before Kiba finally chose to speak. "Alright, now can we get this underway? I'm hyped to show off my skills!"

Kurenai gave a small laugh at the excitement she was seeing; she couldn't help but wonder just how long it'd last. "Very well then, get started we shall." She said with a smile as she pulled out three kunai, she could see all three genin visible tense. "Ok, here's the deal. I will be your opponent for today's test, you may all come at me at once, but I have a gift for the first one of you who lands a solid hit against me." The red eyed woman said, her smile turning to a smirk. "It's a luxury package coupon to the Konoha hot springs." The woman's smirk deepened ever so slightly as she saw the body language of all three genin change ever so slightly; she knew she had them. "Oh, and one last thing; you have three hours to do so, now, begin!"

With that, Naruto and Kiba both charged at the red eyed jounin, and Shino let loose a swam of his kikai, but before any of them could even register it, Kurenai was gone, and as they did realize it, all three shared the same thought. 'This can't be good...'


Naruto pulled himself from the hole in which he'd been trapped, only to collapse to the ground panting. He was at his limit, mentally and physically; things had gone south with their first charge on Kurenai-sensei after she had said to begin. After that little vanishing act of her's, the jounin had quickly forced the genin to scatter, and it only got worse from there.

Attack after attack he'd suffered from the jounin, and at the end of each, he'd end up trapped by one means or another. Be it genjutsu or hanging upside-down by one of his feet or, in this latest case, at the bottom of a rather deep hole.

He'd realized after her last attack, against which he'd used over fifty of his clones, which had been all but useless, just how out matched he was. He wasn't sure what had brought on that realization, but it was there now, and it bothered him, a lot. How was he supposed to land a hit against her like this? With the way she fought the only chance he'd stand was if he had help...as the that realization struck him the blonde's worn mind began to tick, and for once, it seemed he could actually hear it...

Naruto sat bolt upright as comprehension reached him, the pieces falling into place one by one. That was the whole point of this, there was no way for any one of them to do this alone, and that's why she'd said they could come at her at the same time, because she knew it. But she couldn't make it that easy, the team had to be tested, but not the way they had thought.

This whole test was about teamwork, to see if they could work together, but even that wasn't enough, not for a true test, and so the coupon was added, to give them a reason to not work together. In the end, this test wasn't just about teamwork, but about seeing if they could set aside personal gain for the team.

Now he understood, he truly understood. If they failed this, there would be more to pay than simply missing out on the hot springs. He needed to find Shino and Kiba, now! But with the shape he was in, and the fact that Kurenai would attack every time he tried to make a move...

The blonde smirked as his prankster side began churning out a plan. He suddenly found himself chuckling on the inside as a feeling of renewed vigor washed over him; it seemed his days as a prankster were about to pay off. With one simple seal, he would put his plan into action.


Kurenai felt the hairs on the back of her neck begin the prickle as she felt Naruto's chakra build and release. That boy had no subtlety when it came to his chakra it seemed, but still that had been a lot of chakra, even for Naruto.

Looking back to her current victim, she saw Kiba stumble somewhat dumbly, trapped inside a genjutsu, one that would likely take at least half an hour to break. With a nod to herself, she took off for Naruto's location, intent on finishing up with him this time.

She'd given them all about two hours now, and she had yet to see any indication that they had figured it out. It was sad really, she had been so hopeful after what the Hokage had told her, she had thought she'd get to keep her first team, but now it seemed, she'd have no choice but to send them back to the academy.

It was with a sigh that she reached Naruto's location, finding a mass of shadow clones waiting on her. As she'd thought, it was simply another attempt to overwhelm her. As she attacked the Naruto hoard, the small red fox that slipped away into the trees didn't even catch her eye.


Shino sighed as he found Kiba stumbling about blindly, obviously trapped in a genjutsu. There simply wasn't time for this. The bug user reached out and grasped the dog user's shoulder, using his own chakra in hopes of nullifying that of the genjutsu.

