We've made it guys. We've finally caught up.

Since this is a companion story, a majority of the plot and dialogue will be the same as/similar to it is in Sasuke's story. It's pretty unavoidable when Naruko and Sasuke's lives are so intertwined. But I will do my best to give a new perspective and sequence of events.

If only Sasuke had abandoned the village. Then there wouldn't be so much overlap. *shrugs* Oh well! 😁

~:~

"Now would be the perfect time to buy something different. Maybe something that blends in better?" Jiraiya suggested while scribbling away notes into one of his writing books. He paused for a second in thought, most likely trying to remember something, before giggling lowly and quickly scribbling again.

More than used to her sensei's perverted ways, she didn't call the man on his questionable behavior. Naruko clutched the orange and black jacket to her chest with an offended look. "But I always wear orange! I'll get so strong that I won't need stealth, 'ttebayo," Naruko proclaimed and tugged a pair of long, orange pants off the clothes rack as well.

Jiraiya scoffed loudly. "Even a shinobi as great as me still relies on stealth!" he bragged while tucking away his notebook.

Naruko smirked slyly. "Then I'll just have to surpass you, Ero Sennin," Naruko said and pulled the jacket on over her black tank top before examining her appearance in a nearby full-length mirror. Naruko had never been one to care too much about her appearance before, but she couldn't help but feel a bit more mature in the new clothes. Still her trademark orange, but now with patches of black to replace the light blue of her old, tattered jacket.

"One day, kid. Maybe you just might," Jiraiya said and approached her from behind to rest a hand on her shoulder. Jiraiya hummed once with a nod. "Not exactly practical, but the color does suit you I suppose."

Staring at her reflection in the mirror, Naruko couldn't help but examine her different features, trying to pinpoint just how much she had changed in the past few years. To her eyes, she still looked the same. But she wondered how she would look now to everyone back in the village. She'd grown taller and her hair had grown longer (but still nowhere near as long as her mother's beautiful tresses). She wondered if they'd be able to see her new strength.

Would Sasuke be able to sense it?

She'd been training hard the past three years, but so had he most likely. She hoped that it would be enough to finally give her the edge that she needed to surpass him. Naruko clenched her fists with a determined gleam in her eyes. They were due back in the village in a few weeks. She'd find out then.

"You're pretty popular," Jiraiya muttered with a chuckle.

Breaking out of her reverie, Naruko turned a questioning gaze onto her sensei. Jiraiya smirked and barely inclined his head to the side. Brows furrowed, Naruko quicky glanced in the direction he had indicated, too quickly for a civilian to notice. A group of boys about her age were peeking their way and barely whispering amongst themselves. Jiraiya chuckled again before elbowing her in the side. It took Naruko a few seconds to catch his not-so-subtle meaning and her cheeks flamed as a result. "W-whatever, Ero Sennin! Don't we have to get going anyways, 'ttebayo?" Naruko said and stepped around Jiraiya to approach the register.

"In a rush to get back to the village?"

"Of course!" Naruko exclaimed. It'd been years since she'd seen any of her family or friends. It was only natural.

"You must miss your boyfriend more than I thought," Jiraiya said much louder than necessary with a thoughtful hum.

Suddenly tensing, Naruko slowly turned her head to glare at Jiraiya from over her shoulder. She could see the look of amusement all over his face, but she resolutely kept quiet. She had denied any relationship or romantic feelings between her and Sasuke more times than she could count over the years, but Ero Sennin still insisted that there was something there. She knew that Ero Sennin liked to playfully tease her occasionally, but she'd assumed that he'd give up on a long time ago.

"Are you sure that you're not the one in a rush to see Baa-chan?" Naruko smirked and finished paying for her new clothes. The salesclerk smiled at the both of them, amused by their dynamic.

Jiraiya paused and blinked down at her in surprise for a few beats before guffawing loudly. Naruko could see a soft, barely-there blush on her master's cheeks as he looked away and smiled softly. "Don't get cheeky with me, gaki. Now, let's get going. You're buying lunch."

Naruko balked. "What!? I paid last time, dattebayo! It's your turn to pay!"

