A/N: Hello again everyone. I have had some time to write recently so hopefully there won't be a major delay before the next chapter. Not really sure what else to say… Oh, from now on I'm going to be giving little tidbits about what the next chapter is about in the closing author's notes. So yeah, there's that. As always I would like to thank everyone for reviewing, it means a lot. Please review!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Text examples:
"Hello." Biju or jinchuriki using biju's powers speaking
'Hi.' Person thinking
'Hi there.' Person speaking through mental link
'Howdy.' Biju speaking through mental link
Chapter 10: One Last Test
"We are so going to be late!" Naruko and Hinata had completely forgotten that they were supposed to get their team assignments that day and had over spelt at the Red Turtle Palace. Kurama and Aika were awakened when their door was slammed open and they heard hasty goodbyes from the two teens. Hinata and Naruko were in and out of the newlywed's bedroom so quickly that they did not even notice that the two adults were naked, something that Kurama and Aika were grateful for. Naruko had pulled a pair of scrolls out of her sleeves and arranged them the same way she did in the Hyuga Compound and with the same blue light the girls found themselves back in Hinata's bedroom. Naruko raced out of the room towards the bath as Hinata went to her closet to pull out clothes for the two to wear. They did a switch as Naruko came into the room and Hinata went to bathe. The red head got dressed and pulled out all of their ninja equipment and double checked that everything was there. Hinata came back into the room in only a towel that quickly fell to the ground so she could change. Naruko stopped dead and openly stared at her Princess. Hinata was beautiful even at thirteen and Naruko could not even begin to imagine how fantastic the girl would look once she became an adult. The thought alone almost caused the fox teen to sprout a nose bleed. As Hinata put on a bra she noticed her fox girl staring at her and she reddened considerably. She was embarrassed, but at the same time she was happy to know that she had that much of an effect on the girl. The Hyuga heir did not say anything as she put the rest of her clothes on. Naruko was still in a daze when she felt a pair of lips meet her own. The action brought the red head back to her senses and she placed a quick peck on Hinata's lips as the girl pulled away. Once they had their gear on they were out the door.
-The Academy-
Hinata and her fox girl raced out of the Hyuga Compound and into the streets. Even with short cuts they were cutting it close so they took to the rooftops to make a beeline for the Academy. Thankfully their rooftop route had paid off. The two teens made it to their classroom just as Iruka was about to walk in. He smiled at the panting girls and let them in ahead of him. Naruko and Hinata walked in to see the other seven graduates already sitting throughout the classroom. The red head took Hinata's hand and headed for some empty seats in the front of the class. Iruka looked at all of his students in turn and nodded his head slightly. He was happy that each of them had made it this far.
"I'm glad that all of you made it on time. I would hate for any of you to miss out on your team assignments." As he said this he held up a piece of paper and everyone stared at it intently. The sensei had to chuckle a little. "I'll now announce who your teammates and sensei will be. You are to wait here for them to arrive and collect you. First are Choji, Shikamaru, and Ino, your sensei is Asuma Sarutobi. Second are Shino, Hinata, and Naruko, your sensei is Kurenai Yuhi. Lastly will be Kiba, Sakura, and Sasuke. Your sensei is Kakashi Hatake." The teens looked around the room and acknowledged their new teammates, some more excitedly than others. Iruka clapped his hands loudly to gain everyone's attention again. "With this I am no longer your sensei. It has been a pleasure to teach all of you and I know that you will all do great things in the future." Iruka bowed his head and the genin returned the gesture. He raised his head and smiled before he made his way out the door. As he exited a woman with black hair walked in. Naruko and Hinata both smiled as they recognized the woman as the same Kurenai that they had met a year ago. The red eyed woman noticed them and smiled back.
"It's good to see you two again. I'm glad that I get to be your sensei." The girls both nodded their heads and stood up to stand by the woman. Kurenai nodded at them as she turned towards the rest of the genin. "Now we just need one…" The woman trailed off as she turned and saw a bushy brown haired teen standing in front of her. "I take it that you're Shino?" The boy nodded. "Alright, let's get going then. We have a busy day ahead of us." The genin nodded and followed their new sensei out the door.
-Training Ground 12-
Kurenai had led her students to the training ground assigned to them by the Hokage. The place was like many of the other training grounds. It had an open field at the entrance with many paths leading from it into a sparse forest area. There also seemed to be a decent sized hill in the distance and the jonin could hear running water, which meant a stream or river. All in all she was quite pleased with the place. She noticed a small sitting area close to the entrance and walked over to it with her team in tow. Once they were all seated Kurenai decided it was time to get things started.