Kiba stumbled one last time before the world stopped spinning and everything came back into focus. Shaking her head and looking over to Shino, she grumbled out her thanks before looking around from Akamaru, he was only a few feet away, trapped in net.

With a shake of her head, she moved to free the pup, but stopped as she heard a low growl begin to emit from his throat, turning to where Akamaru seemed to be growling. She tensed as she reached for her weapons pack and pulled out two kunai, watching from the corner of here eye as Shino slowly moved back and to the side for a flanking position.

The bush rustled as something came out, but the tension died as soon as she saw what it was. "Quiet down Akamaru, it's only a fox." Kiba said as she walked over and reached down to free the puppy and pick him up. Looking back to the fox after getting Akamaru settled in her coat, she frozen. It had eyes like... "Naruto...?"

The fox nodded in answer to the question before reverting back the blonde in question in a puff of smoke. "Not to be pushy, but we gotta move." The blonde said without any preamble. "I'll explain everything on the way, but for right now, just come on! She's already destroyed all but ten of my clones." He added when they both looked at him questioningly, but said no more before jumping off into the trees.

"I must agree with Naruto-san on this." Shino agreed as he turned to follow the blond. "Here is not the best place to be right now." With that he jumped off after Naruto, followed quickly by Kiba.

"Ok...so why exactly are we doing what Naruto says?" Kiba asked as she caught up with the other two.

"Because, if we don't put together a plan and work together to land a hit on Kurenai-sensei in the next forty five minutes, we'll probably lose more than a chance to go to the hot springs for free." Naruto answered all to seriously.

"So then...you too have figured it out, Naruto-san." Shino stated as he adjusted his glasses. "That this is more than simply a test of our abilities, correct?"

Kiba blinked even as she saw Naruto nodding his head. "Wait, if this isn't a test of our abilities, then what is it?" The dog user questioned; the confusion more than apparent in her voice.

"Simply put Kiba-san?" Shino half asked, half said. "It is a test to see if we can work together as a team, even when given reason not to."

"Oh..." Was all the reply Kiba gave as they continued to jump from tree to tree, finally reaching the training grounds this whole event had started in. "Huh...? Why are back here though? Why not go after Sensei if we're so pressed for time?"

"Because, in just a second, she'll be coming to us." Naruto said as he focused and then dispelled what few clones now remained. "We won't have a lot of time to prepare in, but I have a plan if you're willing to listen."

To the blonde's surprise, Shino turned his full attention to him, as did Kiba, though the latter looked a little doubtful. Though, with his track record in the academy, he couldn't quite blame her. "Alright then, here's what we're gonna do..."

Kurenai cursed herself as she jumped from tree to tree, searching out her genin. She couldn't believe she'd fallen for that trick so easily, or so completely. She should have known something was up when she'd seen the number of clones Naruto had made, but she had written that off as an attempt to simply overwhelm her.

In fact, she hadn't even begun to suspect something until it was down to the last three clones, even then she was heavily doubting her suspicions. This was Naruto after all, the supposed worst genin in his class. She hated herself for so quickly falling into that mindset, for so quickly forgetting the reason she fought so damnably hard to get the boy put on her team.

This was the boy that had not only learned, but mastered an upper jounin class ninjutsu in less than an hour, the boy who had defeated a mid level chuunin in less than a minute and Konoha's legendary prankster king no less. His chakra capacity meant he had a potential that quite possible surpassed that of the sannin, and he was even rumored to have evaded capture by a full squad of ANBU trackers for over three hours, before finally being caught by his academy teacher, the only man it seemed ever could catch the blonde.

She should have known better than to just discount him like that. And now, she was paying for it. Not only was Naruto no where to be found, but she had lost complete track of Kiba and Shino as well.

It was only after ten minutes of searching, that she finally found one of the genin. Shino was standing in the middle of the training field in which this little exercise had begun. He seemed to simply be waiting there, as if there was nothing to worry about, simply looking straight on, seemingly at nothing.

