"I can still see you," Naruto said irritably as he passed by a wooden fence. "You're holding that the wrong way." A section of the fence with horizontal planks crumpled to the ground like cloth to reveal a child with an inconceivably long blue scarf and a yellow shirt with the Leaf symbol sewn onto it in red.

"Ha," he shouted, an act that made Naruto cover his ears in pain. "I knew you'd see through my clever disguise! That's why you'll make a great Sensei for me!" He struck pose and gave Naruto the thumbs up. The other male, however, simply walked on and ignored the odd little nuisance. This earned him the ire of the child, who retorted by running full tilt towards his back with a plastic Kunai in hand. "Sneak attack!"

Naruto paused in his gait to let the child jam the dull toy against his back, as he felt it would be a waste of effort trying to avoid a nonlethal and slightly painful blow. "You know," he sighed deeply, turning his head to look at the other boy with a mixture of contempt and irritation. "It's not much of a sneak attack if you announce it. And it might help if you were using an actual weapon instead of a toy." His eyes flashed yellow and he turned his body around to face the child. "And I really don't appreciate being followed. Now beat it kid, I don't have time for this." Naruto had to restrain himself from growling at the kid. It wouldn't do his reputation well if he frightened a child.

The other boy didn't seem to catch on as he continued. "See! That's what I'm talking about! Teach me how to do a sneak attack."

"Did you hear me?" Naruto's eyes changed once more; however, they did not return to normal as they did before. "I don't have the time, or the patience, to babysit a troublemaker."

The child huffed at that. "What makes you think I'm a troublemaker!?"

"It might be because you ran at the Hokage with a plastic knife in hopes of stabbing him?" Naruto fixed him with dreary stare. "Or because you painted a mustache on the monument two weeks ago."

"You heard about that, huh?" asked the boy somewhat timidly. "A lot of people got mad at me for that."

"Yeah, it was sort of disrespectful." His eyes finally returned to normal as he regained control of his temper. "There a reason you hold such disdain towards your grandfather?"

The kid seemed surprised by Naruto's question. "How… how'd you know we're related?"

The older boy tapped his nose. "I could tell from your scent. You have a distinct smell about you that's familiar to the Hokage… plus, he told me you were his grandkid after you left. And you still haven't answered my question. Why've you been so hell bent on getting to the Hokage... Konohamaru, was it?"

The other boy looked down shamefully. "It's kind of silly," he admitted.

Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose as his frustration with the child grew. "William, give me strength," he muttered. Each second spent with the little one ate away at his already dwindling patience. "Look, if it's important to you, it's not silly. Why do you keep going after the ol... the Hokage like madman?"

Konohamaru chanced a look at the other male and saw that he was looking at him with neither amusement nor worry. He chose his words carefully and spoke. "It's just... well... everyone in the village looks up to Jiji," he began. "They treat me special because I'm the "Hokage's grandkid," instead of Konohamaru. I hate that!" his voice became much more harsh and heated. "I just wanna be Konohamaru, not, "honorable grandson.""

The word he chose when referring to his grandfather struck Naruto with a feeling of nostalgia as he recalled his time spent with the elder before he left the village. Now that he thought about it, the kid was acting similar to how Naruto acted before he met his guardians. He was loud, obnoxious and certainly had the fashion sense. It was almost eerie; however, Naruto was not one to look a possible opportunity down. Yes, now that he put some consideration into this, he could make this situation work. Teaching the child could be a sort of practice for when he had to train his pack.

"Alright, Konohamaru," he said calmly. This made the boy look at him with an expression of apprehension. "I'll be your sensei." Before the boy could release the burst of joy welling up inside him as foretold by the massive grin he held, Naruto held up his hand in hopes to halt him. "However," his tone became more firm and commanding, succeeding in bringing pause to Konohamaru's likely outburst. "You will do as I say. Not without question, but you will listen to my instructions to the letter. Understood?"

The boy's lips went skywards as he pumped his arms in excitement. "Hai, Naruto-sensei!" he chirped, performing a sloppy salute.

Naruto felt a chill settle in his gut as the boy all but jumped about in delight. Something told him that he may have made a grave error in agreeing to this. 'Only time will tell,' he thought anxiously. He let out an uneasy sigh that almost became a groan and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright," his voice was hesitant and slightly irritated. "So… your first task is to come to my place with some Chakra Paper, alright?"

