Longest chapter yet! ...Don't expect this to be a regular occurrence.

Ah, when to the heart of man

Was it ever less than a treason

To go with the drift of things,

To yield with a grace to reason,

And bow and accept the end

Of a love or a season?

-Robert Frost, from Reluctance


July 10, 104 A.F., 1:22 a.m.

"You should never have had to see that, Naru-chan."

Silence was his only answer.

"You're not handling it well, are you?"

Naruto shook his head, eyes obscured by his blonde mop of hair.

"Can you tell me what's been troubling you?"

"Were you gonna order them to be killed if the negotiations hadn't worked out?"

Hiruzen nodded. "Yes, but only the ones conspiring against us, never the innocent, and I certainly never would have forced Itachi to do it. What Danzo ordered was...beyond cruel and completely unacceptable. Some of the adults were on our side, after all."

"He just made Itachi kill his whole family for no good reason, then?"

"Yes."

Naruto started breathing faster. "B-but why? Why would anyone want to...? I just don't get it!"

The Third felt himself sighing. He kept forgetting just how utterly young the blonde was. "Power, Naruto. It's all about power, nothing more and nothing less."

"Huh?"

"The ability to control life and death is not meant for mere mortals. In reality, we only have that authority because heaven grants it to us, but it is addictive and so easy to abuse. We leaders are often corrupted because of this power's dark influence."

"Dark...influence?" his tiny voice squeaked in horror.

Something specific, he could see, was bothering the boy. "Naruto?"

"Sasuke's never gonna know, is he?"

Ah. So that was it. Naruto was asking if Sasuke would ever know why. Like with Ibiki, truth was one of the most important things in his life. "Honestly, it's going to take a long time before he's ready to learn of it, if he ever does, so that's really up to him. But I do not intend to tell him regardless."

At this, the seven-year-old's head shot up. "But he needs to know! He needs to understand! If he doesn't, then who knows what he'll do!" The boy's breathing became even quicker. "H-his brother killed...k-killed-"

"Naruto, calm down!"

He didn't calm down, and it quickly became apparent that he was having a full-blown panic attack.

"ANBU!"

One appeared before him.

"Get Doctor Yakushi in here immediately."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," he replied and then disappeared.

Then, Sarutobi gently picked the hyperventilating child up in his arms and subtly began weaving a genjutsu specifically designed to increase feelings of calmness and tranquility. Occasionally, it was used during an interrogation, but its main purpose was simply to be used as a sleep aid. It was extremely popular with parents. However, it wasn't doing much for Naruto, except that he did stop hyperventilating, because the boy wouldn't respond to anything he said. 'Where is that stupid doct-'

Yakushi burst into the office. "Hokage-sama! Is everything alright?" Then, he caught sight of the child and immediately rushed over. "Naruto..."

Naruto was staring at the floor with empty eyes, and that worried the Hokage far more than a panic attack.

The Head Medic placed a green-glowing hand over the blonde's forehead and closed his eyes in concentration. A moment later, the seven-year-old was asleep. Yakushi sighed.

"Will he be alright?" the Hokage asked.

"I honestly have no idea. Physically, he was going into shock, but he didn't have any injuries, so I can only assume the wound was of the mind. Since I'm not an expert in psychology, I can't say one way or another."

"He's a strong kid," a voice from the shadows spoke. "He'll be fine."

"I hope so..."

"Thank you, Dr. Yakushi. You may go now. We'll alert you if there are any more problems."

The doctor nodded at the interrogator and the Hokage before leaving. An ANBU shut the door behind him.

"Now, Ibiki," the Hokage said, turning towards his ninja, "what did Naruto tell you?"

"Not much. He could barely talk. But he did say that our mystery man seemed to know Itachi and thought the kid owed him something. Said Itachi had betrayed him..."

Hiruzen hummed thoughtfully. Debts were forbidden in ROOT; one could not owe another anything, unless it happened to be Danzo and the village—in that order. Therefore, despite the fact that his old rival had ordered the massacre, this strange killer probably didn't have anything to do with the organization. "A partner outside of ROOT...I seriously doubt he would've approved such a thing."

"Itachi didn't tell him, then. Or ask him," Ibiki added as an afterthought.

"Unless it was someone Danzo felt was unquestionably loyal to his version of a strong Konoha, that is, or someone he could use to further that vision. Still, he was most certainly not of ROOT."

Ibiki nodded. "Yeah, that's true. But he went after the children—something I know that warmongerer would have never allowed—so he must not have followed the plan, if that's the case."

"Ah, but whose plan?"

The interrogator shrugged. "No clue. Wasn't Itachi's idea, that's for sure. His kills were mercifully quick and he didn't touch the innocent. Weirdo did, so either Danzo was wrong about his loyalty-"

Sarutobi interrupted. "-or he truly had nothing to do with him." He sighed and leaned back in his chair, Naruto tucked in his arms. "Either way, this is an unprecedented disaster for all of us."

"Well, they are killing bloodline users in Mist..."

"Under the Mizukage's orders, yes, but this? This was treason, pure and simple." He looked at the tiny blonde in his arms and winced. "And it would've been a complete catastrophe if Naruto hadn't stepped in."

Ibiki nodded. "But," he began, "mark my words; if the public ever does find out about this-"

"And they probably will."

"-it's likely the village will turn against them and quickly make it a complete catastrophe. Ninja will see it as their duty to kill off the rest of the traitors, despite the fact that the kids are innocent."

"I know. That's why I wanted to solve things peacefully. This has only made things worse. For all his scheming to supposedly make the village stronger, Danzo has done nothing but weaken and divide it."

"Indeed. And I bet the Uchiha kids wouldn't take too kindly to this, either."

"They can never know, then," the Hokage realized. "No one can ever know, apart from us."

It was Ibiki's turn to sigh. "Then, you know what we have to do."

Sarutobi turned eyes filled with sadness to the child he held for a brief moment before deciding. "Bring Inoichi here."

As his trusted subordinate left, the aged Hokage had to wonder if it would ever end—if he'd ever get the time or opportunity to heal from all the horrific things he'd seen...and done, and if he'd ever be able to look himself in the mirror again.

He wondered when it'd be his turn to rest.


May 4, 109 A.F., 8:00 a.m.

"You want me to do what?" the twelve-year-old standing before the desk asked with his mouth hanging open.

The Hokage looked at the blonde preteen without a shred of mercy showing in his eyes. "I want you to join a Genin team."

"...I'm a registered ANBU, trained by Ibiki Morino, Kakashi Hatake, Itachi Uchiha, Inoichi Yamanaka, and Tenzou themselves. I'm pretty sure I'm at least a little bit past Genin level, Old Man," Naruto deadpanned.

Sarutobi chuckled a little at that. "Oh, I'm quite sure you are. But you're also isolated. You have little to no interaction with those your own age. In fact, you barely have any contact outside of your family and your team at all. I'd actually be willing to bet that most of the village has forgotten what you look like, since you never went out into public without a disguise after Ibiki took you in."

Naruto shrugged, a clear sign that he was not taking this well and intended to be stubborn. "So?" What the Hokage had said was true; he never went out without using Transformation. Why shouldn't he? It made things so much easier when he wasn't forced to remember...

The Third's eyebrows rose. "'So?' So, how do you expect to become a successful shinobi—isn't Hokage your goal, after all?—if no one even knows you exist? Can't do that by staying in ANBU your whole life, unless, of course, you intend to keep to the shadows like Danzo."

The twelve-year-old snapped, "I'll never be like that freak! And I hope he rots in the lowest dungeons of Hell for all eternity!"

Hiruzen smirked. "Then, what do you intend to do about it?"

Naruto growled. That was hitting below the belt, and the Old Man knew it!...just like he knew the wise Hokage was perfectly correct. "Fine, I'll join this stupid Genin team, but I want a higher rank than that. I know I've earned it by now."

Sighing contentedly, Sarutobi's smirk widened as he said, "Never intended to do otherwise, Naruto."

"GREAT! So, what's my rank?"

"Jounin..."

"YEEESSSS!"

"...which you'll get a few months after you pass the upcoming Chuunin exams and not a moment before."

Naruto's celebrating was rudely and abruptly put on hold. "W-w-what...?"

The Old Man's eyes gleamed with suppressed glee...and not-so-suppressed mischief. "My dear boy, if you ever intend to make Hokage, you have to be in the public eye. You have to be seen as strong—a hero! The Chuunin exams are the best way to do that, and you can't take the exams if you're already a Chuunin or a Jounin. So..." Sarutobi leaned forward.

Naruto copied him, hoping to hear it was all a joke.

"...you'll just have to wait till then!"

It wasn't a joke.

Naruto clenched his teeth in anger and frustration. "And my teammates?"

"You'll be on Team 7 with Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. Your sensei will be Kakashi."

"WHAT! YOU'RE PUTTING ME ON KAKASHI'S TEAM? DIDN'T HE TORTURE ME ENOUGH GROWING UP?" Ok, so he was being a little overly dramatic, but still!

The Third glared at the blonde's loud voice and snapped, "My decision is final. You meet your team at the Academy in room 204 at 11:00. Don't be late."

"But-!" That was so unfair! Even Idate was Chuunin rank now, and he was loads better than his brother!

"Dismissed!"

Naruto left in a huff. It was going to be a long six months.


10:30 a.m.

Sakura was excited. No, she was beyond excited! This was going to be her first day as a proud Genin of Konoha, so she could hardly wait! And best of all, she'd calculated the odds in her head and she had a 75% chance of getting on Sasuke's team, thanks to being the best in the academics! They'd be paired with the dead last, of course, but sacrifices had to be made for the good of...well, herself. Ino could spew declarations of undying love until her voice gave out, but Sakura would be the one spending day after day with the gorgeous boy.

What could Ino possibly do about that?

"Nothing, that's what!" Sakura shouted out loud while she fixed her hair in the mirror, making sure that every pink strand was in place.

"Did you say something, sweetie?" her mother called from downstairs.

Her cheeks went a little red at that. "Nothing, Mom!" Had she really just been giving herself a pep-talk in the mirror? How embarrassing! She hoped Sasuke never found out about it; he might think her mentally unstable, after all!

The pink-haired girl promptly dropped her brush in shock at the thought. If...if he believed something like that, then she'd never have a chance with him, and Ino...Sasuke might turn to her, instead! NO! She couldn't allow such a thing to happen! Not to her beautiful Sasuke! Never!

Sakura hurriedly tied her hand band on and flew down the stairs to where her mother was drinking tea and reading the newspaper. "Sorry about the noise from earlier, Mom. You see, I dropped something on my toes and yelled. I'm just glad it didn't bruise, because black toes look gross! I saw Kiba with a finger like that one day, and it looked like he'd just drawn over it with permanent marker. It was so nasty! No wonder he doesn't have a girlfriend."

Her mother just sat there and stared at her.

"Uh, Mom?"

