Naruto: A Red Eye Hidden by Shadow

by Tatanka4Life

On the fateful night of the Uchiha Massacre, a girl of Uchiha and Nara blood is spared and left with no memories of her past. Now she must walk on the path left by her family to help her build a new future for herself. Her path will be hard, full of struggles and pain, but as long as she has her friends and family at her side she will keep forging ahead, even if it was a drag.

7. Chapter 6: A New Team and Sensei

Chapter 6

Seeing through Deception: A New Team and a New Sensei

"Narutooooo!" Amari roared as she chased after the boy she was going to pummel thoroughly into the dirt through the streets of the Leaf Village. Next to that infuriating knucklehead was the Lord Hokage's grandson, his little legs carrying him surprisingly fast, but then he was running for his life so perhaps that had something to do with it. "I can't believe you are corrupting a young boy by teaching him your Sexy Jutsu! Get back here so I can knock some sense into you!"

He wailed in terror and grabbed Konohamaru before ninja jumping away in a futile attempt to escape the wrath of Amaririsu Yūhi.

He won't escape, not after what he did!

Up until running into Naruto a little while ago her day had been uneventful. Her plan was to use the day off before orientation to rest and recuperate after the fight with Mizuki the night before, and it had been going fairly well. She watched clouds for a little while, had some Ichiraku ramen for lunch and helped retrieved a ball for a group of kids who had accidently got it stuck on a roof.

Overall her day off was nice and relaxing.

That ended when she ran into Naruto and Konohamaru. She had not known at the time how it was all going to spiral out of control from there; Amari had been happy to see her friend and had been properly amused by how similar the two boy's personalities and goals were. Konohamaru, like Naruto, wanted to become Hokage and was sure he'd do it soon despite being far too young and inexperienced.

Then she learned they were practicing the Sexy Jutsu, and Naruto in his infinite wisdom decided to try it on Amari.

In Naruto's defense he was just showing Konohamaru how it was done again so he could get a better hang of the jutsu and he hadn't expected Amari to be effected. But I was…Amari blushed deeply again as she began gaining on the boys.

Her face had turned several shades of red as she stared at the Sexy Jutsu version of Naruto and nearly fainted, but he thankfully dispelled the jutsu before the lights went out on her. Without even noticing her frozen state, he began explaining the technique again to Konohamaru, trying hard to get the boy to understand about how to get curves in the right places or something. She hadn't heard it all due to her heart pounding in her ears.

That was when Konohamaru pointed out that she was still really red and frozen in place. "Hey Boss, your jutsu sure is effective! Amaririsu hasn't moved an inch, and look at how red her face is!"

His comment awoke her from her stunned silence and turned her several shades of embarrassment into a hundred shades of anger.

Thus the chase began.

"I'm going to pulverize you!" she shouted at them.

Another satisfying wail of terror from them both.

"I'm sorry, Amari! Bu- but he asked me to train him and teach him the jutsu! How could I say no?!" Naruto called back.

"By saying no!" Amari yelled back.

Farther and farther she chased them, herding them closer and closer towards where she would hold the most power. In the back of her mind she applauded Naruto for being as quick as he was when he felt his life was in danger, but the rest of her knew he was too blinded by his fear to realize the forest he was running towards was where she would seal his fate.

Both entered the shadow covered forest, and it was then Amari stopped holding back her speed to close the distance between. When she was only a few feet away from them, she launched her shadow forward and caught his feet the moment they touched the ground.

Frozen in place by her Shadow Possession Jutsu, there was nowhere he could run or hide to escape her wrath.

"Now I've got you."

She turned her head, which forced Naruto to do the same, until one of his terrified cerulean eyes met her enraged onyx eye.

"Amari, hey! We can talk about this," he attempted to negotiate, a nervous laugh escaping him.

Her eye twitched. Talk about this? Oh no, they were never going to speak of this again!

Seeing the twitch and failing to escape her jutsu, Naruto resigned to defeat. "Just don't fry me with your fireballs, okay? Tomorrow we're official ninjas."

A few beats of silence passed before Amari let out a sigh of defeat and let him go. Damn him for being my best friend. She couldn't fry him, not when they had successfully become ninjas together. But he's not getting out of this unscathed.

Naruto sighed in relief when control of his body returned then turned to Konohamaru with a triumphant smile on his lips, failing to notice the approaching kunoichi wearing an annoyed look. "See! I told you she wou— OW!"

Amari retracted the hand she used to slap Naruto in the back of the head with a huff and crossed her arms in preparation of scolding him. "You're teaching him the Sexy Jutsu?" she prodded when he turned to face her. "You do realize that he's just a child, right?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and gave a nervous laugh and smile. I can't be too surprised. We're both only twelve so he probably wasn't much older than the boy when he learned it. Internally, Amari huffed out an annoyed breath. And Shika says girls are troublesome. Boys are just as troublesome as girls, if not more.

"Just make sure he learns it right so no one makes fun of him for doing it wrong. Better yet, you are going to teach him to do it right or I'm going to test how fast you can run when a fire is chasing you." Amari's eye became a slit as she stared a hole into Naruto. "Understood?"

The fearful look returned onto Konohamaru and Naruto's faces as they nodded quickly. "I was just telling him he needs to practice. Ri- ri- right?"

"Ri- right Boss."

She gave them a big closed eyed smile. "Good! I'll be up in the tree resting." She jumped up and into the tree that was right above them and sat down with her back against the trunk and one leg lazily hanging off.

"She's scary when she's mad…I thought you said she was the shy quiet type," Konohamaru whispered to Naruto.

Amari hummed humorously to herself at his response.

"She usually is all the time. Don't worry about her though; she won't chase us anymore…as long as you learn the jutsu we'll be okay." Naruto shook off whatever horrifying thought crossed his mind. "Okay! Time for some practice. Now the trick is to get all the curves in the right places. You ready?"

I can't believe I'm allowing him to train Lord Hokage's grandson the Sexy Jutsu…Iruka-sensei is going to kill me if Konohamaru uses it on him in class and he finds out that I could have stopped it.

As the young ninja relaxed further against the trunk of the tree, she closed her eye and exhaled a soft breath as Konohamaru and Naruto trained together. Well, at least he'll learn some of the fundamentals of the Transformation Jutsu, she conceded. It wasn't like she could stop Naruto anyway. Yes he was scared of her when she had been chasing him, but she couldn't hurt him willingly.

It'll probably be good for both of them anyways. Konohamaru is stuck living in his grandfather's shadow from what I picked up in our interactions before the incident. If I understand correctly, he's been trying to attack him all the time to earn the title of Hokage…I wonder if anyone has tried telling him assassinating the Hokage isn't how one becomes Hokage. Amari shrugged off the thought. I'm sure being around Naruto will probably help him to stop that…I hope.

Honestly she wasn't too upset about him teaching the jutsu to the boy as she was the fact that Naruto made her turn many shades of red with the jutsu again. If no one had seen her turn red like the time in the classroom she wouldn't have freaked out, but Konohamaru did and Naruto saw as well since he pointed it out. And then he had to ask why I was so red, she banged the back of her head against the tree, it's so embarrassing it's unbelievable.

Time passed without any eventful changes ruining her bliss until Naruto and Konohamaru took a break from training. She eavesdropped on their conversation for a little while, listening to Konohamaru explain his obsession with becoming Hokage and vent his frustrations at no one ever seeing him as Konohamaru, but the Honorable Grandson of the Third Hokage.

Amari cut off her eavesdropping when her senses picked up a strong chakra signature heading directly at them at a lightning fast speed. With a presence of calm betraying her alarmed state, she activated her Byakugan without her body tensing or her right eye snapping open. He's a Jōnin for sure if I can sense him without my eye.

In her Byakugan sight she could see he wore rounded glasses and his forehead protector as a full bandana. The only thing different about his uniform was the lack of a flak jacket, but that didn't necessarily mean he was lower in rank.

He's moving fast, really fast. He'll be here in less than a minute. Little time for them to prepare or figure out what he was after. Unlikely he's here for me. Which means…She deactivated her Byakugan and opened her right eye to look down to Konohamaru and Naruto. Someone is coming for the boy.

"Well I've got news for you, if you want to become Hokage then you're gonna have to defeat me in battle!" Naruto said with a daring grin.

Boys and their egos, Amari thought with a roll her eyes.

"Boys," she called down to them, "we've got company coming in hot. A Jōnin by the feel of it. You wouldn't happen to have gotten on the bad side of a Jōnin, have you Naruto?" Naruto met her eye with a look of pure confusion before shaking his head. She motioned to Konohamaru with dip of her head. Barely a second passed before sudden realization crossed his features. "…Great…" she muttered.

As if on cue, the man suddenly landed on the tree branch on the opposite side of the tree that Amari was sitting on. She did her best not to tense up at all, though the difficulty of that task was insurmountable. Being this close to him…She could feel his chakra and all its potency. This is definitely a Jōnin not to be trifled with.

"I found you." His voice was full of authority befitting of a higher-ranked shinobi sneering down his nose at lowly Genin. The boys stood up at the sound of his voice, and judging on the angry stare pulling onto Naruto's face, Amari guessed this Jōnin was staring at him like he was a beast.

Amari clenched her hands into fists at the mere thought of the word beast and Naruto in the same sentence. Careful what you say, Jōnin. You may be able to beat me without trying, but I will try my hardest to prove that he is not a beast and is worth fighting and caring for.

