DISCLAIMER: I own nothing from the Naruto universe but I do have an imagination of my own.


Thinking (+ flashbacks, etc.)

Biju, etc. speaking

Biju, etc. thinking

Emphasis


A/N: Gotta say that I'm really hating this transitional chapter. Please see it as more of a series of snippets before something more interesting can happen!


Sasuke was peeved, even more than usual.

The dobe had taken off before their misclassified mission to Wave ended, and she took with her the one other person in the village with the Sharingan. He could admit that Tenzo-sensei was probably good at his job, but Hatake Kakashi was a legend. The next time he saw his captain, he was going to demand that he train him. He was an Uchiha, dammit, and Kakashi-taicho had a gifted Sharingan that was (obviously) from his clan in his skull, so the Jonin owed him.

He watched as Tenzo put up a barrier and wondered what the secrecy was all about. They had just gotten back to the village from running, top-speed, nearly all the way from Wave, and were finally dismissed before his sensei pounded on his door for him to meet at the training ground only an hour later. Sasuke had just henged as a wrinkly old bald guy so he could go to the onsen without his fangirls ganging up on him before Tenzo-sensei interrupted him. Being out of the village had been liberating, even though he hardly had a chance to fight the rogue Mist nins.

He really wanted the action. He needed to determine his strength against a worthy opponent before meeting up to battle and kill That Man.

"I've called you all here because there is news about the Chunin exams," Tenzo began. "Iwa has accepted the Hokage's invitation and will be participating. Normally, Genin are not informed who will be at the exams, however," Tenzo coughed into his hand, "Genin are not normally forced to take the Chunin exams."

"Have you been authorized to tell us this?" Sai asked with that weird smile that often appears on his face. "And sensei, I have 30 minutes until I am needed elsewhere."

"Aa," Tenzo said and took a deep cleansing breath. What a team he had: the last broody Uchiha, the foul-mouthed and perverted jinchuuriki, plus this weird ROOT guy whom he supposes he's temporarily living with now. He was formerly ROOT, senpai was ROOT for a short time, so he knew that Sai was weird. And more importantly, Sai was teetering a fine line with Danzo-sama, whom his "student" needed to meet soon.

"I am authorized to inform Team 7 and Team 7 alone. What I'm about to tell you is classified." Both of his students nodded, and he almost groaned at realizing that he needed to speak with Sai again about that phony smile of his. "We believe that it is possible that Uzumaki Naruto will be targeted in the exams, and thus so will be Team 7."

"Because her father is the Yondaime, and Iwa hates his guts," Sai said, making Tenzo sputter.

"That's not what I was going to say! How did you know?!" Tenzo cried out.

"Hn." It wasn't exactly difficult to discern, Sasuke thought. "Our mothers were... friendly," he tsked, knowing that his father had said much more against the Yondaime before the Uchiha Clan Head was killed than he ever said in support of Namikaze Minato - at least from what he could remember.

The more he considered the idiot, the more disgruntled Sasuke became. Consider that Uchiha don't have godparents, yet Naruto was always referred to as his god-sister in his former home. He nodded at Sai for having confirmed his suspicions.

"Fine," Tenzo said in exasperation. These kids weren't supposed to know Uzumaki's parentage! "Beginning tonight, we will train until we break. You two will be Naruto-chan's guards during the exam. You are the line between her and Iwa. You may be the line between Konoha and Iwa."

"Naruto is a princess!" Sai said jovially.

"Hn," Sasuke said as he rolled his eyes. Weren't princesses supposed to be demure and ladylike?

Another (henged) princess sneezed on a Genin in the hospital she was working at. She punched him into a wall before kicking his nearly limp body, blaming Genin Yakushi Kabuto for her hay fever.

Soon after, Sai made his way through the ROOT command center, using his jutsu to learn more about another conversation he overheard part of regarding his blonde teammate while he met with Lord Danzo.


Naruto felt like she'd chosen the world's worst summons.