That seemed to bring the woman out of her daze. "Honey, what are you talking about? What noise?"

Oh.

She'd already forgotten.

"Um...never mind! Gotta go or I'll be late to Orientation!" Sakura rushed to the door, opened it, said her good-byes, and shut the door.

As she hurried out, she noticed Ino just slightly ahead of her, so she rushed to keep up. "Good morning, Ino-pig," she said as snidely as possible without wrinkling her face.

Ino sniffed disdainfully. "Hello, Billboard-Brow. Out getting your daily dose of sunlight so you don't look completely like a vampire?"

Sakura huffed. "What about you, Pig? Aren't you worried someone's going to make a leather purse out of your skin with all your tanning? Oh, and let's not forget all the wrinkles and skin cancer you'll have down the road. Sasuke certainly won't want you then."

The blonde rolled her eyes imperiously. "Oh, please. All men like a woman with a tan. It shows she gets out more than some people, and guys always like a more active lady. And the risk is worth it if it gets me Sasuke."

She smirked. "'Active,' huh? I'll be sure and let Sasuke know all about the possible diseases he'll get from associating with you, since you don't mind the 'risk' and all."

Ino blinked in confusion before the certainty that she'd been horribly insulted set in. "Why, you-!"

But the pink-haired girl started running and called back over her shoulder, "Gotta go, Piggy! Can't be late for Orientation!"

"You liar!" Ino screamed back as she, too, started running. "You just wanna steal that seat by Sasuke!"

Sakura just laughed, because her friend was exactly right. But for all her head start, the blonde kunoichi trained slightly more and was therefore faster. So, they arrived in the schoolroom at the exact same time, and despite all their efforts, they looked up to see that someone else had already taken the seat beside Sasuke.

It was some weird guy wearing an old-fashioned ninja mask with a single, rectangular slit that showed the eyes and nothing else—not even his hair. And even the skin around his eyes was covered by...was that black makeup?

"Hey," Sakura said as she nudged Ino, "who's the guy sitting by my Sasuke?"

"Don't you mean my Sasuke? And I don't know. Maybe it's not even a guy. Maybe it's some girl moving in on territory that's not hers."

But she shook her head. "No, it's a boy. If it were a girl, she would've started flirting with him already." It was a well-known fact, after all: no female could resist the gorgeous Uchiha's suave charms. It HAD to be a guy.

"True," Ino replied.

"So...who is he?"

"Geez, Forehead, if you wanna know so badly, just go and ask him!"

Right. She could do that. Yup. No problem. Sakura wasn't shy anymore; she'd gotten over that years ago...right? Of course she had! She'd go up to that strange boy and demand his name and that he get out of her seat!

Sakura stepped forward to do just that. Each step she took up the stairs was punctuated with a resounding "clip" of her sandals. Her hair gently blew away from her face and bounced around her in gentle waves as she neared her objective. Then, she was there, and her perfectly manicured hand reached out and grabbed his shoulder, ready to spin him around and glare an answer out of hi-

The girl suddenly found herself face-down on a desk with her arm twisted behind her back painfully. She gasped in sudden fear. She hadn't even seen him move!

Then, he spoke. "What do you want?" the strange boy demanded.

Sakura was surprised at just how gruff it was. It made her wonder if he was actually older than the rest of the class. "N-n-nothing! I j-j-just wanted to sit in my seat!"

"This is your seat?" he asked skeptically as he tightened his grip slightly.

The pink-haired girl got the impression that, should she lie, he would know. "W-w-well, we don't have assigned seats, but-"

"Then, you're sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. Go find another seat, and don't ever throw your Killing Intent at me again."

And just like that, she was free. Sakura immediately brought her hand around and began rubbing her wrist, which she was sure would bruise later. Then, she fled to the other side of the room in terror, wondering all the while what exactly "Killing Intent" was and how she had "thrown" it. Something about it sounded awfully familiar...

She jumped when a hand reached out and touched her on the shoulder.

"Relax, Forehead," Ino said. "It's just me."

"Oh...Ino. Thank goodness it's you and not..." She shuddered at the thought.

To Sakura's surprise, her blonde friend shuddered, as well. "Yeah, totally. That guy's seriously creepy. And he could've really hurt you! Who does he think he is? I'm gonna go and give him a piece of my mind!"

"NO, Ino! Don't!"

"Why not? I mean, what's he gonna do, Billboard-Brow? It's not like he could actually kill us or anything."

But Sakura wasn't so sure. However, before she could convince her friend, Iruka-sensei stepped into the room, to the pink-haired girl's immense relief.

"Good morning, class!" he boomed out with his usual, happy voice and smiling face, though it wasn't exactly reaching his eyes, for some reason. "Most of you here are about to begin your careers as ninja of the Leaf."

'What did he mean by "most"? Is there someone here who's already a ninja?'

"It is not a life for the weak or the weak-willed. Every single day, you will be putting your lives on the line for your friends, family, village, country, and Hokage. You will kill or be killed, and there will never be a time when you truly retire. This service is for life; never again will you truly be considered civilians, and never again will you be completely free to live as you please. At any point, you could be called forward to fight and even die for this country. You are our future, and I am proud to see that our village is in good hands. May the Will of Fire be with you all!"

A resounding cheer exploded from the mouth of each person in the room...except for one. The boy with the full-face mask didn't so much as twitch, but even so, Sakura got the distinct impression that he was not impressed in the least.

"Now it's time to announce the teams. Keep in mind that I had little to do with your placements, beyond recommendations to the Hokage. That means that your assignments are subject to change at his whim and not your own, so there will be no trading teammates. You're going to be stuck with each other for the foreseeable future, so put your differences aside and work together."

The stranger sighed audibly, and Sakura had to hold back a glare. What was his problem? And who was this guy, anyway? Perhaps he was some super-secret spy sent by a foreign nation to steal information! Perhaps he was watching the graduation only in order to see if the rumors about Sasuke's strength were true! Maybe that's why he was sitting by their future Hokage! (What else could someone as cool as the Uchiha be?) She had to tell Iruka! She had to-

"Team Seven will be Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha-"

"YEEEAAAH! I BEAT YOU, INO-PIG! TRUE LOVE CONQUERS ALL!" she shouted, forgetting her earlier thoughts entirely.

"Noooo!" a dozen other female voices rang out.

Sakura liked the sound; it sounded like...victory.

"Ahem," Iruka-sensei said, with a tinge of irritation, "as I was saying, Team Seven is Sakura, Sasuke, and Naru...to...Uzu...maki..." Their scarred teacher looked up with wide eyes and started looking around frantically for a moment.

Then, the strange, black-clad boy raised his hand. "Right here, Iruka...sensei."

The Chuunin gulped audibly. "R-r-right. A-anyway, Team Eight will be Hinata Hyuuga, Shino Aburame, and Kiba Inuzuka."

A chorus of disappointed sighs met Sakura's ears. A lot of the boys had wanted to be on her team, for the simple fact that they thought she'd be easy. Sakura had no clue what that meant, but she'd heard several people saying it. Kiba and Shino had never paid the pretty Hyuuga much attention, though, so she wondered how they'd get along.

"Team Ten is Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi, and Shikamaru Nara."

Ino groaned and complained about being with "Lazy-bones" and "Chubby," neither of which paid her any mind, except for Choji, whose eyes gleamed with the promise of revenge.

It made Sakura smirk.

"We're going to break for lunch so that you can get to know your teammates a little better. Meet back here at noon sharp so that your sensei can pick you up. Dismissed!"

Sakura blinked. There was no way she was eating with—what was his name? Naruto? Yeah, it wasn't going to happen.

"Sakura, right?" a voice behind her said, with barely a shred of interest showing through.

She gulped and then slowly turned around to see her new teammate, the creep. And she was afraid to not answer him. "Uh, y-yeah, that's me. And y-you're Naruto?"

He sighed. "Yes. Where's the Uchiha?"

Blinking rapidly, Sakura realized she'd missed her love's grand exit. "I...didn't even see him leave."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "He went out that open window," he said as he pointed somewhere behind her. "I just figured you'd know where he goes, seeing as how you're one of his stalkers. Looks like I'll have to do it myself."

Sakura bristled. "I do not stalk him!"

But the boy was ignoring her. She could tell because his eyes were glassy and unfocused. Then, suddenly, he blinked and his eyes were clear again. That was when the pink-haired Genin noticed what a beautiful and rare shade they were, and she found herself staring rather than listening.

"Hey! Pay attention!" he snapped.

She promptly jerked back to reality and apologized.

"Yeah, yeah. Like I was saying, he's in the attic. Probably went there to escape from you. God knows I would..."

"WHAT!"

Iruka-sensei, she suddenly realized, was watching them—no, he was watching Naruto very carefully, almost as if he were afraid of the boy. Weird.

Naruto huffed. "Are you deaf as well as weak?"

Her mouth dropped open in a mixture of rage and shock. "HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT! I AM NOT WEAK!"

"You live ten minutes away from the school, and that's with walking. You and that Ino girl ran all the way here and showed up seriously out-of-breath. That tells me that you haven't been training for endurance."

"I-"

"Then, you crash into this classroom and start shoving past all the people in your way to come at me—a complete stranger—while exuding KI the whole time. That tells me you haven't a clue how to control A.) your chakra or B.) your emotions."

"That's not-!"

"And since you looked like you didn't even know what KI is, that tells me that you probably haven't bothered to even read about what real shinobi battles are like, much less actually been in a fight that was remotely threatening."

"Hey-!"

"And when I twisted your arm behind your back, it was so easy to do that I could immediately tell you had absolutely no muscle mass. You were about as limp as a wet noodle, which brings me to the conclusion that you don't work out at all."

"Yes, I do!"

"No, you don't. You do the minimum amount to keep your figure, and that's it. No kunoichi worth her headband would ever call that 'working out,' and no real ninja would ever find a wimp like you even a slight challenge. You'll most likely be killed the first time you get into a fight with a freakin' bandit, much less an actual shinobi. I can't believe the Old Man put me on a team with some useless fangirl..."

She gasped. The JERK!

"...we'll probably end up carrying you around like a little baby," he spat, "because someone thought it'd benefit Konoha to give a waste of space like you that headband." Naruto threw a none-too-subtle glare in Iruka-sensei's direction, indicating exactly where he placed most of the blame for that. "Why don't you just quit and go back home to play with your dolls?"

"You...you BASTARD!" Sakura screamed and suddenly lunged at him, fist raised and eyes aflame.

But Naruto simply stepped to the side, and she landed on the floor painfully. There'd definitely be a bruise on her hip tomorrow to add to the ones on her wrist.

"Naruto Uzumaki!" Iruka-sensei shouted. "Outside! NOW!"

The Creep shrugged and followed the Chuunin out the door, not even a flicker of fear showing in his eyes. It made Sakura wonder just what her teacher could do against someone like that, if he could do anything at all.

