"Hey, Nara-san. Can I tell you something?"

Shikamaru turned to his whispering partner.

Naruto looked at him, her expressive eyes sparkling.

"What?" he asked lazily.

"I heard that the Uchiha district is so far from the main section of Konoha, you can't hear any annoying sounds, unlike from the Nara buildings. Somewhere where cloud-watching is peaceful."

Shikamaru eyed her for a moment.

"Really?" he asked, still lazily.

Naruto beamed. "Not lying."

Then, as class ended, Naruto hopped onto her desk.

"STUDY GROUP AT SASUKE-KUN'S HOUSE!"

Cheers from the entire room spilled out of the classroom.

~:~

When Uchiha Fugaku entered his home, it was to see civilian and clan kids in a study group. Well, no Nara, but Fugaku had noticed a head of hair sprouting from the roof, which meant that he was cloud-watching from up there.

Sasuke looked absolutely helpless against the onslaught.

But he didn't see the Uzumaki brat.

"Hey, Fugaku!" Mikoto greeted kindly.

"Where's the Uzumaki gaki?"

"I disinvited her," Sasuke said, coming into the kitchen. "She's such a dobe."

Fugaku suppressed a smirk.

Looks like she was the smartest aside from the Nara.