Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor am I an expert on the Naruto Universe.


Chapter 7: The Demon-eyed Kunoichi

Naruto hit the forest floor at a dead run. He heard a muffled thump several seconds after he'd cleared the first stand of trees. Already, Kiba and Sasuke were catching up. Iruka-sensei's requirements to pass the field tests were getting harder and harder to complete. The chunin kept pushing his students as hard as he could, claiming they were behind where they needed to be.

Naruto let his mind wander as he worked through the things he'd learned over the past several weeks. Special Jonin Anko hadn't lied about what happened to some of the Academy students who couldn't make it as genin. He'd searched for Wakaui and Takamoto, two boys who'd graduated recently. Wakaui hadn't been seen in weeks, and Takamoto had a long scar across his left arm. Watching his old classmate while using the Cloak of Invisibility Technique, Naruto observed the boisterous boy's cowed and depressed behavior when Takamoto thought he was alone. Every time the boy would cry, he rubbed the scar on his arm.

A branch whipped Naruto across his face, rousing him from his dark musings. With a grunt, he put on a little more speed, trying to increase the distance between himself and Kiba. He could barely hear Sasuke's distinctive running style farther back. The Inuzuka boy dashed in spurts of energy. Sasuke kept up a monotonous rhythm, every step the Uchiha took was precise.

Winded, but not exhausted, Naruto cleared the last obstacle and slammed through the finish line with a fighting grin. It felt good to really stretch his limits. A minute later, Sasuke and Kiba crashed through the brush and into the clearing, wheezing and red-faced. Naruto stood and dusted off his dirty and patched jumpsuit.

"H...how... do... you..." Kiba gasped out with a glare at Naruto.

"Lots of running."

"All... you... can... do... dobe."

Naruto grunted and turned away from the Uchiha. Sasuke tried to pick a fight with him any time he could. It was like the dark-haired boy wanted to prove his superiority.

"Well done," Iruka-sensei called as he appeared from the tree line a few feet away. "Go ahead and take a break. There is water for everyone in the cooler over there," he instructed with a gesture toward a large tree in the middle of the park.

It took seven more minutes for everyone in the class to arrive at the clearing. Shikamaru and Hase were the last two students to arrive, both looking bored. Midori Hase was a quiet boy who'd expressed his desire to drop out of the Academy the previous week. He said he couldn't keep up with the new requirements Iruka wanted and would rather spend time at his parent's shop to learn carpentry. At the end of the week, Hase would be gone.

"You... are... first... again," Ino gushed through labored breaths. She plopped down beside Sasuke with a smile. Sakura didn't even have enough energy to speak as she collapsed on the other side of the popular boy.

Naruto snorted when Sasuke didn't correct them. "Why don't you tell them you're the alpha dog? You beat us," Kiba questioned with a sneer. Naruto didn't think the disgust was all for him.

"I've told them both before, but they won't listen. If I win, it's because I cheated."

Kiba grunted and scrubbed at his face. "At this rate, I'll graduate with the worst marks," he complained.

"How often do you train?"

It took the Inuzuka longer to answer than Naruto expected. "I've got a lot to do after we get out of class," the boy admitted. "I'm working closely with Akamaru. I try not to bring him around the school, but this is an important time for us."

"Bonding?" Naruto questioned as he stared up into the blue sky.

"Yeah."

"Alright everyone, you've had enough time to rest," Iruka called from the edge of the clearing. "Up you get, everyone. If you were last getting here, sorry, but it's time to start again. Grab a partner. We're working on signals and non-verbal communication. Most of you failed the written exam. We'll keep going over this until you learn how to speak without speaking."

"Yes! Hey, Sakura!" Kiba yelled as he jumped to his feet, a fire burning in his eyes.

"NO! Sasuake pick me!" Sakura bellowed. That caused a general uproar from several female students, including Ino.

"Ano, would you like to work with me?" a quiet voice asked.

Naruto glanced over at Shikamaru and Choji who'd automatically nodded at each other. Without another friendly option, he turned to look at Hyuga Hinata. The girl's eyes still freaked him out. Even more so now that Anko had decided to insert herself into his life. "Okay," he answered after a moment.

Hinata's smile stretched from ear to ear as the blush on her cheeks deepened. It took a few minutes for everyone to find a partner. It was Kiba who ended up being chosen last with Hase being his partner.

"There are several items out in the park that I've hidden. They will stand out. Stay hidden from your classmates as much as possible and work with your partner to find the items. You have one hour," Iruka called before jumping back into the trees, effectively disappearing.

