A/N - Here is the third chapter! It took a while to write, as I wasn't very sure where I was going with it, but it is done! This fic is unbeta'd so please ignore any spelling errors.

Also, has anyone noticed how I keep spelling Kekkei with an A instead of an E? I know it's spelled with an E but it keep coming out spelled 'Kekkai' Stupid fingers, typing to fast for their own good!!

Reviews are appreciated. Enjoy! ^.^

Detention had been a silent affair, much to Naruto's relief. He wondered if they could pull off the next twenty-nine days in silence as well, because he was sure the second the Uchiha opened his mouth, blood would be shed.

Quiet was just the better option.

So while Sasuke had sat silently brooding at Kurenai-sensei through the entire thing, Naruto had doodled idly on his textbook. They had thoroughly ignored one another.

That worked for Naruto, as he had nothing that could even vaguely be considered polite to say to the other boy.

Naruto was astounded when he went to school on Wednesday, for many reasons. The first being, he had somehow become the center of a rather large group of friends through no effort of his own. He marveled at the faces as they ate lunch on the roof.

Friends. What an unfamiliar concept. Naruto didn't quite no what to do or how to act. He felt like a scientist who had just perfected time travel but had no one to tell about it.

He had been mildly surprised when the boy he had punched the day before – Kiba – had come up to him and apologized at the beginning of Lunch, a sheepish look on his face. Naruto had apologized for punching him and watched as Kiba sat down next to a rather quiet boy named Shino.

Their lunch group was compromised of Sakura, a loud blonde named Ino, (who spent a lot of time bickering with Sakura) Shikamaru, a chubby boy named Chouji with spiral tattoos on his puffy cheeks, Kiba and Shino.

"So how was your first day?" Sakura asked, looked up from her bento. Naruto watched absentmindedly as she sucked on the cherry tomato she was holding between her chopsticks, before meeting her eyes and giving her a large grin.

"Well, other than getting decked by that Sasuke bastard, it was pretty alright."

"That's good." Sakura practically beamed at him. Naruto had learned that while she was rather shallow, she had a very warm disposition and was easy to get along with. Ino snorted.

"You deserved that punch." She told him, looking up from the bread she was eating with a smirk on her face. She flicked her long ponytail behind her shoulder. "You stole Sasuke-kun's first kiss. If he hadn't punched you, one of us girls totally would have."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "What's so popular about that bastard, anyways? He seems like a complete jerk to me."

Ino scoffed. "Shows what kind taste you have. Sasuke-kun is the Prince of Konoha High School, loved by all and attained by none. It's the unwritten rule."

"Ice Prince, you mean." Shikamaru chimed in lazily. He was laying on his back next to Naruto, ignoring his lunch and staring at a rather large cloud that had begun to form in front of the sun. Kiba laughed.

"Yeah, he's totally got a stick up his ass." Kiba told Naruto. "He's always angsting about the fact that he can't beat his brother, whoever that is."

"He has a brother?" Naruto asked, interested despite himself. It was like seeing the inside of a grandfather clock. He was completely bemused by all the cogs and wheels, but wanted to learn what made Sasuke tick.

"Yep." Chouji said, stuffing a few chips into his mouth and taking a swig of soda. "He used to go here, but he graduated way early and is now working for some hidden organization or something."

"You guys," Sakura interrupted in a chiding tone. "You heard what Kakashi-sensei said. We're not supposed to talk about other peoples pasts. If Naruto wants to know about Sasuke-kun, he'll have to hear about it from Sasuke-kun."

Kiba, Chouji, Ino and Shikamaru rolled their eyes. "Always the teacher's pet, aren't you Sakura?" Ino mocked, causing Sakura to scowl.

The bickering between the two was amusing. They were always at each other's throats, always insulting, but their was an underlying familiarity between them. He could tell they were truly comfortable around one another and probably cared about the other a great more than either of them was willing to say.

"Following the rules doesn't make me teacher's pet, Ino." Sakura snapped.

At this point, Naruto tuned out their yapping, scarfing down the rest of his food. He was mildly curious about Uchiha Sasuke and his genius brother, he would admit, but not enough to get to know Sasuke. As far as he was concerned, Sasuke had made his point with the punch in the face. He didn't want to be Naruto's friend.

Naruto had no interest in going out of his way to change that. He was thankful for the friends he had managed to get.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Shino said suddenly. Naruto looked up at him with wide eyes. It was the first time he'd heard the other boy talk. "May I ask, what exactly is your Kekkei Genkai?"

"Um..." Naruto didn't know how to answer that, as he really didn't know himself. Luckily, Sakura answered for him.

"He wouldn't know, Shino." She told the other boy, who averted his gaze to hers. "He didn't even know what Kekkai Genkai's were until he transferred here. But as far as I can tell, he's an A-rank detonator."

