Naruto had never actually been in one of the training grounds before. Those were for the exclusive use of Konoha's shinobi. All others, even academy students, were strictly forbidden entrance. When he and Chichi had trained it had always been in the park. The survival exercises he'd gone on as a student were held in grounds specifically set aside for academy use. But even though he'd never been permitted to go in he'd still seen them of course. They were just huge areas surrounded by chain link fence and barbed wire. Some were forest, some high grass, some swamp, and some rocky terrain, but they all looked like normal ground.
So when he came to the spot on Chichi's map he was a little intimidated by what he saw. The trees and vegetation of the other side of the fence were anything but normal. They had to be at least three or four times as large and some looked oddly… malformed. As he was looking he noted a huge pair of green slitted eyes looking at him from the shadows.
They looked hungry.
"Boo!" A voice shouted in his ear.
"Gaaah!" Naruto jumped into the air flapping his arms about.
When he landed he saw her standing there laughing at him.
"You're always good fort a laugh gaki."
He glared at her. He was weighed down with his sleeping bag, tent, and other supplies. She was dressed just like usual. "That was mean Chichi!"
Still grinning she casually leaned over and snapped her finger into his forehead.
Flick.
"Ow!"
"What did you call me?"
"Anko!" He cried while ribbing the top of his forehead.
"That's better," she told him. "Nice to know you can remember something if you're given enough reminders."
"How come you don't have any camping equipment on you?"
Grinning she casually put her hand on his cheek and leaned in to speak in a breathy whisper. "Well, since I'm your future wife I figured we could just share your sleeping bag. You don't mind do you… Na… ru… to?" She sang out his name at the end.
His entire face turned a deep red and he could feel his heart begin to pound. He liked hearing her say his name like that! "Ah… o… okay," he answered weakly.
Laughing she stood back shaking her head. "I'm kidding gaki."
"Oh, ah, I knew that! Heh, good one."
"To answer your question there's a tower base located at the center of this training ground that's where I'll be staying each night. You will be camping out on your own."
"What? But that's not fair Chichi!"
Flick.
"Ow!" He glared at her as he rubbed his bruise. "I still say it's not fair! How come you get to sleep somewhere safe while I have to camp out in this place?"
"Because I'm a Chunin and you're a newly minted Genin. I don't need any training to get me ready for B-rank missions. If you're going to be ready in just one month's time then I can't go easy on you. I'll be with you for only a few hours each day training you. The rest of the time you're on your own. This training ground is filled with dangerous animals, carnivorous and poisonous plants, quick sand, and all other kinds of dangers. Oh, and of course when I'm not acting as your sensei I'll be a danger to you too. I intend to test you the whole time you're here so don't let your guard down for even a minute."
"So you're going to come after me too?" He asked worriedly. "How do I know when you're my sensei and when you're not?"
"I'll come see you each morning right out in the open, no sneaking up on you. From then until I leave I'm your sensei. But once I go… heh." Her laugh and the way she was grinning made him very nervous.
"I think I'd rather take my chances with the animals and killer plants," he mumbled.
"Well, I won't say it's not going to be rough. But once I'm done you'll be ready to go on missions with me." She shrugged. "That or you'll be dead, one or the other."
"Great," he muttered.
"Before we start though I have a graduation present for you." She took out a kunai and sliced her thumb.
"Well thanks Anko, but shouldn't you have given this to me before I came to the training ground from hell?"
"Trust me gaki, this is the perfect venue." She ran though some hand signs. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu."
There was a large puff of smoke. When it cleared there was a purple snake with black spots and a yellowish brown belly. In its mouth it held a large scroll. The snake put scroll down at Anko's feet where she unrolled it. There were a series of names signed there, the last two were her own and Orochimaru's.
Well this brings back memories, she thought.
"Wow!" Naruto said eagerly. "Is that what I think it is?!"
