My life was a blur of events and memories, all leading up to the Chuunin exams. D-rank, D-rank, D-rank, D-rank… Mission, mission, mission, mission. Training, training, training, training. Some more D-ranked missions and I'd repeat the cycle.

Eventually, I gave Sasuke and Sakura the forms to enter the Chuunin Exams, smiling proudly at each of them. I had grown a little; not much, but enough to make me taller than Sakura at least.

"What are- Chuunin Exams?" Sakura asked excitedly, glancing down the form.

"Yep. I pulled a few strings. Usually only three genin teams can enter the exams so you are getting a new teammate for the course of the exams," I said, smiling when Sasuke asked who their new teammate was. "Yuki Haku."

"Awesome!" Sakura cheered. Sasuke nodded, as happy as he could get without exploding from the pressure: he gave a genuine smile. I chuckled as Sakura pretended to cough, covering her sharp intake of breath as she saw happiness cross the Uchiha's face.

"Take the day off," I ordered. "You've been training really hard the past few weeks. If you want to enter the exams, you need to get a signature from a parent or guardian. If you are taking the exams, hand me that paper, signed, by the end of the week. Don't give it to Kakashi, he'll probably lose it," I said, ignoring their chuckles as I tried to remember anything I'd forgotten.

"I think that's it… If you have any questions, talk to me or Kakashi. Also, I recommend you start learning your way around the Forest of Death," I hinted. Sasuke nodded, a little confusion in his dark eyes overshadowed by determination and acceptance. Sakura, seeing Sasuke's eyes, nodded slowly.

"Ja ne," I said, waving before closing my eyes and Hiraishining to my kitchen. I opened my eyes and found Zabuza at the fridge, a carton of milk at his mouth. "Really, Zabuza? You aren't the only person in this house to drink me," I complained.

Zabuza put the lid back onto the milk and put it back in the fridge, shrugging. "What are you doing home? Don't you have to chase a cat around or something?"

"Nope, Tora has other genin teams to terrorize. Team Ten is really starting to hate that cat," I chuckled, taking the milk out of the fridge and pouring it down the sink, ignoring Zabuza's protests. "There are glasses in that cabinet. If you want milk, pour some into a glass. Don't drink from the carton, it's gross."

"Whatever. Where's your team?"

"Kakashi is probably reading Icha Icha Paradise. I think Sasuke and Sakura are going to explore the Forty-fourth Training Ground."

"The Forest of Death?" Haku asked, appearing in the doorway. I nodded and she pursed her lips. "Can you help me find them in there?"

"No problem," I nodded before glancing at Zabuza. "I'll pick up milk on the way home."

"We're out of-" Haku was cut off when I pushed her out of the door. She rolled her eyes and we started running towards the Forest of Death, leading the way as I slowed down so that Haku could keep up.

I jumped over the fence again, about to point out the hole in the fence when Haku ran up a tree near the fence and jumped over and onto another tree. I smiled and jumped to join her in the trees, activating demon eyes. I stared into the forest, searching for their chakra signatures. Finally, I found them close to the tower. I was about to run towards them when I realized how close they were to each other. I felt like an intruder as I watched Sasuke lean in to kiss Sakura.

I pulled the chakra away from my eyes, the color drifting back to blue as I sat down on the tree limb.

"We should probably stay here a while," I hinted. Haku's face broken into a grin.

"Did he-"

"Yep. I don't think we should disturb them."

If Haku had an inner Haku, she was cheering for her new best friend. After a while, I reactivated my dojutsu so I could see if they were done.

Finally. I nodded to Haku and we both stood, stretching. Without a word, I led her to her two new teammates.

When we got to the tower, I noticed Sasuke and Sakura sitting down on the grass, talking. I grimaced, not wanting to interrupt what was obviously flirting between the two genin. Haku spared me, announcing our presence.

"There you are," she called from the trees, jumping down to meet them. Both jumped and Haku pretended not to notice. I followed her out of the trees, fighting a grin.

"We've been looking everywhere for you guys. Haku wanted to get some training in. I thought you three against me for the bells again would help get your skills in line with everyone else's." Sakura nodded, blushing slightly. Sasuke didn't nod, a smile growing on his face. I mentally smirked.

"Can we go back to our training ground? This place gives me the creeps," Sakura shivered. Sasuke threw her a confident smile. I smiled; if there was any arrogance in his expression, it was overshadowed by the reassuring comfort.