"You're paying as punishment for your smart mouth. Don't you know to respect your sensei? Minato would never," Jiraiya tutted with a shake of his head. Naruko folded her arms over her chest with an annoyed look. Sometimes she wondered who she'd angered in a past life to get such a cheap sensei.

~:~

From the second that she could see the orange walls and wide-open green gates, Naruko had been slowly filling with a sense of peace and excitement. Returning home felt like a final puzzle piece fitting into place- a sense of rightness and balance returning. It didn't take long for Jiraiya to send her ahead with an easy-going chuckle. Naruko hadn't hesitated.

She'd barely stopped long enough to wave to a surprised Izumo and Kotetsu as she passed through the gate. She knew that she should be stopping by to at least check in with them, but she figured that Ero Sennin could take care of it. Choosing a light pole to stand atop, Naruko took in her home and refamiliarized herself with the sight.

What to do first?

She knew that checking in with Tou-chan should be her first priority, but her eyes couldn't help but stray over in the direction if the Uchiha district. Was he even in the village? Would he be home right now? Maybe she could stop by for a few minutes just to see how much he changed… Tou-chan probably wouldn't mind if she was just a little late. Mind already made up, Naruko took to the rooftops and headed towards the Uchiha clan compound.

The Uchiha district was as busy as ever. It even looked a bit bigger than what she remembered. A few people slowed to observe her as they passed, some even waved with familiar smiles. The path to the main family house was still ingrained on her brain, her feet moving along it subconsciously as she took in all the subtle changes around the district. When she arrived on the property, Naruko literally ran into someone as they were leaving.

Itachi had grown maybe an inch or two since she'd last seen him, but he still managed to dwarf her by half a foot. His face remained mostly unchanged; still stoic and handsome, but a bit wearier. His hands caught her by her upper arms, keeping her from falling over after literally plowing into him. Or had he run into her?

"Naruko-chan, welcome back," he acknowledged and released her once she had steadied herself.

Naruko was momentarily struck by how much older he sounded before quickly snapping out of it. "Itachi-nii-san! It's been a while. How are you?" she asked, taking in his lightly dirtied ANBU flak jacket. "Did you just get back from a mission?"

"Yes, but I'm headed to the hospital," Itachi said, already looking away with an intense gaze. Naruko couldn't help but get the feeling that something was bothering him.

"Are you alright?" Naruko asked, worry spiking in her chest. Was he sick again? He didn't look sick, but Naruko knew that any determined shinobi could carry on through even the worst of injuries.

"Yes, I'm fine. But Sasuke was injured on his last mission," Itachi explained and moved to leave, but paused. "You should stop by to see him when you get the chance. I'm sure that he'd enjoy seeing you again," Itachi said over his shoulder before leaping away.

Injured? How had Sasuke gotten hurt? Maybe it was her memories playing tricks on her, but the idea of Sasuke getting hurt seemed so strange to her in that instance, as if the idea that anything could touch him was completely absurd. Gritting her teeth, Naruko leapt after Itachi.

When the hospital was within sight, Naruko had happened to spot Itachi standing at one of the windows before opening it wide. At least she wouldn't have to bother the hospital staff. Itachi looked to be speaking, but she didn't pay much attention to his words as she dashed through the open window and landed at Sasuke's bedside. "Sasuke!" she shouted and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. "What the hell happened to you, 'ttebayo!? Don't tell me you did something stupid for you to get hurt like an idiot!" she shouted at his face.

A familiar, annoyed narrowing of his dark eyes and a quick shove at her hands had her retreating from him slightly. "Hn. Between the two of us, you've gotten hurt more times than you can count from doing something idiotic, Dobe," Sasuke said.

Naruko could feel her cheeks warm. While Itachi had barely changed over the years, Sasuke seemed to have changed quite a bit. She remembered his voice as sounding deep timbered as genin, but now it sounded a bit more mellow and smoother without the slight hitch of prepubescence. Overall, his face hadn't changed much, but she could tell that his duckbutt hair had grown out slightly and his eyes had gained a new intensity to them. She couldn't see his lower half under his bed sheets, but she could tell that he'd grown much taller and broader.

It took her a few seconds for his words to catch up to her. "Bastard! Here I was worried about you for no reason. I guess it's too much to hope that someone would have hit you hard enough to knock that stick out your ass," she said and folded her arms over her chest.