First, the foxes weren't happy with her because she had been "prearranged" to be a toad summoner or had chosen the toads first. The fox clan felt like they were an afterthought, and didn't respond well to that. Even when she apologized to the foxes and vixens she'd summoned, every single one of them refused to aid her. ...Aside from agreeing to provide future messages to Kakashi, whom they seemed loyal to for no reason.

The nerve! She had freaking Kurama in her belly - and what did Kurama do about it? He laughed! He thought the fox summons were amusing!

They all had different reasons for blowing her off. Most just seemed too lazy, although some of them said it was because she wasn't in actual need and they didn't appreciate being summoned without real necessity. They didn't desire to train with her, and the ones that, according to Kurama, might be able to help her with genjutsu just reverse summoned themselves as soon as they appeared and looked around. A couple of others had left to go prowl around outside, and she'd seen them speaking to foxes and jackals, of all things, out there.

Honestly. Where the heck had Kakashi brought her?

I should've chosen wolves.


"...and his sluggish dog germs have invaded our system!"

Naruto swore that Kurama was the one whining now. "Do you mean Kakashi's chakra? It's just in this... seal-thing, right?" She grimaced while looking at her back, which had a huge diamond shape across it, in the bathroom mirror. The diamond was intersected at multiple points leaving what looked like more diamonds within it - all white on her tanned skin. She now couldn't believe she'd allowed herself to be branded/sealed with a gigantic Hatake crest.

"You look like a newbie yakuza after being inked by the world's least imaginative tattoo artist."

"Very funny." Naruto turned off the shower and felt bad for the Kyuubi. He had given up trying to goad her and now seemed miserable, but she really didn't know how to help him. It was kind of sweet that he was so overprotective, though. "You know just because he and I are together doesn't mean it's going to change anything between us Kurama."

The fox rolled his eyes dramatically. "'Together.' I'M more aware than you are of just how together you two are!"

Naruto looks at the bijuu thoughtfully. "Care to share? Is... there something I'm not aware of?"

"No!"

Yes!

Maybe!

The blonde heard the front door open and could only hope that Kakashi hadn't gone out to hunt again. She wasn't really sure what that last kind of meat he brought back was. Surely Kurama would have lost it if it was some kind of canine, though. And he knew that she didn't eat deer meat.

"Good work, Sai," Kakashi mumbled to himself as he pocketed the scroll that a fox delivered.

...A fox - and not a fox summons. One of what appeared to be a good proportion of this entire area's population of foxes who had decided to surround the cabin before Naruto even signed the fox summoning contract.

Weird, Kakashi thought.

When he heard scratching at the door this morning, he figured that his little honeymoon/pre-mission "activities" were going to end early, and it looked like he was right. Gods, how he hated how accurate his gut feelings oftentimes were. Fortunately, Naruto was in the shower because he worried that the news of a squadron of ROOT agents being sent to target her on her solo mission was going to send her over the edge. She was already a nervous wreck about her upcoming mission, and he'd only found one way to take her mind off of it.

He smirked to himself, giving himself an imaginary pat on the back for being able to do so, and for landing a pretty little wife that was nearly insatiable for him. Yes, she was a little mouthy, but he found that he liked that about her. Hearing the water turn on and off again, he quickly wrote a message to Tenzo and asked Akino to deliver it for him. He needed back-up and hoped that his comrades would come running, but not interfere with Naruto's nearly unexplained mission.

"Hey beautiful," he said smoothly as he approached his little wife who was clad only in a towel. "Ready to get dirty again?"

"Pervert. I thought we were going to do a mock simulation of what the mission could be like first."

Kakashi closed his eyes and nodded his head. "Alright. Go on then. I'll be in the other room." He put on his clothes, sans vest, and waited for Naru to come out of the bedroom while reading his book. When she later walked out in what she'd earlier called a "pillowcase dress" and heels, all made up and absolutely gorgeous, his thoughts darkened entirely.

Naru sat down lightly and crossed her legs sensually, (she hoped she was pulling that off and not just looking like a dumbass,) as she casually glimpsed around the room. She then got up to get a glass of water before sitting back down at the table and tried to put on a good facade of being "bored but sexy" as she slowly looked around. Kakashi walked up to her and she only glanced at him before looking back at her drink.

