When the day of the team assignments dawned bright and clear, Iruka could only feel a tightening in his abdomen. He thought about changing the teams, but then realized he couldn't just change it on a whim, just to check for something only he was searching for and knew about. He wasn't about to tell anyone – not even the Hokage – about his suspicions, for that was all they were. Still, there was something else he was missing…

When he left his apartment to get to the school, he realized what it was that was bothering him. For there on the mountain side, where the four Hokages of Konoha were forever memorialized, were brightly colored paint; the paint wasn't just splashed though, it was 'artistically' applied, giving the sculpted heads rather comical faces rather than their normal stern countenance.

"NARUTO!"


Hinata had awoken to a giddy Naruto, in thought if not in presence. Still, a giddy Naruto usually meant some sort of mischief, and Hinata always looked forward to seeing what he had done.

You actually liked my pranks?

Hinata knew that this mind connection thing was a very likely occurrence, but it would take some time to get used to. Grinning, and sending a confirmation back to Naruto into her mind, Hinata went to get ready for the day. It was quite unusual to see what Naruto did in her mind – Painting the Hokage monument? – and she nearly lost it at the breakfast table with her father and sister there.

Her father gave her but a quick glance, which from him was akin to someone else gaping at her near lack of decorum, but her sister missed the entire thing. It was taking all her willpower not to give into Naruto's full-blown grin, even as she ate her breakfast. In fact, it was taking all she had not to eat like Naruto too. There seemed to be all sorts of side-effects to the ritual she had done that she hadn't been able to properly appreciate the days before.

Her father set down his empty bowl with barely a sound, signaling he was finished and was about to address his two daughters. Hanabi was quick to finish off one last bite before she was done just as Hinata herself smiled, nodded and continued to finish off her meal. Hanabi almost lost her composure at the elder sister. Her father didn't even twitch, but she could tell he flexed a bit. She had done the unthinkable.

Still, nothing was said till she too put down her bowl. Her father's mouth twitched. Dutifully assuming her listening pose, Hinata smiled serenely, nothing amiss.

"As you are undoubtedly aware," Hiashi started, "Hinata is to be assigned to her team today. I expect you to uphold Hyuuga traditions and honor in conjunction with your new team. Afterwards, I expect you to be diligent coming back, as to meet your prospective fiancé. Is that understood, Hinata?"

Jackass.

Hinata kept her face perfectly neutral. She didn't want to meet whomever her father picked but unless something came up, she knew she would be unable to put this off. She already had several times before. Outright disobedience to the head of the clan was unheard of –

Totally should.

- but she would just nod and figure out what to do later. After all, he just asked if she understood, not if she was actually going to do so.

Wow, you're more devious than I thought! Go Hinata!

It's all because of you, Naruto. Hinata had to suppress the urge to giggle, though she had the feeling Naruto understood anyways. Her father stared at her for a second longer than he had to, before he too nodded.

"Good. We shall discuss your teammates and teacher as well. Dismissed."

As Hinata got up to leave, she noticed her sister getting up to follow. She wondered when she would try and talk to her, and doing so right before or during her changing into her ninja outfit seemed like the best time it seemed. Not changing strides at all, she left for her room, wondering what she should tell her sister. Too much would ruin everything while too little would have her sister investigating, something else to be avoided.

How much is enough?

As Hinata considered Naruto's thoughts, she and Hanabi had reached the entrance to her room. Hinata was moving on autopilot as she slid open her door and entered her Spartan room, Hanabi trailing in after her.

"So, did you do it?" Hanabi queried, sitting on Hinata's bed.

Hinata ignored her as she took off her robes and got out her gear. Once she started putting on the items in question Hanabi seemed to have figured out she wasn't going to answer. Hanabi narrowed her eyes.

"Well? Did you?"

Insistent, isn't she?

Hinata gave an internal smile to Naruto even as she turned towards Hanabi when a thought struck her. Naruto, when did you know words like insistent?

"Yes, sister, I did."

"And?"

I, uh, think I got it from you. We're sharing more than just thoughts, I think.

"You were right, it was good for me." I'm glad, I guess? It's all too surreal…

Tell me about it. "Tell me about it."

The weird echo of Hanabi and Naruto gave Hinata a sense of displacement. She quickly shook it off.