Konohamaru ceased his joyous shaking and gave his new instructor a perplexed look. "Chakra Paper?" he asked, tilting his head.

The other male nearly balked at that, were it not that he recalled Kiba mentioning that students did not in fact learn about their elements in school. Instead, he gave the child a quizzical look before nodding. "Never mind, I'll look after the paper. Just come to the old lot next to training ground four after school in two weeks. I-" he held up his hand when the child was about to talk. "I will need time to come up with a training regime that will work for both of us, and I will be spending time with my new teammates. You also have to understand that I only know how to train in two elements, Wind and Earth. The latter I've only learned a single Jutsu for. I need to speak with other Element users to understand what I would need to do in order to train you."

He paused to both take a breath and to make sure the boy was following along. When he saw no confusion on Konohamaru's face, he continued. "I understand that it can be difficult to wait, you're young and you want to do things fast and soon. I've been there, and I can't say I haven't gotten rid of my own impatience; however, if you can wait, I promise you I will train you to be a better ninja than any instructor at the academe." Naruto was about t o end the conversation there when a thought occurred. "That doesn't mean that you should ignore your teachers," his tone was stern with this warning. "They are stronger, smarter, and know a lot more about being a ninja than me. So you'd do best to listen to their instructions." When he received an understanding nod from the boy, he smiled and pat him on the head. "Alright, Konohamaru, let's get to class. You've got things to learn and I've a team to meet." The other boy smiled and nodded, following his new teacher to the academe.

Naruto took the same seat he had weeks ago. He slumped down; placing his hands over his face leaned back in his chair. "I think I screwed up," he groaned wearily. When he received no response from his friend, he returned his attention to the other male in his vicinity. To his surprise, Kiba was doing the same and the two were locked in a short staring contest, before they turned away. A few minutes passed in silence – at least for them, as the rest of the class was up and about in several live conversations – before Naruto bit the inside of his cheek and spoke up. "So… how much trouble are you in?" Kiba seemed to be gritting his teeth while he mulled his response over. "That bad, huh?"

The other male nodded dejectedly and sighed. "I'm grounded for three months. Can't leave the house unless it's important to the team I'll be with." He paused and gave Naruto a pensive face as he nearly whispered the rest."I'm also supposed to stay away from you for a while."

"What?"

Kiba nodded and slumped in his seat. "She says you almost got me and Akamaru killed. Plus… she kinda found out that you let me read the scroll, sooo…" he stopped as the door to the classroom above them slid open loudly.

"I'M FIRST!"

The duel shout caused the two canine like students of the classroom to clasp their hands over their throbbing ears so hard that their knuckles went white. Naruto cast a pained expression at his friend, a gesture returned by the other dog boy. The two of them slowly removed their hands from their damaged ears and gave icy glares to the banshees that caused them such agony.

"Looks like I win again, Sakura!" belted the blond female, a look of smug delight etched on her face.

"Give it up," the pink haired one replied with a face that mirrored the other. "I had to look back to see you. My toe was at least a tenth of an inch ahead!" Apparently they did not notice the boys' glowers as their argument went undisturbed, ending only when the pink one seemed to notice something – or rather someone – sitting at the middle row left side of the classroom and made a mad dash with the other girl to the person of interest. They then went about shouting about who would sit next to who Naruto recognized as the Uchiha. This in turned brought nearly every girl in the class to what was likely going to turn into a brawl. Unfortunately, any potential bloodshed was averted when Iruka entered the classroom and commanded the unruly bunch to take their seats. The women begrudgingly did as the teacher demanded; giving up after the two girls that started the incident took the coveted chairs on either side of the Uchiha.

With the commotion hushed, Iruka gave the class a once over before he began speaking. "Well," his voice lost its irked tone, switching out with a prideful inflection that accompanied a small grin. He gave the students another inspection which brought his smile up. "It seems I'm a pretty good teacher. So many of you have passed!" Some of the students rolled their eyes at his self gratification. "You've all come so far, I'm simply dumbstruck at how quickly you've grown! I… yes, Sakura?" Iruka looked at the pink haired girl whose hand was raised.