The Jōnin jumped down from the tree with grace before speaking again. "Amaririsu, I did not expect you to be involved in this," he said without looking back at her, he didn't need to, though. She could hear the apparent disappointment in his voice for simply being in the same vicinity as Naruto.

So he knows me. Don't know if that's good or bad, but seeing as he works with the Hokage's grandson and our latest incident with Mizuki, he probably has heard about me in crossing. Why he thinks I wouldn't be involved is beyond me, though. Wherever Naruto is I will do my best to be at his side.

"Naruto is my friend and I will stand by his side regardless of popular opinion," Amari retorted evenly.

She would not stand for insults against her friend. Shy or not, this was her chance to stand up for Naruto.

Naruto smiled and nodded at her in thanks. The Jōnin merely shook his head in what she again perceived as disappointment for her answer. "Time to go home, Honorable Grandson," he shifted focus back to his goal.

"No way! I'm here to train so I can beat my grandfather and become Hokage! Don't get in my way!"

Amari could sense his sneer as he started walking towards the boys. "Simple training is not enough to be Hokage, Honorable Grandson. A Hokage must know virtue, wisdom, honor and he must be skilled in over a thousand jutsu.

As if he really knows anything about virtue, wisdom or honor with that high and mighty attitude of his.

This man needed to back off, now.

Amari got up from her sitting position then jumped down in-between the boys, ready to stand beside her friend in yet another fight against someone higher up the food chain. Her entrance didn't deter the Jōnin at all. "You don't even know one jutsu," he sneered at Konohamaru.

"Must make you feel super strong to insult a child with that stupid condescending smile on your face. Tch," Amari hissed out a breath, "I can't believe Lord Third still lets you work directly with his grandson."

That actually gave the Jōnin pause. Before he could respond, Konohamaru brought his hands into a seal and yelled, "Transform!" A swirl of chakra whirled around him before he disappeared into a plume of smoke. Once the smoke cleared the young girl instantly began regretting jumping down between them. Warmth crept up her neck and her face turned strawberry red as a tall, dark-haired and very naked woman was suddenly standing next to her. "Hi there, like my jutsu."

The jaw of the Jōnin nearly dropped to the grassy floor below him as a blush formed on his face. His hilarious reaction was enough to break the blush on Amari, bringing on a giggle at his expense. He may not be blasting off with a bloody nose like Iruka-sensei, but that look is priceless. She took a mental snapshot her near eidetic memory would never forget.

The dōjutsu wielder elbowed Naruto's side as she continued to laugh. He grinned victoriously and triumphantly at her in return.

Konohamaru dispelled his jutsu but his face was shadowed by disappointment. "Hey, he's not defeated."

"Wh- wha- What kind of scandalous technique is thaaattt! Such tasteless vulgarity can never influence me! I am far above it!" The Jōnin grabbed Konohamaru's blue scarf and tried pulling him away by force, but Konohamaru held his ground and tried to keep from moving. "Honorable Grandson, you must come with me right now! Naruto will turn you into a delinquent! Only my special training can put you on the path to becoming Hokage!"

Naruto and Amari exchanged a look then nodded in agreement.

This Jōnin needed a lesson in manners and humility.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto and Amari yelled in unison. Eight Amari's and twenty Naruto's appeared around them, each wearing looks between slightly annoyed and straight up irritated. The Jōnin had enough sense to stop trying to drag Konohamaru and notice the Shadow Clone users had bad intentions for him.

At the sight of their clones, Konohamaru's eyes grew wide in amazement and admiration at them both. The kunoichi of the pair lazily looked to her best friend. "Naruto, I think this guy needs to be taught a lesson in humility. What do you think?"

"Heh, yeah, this stuck-up jerk really needs to learn who he's messing with," Naruto responded.

The Jōnin smirked at them both and pushed his glasses up as he gave them his full undivided attention. Oh I am going to enjoy knocking you down a peg. "Hmph, you think a few Shadow Clones is enough to scare me? I'm not impressed. I'm a Jōnin, an elite ninja warrior, not some lightweight like Mizuki." The Jōnin cockily took his position in the center of the horde of clones. "Watch, Honorable Grandson, how a real ninja defeats two upstarts."

Amari snorted in disgust. Yeah, definitely needs a lesson of humility. "Overconfidence was Mizuki's downfall, as it will be yours. Naruto, let's go with that combo we used to defeat Mizuki." She was confident Naruto would catch her meaning and would use the proper technique to put this overconfident Jōnin in his place.

Her friend smirked with mischief. "After you, Amari."

The Jōnin took up his fighting stance and had a look of pure confidence in his skills. In a fair fight he could have wiped the floor with them, but this wasn't going to be a fair fight.

This was going to be a lesson he never forgot.

The eight Amari's jumped up into the air and went through their handseals for their Fire Ball Jutsu. "This is straight from the Amaruto Ninja Handbook." The Jōnin raised his eyebrows in question at Amari's voice. "Never forget that from today forward you were the second to fall to the future Hokage, and his name is Naruto Uzumaki!"

As her clones got closer to the Jōnin, she gave Naruto a nod for him to complete his jutsu. He was practically glowing with joy over what she had said, but the sound of her clones dispelling and creating a smoke cloud around their opponent made him refocus quickly.

The sudden dispelling of clones caught their opponent off guard. He stumbled out of whatever attack he was initially going for, thus leaving himself open to the mass transformation from Naruto.

Amari closed her eye as the horde of Sexy Jutsu Naruto's appeared. She could hear them grabbing onto their opponent and doing everything possible to make the Jōnin, Ebisu the clones called him, stutter in horror. Maybe pleasure, the young ninja giggled to herself.

Then there was a wordless yell similar to that of Iruka's when Naruto made him blast off with a bloody nose. It was the sound of yet another victory, an admittedly childish and perverted victory, but a victory all the same. He let it work on him so that makes it fair game.

"Gotcha with my Harem Jutsu," Naruto said proudly after dispelling his clones and the transformations. Only Naruto would think of something like this and have it actually work. Amari smiled and gave Naruto a soft slap in the back of the head. He turned around to her with a big grin on his face. "What? It's a part of the Amaruto Ninja Handbook."

A shy smile pulled onto her lips as her eye fell to her toes. "I- uh- I was trying-…Did it- did it sound that bad?" she stuttered out the question. Her combination of their names had been done in the heat of battle…but that didn't mean she didn't like it. It was kind of cool in her eyes.

Her friend just laughed at her sudden shyness and shook his head. "See? I told you she was shy," he said as he looked back to Konohamaru. Amari grabbed her mesh covered arm with her right hand and walked side by side with Naruto as she tried to fight off her embarrassed blush. "We make an awesome team, Amari."

That didn't help her blush at all. "I-" She glanced away. "You did most of the work, Naruto. I just used a distraction to buy you time for your jutsu," Amari deflected.

"Give yourself some credit, Amari. You and I stood up to a snobby Jōnin together and came out on top just like we did with Mizuki. Together we're unstoppable." Slowly, she lifted her eye back to him, finding a warm grin on his face and a hand held out for a high five. After a brief second of hesitation, she smiled big and brightly and high fived him.

He's right. Together we achieve so much. We push each other to get better and we stand by each other's side when it really matters. We are becoming stronger because of this bond we share. Bonds like these were important to hold onto. If only Kasai had seen that…

Amari did her best not to let the sting of pain the thought gave her appear on her face or ruin her good mood.

Although Konohamaru looked impressed at them beating the Jōnin, he was also really upset with himself for not being able to beat him himself. "I'll talk to him. Want to wait for me and I'll walk you home?" Naruto asked.

She nodded and stood behind him as he offered wise words to the boy about why becoming the Hokage wasn't easy or wouldn't happen overnight. "You have to prove yourself so everyone believes in you. Look at me, I've been through a lot already and I only just earned my headband. I've been ignored, pushed away and treated like I have the plague or something. And after everything I've been through I found two people who actually believe in me."

Naruto looked over his shoulder to Amari with a meaningful look on his face. It made her heart feel warm and fuzzy knowing he cared about her as much as she cared about him.

Konohamaru looked back at her as well, his eyes attentive and relaying that Naruto's words were reaching him. To their looks, she smiled and nodded to her best friend with confidence. I'll always believe in you, Naruto.

"To find those two people I had to get knocked down a lot. So you better make sure that you're ready."

Konohamaru's eyes returned to Naruto full of question, but the blond turned around to face Amari. "For what?"

"For a lot of sweat and tears while you're learning to be a ninja." A gust of wind blew through the forest, ruffling their clothes as it brushed against them and lifting strands of Amari's hair. Naruto smiled softly and breathed out a laugh then looked back over his left shoulder to Konohamaru. "By the way, there is no easy way to become the Hokage. Believe it."

His words brought a fond smile to Amari's lips. That's right, Naruto. It won't be easy, but you'll do it. We still have a long road ahead of us since we don't even have a Jōnin Sensei yet, but I'll be pushing you closer to your goal as you push me.

"Bah! Listen to you giving me a big lecture. Who do you think you are anyways?"

Konohamaru turned his back to the pair, earning a puzzled look from them both. Don't tell me he's ignoring such honest and kind words. She'd have to pulverize him if he was, and then she'd have to explain to Lord Third why she pulverized his grandson and that'd be a drag.

"There's no way I'm going to be your apprentice anymore." The boy turned halfway to look back at Naruto with a serious expression. "For now on, we're rivals!"