For his part, Kakashi felt irritated even though they'd planned to do this earlier. It was difficult to remember that his wife was doing a mission run-through in that get-up, as much as she could while in his safehouse with hardly any details of what that so-called mission actually entailed. Seeing her all dolled up for someone else was bad enough, but that sleeveless dress barely covered her ass when she sat down. It was as if the dress was custom made for her, with the way that it wrapped around her extreme curves - and as Naruto had said, Kakashi wondered how the Hokage knew her measurements.

The heels were doing a hell of a number on her legs, too, making them look longer and lean. He wondered how she could even walk in them, they were so high. The sheen that must be part of having incredibly healthy, hairless, creamy skin - and so naturally tan - was as apparent as always on her exposed skin, and between the dress and the heels, he found it hard to even breathe normally.

"Hey, beautiful. Can I... buy you a drink?" he finally asked.

"No thanks. I'm waiting for someone," she replied and looked away from him. She felt her lips twitch up into a smile at that - thinking of how in another life, if Hatake Kakashi would have waltzed up and offered to buy her a drink, she would have either passed out in delight or offered to skip the drink and just go home with him - but pushed it down and hoped to seem apathetic.

He kicked a chair out from the table, and Naruto wondered if she had done something wrong. Kakashi seemed almost annoyed with her.

"That dress needs to go," he said darkly.

"I beg your pardon?" Naru asked as her eyebrow twitched upward. "Why don't you go take a hike and - Kakashi! What are you doing?!"

He'd already picked up his naughty little wife by her waist and felt some degree of relief when she wrapped her arms around his neck so that he could carry her more easily - although she was bitching up a storm about his actions and kicking her feet behind her. He silenced her with a biting kiss before throwing her down on the bed.

"Hey! I swear to Kami, if it goes like this, then I'll Rasengan the guy's ass into eternity!" She stared at her unresponsive husband who was standing from his knees between her legs and tried to pull her dress down. It was so freaking embarrassing! He grabbed the garment from the top seam and pulled it down harshly. Naruto nearly screamed, but covered her breasts as much as she could with her hands and began laughing. "This better be you I'm dealing with now and not some asshole you're pretending to be that thinks he can get away with this."

Kakashi was just staring at her with that glazed look on his face - both of his eyes were open. "You're not wearing a bra or bandages," he finally mentioned.

Naruto's face turned pink. "The damn dress is so tight you could see the lines. Plus, I can kinda hold it up on my own anyway," she added as she blushed further. Stupid dress. "Don't you dare rip it in half! I told you what I'd do if you took a kunai to any more of my clothes! I don't like shopping!"

"No panties?" Kakashi rubbed her hip and inhaled through his nose deeply, but didn't allow Naru to cover herself again with either of her hands.

"The old perv sent me... thongs! Thongs," she exclaimed in horror as she tried to move from under the younger pervert that was her husband. "I don't want to wear floss up my ass and my normal panties..." Truth was, she figured she knew exactly where those things came from - it had to be Yoshino-san. The Nara matriarch had bought Naruto some of them to supposedly wear WHILE WORKING, Naru thought in outrage. No way she'd ever do that!

There was just so much that the tomboy didn't realize at this point. "Hey!"

That was the last word she managed to get out coherently as she was thoroughly ravaged and her dress was completely ruined over the next hour.


"Maa, ready to go over the mission again?" Kakashi asked. He kissed her fingers as Naru opened her eyes and rolled back against him.

Hadn't she been the one to be mission-oriented only to be stopped by this... fine piece of impressive - well, everything? "Sure," she said breathily as she snuggled into his chest, wrapping her arms around Kakashi as much as she could. She hoped that he didn't see her roll her eyes when he first asked her if she wanted to go back to mission talk.

He really liked the way she snuggled into him like that. Now, how to tell her? "Naru-chan, I've requested back up. It's been reported that a full ROOT squad will be deployed to the border. I don't know if their intention is to kidnap or kill you yet, but it doesn't alter your mission."

