Another chapter, up and ready for you to read. I chose to do this one early since the last chapter was technically last months. Anyways enjoy part of my insanity.

Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto

Chapter Dedicated to the many reviewers, favoriters, and followers, you are all amazing!

Naru sighed and stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets as Sasuke moved beside her, trying to get Sakura to stop fawning over him and hinting at dates. Kakashi stood behind all of them, herding them toward the Hokage's office for their first D-Rank mission. Both Sasuke and Naru knew what to expect, especially since they often helped out Hiruzen sort the missions with Hinata to cut down on his paperwork. Blank blue eyes watched while Sasuke opened the door for them, a soft nod in his direction showing her thanks, whilst Sakura swooned at his 'gentlemanly' actions. Kakashi only raised a brow from behind his book, before taking the lead as the hiked up the stairs toward the mission's office. "So Kakashi-Sensei, what will we be doing?"

Sakura glanced toward Sasuke, already thinking of him saving a princess, which was actually her, and the two riding off into the sunset. Naru noticed the dreamy look accompanied by a blush and felt herself nearly gag at the display. 'This is what we are down to…So damn disappointed in the Kunoichi and ninja these days.'

Naru stepped into the room beside Kakashi, her maroon-lavender eyes settling on Iruka and Hiruzen. "Morning, Hokage-Jiji, Iruka-Sensei."

Hiruzen chuckled and raised a brow at the group. "I see that Hatake passed you. How did you manage to do that, exactly?"

The Anbu on either side of the missions' desk inched a little closer upon hearing that. "We worked together, got his book after a couple trial and errors, and proceeded to threaten to burn it with your son's lighter, Hokage-Jiji."

Hiruzen's eyes lit with mirth whilst Kakashi moved to the side, his book slightly shielded by his body whilst the Anbu on guard withheld their snickers. Regardless, Kakashi sent them both dark looks. Naru meanwhile handed the mentioned lighter to the Hokage, who took it readily.

"So you enjoyed yourselves? I'm glad Naru-Chan."

Naru turned to Iruka, offering a tilt of her lips and a slightly raised brow as an answer. "Yes, Iruka-Sensei."

Sasuke stepped up beside his teammate, which meant Sakura also stepped forward. "We should be getting our mission and going, the world doesn't wait."

Naru sighed at her friend's obvious shove for them to get on with it, Iruka laughing while Hiruzen glanced between the two. "Very well, Uchiha Sasuke. Kakashi, I have the perfect mission for you."

He tossed a scroll at Kakashi, whom caught it and opened it with practiced ease. "Oh? Walking the Inuzuka puppies and cleaning their kennels?"

Sakura turned sharply to Kakashi, eyes wide. "W-What?!"

Naru glanced to Sasuke, holding up three fingers. The raven watched her, before holding up two. Both nodded, Naru dropping one. Sasuke smirked, whilst Naru sighed and nudged him. "Alright my adorable Genin, let's go!"

Kakashi turned to leave, only to stop when Naru ran over to Hiruzen quickly, giving him a side hug and nodding to Iruka before running back to her team. The group aside from Sasuke looked shocked at her display of affection, the Raven merely sighing at her actions. "Couldn't have waited, Naru?"

Naru shook her head at her friend, calling out behind her. "Have a good day, Hokage-Jiji, Iruka-Sensei!"

I~~~~I

Sakura groaned, shaking her gloved hand as her face screwed up in disgust. "E-Eww!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, glancing to Naru. She had one finger raised, and he muttered softly, shaking his head. He was keeping his bet. He had at least a little faith in his other team- "S-Sensei! W-Why are we cleaning dog poo?! We are ninja, aren't we?"

Sakura whined loudly, earning her a glare from Sasuke and a sigh from Naru as the blonde ruffled the hair of a puppy with her ungloved hand. The dog yipped and she smiled gently. "Sakura, come now…Aren't you having fun?"

Kakashi spoke up from his spot under an oak tree, reading his book and sipping some lemonade without a care in the world. Naru glanced to the man and sighed gently. "Kakashi-Sensei, let Sakura have a break. Sasuke-san and I can finish this up."

Kakashi paused at what she said before he opened his mouth to tell her it wouldn't be fair. He was stopped when Naru raised her hands to form the Shadow Clone Jutsu, calling it out. Ten Naru's appeared in the area, each taking off to do their job whilst Naru removed her glove and placed it in the trash, Sasuke doing the same. "Maa, maa I suppose."

