*****Author's note*****
Woot! 2 updates in 2 days! I got most of this one finished last night after Chapter 9 but I wanted to go over it once more when I got home from work. Well, all done, and ready to go. A bit more filler, I promise that there is some action in the next chapter. I've been dying to actually write a fight scene so we'll see how it goes! Enjoy!
*****
Two Weeks Later
*****
"Argh!" Naruto yells out at the blue, cloudless sky. He and Sakura had just finished the written part of the ANBU entrance exam and were leaving the pale grey building that was located just off of the Hokage's office at the base of the monument. Sakura had been completely silent from the time that the exam had started and had yet to say anything even after they had handed in their papers.
"That was the most difficult thing I have EVER done, Sakura-chan." he complains, following her as she turns towards the training grounds. Kakashi had been watching Sasuke today and had mentioned that they were going to train a bit while the two of them were sitting their exam, and that they should join them afterwards to take over watching their friend, Kakashi had a mission that afternoon. For the past two weeks, they had been training together with Kakashi working with the three of them, helping Sasuke regain his strength and walking Sakura and Naruto through the basic requirements for an ANBU. Naruto had been so tired at the end of it that he could barely keep his eyes open in the evenings when Sakura drilled him on the material they would need to know for the written test.
"Are you going to say anything?" he asks, starting to get frustrated at her silence.
"Maybe…" she says, looking towards him angrily. "Aren't you worried about how you did, Naruto?"
"Not really, if I pass then I pass, if I failed, then so be it, I'll take the test again." he says, shrugging his shoulders. "I studied as hard as I could, I honestly don't think I could have done any better."
"Mmhm." she mumbles, turning her head towards the training grounds which were quickly coming into view. She thought she could see a flash of black from the far corner of the grounds, followed by a flash of silver, but it could have been a trick of the light. As they come up to the edge of the field, she can see a small pile of things on a bench under a nearby tree. One of the items is Kakashi's vest and another is a large blue blanket that Sasuke usually had on his bed, and they both seemed to be covering what looked like a large box.
"Kakashi-sensei! Teme! We're here!" Naruto calls out, not seeing anyone on the field. He steps across the line cut into the grass that depicted the edge of the field and continues calling out. "Teme, where are you guys? Kaka- ARGH!"
Kakashi had appeared right in front of him, crinkling both eyes at him in a grin, having pulled his headband up to expose his lone Sharingan, and had surprised Naruto into stumbling back a couple of steps and yelling out.
"DO YOU HAVE TO KEEP DOING THAT?" Naruto yells at him, advancing towards his teacher with both hands planted on his hips.
"If you are ever going to be an ANBU, you have to expect anything at anytime, Naruto." Kakashi explains, pulling his headband back over his left eye and patting Naruto on the shoulder. "You have to start using your chakra to scan the area for all other sources of chakra to prevent being snuck up on."
Sakura was standing back at the side of the training field bent over in laughter. Naruto turns around and pouts at her. "Sakura-chan, did you know he was going to do that?" he whines at her.
"It was so easy to sense him coming, you dolt!" she laughs, holding onto her side with one hand. "Oh my god, you should have seen your face!"
"Hn…"
Sakura turns around to see Sasuke standing behind her, both eyes a blood red and his hair still pulled back into that low ponytail he had been sporting lately. He had refrained from cutting his hair after Sakura told him that it made him look older and that it suited his personality. Inside, he thought that he looked a bit like his brother had, but hadn't said anything to anyone else, and he had been getting used to not having his hair blowing in his face while he was training. He was dressed in a sleeveless black top and black shorts, he almost looked like a shadow.
"We're done! How is training going?" she says, catching her breath from laughing so hard. He looks at her for a second before blinking, his eyes returning to their usual onyx color, and grinning at her.
"How did you do?" he asks, ignoring her question and wiping his forehead with a small towel he pulled out of his back pocket. "Do you think you passed?"
"Well, I think I did alright, but I really don't know." she says, worry crossing her face. "I really hope I did well, I don't want to have to sit the test again like Ino-pig had to."
"If you think you did fine, you probably aced it Sakura, you used to say the same thing at the academy and you always had perfect marks." he says, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You shouldn't have to worry about coming in second place to Ino."