It wasn't until the bug user's head turned to look right at her, that she realized she was in trouble. But by then, it was too late to react, and she found herself quickly caught up in a swarm of kikai, she was forced to jump from her perch, out into the clearing to avoid begin swarmed by even more.

That would prove to be her second mistake of the day, the first having been her underestimation of Naruto, and her third would be following all too quickly as she landed. She needed to get the kikai off her, and the only quick solution for doing that, was water. Of course, this had been one of the reasons she'd chosen this training field in particular; it had a small pond on one end, and a stream running through it on the other.

That meant a quick suiton jutsu and she'd be freed of the bugs. Even as Shino began to sprint at her, she began to flash through the seals, preparing the jutsu to strike both Shino and herself.

"Juujin bunshin no Jutsu!" Came a cry from behind the jounin, and it was now that she realized her third mistake was even starting her jutsu. She was dedicated now, she'd pulled up the chakra for it, and if she let go of it, it'd be absorbed by Shino's bugs almost instantly, and if she didn't, she'd be unable to dodge the attack she knew was coming at her from behind. She simply didn't have the focus to continue the jutsu and dodge.

Letting go of her chakra with another self loathing curse, she dodged the attack from behind, seeing two feral looking versions of Kiba strike the spot she'd been standing moments ago. She'd lost a lot of chakra to Shino's bugs thanks to that, and now she couldn't afford to try it again. This left her with only one choice, submerging in the pond itself. The stream just wouldn't be deep enough.

As she landed from her dodge, Kurenai made a brake for the pound; mistake number four. As she reached the water time itself seem to slow as several things happened at once. Shino's bugs pulled back, both the feral Kibas smirked, and five yellow and green blurs shot from the water at once, each tackling her to the ground and pinning her there.

Kurenai sighed in resignation, not even attempting to fight against the clones. She was nearly out of chakra, and they probably knew it. This had all been planned out, and she had fallen for it completely. "Very well...you win." She conceded, and the five Naruto clones holding her down vanished instantly, as did a number of near by stones and to her surprise, a multitude of leaves that had been blowing about in the wind. Naruto himself surfacing from under the pond's surface with a reed in his mouth, and a wide grin plastered around it.

As the jounin sat up, Kiba, Akamaru, now a puppy once more and Shino made their way over, even as Naruto pulled himself from the pond and to his feet. Taking a hand that Naruto was now offering, Kurenai found herself pulled quickly to her feet, and then turned to the three genin. "First and foremost, I must congratulate you three on doing a great job of working together, and second...on a very well conceived plan." The jounin said, looking at Shino.

The bug user opened his mouth, ready to correct her, but was cut off by Naruto before he could. "Yeah, it was, wasn't it?" The blonde said with a grin aimed at Shino. He could tell the bug user was confused, but he had his reasons for letting Kurenai think what she wanted.

"Of course, Shino isn't the only one who deserves credit here." Kurenai said before anyone else could talk. "Naruto, your distraction ploy earlier worked like a charm, and it even kept me from detecting that Shino and Kiba were making moves, so you deserve a fair amount of the credit too."

Naruto blushed at this, he wasn't used to this kind of praise, but it only took him a moment to shake it off and just give a big grin. "Thanks, Kurenai-sensei, but I just sort of got lucky with that. If Shino hadn't found Kiba and I, I still don't think it would have made a difference."

"Don't sell yourself short Naruto, even managing to elude a jounin is a big deal, but to be able to hide not only your movements, but those of others from one, that's something to be proud of." Kurenai said with a smile. "Now then, though I think you've already figured it out, I want to explain what today was really about."

Waiting a moment before continuing, the red eyed jounin explained the principles by which most Konoha shinobi lived, and why they were important. She also explained why she had done what she'd done, and finally told them of what would have happened if they had failed to realize it before time ran out.