She didn't realize she was trembling till Ino touched her shoulder. "Sakura...you ok?"

That's when she noticed that most of the class was still in the room, and they were all staring at her, some mockingly and others pityingly. All of it made her feel a strange, burning sensation in her gut, and it took her a moment to realize that it was a mixture of shame and outrage. She focused on the outrage and let it fester as her various classmates left with their new teammates.

When Naruto came back in the room (looking entirely undefeated) with Iruka-sensei right behind him (looking entirely frustrated), she felt said feelings spike. Then, her teacher left and the only two in the room were...

"Calm down, will ya?"

Sakura's eyes, already narrow, narrowed further, but she didn't respond.

"You're throwing that KI again, and it's rather pathetic. Now, cut it out."

Oh, so he was feeling threatened, was he? She smirked.

"Please," he scoffed, as if he'd read her mind or something, "Killing Intent refers to the desire to end another's life or to force another to submit. Since you literally can't do either..."

"Are you some sort of sexist pig or something? Because, if you are, I-"

Naruto started laughing. "First of all," he managed to get out, "I am not, nor have I ever been, a 'sexist pig.' Is that really...ha!...the only thing you can think to say?" Then, abruptly, he stopped laughing. "Second, if you're going to threaten someone, make sure you actually have what it takes to back it up."

Her mouth closed. Oooooh, that arrogant jerk was going to suffer. She'd make sure of that! But Naruto just rolled his eyes and pulled something out of a pocket before tossing it to her. Sakura caught it on reflex and realized it was a nutrition bar—not a ration bar, as those were for desperate times only—and then realized it was close to 12:00 and she still hadn't eaten. There wasn't any point in grabbing lunch now, either, since people had already started trickling back in.

But she was on a diet. Really, she couldn't.

"Eat it," he insisted. "You look like a skeleton or some prisoner-of-war."

"Stop insulting me!"

"Stop making it so easy."

"I-"

"Geez, are you two still at it?" a bored voice from close to the front of the class drawled. "Go get some boxing gloves or something."

Choji, who was sitting next to him, just chuckled as he munched on some chips.

Naruto blinked. "Who are you?"

"Shikamaru Nara, world's laziest Genin. You?"

"Naruto Uzumaki, next Hokage."

Ino, who was sitting a row above Shikamaru, snorted. "Sorry to break your bubble, creep, but Sasuke's going to be the next Hokage. A joke like you doesn't stand a chance."

Sakura smirked, loving the thought.

But the blue-eyed boy just laughed. "Hate to break it to ya, but all I have to do is make Jounin before the Old Man can legally make me his successor whenever he decides I'm ready for it."

"W-what?"

"Besides, Sasuke's not really all that great."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, HE'S NOT THAT GREAT?" both Sakura and Ino shouted at the same time.

"I mean just what I said. He's not that great. Actually, that's more due to his lack of serious training than it is his lack of talent, but either way, I really doubt he'd be interested in the job, anyway."

This time, it was Choji who asked the question. "Why do you say that, Naruto?"

"Simple. He's got his hands full trying to raise his nineteen cousins. Sure, people are there on the Hokage's orders to help, but his pride insists on him doing the bulk of the work. He doesn't have the time to seriously train right now."

"But he's the Rookie of the Year!" Ino protested.

"Like I said, it's not due to lack of talent but lack of time. Plus...I really don't see much competition here."

Sakura growled, but Shikamaru spoke up before she could start screaming. "If he doesn't have the time, why is he even making the effort to be a shinobi in the first place?"

"Because you can't be a clan leader unless you're at least a Special Jounin first. Once he makes that—and I have no doubt he will—he's probably going to retire and take care of his family. Being Hokage would be-"

"A waste of my time," Sasuke himself interrupted as he entered the room. He sat down in his usual seat (which was rather distant from both Sakura and Ino) before turning and staring at her. "I also have no interest in wasting my time on two useless 'kunoichi' who don't even take the shinobi lifestyle remotely seriously. The only one in this class I'd even consider marrying is Hinata, and that's because she actually cares whether or not she improves."

Hinata, who had walked through the door just then, squeaked and stopped dead in her tracks. Sakura could vaguely hear Kiba complaining about her standing on his foot, but the Hyuuga princess paid no attention.

"Unfortunately," Sasuke continued as though he hadn't heard anything, "our families don't exactly have the kindest history, so that's a no-go. Looks like I'll have to look elsewhere."

At his words, both Sakura and Ino became quiet and depressed until the blonde girl's sensei came and got her. She didn't even have the energy to pretend to be angry at her longtime rival as a bearded man came and picked up Team Ten. A visible cloud just hung over her head as she and her team waited and waited...and waited for their sensei to show.

Naruto, Sakura noticed, just pulled out a book and started reading it, and she took it to mean that he was purposefully and pointedly ignoring her. And Sasuke...he took one look at the book and immediately went to sit by The Creep (still far away from where she was sitting) to read over his shoulder.

She could only stand being ignored for so long, so she stomped over and demanded to know what they were reading.

"The Kokinshu," Naruto replied without even blinking.

Sasuke didn't so much as glance her way.

"And what, pray tell, is that?" The title sounded familiar, but her angry, depressed mind couldn't place it.

This time, the Uchiha did speak. "Geez, Sakrua, don't you know anything? It's one of the classics."

"Poetry," The Creep supplied helpfully.

Then, Sakura blushed. The Kokinshu! She knew that book! She'd read her way through half of it at age seven as a challenge her father had given her. But then, he'd died and she'd...lost interest. "O-oh." She quickly sat back down and proceeded to ignore the two as she waited for time to pass.

And it passed at the speed of a sloth, making her mood even worse.

Eventually, a man with silver hair finally walked through the door. "Team Seven?"

They looked up.

"Meet me on the roof," he ordered in a bored tone, just before he disappeared.

The boys glanced at each other before getting up and following. Sakura stood a little more hesitantly, though, as she was curious about something she thought she had seen as Naruto had walked out. She quietly crept to the desk he'd been sitting at and looked.

Sure enough, there was a small streak of blood on the back of the chair.

Naruto The Creep was injured?

She blinked uncertainly for a moment before she, too, followed their new teacher to the roof, where she was the last to arrive.

Both Sasuke and...he had left plenty of space on the stairs for her to sit down, and her depression turned to irritation. Really, there was no reason for treating her like that! She sat with a huff.

"Now that we're all here," their unknown sensei said with a pointed look in her direction, "how about we introduce ourselves?"

Sakura was confused. "What do you mean, sensei?"

"Tell me your name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, and any dreams for the future. Here, I'll start us off. My name is Kakashi Hatake, I like...well...my dislikes...I have lots of hobbies, and my dreams for the future are none of your business."

Even Sasuke grumbled at the sparse introduction. "All you told us was your name..."

Kakashi merely smiled. "Now it's your turn," he said as he pointed to Sakura.

Her eyes narrowed as her irritation worsened. "My name is Sakura Haruno. I like..." She couldn't help but glance Sasuke's way, although she managed to avoid saying his name out loud. "W-well, I like reading. I dislike a certain creep," she growled with a not-so-discreet glare shot at the black-clad boy sitting to her left, "and Ino-pig. My hobbies include, um...well, my dreams for the future..." Actually, she wasn't sure what her hobbies and dreams for the future were apart from Sasuke.

Their sensei blinked (or did he wink?) before he pointed at Sasuke and said, "You next, dark-haired...child-thing."

Sasuke's glare could've frozen the sun (though it didn't seem to affect Kakashi). "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I like my family and training. I dislike everything else. My hobbies are none of your concern. I don't have any dreams, but I do have goals that will be reality: To rebuild my clan to its former glory and to find out the truth of what happened that night."

Sakura was curious. 'What did he mean by, "that night"?'

"Alright! Now it's your turn, Naru-chan!"

The Creep growled. "My name's Naruto. I like a lot of stuff, I dislike politics, my hobbies are whatever I want them to be, and my dreams for the future are to become a Jounin and then the Hokage."

To her surprise, their silver-haired sensei protested. "Ah, Naruto, don't be like that!"

"Why not? I don't wanna be here, and I have no problems making sure you know it," he said as he clenched his teeth.

Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest. "Hmph. You always did have a short temper, but isn't this a little extreme?"

"No!" Naruto (The Creep) snapped back. "A freakin' GENIN? The Old Man made me—ME—a Genin! Do you have any idea how insulting that is? I've completed TWO A- and THREE B-level missions in the last month!"

"Yes, and they were all solo, weren't they?"

"Except for one, of course they were! Why do I need teammates when I've got my Shadow Clones? We work together perfectly. This whole assignment is...it's just a waste of time!"

Sakura noticed that her mouth wasn't the only one on the ground with the information they'd just heard. Naruto (The Creep) had done what? No freakin' way...

"And that's your problem, Naruto. You can't be a Chuunin, much less a Jounin, without the ability to work with others. You have to be able to lead, but you're too used to being alone. A Hokage needs more than just strength, you know. He also needs to have the ability to guide, inspire, and play well with others. Your mind's been screwed up ever since...that, and Hokage-sama's trying to help."

Naruto scoffed. "Help me with what?"

"Healing."

Their strange teammate visibly flinched at that, but he didn't respond otherwise. In Sakura's mind, it just upgraded him from The Creep to The Freak. Seriously, what was this kid's dysfunction? She didn't get it and didn't want to get it, and surely Sasuke felt the same way, right?

No, the pink-haired female realized as she glanced at him from the corner of her eye, he didn't look like he felt that way at all. In fact, if anything, he looked intrigued and curious. She had no interest in finding out what had screwed up their teammate's brain, but the Uchiha clearly did...which meant she needed to act interested in order to catch his attention. Who knew? Maybe she still had a chance, despite what the dark boy had said earlier. Quickly, Sakura schooled her features into something she hoped looked fascinated rather than disgusted.

With any luck, she'd get a date with Sasuke!


Earlier that day...

Naruto had left the Hokage's office with one goal in mind: find out as much about his classmates as he could. And it turned out to be pathetically easy to do. Of course, he'd already known a lot about Sasuke, as he was one of the ANBU typically assigned to guard him. (It had been...difficult for awhile, though he'd eventually gotten all the flashbacks from looking into their Uchiha faces.) But still, they'd never had any actual contact since...then, and it was making him nervous and jumpy.

The Uchiha preteen was fairly skilled, all things considered. He had decent abilities in taijutsu and ninjutsu, and his theoretical work showed he was also rather skilled at tactical planning. Most of his opponents on the field, Naruto knew, would find Sasuke's ability to predict their moves almost shocking. With talent like that, he would be able to overwhelm much stronger enemies with little more than traps and aces-in-the-hole. It was admirable, to say the least. Sasuke was a teammate he found himself looking forward to working with.