When Kakashi drew her attention, Naruko was surprised to realize that she hadn't even noticed him. Even Itachi's muted presence had seemed to fade into the background as well in the wake of her reunion with her rival. Was it just that Kakashi and Itachi were so good at hiding their presence or was Sasuke's always so glaringly obvious?

"How did you know I was here anyways?" Sasuke asked, pulling her attention back onto him. She would have to get used to his new voice…

Sasuke still treated her as he always did, with light annoyance and an easy familiarity despite their time apart. Naruko was both relieved and troubled by the maintenance of their status quo. She was happy to still have her friend, but the new, unfamiliar feelings he was bring about in her had her worried. She did her best to hide her discomfort from him, however. Sasuke was naturally observant, but he had always had a knack for seeing through her in the past.

When he'd told her about his imminent release from the hospital, a familiar competitiveness took over. If he was getting released, then he'd be healthy enough for her to kick his ass! "Good. Because you owe me a fight, Bastard," she said. Sasuke dismissed her, but Naruko could see the intrigue in his eyes. He was as excited to fight her as she was to fight him. "I gotta go see Tou-chan to let him know that I'm back. I just wanted to make sure you weren't dying first," she said before quickly ducking out through the window.

Their exchange had been a short one and not how she'd expected their reunion to play out. Truthfully, she'd entertained the idea that they'd dramatically face off in some valley while acknowledging their rivalry and duking it out until they couldn't continue their bout. But that had just been her imagination running wild. No, she liked reality better. Sasuke was still Sasuke. She could still be Naruko with him (just stronger).

Her train of thought had lasted her until she arrived at her father's office, perching on the open windowsill just in time to see Ero Sennin enter and close the door behind him. "Tou-chan! I'm back!" she greeted with a wide grin.

"Naruko," Minato acknowledged with a bright smile. She hadn't even finished stepping into the room before he was on her, wrapping her tightly in a bear hug.

"Geez, Tou-chan. It's only been three years," she joked, but still returned his embrace.

"I missed you," Minato admitted in a soft voice, cracking the tough front she'd put on. Burying her face in his chest, she breathed and refamiliarized herself with his scent- ink, paper, and a faint ocean breeze.

"I missed you, too dattebayo," Naruko replied.

With a sharp inhale, Minato stepped back to hold her at bay and fully observe her. "You've grown so much. You're not a little girl anymore," Minato said with a wobbly smile.

"That's right, 'ttebayo!" Naruko exclaimed with a grin. "I've gotten so much stronger that I'm sure that I've caught up to you."

"That's good. You'll have to show me just how much stronger," Minato nodded and turned to Jiraiya. "Sensei, you're looking well."

"Yeah. I feel like I've aged ten years, but I suppose that's what happens when you're looking after a kid," Jiraiya laughed good-naturedly.

"I'm not a kid anymore, Ero Sennin," Naruko said with a small pout.

"Naruko, I appreciate seeing you first, but why don't you go see your mother? She hasn't taken on any missions because she's been waiting at home for you for weeks," Minato suggested.

In the past, Naruko would have taken her father's words at face value, but now she could see the subtle looks that Jiraiya and Minato were exchanging. Sensing an impending, serious conversation, Naruko nodded and turned to leave. "I'll see you later, Tou-chan," she said and quickly left the two men behind.

~:~

"Sensei?" Minato questioned and went through the hand signs for his privacy seal.

Jiraiya rifled through the folds on his shirt before pulling out a scroll. "From what I gathered, the situation hasn't changed much. The other villages weren't very forthcoming, but I was able to pick up that the six and seven tails are still within their respective villages," Jiraiya said and handed over the sealed scroll.

Minato bit into the pad of his thumb before smearing his blood along the paper to break the seal. "I'm guessing you didn't get very far with A or Oonoki," Minato said as his eyes quickly read through Jiraiya's report.

"They were less receptive than the Kazekage. I tried to send a few toads in, but they weren't able to pick up much without blowing their covers," Jiraiya lamented.

"A and Oonoki have grown a bit paranoid. I've heard reports of Kumo and Iwa shonobi killing harmless toads and frogs in and out of their villages," Minato frowned and crossed his arms.