Naruto flicked through three hand signals with a look at Hinata. She nodded once and took off for the trees on the left with an intense expression of concentration he'd never seen on her face. Naruto shrugged and burst his chakra into his feet. Seconds later, he caught up with her and began the stupid scavenger hunt.

"You did well today, Naruto," Iruka-sensei said in a low voice as he walked through the streets.

"Thanks, I'm trying," Naruto answered with what he hoped was a smile.

"There... well, there may be some trouble next week. Mizuki-san is going to take over the class while I'm busy," the chunin said with a frown.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yes, this is more a formality from the Council than anything else. Things have come out that I need to testify before the entire Council."

Naruto grunted and eyed his instructor. There was something more going on, but he wasn't sure what it was. "Why are you telling me?" he asked.

"I'm not blind, Naruto. I know that Mizuki-san isn't the most... understanding of our instructors."

Naruto didn't answer as they continued to path their way through the night market. As the sun set, a few stalls would remain open until late into the night, for those who worked late. "How long will you be gone?" he asked.

Iruka didn't speak for a minute, making Naruto worried. "It could be a week or it could be a month. While I'm testifying, I can't work as an instructor," he said with a small sigh.

"Wow, that sucks."

"Yeah, I won't know what to do with myself," Iruka admitted with a forced laugh. "You'll do just fine. I just wanted to make sure you knew from me, and not learn about it when Mizuki-san takes over the class."

"Who will take over his?"

"Nami Hiroi-san. She'll do a fine job. I have high hopes for her. She's worked well with her students so far."

Naruto hadn't studied under the rumored 'Goddess of the Academy'. She attracted the attention of many men in the village with her smile and body. Naruto didn't see why people liked her so much, but he could appreciate why they thoughts he was lovely.

"I'm going to pick up my clothes in a week. I finally got enough saved up for the outfit I want as a genin," Naruto announced with a smile.

"You still haven't told me what you picked out. I know you asked for some advice, but will you tell me now? Please tell me it isn't spandex. There is a suspicious resurgence of green spandex lovers recently."

Naruto blinked and looked at the instructor. He knew, like everyone else in the village, that Rock Lee made it as a genin. Already, Team Guy had completed several missions around the village. Lee and Might Guy's green spandex outfits were the talk of the community. The eye-popping outfit left little to the imagination, something Naruto could do without.

"No, definitely not," Naruto promised with a shudder.

"Thank you for having some fashion sense at least," the shinobi muttered. "Lee-san was a good student. I'm glad he's thriving under Guy-san's tutilage."

Naruto hated every minute of being in Mizuki's classroom again. The jaded and disgruntled chunin instructor had it out for him the moment Naruto walked in the door. This time, however, Naruto's fellow classmates weren't as receptive to Mizuki's cutting comments about Naruto's lack of ability.

"You know, he's gotten the highest scores in the class on the last three tests," Kiba interjected when Mizuki talked about Naruto's abysmal performance.

"He... what?" the instructor hissed.

"No, I got the highest on the last one," Sakura argued with a sneer at Kiba. "Naruto-san did fine," she allowed after a moment's pause.

Mizuki changed tactics the next day and tried to have Naruto perform the graduating jutsus in front of the class. When Naruto passed with flying colors, the angry chunin decided to keep his comments to a minimum.

It took Iruka two months to be allowed back in the classroom. The Senior Instructor didn't explain why it'd taken so long for the Council to reinstate him, but he expressed his displeasure at being kept away from his job by having come up with no less than ten projects for each student in the Academy to work on before the end of the term.

"I need to work on hand seals? Really?" Naruto asked after class the day Iruka-sensei returned.

"Yes, you could be so much better. Your fingers are naturally limber, and if you start now, you might be able to do one-handed seals in the near future."

"I never thought about that," Naruto mused.

"Just make sure you work on it at night. Limber up your fingers and practice your hand-seals until they are second nature."

"They already are," Naruto argued. "I practice them a lot."

"Practice more. This will help you in the long run. How are your medical-nin studies coming?"

"Slowly," he admitted. "I haven't seen Kabuto in a while to get tips, so I'm just stuck experimenting."

Iruka put down his papers and looked Naruto over. "Experimenting with what?" he asked in a slow voice.

"Meditation, chakra manipulation and control, and some barrier work."

Iruka grunted and sat back. "How are you doing with making friends?" he asked in a low voice.

"I talk to Shikamaru and Choji basically every day."

Iruka nodded and drummed his fingers on the desk. "Anyone else?" he asked.

"Kiba-san is fine and all, but he... well... just wants to fight all the time."