The girl seemed to squirm in her seat when the class' eyes fell on her. "Sorry to interrupt," she all but whispered. "But… where's Mizuke-sensei?"

Iruka visibly flinched at the inquiry, fingers fidgeting with the clipboard held tightly to his chest as he tried to think of an answer. He gave Naruto a quick, frightful glance before replying rather hesitantly. "Mizuke… is preoccupied at the moment," he lied. This seemed to only make the rest of the classroom more curious, as they'd have to have been blind to have missed the trepidation in his tone.

Naruto licked at his teeth, pausing for a few moments to pick at a piece of the aforementioned instructor's lunate bone which had gotten jammed in his lower left molar. He cast his neighbor a quick glance to see that he was looking at his desk with a deep grimace. Kiba seemed to notice the movement, however, as his eyes shot from the wooden surface of the desk to Naruto. It was at that moment that he saw something in Kiba's eyes that he hadn't expected to see. The boy gave him the cautious look one would give a snarling beast. He wasn't terrified, but Naruto could see some fear in those black slits of his.

He knew coming to the village would mean he'd be making a lot of people nervous at the very least. It would take time and a lot of understanding before he made any friends that could be accepting of his unique condition and dietary needs. He had hoped that of all people, the Inuzuka would understand the need to consume flesh. After all, the clan was supposedly part wolf. Surly they, of all people, could understand that wolves had to eat. Human beings were just another type of meat. Yet this boy sat there, giving Naruto such a frightful stare that the blond felt a small pang in his chest.

Had he just driven someone away? Was this going to be a constant for him, making a friend and then losing them when he does something he was born to do? Werewolves were inherently violent creatures. That's what happens when you fuse a man and a beast. Violence was just what they did. Naruto had become desensitized to gore and bloodshed by age ten! He couldn't- wouldn't change himself because humans were squeamish. He'd just have to get them used to violence the same way he had. He would…

"Uzumaki Naruto," Iruka called out.

Naruto shot up from his desk and stood at attention. "Yes sir?!" he shouted accidentally. The class looked up at him, some sniggering at his outburst. Iruka seemed to be just as confused as most of them.

"I was just assigning teams…" he said after coughing in his fist.

The teen's eyes widened and a fierce blush flew along his cheeks. "I…" he tried but failed to speak an explanation. Defeated, he sat back in his chair and looked down at his desk. "Continue, sir," he all but whispered.

The class became filled with the hushed guffaws of the onlookers of Naruto's ridiculous little scene. Their attention was eventually brought back to the teacher when he repeated himself. "Team Seven… Uzumaki Naruto…"

'Kill me now,' the teen begged to gods he was not entirely sure existed.

"Haruno Sakura… and Uchiha Sasuke," the teacher finished.

Naruto looked several rows down and one row to the right from him where his other male teammate met his gaze. 'Ah, shit!' he thought. 'My luck to be with the asshole.'

"Yes!" shouted a familiar and irritating voice. The source of the shout was none other than the pink haired girl from before who was pumping her arms in the air and giving a looking to the blond girl, likely giving her a mocking look.

"Motherfuck…" Naruto whispered angrily, squeezing at his desk until the wood splintered. This was going to be a long, long workload to get the two of them used to his way of working. The first impression he got from the two was anything but teamwork. Sasuke seemed to be the type that wanted to constantly test himself and his strength against others, a trait that had its merits but ultimately had potential to lead to an unwillingness to cooperate with others. He'd probably think any plan that wasn't his would need fixing or tossed aside outright. Sakura, on the other hand, seemed to be focused on one thing and one thing only: Sasuke. She would religiously hang on Sasuke's every word and agree with anything he said, no matter how inane or trivial. This would put Naruto at a disadvantage when it would come to arguments and decisions the team would need to make. If he and Sasuke ever disagreed on anything, Sakura would be the tiebreaker, and who would she side with?

Naruto violently shuddered as his body and mind flooded with a heavy feeling of dismay. "Fuck," he whispered angrily.

Lunchtime had come around and Naruto was tasked with having it with his new – he trembled with hesitation to call them this – team. Thankfully, Sasuke shared his feelings on the idea and informed the other two that he preferred to eat alone. This left Naruto with his female team member, Sakura Haruno. Now that he actually had time to look at her, he could tell a few things that made him almost reconsider his previous thoughts on the girl. Almost.