The young child broke into a grin that made Amari's smile return. He's a good kid.

"Well I can't be your trainer anyway because tomorrow I start on my path to becoming Hokage. But I accept your challenge, and someday you and I will fight for the title of Lord Hokage. So let's both look forward to that day, Konohamaru," Naruto responded with a closed eye smile.

Naruto shoved his hands into his pockets and turned around to start walking away. Amari followed along at his side with her smile still in place. You both have a long road ahead of you to reach that goal, but it is a goal worth striving for. With hard work you may both reach it and prove everyone wrong.

Her friend raised his hand up above his head in farewell goodbye to Konohamaru so she turned part of the way around to give him a shy wave.

He saluted them both.

It's been a long day, Amari thought as she noticed the sun setting in the distance. I've been hit by the Sexy Jutsu, I've chased after Naruto for hitting me with his jutsu and then helped in defeating a Jōnin. She couldn't help but shrug. All in the days work I guess.

As they continued their trek back into the village, a sudden thought crossed her mind and made her smile. She knew how to cap this day off, how to turn it into an even better memory to look back on.

She bumped Naruto's shoulder with her own, causing him to look over to her in question. When her eye met his, she smirked and took off running. "Race you to my house, Slow Poke! Last one there will end up stuck with Sasuke!" she yelled to him.

It took a second, but then she heard him yell back at her as he took off to keep up. "Hey! You cheater!"

All throughout the race the duo laughed and taunted each other all in the name of innocent fun. They tried to cut each other off, bumped one another to try to make them stumble to take the lead and other antics that made Amari's heart beat pleasantly in her chest.

When they finally reached her front door at the same time, they were both winded, leaning on their knees with sheens of sweat covering their skin.

"We- we tied…" Amari panted. "Does- does that mean we're both going to be stuck with Sasuke?"

Naruto chuckled tiredly. "There is no way we'll end up with him."

She smiled at him then took a deep breath and stood up. "Do you want to come in for something to eat? I'm sure if my mom is home she wouldn't mind and if she isn't I can always make something."

"I wouldn't mind, but I think I'm going to head home so I'm ready for orientation tomorrow." Amari nodded in understanding. He's right. I should definitely take a shower and go to bed so I'm ready for tomorrow. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow! Bye Amari!" Naruto yelled as he began running home.

The fact he still had the energy to run made her smile as she waved to his retreating form. That boy has too much energy. "See you tomorrow, Naruto!"

After taking a shower and eating dinner with her mom she went to bed. The next morning started early as always, and after getting through her morning routine and breakfast, Amari found herself in front of her bedroom mirror tying her headband around her neck. As she finished securing the knot she looked at herself in the mirror and into her two different colored eyes with a look of determination.

Ryu…Today is the day I take another real step on the path to fulfilling your dying wish…but I have to protect my friends and their dreams as well. I will avenge you and stop Kasai without becoming blinded by revenge.

Kurenai appeared in the mirror behind Amari and put her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "He'd be proud of you," she said softly.

Amari dipped her head in a small, thankful nod of her reassurance. "I know…" And she did know. If Ryu was still alive right now he'd have been so proud of her for proving she could be a shinobi to who it needed proving to most: herself.

I miss you.

"I was thinking about visiting him at lunch today, but I'll have to ask my team if they are okay with it first."

"Are you sure?"

Kurenai's question and worried eyes were well warranted; the last time she visited his grave she had cried for what felt like an eternity. That was soon after her return to the Leaf, though, and she hadn't been back since. It hurt too much to stand there. Staring at his name made the pain come flooding back like she was waking up the day after it happened all over again.

But she felt stronger now and it had been too long since she visited her friend. Besides, she was a ninja now. She had to share the news with him personally so he could still be proud of her from beyond the grave.

Amari gave another nod, this one sharper and full of confidence.

The response took away the worry in her mother's eyes and replaced it with a proud smile. "You've grown. So, any guesses as to who your teammates will be?"

I haven't even attempted guessing at it. There are just so many combinations possible with all the students involved.

"I don't know, and I guess I don't have any particular choices except maybe Naruto."

She'd like having him as a teammate since they were friends, but despite her excitement to finally gain a team, she was also worried they could end up being too involved in themselves to understand what it meant to be a real team.

"I just hope they understand working as a team and putting the team before their own goals. Teamwork is essential to being a ninja squad and if you don't understand that then you aren't thinking like ninja."

Her mother, Kakashi and Asuma had hammered that point home numerous times throughout the last two years.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," she soothed. Amari nodded and pulled her purple bandana over her left eye. I will make it work no matter who I am placed with. "I'm going to have to meet with the Hokage." She planted a kiss on Amari's head. "I'm proud of you, little one. Now come, I don't want you late for your orientation."

The pair exited the house together and walked with each other until Kurenai diverted to the Hokage's office. I wonder why she has to meet with the Hokage right now…Probably has to do with the placement of the students and seeing her new squad. Amari shrugged the thought off.

She made it to school early again and took her seat at the back of the class. As time passed the classroom filled out with eager students ready to hear who they were going to be teamed with. Naruto actually made it early for one of the first times ever, offering a wave and grin to her before he sat down in the row of desks in front of her.

Surprisingly enough, the girly horde was nowhere near her. They were all spread out talking to one another about being ninjas, and as far as Amari was concerned that was perfectly fine.

"Um- Amaririsu," a shy voice called to her from the side. Looking up from her book in the direction of the shy voice, she found the only girl in the entire world that could beat her in shyness sitting at the desk across from her. Hinata smiled at her then lowered her eyes as she tapped her index fingers together. "I- I wanted to say congratulations on becoming a ninja…Yo- you worked really hard to get to the level you are at."

Too cute! Amari gave her a closed eye smile in return. "Thanks Hinata, but don't forget all the hard work you put into becoming a ninja. You worked just as hard as I did."

Kurenai had been training Hinata for some time before she adopted Amari, but from what she had seen since coming into the Village Hinata had improved tremendously. She was so shy with no confidence in her own abilities—a similarity they shared—yet just like the Uchiha girl Hinata pushed herself to become better. To prove that she could change and be strong instead of the shy girl that everyone saw her as.

She has a strong goal and one day she will be as strong as she is trying to become. Hinata is already getting stronger, and with some more time and training she will become even more powerful. Maybe she'll finally speak to Naruto without hiding behind something or in barely a whisper.

One thing that Amari liked about Hinata, besides for her being so nice, was her secret crush and belief in Naruto. Unfortunately he was so oblivious to her secret crush because of his crush on Sakura, but just as Naruto inspired Amari, he also inspired Hinata.

Hinata's cheeks tinted pink at the compliment given to her. "Th- thank you, Amaririsu."

"Hinata, how many times do I have to tell you to just call me Amari?" Amari teased good-naturedly with her smile still in place.

"Ah-" she squeaked in embarrassment at the tease. Too cute! A smile tugged onto Hinata's lips. "One last time, Amari, I promise."

There is only one Sensei she will have and that is my mom. She is the only one who can watch after Hinata and be patient with her to better nurture her growth.

"Let me put it to you this way: I look amazing in this headband!" Naruto boasted to Shikamaru. Hinata's attention snapped to the sound of his voice, earning a teasing smirk from Amari she was unaware of. I'll have to do something about them in the future. Playing cupid for those two would certainly be entertaining if Hinata remained this shy forever.

She shifted her eye down to her friend. Be proud Naruto, you earned that headband…just don't get too big of a head that you become overconfident.

Shortly after the sound of the door slamming open startled Amari into full alert and made her hand instinctually grab at her right leg for her kunai in preparation for an attack. When her eye settled on Ino and Sakura barging in she let her body relax and her hand drop away from her tools. Just those two and their ridiculous rivalry. Honestly, what is their issue with one another besides fighting to gain the attention of Sasuke? It honestly can't be only over that…right?

"I'm first!" the pair yelled in unison. After the two declared their victories to one another, their eyes fell upon Amari and immediately their gazes hardened to glare holes into her.

Well, that's welcoming.

"One-eyed show off," Sakura growled.

Jealous much? Think I'm going to take your dear Sasuke away from you when I have no interest in the brooding boy. She rolled her eye in annoyance. These two are such a pain.

"Listen girls." She now had their undivided, angry attention. "What I did was not for the attention or to show off my skills. I had other goals far more important than something as petty as your rivalry with one another, but there is no reason to be jealous." Nerves were struck and it was time for the kill. "If you two focused more on training instead of your insufferable crush on a boy who shows no interest whatsoever, then maybe you wou—"

Amari dodged out of her chair as the two charged her while yelling incoherent threats.

Maybe I went a little too far and hit a very raw nerve! She jumped over her desk and onto the one below her where her friend and the brooder were sitting. "Hey Naruto!" she greeted quickly with a smile as she landed in front of him. Confusion pulled onto his face at her sudden entrance. His lips upturned into an awkward smile before she jumped off the table to the front of the class.

Did they take the bait? She looked back to check her pursuers location. Just as planned they were no longer focused on her, the sight of Sasuke distracting them enough to start their fawning over him.

That wasn't too hard. Note to self, if I ever want to distract them, all I have to do is run past Sasuke. With a sigh of relief, Amari walked up the opposite staircase and took her seat again. As she sat down she noticed Naruto had been batted away by Sakura in her desire to be even closer to her crush. The action made her growl in irritation. You look at Naruto like he's a complete idiot, yet you're the one who is gushing over a boy who cares nothing about anyone but himself.

