I don't own Naruto.

Next chapter has arrived! All your reviews helped convince me to spend more time writing. I know that anything over an hour seems like a long wait for the next chapter, but a couple days is comparatively fast. Thanks to a suggestion from Kumomaru, I will be adding really tiny previews at the end of each chapter. I probably shouldn't just clump all this information into a single paragraph, but too lazy to do otherwise. This chapter is sorta a filler(Please don't hit 'Back' yet!), but a whole day is too long to ignore and too short to skip over. It's not completely a filler, so please read it. I personally sorta like some fillers, but not everyone seems to share that opinion. Wait, I've gotten off topic again haven't I…oh well. Begin reading.

Decisions Revisited

"Hanabi…W-what are you saying?"

"I'm saying I don't know you! And even if I used to, you…don't live here anymore, so just leave!"

Hinata's eyes were looking only at the ground as she spoke, just as they did such a long time ago, though this time it wasn't entirely timidity. If that were the only problem, she would by now easily be able to look her sister in the eye. It wasn't until her sister answered the door that she realized the situation. She wasn't just returning from a trip or a mission. She did realize that she had left her family and Konoha, but now in her mind, it was being rephrased as having abandoned her family and run away from Konoha.

It was Naruto's arm appearing around her that stopped her from falling to her knees and crying, struggling to swim to the surface of the sea of guilt that she herself had created.

"Let's go, you seem hungry." Naruto suggested, trying help Hinata-chan get away from the Hyuuga mansion. If it hadn't been for her, if he had been alone here, he would have already been in a fight seconds after Hanabi had spoken. He had to use all his willpower to stop himself from yelling and tackling the little brat. But he had a feeling that doing so would upset Hinata-chan more, and he could tell that for the first time in a long time she was already on the verge of shedding painful tears.

As they were turning to leave, Hinata saw something that temporarily brought her out of her current mindset. "Hanabi, is t-that a leaf headband? B-But you can't be a g-genin. Y-You're only-"

"That doesn't concern you!" the young Hyuuga yelled before slamming the door, leaving Hinata and Naruto no option other than to leave. Naruto mistook the final outburst as arrogance, but Hinata knew better. She was very well acquainted with her sister's arrogance, and that wasn't it. In her own weird way…that was modesty.

Naruto and Hinata walked silently down the street of Konoha, his arm still around her. As Naruto was about to speak, a large green blur rushed past them in the opposite direction. Soon afterwards, they noticed another ninja headed their way. Half of his face was covered by a mask, while his left eye was covered by his headband. He walked at an average pace while lazily reading a red book. As he walked past, he looked away from his book for just a moment, straight at Naruto. The moment passed, and they all continued walking without having missed a step.

Did he…no my hood is still up…but why… Naruto decided to let the thought slip away, and focus on more important things. Once again, he turned to talk to Hinata-chan, only to be interrupted again.

"Gomennasai, Naruto-kun." came a soft apology from the girl at his side.

"Hmm?" was all he could respond with. Not only was it sudden and unexpected, but while he waited for her to continue, he was unable to think of a reason behind it.

"Ha! Looks like I won this one, Kakashi! I guess I'm just too fast, even for you!"

"Huh? You say something?" was his apathetic reply as he entered the intersection where Gai had stopped. He took a few more seconds to reach a stopping place in his red book before closing it to speak. "Well, if you don't mind, I have something I need to take care of. That familiar call echoed through the street as he sped off in a direction unknown even to him: "Same time tomorrow, eh, Kakashi?"

"For the last time, NO!" a voice thundered from a nearby room and into the hallway where Kakashi had just arrived. Still pressing the issue? Why don't you just give up, Sarutobi? You've been at it all week, and this is your last chance. You're not going to change her mind.

"What you're suggesting is not only highly irresponsible on your part but also very dangerous! There's no way I'm going to allow any more than I already have!"

"Very well. I'll be back again in ten minutes." the old man replied politely. The door suddenly opened, and the previous Hokage stepped out. He gave Kakashi a 'be careful if you're going in there' look, and proceeded down the hallway.

Kakashi warily peeked his head in the door. "Umm…Hokage-sama…you wanted to see me?"

"Ah, Kakashi, come in." said a calm voice that sounded nothing like the Tsunade from a moment ago. "I have a small favor to ask of you. As you know, team eleven does not have an official jounin instructor. For the time being, I am assigning you to their team, being one of the few jounin who is capable of leading such a team. When a replacement for you is found, you may choose to return to completing missions, or if you desire, stay with the team."

"Don't tell me you…you don't seriously intend to…Tsunade, this is ridiculous!"