"We aren't going back to our normal training ground. We're going to one of the Namikaze fields that I set up just for your three," I answered. "Grab on, I put a seal in the middle of the training ground," I said, holding out my arm. The three genin, Haku included, held onto my arm, closing their eyes. I closed my own eyes and focused on the Hiraishin kunai I had sent into the small woods dotting the Namikaze grounds.

"Before we begin," I said, stepping away and taking a scroll out of my vest. "Sasuke, I'd like to give you this," I said, unsealing Kamisora. "This is Kamisora, my first blade," I said, holding the hilt towards him. He grasped the cloth covered ebony and took the sword, drawing it out of its sheath before looking at me.

"Why are you giving me this?" he asked, testing the sword's weight in his hand.

"I've noticed that, the more surprises you have up your sleeve, the more battles you win. Learning jutsu is just one part of being a ninja; versatility is just as, if not more, important. I learned kenjutsu for the situations where I was against a strong opponent; chakra gets depleted, a katana does not," I shrugged. Sasuke studied the blade before nodding, attaching the sheath to his belt. "When you are ready to learn, go to either myself, Zabuza, or a tokubetsu jounin named Gekkou Hayate."

"Hai," he nodded, sheathing the katana in a fluid motion. I nodded, smiling at the three genin.

"Begin," I said calmly, Shunshining into the trees.

"Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu!" Sakura shouted, panting as the battle wore on. I was playing defense, letting the three wear themselves out until I decided they were ready. I let Sakura pull me into the ground, wanting to see the follow up attack. Instead of Sakura going through seals, she jumped away from me. I glanced behind me and saw Sasuke sprinting towards me, his arm sparking with a Chidori. I closed my eyes and Hiraishined to one of my kunai scattered in the woods.

"Hyoton: Fokkusu Torappu!" Haku shouted close by me. I rolled my eyes at the name as ice began to creep up my legs, freezing me to the tree limb.

"Fox trap? Really?" I shouted, focusing demonic chakra to my legs to shatter the ice. My face fell into a frown as the demonic chakra seemed to feed the ice. "Okay, demon chakra is good for it… How about nature chakra?" I said to myself, closing my eyes and concentrating on the forest around me. Seeing the chakra, I began to pull it into myself, focusing it at my legs.

The ice shattered, just in time. I bent backwards to avoid Haku's ice senbon. I swallowed as they hit the tree trunk behind me. Haku was aiming to kill.

"How did you do that? That jutsu is supposed to be inescapable," Haku asked, narrowing her usually friendly eyes.

"It would have been if I were any other person. I'm trained in senjutsu, meaning I can see, absorb, and manipulate nature chakra if I'm still," I explained, remembering my battle with Preta Pain, the path who had the ability to absorb chakra and ninjutsu attacks.

I felt the forest shift, sliding away from me. I smiled as the woods blackened and the shadows leapt at me. I closed my eyes and briefly cut off my chakra, breaking myself out of the genjutsu.

"Good job, Sakura. You're making progress," I commented, nodding at the kunoichi. "Next time, let the target populate the genjutsu. They'll subconsciously think of things they're afraid of and it will slip into the genjutsu."

Sakura nodded at me before jumping towards me, her hand glowing with chakra. I leapt away as the tree branch shattered under her fist. She met my eyes with determination and I activated demon eyes, giving her a vulpine grin as she landed onto one of the lower branches.

Sasuke Shunshined in front of her, Haku to her right. Haku lifted her hand, revealing a handful of senbon as Sasuke and Sakura each drew a kunai. Sasuke glanced at the two kunoichi, nodding once.

The two kunoichi jumped away in opposite directions as Sasuke rushed me. Realizing what they were doing, I jumped, dropping down towards the ground quickly, dragged by my weights.

Haku and Sakura nearly collided where I had been seconds earlier. Somersaulting, Sakura landed in a crouch on the branch, Haku skidding to a halt. Sasuke jumped down to meet me at the ground.

He started a taijutsu match, something he should have thought better of. I wasn't using the warau akuma, I used a variant of the gentle fist, relying on my demon eyes to keep track of Sasuke's chakra network.

"Hijutsu: Makyou Hyoushou," I heard Haku mutter as Sasuke jumped away from me. Twenty one mirror materialized and circled around me, forming a dome. My hands were about to form seals when I heard something I hadn't expected.

"Doton: Doro Domu!" Sakura shouted, holding her open palm open towards Haku's mirrors. A wall of earth rose around me, closing at the top to form a dome. My eyes narrowed; Haku's mirrors weren't a problem but Sakura's dome could do a lot of damage. Remembering one of the techniques abilities, I raised my voice, trying to keep the panic out.