When the boy sat down next to him, he did nothing more than turn his head and nod. He understood that, like Itachi, the simpler acts of respect were often more appreciated—not that he'd ever followed that logic for his captain.

The Haruno, however, was a different story altogether. Her file was simple: brains but no brawn. And by "brains," it meant that she scored well on tests and assignments and had a high IQ. She excelled in theory and not in reality, something that had been getting more and more common in these times of relative peace, and was one of the lowest-ranked in terms of actual skill. There was no drive to succeed in her, unless he counted her desire to marry the Uchiha prince—and he most certainly didn't! The Haruno would be a waste of space and a security risk, to say the least, and had the highest chance of getting someone killed in the field.

Naruto was resigned to the team, but he refused to allow this girl's stupidity to put everyone's life in danger, all because she wanted to be a pretty princess in some fantasy world of hers.

So, when she came charging through the door (huffing and puffing, no less), he was not impressed. When she began stomping up to him in an effort to demand he give up his seat to her, he was downright disgusted. He was an unknown opponent and yet she was challenging him? What was the Academy teaching these kids, anyway?

The ANBU decided to break her of that notion right away, and to his surprise, he nearly broke her arm in the process. Sakura was barely more than skin and bones. The fear he felt radiating from her made him feel a little sick to his stomach, but Naruto knew it was necessary. He shuddered to think what would happen if she took that attitude into battle.

She finally sat down and life went on, except for him. All the people in the room were starting to make him rather nervous...and so many of them were girls crowding around Sasuke, who was sitting right next to him. Naruto had seen behavior like this before, but only when a group of male dogs smelled a female in heat. It was amusing, disgusting, and somewhat frightening, but it did keep his mind occupied well enough to calm him down.

However, once he was calm, the blue-eyed boy realized he'd just compared Sasuke to a bi-

"Good morning, class!" a brunette Chuunin announced as though the kids should be proud to be killers at age twelve. "Most of you here are about to begin your careers as ninja of the Leaf."

'Nah, reeeeally?' Naruto had to roll his eyes as he heard the Chuunin (what was his name? Irukua?) prattle on and on about things said teacher really didn't understand. It wasn't so much the topics as it was the fact that if the students couldn't work together by now, someone along the line had really dropped the ball. If they weren't intelligent and mature enough at this late in the game to put aside differences, then they were most likely in the wrong profession.

And if the village was in good hands with these Genin, he might as well hand himself over to the enemy right now.

Oh, there were some that weren't so bad. The Nara, for one, was decent, but he was so lazy that Naruto got the impression he wouldn't understand how to take things seriously until it was too late. The Akimichi had a similar problem; he was more obsessed with eating than he was training. Of course, in that clan, the members had to be larger than average to use their jutsu, but that didn't excuse his lack of study. The Yamanaka was another disappointment, and a heavy one, at that. He couldn't see one ounce of her old man in her. She was just one more whiny fangirl that needed to get her head screwed on straight.

Team Eight was perhaps the most prepared. Shino Aburame was a considered a genius in his clan for his use of strategy and high taijutsu skills. Ninjutsu and genjutsu were a little shaky, but he was definitely Genin material. Kiba was almost the opposite. A fairly intelligent Inuzuka, he had most of the clan techniques for his level down (but not mastered) and definitely excelled in ninjutsu. However, he was also arrogant and brash. One day, if he weren't careful, he'd challenge the wrong opponent and get his head separated from his shoulders.

Hinata Hyuuga was the real gold-mine in the team. She was shy and downright timid, but those were literally the only two things holding her back from being Rookie of the Year. Being a Hyuuga, she was a powerhouse in taijutsu and immune to most forms of genjutsu, and her chakra control was likely nearly perfect. So what if she didn't have the best grades? From what he knew, the only thing Hinata needed to be successful was a confidence boost, something she'd probably never get from her family. (Although it was considered something of a secret Naruto was well aware of the fact that she'd been removed from her abusive home some years ago, though she still went there for training. He wondered whom her guardian was...)

As for Team Seven, his team, he was half-satisfied, half-disappointed. The Uzumaki had no doubts that Kakashi had pulled strings to get him in his team, and that would not be tolerated. When his birthday came around again, he was going to go all out on his brother. Still, he might as well make the best of it.

Naruto walked up to the pink-haired female and figured he should break the ice...since it was a bit thicker than usual due to recent events. That was when he noticed that Irukua had given them a lunch break and that Sasuke was climbing out the window. The ANBU almost laughed but then realized the Uchiha had given him a better way to break the ice. Surely, Sakura would join him for Mission: Find Sasuke.

The second he looked at her, however, an image flashed through his mind. Blood...it turned the water in the pond a delicate pink...bits of bone crunched underfoot...where was it? The clone had sensed a flicker of life just a moment ago... Naruto shook his head, banished his thoughts, and quickly composed himself as he walked up to her.

"Sakura, right?" he asked her in a bored tone. He got a kick out of hearing her stutter, however. Sometimes, Naruto just had that effect on women, and he specifically meant those who didn't know he was a jinchuuriki (such as enemy kunoichi, teenagers, or...preteens). Why, he didn't know, but he found it hilarious—when he wasn't seeing images he would've given his right arm to forget.

"And y-you're Naruto?" she asked.

Wow. Was that a short attention span or what? Hadn't the Chuunin just said his name? Sakura really needed a lot of work. "Yes. Where's the Uchiha?"

"I...didn't even see him leave."

Naruto rolled his eyes. This was going to be a looooong assignment. "He went out that open window. I just figured you'd know where he goes, seeing as how you're one of his stalkers. Looks like I'll have to do it myself." Seriously, was the Haruno really that bad or was this just a bad day? He hoped it was the latter.

She blushed and then snapped, "I do not stalk him!"

'Suuure ya don't. Now, let's see where that little chicken-butt went...' He "looked" around for a moment before spotting the Uchiha's chakra signature above them, in what was probably the attic. "Huh. Looks like he climbed up to the attic...I guess he knows that chakra control exercise, then. You know how to get up to the attic, Sakura?"

But she was just staring at him with glazed eyes.

...their eyes were all the same—open, staring...blank...the little girl sitting next to a woman's body looked up at him emptily...

"Hey! Pay attention!"

The Haruno blushed again and quickly stammered out some sort of apology.

He ignored it and kept praying that she wasn't this bad. He didn't want to die young! "Like I was saying, he's in the attic. Probably went there to escape from you. God knows I would..."

"WHAT!"

Oops. He hadn't meant to say that last part out loud, but oh, well. The damage was done. Might as well reap the rewards. "Are you deaf as well as weak?" Naruto mourned his lack of a camera at her next statement.

"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT! I AM NOT WEAK!"

The blue-eyed boy stilled for a moment. Whoever was lying to her should be kicked off the edge of a cliff, because the girl was clearly delusional. Naruto quickly went into detail why exactly she needed to step up her game after that. No way was he going to let her drag her fantasy world on missions with them! He concluded it with the statement, "Why don't you just quit and go back home to play with your dolls?"

If that didn't get her eyes open, nothing would!

"You...you BASTARD!" she screamed as she very awkwardly lunged at him.

He moved half an inch to the left and she landed on the floor with a painful-sounding thump. His earlier fears had just been confirmed; she was that bad.

And it was then that the sensei of the class decided to make himself known. "Naruto Uzumaki!" Irukua shouted with a cherry-red face. "OUTSIDE! NOW!"

Naruto shrugged and followed the Chuunin out the door. He wasn't worried; the teacher couldn't do anything no matter how much he didn't like him.

Irukua led him down a few rooms into what appeared to be the Teachers Lounge. As soon as the door closed behind them, Irukua let his temper loose.

"Who do you think you are?" he whispered in one of the most rage-choked voices Naruto had ever heard.

"Naruto Uzumaki. And you?" the ANBU replied calmly.

"Their teacher, the one who knows them best!" he hissed. "And you had no right to pass judgment on her like that!"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Look, Irukua-"

"It's Iruka!"

Oh. "Ok, then, Iruka, is she or is she not my teammate?"

"Clearly, she is," he all but snarled.

"Then, her well-being is my concern, as mine should be to her. Correct?"

"Yes, but that doesn't give you the right to criticize, humiliate, and mock her!"

"Oh? And we ninja have it all so easy, do we?"

"That should come from the enemy, not from comrades, people who are supposed to have her back!"

"And yet, she came at me with Killing Intent just because I was sitting in 'her' seat! She's a selfish little girl who couldn't care less about 'comrades' when they're in the way!"

"That's not true," Iruka growled.

"It sure is! Or were you just not paying attention when she stomped her way to my chair?"

"I wasn't even in the room-"

"You were standing right outside the door!"

Iruka became oddly silent.

"That's what I thought. You dare to stand there and smugly lecture me about how to treat comrades with the proper respect and yet have no problems turning your back on me without a second's hesitation. All your double standards make me sick! You know what I am, right?"

The teacher looked away. "An ANBU."

"No, not that. I mean the other secret."

Iruka's eyes widened. "You mean the—"

"The fox? Yes."

"Y-you think that's what this is about?"

"Isn't it?" Naruto pointedly asked. "It sure is for everyone else. Why not you, too?"

But the Chuunin just shook his head. "It's got nothing to do with that."

"Then what? What is it that makes you hate me so much? I can feel it practically dripping from you, ya know."

Two brown, fire-filled eyes met his own. "Mizuki was my best friend, and you killed him, you bastard!" he admitted venomously.

Naruto was stunned. It had been one of his recent B-ranked missions...to think chasing down and eliminating a traitor would come back to bite him-! "Are you serious? That idiot broke into the Hokage's office, stole the Forbidden Scroll, and ran off to Orochimaru with it, and you dare to stand here and get mad at me for enforcing the law? WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM!"

"I know—knew—Mizuki, and I'm telling you that wasn't him! He would never have done anything like that! Either he was being controlled or being threatened, but he wasn't the type to ever steal from this village of his own free will!"

The blonde ANBU thought about it for a moment. Although Iruka wasn't aware of all the details, the Hokage had thought it prudent to inform the teacher of his best friend's demise to see his reactions and test his loyalty, but the twelve-year-old was beginning to think this Iruka...what was his last name?...was just an ordinary guy who only thought he'd known his friend.

"Well?" the impatient teacher snapped. "I'm waiting."

Naruto rolled his eyes and decided to test the man himself. "I'll say it once and only once: your so-called friend was a fake. He played you and his fiance like cheap violins that he had no problems throwing away once he was finished." 'Just like Itachi...'

"That's not—"

"Yes," the boy insisted, "it is. What yo don't know is that ANBU had been keeping tabs on him for the last five years. Wanna know why?" Without waiting for an answer, Naruto went ahead and told him, "It's because he was strongly suspected of having killed a loyal ninja of the Leaf for doing nothing more than slowing him down."

Iruka gasped. "T-that's not true! That ninja was injured and died because of that! Mizuki didn't do anything to him!"

