BOOK 1: Chuunin Exams

Chapter 8

I was late because The Black cat caught 5 fat fish and a Crimson Fox.

After a heavy, uncomfortable silence, the group began to walk again, Naruto leading for some reason.

When night fell, the group camped a good distance off the road, spreading out 3 tents, 1 for Sakura, 1 for Sasuke and Naruto and 1 for Tazuna and Kakashi. Kakashi pulled together 3 massive logs before setting them in a big triangle while Sakura was off collecting twigs and such for a fire and Sasuke was catching fish. Naruto was bored, so was Asta. Currently, Naruto would be considered daydreaming as he sat in his mind realm and played checkers with Asta, when suddenly she jumped up with a smile, and he raised an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked cautiously.

Asta's smile broader. "Well, who knows when our next chance to have a bath will be, and there is a river just near by…"

Naruto sighed. " Fine, but when we get there, YOU can have a bath. I don't like cold streams."

As Naruto opened his eyes, he stood up and stretched, before heading in the direction of the rather slow running river where he took off his clothes and jumped in, but just before he touched the water, he was surrounded by a smokescreen and, with a splash, a crimson bikini wearing Asta disappeared under the water.

Coming back up, she took in a deep breath and smiled, doing a few backstrokes and floating around. The smoke was still there, but it was more like a cover. She began floating on her back and grabbed hold of a rock that was sticking out of the bank, so as not to float away.

Suddenly feeling drowsy, she blinked lightly, not quite asleep, yet neither awake, she'd recently done 3 double S-ranked missions and was rather tired.

Sasuke, farther up the river in a long clearing, had just finished catching 5 big fat fish and was carrying them back to camp when he noticed a light screen of smoke coming from where the clearing met the forest again, further down river.

Instantly curious, he followed the river, and was surprised by what he saw.

Asta's eyes shot open when a footstep sounded on the bank next to her, jumping up she drew 10 senbon, from god knows where, but stopped when she saw a shocked Sasuke.

"A…Asta? What are you doing here? Where's Naruto?" he stammered, before quickly putting up his usual mask of uncaringness.

Asta scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Oh… Um… Well… You see…" She sighed. "Me and Naruto are actually the same person."

Sasuke blinked, "Oh, okay the- WHAT!?"

Asta flinched. "Well, its really complicated, but basically Naruto never existed, he was just a Henge, and I was the one casting it." She said as Sasuke flopped down on his ass.

"… Uh Huh…" Sasuke said, pinching the bridge of his nose lightly as the girl continued.

"…So I would Henge as Naruto every now and then, and I did it so much that there's like a chibi Naruto running around in my head..." She said.

"…Uh Huh…."

"…And you can't tell anyone 'cos I would personally make your life a living hell." She finished with a smile.

Given a few minutes, after all the information was filed and categorized in Sasuke's mind, he smirked. "Of course I wouldn't."

Suddenly, a voice called out, sounding like Kakashi, and then one from Sakura. Asta quickly Henge'd into something more suitable, a red with black flames Kage cloak with a black jounin vest and the normal, but black, ninja pants with red sandals.

As Kakashi rounded the corner of a tree, he was expecting to find Sasuke and Naruto, not Sasuke and ASTA! So he blinked, then he raised an eyebrow. "Asta?"

"Hey 'Kashi." She said with a smile, which he couldn't help but smile back to, even though it was hidden, he also didn't fail to notice a strange look in the Uchiha's eyes.

"So, what are you doing here?" He asked.

"Well, Naruto was needed on another mission and so I, being the fastest Nin available, took up the job of replacing him." She said, before bending slightly into the friendly hug of Sakura.

"Well, We'll have to rearrange the tenting order, Sasuke with Tazuna, Sakura by herself, and Asta with me, Ne?" He said with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

Asta smiled, "No way Kakashi, I'm not that easy. I'll bunk with Sakura, you two oldies can sleep together and Sasuke can be a loner, mmk?" She raised an eyebrow, and with a resigned sigh Kakashi, and everyone else, agreed.