First of all, she was strong. She was insanely strong, if her handshake was any indication. Her grip made his hand crack in several places. Her biceps, triceps, deltoids, and brachioradialis (forearm) were lean and taught, barely concealed over a thin layer of skin and fat. This was a woman that took her upper body exercises very seriously. And yet she just laughed and waved it off as the results of a bit of exercise. 'A bit!?' Naruto thought as he grit his teeth through the pain of the greeting. 'If she ever punched me in the chest, it'd probably shatter every rib in my body!'

Second, she was pale and had a very large amount of space between her hairline and her eyebrows, a subject that would likely earn him that punch were he to bring the forehead up in conversation. Third, she liked Sasuke. As in, she really liked the boy. Her first addition to the conversation on the way to the yard was about how happy she was to be on his team, how great it would be to spend time with him, and how just all around amazing he was. When Naruto asked what was so special about him, Sakura gave him a look like he had just asked why people needed to breathe. "He's Sasuke!" she shouted as if it was an obvious reply. Naruto winced and once again covered his ears at the noise next to him. His female teammate seemed to notice this and shrunk down with a look of shame on her features. "Oh, sorry… I heard you… guys have sensitive hearing." She thankfully brought her tone down to a normal decibel level, something Naruto was monumentally grateful for.

"But as I was saying," Oh no… "He's Sasuke Uchiha. His clan was… is the most respected in the entire Shinobi world. He's the strongest, smartest, fastest, and sexiest guy in the whole village. Not to mention his prowess as a heartbreaker. He's turned down every girl that's asked him out… me included. But that's gonna change now!" She pumped her arm up in the air, an action that made Naruto side step. The last thing he wanted was to be anywhere near her when she punched something, even the air. In fact… he could swear he heard the wind being pushed aside when she made the motion.

When they left the building, Naruto pointed to a nearby tree that was unoccupied; however, Sakura shook her head and beckoned him to follow her. Apparently she already had a place in mind for them to sit and eat. Or in his case, sit and watch her eat and likely talk about their other male teammate some more. Of course, the walk to the spot was fraught with more praises from Sakura about Sasuke. She talked about all the sparring matches he won, as in all of them. Then she went on to say how cool he was no matter what, even when Iruka had done a surprise test in the form of disguising himself as a ninja from another village threatening to kill anyone that tried to stop him. Apparently Sasuke calmly and… coolly attacked and subdued the ninja before he could finish his threats.

By the time they made it to their lunch spot, Naruto was ready to tear his ears off and never let them grow back; however, his violent thoughts of self mutilation were tamed as his eyes fell upon their eating place. The village was aptly named, as the area was thick with trees both small and fat. The pathway was lined with rough cobblestone that stretched a few yards before splitting into a fork. Along the road, the area they'd be eating was made visible. A bench made of smooth, hewn stone sat comfortably on the side of the path and faced a more sparse section of wooded area. This allowed those seated to view the majesty of nature while they ate. This was not lost on the teen as he sat. He simply marveled at the view of the forest, his strong eyes carrying his vision deep into the woods where he could see several animals going about their business.

So enraptured was he, that only the pale fingers snapping in front of his face pulled him from his reverie. He shook his head and returned his attention to the girl once more. "S-sorry," he said shamefully. "I got distracted by the scenery. Do you eat lunch here all the time?"

Sakura nodded, smiling and apparently forgiving him for loosing focus on the conversation. "Yeah," her voice was calm and soothed as she looked where he had. "It's nice and peaceful here. No one really comes this way anymore."

Naruto cocked his head at her and inquired, "Don't you eat with your friends?"

This made the girl shrink up and find great interest in the ground. "I… I don't have any," she said in a low voice. "Friends that is… I don't have any friends."

The other had to restrain himself from hitting himself for being such a fool as to bring up something that was obviously a sensitive subject for the girl. Of course she hadn't any friends! Considering the way she and the other girls fought over a seat near Sasuke, it was unlikely she had any female friends in the academe. Boys were… well, boys. Any possible friendships would likely end if they showed any distaste towards her one obsession and the others probably had nothing in common with her. There was the option to have a civilian friend, but "normal" people felt intimidated or overshadowed by ninja.