Sakura stared at the two, moving to go join when Kakashi spoke up. "Come sit over here Sakura, you wanted a break, Ne?"

The sakura haired girl frowned but nodded, moving beside her sensei, grabbing some lemonade as she watched her teammates play with the dogs. She was surprised at how at ease the two seemed to be with the animals, despite having never seen either anywhere close to any animals.

They all stopped when they suddenly heard someone calling out to them. "N-Naru-Chan, Sasuke-San!"

Both the Genin in question snapped their gazes toward the path, Naru's eyes lighting up as she rose from her spot, Sasuke remaining where he was, puppies crawling all over him. "Hinata-Hime, good to see you."

Naru hopped the fence for the Inuzuka animal shelter's yard, landing beside a certain lavender haired princess. Beside the girl were her teammates, Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino. Behind them was Yuhi Kurenai, each dressed in their ninja gear. "Oh, you guys are the ones that got this job? That sucks for you!"

Kiba called out with a smirk, Sasuke narrowing his eyes on the Inuzuka Heir. Sasuke was still unable to move however, the pups starting to fall asleep on him. "It's not that bad."

Naru spoke up instead, turning to look at her teammate. Her lips twitched, Hinata smiling softly at the sight. Sasuke looked away from them both, muttering under his breath.

"Oh, how is it going then, Naru?"

Naru glanced to Kurenai and paused as she raised her hand into the release sign. "The clones just finished. We're done now. We can go ahead and turn in our mission now I believe."

All but Hinata on Team Eight, eyed Naru like she was crazy, the heiress instead speaking up to her best friend. "Naru-Chan…A-Are we eating out o-or just cooking at home?"

Naru paused for a moment before turning toward Sasuke. "Sasuke-San, we eating out or going homemade?"

Sasuke, who had finally managed to remove all the puppies, stood from his spot under the sun. "I'd say home. We've been eating out a little too much."

Naru shrugged, Hinata nodding. "Sounds fine."

Hinata spoke, her stutters disappearing more and more as time went on.

"W-Wait, dinner?! What do you mean dinner!"

Sakura ran over from her spot, eyes wide. Kakashi also looked over, curious himself. Kiba was gaping open-mouth at the three, Naru blinking at Sakura. In the end, Sasuke answered her. "We eat dinner together most of the time. Naru and Hinata are both good cooks, plus Naru gives me cooking lessons. We sometimes go out to eat however."

The manner in which he simply dismissed the information as fact made the two Senseis sweat drop and the other Genin nearly choke. Shino managed to hold his shock, his Kikaicho, or bugs, having sensed the lingering amounts of Sasuke's chakra on Naru many times when the two ran into each other on their ways home from training at night.

"N-Naru knows where you live?! And Hinata!"

Kiba spoke up this time, looking confused and a little jealous that Sasuke not only got Hinata, Kiba's teammate, but Naru as well! He didn't see what girls liked about the guy, he was an ass and Kiba was way better than him. Kiba also couldn't see how the two prettiest girls ended up with the Uchiha because despite not being the favorite no one could deny that Naru was prettier than most girls. If Hinata wasn't so shy then more than likely she'd have her own fan club as well.

"Well…As, nice, as this has been, we must be going to our mission. Good to see you, Team Seven."

Kurenai smiled gently at the other team and Kakashi, before leading her Genin away. Hinata said a small goodbye to her two friends, before walking away. Kiba was pushed along by Kurenai, and Shino simply waved at Team Seven before following his own team.

"Well, that was eventful. Now then Aki-Chan, Sasuke, why don't you tell me more about your guys' dinners on our way toward the Hokage Tower?"

Naru gave Kakashi a blank stare before Sasuke took her arm and dragged her to the tower. "Come on…."

I~~~~I

In the end, the two ended up inviting Kakashi and Sakura over for dinner, Sasuke stopping at the market to pick up some groceries before they continued on their journey to Naru's house. It had been decided to meet there so that a certain Pinkett couldn't stalk the Uchiha everywhere he went. Hinata was waiting for them at the apartment, her eyes lighting up as she saw her two friends. "N-Naru-Chan!"

