Author's Note: Again, I really do appreciate the feedback, and I'm sorry to the fans that feel disappointed that the story got serious, well the only thing I can say is that I didn't want this to just be crack so I tried to make the storyline interesting as possible, but nevertheless there will be crackish moments in this story.

Anyways this is a transition chapter which will (hopefully) help people understand more of who Naruto really is. Plus it will hopefully explain some confusion in regards to Sakura's newfound infatuation with him.

Oh yes, before you begin...

WARNING! WARNING! SITUATIONS OF UTTER CRAKISH CRAZINESS MAY CAUSE SEIZURES!

... you have been warned...

Chapter Seven: About a Boy

Naruto really wanted to hate Konohagakure. Yet, as he walked through the streets of the village, he couldn't help but admire the clear cloudless sky, the lush green vegetation, and the tall, well-structured buildings. After his team was assigned the mission to Uzushiogakure, the Hokage had given them a day to prepare their belongings for the trip. However, the boy felt confused.

His family secrets were kept away from him his entire life, and out of nowhere, he was given a golden ticket to actually discover who he was. He didn't know whether to be happy, or confused, so he just settled to reserve any judgement until he actually visited the ruins.

That being said, he felt utterly grateful he could go home and rest for once. Seriously, his body was killing him.

"I'm gonna sleep soooo ha-"

"BOOOOORRRRREEEED!" The sudden groan of irritation caused the blonde to pause in the streets.

"What?"

"Your pondering is more annoying than watching paint dry..."

Naruto's eye twitched as he gave a sigh, resuming his trek to his house. "I love you too."

The great beast gave another moan."Why don't you do something interesting?"

"Why don't you imagine yourself a playmate?"

The fox frowned, looking down at the ground in defeat. "... I can't."

"Sucks."

"Well," It seemed offended. "You seem cranky."

The blonde gave a sigh. "I just want to lie down and read a book." His response was met with a snort.

"Those things you read aren't books. They are torture devices..."

"You smoking something!? They are great Sunday reads!"

The Biju shook its head, opening its mouth as a it recited a verse like a robot. "Energy Czars and Hot Boxes: Appropriate Energy Matching Using Second-Law efficiency and SolarDynamics..." Its voice returned to normal. "That is not a 'Sunday read'."

"You kidding! I just nerdgasm'd!"

"..."

"What?"

"..." The blonde heard a light sobbing from within his mind.

"What?"

"Why do all of my containers have to be so weird!"

"Well-" Naruto's eyes suddenly widened as he felt a familiar chakra signature approaching, fast. "My ninja senses are tingling..." He crouched into a fighting stance.

*Tap* *Tap* *Tap*

The sound of feet reached the shinobi's ears. Naruto turned his head to the side, a green bullet approaching him at break-neck speeds.

Before the green blur smashed into the blonde however, the blonde's hand glowed with an array of heavenly-blue seals.

The green rocket was five feet away.

A poof of smoke erupted from the blonde's palm.

A sandal-clas foot was five inches away from smashing into his nose.

A two-and-a-half-foot long object enshrouded in smoke appeared in Naruto's hand, while a cool, fearless look encompassed his face.

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!" A particular youthful voice reached his ears, the sandal-clad feet a mere two inches from breaking his nose.

"Think again!" Naruto swerved his head to the side, the foot brushing by his ear as he smashed the smoke enshrouded object into the figure, earning a 'oof' as the green shroud was blasted into a nearby fence.

"Guh!' a resounding thud was heard as the figure's back connected with hard wood. However it hardly damaged the attacker as he brushed him-self off, shaking the dust out of his stylish bowl-cut.

"Yosh!" Naruto covered his eyes from his foe's blinding white-smile. "As expected of my eternal rival!"

The blonde gave a sigh, shaking his head as he heaved the long object onto his shoulder, the smoke lifting to reveal a wrench.

The world's largest, sexiest, manliest wrench. It was so manly, that it's mere presence seemed to stun all who saw it, making them feel as if their estrogen levels were too high.

Lee could only admire the object with wide eyes, his thoughts vaporized by the wrench's outright sexiness.

"N-Naruto-san! What is that!"

Naruto blinked. "You mean this?" He pointed to the object on his shoulder.

"Yes!" The young Genin nodded enthusiastically. "In all my youthful years, never have I seen something so masculine!"

"Oh," the blonde scratched his head in confusion, unphased by his object's sheer, radiant masculinity. "This is my wrench."

"A wrench?" the Genin asked, bewildered.

The blonde froze, his jaw agape. "You don't know what a wrench is?"

"Forgive me for my unyouthful ignorance." Lee bowed.

"You sad, sad man." Naruto shook his head. "I'll tell you later." He straightened his posture. "What do you want to challenge me in now?" He sighed. Lee had been challenging him from time to time in all sorts of odd-contests since Naruto had beaten him.

