And we're back with Chapter Four! I hope all of you had a most wonderful winter holiday this season. I personally had sensational time celebrating Yule with my closest friends and the Winter Solstice was absolutely gorgeous! A full moon AND meteor showers! What more could you ask for? It was a wonderous sight to behold and I was delighted to be there to witness it. Anyway, we should get back into the story. But first to answer a couple of review questions:

Anon: Yeah I kind of agree. I do like the jutsu translations right after the name. I'm probably going to do that from now on. As for the meanings of names of OCs and things of that nature. I think I'm gonna let those be a mystery for you guys to find out.

Autistic Weaboo: I will be deviating from the plot very soon. However Naruto still has a part to play for now. Things are definitely going to pick up steam once he leaves the village.

And that's all the reviews that I could respond to. Not a lot of feedback on the last chapter. Don't know if that's a good or bad thing yet. Oh well, on with the show!

"Talking"
"Bijuu
"Talking"
'Thinking'
'Bijuu Thinking'
"Writing"

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.

Jinchuuriki Mercenary: Redux

Chapter 4: Mediocrity Wins

Hokage Tower

Hiruzen sat in his chair as he looked over the gathered jonin in the Hokage's office. Sitting on the windowsill was his son, Asuma. He lit up a cigarette and blew the smoke outside so as not to disturb the two kunoichi on the couch beside him. The one who was seated closest to him was one Yuuhi Kurenai, Hiruzen noticed him glancing over at the raven haired beauty affectionately from time to time. It warmed his heart to know that despite many things changing in his son, he still had a soft spot for his childhood friend and teammate. Laying on the couch with her head in the genjutsu mistress' lap was her best friend, Mitirashi Anko. She hummed happily as she ate a stick of dango while her superior, Morino Ibiki, stood in the corner of the room. Maito Gai was seated politely at one of the chairs before his desk. They were simply waiting for two more people to arrive when the door opened. Kakashi gave every one in the room an eye smile as he stepped into the room and gave a bow to the Hokage.

"Sorry I'm late everyone. Gai challenged me to a race around the village. So I went home and took a nap." Gai face faulted and began to make a speech about his eternal rival's unyouthful response to his challenge. However Kakashi seemed blissfully ignorant to the green jumpsuit clad man's ranting as he walked over to the couch and waved at the kunoichi seated there.

"Ohayo Anko-chan, Kurenai-chan. Do you mind if I sit here?" Anko sat up on the couch and patted the empty space beside her.

"Ohayo Kakashi-kun. You're actually on time for once. We're just waiting for Iruka-kun to show up." The silver haired jonin sat down on the couch and turned to the snake mistress.

"I'm surprised to see you here, Anko-chan. I didn't think you had any interest in becoming a sensei. Is Ibiki pushing too much of his work load onto you?" Anko grabbed her stomach as she began to bellow with laughter as Ibiki glared daggers into the back of the cycloptic man's head. After her laughing fit died down and she wiped a tear from her eye, Anko smiled back at Kakashi.

"Hell no. I'd never be caught dead teaching a bunch of gakis. Ibiki and I are just here to turn in a report on a prisoner we've been questioning. Thought I'd stick around and hang out with Nai-chan for a bit afterwards." She put and arm around her best friend's shoulder and nuzzled her cheek affectionately. The crimson eyed woman smiled and hugged her back. Kakashi smiled beneath his mask and pulled out a small orange book. Anko's eyes lit up as she moved and began to read with Kakashi as they both began to stifle giggles, their faces soon began to become beat red. Kurenai let out along drawn out sigh as she rolled her eyes at her friends' antics.

"I can't believe you two enjoy reading such filth, let alone how you can read it so openly." Anko let out another giggle as she turned back to her friend with a devilish grin.

"Because it's so bad! These things are hilarious." The silver haired jonin nodded in agreement as the gathered jonin looked at them in confusion. Kurenai raised an eyebrow and looked at the pair next to her, trying to figure out how to respond to that statement. Though it was Asuma who responded first after taking another drag from his cigarette.