"I fell the same way, but Sarutobi does make a good point. As much as I don't want to allow it, I really have no right to stop this, even as Hokage not all decisions are mine to make." Tsunade's face saddened a little as she rested her head in her hands, dismissing Kakashi after handing him an envelope containing the necessary information. Sarutobi had come and asked her permission even though they both knew he didn't need it. She had kept refusing, but she knew that even if she continued to, he would just act without it. The sad memories that snuck their way into her thoughts reminded her that there were some things no amount of power could manage to change…

"Tsunade! Tsunade-sama!" A familiar face flew past the doorway and a loud crash was heard. Moments later a young woman with a pig in her arms was standing in the doorway, covered in light bruises. "Tsunade-sama, you have to help! I can't find Tonton anywhere!" Her cheeks were flushed, and she probably would have tripped if she had taken another step.

Tsunade just stared at her, blinked a few times, and continued staring. The hilarious scene had certainly gotten her out of her bad mood, but she was a little too shocked to burst into laughter. "Shizune? …….. Have you…had any sake today?"

Shizune searched her mind for a moment before pulling out a blurry memory from early that morning…

Flashback

Her eyes opened slowly as the room came into focus. It was mainly white; there was a desk, a few chairs, not much else. Numerous medical reports were scattered on the desk.

That's right, Tsunade was helping me finish some medical reports late last night… She glanced down at her watch. Noon already! I've got to get going…gee, I'm thirsty…where's my water… Still half asleep, she grabbed a the bottle that was setting nearby on the desk and drank every drop of it. Still worried about being late, she scooped up Tonton (who was still sleeping) and hurried out the door after mistaking the wall for a way out.

End Flashback

"No, don't be silly, Tsunade-sama. You know I don't drink sake…"

As she said this, her arms loosened enough that Tonton fell to the ground, luckily uninjured. Tonton gave a joyous squeal, and ran over to Tsunade, glad to finally be out of danger.

"Tonton, there you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!" The poor pig tried to run, but was too slow; he was now once again resting in Shizune's arms. "Thanks for your help, Tsunade-sama, but I've got to go help prepare for the chunnin exams. Thanks for your help, Tsunade-sama!" She turned and quickly stumbled out the door.

Another loud crash sound was heard a few seconds later, and Tsunade couldn't help it anymore. She burst into laughter, unable to stop until one of the chunnin showed up minutes later.

Ibiki stood just outside the Hokage's building, where something had just collided with Kotetsu, sending him to the ground, along with the papers he was carrying.

"What the hell?" He then noticed Shizune lying unconscious on the ground next to Kotetsu, wearing a comical look on her face. "Kotetsu, take her to the hospital, I'll take care of these forms. I was just about to have you bring them to my office anyway."

"Her who?" the chunnin asked, still unaware of what hit him. He got to his feet, rubbing his head where it had presumably hit the ground. "Oh, it's Shizune. Ok, I'll get her there, but if you ask me, I'm the one who needs to visit the hospital."

Kotetsu struggled to pick up both Shizune, and an unconscious Tonton, and headed off for the hospital. He'd have to ask her what happened when she woke up. He had spoken with her many times before; when se wasn't busy in the hospital she would be working with him and Izumo to help the Hokage with her paperwork. She had never really seemed very clumsy, she must have had something important on her mind.

So these are the genin I'll be testing tomorrow… Ibiki thought to himself as he sat the multitude of files on his desk and began to browse through them. There were a few young shinobi that looked promising, but most of them seemed average. However, there was one team that particularly caught his eye. The file contained only their names, pictures, and the name of a village that he was sure didn't exist. It was actually the names that caught his attention, as they were names he knew well. This is going to be an interesting exam.

A large explosion caused him to look up from the file. As the smoke cleared, he saw a huge hole had been blown in his wall, which a single person jumped through into the room.

"Proctor of the second exam, Mitarashi Anko, has arrived!" came enthusiastic, semi-distinguishable words through a mouthful of dango. To Ibiki, the sight was anything but graceful. It almost scared him.

"Why are you here?" Ibiki asked in an annoyed but calm tone.

"Why else?" she answered as if it were obvious, taking another bite of dango in the progress. "I'm a proctor too, and just because I don't need to see the genins' information doesn't mean I can't dig up some dirt on 'em."

"Could you leave? I'm sort of busy here." The tone of his voice let her know that it wasn't a question.

"Fine." She tossed the dango skewer over her shoulder, where it would have stuck into the wall if she hadn't blown it up. "You're no fun anyway. I'll go find someone else to bother." Within seconds, she had left the way she had come, leaving behind a huge mess.