"Thanks, Sasuke-kun." Sakura replies, smiling at him.
"Oi, teme!" Naruto calls, coming over to stand next to Sakura as Kakashi made his way towards the bench. "What were you and Kakashi working on that he needed his Sharingan for?"
"Well, we were working on adapting the chidori to penetrate wind style jutsu." Sasuke explains, motioning them to follow him towards the bench. "It's our weak spot and we wanted to work some things out before asking you to try one of your wind jutsu's on it."
"Teme, the only one that I've been able to master is the Rasen-shuriken, and I sure as hell am not throwing it at you guys." Naruto says, putting his hands behind his head. "I've tried working on other wind jutsus but there is no one else in the village that is really good at them since Asuma-sensei is gone. Reading about them in books just isn't the same."
"I didn't mean now, dobe, we're still working on it." Sasuke snaps, sitting down on the bench. Kakashi had picked up his vest and put it back on before walking away with a wave to his students, but the blanket was still covering the mysterious box.
"Um, Sasuke, what's in the box?" Sakura asks, pointing at it. "I didn't see you with it this morning."
"Oh…" Sasuke says, standing up. He reaches out and pulls the blanket off, tossing it over the back of the bench. "Kakashi mentioned that when you guys become ANBU that they'd try and force you guys into the official uniform and I thought that you wouldn't like that idea." He reaches over and opens the box, pulling out an armful of fabric, placing it on the bench. Picking up the first item, he shakes it out and holds it towards Naruto. "Kakashi said that your father used to wear something like this." It was a knee length vest in a pale orange with red flames sewn along the bottom hem and on the back was the swirl pattern that Naruto had sported since he became a ninja all those years ago. Along with the vest went a plain fitted orange shirt and a pair of black cargo pants. "And I had Ino pick out some things for you, Sakura." he says, after handing Naruto's outfit to him and turning back to the pile of clothing. He picks up a dark red wrap shirt which bore a similarity to Tsunade's shirt but was trimmed in white that had the Haruto circle on the back and had a wide, white belt to go around the middle. Next was a tight long sleeved black shirt to wear underneath and was completed with a pair of tight black shorts and a black split skirt. "I have had nothing to do what with you guys studying all the time so I needed something to keep myself occupied with."
"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura stutters, taking the outfit from him. "This is so thoughtful of you."
"Teme, this seems like a peace offering…" Naruto says, grinning at his friend.
"Hn…" Sasuke replies, turning back to the box and pulling out matching weapons pouches and a medical bag for Sakura. "Kakashi did all of the shopping, but I picked out the weapons and the final designs and the money came from my own account. I needed some way to thank you guys for putting up with me these last two weeks."
"You didn't have to do that, Sasuke-kun." Sakura protests, looking at him worriedly. "Do you think you have to pay us back for doing this? You don't, we're doing this because we want to, not just because Tsunade told us we had to."
"Yeah, teme. You think we hate spending time with you or something?" Naruto says, rolling his eyes. "You were gone for 10 years and we still have a lot to catch up on."
"Besides, once the trial is over, we don't know what's going to happen to you." Sakura adds, looking at him worriedly. "We want to spend as much time as we can with you."
"Hn."
"Look, we love the outfits, and of course we'll wear them, right Naruto?" Sakura says, trying to lighten the mood.
"Right, it'll be nice to have a new outfit for the first time in a while!" Naruto agrees, pulling off his jacket and putting on the new vest. The mesh shirt that he had been wearing went well with the vest in Sakura's opinion and Sasuke smirked at him.
"Nice shirt, dobe." Sasuke comments, pointing at the rip in the neckline. "Isn't that from last week?" Sasuke had grabbed Naruto by the shirt while they had been sparring and the shirt had torn when Naruto twisted free of his grip.
"Oh, I forgot that this one was ripped!" Naruto chuckles, rubbing the back of his head.
Sakura stifles a giggle as she runs her hand down the front of the shirt, feeling the fabric slide under her hands like silk.
"It won't get caught on anything and it repels stains, Ino told me." Saskue mentions, running a finger along the edge of the folded garments. "Top of the line in ninja wear, apparently. I don't know much about clothing and stuff like that."