Girls are weird, Amari decided.

No longer in the mood to read and worried about Naruto doing something incredibly stupid to Sasuke in front of his fan girls, Amari put her book away and watched the actions of everyone involved closely.

And knowing the knucklehead it's only a matter of time before he does something stupid. Naruto got back onto his feet and rubbed the back of his head to nurse the bump he had been unjustly given. Seeing the sudden horde of Sasuke fangirls in the way of his seat and how Sakura was throwing him praises made her friend let out and annoyed growl and moved him into action. He hopped up onto the desk and crouched right in front of Sasuke to glare at him. Watch your step, Naruto. You're surrounded by a rabid horde of Sasuke fangirls.

They were the worst kind, even worse than hers.

"Naruto! Stop glaring at Sasuke!" Sakura yelled.

Amari sensed movement by the door again and flung her eye over there to remain vigilant of her surroundings. Just another studen—

Shrieks of terror cut off her thought and tore everyone away from what they were doing to see what had just happened. The Nara wasn't sure how it happened or the moments leading up to it, but somehow, someway, Naruto and Sasuke ended up accidently locking lips.

Amari could only drop her head and slap her hand against her forehead at the pure stupidity of the situation. Naruto you just pissed off a horde of girls that wanted to be his first kiss…I guess I'll have to take a stand against them to protect that idiot.

She hastily moved out of her seat to the stairs only to notice the girls getting way to close to Naruto for her liking. Not today, girls. Thinking quickly, she jumped down in-between Naruto and the horde of angry girls ready to pummel him into the ground. "Hey Naruto, I have a question for you." How do you manage to piss off an entire horde of fangirls so easily?!

"Move it, One-Eye!" Sakura yelled. A hand pushed her shoulder in an attempt to shove her out of the way but Amari didn't budge. Naruto looked between her and the horde behind her with fear and worry growing in his eyes.

"Amari—" he tried to warn her.

"Didn't you hear me? Move it!" Sakura yelled again. This time a fist hit the back of her head, an action that caused Amari's own fangirls to begin shouting at the others.

Despite being hit, she didn't budge from the punch. Instead she chuckled lowly. "You're going to have to try harder than that," Amari spoke in a calm whisper for only Sakura and Ino to hear, "to stop me from standing between you and my friend." She looked over her right shoulder to stare a hole through them. "I politely suggest you take a seat and not touch Naruto."

"Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it One-Eye!" Sakura wound up for another punch. Your mistake and my opening.

Before she could even extend her punch forward, Sakura found herself bent forward while her hand was securely held in Amari's, twisted and pushed in a way that would cause her pain no matter what move she tried to make.

Gasps and whispers about her quickness escaped the rest of the class since most hadn't even seen her move. "Can't move, can you?" she asked in a deadly whisper to Ino, whose arm was cocked back for a strike but left unmoving. Ino could only growl in frustration as she tried to struggle free. "You're struggle is pointless, Ino. You're too close to me and far too weak to break free of my jutsu.

"You two think you can march around here like you own the place and pummel whoever you like over petty crap like this?" Amari cast her piercing gaze between her two subdued opponents. "Grow. Up. We're all shinobi now, start acting like it!"

"Hey, Amari," a hand rested on her shoulder, "you don't need to do this. It's fine."

She grit her teeth at her friend's acceptance of his situation. "No, it's not. It's not fine, Naruto." She refused to believe it was fine after everything Mizuki said the other night. These kids didn't know the reason their parents shunned her friend, but she did now and it did not soothe any of her anger towards those individuals. Who were they to resent him for something he had no hand in? Who were they to blame this boy for a burden he didn't ask for?

What gave them the right to treat him like trash when he was innocent?!

"These two, those girls behind them, they're acting like brats! You don't deserve to be treated as something less than them because of their ridiculous and childish infatuation."

"Why you- ah!"

Amari wrenched Sakura's wrist to shut her up. "You two," she seethed, "you two don't even understand what the real shinobi world is like yet. You're just playing a game." Her eye flicked between them and then to the others in the class. "All of you need to think about what it takes to be a shinobi, what it means to you and why you trained to get here. This isn't some game. You can't continue acting like kids when lives are on the line."

Silence was the appropriate answer she received for her speech. Finally settling down, Amari turned her attention back to the two who tried to attack her. "If you ever raise a hand to me or Naruto again…" She wrenched Sakura's wrist a little. "I will break you."

Egos broken and point made, the Uchiha girl let go of Sakura's hand and released Ino from her Shadow Possession Jutsu before turning to the rest of the Sasuke fangirls who had stared in fear of their angry adversary. "Now I suggest you take your seats since class is about to start." She glared at the group. "Now."

The groups dispersed at her behest, some because class was about to start, others because they didn't want to test their chances against someone who subdued two opponents faster than their eyes could track.

Amari turned back to Naruto, who wore a shocked expression on his face. "Try not to get on the bad side of too many girls, okay Naruto?" she said in her usual cheerful but shy tone.

Naruto smiled bashfully and nodded. "Hehe, yeah." His features sobered. "Thank you, Amari. You didn't have to do that."

"Sure I did. You're my best friend. It's only right that I stand by your side when you need me."

A grateful smile made it onto his lips. "Thanks."

"Anytime."

He took his seat at the end of the desk so there was one seat between him and Sasuke. Amari didn't miss the determined stare and set brow Sasuke was leveling her with, so she fired back with a serious look that begged him to try something. His response was a disinterested huff before he turned his attention elsewhere.

Amari turned away to return to her seat where Ino and Shikamaru were already waiting for her. At least I have Shika.

Sakura ended up taking the seat between Naruto and Sasuke but Amari didn't miss the glare and challenging look she gave her. Good, use this experience as a reason to become better than me. At least then she will have a real drive to become stronger. That is what is important.

She took her seat between Shikamaru and Ino and pulled her book out again, ready to return to her studies with the danger over.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side, 'Risu," Shikamaru said with a humorous smirk pulled onto his lips.

"You wouldn't ever be there, Shika. It's just…no one ever stands up for Naruto and he isn't a bad kid. And everyone is still acting like being a shinobi isn't dangerous work." She shook her head and unconsciously rested a hand over her covered eye. "I'm no seasoned veteran, but I've seen enough, lost enough to know what to expect." Her hand fell back to her side. "I admit, I lost my temper and that was unworthy of me, but my friends are precious to me and I'd do anything to protect them."

Shikamaru nodded with a warmer smile in place. "I know."

"Keep it up, Cyclopes. One day I'll knock you down a peg," Ino whispered.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes in irritation and muttered something about girls being troublesome. Amari chose a different path, one involving a smile she aimed directly at Ino. "I wish you the best then. Your intentions might not be the best, but if it helps you have a goal to becoming stronger, I'll take your hate and all its fury."

The response made Ino falter in shock with no witty remark or threat to return such kind words from someone she obviously perceived as an enemy.

Returning to her book once again, she picked up in her studies about chakra control, only this time it was about walking on water. Her mother had told her that it was the next step to mastering her control so she had begun studying before she would try to take on the technique.

If I ever fought in a place with a lot of water, the ability to walk on it would help me not to become defenseless. If I was fighting someone who used Water Style as their main source of attack then not falling under the water would keep me safe.

"Hey Shika, would my shadow work on water?" Amari asked. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow in question at the random question. "I'm studying the Walk on Water Technique and I figured you might know."

"Yeah, it would work. Remember what my dad said: our shadow can go across any surface," he answered. She hummed in understanding. "Why are you studying Water Walking? You need to learn to climb trees without your hands first, don't you?"

Amari ducked her head down to conceal her blush. "I uh- I can climb trees already."

"What?!" Ino shrieked next to her.

Amari did her best to keep her smile hidden from sight. Guess you have a lot of work ahead of you, Ino.

Shikamaru just smiled and shook his head at her. "You're going to work yourself to death, 'Risu," he chided.

"And you're going to bore yourself to death by doing nothing, Shika," she retorted. He rolled his eyes with a smile but offered no retort.

Iruka entered the classroom soon after and started going through their orientation. "As of today you are all ninjas. To get here you faced difficult trials and hardships, but that's nothing. What comes next will be far more difficult. Now you are only Genin, first level ninjas. All the Genin will be grouped into three man squads except for one group which will hold four," he explained.

One four man squad….that's probably my squad. I came in late and created an extra number of students that graduated causing their usual three idea to no longer be possible. Unless they were to not allow one of us in, but everyone here worked hard so they must be allowing this to happen. What Jōnin could handle four Genin, though?

"Well somebody is going to have to be on Sasuke's group. I wonder who?" Ino taunted Sakura.

All it did was make Amari groan. And just like that all my hope for you is lost. Sakura didn't just fall for the bait, she actively jumped after it. You two can't stay focused long enough on anything else besides Sasuke. If it wasn't for your high scores, Sakura, I would wonder if you had any other focus…hmm maybe that's another reason she doesn't like me. Maybe I have a higher score than her. She sighed. And I gave Naruto a hard time for making enemies easily. Everything I do seems to irk someone the wrong way.

"We want each squad to have a balance of strengths and abilities, so that's how we set them up. I will now announce the squads."

Amari rested her head on her hand and listened to Iruka start calling out names, I wonder who they'll partner me with. I can use ninjutsu and taijutsu well enough and my genjutsu…well, I have some ability in it, just nothing close to mom's talent or enough to brag about. Who would I even out?