"Wrong! And how strange that you know exactly which incident I'm talking about. The injuries your comrade sustained were from two different sources, only one of them fatal, and Kakashi Hatake himself used his dogs to track the scent of blood...to one of Mizuki's own kunai!"

"Maybe he just kept the one the enemy used! Ever thought of that!"

Naruto nodded. "Sure, and that's what kept us from formally charging him with murder. It was when we discovered he'd had a meeting with Orochimaru that we knew for sure."

"What are you-?"

"I don't know the details," he interrupted, "but six months ago, Orochimaru and Mizuki apparently met up and exchanged a few...pleasantries. Your friend left with some sort of scroll and Orochimaru left with a smirk. It clearly wasn't even their first meeting. Sure sounded like a partnership to me. How about you, Iruka?"

Iruka couldn't speak. He was in shock.

"Before you convince yourself that the snake did something to alter his mind, let me go ahead and tell you that I was trained by Inoichi Yamanaka himself. That means that I know a few interrogation techniques." Naruto was careful to leave out his relationship with Ibiki, since it wasn't relevant, and anything unnecessary was worth holding back.

"You can...read minds?"

"To a certain extent." He didn't bother explaining further, since he was technically lying. "Turns out he'd been screwed up since before the two of you met. Don't feel bad about not noticing; even the Old Man missed it. Mizuki was just that good at playing games, and several people are dead right now because of that fact, including an innocent kid who just happened to be in the way." He remembered other innocent kids who had just happened to be in the way... "Because of that, when I'd gotten every piece of information I needed from him, I did what I've done to many other traitors: I killed him."

Iruka, taller than he was by a good two-and-a-half feet, just closed his eyes and slumped his shoulders as though a sudden weight had settled on them. The expression of grief on his face nearly made Naruto flinch. He was so used to masks of all kinds that it took him by surprise to see something raw and unhidden. "Then, it was all fake. Our friendship never meant anything to him."

Naruto disagreed and figured Iruka had passed his little test well enough to let him know what else he'd figured out. It wouldn't change facts, but it might ease the teacher's mind just a bit. "No, on the contrary. Before he met up with Orochimaru, it looked to me like he'd really been trying to change things. There was a part of himself that you helped create—the part that his fiance loved and that loved her back, the thing that made him want to teach children, and what drove him to essentially see your life as a guide for his own. That piece of himself was your friend, and it simply died years ago after Mizuki first met up with the poison that is Orochimaru. True, Mizuki was never an angel and he committed horrible deeds, but he would've snapped a long time ago if it hadn't been for you. What you did probably saved lives. So, I'd have to say no, your friendship meant everything to him, even if he didn't know it."

By this point, the scarred instructor had covered his face with his hands. "But why? Why did you have to kill him? Couldn't you have just locked him up?"

"Weren't you listening? There was nothing left of your friend to lock up. It was over years before I came on the scene."

Iruka nodded and removed his hands to show a tear-streaked face. Although he still couldn't look Naruto in the eyes, the blonde figured it was good enough for now.

After all, they still had one other issue to discuss. "Now, as for Sakura, can you honestly stand there and tell me that anything I said was wrong?"

The Chuunin's eyes snapped back to his. "I...no, what you said wasn't wrong. It's how you said it that I really have a problem with."

Naruto thought about it for a moment and decided...he had no idea what this older man was alluding to. "She's a soldier now, isn't she?"

"Yes."

"Then, why? That's how we're trained at ANBU. Sticks in your head better when there's a little pain and humiliation built in."

"But it's your sensei's job to train her! Not yours!"

Now the twelve-year-old had to scoff. "I'll be shocked if he doesn't do worse. He's very big on teamwork and has been known to put people in the hospital for not falling into line. Trust me; I'm doing her a favor."

Iruka made a sound in the back of his throat that was probably some sort of protest.

Naruto held up his hand. "However, I'll try to tone it down some. Ok?"

The teacher looked frustrated but said "Ok" with a grimace, as though guessing it was all he'd get.

Which was perfectly true, so, with that, they both headed back to class, where Sakura was sitting in the same seat with a rather...irritated expression on her face.

'Oh,boy. This girl's gonna be such a problem.' "Calm down, will you?" he said out loud. It was far more polite than what he could have said.

But Sakura was apparently unaware of that. Her output of KI (it wasn't much to begin with, but still) increased rather than decreased.

Naruto was not impressed. He'd sensed more from the Fire Lord's wife's cat. "You're throwing that KI again, and it's rather pathetic. Now, cut it out."

She actually smirked at that—not the brightest thing she could've done. It reminded him of the look Mizuki had had on his face after murdering a little girl, who had been out past her bedtime.

Did this brand-new Genin actually think she had what it took to bring him down? Naruto found it annoying. So much for the polite response. Now it was time to play hardball. "Please," he scoffed as he answered her unspoken arrogance, "Killing Intent refers to the desire to end another's life or force another to submit. Since you literally can't do either..."

"Are you some sort of sexist pig or something?"

The ANBU frowned in confusion. He honestly had no clue where she'd gotten that idea, but he found it ridiculous and started laughing. Nice Naruto was dying a fast death with her around. "First of all," he managed to get out, "I am not, nor have I ever been, a 'sexist pig.' Is that really...ha!...the only thing you can think to say?" Then, abruptly, he stopped laughing. "Second, if you're going to threaten someone, make sure you actually have what it takes to back it up."

Her jaws snapped shut with an audible click, and he pulled a nutrition bar from his pocket in the hopes that getting her mouth to work on eating would stop it from talking. Besides, she looked like a prisoner-of-war, and he told her so.

Of course, that pissed her off. "Stop insulting me!" she snapped.

"Stop making it easy," he said with a raised eyebrow. How was that an insult, anyway? Wasn't that what girls like her wanted—to look half-dead?

"I-"

"Geez, are you two still at it?"

Naruto turned around in surprise. He hadn't sensed the Nara's arrival at all, or, he noticed, Iruka's absence. Arguing with Sakura was turning out to be a rather distracting habit. Was that a good thing or a bad thing...?

"Go get some boxing gloves or something," the Nara finished.

The chubby boy next to him—Choji, Naruto remembered—chuckled.

Naruto blinked. "Who are you?" He didn't ask because he didn't know but rather because he was curious about how the dark-haired twelve-year-old would answer. The kid's IQ was rumored to be very high, after all. The ANBU would pay attention to every twitch, every flinch, the Nara made.

"Shikamaru Nara, world's laziest Genin," he said (Translation: "I enjoy rest and relaxation, but I'm smart enough to pass with minimal effort, so don't underestimate me.") Naruto saw the slight smirk as Shikamaru then asked, "You?" He'd caught on to the blonde's game and offered him information in return for some.

"Naruto Uzumaki, next Hokage." (Translation: "I'm serious and take my profession seriously, and I fully intend to be your boss one day, so it'd be in your best interests not to get on my bad side.") He was finding it a lot of fun going back and forth like this!

And then, Ino just had to go and ruin it. "Sorry to break your bubble, creep, but Sasuke's going to be the next Hokage. A joke like you doesn't stand a chance."

'Oh, geez, not this again! What is it with these girls? I swear, it's a freakin' cult!...and I think Kakashi has one in the village somewhere, too...' Still, the look of absolute conviction on her face made him laugh. These girls were so clueless! "Hate to break it to ya, but all I have to do is make Jounin before the Old Man can legally make me his successor whenever he decides I'm ready for it." Truthfully, that would probably be at least a few years away, but he knew he could make it if he kept working hard. Sasuke, however, didn't want it at all.

"W-what?"

"Besides, Sasuke's not really all that great." It was true; he'd seen the boy practicing, and it just wasn't all that impressive. Oh, sure, he could pull off some neat tricks, but the hard work needed to advance to such a high position and the dedication to lead others not of his clan weren't there.

The girls didn't agree with him, though and literally began screaming at the top of their lungs at him for daring to speak such "blasphemy." And the more he explained why their crush wasn't interested in the job, the more they screamed.

Until Sasuke himself showed up and agreed that such a thing would be nothing more than "a waste of my time. I also have no interest in wasting my time on two useless 'kunoichi' who don't even take the shinobi lifestyle remotely seriously."

'Ah! Poetic justice! Just look at their faces! Hehehe!' Naruto thought to himself as he watched Ino and Sakura's reactions.

But the Uchiha wasn't finished just yet; he had one more, massive bomb to drop. "The only one in this class I'd even consider marrying is Hinata."

Naruto paid no more attention. He was too busy trying not to laugh. To distract himself from the rising guffaws, he pulled out a copy of the Kokinshu. Darn thing was hard for him to understand, and Kakashi was bound to quiz him on the poems about Autumn later on in the week. 'Let's see...Chisato's poem is about a guy looking at the moon, but what the heck? That's the only part I get! I swear I've read this one five times and I still can't understand the darn thing!'

A few moments later, he sensed Sasuke making his way over to read along with him. "Naruto," he said in his dry monotone, "you mind?"

"Not at all. Maybe you can help me out a bit, actually."

The boy seemed amused...vaguely. "With what?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Well, ya see...I'm just not all that good with books and stuff. My brother makes me read and study poetry all the time, though, and it's really hard."

Sasuke looked surprised. "You're having trouble? But you seem intelligent enough."

"Different kind of intelligence. I can speak and write 'properly' and read well enough, but books aren't ever going to be my thing. I read when I have to and nothing more. Stuff gives me a headache..."

To his relief, the Uchiha merely nodded and sat down beside him. "Which one?"

Naruto pointed.

"A thousand thoughts of tender vague regret

Crowd on my soul, what time I stand and gaze

On the soft-shining autumn moon; and yet

Not to me only speaks her silv'ry haze."

Sasuke blinked once, twice, three times after reading it out loud. "I...don't get it."

"Yeah, me, neither!" Naruto said with a sigh. "I mean, I know he's lookin' at the moon, but what the heck is up with all that 'thoughts of tender vague regret' stuff?"

"No, I mean, how in the world is that confusing? All he's doing is looking up at the moon while he thinks about all the things he regrets doing."

That sounded waaaay too easy. "...Are you sure?"

His...friend rolled his eyes. "Yes, Naruto. I'm pretty sure."

"Then, what's up with that last line?"

"That's still referring to the moon. He's saying-"

"What are you two reading?" a shrill, strident voice demanded.

Naruto jerked slightly as he barely held himself back from tossing a live weapon her way. Her voice...it hurt! "The Kokinshu," he growled out. Seriously, he was going to have a headache now!

Sasuke did his best to ignore her, but the blonde ANBU caught the grimace and flinch. He very likely had a slight headache now, too.

"And what, pray tell, is that?" she insisted, in the same, jarring voice.

The Uchiha lost his patience. "Geez, Sakura! Don't you know anything? It's one of the classics, for crying out loud!"