"Not now, I'm going to be late. I'll tell you some more later, ok?"

"Alright, just remember that I'll be waiting." And with that final pronouncement, Hanabi left Hinata's room, just as Hinata finished putting on her gear. Time to see what team she would be in.

I hope it's with Naruto.

Hinata could just feel Naruto really warm up to her with that thought.


As Naruto sat with his head facedown on a desk in a classroom at the academy, he thought of just how awesome shadow clones were. In fact, he knew that they were giving everyone in the village the runaround even as his classmates trickled in, talking about the Hokage monument. Hinata was bemused as she was heading to the classroom, noting how the other ninjas were getting more and more frustrated with each caught and dispersed clone.

"Naruto, what are you doing here? This room is only for those who graduated the exam."

Naruto glanced up at Shikimaru Nara, whose black hair giving his head a passing resemblance to a pineapple, before pointing at his headband and grinning. Shikimaru in turn murmured something Naruto wasn't quite able to make out, but he had a feeling he knew what it was anyways. Naruto could tell something was bothering the lazy boy, but he didn't know what. He was one of the few who would sometimes actually be something akin to friends with, but even then, it was a stretch to do so. The boy really just hung out because he couldn't be bothered to go away.

And as he watched Shikimaru leave, he noticed Sakura Haruno, a girl whose bright pink hair and red dress caught the eye nicely, come in. Right then, he felt a pang. Several conflicting emotions roiled, some not his own, but they fought and only years of habit made him wave hi to her. Jealousy, envy, hope, desire and more all fought in his head, heart and guts. Hinata, who came in right behind her, almost lost it herself. Only when she had sat down at the same time Naruto was pushed out of his seat did their emotions settle down. Neither had really realized what Sakura meant to either of them till now.

Oh, man, I'm sorry Hinata, I didn't realize…

Oh Naruto, I'm sorry! I…

Both blushed, but thankfully no one noticed either one. Hinata faded from everyone else's thoughts even as Naruto shook his head and glared at Sasuke Uchiha, a dark, broody classmate (whom most of the girls in the class had a huge crush on, including Sakura, but not as he had found out, Hinata), before finding another seat, careful to find another seat. He (and a couple others who noticed the unusual behavior at this point) blinked, realizing he avoided confronting Sasuke, an impulse he surely would've done before…

This time his blush was noted by several people, even as Iruka burst into the door, staring bewilderly at Naruto for a second before regaining his composure. Shaking his head, he moved towards the teacher's desk, a couple sheets of papers clutched in his hands, letting the rambunctious fan girls fight for a moment longer, even as others were quickly quieting down and some noting Naruto's odd behavior.

"Alright class! QUIET DOWN! Thank you," Iruka began. "Now that you have all graduated…"

Iruka's monologue almost put Naruto to sleep, and he only didn't because Hinata kept prodding his mind. At least he felt he could keep things like how important teamwork was and an ear out for his name once Iruka said he was going to read the team formations out.

Oh Naruto, I hope we get to be on the same team.

Naruto sighed, now knowing how much someone else wanted him, and while he wanted her to be on his team too, he couldn't help but want Sakura as well. He felt a slight twinge from Hinata at that, but he couldn't help it. At least they both agreed that they didn't want to be on the same team as Sasuke.

"Naruto Uzumaki-"

There it was! His name! And he totally missed what his team number was, much less his teammates! No, Hinata had that information-

"Sakura Haruno-"

Naruto felt a guilty pleasure and a stab of disappointment. He didn't outwardly react due to the conflicting emotions once more settling in the pit of his stomach. Sakura's reaction was expected, and everyone was giving Naruto concerned glances as he wasn't behaving normally. Iruka and Shikimaru were especially careful to note this information, though Shino did keep it in mind as well.

"And Sasuke Uchiha."

Naruto actually did groan out loud, even as Sakura cheered, as almost everyone else felt relieved at Naruto's return to normal behavior. They felt that Naruto was probably just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Hinata felt crushed, even as they both let Naruto physically show their disappointment. Iruka was the only one to note Hinata's disappointment. Too late for him to even see about getting a team change; maybe he could let them know that they could eventually get a team change? It would take some political maneuvering though, among other things. Something to come back to and consider, at any rate.

