Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and I am making no profit from this story, it is only for entertainment.

Chapter Summary: In which Rio gets annoyed, Naruto has a near miss and Sakura learns something


Chapter 24: They Grow Up So Fast

Rio couldn't suppress the yawn that emerged as he walked down the dirt track, Sasuke stretching his arms next to him. It was absurdly early; even Nii-san had been asleep when they left. The village hadn't quite woken up yet and it was strange to witness the quiet hush that fell over the village. He wasn't sure he liked it; he much preferred the village when it was busy and bright and loud. Rio wanted to be a shinobi more than anything but he couldn't help but hope there wouldn't be too many of these early starts.

They came up to the training ground and he spotted the dash of pink against the green background. He felt Sasuke stiffen next to him as Sakura turned and waved.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun!" She yelled, breaking the peace of the morning.

They walked closer and Rio gave a sarcastic wave of his own.

"Well, hello to you too, Sakura," he drawled, grinning at the glare she shot at him.

Sasuke remained silent as he stared off into the trees; Rio was pretty sure he was trying to imagine himself far, far away from here. Sakura just gushed about how cool and stoic he was. Rio had no idea how so much was getting lost in translation.

"Oh, here," Rio shoved the bento he'd been carrying into her arms. "Kazu-nee made this for you."

His eldest brother had been working all sorts of weird shifts at the hospital which meant the brunet had been bright-eyed and already sorting through paperwork of some kind when Rio had dragged himself out of his bed. It had been almost painful to be exposed to that much energy so early in the morning and Rio was almost completely sure that Kazu-nee had played it up to annoy him. It was exactly the sort of thing he'd do.

He had tried to tell Kazu-nee about the no breakfast thing but he had immediately dismissed it, already preparing the eggs.

"Kakashi-sensei said not to eat breakfast," Sakura frowned.

"Actually he recommended that we skip breakfast," Rio pointed out. "Otherwise we'd puke so I'm just going to take my chances. It wasn't actually an order or anything."

Sakura turned her gaze to Sasuke.

"Do you eat breakfast, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke continued to stare into the distance until Rio elbowed him. He sighed heavily and looked at her.

"Yes."

"Oh," Sakura stared down at the bento. "I'm still not sure, I mean, I am on a diet…"

"Sakura, I'm sure you'll burn off all those extra calories during Kashi's test." Rio rolled his eyes. "Besides, I don't think Kazu-nee is capable of making an unhealthy meal. That's Nii-san's territory."

"Naruto can only make ramen." Sasuke raised his eyebrow pointedly.

"That's all you need though," Rio insisted.

"It's really not."

Rio noticed that Sakura had fallen quiet and he turned to look at her. She was staring back and forth between him and Sasuke; he couldn't quite read the expression on her face.

"I didn't realise you two knew each other so well," she said carefully.

Rio threw her an incredulous look back.

"Sakura, we've been next door neighbours for almost four years," he said slowly. "Sasuke practically lives with me at this point. How did you not notice in the academy that we walked to school together pretty much every day?"

Sakura opened her mouth but closed it as no sound came out.

"We got picked up by the same people!" Rio sighed exasperatedly. "You must have seen us together at the Rinne Festival or something! I know you and your creepy fanclub follow Sasuke around."

"I just," she started defensively. "I didn't think Sasuke-kun would actually hang around someone like you!"

"What do you mean 'someone like me'?" Rio crossed his arms. "I did pretty well at the academy; my history scores were way better than yours. So it's not like I'm not on the same level as you or something."

"She means she buys into that crap about you being a monster," Sasuke's voice was cold. "Don't you?"

"Sasuke-kun…"

"For fuck's sake," Rio pressed the heel of his had into his eyes in frustration. "Sakura, we're a team now. You have to get over whatever shit you've been told otherwise this team is never going to work. Nii-san always says that a genin team is for life, not just a rank, but I am not going to put up with that garbage. I'll ask Kashi to swap you for someone else if it's going to be that much of a problem."

"Why me and not you?" She frowned.

"Because you're the one with the irrational and dumb prejudice," Sasuke huffed and Rio shot him a grateful look.

"I," Sakura stuttered. "It was what everyone was saying, Sasuke-kun!"