Lee gave another bow. "At first I was going to challenge you to a battle of masculinity..." He looked down at the ground. "But it seems I have already lost."

"Huh?" Naruto was confused again.

"But if I may ask my rival? How long have you had that magnificent object?" He admired the wrench in awe.

Naruto suddenly beamed. "Oh! I've always had it! I use it to fix things up around the apartment!"

"I see..." Lee looked down in the ground, adopting a look of contemplation. Naruto suddenly got extremely worried, this meant one of two things: a "hip new challenge" or a "youthful" proclamation.

He seriously hoped it was the latter.

"Yosh!" The green beast jumped up in exuberance. "I will bathe with sandpaper in hope of increasing my masculinity!"

The boy ran off in a burst of dust, leaving a very relieved Naruto.

"Thank god!" In another poof of smoke his trusty wrench returned into his hand.

Naruto smiled as he lay in the relaxing comforts of his bed.

"Ahhh..." He was in bliss, his muscles sighing in relief.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

"Gah!" The blonde shouted in contempt, throwing the sheets off the bed, marching off to the door. As soon as he got to it, he opened it, his fangs bared.

"WHO IS IT!?" He screamed.

"Eep!" Sakura jumped up in the air.

"... Oh, it's you." Naruto's eye twitched. "What do you want?"

"Ummm..." She put her hands behind her back, looking away, silent. To most it would have been a cute gesture, but it just irritated the blonde.

"Okay seriously. We have a mission tomorrow! What could you possibly need right now?" There was a visible vein threatening to pop out of his neck.

"I kinda wanted to ask you out..." The girl trailed off, blushing.

Naruto's frustration faded, leaving a look of confusion. "Sakura..." He sighed. "Come in then..." He opened the door for her, watching in amusement as the girl skipped in.

"Thank you!' she chirped.

"Yeah, don't mention it. Just sit down, and let me get some orange juice." He walked into the kitchen as the girl sat on his couch.

"Interesting." The girl looked around the living room. It was rather clean, much to her surprise, almost shockingly so. In fact, it was too clean. It caused the girl to get up to further inspect it.

At first glance the room wasn't too unusual, two opening on either side leading into the kitchen and the bedroom. A TV, couch, coffee table, but the interesting thing was the bookshelf in the corner of the room. It was interesting because of the sheer size of it, the fact that everything was alphabetized, and the subject matter of the books.

"I didn't know he was into this stuff." She pulled one of the books out, blinking at the absurdly over-the-top title.

"...Large grain Ge growth on amorphous substrates for CMOS back-end-of-line integration of active optoelectronic devices..." She shook her head, flipping through it. "This is insane..." the types of mathematical equations and concepts boggled Sakura's mind.

She honestly couldn't even begin to understand this, or even the extra set of handwritten notes with the Naruto's handwriting. However it begged the question, who was Naruto, really?

She carefully put the book back, pulling out a red-covered, more approachable one.

"How to Win Friends and Influence People..." she noticed that there was a book mark only a few pages in, as if the boy had just started reading it.

"Like what you see?" She felt a hand her shoulders and a hot breath in her ear, causing her heart-beat to rise. Naruto was so close, she could practically feel him pressed up against her.

"U-umm, yes." Her cheeks had gotten incredibly flushed.

"Cool!" Naruto let the girl go, grinning like a madman.

The girl in turn turned around, the book still in hand. "Well..." she coughed slightly.

She saw a glass of fresh orange juice thrust into her face, causing her to blink. She had forgotten about it. "Oh, thank you." she took it in hand, still holding the book in the other. "So..." she took a long sip. "I didn't take you for a reader."

She saw Naruto chuckle. "Alot of people don't. But after a few hours of TV, you can get pretty bored." She seemed to accept this with a nod.

The girl downed the drink, finishing the glass before walking to the couch and setting down her glass.

She honestly had nothing else to say, so an awkward silence permeated the air for a few minutes, even though to the two it felt like hours. Finally Naruto broke the silence.

"Sooo..." He walked to the couch, sitting to the side of the girl. "Would you be willing to answer one question?"

"Uhhh, sure." She nodded slowly.

"Why do you suddenly like me all of the sudden?" He directed an inquisitive look at her.

She directed her eyes away, having trouble looking at him. "Well..." she felt herself choking on her words, before she finally willed herself to let it out. "It's because..." She mumbled the end softly.

"Huh?" he blinked. "I didn't hear you."

"I felt bad for treating you badly before, I didn't know what you felt like until you actually made me realize how much of a jerk I was... but that didn't make me like you..." she had a blush on her face.

Naruto adopted a stoic expression, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's because you think I'm sexy." How he said that with a straight face, nobody would ever know.