Iruka smiled. "Yes, if he could settle down long enough to focus, he'd be a wonderful student. Kiba-san has a strong drive to get better, but he gets distracted," the chunin mused before shaking his head. "I'm glad you're making friends. I know you and Sasuke-san don't get along but have you considered sparing with him, for real? He's probably the strongest taijutsu fighter in your class. You could learn a lot, rather than letting him win or not fighting at all."

"Would Sasuke-san really treat it as a sparring match?" Naruto challenged, his voice dripping with scorn.

Iruka frowned. "I suppose not," he allowed after eyeing Naruto. "You're working with Hinata-san as well. She could be a strong hand-to-hand fighter if she works on it."

Naruto grunted and shrugged. The few times they'd sparred, he wasn't sure how to act around the sensitive girl. Sometimes he thought she was mad at him when he stopped or gave up the fight once he'd deemed the fight was over.

"Alright, off with you, unless you have another question?"

"No, see you in class next week," Naruto said with a wave as he headed out of the office.

At the end of the month, Naruto turned down Kiba's offer to go with his family to the Rinne Festival. Kiba was furious with Naruto for weeks, refusing to speak to him. That didn't bother Naruto much, but he couldn't come out and say why he didn't want to go. Shikamaru asked a few days after Kiba did, and Naruto told him the same thing. He wouldn't participate in the festival and would probably go out and train for a few days in the forest.

The Acadamy let out for the winter break, and Hiruzen wouldn't let Naruto out of his sight for long. To Naruto, it felt like the old man kept him busy with ridiculous tasks designed to waste his time. It wasn't true, and he knew it, but it felt like it when he had to sort through pages of genin completed tasks and file them away. The Hiruzen even told Naruto to stay in the Hokage Office when he worked on sensitive work.

Naruto glanced over at the three identical large scrolls propped up behind the Hokage's desk. He knew the village had Forbidden Scrolls, but he'd never seen three at one time. The Hokage would write on a page, consulting from a scroll on the desk, before creating a shadow clone of himself. His clone would unfurl the scroll nearest the far wall before using a brush and ink to carefully ink in something onto the scroll. Naruto didn't want to ask what Hiruzen was doing, but his curiosity got the better of him.

"Only one is the true scroll for the village," the Hokage answered when Naruto gathered the courage to ask.

"How can you tell which is which?" he asked as he rubbed his head. The three scrolls looked the same to him.

Hiruzen looked up from his work and stared at Naruto. "You won't know until you try to learn a jutsu. I, and my predecessors, have changed just enough to cause irreparable damage to someone's body if they get the wrong scroll. These are dangerous techniques. One could boil someone's blood from the inside with a mere touch. Another uses human bone to inject chakra into an opponent, at a steep cost to the user. What is contained in here are killing jutsus or jutsus that will kill the user," he stated in a flat voice.

"You use the Shadow Clone Jutsu all the time."

"And if I made too many clones it would kill me," the Hokage answered with pursed lips. "Get back to work sorting those missions," he admonished before going back to his work. Naruto couldn't help but take one last glance at the scrolls before going back to the boring task of sorting through completed and uncompleted D-rank missions.

The next two weeks went by slowly. The Hokage let Naruto go, with a warning to stay away from the Rinne Festival. Not that Naruto needed a warning, he wasn't going to go anyway. Kabuto had disappeared from the village, as far as he knew. It might have been that his team was out on an extended mission, but he didn't want to ask around. His friend did say he went out to other non-shinobi villages to learn and practice his medical-nin skills.

With nothing better to do, Naruto trained. He didn't want to see anyone and didn't have the money to shop before the festival. Five wall scrolls decorated the longest wall in his small apartment. Each scroll had different objectives and timeframes he wanted to complete for various areas. However, his enthusiasm to do anything wained quickly. He just wanted to be done with the Academy. Done will all the lies other crap he had to put up with.

The only thing that helped him calm down was taijutsu practice. The last wall scroll, nearest his bedroom door, had completion times and repetitions he'd done while training. Every week it felt like he became better at something related to his physical training. By tracking his numbers, he could see a steady increase in his skill, unlike with his other projects. Oh, sure, he could do more complex things with his chakra, such as run across a stream for a few steps before crashing into the water, but it was so much harder for him to track his progress.

Naruto felt the training post shake as his leg crashed into the padded surface. He felt a slight twinge of pain as he planted both feet on the ground and launched himself at his target again. After a quick series of punches and kicks, described in one of his taijutsu manuals, he disengaged.

"That was impressive," a lofty voice called from the tree line.

Naruto shifted his weight and turned, transferring his body weight from one foot to another, as he raised his fists toward where he'd heard the voice. A young genin, with dark brown eyes and hair, leaned against a tree, her arms crossed. She wore her hair up in two buns. They shook as she eyed him up and down.