"Sakura! Don't take my chakra! If you get any of Kyuubi's your body will attack it!" I shouted through the wall, already dodging Haku's senbon. I sighed, not wanting to destroy both layers at once. If I destroyed them at the same time, Haku wouldn't have a chance to escape without injury. "Haku, I'm breaking out of here. Come next to me so I don't hurt you," I said seriously, closing my eyes.

Haku studied me, thinking I was trying to trick her. I opened an eye.

"Fine, don't let me break out of here the fun way," I chuckled, pouting. I rolled my eyes, focusing on one of the Hiraishin seals outside of the domes of ice and earth. I opened my eyes to a trap.

Sasuke stood, wielding a kunai. I glanced around me, mentally counting his shadow clones. Too many; I held my hands up in surrender, glancing at the gathered Hiraishin kunai at my feet.

"You moved all of my kunai?" I asked, lowering my hands. Sasuke smirked.

"Can't have you escaping, can we?" he chuckled. Sakura and Haku walked towards us. I glanced at Sakura and sighed; she looked exhausted, the earth prison draining too much chakra. "Are you okay?" Sasuke asked. Sakura nodded, leaning on Haku.

"No you aren't- sit," I ordered. The young kunoichi nodded slowly before collapsing against a tree. "Did Kazura teach you that jutsu?"

"Yeah," she mumbled as I reactivated demon eyes, studying her chakra coils. I nodded once.

"I'm saying this as a sensei, don't use that unless you absolutely have to. Even then, never use it on me. If you take another ninja's chakra, it won't hurt you. If anything, it'll replenish your reserves. If you take any of Kyuubi's chakra, it could kill you," I said, reaching into my vest for a soldier pill. "Eat this and relax. You all pass," I smiled.

Haku sat down next to Sakura, twirling a piece of grass in between her fingers. Sasuke glanced at the girls before standing by me. Moving quickly, I grabbed Kamisora from its sheath, studying the polished metal and glancing at Sasuke.

"This katana has been all over the world. I had this forged right after I took Araiguma out of Suna. I had always meant to learn how to wield it but it was mostly for show until I met Zabuza and Haku. After learning who we were, Zabuza offered to teach me kenjutsu if I helped Haku with her medical ninjutsu. I accepted immediately; it's not everyday when one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist take on an apprentice. When Araiguma and I left Zabuza and Haku, they were headed towards Grass. Araiguma and I left for the Land of Iron, and later the Mist, to further my kenjutsu and expand my spy network," I said, remembering my journey fondly.

"Kamisora," I murmured, placing my left hand on the flat of the blade before passing it back to Sasuke. "Take care of that sword, I'm very fond of it," I said, glancing at the sword as Sasuke slid it back into it's black sheath. He nodded and I turned towards the girls. Sakura looked much better, the color returning to her face. She stood, still leaning on the tree just in case.

"I think I'm better now," she said, looking up at me. "What was that?"

"That was a soldier pill. They are made of powerful stimulants and nutrients to help the body replenish chakra and stamina. Certain recipes have different reactions; one is rumored to be so powerful it can keep a shinobi fighting for three days without rest. In my experience, it is better to avoid the stronger pills; they can have negative side effects."

"What kind of side effects?"

"Mostly anxiety," I answered, thinking. "I think all three of you should start carrying soldier pills. They are useful if you know how and when to use them," I said, reaching into my vest and pulling out six pills, two each. "I'm going to give you two but don't use them at the same time. This is my own recipe: I designed it to be fairly weak to lessen the side effects and concentrated on replenishing chakra sooner."

I passed the food pills out and each genin nodded, storing the pills in various pockets. I dismissed the team and began to walk back to the Namikaze Manor, stopping when I felt Sasuke running to catch up. I glanced at him and the paper in his hand.

"I read the paper," he began, sounding a little anxious. "It says I need a parent or guardian to sign it and that I can't have my sensei sign it. Kakashi is my guardian," he finished. I nodded slowly, trying to find a solution. It was true, students could not get their sensei's signature to enter in the exams. I hadn't thought about that when I gave the team the permission slips.

"I know," I said, looking up at him with a smile. "Give it to Tori. She's your clan head, making her your guardian. If the other villages have a problem with that, I can explain the situation," I said, smiling. Sasuke smiled gratefully for just a moment before he turned and raced to join Sakura and Haku as they walked back to the village.

I turned away, a smile on my face before I remembered what was waiting for me at home. My content smile transformed into a grimace.

My living room was covered in lilac, white, and cream. I chuckled, the sight of the Demon of the Bloody Mist amidst all the lace. My chuckled died when Ino and Hinata forced their way through the sea of wedding preparations. I backed away reflexively as Ino pulled a tape measure off of a pile on the coffee table.