"Maybe learn to think for yourself," Rio turned to walk away.

Sasuke followed him to the middle of the training and they began their stretches. Rio didn't look over to see what Sakura was doing or if she was eating the bento. He couldn't help but feel this team was already set up for failure; if one failed, they all failed and right now, Rio had zero confidence in his new teammate.


Naruto stared down at the paper, the words starting to swim in front of him. He sighed, resting his head on his hand as he waited for the dizzy spell to pass. Today had to be the day he got a shift on front desk duty for the first time in months. Rio and Sasuke had already left for their genin test before he had woken up and Kazuya had been and gone, leaving him an omelet, orange and rice for breakfast. He had ended up feeding most of it to Momo as his stomach churned; the idea of eating today just did not appeal to him at all. He was currently sustaining himself on ginger tea and he wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed until he felt less shitty.

"Naruto-sensei!"

His head snapped up at the voice and he closed his eyes to stave off the intense wave of vertigo.

"Lee."

Team Nine stood in front of the desk, looking like they had just finished their mission briefing. Lee was waving enthusiastically at him and Tenten threw a wave of her own, much more subdued but no less sincere. Neji stood nearby, his arms folded and a bored expression on his face. Gai joined his pupil in his exuberant greeting.

"Naruto-kun! How are you on this most Youthful day!"

"Great, Gai-sensei, just great," Naruto gave a half-hearted grin.

He stared blankly at them for a moment before something clicked.

"Oh, you and your team have to go for your annual medical this week," he recalled.

It wasn't really his department that arranged them but he had been helping out the Registry lately and it saved them sending a hawk to Gai later.

"We will head there right now!" Gai presented two thumbs up. "We shall ensure that we are in the Springtime of our Youth!

"I'm finished here for the day so I can walk with you," he smiled, rising to his feet. "I'm heading that way anyway; just wait while I grab the paperwork."

He nodded his goodbye to Kana as she took his place and popped into the offices next door. He grabbed the files for the hospital and made his way back to the Desk, walking alongside Tenten as they left the building.

He didn't particularly want to go to the hospital, as he was dodging a check-up of his own, but he had to deliver these forms and he figured he could use the genin team as a buffer. Naruto knew he shouldn't be avoiding it, especially since he was only getting worse. Today proved that. It was just he knew there was nothing Yakushi-sensei could do; there was nothing anyone could do except maybe give him some painkillers and bed rest. His doctor had suggested steroids to help the inflammation caused by the coughing but Naruto wasn't keen.

He knew how to handle the symptoms; adding medication to the mix might cause side effects that he didn't have time to deal with. At least he knew his body right now, even if it liked to make him miserable. There was actually a lot of overlap between the symptoms of each of his organs deteriorating so it made it easier to deal with; it also made it harder to keep track of how each one was doing. He was sure he would get a full diagnosis if he actually went to his appointments but he didn't need Yakushi-sensei to tell him it wasn't going well.

"So how are you guys doing?" He began conversationally, pushing the dizziness to the back of his mind with minor success. "I know you're doing more C-ranks; are you going to go for the chunin exams this year?"

"I hope so," Tenten sighed. "It sucked that we had to skip out last year but we're ready now! We'll totally pass!"

"We will show the other villages that we are in the Springtime of Youth!" Lee announced.

Naruto looked at Neji expectantly. He didn't know the Hyūga as well as the rest of his team; they had only met a few times over the past year when Naruto came by to help Tenten with her fūinjutsu. Neji was quiet like Sasuke, but there was anger beneath the surface and a weird insistence that everything they did had already been decided by fate. From what he knew of the Main and Branch families of the Hyūga clan he could hardly blame the kid for his issues, but the fate comment never failed to annoy him.

"If we are destined to pass, we will," he said tonelessly. "There is nothing we can do to change our fate so we must accept it as it comes."

"Right…" Naruto drawls. "It's not like training can improve your odds or anything."

He turned back to Tenten.

"It's hard to believe it's already been a year," he smiled down at her.

"Yeah, plus Rio graduated this year, right?" she laughed.

"Yeah, he is sitting his genin test as we speak."