In the end, it had left the genin with something to think about as they headed home. Kurenai had told them to meet in front of the Hokage's tower the following morning by nine, so they could get their first mission, and with that sent the on their way home.


The three walked home together as they had the prior day, again, mostly because they all lived in this direction. Unlike yesterday however, they all remained quiet, until that was, it came time for Shino to depart.

Kiba and Naruto had both stopped when the bug user did so, looking at him questioningly as he adjusted his glasses. "I wish to ask you something before I take my leave of you and Kiba-san, Naruto-san..." Shino began in that same monotone he seemed to always use, continuing only after getting a nod from Naruto. "Why did you not tell Kurenai-sensei the truth back at the training field?"

Naruto sighed upon hearing the question. He should have expected that Shino would want to know. "I'm not supposed to be that smart Shino, I'm the dead last of the academy after all." The blonde said with a sad smile while shaking his head a little. "If Kurenai-sensei knew, she'd expect me to do it again...I don't know if I can."

Shino just nodded at hearing that; getting the feeling he was seeing a rare side of Naruto right now. "Then I shall respect your wishes Naruto-san, but know this..." The bug user said all too calmly. "I too wish to see you do that again, and I shall not stop until I see it once more." With that, Shino turned and began walking down a side road that led off into a slightly wooded area.

"And I hope I can show it to you..." Naruto said quietly, before turning to Kiba. "Ne Kiba...would you like to join me for ramen?" The blonde asked with a hopeful smile. "It'll be my treat, ok?"

Kiba shook her head in answer, before explaining. "We have to get back home; mom wants us to report for training as soon as possible." The dog user explained while scratching Akamaru behind the ears.

"Oh...I see." Naruto said, sounding a little disappointed. "I guess I'll just catch up with you there later then." The blonde added with a sigh.

"And what part of we and us didn't you get exactly?" Kiba asked, grabbing a hold of the blonde's jacket. Honestly, how dumb could you get?

"Wha...me too? But...I thought you meant you and Akamaru..." Naruto answered, sounding more than a little surprised.

Kiba shook her head to that before pulling the blonde in the direction of the Inuzuka compound. "No, she said she wanted both of us home as soon as we got done. Though she didn't elaborate on why any further than saying it was for training."

"But...why me?" Naruto questioned dumbly, now walking along side the dog user. "D-don't get me wrong, I'm happy to be included in any sort of training...but I'm not an Inuzuka...so...why? I mean, won't it cause problems?"

Kiba fought back laughter as she launched into a little explanation on the Inuzuka and training. "Naruto, unless our clan's protected jutsu are involved, we hold a very open view of training." The dog user said with a smile. "In fact, our usual attitude about it is 'The more the merrier'. So this is hardly a surprise."

"Oh..." Was all Naruto said in return to that as they continued their way home. 'Home...I've got to stop thinking of it like that...' The blonde chided himself silently as the two kept walking. 'They're just being nice, and letting me stay for a little bit, its not permanent, and eventually I'll have to leave...so there's no sense in letting myself get used to it...' With the last bit of that thought, the blonde squashed all other attempts his mind made to drift to the subject, and focused on other things, like mentally prepping for the upcoming training.


"Mom, we're home!" Kiba called as she and Naruto walked through the front door, her call was met with a head poking around a corner in the entry hall, though it wasn't Tsume, Kiba still smiled. "Nee-chan, taking a break from the dogs? That's kinda unlike you."

"Actually Kaa-san is with them right now..." The older girl explained as she came around to corner completely. "She sent me to come see if you and Uzumaki were back yet. She's in the usual spot, so go on already."

"Feh, your so cold sometimes Nee-chan." Kiba frowned as she walked past the older girl, headed for the clan training field, followed by Naruto. "Sorry about the way she acts." Kiba said over her shoulder to Naruto, once they had gotten out of ear shot. "She's cold to everyone but the dogs, always has been really...I guess that's why she became a vet though."

