"Well?" Naruto insisted when he saw they were standing in the middle of the village streets. "What was it?"
She hesitated, then lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry, Naruto."
Raven's words were cut off as she was abruptly tackled to the ground by her brother. Dave snatched her up and held his arm around her neck in a headlock. Sasuke gripped Naruto's shoulder roughly and grinned, showing off his large canines, and laughed. "Ahh, do not listen to her. She is just, uh, homesick."
Dave removed his arm from around his sisters head with a sharp retort Naruto couldn't understand. She narrowed her eyes and looked away sullenly. He pushed her along the path and away from their brother and Naruto. He waited until they were out of earshot before Naruto spoke up.
"What is going on with you guys? Why are you being so secretive and sneaky?"
Sasuke didn't answer. He narrowed his eyes, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and looked up at the darkening sky. "It is getting late." He turned back to Naruto, his face cold and emotionless. "You should be heading home now."
There was a subtle edge to his voice that made Naruto shudder. He didn't wait to be told twice; without turning his back he started back to his apartment, leaving Sasuke to stare off after him.
A few days had passed and Naruto had seen no sign of Raven. He saw little of her brothers too, and whenever he tried to catch them to ask of her whereabouts they always slipped away. It was getting on his last nerve. There was so much he had to say, so much he had to get off his chest.
But Raven was still gone, and as the days passed her brothers stopped showing less of themselves too.
It was the end of the week, and a depressed and lonely Naruto was close to giving up on finding his girlfriend. Coincidentally, it was the day of the written part of the Chuunin Exams. As the students filed into the room and took their seats, Naruto sat down with his head in his hands and sighed loudly. His friends around him exchanged worried looks and tried consoling him. They kept an eye out for the three siblings, but as the doors closed there was still no sign of them. The proctor would be there any minute!
The doors creaked open and the Uchiha siblings stepped in. They still had their wild look about them, and despite their week long absence looked tired and worn out, but their clothes had changed: now they wore armor-like vests, instead of their casual sweaters. Raven no longer wore her spiked collar, and all three had their arms, knuckles and legs covered in steel plating for protection.
The room was quiet as they took their seats. Naruto cringed from a glare as Dave took a seat beside him. There was a loud shout from the hall as the doors burst open again and the proctor barged in.
"All right kiddies, this is the first part of the Chuunin Exams." He stepped in front of the room and crossed his arms behind his back. "I am Ibiki Morino and I will be your first nemesis."
Papers were passed around as Ibiki continued his speech, but Naruto wasn't paying attention. His mind was focused on the girl sitting three rows away from him. He decided to turn and sneak a peek, and was glad he did when he caught her eye, and smiled at her. She gave a small smile as Ibiki slammed his palms down on the table in front of him, snapping him out of his daze. He swallowed as Ibiki glared down at him and started the test.
For three hours the test continued. Teams were eliminated one by one as the genin slipped and were caught cheating.
It was the end of the test. Ibiki declared that the remaining genin had passed the first of the exams. There was a poof and a cloud of smoke and a woman in fish net appeared wearing a smug look on her face.
"Listen up you baby-faced maggots," she roared. "My name is Anko Mitarashi and I will be the proctor of the second part of the Chuunin exams. You may have thought part one was difficult, just wait until you get out into the Forty Fourth Battle Zone, otherwise know as the Forest of Death! You have a month to prepare for part two, so learn some new tricks, strengthen yourselves, because by the time I'm through with you you'll wish you were back here!"
The sweating Ibiki behind her cleared his throat and dismissed the remaining genin. As they filed out of the room the flash of colored hair from the Uchiha siblings caught Anko's eye. She waited until the room was clear save for the Chuunin.
"Were those. . .?"
"Uchiha's?" Ibiki suggested.
Anko nodded. "You don't think there's more to them being here just for the exams, do you?"
Ibiki started collecting the test papers. "That isn't for us to say. The Hokage seems to trust them, so we should too."
Outside the Academy his classmates struggled to catch up with him as he ran after the fleeing siblings. He got as far as Konoha's gates before losing sight. Defeated, Naruto turned back to his friends. He wasn't in any mood to socialize but he didn't want to be alone either. He kept to himself, leaning against the wooden gate with his eyes fixed on the floor. It was only once he looked up that he noticed Shino staring at him, brows furrowed and arms crossed.
They stared at each other for a while before Shino walked over and finally spoke up. "You miss her don't you."
The blond sighed and looked away. "Yeah."
Shino's face showed no expression, but his voice was low and sympathetic. "Would you like to see her?"
Naruto's eyes brightened as he looked at the bug nin. "When?"
"Tonight. At the Memorial Stone. When the moon is up." He said no more and left Naruto alone.
The remainder of the day Naruto spent his time trying to cheer himself up. By the time the moon rose his nervousness and excitement were gnawing at his chest. He combed his hair and walked as calmly as he could through the village, waving to the shinobi at the gate and proceeding to sprint the rest of the way to the Memorial Stone.
The clearing was empty, but he felt another persons presence near him. Taking a few steps he heard voices in the trees. They were quiet whispers, and stepping closer he recognized the heavy accent of the girl, and the bug nin Shino. He had her by the shirt and was growling under his breath to her in her tongue. She shouted obscenities in his face before he pushed her against the nearest tree and held her their roughly.
"Shino!"
He didn't jump or turn around. He merely ground his teeth and let the small girl go. He huffed angrily and stepped back away from her. Naruto shoved him away and embraced his friend tightly. She hugged back just as tight and whispered a few words into his chest. Naruto turned back to see if the bug nin was still there. He wasn't in sight.
Naruto sighed. "Raven, I missed you. I'm so sorry about everything."
She shook her head, not meeting his eyes. "It is fine Naruto. I am sorry as well."
He rubbed her cheek gently and pulled her closer until their lips touched, waiting as she deepened the kiss to wrap his arms around her and pull her in closer. She sighed and melted in his arms. "Naruto. . ."
Naruto hushed her and kissed her head. "Stop."
She nodded and lay her head on his chest, whispering a few words he didn't understand. "I. . . I-I'm so sorry Naruto. . ."
He stood confused as her claws pierced through the clothes on his back. "R-Raven."
There was a loud growl to his right. "Naruto get down!" He looked over in time to see Shino rip him from the girl's grasp and tackle him to the ground.
Her eyes glowed a bright blood red, her fangs and claws had grown out longer, and she yowled in rage at the boys on the ground.
Naruto shouted. "Ack Shino! What the hell is going on?!"
His words were cut off as claws pierced his flesh. He cried out in pain as his arms and legs were tied painfully to his body and gagged with a thick cloth. He was left to watch as his girlfriend wrestled to get Shino down and tie him to Naruto. She gagged him as well and stood heaving before them, growling viciously. Naruto looked up at her, pain and confusion rimmed in his eyes, screaming out muffled words that she paid no heed to. A taller man loomed over from behind them, chuckling to himself. His eyes also blazed red they noticed, as he stepped to the demon girls side.
There was a shout from the clearing and instantly the two dropped to one knee in a bow, eyes closed. He shouted out a few words and the two stood and pulled the two boys to their feet and pushed them into the clearing. Shino growled and started breathing heavily behind his gag, glaring at the man Naruto recognized as the Uchiha's uncle, Madara.
"Well well well, what do we have here," he chuckled heavily. He crossed his arms behind his back. "Get them out of my sight and do not let them get away."
There was a growl in agreement as Madara's eyes flashed red for a split second. Raven's grip on the boys tightened and they grumbled in pain as she wrenched them away, Madara watching them with resentment.
"Let us begin."