"I remember ours," she groaned. "Just getting beaten at taijutsu for two hours."

"It was most invigorating!" Lee chimed in. "Our Youth was tested and we emerged from the other side in full bloom!

"Lee!" Gai-sensei cried and Naruto sighed as the spandex duo started on their usual production.

"Gai-sensei!" Tears were streaming down Lee's face.

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Oh look, the hospital!" Naruto abruptly interrupted as the sunset began to appear behind the pair. "Our destination!

The duo stopped and Tenten leaned over, whispering a desperate 'thank you' in his ear. Naruto grinned at her.

"I understand," he whispered back.

He was about to add something a bit louder when the dizziness came back full force. The world spun around him and he blindly reached out, finding a solid surface to latch on to. He breathed slowly, trying to find his bearings; he should eat something, that might help. He could risk it. It was always worse on the day he skipped meals but if he had a choice between vomiting and dizziness, he would go for the second any day.

"Naruto-kun!" "Naruto-niisan!" "Naruto-sensei!"

He waved them off with his other hand as he straightened. The world stopped spinning but retained a sense of light-headedness. He almost felt as if he was floating but as Team Nine stared at him in concern, he tried to ground himself.

"I'm fine," he said dismissively. "I just haven't eaten today. Once I get some ramen in me, I'll be good as gold."

"Are you sure?" Tenten hovered over him. "That didn't seem like you were just skipping a meal."

"I may have skipped a few," Naruto shrugged, not actually lying about that. "I've been working non-stop the past few weeks-" Months, his brain helpfully filled in. "-and I guess I haven't really stopped to breathe. I probably just need a day off or something."

He chuckled nervously as the team seemed to buy it.

"You should really take better care of yourself, Naruto-kun," Gai admonished. "You are in your Springtime of Youth; there is a lot you can do outside of work."

"Yeah, I know," Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "It just gets away from me sometimes."

He ushered them in the front entrance, dumping the documents with Sara as he retreated back out the door.

"I'll see you guys later," he called out. "I'm going to go grab some lunch now!"

As he exited the building, he headed in the direction of home although he had no intention of eating. He would just have some more tea and work on the seals for the finance department; maybe try and write seals directly on the coffee table rather than using sealing paper. He had been trying to develop that technique for ages; plus he could sit down in his own home with a blanket, hot cup of tea and a fluffy dog. He wasn't sure he could relax more than that.

He idly wondered how Rio and Sasuke were getting on with their new teammate. They were due over for dinner that night so Naruto had to make sure he was back to normal; or as close as he could get these days. He hadn't had to sit the genin test himself so he had no idea what to expect. He shrugged the thought away; he would find out tonight. If he knew Kakashi though, they wouldn't be able to sit around and take it easy.


"Where is he?" Rio flopped to the ground. "This is ridiculous even for Kakashi!"

Sasuke grunted in agreement as he sat nearby, picking at blades of grass in boredom. They had stretched and warmed up and when there had still been no sign of the jounin, they had settled on light sparring. After an hour of that they had switched to their usual game of catch, Sakura watching them from the side nervously. Hour four, Rio had tried to squeeze in a quick nap only to be rudely awoken by Sakura pestering Sasuke about a date. Now, hitting the sixth hour, Rio was debating just going home and letting Kakashi find them later.

He had lost his nickname privileges and Rio's respect as an authority figure back around hour five. Kakashi was late, Rio knew that, but this was upsetting. He had thought his godfather would at least try and make an effort; he had been so excited to have him as his jounin-sensei. He really had believed that the jounin would step up. It hurt to know that they weren't worth the effort. He understood being an hour late but not this.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted beside him, eyes closed as he lay spread-eagled on the grass.

Sakura had migrated closer to them over the past six hours but she had been unusually quiet. She even joined them in their final round of stretching although she still tried to con Sasuke into dating her. At least there hadn't been any of the typical hostility they shared in the academy; what he and Sasuke had said earlier seemed to be sinking in.

"Good morning, my cute little genin!"

Rio sat up abruptly, glaring at the man as he waved cheerily at them.

"What the fuck, Kakashi?"

The jounin twitched as Rio left off his usual nickname. Good, he wanted him to know that he was pissed at him.