Naru allowed a soft smile to replace her distant expression as she met Hinata at the door, the Hyuga heiress blushing at her. "Sorry for the change in events, Hinata-Hime."

The lavender haired girl only shook her head, whilst Sasuke grunted. The two girls took the bags from his hands and led their group up the stairs, Sakura wrinkling her nose at the state of the place. Kakashi's eye narrowed on the very unsafe apartment complex, and the obvious infestation. "Sorry about the building, my land lord doesn't want to fix the place up."

Kakashi felt his hand clench but forced himself to relax despite the many different scenarios running through his head. Sasuke muttered softly under his breath as they hiked up the stairs, going a total of 3 flights before reaching the last floor. Sasuke reached into his pocket, pulling out a key with a tag attached to it. He walked toward the only door that stood in the apartment complex, and inserted the key before turning it to unlock. His chakra was channeled into the tag, and it stuck to the handle whilst he twisted the door open. He helped the two girls inside, Kakashi and Sakura filing inside last. He closed the door behind him, removing the key. The door glowed green for a moment, a ripple effect going from the handle outwards, before it faded.

The inside of the apartment was surprising, to say the least, everything in order and completely spotless. Kakashi felt a little out of place in the very nicely kept room, Sakura shocked inside and out at the state of the area. The living room was small and cozy with a black coffee table and a light blue couch. Two bookshelves were propped up against the wall beside the couch, books lining every shelf. The books, though not perfect, added dimension to the room. Off to the side, there were more shelves, hung on the walls or propped into corners with a loveseat beside them right under a window. Some scrolls were neatly arranged into a wine shelf near the door, and there was a shoe box near the door for sandals. Somehow without either of the guests noticing, all three friends had removed their shoes and placed them in their respective boxes. Sasuke's was painted black with a tomato on the bottom shelf liner, Hinata's was deep blue with a sunflower, and Naru's was surprisingly orange with a mini-whirlpool drawn onto the shelf in white.

"Just set your shoes on an unmarked shelf. Make yourselves comfortable, and look around if you want. Just don't go into the room with the orange door, the guest rooms with black and lavender doors, or the closet at the back of the hall."

Naru spoke up from her spot at the stove where she poured hot water onto potatoes, Hinata chopping vegetables on the counter behind her.

The kitchen was simple as well, pots hanging from above the buffet booth with stools lining the side facing the den. Cabinets lined the wall with a large window showing the Hokage mountain, a sink nestled between a fridge, the counter, and the stove. Kakashi didn't reply, instead, wandering toward the shelves.

The Jonin Sensei paused at the scrolls, before crouching to get a better look. He was surprised once more at the collection his Sensei's daughter had, his hand reaching and pulling out a water scroll as his curiosity got the better of him. He unrolled it while Sakura awkwardly moved to watch the girls work, and try to help where she could. She was soon drafted into checking the potatoes and smashing them.

Kakashi blinked as he realized that the scroll he had picked had been one that was written inside of with neat script. Naru had left notes on the different techniques and how she was able to perform them, as well as how much chakra they used. Below Naru's was another style of handwriting, just as neat with an elegant twist that Kakashi recognized as Hinata's from her work. He deduced that the two girls compared their abilities in order to improve, and since Sasuke was an Uchiha it was very unlikely for him to get Water and highly likely for it to be hard for him to do since it was an opposing or weaker element than those he was likely to have. Kakashi set the scroll back into his spot and pulled out a fire one, pausing to read over the notes. It seemed Naru wasn't very good at Fire Style, whilst Hinata was average and Sasuke excelled.

Next, Kakashi took out a Wind Style, which all three proved to be promising in, especially Naru. Her skill with Wind Chakra was close to her skill in Water, which both were high-Genin, if not low-Chunin. The Scarecrow looked over the scrolls once more as he set the last one back, finally finding an earth scroll. The collection was mostly focused on Wind, Water, and Fire. He was a little surprised that Naru had managed to get 5 wind scrolls, but only one earth scroll. It was quite confusing after all since Fire Country was known for its Fire and Earth affinities.