"They're just being hypervigilant. They expected me to use toads for reconnaissance," Jiraiya pointed out. Fortunately, none of his summons had gotten caught or met a messy end at the hands of foreign shinobi.

With a deep sigh, Minato asked, "What about Naruko?"

Jiraiya's mood lifted as a smirk crossed his face. "The kid's grown a lot these past few years. While she's not up to your level, she's improved more than I anticipated. Granted, she could use a little more work before she'd be ready to take down any Akatsuki members. But she could at least hold her own for a while."

Minato seemed to relax at bit at the news. "That's good to hear. Is there anything in particular that you think she needs to improve on?"

"I worked with her on her genjutsu detection, but there's always room for growth. I told her about your attempts at adding your chakra nature to the Rasengan," Jiraiya chuckled. "She's made it her goal to complete her Rasengan before you do."

Minato chuckled. Jiraiya knew that Minato's attempts to add his wind chakra to his Rasengan had been put on an indefinite hold since Naruko had been born. It had been one situation after another for the younger man. From the kyuubi attack to the Uchiha situation to the threat of the Akatsuki, Minato had had his hands full these past few years. But maybe this what he needed to help distract him from the pressures of his office- a healthy competition with his rambunctious daughter.

"We can work on it together," Minato smiled.

"How's Hime?" Jiraiya asked before Minato could get too lost in his thoughts.

"As far as I can tell, she's adjusted well to being back in the village. She found a new apprentice that I hear is on her way to becoming an accomplished medic as well. I'd suggest that you visit Tsunade-sama when you leave. I doubt that she'd appreciate hearing that you were peeping in bathhouses before stopping by to at least say hello," Minato advised, well aware that there would be no point in warning his sensei against peeping altogether.

"Maybe I will. Who knows? I might even get her to say that she missed me," Jiraiya winked before turning to leave. Minato shook his head fondly before turning back to his work.

~:~

Naruko would be the first to admit that she was a bit eager to get her spar with Sasuke started. It was an understatement to say that she was excited. Before either of her parents had gotten up, she had already finished dressing and was out of the house.

She chose training ground 7, hoping that Sasuke would do the same. Taking a minute to let herself walk down memory lane, Naruko stopped in front of the wooden pole that Kakashi had tied her to years ago. She wondered how their team would fare taking the bell test again.

Hunkering down in front of the pole, Naruko decided to practice gathering nature energy until Sasuke showed up. She still wasn't very good at it without the oil, but she was close. She was becoming familiar with the feel of nature energy. It just took a bit of effort to maintain the perfect balance and not let it get out of control.

"I didn't know you could sit still long enough to meditate."

She'd sensed him coming of course. "I've picked up a few tricks these past few years, 'ttebayo!" Naruko exclaimed and stood. From what she could tell, he must have gotten stronger. (He certainly had gotten taller…)

Seeing Sasuke's Sharingan gave her a sense of satisfaction. She remembered the many spars with him where he'd never bothered to use it. But to use them now without hesitation meant that he saw her as a worthy opponent, and he wouldn't be pulling any punches. Naruko did her best to subdue the excitement that was buzzing through her as she took her stance. If he was taking her seriously, then she'd do the same for him.

Still feeling the effects of the nature chakra that she had been gathering, Naruko could sense the moment that Sasuke loosened his grip on his chakra. Naruko was by no means a sensor. But aided by what little bit of nature energy she had left, she was able to sense the depth and feel of his chakra. Sasuke's chakra felt denser than most people's, almost like a heavy cloud around him that was making her hair stand on end. Before she realized it, her own chakra intermingling with his. She didn't have much time to ponder the feel of their chakras together before Sasuke was rushing towards her.

As opposed to how their spars went when they were children, Sasuke seemed to be more inclined to slowly feel her out as opposed to wanting a swift end- as if testing her and gauging her growth in comparison to his own. But he wasn't the only one that had gotten stronger. Once Naruko had caught onto his tactics, it was her turn to test him.

Naruko watched his every movement like a hawk, her own attempts at copying what came naturally to him as an Uchiha. Rather than fall for any of his ploys, she increased the speed of her strikes. Sasuke had always been faster than her. Once he'd awoken his Sharingan, it had been hard work just to keep up with him. It had admittedly psyched her out how he seemed to always know what she would do before she did.

