Konoha's Innocent Vixen
By: Kibou32
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Summary: Story of a female Naruto who doesn't want to be Hokage. She's accepted by the villagers for being the Kyuubi's vessel, her father Namikaze Minato – the Yondaime Hokage is still alive after the sealing happened and is dead set against the thought his daughter would become a kunoichi despite the fact that both of the legendary sannin: Tsunade and Jiraiya, are teaching the kid everything they know in hopes of instructing a soon to be powerful shinobi weapon. Watch as Naruto deals with a negative out look from shinobi all around her – including her father's reluctance to seeing her as anything else than a ninja – to the pressure from those she's captured the hearts of to be the Godaime Hokage when all she ever wanted was just to be a regular shinobi with nothing else of importance besides the bijuu residing inside of her.
Pairings: Gaara + Naruto.
Warnings: there may be debauchery, heterosexual sex, etc.
A/N: Previously known as "A Question of Time". I'm sorry... but the first review was discouraging enough... and I got bored with the outline, so I was playing with a different version of it and ended up with this.
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first impressions are always the best
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Sakura's first impression on Naruto was that she was worst than the other girls in school and that she felt sorry for Hinata for being stuck with a girl who would not be able to become a kunoichi due to her lack of prowess. Since the test had begun, she had had begun to reevaluate her first impressions on her teammates. So far, Kakashi hadn't said a word that indicated that Naruto wouldn't pass the test with flying colors. So far, he had said that Sasuke clearly didn't know any better because he was too busy thinking he was too good for this team.
So far… there were only thirty minutes left for lunch and neither Sasuke or her had been able to get the bells.
"Sakura." – she turned to see her teacher there and was surprised to see Sasuke broken and filled with needles.
She screamed.
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It seemed that the only one that had not made a move was Naruto. Sasuke had engaged in a taijutsu fight with him and lost. Sakura had fallen underneath his genjutsu. What to do… oh the possibilities… he giggled and decided to check his book out. He decided that since Naruto wasn't interested in meeting with him to fight, then he'd wait the last attempt out.
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"Oi." – she said softly as she poked Sasuke in the head from where she had him dug out from the hole he had made when Kakashi used a Doton jutsu to leave him underground.
"Stop poking me." – he hissed at her when he finally decided to open his eyes.
"If you had awaken when I dug you out, I wouldn't have poked you."
She settled next to him and produced a nutrient bar out of her outer pocket. She held it out to him. Sasuke looked back at her and she extended the nutrient bar just barely out of his reach.
"What do you want?" – he queried when he finally made an attempt to grab it and was denied.
"Nothing so foul. Just a chance to pass this test… I have an idea." – she said and then finally relinquished the nutrient bar to him.
He ate the bar quietly, but did not choose to comment on what he thought was probably a weird idea.
"So?" – he asked knowing they were at least twenty minutes away from failing the test.
"So… what do you say we work together? Think about it… Kakashi never said we couldn't work together." – she said while she rummaged through her kunai holster.
He thought about it and then his eyes glowed with knowledge, but then dimmed.
"We only have twenty minutes before lunch. How do you propose we get those bells? We can't even ask Sakura… I'm not even sure where she is."
"Oh… well… while Kakashi was telling us about the test, I rigged the whole training grounds with traps. So far he hasn't been made aware of them because they only activate if I issue the command to do so. I made sure to think up a plan in case the test involved teamwork."
"Ok… so what do you want me to do? Do we get Sakura?" – he asked just including Sakura for the sake of it.
"Sakura is still trapped in a genjutsu. We'd waste precious time if we go get her. What I was thinking of…"
Sasuke grinned as she whispered her plan into his ear.
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Kakashi realized that in five more minutes the test would stop and he'd have to fail those three. Well… more like fail Sasuke and Sakura. Send Sasuke back to the Academy and tell Sakura she wasn't shinobi material. He stood up and dusted his pants as he made his way out of the forest to get the clock. He had such high hopes for this group despite their individual faults.
Before he made it to the clearing where the posts, the lunches and the clock stood he tripped. He thought it strange that he had tripped… he never did so. He tried to stand up when he noticed something was wrong. He saw two grinning genin and one sheepish kunoichi… Sakura? Was she out of the genjutsu already?
"Got ya." – Naruto said grinning happily.
Kakashi realized that he had been under a genjutsu for a while. For at least an hour if he was correct. The little minx had let him think he had had Sakura under a genjutsu and that the Uchiha brat was still where he had left him and used teamwork against him.
He stood up and used an eye-smile towards them.
He signaled that since they had gotten the bells… and he was sure that Sakura was the 'it', he gave the bento to Naruto and Sasuke while Sakura watched forlorn.