Naruto just shrugged it off as he kept pace with Kiba; it honestly hadn't bothered him that much. Besides, it was better than what he normally got. "Its ok..." Naruto said after a little bit, a small smile on his lips. "I'm used to being treated somewhat coldly..." The blonde added, looking somewhat sheepish.

Kiba turned away quickly as she blushed; she took a deep breath and tried to fight the tinge on her cheeks down. This wasn't her, she wasn't supposed to get like this, especially not when Naruto was concerned. "Ah...so..."

"About the training..." Naruto cut in, his mind already off on other topics. "What should I expect?"

"Ah, not anything too drastic." Kiba answered quickly, all too happy to jump on the supplied subject. "Taijutsu mostly I'd expect, though she might try to teach you a few of our lesser tracking jutsu too."

"Really?" Naruto asked with a sudden spark of excitement in his voice. "Now I can't wait! A tracking jutsu huh? I wonder how it works; I bet I'll be able to improve it after she teaches it to me too, then I'll..." The blonde's excited rant was cut off by Kiba's hand covering his mouth as they reached the back door.

"You get excited a little too easily...you know that?" The dog user questioned with a sigh before removing her hand to reveal another of those sheepish grins. "Trust me when I say, that any tracking jutsu she teaches you won't be all that special." Kiba explained with a sigh. "Most of the good ones are protected, and can't even be taught to an Inuzuka till they make chuunin, so if she does teach you one, and I make no promise she will, it will only be a very simple one, ok?"

Naruto nodded his understanding, but couldn't hide the fact that he was still excited. Even the slightest chance of learning a new jutsu was enough to get him like this. He couldn't help it, it was just who he was.

As the two walked out into the training field, Naruto found himself frozen in shock at the sight before him. He hadn't realized just how many dogs the Inuzuka clan had till now. How on earth did they afford to feed them all?

"Surprised Uzumaki?" Tsume asked as she walked up to the two, earning only a stunned nod from the blonde. "You know, truth be told, this is only about a third of them." She said, and she almost couldn't fight back the laugh that wanted to come out as the blonde's head whipped around to stare at her in shock. "The rest are out on missions or out hunting." She finished with a smirk.

"Don't listen to her Naruto, this is actually about three fourths of them, she's just trying to mess with you." Kiba explained, smirking when her mom frowned.

"Honestly Kiba, you're worse than Hana when it comes to ruining my fun." Tsume frowned for a moment, before cutting back to a smile. "Ah well, on to the reason the two of you are here; training."

That was all it took to snap Naruto completely out of his stupor; the blonde having turned the whole of his attention on Tsume before the two present Inuzuka could even blink.

'Well, that was fairly simple.' Tsume thought with a fanged grin as she looked at the blonde. Maybe he'd be easier to train that she had originally thought. "Right, Kiba, you and Akamaru are going to be training with Kuro for today, while I run Naruto through the basics, just to see where he is, ok?"

Kiba nodded to this, and walked over to where she could see the black dog, Akamaru following at her heals.

"Tsume?" Naruto spoke before the woman could start with anything. He was already a bit calmer now than before, and there was a question he had now. At the Inuzuka head's nod, the blonde continued. "Why...why are you doing this?" He asked timidly.

This was an odd sight for Tsume, Konoha's number one loud and hyper resident was standing in front of her, almost as timid as a mouse. Seeing something like this, it just didn't sit right with her. "Because of a promise I once made." Tsume explained calmly, as she thought back to a time before the Kyuubi, a time before she had lost a very dear friend. 'Would it be ok to tell him Kushina, if I don't tell him your name?' "I'm afraid I can't explain anymore than that though...not yet at least."

Naruto nodded his understanding, he was curious now, but the look in Tsume's eyes told him enough to know she was being truthful. "I...I understand. Thank you for telling me that much at least." The blonde said with a small bow.

