Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Mito had spent the rest of the weekend with Naruto but Monday had finally reared its ugly head. While Naruto had no actual joy because of this, Mito was actually happy to fall into the same routine again.

Currently, the two Uzumaki were walking to school with Sakura and Sasuke. It as a pretty calm morning as the four simply walked in silence. Mito would have thought that Naruto would need to talk but the weekend in which they spent together wasn't one of many words, so maybe he had practiced the skill then.

"About that dog," he suddenly said. she had spoken too soon. Sakura and Sasuke looked confused, so Mito answered for them.

"Your mother doesn't like dogs," she said and his shoulders slumped as he looked at her.

"And how would you know that?" he said. It wasn't really anything hostile but just general curiosity. He hadn't known this piece of information. Was his mother allergic or was she afraid?

"Women talk, especially your mother," she said. Idly, Mito wondered if that was where Naruto got his gifted oratory skills. The boy had a pretty good lung capacity.

"Sorry but l'm confused," Sakura interjected and while Sasuke didn't show it, so was he. Naruto and Mito waved offhandedly as they recalled the events of Saturday.

"Just something we spoke about over the weekend," Mito said. Sasuke shrugged, not

really caring all the much about the random thought.

Mito had had a surprisingly normal day at school. It was a whole lot more mundane than she had ever thought possible and she just wasn't used to that lifestyle. She actually liked the weird in her life. On second thought, maybe something was wrong with her.

She was now on her way out to join Naruto and the others when she accidentally bumped into someone, though in the future many would question this meeting and how 'accidental' it actually was.

Mito looked up to apologise but stopped at what she saw. No one was that pale right? The man in front of her had gleaming yellow eyes and some sort of purple eyeshadow. He was tall with an odd aura around him. The type that made you question your relevance to his own. It was clear he was powerful and intimidating on that odd, teacher kind of way. Yet she couldn't help but feel he wasn't really an ordinary teacher.

His eyes narrowed in on her form and she couldn't hold back her gulp. This guy was really starting to creep out.

"My apologies," the man said before chuckling at her. Mito sister herself up and stood before meeting his gaze.

"No, l wasn't looking where l was going," she said as the guy nodded before speaking again, his voice taking an oddly pleased tone.

"You must be a new student for this year, l'm the fashion model teacher, Mr Orochimaru,"

Mito nodded at him and began to walk away from him. Orochimaru was left alone in the hallways with a smirk. His trusted subordinates had studied her classes for him. He knew exactly where she was most of the time and this had been the rare opportunity when she was alone.

He had simply wanted to see her close up in actual life to affirm his decision of putting lots of resources into her. He had hoped he was not wasting his time and thankfully, he wasn't.

The man lived a risky life, hiding in plain sight but it was that factor of normalcy that kept him out of reach. He was now a master of deception and mental manipulation. You didn't stay in this business and not pick up neat skills.

Naruto audibly sighed as he sat down. Mito had insisted that they stop by a nearby store for a sight snack. Usually, he wouldn't disagree as he was a big fan of food but Mito was killing his pockets. Gama-chan was dying at a fast rate.

Mito plopped down across from him as she sighed, hers more one of relief and comfort. She passed him a milkshake and he examined the flavour, strawberry. It was likely her favorite seeing as she had bought herself the same flavour. That or it was all they had. He watched her take a sip, noting the slight suction she caused. Her hair was hanging loosely down her back, sprawled messily. It was smooth, he knew that much from Saturday night.

He was sure red hair was a guilty pleasure of his. It had started with his mother's locks as he grew and spending his days with Mito only served to increase his fascination with red hair. Really, red was an odd colour in Konoha, even Sasuke was intrigued by the genetics behind it. He always wondered whether the trait was recessive.

"Naruto," Mito's voice broke his introspective. He took note of how her voice was dripping with wry amusement. He dragged his eyes to face her...only to realize that they were already locked on her. So he had clearly zoned out.

"Yea?" he sounded confused but more by his own answer than by the questioning look his cousin was giving.

"You were staring," she said before grabbing the milkshake in his hand. He didn't protest out loud as she drank though internally, he was slightly peeved he wasn't going to get to enjoy his own money. In the end he shrugged, as long as she was happy, he supposed.

"Hey Naruto?" she said as she twirled the straw at her lips. He forced his eyes up.

"What is it?" he inquired as Mito took another sip of hisdrink. She leveled him with an even stare as a slight silence encompassed them.

"I've been thinking..." she trailed off as he looked at her oddly. Why wasn't she finishing? He didn't understand the mechanics behind women. The slightest change in their tone and posture had to be noted. They were an entirely different type of species, completely alien to him. Perhaps this was why he didn't get Sakura.

"... let's get that dog," he visibly relaxed as the words were whispered. He had thought it was something serious and/or detrimental to his wallet. Wait! Didn't you have to buy a dog?