She nodded. He had asked her about her snakes plenty of times and she had explained to him about contracts and summoning. "That's right; this is the snake summoning contract. When my sensei made me his apprentice I was allowed to sign it. Now that you are officially my apprentice I'm letting you sign it as well." She gave him a questioning look. "Now aren't you glad I taught you to lose that silly fear of snakes?"
Remembering that he shivered. "No," he said honestly. "But I am glad you're going to let me summon."
She pointed to the blank section next to her own childish scrawl. "Write your name in blood, then press the fingerprints down in blood. When you want to summon you have to offer some of your blood as a sacrifice. Then use chakra and place down the hand you signed the contract with. The signs are; boar, dog, monkey, and sheep. Depending on the amount of chakra you use you can summon huge snakes or large numbers of small ones. With practice you'll be able to control what type you summon. You need to be very careful at the beginning to control whether you summon poisonous ones or not."
He looked at her nervously. "Why? They won't bite me will they?"
"Knowing you they just might," she said playfully. "If you offer a blood sacrifice and summon them they are supposed to do as you want. That is the whole meaning behind the contract you are signing. But you need to remember that the snakes are living beings not tools for you to use however you see fit. Treat them with respect and they should obey you without any trouble, but some of them, especially the more powerful ones will have personalities and ideas of their own. They can turn on you or simply end the summons if they feel like it. If that happens keep in mind that you can also end the summons whenever you like. Also, while this isn't something you need to worry about now when you eventually get enough chakra control you'll have the ability to summon Manda, the snake boss summons and most powerful of all snakes. You are never to summon him."
"What? How come?" He demanded.
"Because he always demands a sacrifice of one hundred human beings in exchange for his services," she told him dryly. "If you summon him without the proper sacrifice ready he'll eat you."
"Oh, ah, okay."
She nodded to the contract. "Go ahead and sign, than I want you to use as much chakra as possible and summon the most powerful snake you can."
Excitedly he slashed his thumb and signed. "Okay! Prepare to be impressed!" He ran through the hand signs. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
There was a puff of smoke.
When it cleared three hooded black cobras appeared curled up at Naruto's feet.
Seeing them he immediately looked disappointed. "Aw man! I wanted to summon a really big one!"
Anko didn't let on how impressed she was. Poisonous snakes were much harder to summon than nonpoisonous ones. And cobras were the deadliest of them. Summoning three in his very first effort was outstanding. The first time she'd tried all she'd managed was a six inch long garter snake.
"That's not too bad for a first try gaki, now go ahead and end the summing. We'll work more on this later."
He did so and the cobras vanished in smoke. The contract snake gathered the scroll back and then also left.
"All right gaki, we may as well get started," she said to him with a smile. "Follow me into hell." With an easy leap she cleared the fence and barbed wire and entered training ground 44.
With a groan Naruto followed after her.
XXXXXXXXXX
The next day at the academy Ayako looked all about wondering where her two closest friends were. Sasuke and Kiba were also looking around the classroom. The students were all talking loudly as they were filled with excitement at the beginning of their ninja careers. Many of them were speculating as to which teams they would be on and just what their first assignments might be. To listen to them talk most expected to be trying to assassinate a Kage or perhaps infiltrate an enemy base to recover vital information under heavy guard. Most of the girls were staring dreamily at Sasuke and giggling to one another.
When Iruka finally arrived the students needed a couple minutes to settle down. Iruka waited patiently, he could understand their excitement and didn't blame them. Very soon they would run head long into the harsh realities of ninja life and most would be right back here taking remedial lessons. They deserved to enjoy this moment.
When they finally quieted a bit he spoke up. "Congratulations to all of you. From this point on you are no longer students, but fellow Konoha shinobi. Wherever your future careers take you always remember that and keep the memory of this day in your heart. Never forget that we are all one in our duty and loyalty to Hokage and village."
The students all preened and sat up a little straight at hearing that.
"Now I will read off the team assignments and the name of your Jonin senseis. These assignments have been carefully formed and are final so please do not ask me to make any changes. Whoever your teammates are do your very best to work with them and form a good team."