Watching him dodge another punch and practically slip through her fingers yet again had her frustrations rising. He was still faster than her and he knew it too, judging by the cocky smirk that he flashed her. A spike of irritation had her acting too rashly and she paid for it with a punch to the gut and a kick to the face. She could almost hear Ero Sennin voice chastising her in her head.

She could hear Sasuke running towards her as she tumbled mid-air, so she did her best to keep her hands hidden and chakra from spiking. Ero Sennin had praised her on her mastery of her shadow clones, but this would be the real test. A quick and subtle kage buushin and kawarimi combination later and Naruko was hidden away amongst the shadows in the tree line.

Naruko watched Sasuke's movements from the shadows, letting her clones engage him instead. He was counteracting her clones from no matter what direction they came at him from. His proficiency with his fire releases had gotten better than she expected. But even more so, she hadn't expected to see him use lightning release. Naruko almost cursed as a familiar jealousy bubbled up within her. Idly, she wondered just how far Sasuke would go. Moving through the hand signs for a doton jutsu and slipped beneath the earth.

While Sasuke surpassed her in speed, Naruko knew that he had nothing on her when it came to endurance and stamina. But even without the furry monster sealed within her, Naruko was blessed with larger than average reserves. Sasuke was just as stubborn as she was, but eventually she could see that he was starting to tire. His jutsu and Sharingan used up a lot of chakra, just like her shadow clones.

It took longer than she expected, but eventually his Sharingan faded away and left him momentarily vulnerable. It was almost comical to watch the emotions flicker across his face from determined, to dismayed, to panicked right before she landed a punch to the middle of his face. While he was still stunned, Naruko felt a resurgence of energy pushing her through the motions. She landed one punch after the other to his gut, thoroughly winding him before returning the favor with a kick to his face.

Sasuke landed on the other side of the field with a loud thud and almost inaudible grunt of pain. Slowly, he pushed himself onto his knees while simultaneously trying to catch his breath. "Oi, Sasuke! Don't tell me you're finished already," Naruko taunted. She could tell from the fiery glare that he sent her way that she had more than touched a nerve.

"Don't be an idiot," he panted and stood back up.

It was late in the afternoon now. She'd skipped breakfast in her excitement to fight Sasuke and she had long since missed lunch. She silently lamented the loss. She'd really been looking forward to having Ichiraku Ramen. Maybe if she knocked him on his ass hard enough, he'd give up and she could get something to eat? But Naruko never expected Sasuke to give up. She knew that their spar would last until one of them physically couldn't go on.

Taking a deep breath, Naruko stood at her full height as Sasuke pushed himself back onto his feet. Summoning a shadow clone, she held out her hand to begin forming the Rasengan. Like his lightning had been a surprise for her, this jutsu was a surprise that she could already see him analyzing. As if she could see the gears turning in his head, she knew that he was getting close to his limit, and he would have to dodge her attack. Dodging would be smart, so she chose to dare him instead. Despite her fatigue, Naruko felt excited to see his lightning coating his hand.

"Naruko!"

"Sasuke!"

One second, she was staring into Sasuke's dark eyes as their attacks clashed. The next, she felt like she was having an out of body experience. Was she out of her own body or was she just in her own head? She was standing next to a young Sasuke by a lake. Was she in Sasuke's head? She watched the young boy breathe fire before getting distracted from his training. Naruko looked behind her as well to see her younger self staring back with the older Sasuke.

She remembered this day. Kaa-chan and Kakashi-nii had been out of the village on separate missions so Tou-chan had promised to train her instead. But his responsibilities as Hokage had taken priority over her. She wasn't sure how she'd ended up walking past the lake, but she'd been surprised to see Sasuke of all people. Her surprise had only grown when she saw him training by himself. She'd both admired and envied his abilities at the time. He hadn't needed anyone to train with him. She'd almost called out to him and offered to train together. Almost. But then he had dismissed her before she'd even gotten a chance to ask and that had been the end of that.

Sometimes, she regretted not trying harder with him then. He had always looked so cold and angry. He always dismissed her or insulted her, but she had still wanted to try to get through to him. She couldn't explain what it was about him that had had her so fixated as a kid. No matter how much they argued or fought, she still couldn't quite break away from him. It didn't help that they were always getting stuck together- as if the universe wouldn't let them separate. Perhaps it was fate's way of saying that they were stuck together? She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

"Oi! Don't tell me you're knocked out over there," she heard Sasuke call out to her.

