Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

...

The walk to Wave was a steady one as team seven and team eight pressed on as a group, the clients passing jokes back and forth with one another. "I never thought of using sake as a broth for ramen, I wouldn't think that it would work," said Naruto as he listened to Tazuna's suggestion. He lifted his shoulder lightly as he adjusted his pack, the large object bigger than the ramen chef was yet he carried it with ease. He had explained that he had needed to take as many cooking utensils as possible which had sated the inquiries of the curious. He had been asked on several occasions why he didn't seal the overly large bag in a sealing scroll but he said that he enjoyed the feeling of weight on his shoulders.

"The whole broth doesn't have to be made of it, rather a fifty fifty split with whatever base you're already using," explained the bridge builder as he took a swig of the flask in his hand.

"The concentration would still be too high, I'll have to experiment once I get back, my clients know that I'm gone for two weeks so an extra day for 'testing' shouldn't be off the charts," said Naruto deep in thought as his foot crashed on top of one of two puddles, sending droplets of water in all directions. The rest of the group continued to move until Naruto bent down while placing his backpack on the ground, enticing everyone to look at him. "What, I'm tying my shoes what does it look like?"

The group seemed to get the message and they continued to walk on until Hinata spoke up. "Is...Isn't Naruto-kun wearing sandals?" she questioned causing the other genin to think momentarily before turning around just in time to see two ninja leap out of the two puddles in the ground and lunge at Naruto with their gauntlets poised. Before anybody could call out in warning, they watched in shock as the bladed hand pierced through Naruto's back, the claws extending through the torso until the appeared out his stomach.

"NARUTO-KUN!" screamed Hinata as Sakura could only cover her mouth in shock.

"Bastards!" cursed Kiba as he charged forward, Sasuke by his side as Shino's bugs loomed over the top of them. The three genin charged forward, forcing the two enemies back working in sync to avoid and block projectiles that Sasuke threw. With the two men away from the prone Naruto who was gasping in pain as blood leaked from his chest, Hinata rushed to his side, quickly rolling him onto his back for comfort.

"Stay with me Naruto-kun," she cried as tears formed in her eyes, tearing the sleeve off of her robe as she applied pressure to the wound in a desperate attempt to slow the blood flow. While the two Chunin mercenaries may have been able to hold their own against the three genin to a certain extent, they found themselves backed against the immovable form of Kakashi looking down on them. It was only moments later that the two assassins were tied to one another looking much worse for wear.

"Would you like to do the interrogations Kurenai?" asked Kakashi to which the genjutsu mistress nodded, stepping forward to do what she did best.

"How can you be so calm sensei, Naruto's dying!" screamed Sakura only just able to find her voice.

"That's because that is not Naruto," said Kakashi which caused all of the genin to look at him.

"But shadow clones can't bleed," said Sasuke wanting an answer.

"Then it is safe to assume that this is not a shadow clone," said Shino as the rest of his hive crawled through the sleeves of his jacket. Kakashi walked past the genin until he reached the backpack where he hit the top of it with a hard punch.

"What was that for!" shouted a voice from inside as the lid flipped open as Naruto stepped out into the light, having to shield his eyes momentarily from the sun. The genin looked in confusion back and forth from the dying Naruto and the one who had just appeared.

"Then..." said Hinata looking at the clone in her arms before it dissolved into a thick steaming pile of ramen.

"Yeah, the ramen clone's a bit dirty when he dies," said Naruto rubbing the back of his head as Hinata got to her feet in a mad rush, desperately pushing the noodles off of her robe as the broth seeped into her remaining garments.

"Dude, can you teach me how to make that?" asked Kiba as Akamaru leapt to the ground, happily picking at the free meal.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to make that thing, I had to prepare it just right for an hour before going to the Hokage tower," said Naruto as he stepped out of the backpack. "Thankfully since I didn't think we were going to be attacked I didn't add an exploding seal and tobacco sauce; trust me that's painful."

"So you were hiding in your backpack the entire time?" asked Kiba.

"Yea, I was trying to catch some shuteye after having to clean up after my house guests and I trashed the place last night. There was popcorn everywhere!" he said in an exasperated tone as he closed the lid of the backpack and slung it over his shoulder.

"So your clone noticed the trap," said Shino bringing attention back to the matter at hand. "That then raises the question as to whether or not our senseis noticed it."

"We did," said Kakashi smiling from behind his mask. "However think of this as a test of survival, even the simplest of missions can have unforeseen circumstances that can but you on guard. Hinata was the only one out of the five of you who noticed that Naruto wasn't wearing shoes, thus enabling you three to react as you did, which I have to say your teamwork was impressive."

Sakura didn't need to hear anything, having been left out of the praise she knew she had disappointed her sensei and she bowed her head in shame, realising that if the client hadn't been somebody as skilled as Naruto they would be dead. Clenching her fist tightly to the point where her nails pierced her skin, she fought desperately to prevent tears coming from her eyes. "I got the information that we needed," said Kurenai as she rejoined the group. "It seems they were after Tazuna here with do or die orders."

"Now that's interesting," said Kakashi shifting his attention to the bridge builder. "Tell me Tazuna, what secrets have you been keeping from us?"

...