Naruto did nothing but sigh discreetly and prompt her memory with the word "poetry." That did it, and the female sat back down with clear embarrassment. Naruto and Sasuke merely exchanged a look and returned to studying the poems until the blonde felt a familiar presence heading their way.

'Kakashi...I was wondering when you'd show up. You're only late when you either want to test someone's patience or just really, really want to piss someone off. I wonder which one it is today.'

"Meet me on the roof," Kakashi ordered in a tone Naruto recognized as amusement.

'Definitely wanted to piss us off,' he decided.

He and Sasuke looked at each other with raised eyebrows before simultaneously standing and following their new teacher to the roof. They didn't feel the need to speak to each other as they took their seats, but both noted the absence of Sakura and left plenty of room for her to sit...whenever she decided to show up.

Naruto decided to take a "peek" and see what she was up to. His blue eyes lost focus for a moment as he locked on to her chakra and noticed her eying the back of his chair. Immediately, the ANBU snapped himself back to reality.

So, she knew.

He shrugged, neither caring nor wanting to care. The injury on his back wasn't particularly dangerous or painful, so he'd been ignoring it. Besides, B-ranked missions and higher tended to result in blood loss. Naruto had been used to it for awhile now. And Kyuubi never healed anything that it deemed "unnecessary."

The twelve-year-old thought back to how he'd gotten it...

"Falcon," the Old Man had commanded him, "one hour ago, three Kumo shinobi broke into the Uchiha complex and stole approximately twenty scrolls. They contained details regarding both the Sharingan and many of the Uchiha clan's signature jutsu, as well as many of their copied ones. There is no one better at finding ninja than you, so you and Cat will leave immediately to retrieve them."

A teammate? That was rare. The mission must be rather sensitive or risky, then. Still, at least his partner was someone he knew and trusted. "Yes, sir. Any prisoners?"

"None. Leave no witnesses and no evidence behind. We do not want a repeat of the Hyuuga incident, so there must be nothing directly linking us to their demise."

"Sir, the Raikage will know what happened, won't he?"

The Hokage nodded. "Yes, but he won't be able to prove it and most certainly will not dare to openly admit he sent a covert team to steal an ally's scrolls. It would send a horrible message to his other allies and likely leave him with none. Any evidence, however, and he'd simply lie his way out of it. No bodies and no proof means there's nothing he can do."

"But couldn't we just steal the scrolls back instead?"

"No, Falcon. As underhanded as they are, the Raikage's actions could easily trigger a war." He sighed. "I had hoped A would be wiser than his father, but he, too, is a fool. We have to send him a message that we will not stand for such attacks and will retaliate with lethal force."

"Yes, sir," Naruto said softly. He'd killed before, but he didn't like it and truly wanted to spare lives when he could. The Hokage knew this and was never upset when the blonde asked. The Sandaime had even stated that it was the mark of a good leader when he shied away from using excessive force, so Naruto never hesitated to ask if there was another way that avoided death. But there was no other way this time.

He bowed to the Hokage and left, heading straight towards the gate, where he met up with Cat. "Hey, Tenzou."

"Naruto," the ANBU captain greeted back.

"Just give me a minute to get my bearings," the young boy replied. He knelt on the ground and placed his hand directly on the dirt as he closed his eyes and focused. The blonde sensed a faint trail coming from the opposite end of the village and going in a wide circle around the walls. The three Kumo shinobi had managed to avoid all the patrols and were now making a direct run straight towards Cloud. Naruto noted that they were several miles away already and that their opponents were two Chuunin and one Jounin. He stood. "Found 'em."

"Good. Let's go."

Without even a bit of wind, the two of them took off after their enemies, following them by a faster trail that only Leaf ninja would know. It wasn't particularly difficult to catch up to them because of that, and the three, sword-clad ninja were soon in sight—so close, in fact, that the two ANBU could hear their conversation.

"Rokurou, what's our ETA?"

"We'll be at the border in four hours and twenty-three minutes, Yasu."

Rokurou cursed.

"What's wrong?"

"We're being followed, Youta."

Immediately, all three of them stopped leaping through trees and turned around to face their pursuers. The one called Rokurou growled. "ANBU...should've known it was too easy."

Tenzou signaled that he would be handling the leader; the others were Naruto's business.

Youta didn't seem nearly as worried. He scoffed. "This'll be easy. One of them's just a kid."

"Hold your tongue! He wouldn't have that mask if he couldn't handle it. Konoha's ANBU are no joke, no matter how old they look."

The nin known as Youta simply scoffed again and said, "Yeah, yeah. Don't worry; we've got this one."

Naruto smiled behind his mask; he loved being underestimated.

Youta and Yasu glanced at each other and exchanged some hand signals before attacking simultaneously with drawn swords.

Falcon had to roll his eyes. Seriously? They were just going to charge straight at him? The two dark-skinned teens had no clue what they were doing. Granted, he wasn't the strongest around, but ANBU were ANBU for a reason, and they should've heeded their leader's advice.

Letting his eyes go unfocused, he got a good look at the confidence their chakra showed. He also caught the slightly higher concentration of energy in their hands holding their weapons. Clearly, the only thing they were prepared for was his immediate death. Idiots.

All Naruto had to do was grab their weapons with his wind chakra-infused hands and, suddenly, there were no more weapons. The blades lay in shattered pieces upon the ground.

The two Cloud shinobi pulled back and eyed in shock the hilts and small bits of metal that remained. "Ninjutsu," one whispered to the other.

Which, of course, Naruto heard, and it made him chuckle slightly. Kumo ninja specialized in lightening-based attacks; he was wind. They could send bolts at him all day and it wouldn't do any good. Did they not realize that was how he'd broken their swords?

Apparently not, he realized, as they both began forming hand signs for Lightening Dragon—a jutsu that even Kakashi hadn't gotten around to copying yet, since so few ever mastered it. He wondered if these two had...

The two half-formed creatures flying at him confirmed they hadn't. Still, that ninjutsu was the most dangerous of the dragon techniques for a reason; it was nearly impossible to dodge. So, Naruto just stood there and waited for a quarter of a second before Replacing himself with a log just as they hit.

"Did we get 'im?" one of the enemies asked.

"No, I think he's still around here somewhere. Be on your guard."

Really, was this the best Kumo had to offer? 'Cause those guys must've bribed someone for their Chuunin jackets. True, he was above such a level regardless, but not that far. Two-against-one should've made it a challenge.

'Or are they just inexperienced?' he mused as they spotted him and began throwing fireballs at him. The fact that he was unable to stop those attacks with anything wind-natured and was being forced to dodge multiple bursts of flame at once should have drastically increased the likelihood of him being hit. However, he was from Konohagakure; he'd been trained by Itachi Uchiha himself—the prodigy of the clan that had invented the Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu. Did they really think he wouldn't know the precise trajectory of each attack?

Naruto sighed and decided he'd had enough. Quickly, he Body Flickered behind Yasu and sank a kunai into the back of the teen's skull, killing him instantly.

"Yasu!" Youta called out as he saw his friend fall to the ground beside him. "What have you done?" he screamed at the ANBU he and Yasu had so foolishly thought they could play around with.

But even as he shouted obscenities at the Leaf nin before him, a voice behind him spoke. "You should have listened to your teacher." Then, Naruto ended his life just as abruptly and mercifully. He took no pleasure in killing.

Falcon looked up to see Cat and the Kumo Jounin still fiercely going at it; apparently, they were evenly matched, or so it seemed. Naruto hadn't exactly been paying attention, so he wouldn't know. Even as he watched, however, Rokurou suddenly smirked.

"I know I can't beat the two of you," he panted, "but I can sure make you regret ever coming after us." With that, the Jounin unexpectedly shot towards the younger ANBU.

"Falcon!" Tenzou yelled.

But the enemy's speed was no joke, and Naruto barely managed to avoid a lethal hit in the chest. Instead, the blade passed through his shoulder. "AHH!" he screamed. Then, he brought his hands up and broke Rokurou's sword the same way he'd destroyed the those of the two Chuunin.

Cat took care of the rest of it after taking his ninjato and slicing off the man's head. At once, he was at the boy's side, looking at the piece of sharp steel still poking through his subordinate's shoulder. "Naruto..."

"Yeah...?" he replied through tightly-clenched teeth.

"You really need to learn how to use a sword."

Naruto couldn't help it; he started to laugh.

That had been three days ago. The mission had turned out to be a success, and the weapon had missed hitting anything vital, meaning that Kyuubi wasn't going to heal all of it of its own free will. And Naruto also had no interest in going to the hospital for a couple of popped stitches. Obviously, Sakura's sharp eyes had caught sight of a little blood.

Big deal.

Kakashi simply rolled his eyes at the girl's absence and took out a book Naruto easily recognized.

"Icha Icha? Really, Sensei, what would your wife say?" the blonde asked with a hidden smirk.

His older brother looked up with a peculiar gleam in his eye. "She'd say...'I'm feeling like page 72 tonight.'"

The twelve-year-old couldn't help but blush and sputter. Kakashi was such a pervert!

Sasuke, however, was chuckling.

Everything stopped the moment the door to the roof opened and Sakura stumbled into the sunlight. Sasuke and Naruto scooted closer to the end of the step in the hopes that she'd leave plenty of room between them and her, but as soon as the girl noticed the extra space, her eyes narrowed into evil little slits.

As soon as she sat down (much closer than they wanted), Kakashi began the introductions. "Tell me your name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, and any dreams for the future. Here, I'll start us off. My name is Kakashi Hatake, I like...well...my dislikes, hmmm...I have lots of hobbies, and my dreams for the future are none of your business."

Sasuke's eye twitched. "All you told us was your name..."

Kakashi grinned. "Now it's your turn," he said as he pointed to Sakura.

Her eyes narrowed even further, something Naruto had thought impossible. "My name is Sakura Haruno," she began. "I like...w-well, I like reading."

The blonde boy rolled his eyes. 'Riiiight.'

"I dislike a certain creep and Ino-pig."

Naruto merely polished his fingernails on his black jacket. It'd only been a few hours and he'd already gotten first place on someone's hate list! That took mad skills!

"My hobbies include, um...well, my dreams for the future..."

The ANBU waited with bated breath for her to continue, but it didn't happen. He blinked in confusion. Sure, she was a fangirl, but surely she had more to her life than that!

Kakashi's blink mirrored his own. "You next, dark-haired...child-thing."

Sasuke glared vaguely before he began his introductions. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I like my family and training. I dislike everything else." He shot a grimace at Sakura, who seemed blissfully unaware. "I don't have any dreams, but I do have goals that will be reality: to rebuild my clan to its former glory and to find out the truth of what happened that night."

Naruto knew exactly which night he was talking about, too, because it was the same one he hadn't been able to get out of his mind for more than five years. The haunting nightmares had given him such a bad case of insomnia that he'd literally been forced to learn a genjutsu designed to get infants to sleep. It was the only one he could do and the only thing that worked. He was consequently glad that Inoichi had been able to erase that entire day from Sasuke and the other survivors' minds. The kids did not need to remember and should never find out.