"How about we start by getting to know each other? I already know a bit about each of you from your files so I'll go first. My name is Kurenai Yuhi and I'm a genjutsu specialist. I like to go out with my friends and one of my favorite foods is octopus with wasabi. You'll learn more about me as we work together. So who wants to go next?" The group looked at each other before Naruko decided to speak up.
"I guess I'll start. I'm Naruko Uzumaki, heir of the Uzumaki clan soon to be clan head, and the future Hokage! I want to revive my clan by adopting a lot of strong members into it. I like spending time with my friends and I love ramen!" Hinata giggled at the red head's statement. It was very accurate. She felt her courage rise as she thought of what to say.
"My name is Hinata Hyuga and I'm heir to the Hyuga clan. My dream is to help the branch members of my clan by removing their curse seal someday. I also like spending time with my friends and I like spicy food and cinnamon rolls." Kurenai was a bit surprised when she heard the girl's dream. It was both very compassionate and very daunting at the same time. The Hyuga's Caged Bird seal was one of the oldest edicts that were still forced upon the branch family. Many had tried before to have it removed, but no one had ever succeeded. Kurenai could not help but be impressed by the girl. After a moment of silence everyone turned towards Shino. It was finally the boy's turn.
"I am Shino Aburame, heir of the Aburame clan. I want to fight someone strong and be remembered. The reason being is that my clan is often seen as weak, but we are actually quite strong. I like to study insects because they are some of nature's greatest creatures and I like winter melon because it is sweet and good for you." The group was intrigued by the way the boy talked, it was very descriptive and to the point. Kurenai was pleased with each of their responses and had a better sense of the genin. She smiled at all of them.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all and I look forward to working with you. The only other thing I have planned for today is a test for you all to take." Naruko was a bit shocked at the news.
"I thought we were finished with tests?" The other two genin nodded in agreement. Kurenai chuckled a little.
"Well depending on how you look at things you never really stop taking tests. They just come in different forms than you all are used to. But that's beside the point right now. This will be a test of your practical skills in mock combat. And to be honest it is more of a game than a test." The genin seemed to brighten a bit at the thought. "And what I mean by that is that the winner gets a prize and the loser gets punished. The one in the middle gets left alone." Naruko was still excited about the idea of playing a game for a test. She was egger to start, but she still needed to know a few things.
"So what's the prize?" Kurenai shook her head a little as she smiled. They really were still kids at the heart of it all.
"I'll be treating the winner to dinner tonight." The red head practically launched out of her seat as she heard the answer. Shino however was more concerned about something else.
"What is the punishment?" Kurenai was about to respond, but she noticed someone approaching and smiled at them. The new comer jumped into the air and landed in the center of the seated team. She quickly drew a kunai and cut Kurenai across the cheek before she leaned over to lick up the blood from the small wound. The black haired woman did not seem to be disturbed by the action at all, but the genin grew pale at the sight. The woman stood up and faced them.
"That would be me brats." Anko had a smile on her face that would make even the devil piss his pants. The effect was not lost on the new team. Even Shino shuddered a little and he had never met the woman before. Kurenai decided to spare her students so she took the younger woman's hand and pulled Anko down to next to her. She squeezed Anko's hand to get the woman to look at her.
"Behave Anko, they're still kids." The genjutsu user turned back to her team. "What Anko means is that the loser will have to go through special training with her so that they can match the rest of the team." The group visibly relaxed at the news, but Anko was not about to let them get off easy.
"Don't look too happy, my training regime can be just as fun as my torture sessions sometimes." The group could not believe that the woman had said that with such a large grin on her face. She really was something else. Kurenai cleared her throat to get the group's attention back.
"With that being said I'll tell you the rules of the test. We will basically be playing tag, but instead of one person hunting everyone else it will be everyone hunting me." Anko eyes widened and she got a mischievous look on her face, a look that did not go unnoticed by Kurenai. "That doesn't mean you Anko." The younger woman pouted. "You have until sundown to tag me. The first one gets the prize and the second gets left alone, as for the last one, well that is really up to Anko." The genin all silently decided that they did not want to be last. Kurenai looked over at her longtime friend and the two held each other's gaze for a moment before the black haired woman turned back to her new team. "Okay let's get started." The teens went wide eyed as they saw their sensei dissolve into red petals floating on the wind. Anko just laughed at them.