"You're late!" Sakura pointed an accusing finger at the man.

"Sorry I'm late," Kakashi waved a hand dismissively. "A black cat crossed my path so I had to go the long way."

"Black cat, my ass."

Rio stood to face the jounin, dusting off his trousers. The three of them stood in a loose line as Kakashi pulled out an alarm clock, placing it on a nearby rock.

"This alarm is set to go off at noon."

He lifted two red bells from his belt and dangled them in front of them.

"Whoever possesses one of these bells by the time the alarm goes off becomes a genin. Those without will be going back to the academy to redo their final year." He attached the bells back onto the belt, the short strings allowing the bells to jingle as Kakashi moved. "Anything goes; you have to come at me like you're going to kill me."

"That won't be a problem," Rio muttered beneath his breath as Sakura piped up.

"But Sensei, there are only two bells."

"Good eye," Kakashi replied, still overly cheerful. "That's because only two of you can pass and become genin. One of you will be going back."

"That's not fair!"

"Life isn't fair; welcome to being a ninja."

Rio kept quiet at this revelation, sharing a glance with Sasuke. That didn't sound right. Genin teams were always in a three. Kakashi pulled out an orange book and began to read.

"Those who don't get a bell will also be tied to a post and will miss out on a delicious lunch."

Rio narrowed his eyes; so that's why he didn't want them eating breakfast. Too bad he forgot to factor in Kazu-nee.

"You may begin."

Rio flipped through the seals and swapped with a random branch, settling among the trees. Kakashi remained standing in the clearing, appearing to be engrossed in his book. Rio had no idea what it was about but Kakashi was banned from reading it in the flat; Nii-san had burned his last copy. He really didn't think much of them if he wasn't even paying attention.

Sasuke and Sakura had also vanished and Rio sniffed the air. He moved, hopping down to the ground and weaving his way between the trees. Spending so much time around the Inuzuka when he was younger had rubbed off on him; Tsume-baachan always said he was one of them at heart. He shared their heightened senses and Tsume-baachan had even suggested that he could go into tracking. Nii-san had theorized that housing the Kyūbi had also contributed to his sensitive sense of smell and hearing.

He followed the familiar scent until he found Sasuke in a tree. The shorter boy was staring intently at Kakashi, completely still. Rio climbed the trunk to settle in next to him, watching the jounin giggle at whatever he was reading.

"I don't remember Kakashi being like this when he visits you," Sasuke spoke up quietly.

"He's not," Rio whispered. "I don't know what's up with him."

His godfather was so easy going, always willing to listen to him and give him training tips. He always gave Rio his full attention; they always had ramen when they went out; they always had a laugh. Rio could talk to Kakashi about anything and he knew that the jounin would listen and understand. It was sometimes easier to talk to him than Nii-san or Kazu-nee. This whole act Kakashi was putting on was really throwing him off.

"Also what's the deal with only two bells?" Rio continued. "There are no two-man genin teams, everyone knows that."

"Naruto and Kazuya are a two-man team," Sasuke pointed out.

"Yeah, but that was only after they made chunin," said Rio. "They were on a team with Hana-neechan for three years. It was before you knew them but it was part of the reason I spent so much time at the Inuzuka compound."

"So the bells are a red herring?" Sasuke mused. "To make us fight each other; to keep us from working together. Three genin fighting each other would be a lot easier to handle than three genin working together."

"So we need to find Sakura?"

Sasuke groaned.

"Maybe we can form a two-man genin team."

"Nii-san would kill us both if we left a teammate to fend for herself."

"Kakashi is not just going to keep standing there waiting for us."

"I'll distract him with some clones while we go find Sakura."

Sasuke nodded to him and jumped down from his perch. Rio formed the hand seal and with a puff of smoke six clones appeared.

"You guys know what to do," Rio ordered. "Just distract him, try not to get hit. Buy as much time as you can."

With a chorus of 'Yes, Boss' the clones leapt towards the clearing, the sea of green and yellow making its way to the still-reading jounin. Kakashi showed no response to the collection of Rio's heading in his direction and Rio didn't have time to stick around and watch. He followed Sasuke deeper into the trees as the sounds of yelling and fighting erupted behind them. His friend turned to him expectantly and Rio took a deep breath, the smell of Sakura's awful perfume lingering on his tongue.