"Of course...oh and Naruto..." Tsume said as her eyes suddenly seemed to gleam with deadly intent. "From here on, you will call me Tsume-san or sensei, is that clear?" Getting an obviously frightened nod from the blonde, Tsume grinned and gave a small bow of her own before clearing her throat. "Right, now then, we'll begin with taijutsu." Tsume began in a much different tone, her eyes sharpened and focused. "Show me your best form."

Naruto nodded and proceeded to get into a sloppy version of one of the academies basic taijutsu stances, which only made Tsume frown. Had anyone even tried to correct the boy's form? Honestly, she'd seen pre-academy children with better form.

'Forgive me for taking so long my friend...' The woman thought as she told Naruto to run through a few kata. 'It seems he could have used me much sooner...if only I could have gotten to him.' Tsume's eye twitched as she mental ticked off Naruto's twentieth mistake, and this was only one kata in.

"Ok, that's enough..." Tsume said with a disappointed sigh, stopping the boy halfway through his second kata. "You're self taught, aren't you Naruto?" The woman asked, though they both knew that she didn't need Naruto to answer; he nodded anyway. "That's what I thought..." She gave the boy a sad smile before whistling, calling one of the many dogs over. "Go inform the council on my behalf that I will be teaching Uzumaki one of our taijutsu styles, if any of them try complaining, just tell them that it is the unprotected one, and remind them that I am the clan head."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock as he realized what had just been said. She was going to teach him one of their taijutsu styles? "Is...is that really ok Tsume-san?" The blonde questioned worriedly. "I don't want to cause any problems for you..."

"As I told my messenger to the council, this Inuzuka taijutsu style in unprotected, and as it stand it's been out of use since before my time, heck the only reason I know it is because I am the clan head. And as such, it is my right to teach it to anyone I choose." Tsume said with a smirk. "Besides, there's only one guy on that brittle boned council that's willing to stand up to me, and he's just pissed because I managed to repeal his ability to arrange marriages."

Naruto nodded his understanding to that, besides he didn't really like the idea of people arranging marriages, so it suited him just fine if Tsume teaching him this taijutsu style pissed off a guy who liked to do that sort of thing.

"Now then this Inuzuka style is quite simply named Inu no Tsume or Dog's Claw, and before you even try to make a joke about the name, I promise you, I've heard them all." The Inuzuka clan head sighed. "Anyway, down to business."


Naruto had spent the rest of the day's light training in the most basic aspects of the Inu no Tsume, and the following week on perfecting the first four kata. Every day after missions and team training, he and Kiba would go straight back to the Inuzuka compound for yet more training, Kiba going off each time with a different dog, while Tsume continued to drill Naruto in taijutsu.

It had been exactly a week since they'd become genin at this point, and under orders from their sensei, team eight was having a day off. Kurenai had apparently gone so far as to contact both the Inuzuka and the Aburame clan heads to arrange this, making sure that it happened, by not only getting them to agree not to not train the genin in question, but by getting them to actually force them to leave home for the day.

While Naruto couldn't be sure how it was done with Shino, he knew how it'd happened with Kiba and himself. When they'd returned from the short team meeting they'd had, Tsume simply told them both to turn around and leave, and not to come back until at least seven in the evening.

And when Naruto had tried to protest, he'd quickly found himself being chased toward Konoha's main street by a group of three of the larger Inuzuka dogs. That had quickly quelled any and all desire the blonde had to go back any time soon.

They'd run into Shino shortly there after, and now the three sat under a tree in the park, trying to decide what the do with their day. It was only about ten in the morning at this point, which left them with nine hours to burn before any of them could go home.

"I still say we go see a movie." Kiba said with a frown, only for Naruto to say 'no' in a flat tone again, and then nothing else. "Ugh...would you at least tell me why not?" The dog user gave a halfhearted growl when the blonde simply gave another flat 'no' in answer.

"If I might interject." Shino began monotonously, continuing only once he was certain both his teammates were listening to him. "Before we being this loop again, perhaps we should consider an alternative? Say, perhaps one of the lakes, for a swim?"