"You three better get a move on, or do you all want to end up training with me?" As she finished speaking she licked the blood off of the kunai she had used to cut Kurenai with. The teens did not need to be told twice and raced off into the forest. Anko laughed again and settled down for a good show. She relaxed as she examined the hand that her friend was just holding. She did not notice the person behind her.
"So are you and Kurenai dating yet?" Anko let out a sad little laugh.
"I wish." The young woman then realized what she said and quickly turned to see a smiling Naruko standing behind her. Anko let her anger get the best of her and struck out at the girl only for her to pop into a cloud of smoke. It was a clone! Anko let out a yell in frustration.
-Somewhere in Training Ground 12-
Naruko smiled as she gained the memories from her clone and she giggled a bit when she heard Anko's yell. She would have gone straight to Hinata and told the girl what she had learned, but there were more important things than a good story at the moment, like not getting tortured. The red head refocused and began to form her plan to tag her sensei.
-Elsewhere in the Training Ground-
Once Hinata had hit the tree line she activated her Byakugan and quickly tracked down Kurenai to the small stream that was running through the training ground. The girl waited and watched. Her sensei did not seem to be doing anything and just stood there examining the stream. Hinata was beginning to formulate her plan when she noticed a small insect fly over Kurenai's head. There was a puff of smoke and the insect was replaced by Shino. The insect user fell towards Kurenai with his hand stretched out. Hinata was surprised how quickly the boy had come up with an effective plan and was expecting him to take first place when she saw the boy make contact with the woman, but as he did Kurenai dissipated into flower petals again. Hinata activated her Byakugan again and saw the woman on the other side of the stream. Shino obviously could not see her because of the genjutsu and quickly retreated back into the woods. The Hyuga teen deactivated her Byakugan and sat down on the grass. She needed to think of something good if she did not want to be last. After taking a moment to relax she activated her Byakugan and tracked down Kurenai again. The woman was far into the forest and was resting in a tree. Hinata still had her kekkei genkai active so she knew that the woman was real and not a genjutsu. The blue haired teen quickly formed a plan.
Kurenai was enjoying herself in the tree. She had set up a genjutsu that would make anyone that got close to her think that she was standing in a small clearing just a little ways away from her. The best part was that there was a pit trap set up right under where the illusion was. She decided to wait and just see what would happen. She did not fail to notice that someone was sneaking around close by. Her peace was disturbed when she heard a thunk and looked down to see a kunai sticking out of the tree with an explosive tag attached to it. Kurenai quickly got out of the tree. As she jumped clear she saw Hinata leap out of a nearby tree in an attempt to tag her. Kurenai smiled a little, proud that the girl had seen through her genjutsu. Hinata smiled brightly as she reached out and tagged the woman. The blue haired girl fell and landed on her sensei. She looked down and found that she was on top of a straw dummy that looked like Kurenai. Hinata turned as she heard rustling behind her.
"Not bad Hinata, but not good enough. The explosive tag was a surprise, but I could tell that you were sneaking up on me for a while now." Kurenai waved at the girl before she flickered away in a burst of flower petals.
-On Top of the Hill-
Naruko had been lying in wait for the last half an hour now waiting for the genjutsu user to drop her guard. The red head had been making her way up the hill when she saw the woman just standing there and panicked as she dove into some tall grass nearby. Kurenai had not moved the entire time that the red head was in the grass and Naruko was beginning to get impatient. She was about to just go over and tag the woman when an idea struck her. She made her way back down the hill and preformed her summoning jutsu. Isamu appeared from the cloud of smoke.
"What can I do for you lady Naruko?" The red head smiled at the demon and motioned for him to get closer.
"There is a woman on top of the hill and I want you to distract her for me so I can tag her." The fox was a bit surprised by the plan but nodded his head and slowly made his way up the hill. Naruko followed him and went back to her hiding spot. Isamu made it a few steps past the girl before he stopped and sniffed the air. He turned back to the fox girl.
"Lady Naruko there is no woman on this hill." The red head looked at Isamu as if he was crazy.
"Yes there is, she's right there." Naruko pointed at her sensei. The woman was right there, how could he not see her? The fox demon shook his head.
"Lady Naruko that is a dummy not an actual person, in fact there seems to be a number of explosives attached to it." The red head paled as she looked from the fox over to the dummy. Now that he mentioned it Naruko noticed that the woman was not moving at all and her sleeves were blowing slightly in the wind as if she had no arms. Naruko could not believe she had just wasted her time trying to wait for a dummy to let its guard down. In her frustration she drew a kunai from her belt and threw it at the dummy causing it to explode! The blast could be seen from all around the training ground. Isamu turned back towards Naruko.