Humming softly to herself, her eye was first drawn to her best friend. Naruto now has the same Shadow Clone Jutsu I have so that might put an X on being in his squad. But…his smarts and taijutsu aren't the best so that may end up with me being with him. I also have some tracking abilities because of my Byakugan. She glanced over to Hinata. So that means me and Hinata won't be in the same squad and she will be with Mom anyways so that was an obvious.

Amari flicked her eye over to Shikamaru, who was lazily staring out the window next to him. We both have our Shadow Possession, but from what I learned about how close the Nara Clan is with the Yamanaka's and Akimichi's that means they are going to put together the new generation of Ino-Shika-Chō with him, Chōji and Ino. The young ninja giggled internally at the trio. Oh, she's going to love that. Adding Amari or 'Risu to that would just complicate it so those three are no goes. That leaves Shino, Sakura, Kiba, Naruto, Sasuke as well as the other Genin here. That is still a lot of possibilities.

"Team Seven: Naruto Uzumaki. Sakura Haruno." Amari couldn't help but giggle at Sakura's expense seeing as Naruto began cheering and she lowered her head in defeat. "Sasuke Uchiha." Iruka continued. This time she had to giggle at her best friend's expense since he lowered his head and Sakura began to cheer. "And Amaririsu Yūhi."

Naruto perked up and turned back to Amari with a grin, to which she gave a closed eye smile in response to. Good, he won't be alone with two people who could hurt his feelings. Sakura turned around to likely boast to Ino, but stopped short to glare daggers into the blue-haired ninja.

Amari shrugged at her glare. What else could she do? Ask for a different team because Sakura didn't like her? Right, like that would happen. Sasuke only glanced back at her through the corner of his eye but returned his eyes forward quickly. Get over your bruised ego, Sasuke. And you too, Sakura. We're a team now and we have to work together and watch each other's backs if we want to survive as ninja.

"Team Eight: Hinata Hyūga. Kiba Inuzuka. Shino Aburame."

That makes a lot of sense. They're basically the tracker squad. Hinata with her Byakugan, Kiba and Akamaru and Shino with his bugs. They can track anything and anyone together.

"Grrrr! How did you get in his group?!" Ino growled at Sakura.

Shikamaru let out a sigh right at the same time Amari did. "I just don't get it. What do you see in a guy like that? He's not so special," he said.

The kunoichi of the Nara pair couldn't agree more with his question of what they saw in Sasuke. He was okay looking for a boy in her opinion, but the other girls thought he was the hottest thing to walk the planet. Must be a bad boy syndrome thing.

"You are so clueless Shikamaru. Don't you get it?" Ino asked.

"No, I don't get it 'cause I'm not a girl," Shikamaru retorted. Amari raised an eyebrow at him. "Excluding you of course, 'Risu since you're the only girl I know that doesn't think like the others."

"You two are so full of yourselves." Ino lifted her nose up at them with an arrogant smile pulling onto her lips. "Jealousy is a terrible thing. I'd hate to be on your squad."

The giggle that escaped her was meant to stay inside, it really was. But oh, it was impossible not to laugh when she knew what exactly was coming.

Ino furrowed her brow at her giggle. "What's so funny, One-Eye?"

"Team Ten: Ino Yamanaka. Shikamaru Nara," Iruka called out.

Amari pointed to Iruka and mouthed "That" as she continued to giggle at the shocked look on Ino's face.

"Heh! Did you say something about hating to be on my squad," Shikamaru taunted.

Poor Ino. And it isn't over yet for the goody goody.

"And Chōji Akimichi," Iruka finished.

It took all of her power to keep her rampant giggles from becoming roaring laughter at the sudden look of despair on Ino's face. Even Shikamaru cracked a smile at the look of despair before returning to watching the clouds outside the window.

"Iruka-sensei, why does a great ninja like me have to be in the same squad with a slug like Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

With a roll of her eye, Amari tuned out the commotion in favor of cloud watching with her fellow Nara. Face it, Naruto, we're stuck with him whether we like it or not…oh and you so cursed us last night.

"Hmm? Sasuke had the second best score of all the graduates. Naruto, you had the worst scores," Iruka reprimanded.

I wonder who had the best scores then, she pondered as she watched a big white cloud shaped partially like a leaf go by. She never paid much mind to that kind of stuff. Her mother often told her she was the best in her class, but she figured that was talking about her overall skill level rather than actual class work.

"Iruka-sensei, if that's the case then why am I stuck with Amaririsu?" Sakura asked.

Amari slowly dragged her perturbed eye from the cloud towards the pinkette below her. Seriously?

Exasperation was written on their sensei's face at the obvious disunity already sewing itself into their team. "As I said, we put the squads together to create a balance of strengths and weaknesses. Amaririsu was put on Team Seven as the balancing point. She had the best scores of all the graduates and is not only good at taijutsu, but ninjutsu as well, and her chakra control is far above any other Genin."

There were growls of irritation from Ino, Sakura and Sasuke. Iruka paid no mind to them, instead choosing to turn his gaze up to the blushing girl who was struggling between wanting to sit up straighter at the sight of his pride and shrink away so no one even knew she was there.

Iruka-senseiiiii! Why must you torture me like this?!

"She also knows the values of teamwork, which is an important skill along with bravery in the face of a strong opponent. So, Amaririsu, can I trust you to watch after your squad and keep them in line?" he asked with a pride filled smile.

Against her shyness, she sat up straighter and nodded firmly. "You can count on me Iruka-sensei. I won't let you down."

Iruka beamed. "I know you won't, Amaririsu." He focused back on the class. "Now after lunch you will meet your Jōnin teachers. Until then, class dismissed."

The class proceeded to shuffle out but Amari remained seated to watch what her teammates did. Sasuke was one of the first to leave with Sakura right on his tail, obviously wanting to have lunch alone together to say or do…whatever it was that she wanted to say or do.

Getting them to work with me is going to be a challenge.

Naruto, on the other hand, stayed behind with her, smiling happily from his seat to her. "Told you we would be together!" He shifted his eyes away bashfully as he itched his cheek. "Though I guess we did end up with Sasuke in the end."

That we did. Perhaps it was for the best this way. Her personal opinion of his attitude aside, Sasuke was without a doubt good, great even for their age. He'd bring a lot of strength and intelligence into their team to help balance out Sakura's lack of the first and Naruto's lack of the second. Maybe I'll even eventually get to tell him I'm an Uchiha too.

Doubtful, but she hoped she wouldn't have to keep her secrets from her team for long.

"So you want to go get Sakura and eat lunch together?" Naruto asked.

Amari held back her cynical chuckle for the sake of future unit cohesion. For some reason I think the last thing Sakura wants to do is eat lunch with "the blue-haired one-eye" and "the blond knucklehead."

This was already looking to be a lot more work than she expected.

Outwardly she shook her head. "You go ahead…I have something I need to do before we meet our Jōnin Sensei." Her words earned her a confused stare. "…I have to visit Ryu's grave before I'm too busy with training and missions. I haven't seen him in years," she whispered.

Shikamaru hadn't left yet, having been too preoccupied with the clouds to invest his time in getting up and moving through the crowd, but just that last sentence captured his immediate attention and attached his full attention to her. His look was sympathetic, yet full of question as to why she would go back since he knew just about everything about that fateful day, save for her eyes.

Why? You know what kind of pain is waiting for you there, his look seemed to ask her. She knew that, she knew standing in front of his gravestone would test her emotional fortitude as it had before. But she needed to go and face him again so he could see how strong she had gotten since that day.

Those reasons reflected in her solitary eye, earning her a barely visible nod from her fellow Nara. "You want company?" he asked. Naruto nodded in offering that he would join her as well.

Maybe deep down she did, but she needed to face him again with the strength he believed she'd one day gain. Plus, she was almost certain bringing anyone else would cause her to cry and she didn't want to cry in front of anyone.

"No…but thank you both. I need to do this alone and face it with the strength I have gained," Amari said.

Shikamaru gave an understanding nod then motioned for Naruto to go with a lift of his chin in the direction of the door. The boy listened and got up to leave along with Shikamaru, who got up from his seat and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder before leaving to go find his teammates.

Amari finally got up when the foot traffic was near its minimum and began her trek to the plot of land where Ryu was buried. The walk was quiet and peaceful enough to relax her as she made her way towards what would be a battle of a different kind.

On her way she bought an amaryllis flower from the Yamanaka Flower Shop, which was thankfully absent of Ino, then continued her silent walk until she reached her destination.

Standing in front of his gravestone was hard.

Seeing his name, knowing how it happened, remembering his dying breaths in her arms. Every memory, every touch, smell, sight, sound and taste came swarming back as Amari stood there with the flower stem gripped tightly in her hands.

For several minutes she simply stood there silently, staring at the name etched into the stone as she thought of all the time they shared together. From all the fun they used to have with Kasai to their hard days of training where they always pushed each other to grow stronger…to that final battle where all she could do was watch her world be torn apart.

"I miss you so much Ryu," she finally found the words that followed her every time she thought of him. "Not a day has gone by in the last two years that I haven't thought about you, our Kasai or the bastard who stole you both from me. You two…you two were my world. My bed still feels empty without you two there squishing me or Kasai's arm flying in the middle of the night to hit us both."