Naruto and Kiba both stiffened at the thought, but it was Naruto who supplied an excuse first. "As nice as that sounds Shino...I don't actually even own any swimwear..."

"A matter such as that is easily corrected Naruto-san." Shino said calmly. "I know of a shop that sells very nice swimwear, and they would, in fact, be on the way to the lake I had in mind."

"As nice as a swim sounds on a hot day like today, I'm afraid I'd have to decline, you see I..." Kiba began making an excuse, only to be interrupted by Shino.

"You needn't worry Kiba-san; they sell girl's swimwear as well." The bug user commented flatly, even for Shino. The boy adjusted his glasses as he looked at the shocked looks he was getting from his two teammates. "I have known since our days in the academy, if the two of you are wondering."

Kiba and Naruto were both silent for the next while, before the dog user finally spoke. "I'm sorry for trying to hide it from you Shino." Was all she said before taking a deep breath and standing, looking down to her teammates with a small smile, focusing mostly on Shino. "So then...where's this shop?"

Shino nodded and stood as well, followed quickly by Naruto. "It is ok Kiba-san; I understand how frightening it can be when you think a secret like that might be revealed..." The bug user said truthfully. He himself had a secret he kept, though of a different kind, it made it possible for him to understand at least. "But I am of the opinion there should be no secrets among teammates."

Naruto flinched inwardly at that comment, though he managed to keep a straight face. That had done all too good a job of reminding him of his own secret, one which could very well kill the budding friendship he was building with his teammates. As he began to follow Shino, the blonde decided he might need to take Kurenai-sensei up on her offer sooner than he'd thought. He'd need help if he was ever going to reach a point where he could tell them about that.


It had taken them about fifteen minutes to reach the shop Shino had spoken of, and though nervous over what might happen, Naruto followed his teammates into the store.

"Welcome to the wet leaf." The old woman behind the counter in the back of the shop greeted as the trio entered, she smiled as she spotted Shino and gave a small bow. "Ah, Shino-kun, it is nice to see you in here again."

"It is a pleasure, as always Nami-san." Shino greeted as he bowed in return to her. "My friends and I are on our way to the lake, and are in need of swimwear." The bug user explained as he motioned to the two behind him.

"I see, well it is nice to meet anyone who is a friend of Shino-kun's." She said as she turned to look at the two. "You may call me Nami, and if you need any help, please just let me know, ok?"

Both Naruto and Kiba nodded as they broke away from Shino and each other to shop the shelves and racks. Naruto sighed as he continued to look through the different articles of swimwear, from shorts to wetsuits to there short sleeved and legged counterparts. There was even a section with flipper like shoes and goggles he assumed were for underwater use.

Still, for everything there was, he had yet to find anything to he liked enough to buy as far as the swimming shorts went. He was actually debating going over to the counter to ask for help, when Nami walked up to him. "Is there anything the matter?" She asked kindly.

Naruto shook his head in answer, since, in truth there wasn't. "No, not really." The blonde said calmly. "I'm just having a hard time finding anything I like." He explained as he looked back to the racks.

Nami looked thoughtful for a moment, before spotting the emblem on his shoulder and getting an idea. "I think I might have something that will suit your tastes in the back, if you'd like the see it."

Turning to the woman, Naruto nodded, and then followed her as she headed back to the counter. He stopped as she stepped back behind it, and then through a curtain covered doorway. He heard some rustling around before Nami came back out with a pair of swimming shorts in red, with a black swirl pattern on them.

"So, what do you think young man?" She asked with a smile. She could already tell he liked them, just by the way he was looking, but it always felt nice to hear it said.

"You're right; I think they'll suit me just fine." The blonde said with a smile. "I'll take them." After checking out, Naruto head for the back of the store, where he'd been told the changing rooms were. He figured there wouldn't be a good place to change at the lake, so it'd be best to do so here.