"Well, that'll change with time." He said, forcing on a confidant smile in hopes it would catch on. "Now that we're ninja, we'll be traveling a lot and meeting all kinds of people. It'd be impossible not to make friends along the way."

Thankfully, his halfhearted plan worked as Sakura mirrored his smile, although hers was genuine. "You're right," she chirped happily. "And I'll win Sasuke's heart since we'll be spending so much time together!"

Naruto screamed internally at the almost religious devotion she held for the other male. "So, what are you eating?" he asked, hoping against hope to turn the conversation to a non Sasuke topic.

"Oh," she looked down at the neatly packed food in the small ornate box that was kept on her lap. "Nothing much, just some fried chicken, barbecued beef, salmon and tuna rolls, cherry rice balls, pork dumplings, and a small almond cake."

"Just!?" Naruto balked, mouth ajar. Looking down, he noted that indeed, all the previously mentioned food was tightly packed and organized in the small box. There was even a small pool divot where the soy sauce likely went.

Sakura gave him a heated look and huffed. "Well, I'm not into starving myself like some people. I need protein, vitamins, and grain to keep myself healthy. Exorcizing and staying full is better than doing nothing and starving."

Apparently he had unintentionally insulted her… again. He brought his hands up defensively and waved them about. "Oh! I didn't mean any offence!" he said guiltily. "I'm happy, in fact, that one of my team members looks after themselves so well. Most women I've met your age are too concerned with crazy dieting. It's a breath of fresh air to meet someone that knows how to eat."

This, thankfully again, brought the girl back to a positive expression. "Thank you," she smiled. "It's nice to meet someone who agrees with me on proper dieting. Now, where's your food?"

Naruto gave a nonchalant shrug and leaned back against the cold, hard wall. "Don't have one," he replied. "I ate the last bits of food I had this morning and I'm kind of broke for the time being." This proved, once again, to be the wrong thing to say as his team mate gave him an astonished look. 'Maybe I should take a vow of silence?'

"I can't just sit here and eat in front of you when you don't have money to have lunch!" she nearly shrieked, which again caused the other to wince.

"Why not?"

"I'd feel really weird!" she replied with a huff. "Here," Sakura shoved a pair of intricately carved chopsticks in front of him and waved them about until he took them. She then scooted away and placed the box between them. "I always make too much anyway, so I don't want you to argue, alright?" Sakura fixed him with a stern glare which she removed only when he nodded solemnly. "Good, now… itadakimasu!"

Naruto repeated her, and leisurely picked at the food until he retrieved a piece of beef. He placed the meat in his mouth and bit down. It was then that he found himself in nirvana. His eyes glazed over and his pupils nearly consumed his irises as a wave of fantastic flavors danced across his pallet. It had been too long since he had properly cooked meat. Leena and Victor almost always ate their food raw, and the only time they cooked it, Leena would scarcely let the flames lick the food. The only times he actually had cooked food was when they entered the city, and that was only if they were rewarding him – which was very rare – and couldn't be asked to go hunting. This didn't mean he didn't like his meat raw. Actually, he preferred it that way; however, there was a certain joy to an expertly cooked side of ribs or a finely roasted cut of beef.

"Fank oo," he managed to say through the little piece of heaven in his mouth.

Sakura giggled and reached in to grab her own food, coming up with a piece of fried chicken. "I'm glad you like it. They teach… taught Kunoichi how to cook."

"It shows," Naruto commented, grabbing at another piece of beef. "I haven't had the chance to go hunting lately. What with the repairs to my house and training, I forgot what a well cooked meal was actually like!"

"I'm sure it's not that good," she said, waving him off.

Naruto paused in his consumption of a pork dumpling to look up at her severely. "No, this is amazing, don't put yourself down."

"Really, it's not that good," she continued. "I'm not that great… at cooking!"