Naruto stoked the fire as the moon hung high in the sky as Kakashi stood nearby on guard duty. Having known the dangers that lay ahead of them with the millionaire Gato wanting Tazuna dead, it had been Naruto's charisma which had guaranteed that the mission would continue. They had travelled for several more hours before deciding to set up camp for the night and after a hearty meal, served only as a ramen chef could, they had set up shifts and gone to bed, Kiba being the first to keep watch alongside Hinata. Hours and past and Naruto found himself unable to sleep before eventually coming outside to sit by the fire and listen to the sound of nature.

A tent opened up behind him and Naruto listened to the footsteps edge ever closer as Sakura stood behind them rubbing her shoulders nervously. "C-can I sit down?" she asked, her voice shivering in the wind.

"Go ahead," offered Naruto shuffling slightly across on the log, allowing the pink haired kunoichi to sit beside him. For several minutes neither of them talked, Sakura unsure of what to say while Naruto knew that it would be inappropriate to speak first.

"How do you do it?" she eventually asked causing Naruto to turn towards her in confusion.

"In what way, I'm not willing to share my recipes with everyone," he said defensively.

"That's not what I meant," said Sakura unable to make eye contact with the blonde despite him trying to lighten the mood.

"I know," replied Naruto as he returned to the fire, poking it harshly with his branch sending embers into the air. "I heard that you froze when my clone got stabbed and in all actuality, you were probably the one who responded most human." Only now did Sakura turn to face him as Naruto continued. "The boys reaction is what we are trained to do but their actions were predictable and had it been a higher level opponent they may not have made it out unscathed; heck even against those two Chūnin they may have been in trouble since they had no general plan. Then there was Hinata's reaction who waited for the right moment to tend to me, hence when the senseis give their evaluation they'll probably want her trained as a medic nin. What you need to look at however is where they come from. Kiba grew up in a compound where they fight one another for supremacy, Hinata grew up not knowing a mother's love and from that feels caring for those around her. Meanwhile Sasuke is continuously trying to push himself in order to gain vengeance for his family."

"What about Shino?" asked Sakura.

"I'm not sure if Aburame's are capable of showing emotion," said Naruto in thought before shaking his head. "The point is, all of these people grew up in a shinobi environment while you grew up in a civilian. The greatest battle you've fought to date is a rivalry with Ino...which you know how that's turned out," he finished awkwardly only for Sakura to look away and mumble incoherently.

"How do you know all of this information?" she asked trying to get the conversation away from Ino.

"I requested a fresh genin team for this mission, simply because if I had graduated the age I was meant to I'd be teamed potentially with one of you guys," he said with a sigh as he pulled his knees up to his chest. "When I graduated, the other genin around me were nearly twice my age, it was hard to fit in. I rose through the ranks quickly, but every time I saw you guys in the academy I couldn't help but feel sad, wondering what it would be like to be able to socialise with people my own age. I even tried to enter under a henge one time but the teachers quickly saw through it and that was the end of that. When I was told to pick a team to escort me, I went through everybody's files, I wanted to know more about you guys and try and make up for years of potential friendship. Makes you think, if I was a dumbass I still may have tried to graduate early and only end up the dead last in the end but at least I would have been around people my own age. Listen to me, you probably think I'm just a big sap or..."

Naruto didn't finish as he felt Sakura's arms wrap around him and embrace him in a hug, one which he returned with a content smile as he hugged her in return. "You don't have to change for us Naruto, you're fine just the way you are," said Sakura as she openly cried on his shoulder, Naruto's story having struck her deeply. Meanwhile Hinata who had awoken to the two talking closed the tent flap she had been peering through and hugged herself, wishing it was her in Naruto's embrace at the moment.

"Naruto-kun," she whispered as she rubbed her forearms, generating a small amount of heat that did little to comfort her.

"I'm going to help you Sakura," said Naruto as they broke contact. "I promise you that, and I never break a promise."

"Thank you," said Sakura as she wiped the remaining tears from her eyes.

"Anyways, go get some sleep, we've still got a long way to travel," said Naruto to which the kunoichi nodded as she stood up and walked towards her tent. Naruto smiled as he turned back to the fire only to once again hear the sounds of footsteps coming towards him. He turned his face only to feel a soft pair of lips caress his cheek before Sakura quickly moved back to her tent at a faster pace. Naruto rubbed the spot several times over before his smile broadened as he picked up a nearby stone and chucked it into the bushes, happy to hear a resounding crack. "You're not using this to write smut like the pervert sage!" shouted Naruto as he turned back to the fire as Kakashi put away his pen and paper, now nursing the large lump on his forehead.

...

Hope you enjoyed.

Gaiseric: You are right to a degree, however Naruto lives and works within the lawless zone, staying out of civilians way for the majority of time, the only time he mingles with the crowd is usually on his way to get supplies. One would imagine the council would be angry at him having free reign but to drag him away would be to make the lawless part of town lawful again, something they don't necessarily wish to do.

Brian Stetzel: Yeah, it didn't really make sense for Hanabi to still be partying since she is much younger and as such much more susceptible to alcohol. After all, we want to keep the characters as "real" as possible.

Orexisgrimm: Good enough to be read twice, I feel honoured.

Troutman30: Right you are good sir, right you are.

Peace out.