"Your jonin instructor will be Kakashi Hatake. Team 8 will be Hinata Hyuuga, Shino Aburame-"

Naruto snuck a glance at the quiet Aburame. He didn't know much about him except he tended to keep to himself and that he hid himself behind his clothes.

"And Kiba Inuzuka."

Naruto at least knew Kiba better, for they occasionally hung out as well. Kiba and his puppy, Akamaru (whom he acquired halfway through their years in the academy), were both energetic and carefree. Kiba also fancied himself a bad boy, and dressed accordingly. Or at least, as Kiba saw how one should dress at any rate. Naruto didn't think that a jacket that beige presented such an image.

"Your jonin instructor will be Kurenai Yuuhi. Team-"

I'm sorry Hinata.

Don't be, it's not your fault, Naruto. We can't control this.

But-

At least we still have this, ok? It will be alright.

Naruto doubted that, but Hinata did have a point. At least with two teachers (not that they would let others know about their unusual arrangement) they could become better much faster! Naruto already could tell, as Hinata had his shadow clones and he had her taijustu and teachings. He felt there was a slight discrepancy, but Hinata didn't mind or care. It was a bit weird from time to time, he felt. He wouldn't trade it for the world though.


Hinata felt Naruto's frustration even as she finished introducing herself to her new team. Apparently, Naruto was still waiting for his teacher. Hinata began to wonder about Naruto's new teacher. It didn't seem like he was going to be a very good one. At least Kurenai, as she insisted she be called, seemed to be off to a good start. Both of her teammates (and Kiba's dog) gave her strange looks after being in close quarters for a bit. But Kurenai's outfit was even more eye-catching and her red eyes seemed to pin them down before anything came of it.

Can their clan stuff help them tell what happened to us?

I don't think it's that… maybe they can smell you on me?

Both Hinata and Naruto seemed nervous about this. It wasn't often that young ninjas would have already had sex, and it was something easy to distinguish. At least the two probably wouldn't know exactly what they were sensing, they hoped.

"Alright, now that we have that out of the way, it's time for your final test!"

Wait, what?

Hinata felt her stomach dropping. They thought they were done with this stuff!

"All you have to do is find and touch the real me. All of you. You have till sunset. Ready? Begin!"

Hinata realized she missed most everything else inbetween the announcement and the start of the test. She turned to the others, her mouth working soundlessly. Kiba didn't seem to be much better, but Shino just shook his head.

"The obvious ploy is to examine our compatibility."

"Uh, what?"

Hinata bit her lip, understanding dawning on her. She almost told Kiba what Shino meant, but instead she just decided to show by example.

"Shadow Clones!"

Hinata felt that more than just her chakra was being used, but before she could follow that thought further, she realized that her teammates were looking at her in surprise and awe.

She blushed.


Naruto cheered in his mind as Hinata and her teammates completed their test, even after the initial surprise of Hinata pulling off that jutsu. Apparently, she didn't need to do as much work to learn the technique, as he did it for the both of them. He hoped it worked the other way around as well; it seemed to be very useful. At least his connection with Hinata kept most of the boredom of waiting for his new teacher away, but he still had to set up a simple prank.

It was as Hinata let him know that she was going to head home and report to her father that his teacher walked in – and got a face full of chalk. His teammates were openly staring in shock, even as Naruto laughed at the masked jonin. He could tell Hinata was also giggling, even as he noted how the teacher's one eye closed in annoyance.

"I hate you all. Meet up on the roof."

And with just two sentences, he was gone. Not that Naruto cared. He already knew what was coming, and agreed with Hinata that he should say as little as possible. Sasuke was the first to actually reach their destination, but Naruto hadn't noticed. He was too busy going over with Hinata on what he should say. He didn't want to let anything slip by accident.

Though he doubted Kakashi would do the final test tonight. Not this late.

He better hope he's not late again.

Kakashi shivered.


A/N: Thank you HandsomeFoxwood! Those are great points, and I should've totally put something like that in the first chapter as notes. Oh well, at least you nailed the argument better than I ever could.

I just hope I can actually write fight scenes, as so far I kept scrapping every single one I've thought of. Maybe next chapter I'll have something with fighting. Bleh.

Thanks for your reviews, and enjoying the story!