Amari inhaled a deep breath through her nose and shut her eye to keep her emotions in check. When she was sure she wouldn't break down, she opened her eyes and continued to speak. "Sorry I haven't visited often, but I've been working really hard to reach my goal. Though, I suppose you know that already since you've been watching after me, which means you also know I finally did it. I finally became a Genin and have grown in strength."

A fond smile creased her lips. "I also met this boy named Naruto who reminds me a lot of a more knuckleheaded version of our Kasai. I know it's hard to believe, but it's true. He's my best friend." Intense emotions slammed into her heart, making her swallow hard and grip the stem even tighter "…He makes me feel strong like you did. He makes me believe I can fulfill your dying wish and stand strong through any storm that comes my way."

Tears pricked at her eyes as the battle against her emotions became harder, but she kept fighting to stop any tears from falling.

"Stay strong for me Amari."

"I've been pushing myself really hard so I can protect him and his dream, but now I have two more teammates and a new sensei that I will protect. I know it sounds like I doubt their skills or like I am pushing myself too hard, but I'm not."

Whoever her sensei ended up being didn't need her protection, and the others would prove their individual skills as they all grew, but she would still do what she could to protect them and their dreams.

"Protecting my friends, having people that I care about, it makes me feel strong. Fighting for Iruka-sensei and Naruto against Mizuki made it finally sink in that I had grown, that them and Mom were worth fighting and dying for…That maybe I could save them from what I couldn't stop from happening to you…"

That failure never stopped hurting.

"I…I don't care if my other two teammates like me or not. I will protect them, I will become stronger for them and keep them in line just like Iruka-sensei asked of me."

A gust of wind blew through the field while she laid the flower on his grave then stood up. She closed her eye, clasped her hands together in front of her and bowed her head to give Ryu a moment of silence.

In the silence, a hand rested on her shoulder but Amari didn't look up. "I miss you Ryu…but I won't fail you or my team. Strength is not just my skill in a fight, but my will to never back down as well. I will be strong."

"I'll be at your side to the end, I promise."

"You are strong," a soft voice told her.

Keep watching over me, Ryu.

Amari gave a small nod while holding back her tears. "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei…Am I late for the meeting?" she asked. I've been here for an hour at least judging on where the sun is, she thought with a glance to the bright orb of light.

"Don't worry about that. Take your time if you need it," Kakashi said.

She appreciated the sentiment, she really did, but Amari didn't want to drag this out any longer. "Thank you, but I think I'm done…" The young ninja turned to face her new sensei. "I don't know what else I could say and I don't know if I could go much longer without shedding tears." Kakashi dipped his head in an understanding nod. "You are our new sensei, right?"

Again he nodded with a small wave of his hand to motion her to follow him. "Yep. Did you figure that out when you were assigned to the four man squad?"

Unfortunately I didn't solve it that quickly. I didn't really put together the team dynamics and the only Jōnin who could handle such a group with a prideful Uchiha, an obsessed fangirl, a brash knucklehead and a shy but protective girl.

He was the only one who could really handle Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura on one team. As for the shy girl herself, he was the only one who could teach her more about using her Sharingan.

"No…not right away at least, but I knew Mom would take Hinata's team and Asuma is the only who could get Shikamaru, Chōji and Ino to work together. You're the only other Jōnin I know and the only one who can handle this kind of mixed group."

"Hm. Good inference. So what do you think about your teammates?"

The fishing nature of the question made Amari groan in embarrassment. He knows about the little spat I had with Sakura and Ino. "You all saw the confrontation with me, Sakura, Ino and Naruto didn't you?" His humorous chuckle was all she needed as an answer. "Mom was either really mad at me or proud of me for sticking up for Naruto." Hopefully she wouldn't end up on the receiving end of another lecture, again. "Are you asking about their personalities or their skills?"

"Well I was asking about their personalities, but how about you give me both."

"Hmm." This is Kakashi-sensei who is asking so there has to be some purpose to this all. What that purpose is I will just have to find out. "For skills I'd say the three of them balance each other out very well. Naruto's lack of general strategy and battle smarts is balanced by Sasuke's and Sakura's intelligence, but what he lacks there he makes up with a strong will that makes up for the others.

"Although Sakura is smart, she lacks a drive other than being with Sasuke. Well, maybe she wants to become strong enough to pulverize me so I guess that works. As for Sasuke, I don't know what his drive is. We haven't really spoken at all to each other. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say he wants to restore the Uchiha Clan, but much else I don't know. He seems very cold but his calm demeanor balances Naruto's jump in headfirst demeanor."

Amari brought her hand to her chin as she continued to nitpick her team's weakness and strengths. "But one thing that they all lack equally is working together. Naruto and I can work together well, but otherwise, as I said, he has a tendency to go in headfirst on his own."

Literally when it came to Mizuki, she mused.

"Sasuke is a loner. He sees others as a hindrance to himself and knowing that I might be just as strong as him or stronger will make him want to work together even less. Sakura is infatuated with Sasuke so I could see her trying to work with him, but she would leave Naruto out in the open if it meant saving Sasuke and making him see her…That's where I balance I think."

It was still hard to say if that was why she was on this team or if that's what she was being told for the time being. "Either way I have my work cut out for me trying to get them all to work together," she noted out loud mostly for herself.

The seeds of disunity were already planted within their team despite none of them having gone on a real mission yet. There was Naruto's dislike for Sasuke, Sakura's dislike for Naruto and Amari and Sasuke's indifference to them all. Then there was Amari, stuck in the center of it all as the only one willing to put aside her differences to work together. What a drag, Amari thought, sighing outwardly at the situation she was in.

"I have no problems with any of them particularly. We're a team now and that means we're going to have to watch each other's backs. I want to protect them, but I can't say that Sasuke or Sakura would go out on a limb for me as I would for them."

That doubt alone in a fellow Leaf shinobi was disastrous enough to have.

"What about Naruto? You said he was one to rush in alone," Kakashi asked.

Now he's just playing along with my thought pattern. Whatever his goal is, I doubt I'll be able to find out.

"He is but…" How to word it. "Naruto cares. He wants people to notice him instead of ignore him and though most of the attention he gets is negative, he wants people to care about his existence. If Sasuke and Sakura even acknowledge him a little bit, he's going to latch onto them until they see him as a friend and comrade. I'm sure if he and Sasuke were thrown into a deadly battle right now, he'd do everything he could to not only fight and prove himself to Sasuke, but to protect him as well. It's just who Naruto is. He may be a prankster and a troublemaker, but under all that he is a caring person."

The Jōnin hummed but said nothing immediately.

What am I missing? Amari pondered. He had a reason for asking me this and it wasn't curiosity. I can guarantee he already knows about all four of us better than we know ourselves, but why ask me?

"So, does Sasuke know about your Sharingan or that you are part Uchiha?"

Amari furrowed her brow at the question. That can't be it. He didn't ask me all that for this simple question.

"…No…do you think I should? I mean you have one yourself, but I only know that because I asked Mom about you. Isn't passing knowledge around about my eyes dangerous for me?"

"In a way, yes it would, but shouldn't you trust your team with that information?" he quizzed.

I see….this is where you were leading me. You know I would work with my team regardless if they liked me or not, but you want to see if I trust them fully with my deepest secret…But a ninja must see through deception, so is he trying to make me admit I'd give away secrets to my team even if I wasn't supposed to or is he wondering if I would trust my team with the knowledge of my eyes.

She pondered on her answer for a silent minute until she finally made her decision. "Normally yes, but some secrets need to be kept until the time is right. The time doesn't seem right to me. Sasuke already sees me as a nemesis and if I revealed that I had the Sharingan to him he would likely ignore that I am part Uchiha and focus on the fact I unlocked it before him, causing him to hate me more. That in turn would make Sakura hate me more and cause group conflict," Amari answered.

"Hmm. Good work, Amari. I wasn't sure you would catch on to my questioning or not, but you did." He sounded genuinely pleased with her answer and ability to catch onto his quizzing of her team.

"So you were quizzing me." He gave her a closed eye smile as they walked. "If I may ask, what was the point of the quiz on my team? Was it to test my ability to assess the strengths and weaknesses of my allies?"

Kakashi dipped his head slightly. "In part. I wanted to see if you understood the importance of knowing your team's strengths and weaknesses, but I also wanted to get to know who your teammates were from a non-biased view."

Non-biased view? Realization hit her like a bolt of lightning. Of course.

"If I were to ask Naruto about this, do you think he would have talked about more than his own strengths or how weak Sasuke was?" Amari shook her head no. If there was one thing that the knucklehead didn't lack it was the ability to talk about himself like he was the Hokage already. "Now reverse that train of thought, do you think Sasuke or Sakura would have anything positive to say about you or Naruto or anything negative to say about Sasuke?"

She shook her head again. Sakura would without a doubt gush over Sasuke and call Naruto an idiot and call her something even less pleasing. Sasuke on the other hand didn't consider Sakura or Naruto strong so he would only call them losers and think that he was the strongest. Wonder what he would say about me. He'd probably just give a noncommittal grunt or something.

"So I was the only one you could ask for more information. Scouting us and looking at scores only gets you so far; you needed someone who knew them and understood them," Amari deduced. Kakashi nodded. That makes a lot of sense but…"Why ask about the Sharingan then?"