"She's this way," he said, leading the other boy on a straight path through the forest. "She really needs to stop with the perfume; the enemy could track her miles away."

"Hn."

Silence descended for a long moment as Rio tracked the scent, Sasuke running quietly beside him. They finally came to a small clearing and Rio stared at a prone Sakura lying face down in the dirt.

"Maybe we can form a two-man genin team."

Sasuke sighed deeply.

"Nii-san would understand."

Sasuke shot him a look and Rio let out his own sigh.

"Nii-san would kick our butts, I know, I know. I vote we hand her over to Kazu-nee or Hana-neechan or something though. She really needs some sort of wake-up call."

"Hn."

"Well Sasuke-kun," Rio drew out the honorific in a high pitch similar to Sakura. "Your damsel awaits."

The glare the Uchiha sent him would have melted steel but Rio was unaffected. He waved him forward with a grin. Sasuke stomped over to the girl and dumped the contents of his water bottle over her.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

Sakura shot up, clutching her wet hair. Rio burst out laughing, clutching his stomach desperately as he sank to the ground. Tears filled his eyes as he wheezed; he didn't hear the exchange between his teammates as he tried to get his breathing under control. He finally sat up, still giggling.

"Sasuke-kun," Her eyes suddenly filled with tears and she latched onto the Uchiha's arm. "I thought Kakashi-sensei killed you!"

Rio's humour died as the words sank in.

"Sakura, I'm pretty sure that was a genjutsu," he said, the stitch in his side fading.

Sasuke violently shook her off and stepped away, using Rio as a barrier. Rio was about to say something when memories that weren't his own slammed into his brain. He saw flashes of Kakashi from different angles and felt phantom pains where Kakashi had hit him in the visions. He opened his eyes, unsure when he had closed them, to see both Sasuke and Sakura staring at him in concern.

"Rio?"

He tried to grin in reassurance to Sasuke but the memories were still circling his brain.

"My clones have all been beaten," he said slowly. "Kakashi's going to come look for us soon if we don't come up with a plan."

"How do you know?" Sakura demanded.

"I...I think I got the memories of the clones after they got hit."

"That's not how clone techniques usually work," Sasuke pointed out.

"I know, but that's what happened."

Sasuke stared at him for a moment longer before he shook his head.

"We don't have time to think about that right now," he said firmly. "We need a plan to deal with Kakashi."


Kakashi's eyes scanned the words on the page but they didn't sink in. It was clever of Rio to send out clones to distract him while he went and found his teammates; it gave him hope that he would be passing a team this year. He had dealt with Sakura while she had been on her own so it would be interesting to see how she bounced back. From what he knew of the genin, she would be the weakest link.

He would give them a few more minutes to settle on a plan before he went searching for them. There was only ten minutes left on the clock and he still hadn't seen Sasuke or the real Rio yet. They shouldn't have any problems recruiting Sakura with the Uchiha there.

They hadn't reacted too much to the idea of missing out on lunch. He should have known better with the boys; Kazuya and Naruto would not have let them step out the door without eating something. Waiting six hours for him seemed to be far more upsetting to them.

He had wanted to see what they would do in the time they were left alone; to see if there was any independent thinking going on. It was also supposed to make them hungry for lunch but that had fallen through quite quickly. The boys had been as expected; warming up, stretching, light sparring. By hour five, however, even they gave up. Sakura had been much worse, spending most of the six hours sitting at the side staring at Sasuke. He would really have to do something about that but he had no idea where to begin. Rin had also been a fangirl but she had at least taken her kunoichi training seriously.

He hoped they passed. He would love to teach Rio all the things that Minato-sensei had passed onto him. He could help Sasuke with his Sharingan when the boy eventually activated it. He could even help Sakura become more than a fangirl. On the other hand, Naruto would be watching over Rio's training so there would be no slacking or half-assing this. He didn't want to disappoint Naruto; he had already let him down enough in this lifetime.