Kakashi smiled. "Alright! Now it's your turn, Naru-chan!"

Naruto growled low in his throat. His brother knew better than to call him that, especially in public! "My name's Naruto. I like a lot of stuff, I dislike politics, my hobbies are whatever I want them to be, and my dreams for the future are to become a Jounin and then the Hokage."

Their sensei, perhaps sensing he had earned himself a nasty prank, protested. "Ah, Naruto, don't be like that!"

"Why not? I don't wanna be here, and I have no problems making sure you know it."

"Hmm. You always did have a short temper, but isn't this a little extreme?"

"No! A freakin' GENIN? The Old Man made me—ME—a Genin! Do you have any idea how insulting that is? I've completed TWO A- and THREE B-level missions in the last month!"

His brother's eye turned sad. "Yes, and they were all solo, weren't they?"

"Well, except for one, of course they were! Why do I need teammates when I've got my Shadow Clones? We work together perfectly. This whole assignment is...it's just a waste of time!"

"And that's your problem, Naruto. You can't be a Chuunin, much less a Jounin, without the ability to work with others. You have to be able to lead, but you're too used to being alone. A Hokage needs more than just strength, you know. He also needs to have the ability to guide, inspire, and play well with others. Your mind's been screwed up ever since...that, and Hokage-sama's trying to help."

He scoffed. "Help me with what?"

"Healing."

Naruto couldn't help but flinch at that. Inoichi had already tried to "help" once and had done nothing but make the memories worse. Therapy had helped somewhat, but he still couldn't handle being around too many people at once. Already, just with Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi on three sides, he was starting to feel a bit claustrophobic. He really needed to get away soon, before the images came back...for what felt like the thousandth time that day already. As far as Naruto was concerned, staying away from others was the only thing that could help.

(He pointedly ignored the tiny voice in the back of his head that reminded him he'd gotten over some of his flashbacks thanks to being around Sasuke's family, even if only as an unnoticed guard in the background.)

And what was Kakashi thinking, saying that out loud? He neither needed nor wanted his teammates to know anything about him that wasn't absolutely necessary! And he sure didn't want their pity if they ever found out! The ANBU slyly took a glance at Sasuke and saw, to his relief and irritation, that there was no pity but instead a burning curiosity.

Then, he looked over at Sakura...and shivered. He'd never met a cannibal before, but from the look on her face, there was a first time for everything.

…...

May 5, 5:00 a.m.

Naruto blinked blearily as he stared at his clock. It was time to get up. Kakashi had mentioned something about a second test today and told them to meet at 6:00 a.m. at their team's private training grounds, but the blonde sincerely doubted he'd show up on time. Still, it was a golden opportunity to get some training in and perhaps learn a bit more about his teammates.

So, reluctantly, he got up and quietly grabbed his clothes. Idate was on a mission outside the village, but it had become a habit for him to be as quiet as possible, so he entered their shared bathroom without a sound and washed up. He put on the outfit he usually wore in town and carefully made sure that even the smallest glimpse of skin was covered. Then, he put on Eye Black as a finishing touch.

That early in the morning, he found he wasn't hungry. However, he made sure to take some bentos with him, since he'd certainly work up an appetite. Plus, he got the feeling that Sakura and Sasuke would follow his instructions to the letter and not eat breakfast.

"'Don't eat it or you'll throw up,' he says. Yeah, right," Naruto scoffed. "What's your game, Kakashi?" he muttered to himself as he leapt through the dark trees and headed towards the training grounds. As he traveled, he noticed that it was sprinkling ever so slightly, and he stopped just short of the village to enjoy it.

In recent years, he'd come to love the rain; there was something peaceful about it, something that lifted his spirits even more than bright and sunny days. That feeling had started after Inoichi had so thoroughly failed to erase his memory of the Uchiha massacre and Naruto had gone to Ibiki to recover.

"Ikki?" the tiny blonde said as he stared out the window of his room. The mass funeral for all the massacred Uchiha had just ended an hour ago, and Naruto found himself starting to fully accept the fact that they weren't ever coming back.

"What is it, Naru-chan?" his scarred brother, who was sitting right next to him, asked.

"Do you think the sky's sad, too? Is that why it's crying?"

Ibiki had merely smiled and told him, "I think it's sad when we're sad, but I don't think it cries."

"Then, what's it doing?" He couldn't help his childlike tone of voice. His brain had been damaged, and it would take some time for him to return to normal.

His brother paused for a moment. "When I was about your age, my sister, the person whom I loved the most, died. She had been sick with some sort of disease her entire life, something even Tsunade-sama couldn't fix, and I...held her hand as she took her last breath. It was raining that day, too, and I asked my mother the same thing you just asked me."

"What did she say?" Naruto asked, voice cracking.

"She said that the sky poured down water to comfort us..." Ibiki turned toward the child. "...to wash all our tears away. She said it was God's way of throwing kisses from the sky...to help us heal."

Tears fell from the seven-year-old's eyes as he listened. But he had one more question he wanted to ask, though it was hard to get out through the strange feeling in his throat. "What...a-about w-w-when it doesn't...rain?"

"When it's sunny...the light reminds us that there is still life even in the midst of death, and that darkness can't last forever. When it's cold, it's to make it so that we have to draw closer to the people that are left in order to stay warm. And when it's stormy, well, sometimes I think God is just plain mad, but Mom said it's Him showing us that He's in charge and we aren't. That's what I believe, Naru-chan, and there's nothing on Earth or in Hell that can change my mind."

Naruto cried as Ibiki held him and the rain lulled him into his first dreamless sleep since the incident.

He'd loved the rain ever since and often found himself holding out his hand to catch the "kisses" his brother had told him about. The ANBU wasn't sure about this "God" person, but he wanted to believe that even someone as lowly as he was mattered. Naruto wanted to be more than just a living prison or some sort of weapon, and the thought that someone that powerful would willingly wipe away his tears just because made him feel a little less empty.

Ten minutes later, the sprinkling had ended, the sun was starting to rise, and Naruto went on his way thinking that, just maybe, it wouldn't be so bad to be around other people, after all.


5:15 a.m.

Ibiki heard him in the bathroom, took in the sounds of the door closing, and listened to the silence after the boy had gone. He really, really hoped this plan they'd come up with worked. Everything else had failed spectacularly, and this was sort of their idea of a last-ditch effort.

The bald-headed man had nearly killed Inoichi for what he'd done to Naruto. Accident or not, that was his son, and his blood screamed for revenge even now. At the same time, those feelings were precisely the reason he and Inoichi had been able to somewhat repair their bond. It was the closest thing to a love/hate relationship Ibiki had ever had, a fact that he found darkly amusing.

After all, they, too, had once been like father and son. Many people assumed the rift between them had been caused by Naruto's existence, that their disagreement on the boy's value as a human being had driven them apart, but that wasn't true. Or, rather, Inoichi had hated Naruto and it had been a source of contention, but they had parted ways before that. The simple fact of the matter was that his former sensei had a dark, dark secret.

Ibiki stood up and stretched, contemplating all the ways the day could go wrong (and probably would) with everything that had to be done.

Naruto had to pass Kakashi's test. Would he? It was regarding teamwork, something the blonde was...less than proficient in, considering his reluctance to work with more than one person at a time. Not that the interrogator could blame him, all things considered, but still, the little runt needed to loosen up if he expected to pass.

Naruto had to keep from killing his possible teammates. Sasuke was mostly a loner, but he was also very competitive and driven to succeed. If the dark-haired preteen made it some sort of game, the Uzumaki (who took all missions seriously) would be tempted to throw him through a tree. However, Sakura Haruno presented the biggest problem. She was an immature fangirl with no concept of reality, and her inability to keep her mouth shut would drive the blonde up the wall in no time. A crazy Naruto was a bad Naruto; those two words mixed like gas and a match.

He had to meet with Inoichi. Unfortunately, the Yamanaka was the kid's therapist. Fortunately, the man had changed his mind about the boy somewhere along the way, so they probably wouldn't end up knocking each other's teeth out.

But before that...wonderful meeting could take place, Ibiki had a job to do. A missing-nin from Iwa had been caught just a few miles east of one of Fire Country's border villages. Since the Hidden Leaf Village had no alliance with Hidden in the Rocks, it was his duty to complete an assessment of the young woman to see if she could somehow be integrated into their forces, civilian or otherwise. It largely depended on her reasons for leaving, but if everything went well, she could become a probationary citizen by the end of the week.

With that in mind, Ibiki reluctantly yanked his covers away and stood up. He felt the loss of his high-end feather mattress immediately and nearly cried in disappointment. It was a new design, imported straight from the Land of Iron, and made it feel as though he were sleeping on air. Also, he was currently the only person in all of Fire to have the mattress. Not even the Daimyo had managed to scrounge one up yet, and the only reason Ibiki had gotten ahold of one was because he had recently taken a vacation in that country. He'd sealed it up in a scroll and—presto!—the world's comfiest bed was his.

He was practically cursing the clock that was making him leave it behind and flung his clothes on in a grumpy rage. So what if they were wrinkled? He was dressed, wasn't he! Although, if Anko saw him acting in such a way, she would doubtless make fun of him. But he was her boss, so if she wanted to keep her job, she'd tone it down at least a little.

With that thought (more like vain hope) in mind, he grabbed a few rice balls and headed out the door. Unlike Naruto, he chose to walk. Why not? The day was beautiful, the sprinkling had ended, the birds were singing...oh, who was he kidding? The sun was barely up! He was barely up! All that worrying last night had cost the interrogator some serious sleep, and no matter how badly he wanted to crawl back into his gorgeous feather bed, he couldn't.

Darn it.

The oldest Morino walked through the trees in a dark and stubborn mood, even as the sun began throwing stunning colors upon the world. In fact, it wasn't until three hours later that his attitude began to change, and the reason for that difference was simple: His and Inoichi's meeting was going to take place very soon.

Ibiki left his office with a scroll containing various paperwork in hand; the kunoichi had passed the preliminary assessment, but she had categorically refused to enter into their ninja ranks. Apparently, the woman had had too much death thrown at her and simply wanted to live the rest of her days in peace as an ordinary civilian, even if it meant having her chakra permanently sealed off. The scarred man, however, had offered her a compromise: a position as an academy teacher, a daycare worker, or a secretary in the Hokage's offices. Should Miu accept, she would immediately undergo a thorough mental screening and a probation lasting anywhere from six months to two years.

He figured he'd give her a few days to think it over. No need to rush such a monumental decision.

And he needed to hurry so he wouldn't be late.

Not ten minutes later, the interrogator had arrived at his former sensei's flower shop. He'd been standing there for two of those minutes, debating the wisdom of simply walking away versus the necessity of finding a solution for a boy who could barely look at most people without feeling somehow panicked. Fingers clenching and unclenching, the bald man finally opened the door and walked in.