The other's eyes widened momentarily as realization came crashing down on him. He understood now why this girl was so obsessed with the Uchiha. She lacked what the other likely had in volume: confidence. Sakura was meek, an oddity of sorts to the women of the class with her eating habits and likely her appearance. The blond female and she had some sort of rivalry going on. She was mocked and laughed at by her peers, something that could and would be a constant drain on one's self esteem. Then there was Sasuke. He was smart, strong, brooding, and most importantly, confidant. He had what she needed, and so she chased after him. This was all conjecture, of course. But if it were true, perhaps Naruto wasn't as screwed as he had thought. He would just need to work on her confidence to hopefully get her over their brooding teammate.

"Well, I think it's fantastic, and I don't use that word… almost ever." He thought for a moment before adding, "If you ever get tired of being a ninja, you could make one hell of a chef."

She blushed at the praise and smiled. "Thank you, Naruto-san. Next time I'll pack extra so we there's more to share." She beamed at him and continued to eat.

The next hour was spent with the two deep in conversation. It was mostly one sided, as Sakura probably hadn't had someone to talk to like this in a long time. This didn't bother Naruto at all, as he found it nice to simply relax and listen. Through their conversation, Naruto discovered that Sakura was apparently the smartest girl in the class, rivaled only by the Hyuga heiress. She also had a passion aside from Sasuke: exercise. Apparently she was really into extreme obstacle courses and upper body strength. Since she ate more than most of the girls in class, Sakura remained in shape through constant training; however, she was somehow terrible with Taijutsu. Well, that was an overstatement. She wasn't awful, just inexperienced. According to her, the academe's fighting style was too confusing for her. Instead, she preferred a style she called, "Brawling." Said fighting style focused on powerful hits with the arms and fists, requiring constant movement since there was no stance to the technique. Naruto nearly choked on a dumpling at that. Brawling wasn't really a style of fighting; it was just a messy and random way that civilians fought. But, if it worked it worked.

Eventually they noticed that they had finished the food more than an hour ago, meaning the rest of the graduates had returned to the classroom to meet their Jonin senseis. The two made a mad dash back to the room, praying that they hadn't kept their new teacher waiting. Sakura apologized several times along the way for keeping them distracted, but Naruto just smiled and waved her off, claiming that it was well worth it. When they finally made it to the classroom, only one student was left: Sasuke. The room's only occupant fixed the two with a harsh glare before returning his attention to the window. "Did…" Sakura began, her tone panicked. "We didn't miss the Jonin… did we, Sasuke-kun?"

The other male grunted in frustration and replied without looking over. "You're two hours late… and so is our new instructor."

Naruto and Sakura let out sighs of relief, the former speaking what they were thinking. "Thank Kami," he walked over to the front row middle seat and sat back, kicking his feet up onto the desk. "There would've been hell to pay if they left without us."

"Yes," Sasuke said, turning momentarily to give Naruto another glare. "There would have been."

The other male waved him off and let his back pot against the chair. "Eh, whatever," he said casually. "We're all here before they are, so technically we're on time."

Apparently his female teammate didn't feel as blasé as he did. She stomped up to him and knocked his feet off the desk, giving him a fierce glower. "Naruto!" she shrieked. "Don't talk to Sasuke-kun like that!"

'Back to the yelling,' he thought with a wince. A wry grin made its way across his face as a thought came to mind. "But Sakura-san, as teammates, we're equals!" That got him the reactions he wanted as Sasuke's head swiveled to look at him so fast he could hear a crack and Sakura's mouth fell agape. "You, me, and him are all equals now that we're on a team," he continued. "Even though I've visited almost every country, fought and… and subdued other ninja and Werewolves, I see you two as my peers!" You could hear a pin drop from the silence that reigned. Naruto had to keep himself from laughing at the faces of his two teammates.

It only took a few seconds to pass before Sasuke stood from his chair and marched down to meet Naruto eye to eye. The boy's glare was hot enough to boil water. "Listen here, dobe," he hissed. "Just because you're some kind of animal-man doesn't mean we're equals. I'm way ahead of the rest of the pathetic excuses Iruka calls ninja in this classroom. I'm an Uchiha, which puts me a cut above you." he turned his head to place his glower on Sakura. "That goes for you as well." The girl deflated and backed away, her eyes glistening with stinging tears. "I don't know why they put me with someone so… useless."