Despite only a three year age difference, the way he thought of and treated the two Uzumakis was completely different. Naruto was fifteen now and he wasn't that much shorter than Minato-sensei had been; taller than Kazuya at least and he hadn't finished growing yet. He's a tokubetsu jounin and from what he'd heard, Naruto was higher up the chain of command at the Mission Assignment Desk than anyone really knew. Rio was still very much a child but Naruto had been an adult for years already. Kakashi was much closer to his godson but the friendship between him and Naruto was much better than it used to be. He didn't want to jeopardize that.

It had also hurt more than he was expecting to hear Rio use his name rather than the childish nickname he had been given when the kid was first learning to speak. He knew the genin would be annoyed but it had to be done; he just hoped that he would understand once it was all over. He didn't want it to seem like he just didn't care about them.

He flipped a page in his book.

There was movement in the bushes to his left; it seemed that they had finally decided on a plan. Blonde hair popped out between the leaves and Kakashi turned another page as a horde of Rio's launched themselves towards him. He swayed and bobbed as the clones swung at him with a mixture of kunai and fists. It was the same as he'd tried earlier.

Kakashi started taking out clones one by one, not bothering to even look up from the pages. They only had just over five minutes now; stalling is not going to work for them. They must have some other plan. As he punched the last clone in the solar plexus, extracting a pained groan from the kid, he looked up briefly from his book to see a large fireball making its way towards him. So Sasuke was around somewhere too. He stepped out of the way but as he did, a hail of kunai came towards him, putting him back onto the same spot he'd just been standing in.

Another wave of Rio's came out the bushes and Kakashi repeated the process, dodging the eventual fireball and hail of kunai. He flipped a page as the last kunai landed just beside his foot. The clock ticked closer to noon; they might not do this after all if they couldn't come up with a different strategy. A third wave and Kakashi was starting to get tired of this. He dispatched the clones in a matter of seconds.

"You're running out of time!" He called out, his eyes scanning over another page. "You should probably try something else!"

The clock ticked to one minute.

"NOW!"

Kakashi only had time to look up from his book before he caught sight of a seal mostly buried in dirt. His eyes widened as the world erupted into bangs and flashes, the dirt churned up by the explosives and mixing in the air to kick up dust. He dodged to the side, lowering his book to dance between the explosions which had been placed in a ring around him. The clones must have set them down and all the attacks as a distraction; not bad at all for green genin.

He felt a hand brush against his belt, mere inches away from the bells. He grinned as swapped with a log, ending up beside the alarm clock just as it rang out. He stopped the noise as Rio and Sasuke emerged from the tree line, looking annoyed. Sakura picked herself up from the ground next to the log, wiping the dust out of her eyes. She must have been the one to attempt the grab. The genin gathered in a line in front of him as he tucked his book away.

"So, looks like you're going back to the academy," he drawled, watching Rio and Sasuke's faces ball up in fury as Sakura's fell.

"No fucking way are we going back!" Rio finally burst out. "This test was doomed from the start!"

Sasuke glowered at him, silent but Kakashi could see the anger in his dark gaze.

"One of you has to go back," he shrugged, watching them carefully.

Sakura's eyes welled up as she stole glances at her teammates. She began to raise her hand when Rio grabbed it, shoving it harshly back to her side.

"There are always three in a genin team," he hissed. "You can't get rid of any of us. If you don't want to be our sensei, just say so!"

Kakashi let the words float in the air, remaining silent for a long moment.

"You agree, Sasuke, Sakura?" He said casually. "You're willing to give a sure chance of becoming a genin to get sent back to the academy together?"

Sasuke glanced over at Rio before he nodded firmly, Sakura still close to tears but following the Uchiha's lead. Kakashi let them suffer for a minute longer before he clapped his hands, switching to a cheerful demeanour almost instantly.

"Then you pass!"

"What?" "Oh my fucking Kami!"

There was a mixture of confusion and frustration as Kakashi smiled at them.

"You are now Team Seven!"

He turned and walked towards the Memorial Stone that stood at the opposite end of the training ground. He heard the genin following after him, still grumbling under their breath. He stopped in front of the slab of stone, taking in the names listed one after the other.

"This is the Memorial Stone," he began. "All the shinobi and kunoichi of Konoha who have fallen in service of Konoha are here; my best friend and my team are here. This place makes me think about the mistakes I've made in the past…and I've made a lot."