That was a good way to let her know, right?

"How big is a ROOT squad?" Naruto asked after yawning, then kissing Kakashi's chest.

"You don't seem terribly surprised or worried." She peeked up at him and shrugged her bare shoulders.

"Danzo's a dick. I figured he had something to do with this mission."

"Yeah." Kakashi kissed her head and basked in the feeling of holding someone like this - and being held. No, it wasn't that it was just someone: it was Naruto, his wife. His wife whom he was in love with, and wasn't that terrifying?

He knew his track record at keeping those he loved safe wasn't exactly stellar.

He'd never admit it, but in the last three days, he had done things with her that he'd never done with any other woman. Simple things, like not using a condom and just being close to someone like this: being intimate regardless of them having sex. He'd thought himself experienced, but in truth, he hadn't even kissed a girl before her because of his mask! That meant that he hadn't tried doing other things with his mouth either, and now he found that he quite liked those things.

The reason that he didn't use a genjutsu to hide his face before was that there was a part of himself that always felt bad for using the women that he had bedded. Apparently, he still had some sense of honor, then, he supposed.

If she ends up pregnant from this, though, I'm going to be pissed. Not pissed off enough to warrant using a condom again until she said he had to, but still. But if she were already pregnant, I wouldn't have to use one at all

What the hell kind of thought was that?! Kakashi coughed harshly and decided to blow all those ridiculous ideas right out of his apparently insane head!

He'd been able to study his little wife more since they'd been here, and was still far off from solving the puzzle that was Hatake Naruto. While he enjoyed being quiet and rather lazy, Naru had energy to burn, which only made sense considering her heritage and burden. It was interesting to him, however, that there were often times when she would try to busy herself with a scroll or journal but would end up staring blankly at her materials for a very long time. She looked at them as if they weren't even there, or as if she wasn't there. When he'd call out to her to ensure that she was alright, she'd always give him a big, beautiful smile and say that everything was fine, but he didn't always believe her.

The look on her face during those intervals resembled the one he'd seen in the mirror too many times. What had happened to her? He read a bit of the tip of the iceberg of what she'd gone through as a child, but he had a feeling that Naru had seen some of the terrible things that he had. He didn't like that look on her face at all.

Their relationship was fantastic physically, but he knew that they had a ways to go in the trust department. He'd have to find out what happened to cause the melancholy he sometimes saw in her as time went on... Perhaps the issue was simply that she didn't want to burden him. That's what it felt like: he could almost taste and smell it on her at times.

"You're mine," Kakashi rasped as he stilled himself inside of her. Making sure that Naru was alright, he pushed himself up on his elbows and held her face in his hand, looping her soft hair through his other hand repeatedly. The hesitant, sad expression she wore as she bit her lip while learning to acclimate his size scared him.

"Can you maybe be mine someday, too?" she asked shyly.

"Gods yes, Naruto!"

Kakashi could see the whole interlude and more again in the recording he'd made with his Sharingan and shivered. Their new bond was really something, yet so far had not overwhelmed either of them, the way that his clan records had mentioned that it could.

That could certainly change in the future, though.

There had been so much in his family records that he'd been unaware of - and even more than he was looking for affirmations of still. After finally going through most of the important Hatake clan rituals and reading everything that his ninken could bring, he found that there was nothing about an adult or even a child over 4 wearing a mask. Kakashi knew that he continued to wear his after that age back then because of how similar he looked to his "disgraced" father, but could have sworn that his father told him not to take his mask off for anyone but his mate when he was very young.

Had Hatake Sakumo been joking? Kakashi definitely didn't remember his father's exact wording or the situation in which he'd told him that, so maybe his father had been giving him a hard time.

Naru-chan asked to be the only person to see his so-called "perfect, gorgeous face," in her silkily whispered words, however. He could oblige that request, although he thought he just looked like any other pale guy, apart from the scars and single Sharingan, of course. He sighed contentedly, the more he thought of it. "Maa, you're crazy about me,"

"What?! Well..." Naruto said, sitting up and giving him a great view before she quickly covered up with a sheet. "I don't know if I'd say that! You're... fine, I suppose?" She tapped her chin and looked up as if she was trying to decide whether Kakashi really was just fine. "And weren't we discussing ROOT?"