"I didn't mean to startle you. Guy-sensei and my team will be here shortly. You should go, Naruto-san," the genin ordered as she pushed off the tree with one shoulder.

Naruto eyed the kunoichi before relaxing his stance some. Her form-fitting pink, sleeveless blouse displayed her smooth, powerful arm muscles. "I don't know you," he admitted. She looked familiar, someone he'd no doubt seen in the Academy at some point, but he couldn't remember her name.

"Kazuki, Tenten. You don't want to be here when Neji arrives."

Naruto grunted. He knew who she was now. The daughter of that store he'd gone to with the Clan children. Neji was a name he remembered and feared to some extent. The Hyuga boy was probably scarier than Hinata could ever be. "Thanks," he nodded before flooding his feet with chakra and bounding away. Just as he got to the tree line he called over his shoulder, "tell your mom I said thanks for the good price on the outfit."

"What?" Tenten yelled back but he didn't answer.

Naruto ignored the Rinne Festival and easily dodged all of the villagers. It took two non-lethal traps and a prank to make some of the braver drunken idiots to leave his apartment alone that year. He warned them, in no uncertain terms, that he was done with their stupidity. Snow piled up around him as he lay on the roof of his apartment, staring up into the sky. The fireworks were something to behold. It made him reflect on how amazing chakra control had made his life. He felt like the world was his playground now that he could flit from rooftop to rooftop with ease. Blending in with villagers was easier than ever.

A light crunch on the apex of the roof a few feet behind him made him suddenly aware of how exposed he was. "Naruto, how good it is to see you," Kabuto called, his voice barely audible above the fireworks.

"Kabuto!" Naruto shouted and leaped to his feet. "You're back. Where did you go? What did you do? Did you finish the jutsu you were working on?" he asked in a rush.

Kabuto laughed and pushed up his glasses. "I've been around," he answered with a smile. "I haven't finished my jutsu, but I'm close. I just need to run a few more experiments. Maybe by this time next year, I'll have it mastered. It takes a lot to completely understand the body's chakra pathway system. How about you, Naruto? How have your studies gone?" he asked.

With a sigh, Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "It hasn't gone great," he admitted. "That perception barrier technique you showed me is... difficult. My chakra keeps flooding the barrier, causing it to either break entirely or become visible."

"Chakra control," Kabuto nodded with a wider smile. "How long are you able to maintain the barrier? Is it helping you? Are you still using it like I told you to?"

Naruto nodded quickly. "Oh yeah, I'm using it to perceive the movements of villagers around me. I can maintain the barrier about a hand-length away from my body. Anything more than that, and I run into trouble. It's caused a scene once or twice when someone walked into an invisible barrier," he chuckled.

Kabuto stared at Naruto for what seemed like an eternity. "That... is truly impressive," he finally said with a nod. It was like he'd decided something. "How about your other endeavors?"

Naruto shrugged and exhaled, causing a large fog of mist to cloud his vision for a moment. "I'm struggling through the stuff you gave me," he admitted. "I understand the major tenketsu nodes, but I'm still trying to get the hang of applying it to... well something. It's great and all to know where to strike someone, but without someone to practice on... well," he finished with another shrug.

"Come then, we'll test your knowledge. I have no use for the festival," Kabuto said with a sharp smile. "Training Ground Thirteen is close. We'll go there."

Naruto flooded his feet with chakra, feeling that giddy rush of excitement that comes with knowing he can display what he's been laboring on. Egar to keep up with Kabuto, he gave it his all to keep up. It surprised him when, after a minute or so, he drew even with his friend. Kabuto blinked as he looked over to see Naruto before a thin smile creased his lips. With a burst of speed, the medical-nin dashed even faster toward the training ground.

Naruto didn't win the impromptu race, but it was close. He wasn't even winded as they landed in the middle of the field. "That was fun!" he called over a strong gust of wind.

"Your speed has improved once more," Kabuto commented as he strode over.

Naruto realized his friend's sandals didn't make a single track in the snow. "How are you doing that?" he asked as he pointed to the snow.

"Chakra manipulation around my feet. You can walk on water this way. Why wouldn't you be able to walk on something as soft as snow?"

Naruto grunted and nodded. Without realizing it, his body arched backward in response to something he wasn't conscious of. Kabuto's foot passed in front of his face, barely an inch from hitting him. Shocked and surprised, Naruto dashed backward. Kabuto followed with a raised eyebrow, sending a two-fingered attack toward Naruto's shoulder.