"But I thought the Icha Icha books were supposed to be these incredibly popular, super erotic novels that sell all around the Elemental Nations." Kakashi gave a small chuckle.

"I mean yeah, the sex scenes are graphically written, the descriptions of the locations are vivid, and even the plots are usually half decent. But.." He was interrupted by another fit of laughter from the purple haired woman beside him.

"THE DIALOGUE IS SO BAD! I mean listen to this garbage!" Anko took the book out of Kakashi's hand and began to read aloud a passage where a princess confides in a traveling bard friend about her recent rejection from a Daimyo who was displeased with her personality. He then proceeded to tell her of how he believed her personal bodyguard, a handsome shinobi who was devoted to her in every way, would love her more than any Daimyo before laying her on her bed and making love to her in an attempt to 'make her feel even better.' Needless to say, the gathered jonin were laughing at the preposterous dialogue. Even Ibiki let out a chuckle here and there. Anko was almost on the floor with laughter after she finished reading. Gia shook his head as he had his arms crossed in his chair.

"A most unyouthful display. Seducing someone after telling them to pursue another." Kurenai was almost at a loss for words.

"That's the most unromantic thing I've ever heard. It's as if the author has never even seduced a woman in his life." Hiruzen smiled and took a puff from his pipe, chuckling at the reactions to the book.

"Well I can say that it's not for a lack of trying." The room fell silent as they heard the Hokage's comment on the matter. Asuma looked at his father with a bewildered look, his cigarette almost falling from his lips.

"Are you saying you know the author of these books Pops?" The elderly Kage smiled before blowing a puff of smoke out into the air with a nostalgic gleam in his eyes.

"Yes I do. I have known him since he was quite young. He caught the writing bug early in life. I actually have a book of quite beautiful poetry he's written over the years at the house. However his perverse nature has lead him into quite a large number of troublesome situations and despite his claims to be a great wooer of women, his track record is far from stellar. However despite his faults, he is still a wonderful man and a very dear friend of mine." As Anko was going to press further into the identity of the mysterious author of her and Kakashi's favorite book series, Iruka walked into the office with a stack of envelopes. He rushed in and bowed respectfully. His hair was a bit more disheveled than usual and he looked as if he had been up all night.

"Sorry I'm late Hokage-sama. I was up late filing some last minute paperwork for this years academy graduates." He set down the folders and turned to the gathered jonin before continuing. "Due to the large number of students in this group of graduates, and the selection of one of the graduates to be conscripted into the ANBU, there was an uneven number of students to be placed into three man squads. However due to recent events, that has changed and there is now an additional graduate, as such the graduates can now be placed into regular squads as per usual." The Hokage nodded and thanked Iruka for his hard work and excused him. However he was stopped when the chief interrogator decided to finally speak.

"How did someone suddenly go from not graduating to becoming a genin?" Sarutobi took a few puffs from his pipe before exhaling a large plume of smoke.

"Last night, Uzumaki Naruto stole the Scroll of Sealing from my personal vault." All of the gathered jonin's eyes widened in shock at the news that Naruto had committed such an act of treason. Before anyone could question him further, the Hokage continued to speak. "Apparently, he was working under the guidance of Mizuki. It seems that he had tricked young Naruto into believing that the task was part of an 'Auxiliary Graduation Test' where he was to steal the scroll and learn a jutsu from it. When Mizuki found him, he tried to take the scroll and kill Naruto. However the young man was able to overpower him and defeat him with the use of the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu he had learned from the scroll. Thus, Naruto has been awarded the rank of Genin due to exemplary service to the village." Ibiki let out a small grunt of approval for the young Uzumaki.

"Impressive work for the gaki. Defeating a chunin, even one like Mizuki, is no small feat for a kid like him. But why wasn't Mizuki brought into me or Anko for interrogation? Surely he had plans for the Scroll. I doubt he was working alone."

"Perhaps he wasn't. However we won't be able to know for sure." Kurenai raised her hand.