"To see if you understood that sometimes you have to keep secrets even from the people you trust most. You shouldn't keep secrets from your comrades if it could affect the mission, but sometimes you need to know when the time is right to tell that secret and when it is wrong. If you don't you may end up hurting the mission or the dynamics of the squad. For instance, if Sasuke hates you then Sakura hates you and are less likely to watch your back in a fight. That hurts not only the mission, but could end in someone getting killed."

And by my standards, even if the mission succeeded, someone dying on it is a mission failure.

The Copy Ninja rubbed the back of his head and stared out ahead of them. "Well, at least I have one Genin who thinks like a ninja already."

Amari giggled at the compliment and exasperation in his voice. "It could be worse, Kakashi-sensei. You could be stuck with Ino, Sakura and Sasuke on one team."

The mere thought of the combo made his one eye bulge in horror.

They reached the Academy and walked inside towards the classroom where the others would hopefully be waiting. "Interesting," Kakashi muttered as they neared the door. Confused, Amari followed his gaze to the door where an eraser was wedged at the top of the door. Narutoooo, she groaned. "I suppose I should spring the trap since they took the time to set it up."

"You could just slide the door open and let it fall to the ground or catch it in mid-air," the young ninja offered. "No sense in getting hit in the head for no reason."

Kakashi offered her a closed eye smile, immediately sending suspicion through the Nara. He's up to something. What that something is I have no clue of. "True, but sometimes being underestimated is better than being seen as a threat." After a moment of thought, she nodded in agreement to his line of logic. He has a point, but why would he want the others to underestimate him?

They finally reached the door and, just as he said, he sprang the trap, sliding the door open and letting the eraser fall right on his head. A burst of cackling laughter echoed inside the room from Naruto and was quickly followed by the innocent apologies of Sakura.

Right, Amari thought with a scoff, because you totally didn't want to see it happen.

They all had a lot of growing up to do in the coming years.

Their new sensei picked up the eraser and put it back before turning back to the group. He brought his hand at his chin in feigned deep though. "Hmm. How should I put this? My first impression of the three of you is…you're a bunch of immature idiots."

And here come the death glares.

On cue Sakura and Sasuke shot glares at her while a dumbfounded look fell onto Naruto's face at such a harsh reaction. "You certainly have your work cut out for you if you plan on keeping your promise to Iruka, Amari," Kakashi teased.

"I know," she whispered through a sigh. I'm going to make it work though. I won't let Iruka-sensei down.

The Copy Ninja patted her on the head with a smile under his mask. "You'll figure it out." I'll have to if we want to survive. "Okay, the four of you meet me on the roof in five minutes."

With a poof of smoke, the clone of Kakashi dispersed. The eyes of her teammates each bulged at the revelation that their sensei had used the Shadow Clone Jutsu; Amari let her lips upturn into a smirk as she turned back to the door to head up to the roof. Heh, he's going to be an awesome sensei.

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura followed behind her towards their inevitable destination. Five minutes was a little over excessive for time, but maybe he was accounting for one of them walking too slow.

"Hey Amari, do you know that guy?" Naruto called to her from behind.

Carefully, she turned her body to face the three while walking up the stairs backwards. "Yes, we've known each other for two years actually."

"Are you two friends?"

"I don't know if he considers me one. At a guess I'd say he sees himself more of a…mentor to me, I guess is the best way to explain it. But I do consider him a friend just like I do Iruka-sensei. I'll explain up on the roof, okay?"

He smiled and nodded. I will do my best to not lie to him anymore. I won't break that trust again.

They reached the roof with time to spare where Kakashi was already waiting for them, leaning against a rail on the outer ring of the roof.

"Take a seat on the stairs." His tone was firmer than it had been when his clone had been walking with her, but that was too expected. Here he has to be our sensei and keep us all in line while gauging how this team is going to work out.

Amari took her seat at the bottom stair directly across from Kakashi with Naruto sitting one stair higher on her right, Sasuke on the highest step and furthest away from the others and Sakura a step down next to him.

"All right, how about you introduce yourselves one at a time. I'll start: My name is Kakashi Hatake. I don't really feel like telling you my likes and dislikes, I've never really thought about my future. As for my hobbies, I have lots of hobbies," Kakashi offered.

"Talk about vague. We didn't learn anything about him," Sakura whispered to them all.

That's Kakashi-sensei for you. He was a private and reclusive individual from what she dissected of him over the last two years. Amari didn't mind it at all. Even though he could be troublesome and appear aloof to others, she knew deep down he cared deeply about the village and those within.

Eager to get her own introduction done and out of the way, Amari raised her hand to go next. "Kakashi-sensei, I'll go next if that is okay." He nodded, so she lowered her hand back down before speaking. "My name is Amaririsu Yūhi. I like ramen, training to become a stronger ninja, being around my mom and fighting for or side by side my friends like I did with Naruto."

She could feel Naruto beaming behind her but didn't dare to see how the other two reacted. "Things I hate? Attention of several individuals at once for sure, but the thing I hate the most is the feeling of helplessness." And Kasai. "My hobbies are cloud watching, playing shogi with my cousin Shikamaru, my uncle Shikaku and Asuma-sensei. The only other hobbies I can think of are meditating, training and studying as much as I can to understand concepts of chakra control and jutsu's. As for my dreams for the future…"

What are my dreams for the future? Amari pondered as she was forced to pause in her introduction. She didn't hold a particular dream for the future, only two goals to complete, so maybe those were her dreams?

"I have two goals if that counts. One is to kill the boy who killed my best friends two years ago, but even though it is important to me, it isn't my primary focus. My main goal is to protect my friends and their dreams so that one day they can see their dreams come true."

Kakashi nodded to her. "Good example, Amari." His eye moved to Naruto. "You with the blond hair, your next."

Naruto immediately started rambling on about ramen, the different kinds of microwaveable versions and the best ramen in the world from Ichiraku, which made Amari giggle as Kakashi's eye revealed how disinterested and bored out of his mind he was with the rambling.

He already knows about us. This is all for appearances. Between his own scouting and her report, he didn't need any other information to gauge their skills or personalities. This face to face meeting was more to see it for himself and to listen for anything that might have slipped past him or Amari.

"And my future dream is to be the greatest Hokage! That way the whole village will stop disrespecting me and treat me like I'm somebody, somebody important." That declaration earned Kakashi's attention and an impressed look.

And that's a dream I plan to protect.

Sakura went next…and it was exceptionally difficult not to groan, sigh, roll her eye and face palm all at the same time. Sakura was squealing in giddiness over Sasuke, squealing.

This is so unbearable to watch and listen to.

Kakashi seemed to be of the same mind as his blue-haired student judging on the unimpressed stare he was giving her. If she could actually focus…Amari groaned internally. So much wasted intelligence. Most of the girls my age don't even care about actually training or putting in the hard work to grow stronger. Instead they are infatuated by boys and trying to make them notice their appearances, namely Sasuke.

"And what do you hate?" their Sensei asked lazily, probably already knowing the answer he was going to receive.

"Purple bandanas and Naruto!" Sakura nearly shouted for the entire village to hear.

So immature. Amari sighed and brought her knees to her chest so she could wrap her arms around them. You might as well have said my name Sakura. I'm the only one with a purple bandana around here. And a purple tank top and purple earrings.

She really liked purple. Was it too obvious?

Next up was Sasuke who apparently hated a lot and didn't like much of anything, according to the broody boy himself. His goal was, as Amari guessed, to restore his clan but he also wanted to destroy a certain someone. Amari could sense without looking the worry in Naruto and the near fainting from fan girlism from Sakura, but what caught her attention was the intensity in Kakashi's eye as his gaze locked on the boy.

There is definitely something I don't know about between Sasuke and the massacre of the Uchiha. A sudden thought crossed her mind. Lord Hokage never mentioned who murdered the Uchiha's so the person must still be alive and above my rank for information.

"Good. Your each unique and have your own ideas. We'll have our first mission tomorrow," Kakashi said at length. "The task is one the five of us will do together. Let's call it a survival exercise."

Amari raised an eyebrow in a mix of intrigue and worry. A survival exercise? What are you hiding Kakashi-sensei? "I'm sensing the word exercise is a giant understatement?"

In the corner of her eye she could see that Naruto and Sakura were giving her confused stares for her question. She ignored it and kept her eye on their sensei. You two just don't know Kakashi-sensei like I do. He is a ninja, a Jōnin. Deception is his game and if you three don't get your act together you are just going to be pawns on the board designed for unwilling sacrifice.

"You're quick, Amari. I might have to step my game up with you around," he praised. "You are right; this isn't just some exercise like the training you four received in the Academy. It'll be completely different from any of your previous training through the years. The only one here with the closest experience to what I have planned is Amari."

"That's…definitely not good," Amari muttered. If she was the only one with any experience close to their training, that meant it was going to be something extremely physical or would push them to bring out every bit of skill they had.

Kakashi chuckled in amusement at her while the others were still confused over what he meant. "I could tell you what it will be, but none of you are going to like it." He paused briefly for any objections but received none. So he told them. "Of the twenty-eight graduates who you just sat side by side with in that classroom, only ten of you will actually be accepted as Genin. The other eighteen will be weeded out and sent back to the Academy. In other words, this is a make it or break it pass-fail test. Considering those numbers your chances of failing are naturally high, possibly a guarantee."

To say the information shocked the three behind her would be an understatement. It would be more accurate to say that a bolt of lightning struck each of them out of their sandals and left them in a smoky heap of electrically charged limbs.

"See? Didn't I tell you that you wouldn't like it?" Kakashi prodded, humored by their reactions.