"What are you doing?" I asked, trying not to sound terrified of the Yamanaka.

"Relax, Naruto, I'm not going to hurt you. We need your measurements for your suit," Ino almost growled. Zabuza winced, subtly leaving the room as I glared at him.

"It's okay, Naruto-kun," Hinata-chan chuckled quietly. "I already got mine done for the dress. It's your turn. Just stand still and hold your arms out," she said. I grimaced but obeyed as Ino snapped her fingers.

"Stay," she ordered. I stood up straight, holding my arms out while Ino took the measurements, recording them on a notebook Hina-chan had pulled out of the frill. When she was done, she retracted the tape measure and walked back into the kitchen. Hina-chan looked at me sympathetically.

"Just be glad Tori has classes to teach," she smiled optimistically. "Sorry about your living room…"

"That's okay, I can just make some clones to clean," I pointed out, my hands forming the familiar seal. "Kage bunshin no jutsu," I muttered, three clones appearing out of the materials. They groaned with me. "You know what to do," I said. The clones grimaced but began to straighten up the mess, organizing the supplies and samples into various piles. When Ino came back ten minutes later, she didn't glance at the lack of mess as she turned to Hina-chan and I.

"Okay, we need to pick out flowers now," she planned, glancing at the notebook in her hands. "Hinata-chan and I will pick out the flowers while Naruto stands there not touching anything. Got it?"

"Okay," Hina-chan said. I nodded, thanking Kami for not making me pick out flowers.

Ino and Hinata-chan talked excitedly about the wedding all the way to Yamanaka Flowers. Seeing us walk in the door, Yamanaka Lys, Ino's mother, smiled widely.

"Here comes the bride," she said in a singsong voice, making Ino laugh.

"Ohayo Kaasan," she smiled, pulling Hina-chan to the orchids. "The groom's here too. Don't worry, he knows not to touch anything," she said, glancing at me before suggesting different flowers and colors. Lys studied me quietly, still smiling.

"You must be Namikaze Naruto," she said, noting my blonde hair and blue eyes. I nodded, holding out my hand. She took it, still smiling. "Just call me Lys."

"It's nice to meet you," I said, taking my hand back and staring at the girls, sighing. "I will never understand."

"That's what I said," Inoichi said, walking through the back door. Ino smiled at her father before talking about the meaning of lilies. Staring at his daughter, he shook his head. "Nope, still don't."

"Ohayo, Inoichi-san," I greeted. He smiled at me before glancing back at Hina-chan and Ino.

"Picking out flowers? Hmm, they don't really need you here," Inoichi said, his eyes on the front door.

"I'm here for moral support or something," I chuckled. Inoichi glanced at his wife. Lys rolled her eyes at her husband, nodding.

"Ino, I'm stealing Naruto for a moment," he said quietly. Ino didn't noticed over the sound of her own voice. Inoichi flashed a smile, victorious, and dragged me out of the door to the Jounin Standby Station.

Scattered all across the station, I noticed Kakashi, Asuma, Shikaku, Chouza, and a number of other jounin. I sighed, noting that they were all male, almost guaranteeing that we were gathered to talk about my bachelor party.

"Kakashi, why do I feel like this is all your doing?" I growled, watching the silver haired ninja put away his orange book. He grinned under his mask.

"Because it is," he shrugged. "I think Kiba calmed down, by the way. He would've been invited, but…"

"He isn't a jounin?" I guessed. Asuma shook his head.

"His mother wouldn't let him come," he chuckled. I sighed.

"That woman is never going to like me, is she?" I groaned. Kakashi shrugged. "Do we have to do this now? I really don't want pink lilies at my wedding."

"Don't worry, Ino hates pink," Inoichi smirked. "Purple lilies maybe, but never pink." He chuckled when I growled. Shikaku sighed.

"Bachelor parties are troublesome," he muttered, right on cue.

"I don't even think there's a date for the wedding," I argued. "We can't plan the party if we don't have a date."

"Come on, Naruto. You know Hinata is going to have a bachelorette party if Kurenai has anything to do with it," Asuma said, pulling out a cigarette. I shrugged.

"Good for her," I shrugged. "Besides, I doubt her father will allow that. Hina-chan is still the Hyuuga heiress."

Ooh, I brought up Hiashi. That made them think. I walked to the door, my hand up in a wave.

"You don't need me to plan a party. Surprise me," I called. "Ja ne."

I shut the door behind me and heard Kakashi complain about me taking all of his lines again. With a smile, I ran back to Yamanaka Flowers.