"Why not?" Hiruzen let out a regretful sigh.

"It would seem that in his emotional state from being betrayed by his teacher and being placed in a life or death situation, Naruto killed Mizuki." A collective gasp ran through the jonins. Kurenai raised her hand to her mouth in shock. Asuma's cigarette and Anko's dango fell from their lips and landed on the floor. Gai was floored and left speechless. The only person who seemed to hold their composure was Kakashi who simply raised his hand politely.

"Something on your mind Kakashi-kun?" Kakashi stood and put away his book inside one of the pockets of his flak jacket. The silver haired man cleared his throat and looked directly at the elderly Kage.

"I would like to make a request for my Genin Squad."

Ninja Academy

Naruto adjusted his forehead protector as he made his way through the gates of the Academy. He saw his fellow graduates entering the building. Following them inside, he made his way into his classroom for the last time. Almost the entire class was present, save for the usual stragglers. He gave a friendly wave to Kiba and Shikamaru who nodded in greeting. Naruto then decided to go and sit down in an empty seat, not noticing or caring who he was seated next to. However Sasuke noticed him sitting beside him and gave him a conceited look.

"Oi, Dobe! What are you doing here?" The last Uchiha said in a voice loud enough to gain the attention of many of their classmates. "This is a gathering for the people who passed the graduation exams. Not losers who couldn't make the cut." A few of the other graduates began to snicker and make comments about how Naruto could be dumb enough to come to the academy even after failing. However the young blonde was completely unfazed as he looked at the duck haired boy beside him with an almost bored expression and adjusted his forehead protector, drawing everyone's eye who could see it.

"Wow those special eyes you prattle on about so much must not work so well if you can't see that I'm wearing a hitai-ate two feet away from you, Sasuke-teme. But before you get indignant and demand to know how I passed. I earned my place here by doing the village a great service." The dark eyed prodigy scoffed at the loser next to him.

"Yeah right. What could a clanless trainwreck of a ninja like you possibly do to help out the village in any way?" Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath before looking at Sasuke with stare that send a tickle up the last Uchiha's spine.

"I put down a traitorous mongrel." Several students let out a gasp at the jinchuuriki's words. However before anyone could press the blonde further, the room was filled with as loud scream and many had to cover their ears, Kiba opting to cover Akamaru's ears so as not to damage his companion's sensitive hearing.

"SHANNARO! I MADE IT WAY BEFORE YOU INO-PIG! YOU FINALLY MUST HAVE SEEN THAT SASUKE-KUN'S HEART WILL BE MINE!" She was soon followed in by Sasuke's number 2 fan girl, Ino, who had a very confident stride as she walked into the classroom.

"Why would I care if you got into the classroom first, Forehead? When I get placed on a team with Sasuke-kun, I'll have him all to myself. So enjoy this small victory. You'll see, in the war for Sasuke's love, I'll be the winner for sure." Sakura fumed at the platinum blonde's remarks and stomped down the stairs before reaching the place where Naruto and Sasuke where still glaring at each other.

"Naruto-baka! You're in my seat! Move before I put a dent in that empty head of yours!" Naruto let out an exasperated sigh as he turned to look at the pinkette fangirl.

"I was sitting here long before you even entered the gates of the academy. I'm not going to move just because you want to swoon all over your precious Sasuke-kun. Now if you could do the world a favor, if you're actually capable of doing so, shut up for five freaking minutes." Everyone watched as Sakura's face became a deep crimson and her eyes seemed to burn with rage. She clenched her fist so tightly that her knuckles were white as she reeled her arm back and sent it flying forward toward the blonde before her.

"BAKA-NARUTOOOO!" His eyes widened slightly as he quickly ducked under the desk. However Sakura couldn't stop her momentum as she had put all of her weight and strength into the punch in order to teach the blonde a lesson. With said blonde now no longer in the path of her fist, it now was heading straight through to the next person behind it. All of the color drained from the pink haired girl as she saw her fist fly straight into the surprised face and eye socket of the handsome, raven haired object of her affections. The whole room fell silent as a resounding CRACK! filled the area and Sasuke was sent hurtling back and hit the back of his head against the wall. Sakura's eyes were wide with shock as she realized what had happened. Naruto just stood up and moved into the aisle and smiled foxily as he scratched his head.