He turned to them, their faces much more sombre now.

"In the shinobi world, those who break the rules are scum, that's true; but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum. This is why I tested you the way I did. I had to make sure you knew how to function as a team, to make sure you would stick together when times got tough. You did so you passed."

"So the bells were a red herring!" Rio called out triumphantly.

"And you were being a dick on purpose," Sasuke added quietly.

Kakashi sweat-dropped at their response.

"You're free for the rest of the day," he said. "Be back here tomorrow morning at seven."

"Wait!" Rio called out before Kakashi could shunshin. "Nii-san said you have to come over for dinner tonight. He says he wants the whole team to celebrate and help us bond or whatever."

Kakashi waved his hand dismissively.

"Sure, sure, tell I'll be there later."

He vanished in a puff of smoke, heading in to report that his team had passed. He was pretty sure the other jounin had bets on whether he would or not but he already knew Genma would win that pot. There had been almost no chance of him failing these kids; but he couldn't let them know that.


Sakura stayed a few steps behind the boys as she followed them down the hallway. They had met back up to head to dinner as Sakura had realised that she had no idea where they lived. Rio had offered to pick her up and guide her there and she hadn't really had the option of saying no. She hadn't had the option of saying no to this entire dinner, but Sasuke-kun was going to be there and she couldn't pass up this opportunity. Ino was going to be so jealous.

It did mean she would have to meet Rio's family; she had no idea what to expect. Rio was loud, boisterous and had no qualms about being rude to people. His group of friends were at the bottom of the class too and Sakura was not impressed. Nothing Rio had done before this impressed her, although it was annoying when he beat her in history.

Everyone else agreed; she was always hearing about how much of a nuisance he was and about how he didn't belong. She was in the majority in her thinking. It was why she was so confused about why he was so close to Sasuke. They just didn't fit. Sasuke-kun was...Sasuke-kun and Rio was...Rio. It didn't make sense that they got along so well.

They came to a stop in front of a door and Sakura frowned at the loud voices coming through the wood. Rio turned to Sasuke, an eyebrow raised.

"Nii-san or Kazu-nee?"

"Could be either."

Sakura barely had time to frown in confusion before Rio barged in through the door, loudly announcing his arrival. He went unnoticed as the voices now reached Sakura clearly.

"I have told you a thousand times, Naruto! Do not activate seals on the coffee table!"

"It's not as if I did it on purpose, Kaz! It's a new seal; there are still some things to work out!"

"I have been working on those notes for weeks!"

"I didn't burn them all! Most of it is salvageable!"

"Salvageable? Naruto, most of it is still smoking!"

"What? Oh shit!"

There was the sound of cloth hitting a metal surface.

"I promise I'll make it up to you."

"You will make it up to me and then some."

Sakura finally reached the doorframe, peering over Rio's shoulder. A brunet was in the kitchen area yelling at a taller redhead. The brunet wore a slightly charred green apron and a tight purple shirt as he waved around a wooden spoon in fury. The redhead was cringing away, his long hair in a high bun Ino would be jealous of, and waving burnt pieces of paper in the air. His black t-shirt showed off an entire arm of tattoos and Sakura couldn't help but stare. The brunet huffed and turned back towards the stove, angrily mixing something in a bowl.

"I can and will throw out any materials left in the family areas," he threatened.

"Hey, you poisoned me like a month ago when you were distilling some plant in the teapot! I didn't throw out any plants!"

"Oh really, you need to get over that! I bought you ramen."

"I'll buy you dango!"

The brunet threw a scrutinising look over to the other man before he nodded and the tension in the room dissipated like it had never been. The redhead looked over to the door and Sakura was taken aback by the long scar running through his face.

"Rio, Sasuke! Why are you lingering in the doorway, get in here!"

His wide grin matched Rio's with an eerie accuracy Sakura hadn't been expecting.

"This must be your teammate! Sakura, right?"