Five minutes later, Naruto crashed to the ground, his legs and right arm numb and unresponsive. Each of Kabuto's attacks that landed hit a pressure point. Naruto wasn't in pain, so much as embarrassed. His friend had taken him apart in a cool, methodical display of skill. "I... couldn't do... anything," he gasped. He couldn't draw air into his left lung after a strike to his chest.

Kabuto's face appeared in his vision as the genin crouched over him. "I've got years of experience over you," he said with a smile. "You did better than I expected. Some of those strikes should have put you down during the first minute, but you prevailed. Would you like me to heal you? Or would you like to wait for your body to heal itself?"

"I'm already feeling better," Naruto said as he tried to rise. He didn't want to seem weak in front of his friend.

"Alright," Kabuto frowned as he backed away to allow Naruto to rise. "Let's go over what you did wrong."

"I kept trying to attack your pressure points and didn't protect my own."

Kabuto blinked at him and pushed his glasses up his nose. "That's correct. What could you have done better?" he pressed.

Naruto shook his left leg to get some feeling back into it. Already, he felt his body returning to normal. Cycling his chakra through his limbs seemed to simulate the healing process. "Honestly, I don't know," he admitted after mulling over the problem for a minute. "Maybe focus on defense more, but your strikes were making my arms go numb."

"We spoke of something earlier, something that gave you some trouble," Kabuto hinted.

It took longer than Naruto wanted to admit before he caught on. "A barrier," he groaned. "How am I supposed to keep up with a barrier around my arms, strike you where I need to, and keep up with everything else around me? I only have one brain," he joked.

"Practice," Kabuto laughed. "Jonin and even some truly good chunin shinobi practice for hours on maintaining a certain level of protection around themselves at all times. Once you get the hang of it, it isn't too hard."

Naruto frowned at looked at his friend. "Why aren't you a chunin or jonin yet then? You were doing it during our fight. I didn't even realize it until you gave me that clue. Sometimes my attacks just wouldn't land quite right. I thought it was because of something else."

"I'm just a genin who's focused on medical-nin stuff. You'd have learned this eventually, everyone does. The difference is, I can only keep up a small barrier of chakra for short amounts of time. Your attacks are pretty easy to read."

Naruto felt like his friend had punched him in the stomach again. He thought he'd been doing well. After a little reflection, it was clear Kabuto knew where his attacks were going and had a defense up already. "How can I get better?" he asked.

Kabuto smiled and pushed his glasses up his nose. "Your attacks are straight out of a taijutsu manual. You aren't mixing things up," he offered.

Naruto grimaced and nodded. That was true. "Thank you," he said as he bowed deeply.

"Oh, none of that. You're my friend," Kabuto laughed as he threw an arm around Naruto's shoulder. "Come on, I've got some salted pork stashed away at my apartment. I'll treat you."

Naruto felt refreshed and energized to learn once more once Kabuto left with his instructor a few days later. Although Kabuto was seven years his senior, Naruto felt like Kabuto was his best friend and understood him better than even Iruka-sensei.

Classes started up again, forcing Naruto to focus on the coursework Iruka wanted him to complete. He knew the chunin's intentions were focused on helping him pass, but he couldn't suppress his annoyance at being unable to do what he wanted. Kiba seemed to have forgiven him for not going with him to the Rinne Festival, or more likely, he'd forgotten about it entirely.

"Hey, come over to my place and meet Akamaru!" Kiba shouted to Naruto as the two of them ran through the woods.

"Why?" Naruto asked as Sasuke grunted out a laugh.

"Because he's the best dog in the entire Elemental Lands!"

Kiba wouldn't let it go, and eventually, Naruto agreed to stop by after class, just so he could think. "Awesome! You're the best. You'll love my Akamaru," Kiba shouted at the end of class.

Naruto tried not to sigh as his classmate excitedly told him everything there was to know about raising a ninken, or ninja dog. It sounded every bit as complex as what he read when studying medical-nin books. Where he and Kabuto focused on the human body, Kiba and his family focused on learning everything there was to know about an animal's body.

"That's pretty cool," Naruto admitted after listening to Kiba list off several things he had to do every day to help Akamaru and why they were important.

The Inzuka Clan Compoud was massive. High walls of heavy stone did little to muffle the incessant barking from within. Kiba led him to a large traditional gate, with high, thick red beams leading up to a hand-carved archway. One of the clan's shinobi stood outside, her grey and white dog lounging in the grass beside her.

"Sis!" Kiba called out. The ninken popped its head up and sniffed the air before rolling over and wagging its tail.

"Kiba," the tall chunin sighed as she brushed a lock of brown hair out of her eyes. Large, expressive black eyes flicked to Naruto before focusing back on Kiba. "You're already late. Mother will not be happy."