"You know what Sakura, you make a compelling argument. I think you should sit next to Sasuke. I'm going to go over here." Naruto made his way up toward the front of the classroom as Sakura frantically tried to comfort her crush, much to the chagrin of Sasuke and the amusement of many. Sasuke growled in frustration as his eye began to swell. The blonde walked up to a girl with long sandy brown hair tied into a ponytail, two long bangs framing her smooth, attractive face. She wore a black hooded sweatshirt and a set of dark grey ninja cargo pants. She looked up as him from her seat and his cerulean eyes met with her own large, piercing blue set. Naruto gave her a friendly smile as he approached.

"Excuse me, but do you mind if I sit next to you?" The girl smiled slightly and motioned her head to the empty seat beside her.

"Like, go right ahead." Naruto's smile grew as he moved and sat next to the brunette. "That was pretty cool how you handled that situation, you know? Like, that Sasuke guy is really full of himself, you know. I'm Foji Hinoko, nice to actually like, meet you Naruto." She held out her hand and Naruto shook it happily.

"Foji... Hinoko... Oh! You're the one who made that jutsu! Charka no Hari (Chakra Needles), right?" Hinoko nodded "That's such a cool justu! You have to teach it to me some time." The blue eyed girl gave a slight blush as she was complimented for being cool.

"Like, thanks Naruto. Yeah I might be able to like, teach you how to do it, you know." The blonde scratched the back of his head and gave her his famous foxy grin.

"Listen Hinoko-chan, I'm planning on inviting a few of my friends to celebrate becoming genin at Ichiraku Ramen tonight. Would you... I don't know. Want to join us?" Hinoko smiled back at the jinchuuriki.

"I'd like, really like that, you know." The pair smiled brightly at one another. After a short time, Iruka walked into the classroom alone holding a clip board. The chunnin stood before the gathered graduates and called their attention. However there was something off about the situation. When it finally clicked, Shikamaru rose his hand to speak.

"Iruka-sensei... Where is Mizuki-sensei?" Iruka stiffened at the question.

"W-well Shikamaru-kun, Mizuki is... No longer with us."

"What happened to him?" A random student asked.

"Did he quit?" Chimed in another. Iruka sighed as he gripped the bridge of his nose.

"I really was hoping to avoid telling you all this. Mizuki won't ever be returning to his teaching duties because two nights ago... He attempted to steal something of great value from Hokage-sama's home. The item was returned to the Hokage, yet Mizuki did not survive his attempt to flee the village." The class let out a collective gasp and murmurs began to circulate over the revelation that the usually kind and happy teacher was in fact a traitor. However a few eyes shifted over to a certain blonde at the front of the class who seemed to be completely unaffected by the news. It was almost as if he already knew what had happened. Iruka cleared his throat and gained the room's attention once more.

"Now, despite the tragic events regarding Mizuki, we still have business to attend to. Mainly the placement of you all into your genin squads. You will be placed into teams of three and assigned a jonin sensei. However this year we have a bit of exciting news. Foji Hinoko?" Naruto got a nervous look from the girl next to him as she stood and looked at her sensei.

"Y-yes Iruka-sensei?" Iruka smiled and seemed to almost beam with pride.

"Hinoko-chan... It would seem that your exceptional results in tests of teamwork, stealth, and kenjutsu, as well as your Chakra no Hari jutsu have caught the eye of several of the higher ups, including Hokage-sama himself. I'm very pleased to inform you that you have been recruited to the ANBU forces. You are to report to the Hokage Tower to meet your Captain after we're concluded here today. Congratulations Hinoko-chan, I'm very proud of you." The brunette was shocked and could only find it in her to blink as she tried to come up with a response. Suddenly she heard a sound from beside her as a certain blonde began to clap while smiling brightly. He was soon joined by the majority of the class as she began to blush slightly from all the attention she was receiving. However a certain spoiled prodigy decided to do what he did best in life and kill the mood as he stood up indignantly.