"H-huh!" She did an amazing impersonation of a tomato. "N-no!" She stopped. "I mean y-yes, bu-" Her words were an incomprehensible mess, causing Naruto to laugh.

"H-hey! Stop that!" She spluttered, her cheeks burning.

"Haha! Sorry!" He smiled. "So as you were saying." He gestured for her to continue on.

"... I don't feel comfortable going on..." she looked away.

"Oh come on, don't be like that." He frowned. The girl paused, not looking away. She really, really didn't want to speak, however she was in the blonde's house, and he did just give her a glass of orange juice; it was her favorite drink. She supposed she could try telling him, it wouldn't hurt. After all, she had been an incredible jerk to him in the past.

"Fine." She sighed, steeling her self to continue on. "I guess it's because I realized what I was missing..."

Naruto nodded, grinning. "Because I'm sexy."

Sakura's eye twitched. "Get over yourself!" she looked away. "That's only half-right..." she mumbled softly.

"You admitted it!" He gave a hearty laugh.

She waited until he was done, a firm pout plastered on her face.

"You done?" She asked firmly

"Yeah, my sides hurt." He wiped away a tear.

"Good." She grunted, before suddenly realizing what she would say. "I guess it's because I admire you." She looked away.

Naruto stared.

He blinked.

He scratched his head.

Did he just hear that right?

"Wait... what?"

"You're kind, intelligent, and quite honestly, the most talented person I've ever met." She blushed again. "Also, you're not trying so hard to be noticed, as mean as that sounds, and it kinda allows your other, dare I say.." she had a playful grin on smirk on her face. "...endearing qualities to show up." she finished before looking away again. Naruto's mouth was agape, unable to process the words the pinkette said.

"I lied to you." He interceded, still confused. "Like the entire time I knew you, I lied to you." He was scratching his head.

"Well I kinda gave you multiple concussions, so I think we're even." She smiled softly, before scratching her cheek. "Or at least I gave that clone multiple concussions."

Naruto chuckled. "Okay I can live with that." He leaned back into his couch.

She blinked. "...Huh?"

"I find your support for your sudden attraction to me appealing and sensible. Though I would like more detail on those 'endearing qualities' I can live for now." She seemed to accept this with another nod, before opening her mouth.

"So can I ask a question myself?" she rested her head in her hands, a twinkle in her eyes.

Naruto shrugged. "Shoot."

"What do you do on your free time?"

Naruto blinked, sitting up straight. "Well... I do pretty much whatever."

Sakura frowned. "Sorry?"

"I mean, I do anything that interests me: read books, practice jutsu, make new seals, build stuff, whatever."

Sakura quirked her head. "'Build stuff'?"

"Yes, I make things." He nodded, as if that was normal for a ninja.

"What type of things?"

"Well, I made a pool in the apartment."

Sakura opened and closed her mouth. "Wait, you have a pool in your apartment?" she looked around, not noticing anything out of the ordinary. "I don't see a pool."

Naruto grinned. "Do you know where the separation between this apartment and the apartment next door is?"

Sakura shook her head.

"Well..." He put his hand on the wall behind the couch. "You're gonna love this." An array of seals blossomed from his hand across the wall.

Sakura blinked, her jaw going slack.

"And now, release!" The complex array of symbols glowed an intense heavenly light, before dying down, the wall slowly dematerialized piece by piece, as if disassembled by heavenly hands.

"W-what the heck!" Before she even finished the sentence, the slab of concrete had disappeared.

"Ahh, space-time seals!' The blonde laughed. "Gotta love them."

The girl didn't even pay attention to his words, her mouth going slack as she looked at the secrets the wall revealed. Indeed, there was a pool, a decently deep apartment sized pool, immersed in a solid white-tiled room complete with a ladder and a small hexagonal shaped mini-pool that bubbled with steam.

"A hot tub too!" She rubbed her eyes. "This can't be real! You just vaporized a wall and made a pool appear out of thin air!"

"Well no... it's been there for a couple of years actually."

Sakura stared at the blonde dumbly. "Why?"

He shrugged. "I get bored! Plus there was nobody using that room, so I did some redecorating." He finished with a nod of self-approval.

"By making a pool!" She flailed her arms wildly. "How?"

"Very carefully." He summarized, still having that stupid grin on his face.

"..." She looked at him long and hard, for what seemed like hours before shaking her head and giving a sigh. "So..." She massaged her temples, adopting another look of interest. "You swim?"

"Of course!" He grinned. "You didn't think I got so sexy by just sitting on the couch all day did you?"

"No comment..." She chuckled a bit. Naruto really was the most interesting person she ever met in her entire life. To think... he was an engineer. Who would have known? She quickly banished her thought however and looked at the pool again. "Soooo, can I take a dip."