Naruto's blood boiled over at the verbal abuse to their teammate. The hair on his head bristled and his teeth sharpened and grew. His eyes turned a deep yellow, pupils forming black slits. He stood up, the chair clattering to the ground behind him, and he let a great wave of killing intent out and head towards Sasuke. The other boy seemed to notice this as he turned around quickly to find Naruto and him almost nose to nose, the latter having hopped onto his desk and crouching to make eye contact. The Uchiha's body went stiff as he stared into the bestial eyes before him, frozen in either fear or something else as the two looked intently at one another. "You wanna say that again, meat!?" Naruto's voice was no longer the somewhat horse baritone, but a low, gruff bass that came out with a snarl.

The two other students stood wide eyed at the display of aggression and dominance, though the male seemed to reign himself in and return the Werewolf's glare. "I said," his voice was cocksure and came with a tiny smirk. "I don't know why they put me with someone so useless."

The other male grabbed him by the collar, his claws tearing into the blue cloth, and stood, hoisting up Sasuke. The Uchiha in turn removed two kunai and placed one at Naruto's nape and the other at his stomach, angled upwards so as to go under the ribs and to the heart. The Werewolf paid no heed to the blades as he brought the other boy nose to nose. "You think I won't tear off your legs and eat 'em like drum sticks!?" he bellowed, flashing his fangs. "Don't you ever," he squeezed harder, drawing blood from his own palms. "Ever treat a teammate like shit! I got no problem going to prison if it means-"

"Alright," called a new, male voice from the far window. The three turned their heads to see a man in dark blue cloths with a green vest crouching on the open windowsill. He had in his hand an orange book that barely covered his concealed face. Atop his head was a mop of messy silver hair that stood upright thanks to his headband which was angled to cover his left eye. "That's enough, you two." He hopped into the classroom and casually strolled over to the two boys. "Naruto, put Sasuke down. Sasuke, put your knives away." He sounded like a father chastising his children for breaking a vase; however, his expression, though unreadable, somehow sent chills down the boys' spines, and the two relented. "Good," The man's eye closed and a faint smile could just be seen from under the cloth. "Now, I'm your Jonin Instructor, Hatake Kakashi. I'd like to meet you all on the roof in five minutes so we can talk, okay?" He didn't give them any time to answer as he brought his book up to his face and surprised a lecherous giggle, turning and exiting the classroom.

Sasuke gave Naruto another glare before heading out himself. "This isn't over, dobe," he said, patting his knives.

Naruto had long since let his features return to their more human-esque likeness and carefully slid off the desk. He looked up at Sakura who was giving him a look several times worse than Kiba. "Sakura… I-" he stepped forward, eyes pleading, but she would have none of it.

"Don't," she nearly hissed, taking several shaky steps back. "Don't talk to me, okay? Just… just don't." She turned and ran off, slamming the door loudly behind her.

The last occupant of the room let out a disgruntled sigh. "God dammit," he cursed.

Naruto eventually made his way onto the roof where his teammates sat and waited. Sasuke greeted him with another glower while Sakura gave him another fearful look. He noted that her eyes were red and puffy and mentally kicked himself again. Kakashi sent a half hearted wave his way without looking up from his book. Naruto took his seat a between the other teens and refocused his attention on their new instructor.

Said man spoke, again keeping his eye on his little book. "I'd like us to start off with some introductions. Tell us about things you like and dislike." When he received only stares he continued. "Your dreams for the future… hobbies. Things like that."

"Why don't you start," Naruto piped.

Kakashi pointed at himself and cocked his head. "Me? Okay. Let's see… my likes and dislikes… I don't think I want to tell you those. My dreams for the future… I guess I never really thought about that. As for my hobbies," he paused again and looked to the sky as if the clouds held his answer. "I have a lot of hobbies." He looked down to see the group leaning in a bit as if asking him to continue; however, he turned to look at Sakura and pointed. "Your turn."

She jumped at being spoken to and quickly rubbed her eyes with her forearm. "Oh… um, my name is Sakura Haruno. My likes are…" she trailed off and chanced a look in Sasuke's direction, thanking that he was not looking her way. Unfortunately, she felt blush set on her cheeks as she thought of her answer. "Er… that is… my hobbies are," again, she gave Sasuke a quick glance and her blush intensified. "M-my dreams for the future are-" her face went full red as more embarrassing thoughts flooded her mind.