She smiled nervously as he came forward, towering over them slightly. He ruffled Rio's hair and the boy pushed him away, trying to organise his hair back into a bird's nest. He also squeezed Sasuke's shoulder and Sakura almost saw the Uchiha smile. Sasuke! Smiling! She had never even seen him come close before.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, but just call me Naruto. That over there is Arai Kazuya and he will be your chef for this evening."

"Very funny," the other man rolled his eyes. "It's nice to meet you, Sakura."

"Thank you for having me," she politely replied.

She was ushered in and she sat carefully on the worn sofa, eyeing the scorch marks on the coffee table nervously. Rio flopped down, making himself comfortable, and Sasuke joined him, more composed but no less familiar.

"So Kakashi passed you then? What was the final test?" Naruto sat on the other sofa and leaned forward eagerly.

"It was some dumb test where we had to steal some bells off of him," Rio shrugged. "It was all about teamwork so obviously we smashed it."

"Hey, get your feet off the sofa and your head out of your ass," Naruto swiped at his feet and Rio lowered them to the floor. "Being cocky is a one-way ticket to getting your ass killed. You're a genin now, you have to take all the training and tests seriously."

"Yes, Nii-san," Rio sighed.

This wasn't matching up at all with what Sakura had pictured. Other than their smile, Rio and Naruto shared almost no physical traits. Rio was taller than her and Sasuke but Naruto was much taller still. Their hair, their eyes, even their clothing didn't match.

"Are you actually related?"

All eyes turned to her as she realised she had said that out loud. Naruto laughed.

"Yeah, Rio and I are blood-related," he said. "We used to get that question a lot. Kazuya is the adopted one."

"He says that like I'm not the one who adopted them," Kazuya called out from the kitchen.

"Oh."

She wasn't sure what else she could say. This didn't feel like going over to Ino's house when they were still friends. There were no parents here but the two older boys didn't feel close to their age either. She was out of her comfort zone.

"Right, come on; get your asses over to the table." Kazuya called. "Sasuke, get the nice cups and Rio, move your shit. I told you this morning that it needed to be moved before dinner."

Rio let out a long groan.

"Kazu-nee, it's not even in the way!"

"Rio."

"Ugh, fine," the blond flopped himself off the sofa, gathering a mix of clothes and books away from the kitchen area. "Cleaning is just putting stuff in less obvious places, you know that right?"

"Yes, in places where people won't trip over it."

Sakura remained where was, feeling out of place as the people bustled around like they had been doing it all their lives. Did Sasuke really live here? He seemed way too comfortable to just live next door.

"So, are you feeling overwhelmed yet?"

She turned wide, green eyes to Naruto, his grin softened.

"I remember when I graduated," he said casually. "I was so happy but I kind of felt like I was going to be sick. I was terrified I'd be left behind by my teammates; they were much better than me."

"I..."

"It's okay," he smiled. "You'll find your footing; just trust in yourself and you'll do fine."

He tapped her shoulder as he stood up, gesturing to her to follow him. She rose to her feet and hesitantly took a seat at the wooden table. There wasn't quite enough room for all the chairs crammed around the table and Kazuya and Sasuke were placing a variety of dishes on the table in front of her.

"Am I setting a place for Kakashi?"

"Yeah, he said to tell you that he'd come."

Right on time, there was a knock on the door and their sensei stepped through, throwing out a casual 'Yo!'

"Of course when it's Nii-san, you're on time," Rio grumbled beneath his breath.

"I'm pretty sure that's because Naruto scares him," Sasuke leaned over to whisper.

"Kakashi, here."

Sakura blinked as Naruto threw something across the room, her new sensei catching it easy. It was a leafy, green plant in a tan pot.

"Congrats on finally passing a team," Naruto grinned. "Don't kill it, yeah?"

"Mah, Naruto, have a little more faith in me."

Sakura looked all around her. Everyone was talking and laughing with each other; even Sasuke was nodding along to whatever Kazuya was saying. She was a bit lost; this was nothing like her or Ino's house. It was loud and chaotic and there were about ten things going on at once but it was also warm and welcoming and lacked judgement. There were no expectations of her.

As Kazuya filled up the plate in front of her, for the first time in years, she didn't argue against the portion size. She just picked up her fork and started eating, letting the conversation wash over her. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, being on a team with Rio if she got to come here.


Thanks for reading!