"Nope." He held out a hand to the area where the wall used to be, his hand glowing dimly with chakra as the concrete slab materialized back into existence.

"Awww." She pouted. "Why?"

"Because, I'm tired." He finished, stretching his arms and giving a loud yawn.

"Oh..." A tinge of guilt struck the girl's chest as she finally noticed the dark circles under the blonde's eyes. She suddenly moved to get up before the boy grabbed her arm.

"Wait..."

"W-what?"

"Do you want the book?"

"Huh?" the girl noticed the hard-back piece of work still clutched in her hand. "Oh yes..." She scratched her cheek. "Umm..."

"You can have it, I don't mind, I've read it several times already." It was a lie, and she knew it.

"Oh thanks, but..." She looked it over. "How come you're reading something like this?"

There was a grim smile on his face. "Let's just say, a friend gave it to me a while back and I decided to look through it."

The girl paused for a moment, utterly baffled by that statement. "Friend?"

"Yes." He nodded.

"Who?" She quirked her head.

"Yes."

"Their name is 'Yes'?" She asked innocently, causing the blonde to chuckle.

"Very funny."

The girl smiled sweetly back, giving a v-sign. "I try, I really do."

This caused the blonde to smile back, before adopting a thoughtful position. "You know Sakura, you aren't as bad as I thought you to be." At first the girl blinked, before giving him a confused look. "You're a lot less, for the lack of a better word, clingy than I expected."

"Well..." she smiled. "I decided to change my paradigm."

"Why now? You were clinging on to me like a jacket going out of style."

"Well, you aren't as one-dimensional as I thought."

"Oh?" He furrowed his eyebrow.

"You're a genius, and an engineer. Plus you're like a puzzle," She began walking towards him. "I want to solve you."

Naruto was stunned, his jaw agape. "H-huh?"

The girl suddenly kissed him on the cheek before walking away. "Thanks for the date!" she waved and shut the door, taking the book.

Naruto sat frozen, still blinking.

"Oh you are so her bitch." The fox's voice boomed from within the cage.

"You know..." Naruto began, collecting himself. "You're the animal here..."

"Naruto?" The fox growled testily.

"Yeeeees?" Naruto asked in a sing-song tone, satisfied with his comment.

"Nobody loves you."

"Well, considering what just happened..."

"NOBODY!"

To be continued...

Yeah pretty short, sorry for that, just wanted to give you guys a little treat because It's been awhile. Anyways, here it is!

Also, because this is so short. I GIVE YOU AN OMAKE!

The Twenty Reasons why you shouldn't be a Ninja by The Utterly Fabulous Jiraiya

Parents, you should think twice before sending your kids out to the academy to be a Shinobi. Because honestly, we're freaking prostitutes! In fact! Here's why!

1. You work very odd hours.

2. You are paid a lot of money to keep your client happy.

3. You are paid well but your pimp gets most of the money.

4. You spend a majority of your time in a location of your client's choosing.

5. Creating fantasies for your clients is rewarded.

6. It's difficult to have a family.

7. You have no job satisfaction.

8. Your client always wants to know how much you charge and what they get for the money.

9. Your pimp encourages a 'hobby' and you become addicted to drinking to ease the pain of it all.

10. When you leave to go see a client, you look great, but return looking like hell.

11. You are rated on your "performance" in an excruciating ordeal.

12. Even if you get paid the big bucks, it's the client who walks away smiling.

13. The client always thinks your "cut" of your billing rate is higher than it actually is, and in turn, expects miracles from you.

14. Your pimp seems to often abuse you, forgetting that without you, he would not have a business.

15. You do all the real work, but the pimp has a higher status and more money, and really just has to "coordinate" the work for you. Sometimes, you wonder if you could just make more money pimping out yourself.

16. You get so brainwashed into the lifestyle, that you don't realize that life can be better, until it is too late.

17. Personal time, or a work/life balance, is meaningless to your pimp, all he cares about is satisfying the clients, despite how many times he tells you he loves you.

18. After a few years, you find that all your non-prostitute friends are no longer your friends, because you lost touch and your schedule and lifestyle was difficult to manage. Now you find that you associate primarily with other prostitutes.

19. The turnover rate is ridiculously high. Everyone thinks they can do it for a few years, no problem, but after just a few clients railing you, many break under the pressure, or quit for a better life.

20. Many toys that are used for the job that are either cheap and disposable, or horrendously expensive, are all very likely to get lost in each and every job, which would then likely need to be replaced at full price for the next job.

And that my dear parents, is why you should think two, three, four and five times before sending your child to the academy.

Cheers!

-Published by the Ninja Times

Again, tell me your thoughts in a review! I appreciate all feedback! Also I make it a point to respond to every single one!

So again, please review!

Storm Out.