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"So how did you do it? Didn't you say that you weren't going to wake Sakura up from the genjutsu?" – Sakura heard Sasuke ask and she nearly bawled over. Their teacher had said he was going to get something and he'd be right back. She was sure that when he came back, he would tell her she was going back to the academy due to her poor attitude during the test.
"Well… I had to make Kakashi think that Sakura was in on the game. I just made a bunshin and sent it to wake her up. Which… when he thinks about it fully, he'll realize that the only genjutsu I used was to keep him from knowing where we were while I activated the traps needed to bring Kakashi down. We're probably going to be doing a lot of training from now on."
"So you used a genjutsu to give us a bit of time to gain my trust and get me to work with you? Is that it?" – Sasuke said feeling a bit amazed that his new teammate wasn't as much of a letdown as he had thought as at first.
He watched how she turned the non-eaten bento box and thrust it towards the pink haired girl. He was nonplussed about this.
"Why are you giving me your lunch away? You won it fair and square." – Sakura sniffled out.
"Sure. I won it fair and square… but the deal was to work together. I think you need the food more than I need it. You probably heeded his advice and didn't eat breakfast. I had something to do in the morning and I couldn't just not go without it." – she watched Sakura look at her weirdly and then just grab it with a wan smile as a thank you. "Had I known what Kakashi was going to test us out in the first place – although I had an inkling as to what it was – and I had been able to come in earlier than when I got here, I would've thought out a plan for the three of us to use. The point of the test wasn't to get the bells… it was to work as a team. I didn't think we'd get the bells, but I guess he wasn't really expecting us to work together."
"So… what you're saying is that the purpose of the whole thing was to see if we could get to work together? Even if we didn't get the bells, he'd have passed us if we had just made an attempt to work together?" – Sasuke said as he looked down at his own half-eaten bento box.
"Yup! Even if he now said not to give any to Sakura – which he oddly didn't – sharing a bit of our lunch with her wouldn't have been so bad. Teammates have to look out for each other."
Sasuke then took his chopsticks and offered her the other half of the bento box and Kakashi almost wept. It was so cute! But he still had to make an appearance.
"YOU GUYS!!" – He yelled out a bit cross that Naruto didn't seem a bit intimidated with his act.
Sakura and Sasuke yelped and were about to cry… or at least it seemed like that to him. So what if he was glorifying the petrified looks of his students a bit too much? He still got what he wanted. Camaraderie, a touch of friendship and teamwork!! He supposed he would have to take the little minx out for ramen in thanks for pushing the point across.
"PASS!" – he said in the end and watched happily as the other two crashed on the ground relieved.
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Naruto was right when she had said that after lunch, their sensei would work their asses off. Even Sasuke was tired by the time their sensei told them he'd take them out for ramen. His treat. Naruto was all smiles until she saw Ebisu. And then she frowned and said she'd take a raincheck on the invite.
Sasuke was amazed when the jounin with dark sunglasses on his face and his blond haired teammate disappeared in a puff of smoke. He then decided that he was exhausted enough that he didn't really need ramen. He told his sensei he was fine and left for his home at the Uchiha compound. Old ghosts and all that didn't mean squat to him. With Sakura only left, Kakashi expected her to come with, but was surprised when she said that she had to be home before her parents worried even more. He sighed.
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Before he arrived home, he was stopped by a white long haired individual he recognized as the Legendary Toad Hermit. He wondered what it was that the man wanted with him.
"Did she work it out?" – he heard him ask.
"Yeah. She instigated teamwork with Uchiha Sasuke and led me to believe she even had Sakura in on the game. She was good." – he said with a wry smile.
"I see. Tsunade has her working with her three days consecutively which is why she was later than usual." – he heard Jiraiya say.
"Was it her who taught Naruto how to use paralyzing poisons?" – he asked.
"Yeah. Naruto is a prime shinobi machine. Except… our dear Hokage is unwilling to use her like that. In fact… you can be sure that you'll be doing more than your fair share of D-level missions from now on."
Kakashi waved it away unconcerned.
"I'm sure sensei hoped they wouldn't make it, right? I'm not particularly worried about that. While Naruto is ready to tackle higher than C-level missions on her own, Sasuke and Sakura aren't that much ready. So… a couple of those D-level missions is fine with me. That will be enough to solidify their teamwork so when a C-level mission comes about, Yondaime-sama will see he was wrong about Naruto." – he said with certainty.
"When you're not training or doing missions, I'll be in charge of Naruto." – was all the old man said and then vanished.
Kakashi sighed softly.
But second impressions are much more truer than the first ones.