"It's beautiful, Sasuke-kun." she whispers, looking at him and smiling. "I'm going to put it on as soon as we get back to Kakashi's place to see how it fits."
"And you'll have to wear it at the physical evaluation to see how it performs too." Sasuke adds, pointing at the pockets along the inside of the skirt and in the wrap portion of the shirt. "Those should be perfect for small scrolls and senbon, no?"
"Of course." she agrees. "I just hope we actually make it to the physical evaluations."
"Heh, teme, we're going to have to get you some new threads then, or you'll end up looking like crap next to the two of us!" Naruto teases, only having to turn and run as Sasuke charged at him. They ended up chasing each other around the field a couple of times as Sakura laughs at them.
*****
That night
*****
The 3 team mates were sitting on the balcony of Kakashi's apartment, taking the opportunity to be alone for a while, talking about the exam that morning when there was a knock at the door. Sakura, being the closest, ran to open the door and see who their visitor was.
"Shikamaru!" she exclaims, causing the other two to get up and move into the main room of the apartment to greet their visitor. Sure enough, the now jonin Shikamaru was standing there with a grin on his face and two small scrolls in his hands.
"I have your test results from the ANBU office, you two." he says to Naruto and Sakura. He hands over the scrolls to their respective owners. Sasuke notices that they are both the same thickness so they both must have received the same result. They both break the seals that held the scrolls closed and unwrap them, and Sasuke watches Sakura as her eyes quickly scan the contents, knowing she was the quicker reader. A slow smile stretched across her face as she finished.
"I… I passed!" she says, shocked. "I PASSED!"
She flings her arms around Sasuke and hugs him tightly as he stands there in shock at her actions. He looks at Naruto and sees him smile widely as well.
"Oh my god, so did I!" Naruto says, pumping his fists into the air. "I actually passed!"
"Congratulations you two!" Shikamaru says from the doorway, still smiling at them. From the look on his face, he must have known the results already. He clears his thought quietly and they all look at him. "I am also here to tell you that your physical evaluation will be held in 3 days, and that you will have to report to the ANBU office at 10am on that day, fully armed and outfitted as if you were to go on a mission."
"Thanks, Shikamaru." Naruto says as Sakura pulls away from Sasuke and grins at him.
"Yeah, thanks Shikamaru. This is great news!" Sakura agrees.
"Well, I'll be seeing you around guys." Shikamaru says before turning around with a wave and heading out of the building.
"Well, teme, what do you think of THAT?" Naruto says, pointing at his grade on the scroll still clutched in his hand. "Apparently I only got 3 wrong!"
"Hn." Sasuke replies, looking at the floor.
"What's the matter, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asks, now worried.
"If you guys are almost done the ANBU exams, then that means that my trial can't be much further away." he mumbles, looking back at Sakura.
"Oh, that." she replies, reaching up and pushing some of his loose hair behind his shoulder. "Don't worry, everything is going to be ok. Right, Naruto?"
"Right, like I keep saying, we won't let you get pushed around by a bunch of old geezers." Naruto agrees, slapping Sasuke's back, causing him to stumble forward a step.
Sasuke was still worried though, despite his friend's enthusiasm. There still hadn't been any problems from the people that Kakashi had mentioned in the hospital, but he still thought that the reason was that not enough people knew exactly where he was staying and he had been laying low publicly as well. The longer hair and constant changes of wardrobe were certainly helping, even the fan girls weren't able to keep track of him that easily. He still hadn't told them about the possibility of attack and didn't plan on telling them either. Assuming that as ANBU they would have the same clearance as Kakashi, they would be finding out soon enough anyways. In his opinion, some kind of action against him was long overdue, and people may just be waiting for them to drop their guard.
"If you say so." Sasuke agrees, trying to pull himself out of the pit of worry that had been dominating his thoughts.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Naruto says, ushering the other two back towards their previous spots. "It's time to celebrate!" Pushing Sasuke and Sakura into their chairs on the balcony, he darts into the kitchen and comes back out with a bottle of sake and 3 small glasses. Pouring each of them a glass and passing them around, he raises his glass to the sky.
"Banzai!" he cries before draining his glass in one gulp.
Sasuke looks at Sakura and she smiles at him, raising her glass as well. He follows suit and they both reply before downing their glasses as well.
"Banzai!"