"Lady Naruko I suggest that next time you use your other senses to aid you. I could smell the straw from the dummy and the scent of the explosives on it from here. I know your senses are not as good as mine, but they are still far better than a normal person's, though that is only if you use them." The red head looked down at her feet and nodded. Isamu let out a sigh and rested his head against the girl's shoulder. "You can do better Naruko, all you have to do is try. Now I'll be off. I trust you have learned something from this?" The fox girl nodded again, this time in determination. She was not going to fall for another trap like that again. Isamu smiled and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruko took a breath to clear her head. She closed her eyes and focused on her other senses. The red head was pleasantly surprised when she smelled the scent of lilacs nearby. She turned and opened her eyes to see her Princess quickly making her way over to the fox girl. Naruko smiled as she held out her arms for the girl and the two embraced each other. Hinata was breathing heavily and a tear ran down her face.
"I heard the explosion and I came to see if anyone was hurt, then I saw you standing here and I panicked." The blue haired girl held her fox girl tightly as Naruko kissed the girl on the cheek to comfort her.
"Hey it's alright, I'm fine. I triggered a trap that Kurenai left, that's all." Hinata nodded her head and calmed down.
"I'm sorry. I guess I overreacted." Naruko shook her head as she smiled.
"Don't worry about it. Just think of it as payback for the first time you fainted in front of me. I don't think I have ever been more frightened in my life than I was at that moment." Naruko thought back to that day at the Hyuga Compound and a sad smile formed on her face. Hinata knew what the girl was thinking about.
"I still miss her too Naru." The girls held each other silently for a moment longer before they felt someone approach. They both looked to see Shino soaking wet from head to toe. The boy looked intently at the two.
"Don't ask." The two girls swallowed their remarks and separated. A few moments passed before Shino spoke up again. "I think we may have been going about this all wrong." The other two girls looked at him and waited for him to continue. Shino let out a breath. "We've been too focused on not being last because we are afraid of Anko that at the rate we're going none of us are going to pass. I think it would be better to work together and have at least some of us pass, rather than all of us fail. It seems like the logical choice." Naruko and Hinata looked at each other for a moment and then turned back towards Shino and nodded. "Alright, if we're going to do this than I need you to both tell me what you're capable of and we can formulate a plan." The girls both agreed and told their teammate of their skills. After this was done they began working on a plan.
-Clearing in the Forest-
It was getting close to sundown and Kurenai became worried that the genin had given up and gone home. She made a quick stop at the entrance to check in with Anko and the younger woman assured her that none of the teens had left. Kurenai was pleased to hear this and did not even notice the look directed towards her ass that she was getting from Anko as she walked away. She had decided to go check some of the traps that she had set in case any of them had incapacitated one of the genin. She had made her way to a clearing and stopped when she saw something peculiar.
"What the?" In the center of the clearing were two of her dummies. One of them seemed a bit off though. As she got closer she realized that one of the dummies had been done up to look like Anko. They were arranged closely together with their face areas touching to make it look like they were kissing. Kurenai could not stop the sad sigh that left her lips at the sight as long suppressed feeling came bubbling to the surface. She shook her head as she took a step forward without realizing it and felt something snap under her foot. She looked down and immediately realized how much danger she was in. She leapt backwards as the trip wire triggered the explosive tag it was attached to and subsequently all the other tags near it as well. The explosions formed a ring around the sensei and she activated her genjutsu so that anyone watching her would think that she had dissolved into red petals. She used the cover of the falling debris to make her escape. After a few moments of running she stopped and did a once over of herself to make sure she was okay. She could not find any wounds on her body as she let out a sigh. The trap was quite a surprise, but it was clearly just set up to distract her since no one had tried to tag her. Just as she thought this several Naruko clones charged at her from nearby bushes. She drew a kunai and quickly dispatched the clones. Just as she finished up the last of them another wave came at her. She was eliminating them left and right as a cloud of smoke formed around her from all the disappearing clones. One of the clones came up behind her and she quickly cut it on the arm so she could refocus on the new clones. As soon as she turned her back she felt a few quick impacts against her legs and she dropped to her knees. She turned to see Hinata standing behind her with a cut on her arm. The girl must have transformed to look like Naruko to blend in with the clones and used her Gentle Fist to take out Kurenai's legs. The woman tried to send a burst of chakra through her legs so she could stand again, but found her chakra quickly draining. She felt something moving along her legs and looked down to see Shino's bugs there. They were draining her chakra! Kurenai heard movement and looked up in time to see Naruko and Shino appear before her and tag her at the same time. The sensei took a moment to realize that she had just been beaten. She let out a laugh.