"Iruka-sensei. I demand to know why she, who isn't even part of a clan gets special treat ment when I, an Uchiha will be getting stuck with a bunch of people who are beneath me. I deserve t-" the Uchiha was interrupted from his rant by a loud bang as every looked to the front of the class and saw Naruto standing up, his fist implanted into a deeply cracked desk his cerulean eyes glaring scournfully at the raven haired boy.

"YOU DESERVE NOTHING BUT THAT BLACK EYE SAKURA GAVE YOU, SASUKE-TEME! HINOKO-CHAN EARNED HER RANK BECAUSE SHE INVENTED A JUTSU! SOMETHING THAT HASN'T BEEN DONE IN KONOHA FOR OVER A DECADE! WHILE YOU AND YOUR OH SO SPECIAL CLAN DO NOTHING BUT STEAL EVERY JUTSU THEY SEE! NOW SIT DOWN AND STOP TRYING TO STEAL THE SPOTLIGHT TOO!" Sasuke tried to come up with a response to the blonde but said jinchuuriki kept silently glaring and pointing for the young prodigy to sit down, which he soon did and began to brood again. As the class settled back, Iruka let out a sigh as he looked over his clipboard.

"Alright with that out of the way, we can continue with the team assignments. Team 1 will be..." Iruka began for several minutes listing off the assigned teams. "Team 7 will consist of Haruno Sakura, Uchi-"

"YES! TAKE THAT INO-PIG! TRUE LOVE CONQUERS ALL!" A vein in Iruka's temple throbbed before he activated his patented Akuma Atama no Jutsu (Demon's Head) and began to yell.

"ENOUGH INTERRUPTIONS, DAMN IT!" The scarred chunin cracked his neck and sighed. This class gave him so much stress even after they graduated. "As I was saying, Team 7 will consist of Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuske, and Uzumaki Naruto. Your jonin sensei will be Hatake Kakashi. Team 8 will consist of Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Hinata, and Inuzuka Kiba. Your jonin sesei will be Yuuhi Kurenai. Team 9 is still in active duty, so Team 10 will be Akimichi Choji, Nara Shikamaru, and Yamanaka Ino. Your jonin sensei is Sarutobi Asuma. Your senseis will be along shortly to introduce themselves. Good luck to all of you. I'm very proud to have helped start you on your journey as ninja." After that jonin senseis began to enter into the room and collect their teams. Naruto walked up to Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji to invite them and their teams to dinner. Choji's eyes lit up at the prospect of free food and was cheering Naruto's name as he left with his teammates. Though after almost twenty minutes, every sensei had come to collect their teams, leaving only Team 7 in the empty classroom. Naruto stretched as he looked at his team mates.

"I'm gonna go take a walk. I'll be back in a bit." Naruto only received a grunt of acknowledgement from the Uchiha as Skura tried to take advantage of her time alone with her beloved Sasuke-kun, no no avail. The blonde put his hands in his pockets and made his way up a flight of stairs and opened the door to the rooftop. He smiled as he saw his older brother leaning against the railing reading his favorite book of cheesy smut. He looked up and eye smiled as Naruto walked up and sat on the railing behind him, making sure to sit so that he was next to his exposed eye. It was hard enough to read Kakashi as it was without having to face a side of the silver haired man thatr was completely covered.

"Milking your reputation, I see. How long are you going to keep them waiting down there?" Kakashi pulled back one of his sleeves, exposing a watch and let out a hum as he thought out his response.

"I'll give it another two hours or so. Just enough time to get to finish my favorite part of the book." Naruto smirked as he took out a small scroll and unsealed his guitar before beginning to play a series of elegant and pleasant melodies on the instrument. Kakashi smiled, he'd been surprised to hear that he had wanted to take up music as a hobby but he had to admit, his little brother had taken to it quite well.