Kakashi almost dreaded asking. "And what do you hate?"

Sakura stopped, her fits of giggling and blush gone in a near instant. She cast a frightened look Naruto's way, causing another pang to hit his gut. "I hate… I hate Ino Yamanak… she said.

The Jonin nodded boredly at the girl and pointed at Sasuke. "You're up," he said from behind his book.

Sasuke took on a grim – or at least grimmer – expression and laced his fingers together, leaning to rest his nose on them. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha, he announced calmly. "I hate a lot of things and don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will bring back my clan and destroy… a certain someone."

Kakashi actually looked up from his book and gave the boy… a look. What expression he had on was unknown. Eventually, he turned his attention to the last member and pointed. "You're last," he said, returning to the book.

Naruto breathed in, feeling a slight relief that Sakura didn't claim to hate him, at least out lout anyway. She seemed like a nice enough person, strong and passionate with a fierce determination. He'd actually come to like her now that he came to know her better, and yet in less than a minute, he had scared off another possible friend. He let out a sigh and leaned back to give the clouds some attention. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki," he began. "And I am a Werewolf. Many believe that means that I am a man with a beast within," he kept himself from laughing when he realized that with the fox, that was not too far from the truth. "However, I am in fact a wild animal that takes on human form. This means that… certain things don't come naturally to me. Serenity and control of emotions are difficult. We are strong creatures, and we feel emotions strongly. That means when I get a little angry," he looked down to see Sasuke and Sakura giving him their attention, the latter looking off every now and then. "I get really angry, and it can be difficult to control. It can actually be a bit scary for us and those around us. Sometimes… sometimes my kind can lose themselves to their passions. Most of us find it easy to just stick with our own kind and leave humans alone… but I want to live here, where I was born. The people of Konoha are a passionate and stubborn bunch," He let out a dry chuckle. "Just like me. They live good, happy lives and never seem to break, no matter what hardships they face. And even though I don't get along with all of them, I love this village so much, I'd die a thousand times over just to keep it alive for one more day."

A silence fell on the group as they all stared at the teen. Even Kakashi had put his book down to listen more intently, and when Naruto finished, he nodded. "Well, that's good to hear." He closed his book and pocketed it, sliding off the railing. "I have this team's first assignment." The three teens' attention immediately became focused on their Sensei. "Meet me at training ground seven tomorrow at five sharp. Oh, and don't eat breakfast," the other three were about to ask the obvious question when he continued. "You'll just throw it up. I'll see you all there!" He didn't give them any time to reply as he vanished, leaving nothing but a few swirling leaves.

Sasuke was the first to stand. He wordlessly headed to the roof access and left the other two alone. Naruto kept his eyes away from Sakura, dreading seeing her face contorted in fear again. He stood up as well and began to head off when he felt a hand grab his wrist. From the powerful grip, it was obviously Sakura. He turned around to see her face was still a little red in the eyes. She seemed to be carefully selecting the words in her mind, so he waited to let her speak first. "I… can't say I like seeing you like that," she began. "But… but I get that you might not be used to talking to… to humans. You seem pretty normal… you know, except for… that. But, I guess I'd have a hard time keeping myself in a new place… so I… I forgive you. Just try and watch your temper next time… okay?"

Naruto was dumbstruck. He had thought that any friendship with the girl had been burned away. Yet here was his second chance, one that he would be careful with now. He nodded firmly and held his hand out to shake hers'. "I'll do my damndest," he said. Sakura gave him a smile and accepted the hand, making his hand pop once more. He had to do everything in his power not to cry from the pain. 'Note to self,' he mentally reminded himself. 'Find a less painful way to greet Sakura.'

Yes, I've returned. Why the year long absence? In truth, it was due to writers block. I honestly couldn't think of anything to write the whole time. Only recently have I rediscovered a love for the written word thanks to reading some of the reviews and some encouragement from my friends. So I'm back, and I plan to finish this and my other story if it kills me. I understand if most of you feel I've taken too long and no longer wish to read this, but I plan to finish this story regardless if anyone reads it so I can at least say id did it. If those who enjoy it ever feel as though I'm slowing down, feel free to give me a fresh reminder of this AN, hopefully it'll pull my ass back into the chair and get me typing again.

~Dawning the Mask