He opened it, pausing to note that the scroll looked to be one from the Sarutobi Clan, a gift from the Sandaime no doubt. He looked over the stats first this time, raising a brow under his headband as he saw that Naru was also good at Earth Style, Low-Chunin at least. Hinata and Sasuke were just below her, though Sasuke did seem to have a weaker affinity than Hinata. It did make sense he supposed, but still. Naru's stats confused him. Her father had affinities for Wind, Fire, and Lightning, while her mother had Wind and Water. He wasn't sure where Naru got the Earth affinity from. Uzumaki's mostly had Wind, Water, or Lightning affinities, and Minato had come from a line of samurai with Fire and Wind in their blood. "Kakashi-Sensei?"

Kakashi looked up to see Naru standing over him, head tilting to the side. Her white hair was back into its braid sadly, her bangs framing her face. "Maa, done already?"

His student nodded, looking at the scroll he held in his hand. He rose and placed the scroll back on the rack, giving the girl an eye-smile. "Alright, let's have some dinner, Neh Aki-Hime?"

Naru's cheeks darkened as did her eyes as she narrowed them on him, her lips almost forming a pout as she escorted him to the buffet. Sasuke gave Kakashi a glare upon seeing Naru's red face, Hinata growing confused. Sakura stared down at the meal before them, her eyes wide.

Kakashi took it in as well, his mouth watering as the smell came to him. Instantly he turned sharply to look at the plates and felt his stomach growl. Sitting there was an arrangement of vegetables, as well as salted eggplant and fried green tomatoes. Beside them were a bowl of rice and a bowl of sweet-smelling sauce, salmon resting on a bed of lettuce behind the bowl. He sat down and Naru raised her hand for silence, closing her eyes. Sasuke and Hinata followed before Sakura and Kakashi joined in. No words were spoken; Naru's gentle exhale signaling they could open their eyes. She smiled gently and asked Sasuke to pass the rice, starting the meal time.

They all talked and ate in peace, Naru letting more smiles than Kakashi had ever seen on her face become present. Hinata didn't stutter nearly as much as she had before, and Sakura even seemed to let go of her fangirl habits to join in on the talk. Kakashi added his own info here and there, but mostly the kids led the conversation. It was nice for a change, to have this little moment of peace. Kakashi had to admit that despite everything, he believed this Team 7 might just work out after all.

And Finished! Chapter done with a little insight onto their first D-Rank and more team bonding. I didn't show the pictures or Naru meeting Konohamaru because I wasn't sure how to fit it in. More than likely I'll just add that into next chapter or recap to it at some point or another. Either way, Naru will be teaching Konohamaru and more than likely he'll become a part of the dinners as well. The Dinners will be the even ground that Team 7 can work on, with people other than themselves. It'll also be the bonding sessions until the serious training starts.

Drabble-Oh Pesky Earth Scrolls…Where Have You Gone

There was no doubt to anyone that knew Naru, that she absolutely loved collecting scrolls. Mostly they were water or Wind Scrolls at first, gifted to her by Sarutobi, Shisui, or Itachi.

After Shisui passed and Itachi became a rogue nin, she stopped gathering so much of her own favorites and branched out to other types.

For Sasuke she searched for Lightning and Fire, and for Hinata Wind.

But that left Earth and Water, two affinities that Naru felt connected to the most.

Her Earth was harder than Wind or Water, understandably so given the nature of those elements, but she still managed to find the perfect balance when it came to her scrolls.

With Shisui now gone, however, she no longer had a Jonin to help and told her friends and Hiruzen as much when asked why she didn't gain nearly as many as before.

In response to this, scrolls began to appear at her door, her windows, out on the balcony with her laundry, and sometimes even at Naru's desk.

It was a little odd at first, but it became a fact of Naru's life that she rather enjoyed.

It was harder to keep track of them, so she took to writing down her progress inside them, filing the ones she finished with in the living room, the others stored in her closet.

No matter what, though, there was always the bare minimum of Earth Scrolls on the shelves.

Hinata and Sasuke never commented on this, as neither were too interested in that particular affinity.

No one asked, and whenever a new Earth scroll came into Naru's possession, no one saw what she did with it.

No one knew of the seals inscribed on the underside of her favorite book, storage seals filled with scrolls upon scrolls of Earth Style techniques.

No one ever knew about the many hours Naru stayed awake pouring over the knowledge left in the papyrus, filing away the words carefully in her head as the moon rose over the clouds.

(It wasn't until years later, when Naru and her friends had finally brought an end to the Fourth Great Ninja War, did Sasuke and Hinata finally walk in on the girl asleep, scroll in hand, notes at her side.)