Let's see... thought the hyperactive proctor as she hopped from rooftop to rooftop, scanning the streets. Ah! There's Asuma! He doesn't look busy, but then again, when does he ever?

"Hey! Asuma!" she yelled, landing nearby and running toward him.

"Uhh…sorry, can't talk right now. I'm taking Chouji here out for ramen in preparation for the exams tomorrow."

"Ramen? Why not something better?" She sure would've picked something different if it were up to her…maybe something sweet…

Chouji was the one to respond first. "We had barbeque yesterday, so Asuma-sensei said I had to choose something else."

"Well, if you'll excuse us. We're both pretty hungry. So see ya around." Asuma then quickly pulled Chouji away towards Ichiraku's, well aware that Anko could be really scary when she wasn't happy, and equally scary when she was.

It took only a minute for them to arrive at Ichiraku's, only a few blocks away. As his student continued eating long after Asuma had finished his single bowl of ramen, he couldn't find an opportunity to talk to Chouji, so he talked with Teuchi, the restaurant owner, instead.

"Yeah, we've had to spend the last week getting used to having a fourth member in the team. His abilities are actually really useful, even if they are a bit creepy."

Throughout the conversation, Teuchi just nodded politely, not understanding most of the shinobi activities that Asuma talked about. By the time they were ready to leave, he regretted not letting Asuma smoke in the shop; it may have kept him quieter.

The two had soon payed their bill and left, but Teuchi barely had enough time to clear the dishes off the counter before more customers had shown up. A young couple had just seated themselves at the counter. On the left was a girl wearing a cream-colored jacket, and rectangle-rimmed glasses that hid her eyes. Actually, come to think of it, it would be commonly thought of as the right side, because he was on the other side of the counter, not that it mattered.

"Hey! Old man! Two large bowls of misu ramen." The familiar teasing voice caused Teuchi to freeze in his tracks. Could that be… "And she'll have a medium bowl."

"Naruto!"

Oops… Naruto was so distracted that he had forgotten that of all places, he would most easily be recognized here. He looked around…Good, we're the only ones here. Well, no use hiding it now… Naruto lowered his hood. "Heh…you got me…"

Yep, this was certainly Naruto, his best customer, the ramen-loving future-hokage that disappeared six months ago.

"Uhh…listen. Could you please not tell anyone you saw me?"

"Why is that? Embarrassed about being seen with your girlfriend?" Teuchi teased.

This caused both Naruto and Hinata to blush heavily.

"N-No. I…don't want people to know I'm back…"

"Okay, I won't tell anyone. But I expect you to eat here again, deal?"

Naruto laughed at what he wasn't sure was a friendly invitation or a blackmail threat. "Deal."

"Hinata-chan, you don't need to apologize for something silly like that. You did fine. It's not your fault if your sister doesn't treat you well. She just doesn't know you enough."

They were just arriving back at the Uchiha sector after making the long walk back across town. The sun was starting to set soon, and the sky was dyed half orange, half blue. They stopped for a moment and turned to face each other.

"Hey, dobe!"

Sasuke had arrived just after them, surprisingly carrying Sakura on his back. As they got closer, it became apparent that Sakura's left leg had been badly burned.

"Wh-What happened?" Hinata asked, wanting to know if Sakura was alright.

"Sasuke-kun went a little overboard with his training, and accidentally got both of us burnt. But don't worry; I was able to heal him." Sakura explained, proud of her own accomplishment. Sasuke looked really upset about the incident, but Naruto couldn't tell if it was because he hurt Sakura or because he lost control of a jutsu.

Naruto was about to start yelling at Sasuke for hurting Sakura, when Shimei's voice called to them from a nearby house: "Could you four go to bed or something? You need plenty of sleep for the exam tomorrow. Plus, you're interrupting my nap."

"He's right," Sasuke added, "we have to wake up early tomorrow, we should get some sleep." With that, he let Sakura down, and they walked to the main building together. Apparently, Sakura had completely healed herself as well, but didn't mention it because it wasn't as good of bragging material. Naruto and Hinata just looked at each other as if the other would explain things. When neither did, they both turned to walk to their room.

End of chapter 8

Please leave review!

I bet this was an interesting chapter to read. I was laughing uncontrollably as I wrote certain parts of it, so I hope you at least got some good laughs too. Anyway, like I said, not many answers in this chapter. It's just here to use up the spare day before the exams.

Next chapter will continue with the chunnin exams(obviously).

Please leave review!

Preview:

The first exam! The genin are forced to take a written test! We know some will have few problems, but will Naruto be able to come up with the answers? Also, there will be (Leave a Review) other stuff in the next chapter, stuff that I don't even know of yet, and I'm the author.

Next Chapter: (Title undecided)