"It took Naruto-san forever to agree to come," he complained.

"And why is he here?"

Naruto heard the subtle anger in her voice and winced. "I can go," he offered, hoping Kiba's sister would agree.

"Nah, Hana-chan is just grumpy," Kiba said with a dismissive wave.

Naruto saw the way Hana's jaw clenched as her eyes narrowed. Without saying anything, her dog lept up and gave Kiba a kick to his back, sending the boy skidding face-first through the mud. A tinking laugh echoed over the sounds of yapping and barking as Hana brushed her hand through the ninkin's fur. Her eyes looked Naruto over. "You look like you've been chewed on by one of ours," she commented with a raised eyebrow.

Naruto wasn't sure what to say. "Uh, no?" he finally got out.

"Come in. Kiba will get a scolding, but he might get off light with you here. However... if you pull a prank within these walls, I will feed you to my ninken," she warned.

Naruto blinked when he realized two other dogs hid close by, and at her words, they rose from hiding places in the shadows. He hadn't even detected them. "Right," he nodded.

Hana sniffed and looked him over again, the red, fang-like marking on her cheeks scrunching up as she grimaced. "You were warned is all," she commented and flicked a hand. Kiba was getting to his feet, cursing under his breath. One of the dogs, big enough to be a wolf, trotted over from the shadows and waited. It was clear they would have an escort within the compound.

Kiba pointed out different things as he led Naruto through the miniature village. No one had ever allowed Naruto to enter the clan compounds, so he wasn't sure what to expect. There were shops, restaurants, warehouses, and even a little clinic. Kiba led him down the main path and waved to nearly everyone. Not everyone waved back when they saw who he was with.

"You sure this is a good idea?" Naruto asked. He wished he could have henged into someone else before entering.

Kiba paused in the act of waving and gave him a speculative look. "Probably not," he admitted. "I just wanted you to see Akamaru. Do you want to go? I can meet you later with him," he offered.

"It... might be for the best," Naruto said with a furtive glance toward an older woman who looked to be glaring at him. Her purple markings marked her as a member of the clan but she didn't have a ninken with her.

Kiba followed his gaze and shook his head. "Old Anzai," he muttered. "She's... unpleasant at the best of times," he whispered.

"I heard that, young man!" the old crone bellowed in a reedy hiss.

"Right, I'll just head back to the gate. Meet you in the usual park in thirty?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, it might be a little longer. Go head, Haimaru will follow you back."

Naruto looked at the large dog following them and nodded. He turned around with another word and started for the gate. Hana blinked in surprise as he passed her. "Hey, where are you headed to?" she asked. "Mom throw you out to knock some sense into Kiba?"

"I... just had things to do," Naruto lied without turning around.

Almost an hour later, Kiba appeared, running with a small white-furred puppy clutched protectively in his arms. "Hey, you waited!" he called. Akamaru yapped his agreement.

"I did," Naruto felt obligated to answer as he rolled up the scroll in his lap.

Kiba skidded to a halt as Akamaru lept out of his arms to land on the bench in a heap. The puppy yapped and wagged his tail as he looked Naruto over. A low growl came from his throat a moment as he readied himself for a fight.

"Stop that," Kiba laughed and scooped his partner up in his arms again. "Akamaru, this is Naruto-san. Naruto-san, this is the best partner anyone could ever ask for!"

"Hello, Akamaru-san," Naruto greeted with a small bow.

The ninken's growl subsided as he looked up at Kiba. "Friend," the boy said with a grin. "Come on, spar with me! I've got my partner now. You can't win."

Naruto shook his head and smiled. Kiba's infectious energy was hard to ignore. A prickling sensation on the back of his neck made him turn around. He spotted Hana, her face set in a scowl, standing in the shadow of a large tree. She blinked before fading back into the trees, one of her ninken trailing behind her a heartbeat later.

"You coming or what?"

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto said with one last glance to where he knew the chunin was hiding. 'Why did she come?' he wondered.

The resulting spar was less than gratifying for Naruto. He more or less dismantled Kiba and Akamaru's attempts to take him down. Kiba was strong, agile, and worked well with his partner, but it wasn't enough. "Pa... in," Kiba gasped as he clutched his left shoulder.

"Let me look at it," Naruto said as he crouched next to his classmate. Kiba's unorthodox attacking style caught him off-guard, and he'd used a little too much force to put him down. He focused on his fingers with his chakra and walked them up and down Kiba's shoulder, upper arm, and chest. "Just bruised muscle," he murmured a moment later. "I think anyway."