"That was great guys, your plan was brilliant, and your teamwork was fantastic. You even managed to keep someone from coming in last. You all pass. Now someone help me up." The genin smiled brightly as they help their sensei up. Naruko offered the woman a shoulder as Shino collected his bugs and Hinata restored the use of her legs. Once Kurenai was on her feet again she did a quick survey of the genin. Shino was still a little wet from his trip into the stream and Naruko was treating Hinata's wound with care as the blue haired teen reassured the girl that she was alright. They all looked very tired but they seemed to glow a bit with their accomplishment. She really was very proud of her team. With a wave she motioned for them to follow her and they began to make their way out of the forest.
-Training Ground 12 Entrance-
The sun was just about to set and Anko was throwing some dango sticks at a tree while she waited to find out how many genin she would be training, she had hit her target every time and managed to arrange them so that they kind of resembled Kurenai. The young woman was pleased and admired her handiwork. The moment was short lived as she heard people approaching from the forest. She quickly preformed some hand signs and raised her hand to her mouth as she blew through the ring made by her fingers. A small fireball shot out and burned up the sticks. She turned to see Kurenai looking at her questioningly. Anko just shrugged her shoulders.
"What? I was bored and fire is fun." Kurenai just shook her head as she walked towards her friend. Anko turned her attention to the genin and smiled evilly. "So which one do I get?" Even though the teens were safe they still shrank a bit under the woman's gaze. She could be damn scary sometimes. The genjutsu user placed a hand on Anko's shoulder to get her attention.
"None of them actually." Anko was shocked. How had they managed that? The black haired woman noticed the confusion on her friend's face so she told her about the plan that the genin had executed and that Naruko and Shino tied for second place. Anko got a little annoyed.
"That's cheating. They should both have to train with me." Her attention turned towards the two second place teens. They grew nervous under her gaze. Kurenai rubbed the young woman's back to help her calm down. Anko relaxed and welcomed the contact, Kurenai always knew how best to handle the woman.
"They worked hard and they came out on top. They should be rewarded for that, not punished." Anko let out a sigh and nodded her head in agreement. It was times like this that made the younger woman realize why she had never been chosen to be a sensei. Kurenai stopped rubbing the woman's back and turned towards her team. "Since you all did so well today I'll treat all of you to dinner." The genin brightened at the news and Naruko let out a little cheer at the thought of getting free food. Anko turned and looked at the older woman, she wanted to ask something, but could not get the words out. Kurenai smiled at her as she moved next to her friend and placed an arm around her waist. "You can come too Anko." The woman smiled brightly and quickly took Kurenai into a hug. The genjutsu user let out a noise in surprise as Anko picked her up off her feet and spun around with her.
"You're the best Kurenai!" Naruko and Hinata giggled a bit before the exchanged knowing glances. After a few spins Anko put Kurenai back on the ground and ran off laughing. Kurenai recovered and motioned for her team to follow her as she took off after Anko. The group caught up to the young woman at a restaurant and they were all pleasantly surprised when they learned that Anko had already gotten a table for them. They all enjoyed their time together as they ate and laughed at the stories told by the genin of their failed attempts to tag their sensei. As the night grew darker the group eventually said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Shino headed home, Kurenai and Anko headed for a bar, and Naruko and Hinata went to the Hyuga Compound.
-Hinata's Room-
The girls had changed and were lying in each other's arms on Hinata's bed. Naruko had just told her Princess what she had gotten Anko to admit and Hinata giggled a little. She pulled her fox girl closer to her before she began.
"They really need to realize how they feel about each other. It's obvious, even to me." Naruko nuzzled her face against Hinata's and rubbed her back.
"I know Princess. I'm sure it'll happen sooner or later. It did for us." Hinata pulled away a little and looked into her red head's eyes. They smiled at each other before they exchanged quick kisses. The girls settled down in each other's arms again and Naruko wrapped her tails around them. Sleep soon found them and the night passed peacefully.
A/N: So? What did you all think? I'm not sure of the wording in some areas, but I couldn't think how to change it.
Next time: Naruko meets the Hokage and training begins.