With an easy laugh, Naruko pulled herself up onto her elbows and gave him a tired look. She wondered if he had seen what she had. But as she walked over to him, his face gave nothing away. Sasuke was always so private and closed off. She only ever saw the real him when they fought.

"You look like shit," she said and offered him a hand. His clothes were a mess, his jaw and nose were bruised, and he had dried blood on his lip. Her injuries were already healing, and she'd be fine after a good night's rest. Maybe she could ask Baa-chan to fix him up?

"Can you even see anything with that eye?" he asked and accepted her help up.

Naruko huffed. He'd only gotten the upper hand because she'd let him… "I'm starving. I could go for some ramen right about now," Naruko said, hoping that he'd accept her unstated request.

"When don't you want ramen?" he replied with a roll of his eyes but didn't object when she started following him back to the village.

"Gimme a break, 'ttebayo. I haven't had Ichiraku Ramen in years! I wanted to eat some yesterday, but Kaa-chan insisted that I eat all the food she made," Naruko said. Her mother had gone a bit overboard and had prepared enough food for a small army. Fortunately, Kakashi-nii and Ero Sennin had dropped by to mooch some food.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted.

~Omake~

"The Uchiha are very formal and traditional, Fugaku-sama especially. Are you sure we shouldn't have dressed a bit nicer?" Minato asked his wife. It was a bit too late now that they were standing at the door to the main household.

"Mikoto won't care so neither should Fugaku," Kushina said before quickly adjusting Minato's flak jacket.

"Kaa-chan is right, Tou-chan. It's just dinner with friends," Naruko supplied.

"Exactly," Kushina agreed and raised her hand to knock. Before her knuckles could make contact, the door was being slid open by Itachi. "Itachi-kun! Nice timing."

"Minato-sama, Kushina-san, Naruko-chan, welcome to our home," Itachi greeted and stood aside to allow them entry.

"Thank you, Itachi-kun," Minato replied.

Naruko had followed her parents lead and changed her shinobi sandals for a pair of guest slippers, not bothering to listen in when Fugaku had appeared almost out of nowhere to greet them (but mostly her father). Just like that, Fugaku had practically whisked her poor father and Itachi away to talk about boring village politics. Naruko almost felt bad for them. (But she still chose to follow her mother into the kitchen instead.)

It proved to be the right choice when she spotted Sasuke stirring at a pot on the stove while wearing a pink apron. Barely holding back her snickers, Naruko said, "Nice apron, Sasuke. Pink is a good color on you." With the look he'd given her, Naruko was sure that he would have used his Sharingan to stick her in a genjutsu.

"How cute! Minato has one just like it, dattebane!" Kushina cooed. Naruko had to clasp her hands over her mouth to keep from devolving into a fit of giggles at just how red Sasuke became. Despite their mothers cooing about how cute, sweet, and helpful he was, Sasuke directed his irritation towards her. Maybe he could tell that she wasn't about to let him forget this anytime soon?

"Thank you, Sasuke," Mikoto said and placed a soft kiss to his temple. She accepted the spoon and apron from him before shooing them both out of the kitchen.

"Don't worry, Sasuke. I won't tell anyone about your hidden cooking talents," Naruko said while casually moving further into the home.

"Shut up, Usuratonkachi," Sasuke grumbled before eyeing her. He raised a brow at her and asked, "Where are you going?"

"Nowhere!" she was quick to respond before looking away. While still shuffling backwards, Naruko said "I was just hoping to say hi to Ryuu-chan."

"Naruko," Sasuke warned, but she had already taken off. "Stay out of my room, Usuratonkachi!" Sasuke shouted after her but was met with the sound of her giggles.

~:~

Moi-Moi: I think it's pretty clear that Sasuke's liked Naruko for years at this point. At the very least, he's felt drawn to her since they were kids. While Naruko was also drawn to him, it was never romantically...UNTIL NOW! 😂 The only thing running through my mind while writing this was:

Naruko after not seeing Sasuke for three years: Oh no! He's HOT!

Thanks for reading!