"That'll be enough today," Kiba sighed. "My mom is going to kill me if I can't do my chores."

"You could say you fell," Naruto offered with a shrug. "It might heal up before you get home."

Kiba laughed and shook his head as he rose to his feet. "Well, thanks for showing me how bad I am," he grumbled. "This doesn't mean anything! I'll be better than you next time we spar. How about tomorrow?"

"I can't, I've got to get some stuff done. How about next week, when you aren't hurt."

"Ah, this old thing? It'll be fine," Kiba boasted even as he winced.

Naruto watched Kiba and a yipping Akamaru run off toward the Inzuka compound. He shrugged and ran toward the western side of the village. A flash of gray made him look over. Hana stood just inside the trees, her arms crossed, as she tracked his progress.

Naruto noticed over the next several weeks that Hana wasn't the only one paying attention to him. He'd spotted several shinobi and kunoichi he'd seen around the village watching him and his classmates during several outdoor exercises. Hinata, Shino, and Kiba seemed to be the only students from his class who noticed their watchers. Sasuke might have seen them, but he didn't pay anyone much attention. One person freaked him out more than any other. Jonin Kurenai and a silver-haired shinobi with a black mask stood on top of the hospital roof, looking down into the classroom. He wouldn't have noticed them if it weren't for Iruka-sensei's insistence that everyone practice the Leaf Concentration exercise.

The sight of Kurenai looking down at him through the big windows shocked him so much that he lost concentration and let the leaf slip from his forehead. Sasuke, two students down the line, laughed at him, but he didn't care. The demon-eyed woman seemed to lock eyes with him, making him shiver.

The brief encounter made him more alert to who was watching him. He couldn't say why Kurenai scared him so much, but she did. It might have been that Instructor Fumi caused him to see things he never wanted to, and he remembered that Kureni was her inspiration. Anyone who practiced that genjutsu would be evil.

"Alright, class, we're coming up on the final stretch," Iruka called from the front of the class. "Many of you are doing well on your progress. Some," he said with a hard look at Kiba, "need to step it up. This is your last chance to ensure you become a shinobi. Now, I've got the last bit of hand-tailored notes for each of you. Read what they have to say. Talk with your parents or guardians. You know what you need in the way of tools and equipment as genin, but that is only the start," he said as he passed around folders with different names on them.

Naruto got a rather thick folder, much to his surprise. He thought he would have the smallest amount of work to do. Sakura and Sasuke both got tiny folders. He opened his folder and glanced out of the window again. No one watched from the balcony of the hospital roof. It hadn't taken him long to realize it was a natural gathering point for people to watch the classrooms of the Academy.

The top page had a list of things Naruto needed to complete for the future graduation exam, such as hobbies, dreams, favorite color, and even if he had a will drafted. The second and third pages were in Iruka's handwriting, breaking down specific things he needed to work on. One thing that stood out was his recent inattention in class. Naruto snorted and glanced out the window again. In the short time he'd read the papers, someone stopped by to watch the class. It was the silver-haired shinobi with his headband covering one eye again. After asking around, he found out that the Jonin was named Kakashi and was the only shinobi in the active force who had a Sharingan eye, even if he wasn't an Uchiha. It didn't take a genius to figure out why he was watching the class, with Sasuke always sitting right by the window.

"Look over your folders and come to me if you have any questions. In four weeks, you'll take the graduation exam. Are there any questions?" Iruka asked as he looked over the class.

Sakura raised her hand. "Why do I need to fill all this out? Didn't we fill this stuff out at the beginning of the Academy?" she asked.

"You did, however, you, and every other student here, has changed some in the last few years. This will go into official records. We like to know what to bribe you with," the instructor joked with a wink toward Naruto.

"You'll never make it," Miura hissed to Naruto as they left the classroom. The boy was average in just about every aspect, except for his acidic comments.

"If you say so, bowl-hair," Naruto shot back.

Miura growled something back, but Naruto missed it. Kurenai and Might Guy were at the entrance of the Academy, sitting on a park bench and watching the students run away from their prison called class. Naruto ducked back into the crowd and slipped into an alcove of the entranceway. He henged into a random student he saw passing by, careful to reign in his chakra so no smoke would give him away. The two Jonin on the bench didn't see him as he strode past them. He thought he was in the clear until a strong hand clapped him on the shoulder.

"You really need to tell me why you're afraid of my friend," a terribly familiar voice said.

"Don't know what you mean. Who's that?" Naruto tried, pitching his voice lower.

"Good try, Naruto. I watched this kid get picked up by his mother," Anko stated in a hard tone.