Amari herself did feel some of the electric charge from the lightning bolt they were just struck by, but her analytical mind was already processing it and coming to a conclusion she doubted her teammates would reach.

"Hmm, that makes sense." Naruto yelped in surprise at her words. "Think about it for a moment. Life as a ninja isn't meant for everyone and not everyone is at a level where they should be being sent into the field. What if someone was really good in class but cracked under pressure? Would that person be fit for duty?"

The answer was simple to her mind. It didn't matter how much skill you had with a textbook or in ninjutsu, taijutsu or genjutsu; if the pressure of a real battle was capable of breaking you, you weren't ready to be a shinobi.

A bird flying overhead caught her attention due to how it seemed to be circling around their area in an effort to gain someone's attention. Hmm. Must be a messenger bird for Kakashi-sensei. She glanced back to him to see he wasn't budging from his seat. Must be finishing this first.

"Exactly Amari. When lives are at stake you can't afford failure. Failure can be directly failing a mission or losing comrades in the field. If there are graduates who cannot handle the pressure and danger of ninja life then they are not fit to be ninjas."

"Wait a minute, how do you two know each other?" Sakura asked.

"Who? Me and Amari?" Kakashi asked in return. The others nodded. "You do know how she came to this village, right?" Naruto nodded but Sakura and Sasuke did not. I guess they've already forgotten Iruka-sensei introducing me to the class. "I'll give you the quick version then.

"She was an orphan and had two friends who were boys. One day one of the boys became power hungry and killed her other friend to test his skills. He is the one who blinded her and left her for dead. On that same day she was found by four Jōnin; her mother was one and I was one. That's how we met and I've kept my eye on her ever since," he let his eye fall onto her, "and maybe given her a motivation boost here and there." He returned his eye to the others. "Clear?"

The three nodded silently at his quick summary of one of the worst moments in her life. It's weird hearing it from someone else. But he told the truth fully, he has kept his eye on me and given motivation when I did see him.

"Good. Back to the subject at hand. I'll be the one who decides if you pass or fail. Be at the designated training spot at five A.M. and bring your ninja gear."

That'll be early for the others but I'm used to that wake up time. Curious to see where the others were mentally, Amari looked to them to find their eyes all set on the ground or into the open air around them. Naruto seemed to be attempting to build up confidence and ease his nerves, Sakura actually seemed extremely determined, though the Nara would wager it was for the chance to be with Sasuke, and the broody Uchiha was as pensive as ever.

The dōjutsu wielder just remained relaxed and didn't let the possibility of failing the test even worry her. This was all part of Kakashi's test to get under their skin and put the stress and tension on them of real stakes. Her relaxed look actually earned her a small smirk from her sensei before he stood up and turned away.

"That's it. You're dismissed."

You're not done yet Kakashi-sensei. I know you better than that. You have something up your sleeve to test our ability to understand what you are saying and what you aren't. "Oh." He looked over his shoulder with a closed eyed smile. "Tomorrow you better skip breakfast. Or you'll puke."

Another bolt of lightning. Don't eat breakfast or we'll puke? Is this some kind of trick or is he dead serious? Was he really planning to push them hard enough to make them puke?

Before she could even try to get a read on his intentions, Kakashi disappeared in a flash of speed her eye couldn't track. This isn't good. I wasn't able to tell if he was serious or not to make preparations. She fought off a groan of agitation. Damn. He must have done that because nothing else he was saying was getting to me.

A well-played move by her superior. If she wasn't able to discern his true motives, she couldn't ward off her teammates properly and keep them from making a mistake. Just like a real battle. Now she was thrust into a minefield where one wrong step would lead to disaster, ensuring she would at least have a shred of doubt and worry due to the stakes.

If he's serious that means the exercise will be super hard…but still, a ninja has to eat even on the most difficult strenuous missions. It was common sense, right? Without food on long, arduous missions, a shinobi wouldn't be able to operate at peak performance. They had to eat what they could when they had the chance. That could be right before a battle or after one.

But…what if the task he had in mind was so difficult that they would actually puke if they ate breakfast? If what he had in mind was something only she had close experience with, that meant what he had in mind would be enough to leave them face flat in the dirt, bruised, possibly bleeding, covered in sweat and completely out of energy. Eating anything before something like that would guarantee seeing their food twice.

Argh, troublesome adult.

Turning back to her new comrades to try to work her thoughts out with them, she was shocked to see they were all already walking away. So much for a team discussion. The least she could do was try to get them to prepare. "Hey! Make sure you at least have a big dinner tonight if you aren't going to eat breakfast!" Amari called to them.

That would negate puking and if they ate a large enough meal they wouldn't even be hungry that early in the morning. Sasuke ignored her and kept walking which led to Sakura doing the same. Only Naruto stopped to actually hear her out. At least someone will listen, she thought as she stood up

One was better than none.

"Aren't you worried about puking tomorrow Amari?" Naruto asked.

"Well…kind of," she admitted. She couldn't shake the feeling that this last bit of information was meant to throw her specifically off his scent. Kakashi was extremely intelligent and would know before she did what decision she'd end up making. Both decisions were highly possible and any decision she made could be exactly what he had in mind.

Amari shook her head to shake the feeling of doubt off. "But a ninja must see through deception. I'm not sure about not eating breakfast tomorrow. Even on strenuous missions a ninja has to eat something." She scratched the back of her head. But Kakashi-sensei might not be kidding and that would be dangerous to the mission of us passing.

Her gut feeling was telling her to ignore his words, but he had seeded enough doubt into her to turn this into a tug-of-war she wouldn't win alone. "Just eat a big dinner tonight, okay? I'm going to talk to my mom and see what she says, but if she thinks something is up I'll eat my breakfast that way I'll be the only puking if Kakashi-sensei isn't kidding."

Naruto nodded. "Okay, I'll make sure I eat a big dinner then. Hopefully the others actually listened."

Yeah…hopefully. Amari walked with him down and out of the Academy before parting ways to head to their respective homes. The whole walk home was consumed by her thoughts on the situation and the second guessing of her gut.

Would it be possible that Kakashi-sensei was serious? Yes, in fact it was extremely possible he planned to drill them into the ground.

Was it possible that he was testing their ability to see through his deception by understanding the needs of their bodies on hard missions? Absolutely, definitely considering he was technically their enemy right now rather than their ally.

Two possibilities that were both so likely that Amari wasn't sure which to follow. It was Kakashi so her gut feeling was telling her to not listen and eat breakfast…but I also think it is a possibility that he is using my thought pattern of thinking against me to outsmart me. If that is the case he would be doing it to eliminate me with ease tomorrow.

If he did plan to push them to the point of puking then by all means eating breakfast would be a hindrance to the team by slowing her down significantly.

A ninja must see through deception, Amari reminded herself as she turned the corner that led to her house. I have to be able to figure this out without seeing his face because out in the field I won't know my enemies plans. I have to make a decision and I need to make it soon. Big dinner or eat breakfast?

She entered her home and took her shoes off at the door before proceeding further in. As she walked she took her bandana off and tied it around her right wrist. When she entered the living room she found her mother sitting on the couch reading a book. Amari walked around the couch and sat down next to her. "Kakashi didn't keep you long," Kurenai stated.

"I think he was called by a messenger bird. That and he already knows us like the back of his hand," Amari responded as she rested her head on her mother's shoulder. Or glove, I suppose. "We have a survival exercise tomorrow with him. Weeding out the teams that aren't ready to be ninja, as he put it."

He won't weed me out that easily though.

"What time do you need to be there?" her mother asked.

"Five in the morning. Says not to eat breakfast or we'll puke." Her answer made her mother drag her eyes away from her book to her daughter with a pensive stare. "My gut tells me he is testing our ability to see through his deception, but I'm slightly worried he is serious because he knows he can't fool me easily."

Kurenai closed her eyes, exhaled and shook her head. "Trust your gut, little one. Kakashi will be tough tomorrow… and late." She opened her eyes and shook her head in what seemed to be disbelief. "Five in the morning." He must be late a lot if that look is anything to go by. "Make no mistake, you will be challenged tomorrow. Kakashi has high standards, so high he has yet to pass a squad."

He's never passed a squad? Learning this was definitely news to Amari and made her worry for her and her team. If he had yet to pass a team, how were they supposed to pass?

"Why hasn't he passed a team? Is there any specific reason or they just never lived to his standards?"

Any hint to why would be helpful, though based on the frown forming on her mother's lips it seemed she was in the dark on his reasons. "I don't know, little one. I just know he had reason to keep them from moving forward. Kakashi may be tough, but he wouldn't just fail every team over something trivial like not liking them. They missed the real goal of his exercise. You have so far seen through many of his deceptions. This one will be your true test."

Amari nodded slightly. So far she had proven that she was capable at figuring out certain ploys, but this new test wasn't just her mind against Kakashi. It was her whole team against the Copy Ninja.

This was a pass as a group fail as a group test. There would be no special treatment for any single member which didn't bother her in the slightest. If she wasn't capable of getting her team to work together to figure out what the real test was then she wasn't ready to be a ninja.

"I just have to remember everything I know about Kakashi-sensei and what I have learned these last two years and I'll be able to solve it."

Kurenai wrapped her arm around her daughter. "You'll do fine. Just do your best and you'll pass."

I'll figure this out and I'll make sure we are the first team he passes…

This is going to be so troublesome.