AN: Hola! wow, this is an early update (for me anyway). This isn't a very plot advancing chapter, it mainly just finishes filling you in on all you need to know about life in Konoha without Naruto. I didn't really know how to end it so i hope i did an all right job. anyway; read away if you wish.

Disclaimer: Good Lord for the last time, i do not own Naruto (do we really have to put these things on every chapter or is it just at some point durring the story?)

Sakura stared after the retreating shinobi. She couldn't decided which was more frightening, what she had just seen, or her sensei's reaction to catching her former teammate in the middle of his "research". It was a close call.

Naruto sighed as he felt the chakra signatures of his partner and her brother race farther away. Their continual brawls reminded of the reason he'd quit pulling pranks himself: too many broken bones.

He sighed as he looked around for the gargantuan fox that had decided to head off for a nap two hours before. Realizing the gray-eyed beast was probably still asleep he returned his attention to the still stunned pink haired kunoichi beside him.

"Do they do that all the time?"

"What, attempt to kill each other? Yeah, you get used to it."

"Wow, you two must make quite a pair."

The blonde glared playfully in mock resentment. "Hey, I'm the mature one on our team."

Sakura laughed at the jinchuuriki's statement. He was probably telling the truth from what she'd seen, and heard.

Naruto lead her into the park, choosing a different direction than the one the siblings had moments before. They walked silently through a thick patch of trees before it thinned to reveal the edge of a path. They stepped out onto the trail, opting for the pre-made guidelines instead of making new ones through the untamed parts of the woods.

"So what's the good side?" The blonde asked suddenly, breaking the peaceful silence between them.

The kunoichi thought for a few seconds. "Well, there isn't much of one."

"Neji, Hinata (amazingly), and Shino have all made it into the ANBU. Hinata surprised us all, we didn't even know she was going for it. Shikamaru refuses to become an ANBU, despite Tsunade-sama's constant pleading. He's the main strategist for all Konoha now.

Lee, Chouji, TenTen, Ino, Kiba and I are all jounin. Hinata's little sister, Hinabi, and Konohamaru are also jounin. Konohamaru's teammates Moegi and Udon are both still chunin. Everyone's begun to pair up and start going out too."

"Really?" The genin was now very interested, not that he hadn't been before of course. "Who's with who?"

Sakura inwardly laughed at the blonde's eagerness. "Well, Hinata finally ended up with Kiba."

"It's about time, I was hoping she would get over me sooner or later."

"Wait," the kunoichi paused. "You knew she had a crush on you?"

"Yeah, it was kind of obvious."

"Baka! We thought you were too dense to notice and you knew the whole time?" She exclaimed, stunned.

"It was easier to avoid the situation." He replied, shrugging his shoulders.

Sakura shook her surprise out of her head. "Geeze, what else did he know that we didn't think he did?"

"So who else has paired up?"

The medic nin came out of her thoughts and happily resumed her conversation with her former teammate.

"Well, Shikamaru and Temari finally hooked up."

"How?"

"Tsunade-sama and Gaara played matchmaker. I think they needed some form of entertainment."

Naruto laughed.

"And then Ino's with Chouji, which no one saw coming. They're good for each other though. Ten Ten finally broke through Neji's 'high and mighty' exterior and they're engaged. Konohamaru is dating Hinabi, much to Hiashi-sama's distress.

"Gaara is dating some girl in his village, I haven't met her myself but Tsunade-sama laughed for days when she came back from a diplomatic meeting in Suna. She says they're complete opposites.

"Kankurou is also dating a girl from Suna, I haven't met her either. Lee is actually dating a girl in the class below ours. She's been working non-stop for the past year to get him to change his wardrobe. She hasn't had much success.

"And then there's Shino."

Naruto stifled his laughter, which had been sparked by the jounin's description of his friends' social lives, waiting for her to continue. "What about Shino?"

"No one really knows." She told him with a frustrated look on her face.

"What do you mean know one knows?"

"He's really secretive. We've been able to figure out that he's dating someone, we just can't figure out who it is. It's driving Kiba crazy. We have a bet on who we think it is. I say it's this girl in the class above ours that he spends a lot of time with. Kiba says he's gay."

Naruto roared with laughter at his friends' antics. Sakura chuckled, enjoying the genin's infectious laughter.

"What the heck is so annoyingly funny?"

Sakura's head shot up as a black fox stepped out onto the trail in front of them. "That sounded like Taka, but this fox is so small. What the heck?"

"Oi, Sakura was telling me about my old friends back in Konoha. Looks like you finally woke up you lazy fox." Naruto replied jokingly as he threw a handful of snow at the summon.

The fox shook it off absently, vowing to get revenge on the blonde shinobi later.

"Wait, why are you so small now?" The medic nin asked, visibly confused.

"I can alter my size at will. It comes in handy, not at all annoying." Taka replied, trotting along beside the two as they continued down the path.

"Oh." The kunoichi was trying to wrap her head around the new physics lesson as they walked. "So how big are you naturally?" She asked curiously.

"Ever seen Gamabunta? He's around my size."

"Ahh." Sakura stared off in amazement, trying to imagine the fox in his full size. All she could come up with was a twisted version of the Kyuubi.

Naruto had finally gotten his laughter under control again and walked silently beside his former teammate as she continued questioning the fox. He looked up at the sky, watching the snow fall from the overcast clouds above them. He noted dully that the snow was beginning to fall much faster. The temperature had dropped by a few degrees as well.

The whiskered teen had lived in Fang long enough to know an upcoming blizzard when he saw one. It was probably a smart idea to head back to the main part of the city before the weather got any worse, but then again, it wouldn't be bad for another few hours. He wasn't one to go with smart ideas that often anyway.

An: Hope you guys (and girls) enjoyed the chapter, like i said i wasn't really sure how to end it. I have no idea when i'll be able to write again, spring break is over and school is returning with a vengance. hopefully i'll be able to post in a week or less.

Review, or not, i truly don't care...this stories not going anywhere (even if someone tells me it's a descrace to writting i'd keep it jus

t to spite them)

ColonelZ