"So what happened to Sasuke's face? He looks like he got stung by a giant Aburame bug." Naruto chuckled as he continued to play.

"Sakura tried to punch me in the head but I dodged and she ended up punching Sasuke in the eye. You should have seen her face, it was absolutely priceless."

"I'll bet. You could probably see it in her face as you ducked. Just seeing her in her mind going 'Oh no. I fucked up!" Kakashi chuckled as he did his best teenage girl voice to try and imitate the pinkette.

"You mean eye fucked up. Like E-Y-E?" Naruto smirked at the clever wordplay as he looked over to his brother who seemed to be absorbed back into his book before he quirked his eyebrow in confusion.

"E-Y-E? That's ewe." Naruto struck a sour chord as he stopped playing and slowly turned his head up to look at his brother, his eyes wide as he processed what the jonin beside him had said so casually. He could feel his tenant face fault with in his mind, what he wished to be able to see that look on the mighty bijuu's face.

"Are you fucking serious right now?' Naruto and Kyuubi both said in unison. "E-W-E is ewe, Kakashi-nii."

"E-Y-E -Oh crap. My bad. I was thinking of that." Kakashi's face went red with embarrassment and Naruto burst into a fit of howling laughter, almost losing balance and falling off of the railing. He could even feel the Kyuubi rolling around as hysterical laughter echoed in his mind.

"Oh by Kami!" The former ANBU Captain was turning redder by the second as he tried to recover his dignity from such a simple mental slip up.

"It's not a big deal, Naruto. I just misheard you and misthought it."

"You did not mishear me, you repeated it back to me! You misspelled it! A three letter word! You want to try spelling 'The', Kakashi-nii?" the blonde jinchuukiki pulled his forehead protector down to cover his left eye as he imitated his new sensei. "What's this word? T-Hee-Ee?"

"You know, maybe I shouldn't keep those two waiting now that I think about it."

"Don't try to change the subject! You can't spell 'eye'! The only way it could have been any worse is if I was asking you to spell out the letter 'I'! Oh Kami, I am never letting you live this down!" Kakashi let out a defeated sigh as he slumped down onto the ground.

"Kuso." Taking out his book he began to read once more. Naruto simply wiped a tear away from his eye and began to play once again, occasionally chuckling to himself as his tenant replayed the scene in his mind for their shared amusement.

Two and a Half Hours Later…

"SHANNARO! IT'S BEEN THREE HOURS AND THERE IS NO SIGN OF OUR SENSEI! THAT BAKA NARUTO HAS GONE MISSING AS WELL!" The pink haired banshee shrieked out in frustration as she paced back and forth up and down the stairs of the class room. Sasuke on the other hand, had moved from his usual seat by the window and had taken up sitting in Iruka's swiveling desk chair. He had actually succumb to his own boredom and begun trying to stick pencils and various other pointy objects into the ceiling with varying degrees of success. He'd recently discovered that straightened paper clips were the most successful, as they acted similar to senbon needles. This was the scene that the Kakashi came upon when he finally opened the door to the classroom. Sakura turned her attention to him and screamed.

"YOU'RE LATE!" The silver haired jounin simply stared at the two with a bored expression.

"My first impression of you… Is not promising. Now meet me and your team mate on the roof in one minute or you're both dropped from the program." The cycloptic man stated before dispersing in a plume of smoke. Sasuke and Sakura immediately shot out of the room as fast as they could as they made their way toward the roof of the academy, clambering over each other in the stairway before bursting out of the door onto the rooftop. The silver haired man that was now their jonin sensei was leaning against the railing spinning a kunai by the ring around his finger with a bored expression as Naruto sat on an air condition vent enjoying a to-go bowl of Ichiraku Ramen. Kakashi gave the pair an eye smile as he stood up from the railing.

"Alright. Now that everyone is here, we can get started. Take a seat." Sakura and Sasuke sat down on the steps in front of the railing as the blonde finished his bowl. With a contented sigh, Naruto joined his teammates on the steps. The one eyed jonin put the kunai away and looked over the trio with his one visible eye.