Kakashi looked at her, dumbfounded for a second before she grinned at his reaction. "If I told you my feelings I'm afraid you might run away from me, ya know." She sighed deeply and ran her fingers through his hair.

"I love your hair." Feeling him stiffen a bit, even though Kakashi still seemed to be enjoying her gently scraping his scalp with her nails, her eyes opened wide and she grabbed his shoulders, getting right in his face. "See! You can't handle the truth!"

"Maa, I can handle the truth. And if I run away, I'll always come back," Kakashi replied, giving her a kiss. "Eventually."

"Damn pervert. Can't believe I ate raw meat for you," she grumbled.

"Part of the ritual, babe. Oh! I just remembered another part of the ritual. You have to get on your knees!"

"Liar. What composes a ROOT squad?" She knew he was lying: he looked way too gleeful.

Kakashi groaned and stared at her, trying to decide whether or not to go alpha on her but feeling too drained and satisfied to put any effort into it. Not that he'd force her to do anything like that, it's just that she was so... stubborn! And pretty. And her own person... That last thing was a good one, though, he guessed. He pulled out a map from the table next to the bed. "Root squads consist of 4-12 members, but considering their mission involves taking down a jinchuuriki - no offense..."

"None taken. That's what I am; go on."

"...they'll probably mobilize at least 8 agents. Danzo's got quite the army, though, so in theory, he could send more than one squad. THAT would be a problem."

"I think getting to the location is going to be a problem, too. They may attack while we're on our way there," Naru replied with a deep sigh. They had to go past Konoha to get to her targeted location on the Fire and Wind border, after all.

Kakashi tapped his map again but agreed with her. "We'll wait to hear back from Tenzo or Sai-kun. If they can determine when the squad is leaving or get a glimpse of them, we'll have an idea and can follow them on their route from Konoha."

"You don't think we should leave first?"

"Maa, I doubt we'll have time. I don't want to meet Danzo's forces on the way and give any one of them a chance to backtrack to get reinforcements. We need to be ready to leave at a moment's notice, Naru-chan." Kakashi drug his hand through her thoroughly thrashed damp hair. He had caused that, and he was proud of all his work. "Once you obtain enough vacation time, I promise I'll take you on a proper honeymoon, ne?"

"Really?! Where do you want to go?"

"Hmmm." He really just wanted to go anywhere they'd have privacy without annoying missions to worry about so he could focus on thoroughly consuming his little wife instead of worrying and reading. ...Aside from reading Icha-Icha, of course. Kakashi wouldn't even mind if they spent it in their den. Thinking about it more, he decided that wasn't the best idea. Gai knew where they lived and he wanted to avoid challenges, whether issued on his honeymoon or any other day.

"A beach? Or an Oasis or somewhere like that?" Naru asked excitedly. She remembered Temari talking about a couple of places she and Shikamaru supposedly just toured outside of Suna that sounded incredibly romantic. Plus, Naruto loved the water. That adventure at sea she'd had in her first life had been incredibly relaxing when they weren't being attacked: poisoned, bombed, near drowned, and otherwise delayed. Even Gai-sensei's seasickness hadn't ruined it for her.

"Wherever you want, as long as we're alone," he smiled at her gently and closed his eye before falling asleep, but apparently not for very long. He opened both eyes wide when he felt her slowly crawl on top of him. "Maa, Naru-chan, what do you think you're doing?

"Well," She began, looking like a lion with all that wild hair. "You want me to be crazy about you, right?"

"I don't know if I said that," he replied, grabbing her ass before growling as she plopped down on his lap.

"Oh that's too bad," she pouted at him before having her bottom lip sucked on and bitten as he grabbed her breast and ran his calloused palm across it. She whimpered and arched into his ministrations, squealing a bit when he grabbed her around the waist with both arms, hoisted her to place his face between her breasts, and motorboated her. She smacked him pretty hard. "You idiot!"