It didn't take him long to trade out his pants for the swimming shorts. Closing the changing room door behind him, Naruto headed for the front of the store to find Shino and Kiba both waiting on him.

"Guess I'm the last one, huh?" The blonde questioned sheepishly. "Sorry about that." He added before turning to wave at Nami, who bowed in return. "Come on, let's go."

Shino and Kiba both nodded, as Shino took the lead again. "I will lead the way, as we are not going to any of the public lakes." The bug user said calmly, only explaining when he got curious looks from Naruto and Kiba both. "I thought, since there are...sensitive matters, that could be easily discovered by someone at the public lakes, it would be better if we used my clans private one."

Kiba blushed lightly as she caught on to what Shino meant by 'sensitive matters'. "Thanks Shino, that's very kind of you." The dog user said with a small smile, though it was replaced a moment later as the other implications of what was said sunk in. "Wait...your clan owns a private lake?"

Shino nodded in reply as he continued to lead the way. "Yes, it is rare, but every now and then, the clan will gather for a day of swimming, though such things are always scheduled weeks ahead of time, so there is no chance of it today." The bug user explained. "Still, when Aburame swim, we find it best to keep to ourselves, and so, the clan purchased an area of forest with a private lake."

"Ah, I see." Kiba said with a nod. "But if that's the case, are you sure it's ok for Naruto and I to be there?"

"Yes, so long as you are with me." Shino answered certainly. "The area is free for any Aburame to use, and they may even bring friends with them, though, even so I find I am about the only one to use it, save for when the clan gathers together there."


The spot Shino lead them to was, for a lack of any better words, amazing. Naruto looked at the area before them and had to wonder why no one else knew about it. "Shino...this place is amazing..." The blonde observed astounded.

"Yeah, no joke." Kiba agreed as she looked about the area. The place was like a little slice of paradise hidden away in Konoha. "How on earth does no one else know about it?"

"The land is owned by the Aburame clan." Shino answered simply, as he adjusted his glasses again. "No one is allowed to come here with out one of our clan present, unless granted permission by the council and all members of the current head family."

"Whoa..." Was all Kiba could say to that before coming to a sudden realization. She'd forgotten to change before leaving the swim shop. "I can't believe I forgot something so basic..." The dog user grumbled as she shook her head.

"There is a changing room just beyond that tree Kiba-san." Shino said nodding toward a rather large tree not too far away. "Most members of clan prefer not to change until they have reached this place, and so, changing rooms were put in." The bug user explained as he unbuttoned his jacked and set it and his bag down on the grass, showing that he had changed back at the shop, as Naruto had.

"Ah, well thanks, I'll be back out in a little bit then." Kiba said as she sprinted for the tree to change. It didn't take long before she was back out ready to start enjoying the small stretch of lake with her teammates.

Naruto looked over as the dog user rejoined the group, and he couldn't stop the blush that hit his checks. Kiba was wearing a wetsuit with the sleeves and legs cut short, and while it wasn't revealing, it was formfitting, and he couldn't stop the image of her from when he'd walked in to the bathroom at the wrong time from flashing through his mind. Kiba seemed to notice his reaction, as she too was blushing lightly, most likely from memories of the same moment.

Shino had removed glasses once Kiba had come back out, but kept his eyes closed at first. "Naruto-san, Kiba-san..." The bug user started, thankfully breaking the awkward moment between the two as he drew their attention. "I feel I should warn you both before opening my eyes, that they are not normal."

"Well duh." Kiba said as she rolled her eyes at the comment. "Shino, we had kinda figured that out back at the academy, though we never were able to get a glimpse of what they looked like under those glasses of yours."

Shino nodded to this, he supposed he should have known it'd be obvious his eyes weren't normal; still it never hurt to be sure. "That is because most Aburame keep the condition of their eyes a complete secret, but as I said before, I do not believe in secrets between teammates." With that said Shino opened his eyes, and looked toward his teammates.