"So, I think one of the best ways for me to get to know you three is to start with some basic introductions. Just the basics. Names, likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams for the future." Sakura leaned forward and smiled as sweetly as she could as she attempted to get to learn something about their sensei.

"I don't think I understand, Kakashi-sensei. Maybe we'd get the idea better if you started us off." Kakashi shrugged

"My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes... My dreams for the future... Hmmm... As for my hobbies... I have lots of them." His students face faulted as he gave the biggest non-answer they'd ever heard. Sakura grumbled that all they had learned was their sensei's name, a fact they already knew. He then pointed to Naruto. "So, you're up Whiskers."

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I like ramen, beautiful women, and breakfast food. I dislike ignorant, judgemental people, people who take advantage of others because they believe they're better than everyone, and the time it takes for ramen to cook. My hobbies are training and listening to music. And my dream is to finally be treated with respect and not looked down on by everyone, even if I have to become Hokage!" The two genin beside him simply rolled their eyes at their teammates response as Kakashi smiled under his mask. He then turned to the pinkette on the other end of the group.

"And you Pinkie?"

"My name isn't Pinkie! It's Haruno Sakura and well... I like..." Sakura looked over at the Uchiha next to her and let out a small squeal as she blushed. "My hobby is..." Another glace and squeal. "And my dream is..." One final glance at Sasuke as she squealed loudly and blush a deep red. Kakashi just looked at her with a deadpan stare.

"And things you dislike?"

"Naruto-baka and Ino-pig!" Kakashi gripped the brodge of his nose and shook his head. He was expecting this but nothing could prepare him for how deep down the Sasuke Hole the pink haired girl had sunken.

"Well that was just unsettling. I guess that just leaves you, Gloomy." Sasuke let out a grunt of disapproval as he stared out over his laced fingers into the distance... or into Kakashi's crotch, it was honestly kind of hard to tell.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I dislike many things and don't like much. I don't have any hobbies. I also don't have any dreams, what I have is an ambition. I will restore my clan to it's former glory and I will, without fail, kill a certain man." Sakura let out a small squeal as she praised Sasuke for his coolness. Naruto on the other hand just looked at his teammate incredulously.

"Lighten up, Gesuyaro. (Asshole)"

"Naruto, stop insulting your team mate! Sasuke... He's right though, lighten the fuck up. Anywho, I think that's enough fun for today. Tommorow we'll meet up at Training Ground 7 at 0900, sharp. Also don't eat anything, otherwise you'll throw up." With a wave and another of his patented eye smiles, Kakashi shunshined away leaving the trio alone on the roof. Sakura let out shriek of rage.

"WE WAITED THREE WHOLE HOURS JUST FOR THAT!? WHAT A WASTE OF OUR TIME!" Sasuke hmphed and stood up before walking toward the door to the stairwell. The pink haired fangirl noticing him starting to leave, snapped out of her rage and began to follow him in hopes of getting a date. Naruto waited until the pair were gone before grabbing a scroll out of his jacket pocket and sat back on the air vent, looking up at the clouds as he unsealed his guitar and began to play once more.

'I can see why Shikamaru loves looking at these so much. They're beautiful... and free...'

Alright, another chapter in the bag. I don't have much else to say on this one other than I basically had to write 95% of this chapter from scratch. This was the last chapter of the original story that I had to revise to get it onto the track I really want it to go on. So next chapter will be completely from scratch with nothing for me to jump off from or tweak and improve. Just a blank word processor and a head full of ideas. However it won't be coming out as soon as the other chapters of this story have. I have another ongoing story I need to get back to and update called Namikaze Naruto: Son of Madalore, so I will be updating that first. Also I've been working on a small little story for the Dungeons & Dragons section. So I'll probably be updating this some time next month though.

So that's pretty much it. Leave a review and let me know what you think. I love feedback from my readers and try to answer your guys' questions as best as I can. Follow this story if you think it's cool and I'll see you all next chapter! Have a Happy New Year!

~ Ninja