He grabbed his naughty little wife and pushed her back down on the bed to give her a loud kiss. "As much as I hate to say it, we need to get ready to move out."


Tenzo banged on Sasuke's apartment door, Sai smiling beside him.

The supposedly last loyal-ish Uchiha opened the door, Sharingan blazing as he glared at his sensei and teammate. "What," he spat out.

They were supposed to have at least three days off! Three days was the minimum amount of time allotted for shinobi who had completed an A-ranked mission during peacetime, and Sasuke needed his damn beauty sleep. Without it, he tended to get easily pissed off, and worse, stress lines or bags would appear under his eyes, which made him look more like That Man. He grunted at Tenzo's shocked expression and stared at his idiotic sidekick.

"That's not the proper way to greet your superior, Dickless," Sai said. He was immediately put into a nasty genjutsu until Tenzo hit Sasuke on the head to make him stop.

"We do not attack our comrades!" Tenzo scolded loudly.

"Hn."

To think that Tenzo had thought that his Genin would all be promoted during the Chunin exams and finally be out of his hair! According to his data on the last 50 Chunin promotions, Sasuke, Sai, and Naruto had total stats superior to the scores required of most Chunin. His only concern had been the Uchiha, who hadn't offered leadership or taken teamwork seriously but had been working with his team better lately. Now it looked like he might have to remain a sensei if the entire team didn't pass.

"Get ready Sasuke," he ordered as he scowled at the teen while offering Sai his pack to choose from a soldier pill, ration bar, or a Naruto-made medicine ball.

Sai chose the medicine ball to help him recover from Sasuke's "attack." The genjutsu wasn't so bad that he needed it, but he liked the gooey-sticky texture of Naruto's medicine balls. Also, he'd read that it would be impolite to refuse the offering of a superior.

They had two missions today, but Sasuke only read one of them. Noticing that there wasn't a scroll for a second mission, he glowered at his sensei, wondering what was going on. Stupid D-ranked missions shouldn't require packing for a week!

The first mission involved painting a fence. They were well outside of the village, and Sasuke realized how much Naruto's clones helped to shorten these horribly drab tasks that he felt really should be given to Academy students. First-year Academy students! When the elderly farmer who owned the property came out of his home, ranting and raving that he'd never hired "damned ninjas" in the first place, Sasuke blew his top.

Tenzo apologized profusely to the farmer, promising the enraged old coot that he would immediately replace the fence Sasuke - who was now sitting and seething inside a wooden cage - just burned down with a fire jutsu. He spent the next ten minutes growing a lovely wooden fence that the farmer was finally impressed by. He regrew the grass that had been burned to a crisp by Sasuke's fireball jutsu before being given a tip by the now happy farmer.

Trudging back toward the village with Tenzo-sensei scolding him the entire way, they were stopped by a rat that wasn't a rat at all. Sai knelt down beside it and placed a blank scroll on the ground. The rat stepped on the scroll, and Sasuke watched as it turned into some kind of coded message. Not for the first time, Sasuke couldn't help but think Kami, Sai's jutsu is weird.

"They've left, senpai. We are already approximately 10 minutes behind."

"Send a message to the shinobi we discussed, Sai-kun."

"What the hell's going on?" Sasuke asked darkly.

Tenzo stared at his most difficult Genin and debated whether or not to answer him. Putting his hands on his hips, he released a little KI to make Sasuke pay attention and hopefully fear him more. Now that Tenzo thought of it, he had no trouble ruling by fear and fear alone. "Certain forces have moved to take Uzumaki-san. She and Kakashi-senpai are in danger," Tenzo said with a deep sigh. "Now that you know this, I have no choice but to bring you with us as backup to the fight."

Sasuke would have shuddered at the weird thing Tenzo-sensei was doing with his eyes, but he was an Uchiha, and Uchiha didn't cower to anyone. "Hn," was all he could say. As they took off in a Northern direction, Sasuke once again wondered what the hell made Uzumaki so damn special.