"Sensei!" Ayako raised her hand.
"Yes Ayako?"
"You can't start yet, Chichi and Naruto aren't here." Ayako pointed out.
"Oh about that, there's no need to worry," Iruka explained. "Chichi has actually left the village to go live with some long lost relatives. As for Naruto he's been claimed as an apprentice and so won't be joining any of the regular teams."
"What? No way!" Ayako gasped. Himaru whined at her shoulder. "They wouldn't just go without saying goodbye!" She was especially hurt to find out Chichi had gone and apparently would never be a ninja now.
"I know this comes as a surprise but throughout your ninja careers you will have people leave you unexpectedly. That is not just a part of being ninja it is a part of life. I doubt you will see Chichi again, but Naruto will still be around, he is still a ninja serving the village after all."
Ayako slowly nodded, that was something at least. She would have to go to his place and talk to him, She was sure he had to be crushed to have Chichi suddenly leave. And they were going to be married and everything!
Sakura was suddenly up on her feet. "Hey sensei! Why does Naruto rate special treatment? If anybody should be apprenticed it should be Sasuke-kun!"
"Forehead you idiot!" Ino barked at her. "If he were apprenticed he wouldn't have anyone on his team!"
"Oh," Sakura said dully. "Oh, never mind then, but I still don't see why Naruto got special treatment. He's nothing but a joker!"
Sasuke turned in his seat to look at her. "You don't know what you're talking about Sakura." He told her quietly. "I'm glad Naruto did so well, he deserves it."
Hearing him rebuke her the girl paled and collapsed back into her seat.
"Well, in any case let's continue," Iruka said steering them back on course. "Team one will be…"
XXXXXXXXXX
Three Hours Later
The members of team seven were the only ones left in the class room; even Iruka had long since gone.
Ayako was playing catch with Himaru to pass the time. Her cousin had left with a pretty female sensei with red eyes. She wasn't sure how he would manage though with Shino and Hinata as teammates. Kiba was a loudmouth who loved to talk; now he had the two quietest people in the class to deal with.
She really didn't know either of them at all, so far as she knew neither of them had made a single friend in class. She had noticed Hinata stare at Naruto a little during their first year, but that eventually stopped as he and Chichi became an obvious couple. Despite being a Hyuuga the girl had been all but invisible.
"This stinks!" Sakura cried out. "Why are we the only ones stuck here? Even Ino-pig got to leave!"
Ayako smiled up at her. "Why don't you ask her to switch teams with you then?" Ayako said sweetly. "I'm sure she'd be willing."
"No way! You think I'd trade the chance to be with Sasuke–kun for Shikamaru and Chouji?!" She looked over at the dark haired boy adoringly. "There's no other team I want to be on."
Sasuke glanced at her. "Then the three of us should try hard to be a good team," he looked over to Ayako. "I'm glad we get to be on the same squad."
She nodded back to him. "Me too Sasuke."
"What about me Sasuke-kun?" Sakura whined.
"Maybe we'll become good teammates with time," he said in a disinterested voice.
Sakura nodded swiftly. It wasn't much but she held onto it as a small sign of his approval.
The door slid open and a masked face with wild silver hair and one eye covered up popped in. "Team seven I presume?"
Sakura jumped to her feet pointing an accusing finger at him. "You're late!" She shouted.
He grinned back at her beneath his mask. "My first impression of you… you're annoying. That's not how you want to start off with your sensei. All of you meet me on the roof in two minutes."
He disappeared in a swirl of wind and leaves.
As they left the classroom Sasuke looked over to Ayako. "What do you suppose Naruto is doing right now?"
She sighed. "I bet he's getting some super advanced training from his sensei." Being an apprentice meant you got lots of one on one attention.
Sasuke nodded his head. "That's what I thought too."
"Naruto is so lucky!" Ayako said jealously.
XXXXXXXXXX
At that moment Naruto was hanging upside down from a tree branch tied up and helpless. Down below a hungry tiger was pacing back and forth.
This was just day two.