Naruto sighed and turned around. The annoying kunoichi looked down at him with a slight frown. "What do you need now?" he spat.

The arch in her eyebrow rose as she regarded him. "I asked you once already," she prompted.

"I'm not afraid of her," he stated in a flat tone. "She's just creepy is all."

Anko's eyes narrowed. "Nice try, why?" she asked again.

"Help, this granny is attacking me!" Naruto shouted at the top of his voice before dashing for the closest alleyway.

The tactic worked when a couple of shinobi, converged on Anko's position. She blinked owlishly at Naruto when he glanced back. He shot her a grin before flooding his feet with chakra and high-tailing it away from the scene as fast as his legs would take him. Naruto didn't go home that night, opting to hide out in the boarded-up hostel he'd appropriated for himself. Over the next couple of days, he spotted Anko waiting around the Academy, but he always left looking like another student, careful to blend in with the others. He got a few confused looks when he didn't respond to the real child's friends, but all that mattered was that he escaped unmolested.

"Hey, Naruto-san, you promised," Kiba complained as they worked on hand-to-hand combat in the training yard of the Academy. Naruto wasn't really paying attention to their mock-spar. Several Jonin stood nearby, watching them.

"I've got some stuff to do. You know how important this is," Naruto answered as his eyes scanned the roofs and balconies around the training yard.

"My sister said you were right, by the way. That time we spared in the park. It was just bruising. I told her you were trying to be a medical-nin. Did you know she's a veterinarian? A medical-nin for animals."

Naruto finished his scan of the area, satisfied Kurenai or Anko wasn't around. "Really? Is that why she has three ninken?" he asked.

"Nah, they are triplets. They work as one and adopted her. Come on, you know you want to meet my mom. She was asking after you."

Naruto gave Kiba a blank stare. "You're terrified of your mother. Why in Kami would I ever want to go meet her?" he asked. They exchanged a series of mock punches and blocks to look like they were doing something.

"She might have been a little upset that you left without meeting her," Kiba admitted.

"Oh, so I want to go meet her now? If she's pissed, why would I want to go see her?"

Kiba's face scrunched up. "For me?" he asked with sad eyes.

"No way. I'm not getting thrown to the dogs. You told me how vicious she was when you failed that last exam."

Kiba shuddered and said, "can we not bring that up? I passed the last one."

Shikamaru plopped down next to Naruto at lunch and looked decidedly uncomfortable. "So," he said and looked up at the clouds.

Naruto ate from his bento box and raised an eyebrow. The tang of the rice and cooked fish danced across his tongue. When Shikamaru didn't say anything, he finished his lunch and turned to the Nara. "So?" he asked.

It took Shikamaru a bit to answer. "Would you like to come over today?" he asked.

"Why? It doesn't sound like you really want me to come over. What would we even do? Train?"

Shikamaru looked at him like he'd uttered the foulest of curses. "Train? Seriously?" he laughed. "No... my mother mentioned that I should invite you over since you've never seen my home and I've seen yours."

Naruto stared at the Nara heir. "Kiba asked me the same thing earlier," he said with a frown. "What's going on?"

Shikamaru grimaced and leaned back against the tree, staring up into the canopy. "I don't know for sure. I have my suspicions though," he admitted.

"So, what are they?"

"We're about to become genin. That means we're adults in the eyes of the village. I should have to explain to you why women would want to meet you."

Naruto was at a complete loss. "No, you're going to have to explain it," he sighed.

"Marriage, Naruto. Not now, but soon. You know how things are. Mothers want to stick their noses into our business."

"Maybe yours, but mine is dead."

Shikamaru grunted. "My bad, I wasn't thinking. Sorry about that," he apologized with a grimace.

"Eh, it's whatever. I need to get some stuff done anyway. I'm not planning on getting married anyway."

Shikamaru shrugged. "I asked, so that's all she can expect. You still up for going to the training field at the end of the week?" he asked. "I know Choji wants to work on his taijutsu skill. You're the only one that can take his hits."

"I don't see why not."

"Our admires are back," Shikamaru commented with a sigh.

"The jonins? Yeah, I think they are picking people they want for their teams."

"I know Asuma-san, the one over there smoking with the dark-haired kunoichi," he said with a jerk of the chin toward the hospital.

Naruto risked a glance and froze. A powerfully built shinobi with dark hair stood beside Kurenai. He felt the weight of their gaze on him as he turned back to Shikamaru. "How do you know him?" he asked, hoping his voice was calm.

"Oh, that's the Hokage's son. Asuma-san is pretty good friends with my father, that's how we met. I watch them play shogi sometimes."

"Yeah, I'll help Choji-san."

"Thank you."