"Good morning! Welcome to Yamanaka Flowe—Ibiki? Is that you?" a feminine voice greeted.

"Yes, it's me, Tomomi. I'm looking for your husband. He around, by any chance?"

Her grey eyes blinked for a moment (she was just a bit scatterbrained) before she put her finger on her chin. "Hmmm...I think he was in the plant nursery last time I saw him, but then she said something about a meeting, so he's probably there now..."

Ibiki resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Yeah, that meeting's with me. I'll just go look around for him, ok?"

She smiled and bobbed her blonde head. "Ok!"

He gave her a tight-lipped grin and headed around to the back, where a small shed was located. Sure enough, a tall, blonde figure was just inside the door, tending to some plant-looking thing. "Yo."

Inoichi jumped in the air and pulled off a pair of gloves as soon as he saw his old student. "Ibiki! I wasn't sure if you were coming or not, but I'm glad you did."

An uncertain hum was his only answer.

"Um, well, let's head to my office, ok?"

"Sure."

The both of them walked back inside the shop and headed up a set of stairs concealed behind the register. That was Inoichi's house, and it was unique in the fact that the other members of his clan lived spread out in the rest of the village. Unlike most large families, they had no clan compound, as they rightly believed it benefited the village more to live among the people. But each and every Yamanaka still answered to the family leader for nearly everything from marriage contracts to starting up new businesses. They were lucky Inoichi was hardly a tyrant like he'd heard certain others were.

The house was well-decorated, probably by Tomomi, and featured several paintings on the walls. Ibiki saw one...two...three bedrooms as they walked through, one of which had once been his. He took a brief peek into the room to see how it looked now and saw, to his shock, that they hadn't changed a thing since he'd moved out more than ten years ago. 'Why?' he wondered as he stopped in his tracks.

"Didn't seem right to change it," Inoichi said in his ear.

Ibiki jumped. "W-what do you mean?"

The blonde just shrugged. "C'mon. Office is at the end of the hall."

They arrived to what had once been a storage room. The scarred Morino could remember having seen random, stacked boxes full of clothes and various out-of-season or -style items, but all that had been cleared out and replaced with a nice-looking desk, some bookshelves, and some chairs. It was both simple and nice—much nicer, he had to admit, than the thing he had back at Torture and Interrogation.

To his surprise, Inoichi didn't sit behind his desk but rather sat in one of the various chairs in the room, pulling out another for Ibiki to do the same.

"First things first," his old boss started out, "I have to say that I'm...I'm sorry..for what I did all those years ago."

Ibiki shifted uncomfortably. It wasn't an unexpected topic, but it was definitely one he hadn't wanted to deal with just yet. "For what?" he asked, in a last-ditch hope that it wasn't that topic, after all.

Inoichi just looked at him. "I think you know exactly what I mean."

He looked away, not wanting to acknowledge the truth behind that statement.

The clan head sighed and looked down. "I also wanted to thank you for never...telling anyone about it. Even Tomomi doesn't know, even though she's sure your leaving was my fault. What I did was wrong and I definitely would have deserved punishment. You would've been right in informing the Hokage, but you didn't. You didn't tell anyone, and for that, I'm very grateful."

Ibiki closed his eyes. "I really don't want to talk about it. Please. We both did and said things we weren't supposed to. There's no going back and fixing it now, so let's just...bury it."

But Inoichi shook his head. "You know that doesn't work. Burying things is the worst way to deal with problems, and this is the first time we've spoken in private in more than a decade. We've put this off long enough, and you know it."

Something inside the 27-year-old, something old and bitter, cracked. "Oh, really? And how do you suggest we 'fix' this, hmm? This isn't some sort of...art project you can just paint over! Might as well bury it, seeing as how I've already buried HIM!" He was shouting now, but he couldn't seem to stop. "What do you wanna do, dig him up? 'Cause I'm all for that! You remember where he's buried, don't you? You know, that little plot next to my grandparents? C'mon! Grab a shovel and let's go! We've got plenty of time; God knows my father's not going anywhere!"

Inoichi hung his head. "I know," he whispered. "I visit it every week. I can't...forget what I've done. But," he stated as he lifted his head and looked Ibiki straight in the eyes, "even though I know it was wrong, I can't bring myself to regret it."

"What?" Ibiki hissed.

"You know what he was better than I do—an abusive drunk who not only not only beat his wife and children but also was directly responsible for his wife's death and nearly caused yours."

"He was my father!"

"He was a murderer!"

"So are you!" he shouted back as he stood, flinging the chair behind him as he did so.

Inoichi followed his example and stood, too. "Are you telling me you wouldn't have done the same thing if Idate had been in danger? Because, if your father had lived, he would probably be beating your brother right now! And what about Naruto? Are you saying that you wouldn't do whatever it takes to keep your adopted son safe?"

Ibiki shoved his former sensei against a bookcase in anger. The chair fell to the side with a loud bang, and he held Inoichi by his throat while he growled. "You killed my father. Your reasons don't matter to me, Sensei, because if there's one thing I've learned from my adopted son, it's that even a dead-beat dad's better than a dead dad! All I had to do was get custody of Idate to protect him; he didn't have to die!"

"Except," the clan head gasped, "you n...never w-would've...done it!"

"I would've!" He squeezed harder.

"N-not un...til it was...too...late!"

Ibiki let go of him abruptly and watched as the blonde slid to the floor. "I guess we'll never know, will we?"

His former boss coughed and held his throat. "No, y-you forget; I did your mental assessment. I knew you better than you knew yourself," he rasped. "It wasn't until you'd joined the Interrogation Department that you had stopped shying away from confrontation, and even then, it took an hour of mental preparation just to sucker a confession out of a suspect. You were in no condition to do anything."

The Special Jounin grabbed the chair and righted it before sitting in it again. He sighed tiredly, as all the anger suddenly drained out of him. "Maybe," he admitted, "but it was still my decision, not yours, to make. It was always mine, and you took that away from me."

Inoichi didn't even bother to get up. He just sat against the bookshelf and rubbed his throat. "That's the only part I regret. That's the only reason I still go and visit that bastard's grave; in spite of everything, he was your father and I overstepped my bounds. But I did it to protect you, and any punishment would've been well worth that."

"Why?" he whispered.

The Yamanaka smiled. "Because, like I told you before, you're my son, and that's something that nothing can ever change."

Ibiki Morino put his head in his hands. "Like Naruto."

"Yes, like Naruto, whom I know you would do anything to protect."

A bit of anger flashed through him at that. "I've thought about killing you, if that tells you anything."

Inoichi chuckled deeply. "It does, indeed." Then, the laughter stopped and the smile vanished. "And because of what happened, I can't blame you. The jutsu to erase his memories should have worked; why it backfired in such a way, I don't know, but at least he's learned to deal with them."

Ibiki scoffed. "Deal? More like, NOT deal. That boy can't walk into a crowd without feeling panicked. He can't sleep at night without that stupid genjutsu. The only reason he can deal with it on missions is because of the control you taught him. Actually, the whole thing makes me wonder if it isn't causing problems just to get a kick out of the whole thing."

"The Kyuubi? Yes, I have to wonder the same thing. In fact, I suspect that it took advantage of the stress Naruto was under that night to send some of its chakra through the seal. That, in turn, would have interfered with the jutsu and...I think it's responsible for those memories being enhanced. There's no proof, of course, and it could've just been the boy's mind itself; each one is different, after all."

"But it makes sense," the Special Jounin interrupted.

Inoichi nodded. "Exactly. And it's only through careful therapy that we've been able to give him some sort of mental wall to deal with everything. But it's still not enough."

"Because the only way he's ever going to get over it is, as we've just...demonstrated, to deal with it. We can't let him push it to the side forever."

"Hence, the team placements."

"Right. Now, if Kakashi can just manage to pass the little boogers, we'll be in business, right...Sensei?"

The blonde's eyes lit up and he smiled gently. "Right, Ibiki. Right."


Author's Corner (yay! I'm in the corner! I'm in the cor...ner... Wait, that's a bad thing...)

This chapter was a challenge to write. First of all, there were issues with the manga. Secondly, there were issues with my own work (plot continuity and all that). And thirdly, I didn't want it to be too dark and angsty. But, for all of us who have read the manga, there are certain facts that we must accept:

1. There will be angst, typically in the form of PTSD. Sasuke can't have it this time (he didn't witness their deaths, after all). Naruto, however, did see the massacre, so...guess who's got PTSD! (Not too much, of course; just enough to give him an attitude problem for right now.) Besides, Naruto's in ANBU. He wasn't gonna stay soft and cuddly regardless.

2. Plot continuity is not as high on Kishimoto's list as it should be. If you've kept up with the manga, you know exactly what I mean. I have the same problem for different reasons. As any writer could probably tell you, the further you get into a work, the harder it is to keep track of where you wanted to go versus where you really did go. This is where editing comes in handy. I edited the **** outta this thing. If there's anything I missed, please forgive this poor college grad who can barely afford her own apartment, let alone luxuries such as food (*sniffle sniffle*). No, seriously, if I missed something, let me know.

3. Early Sakura—she is perhaps the most realistic of the manga's early characters. I mean, seriously, have any of you gentlemen ever spent time around a twelve-year-old whose crush was nearby? *Whistles* It ain't pretty, let me tell you. I know that because I'm a girl. I was once that age, and...I'm ashamed to say it, but...there are some girls who reeeeeally do think like that. Anyway, I actually like Sakura, so I'm not bashing her. I'm actually making fun of all twelve-year-old girls. Eventually, she'll grow up, and then my fun will be over.

4. Naruto...I can't quite seem to figure the canon character out. He's dumb with books but not with people. He also learns extremely well kinesthetically. I tried to do that description justice. If I succeeded, wonderful! If I didn't, well, better luck next time, right? By the way, keep in mind that he's also only twelve years old; don't take everything he says as the gospel truth. That's why there are two, slightly different viewpoints in this chapter. There are always at least two sides to every story.

Moving on...

Questions you might have:

Kakashi has a wife?

Answer: You shall see, my friends. You shall see.

Danzo/Homura/Koharu—dead or alive?

Answer: Yes.

Sarutobi plans on making Naruto his heir?

Answer: Why not? Mr. Smokestack thinks he's got a few more years under his belt before he's gotta hand over the reigns. If he thinks Naruto will be ready by then, who am I to argue? (Ok, so I'm the writer; big deal.)

Um, yeah, that's it, so, er, BYE!

...No, wait. I wanted to bring something else up, too. I'm thinking about writing another story, a Naruto crossover with the Justice League or something like that. I LOVE reading about how Naruto and Batman piss each other off! But that'll be probably after I'm finished with this. Unless I hit writer's block.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Now that's it. BYE!