"Detonator?" Naruto asked, confused. "What's that?"

"Um...well..." Sakura's tone was hesitant. "Basically, you trigger explosions, you know? And being A-rank means you trigger really big ones. That's one of the higher ranks."

"Don't you think you should explain the rank system to him completely, Sakura?" Ino interrupted, eying Naruto with interest. "He looks confused."

"I would be confused too if no one had told me anything before throwing me into a school of freaks." Kiba laughed. "Look, Naruto, it's like this. The ranks go from D to S. D being the lowest and S being the highest rank above A. The higher your rank, the more dangerous or useful your ability."

Naruto nodded, thankful that someone had explained. Comprehension was a beautiful thing. "So what are you guys then?" He looked at all of them, curious despite himself. He didn't really know if it was a question he was supposed to ask.

"I'm a C-rank communicator." Kiba told him, a wide grin on his face. "I can talk to everything. Animals, plants, inanimate objects, you name it."

"I'm a B-rank dominant." Ino spoke next. Naruto could swear he saw her chest puff out with pride as she disclosed this fact. "That means that I can possess other people's minds and bodies."

Sakura snorted. "Yep, and that explains why you're so bad at getting people's hearts."

"What did you say, forehead-girl?" Ino demanded.

"You can't force a persons heart Ino." Sakura told her, nodding like she was a wise sage talking to a five year old. "A mind and body may be controlled, but the heart is something you can never bend to your will."

Ino opened her mouth to retort, but was cut off by Shikamaru.

"I'm an A-rank inhibitor." He said, his eyes never leaving the sky. "I can use shadows to immobilize and force people to do what I want them too. Which is usually nothing, as it's a pain in the ass."

"I'm a C-rank morpher." Chouji said through a mouthful of chips. "I can change the size of my body."

Naruto wondered why Chouji chose to being plump instead of skinny, but decided not to ask. He didn't really care what people looked like, and it wasn't his place."

"I'm an A-rank balancer." Sakura said, grinning at him. "You already know what I can do. Heal and destroy. I'm the neutral territory between the two, basically." Naruto grinned back at her and watched the sun reflect off of her cotton-candy colored hair. He really liked Sakura, she was easy to be comfortable with. Filled with warmth – like a day in the middle of April – but not as overbearing as a scorching day in the summer.

"I," Shino said, drawing all attention to himself. Naruto watched him tug his high collar up over his mouth. "Am a B-rank practitioner. Which means nothing like what it sounds. I can control insects, and send them inside of another person's body in order to destroy their internal organs. But my ability isn't limited to people, I can send my insects into just about anything."

Everyone stared at Shino, mouths slightly agape. Naruto had a feeling this was one of the longest speeches they'd ever heard the boy give. He bit his lip in an effort not laugh as the bell rang. Everyone got to their feet and threw their trash away, before heading downstairs, talking and laughing loudly.

Naruto couldn't remember the last time he'd felt his good.

"Alright everyone, you know the drill!" Kakashi said loudly, looking around the wide gym at all of his students. Everyone was in gym shorts and t-shirts. "Divide up according to your teams!"

Naruto watched as Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji sat down next to each other. Ino was talking to Chouji about something Naruto couldn't hear, but it looked like she was scolding him.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Kiba yelled from where he was standing next to Shino. "Hinata still isn't back yet!"

"I'm aware of that, Kiba." Kakashi said shortly, shifting his eyes to the loud brunette. "She won't be back for a few days yet, so you and Shino can just sit this one out or spar if you want."

Spar? Naruto was extremely puzzled by this. Wasn't violence of any kind against the rules?

Kiba moaned in an exasperated way that made Naruto think this wasn't the first lesson he'd had to sit out, but then he grinned at Naruto before turning around and nearly socking Shino, who dodged easily.

Naruto noticed from the corner of his eye, that a boy long brown hair in a group he didn't know, was glaring at Kakashi-sensei rather blatantly at the mention of Hinata. Naruto wondered who Hinata was and why the boy was so defensive about her, but didn't ask.

"Um...Kakashi-sensei?" He said, a little embarrassed. "What group am I in?"

Kakashi turned to Naruto and eyed him appraisingly. Naruto felt like he was an old antique that had just arrived at the dealers.

"You're in Team Seven." Kakashi said, gesturing to Sakura and....Sasuke?! Naruto's eyes bulged slightly as Sakura smiled at him and Sasuke glared at him with his arms crossed over his chest. "They've been a two man team until now, but our teams are usually made of three. You'll be the third man."

Naruto didn't miss the way Ino glowered at Sakura from across the gym. Shikamaru smirked at him in a way that said... "Bad luck, dude."

Kakashi motioned Sakura and Sasuke forward with a wave of his hand. They walked over. Naruto ignored the glower he was receiving from Sasuke and smiled at Sakura instead. "Now, Naruto, the point of the these lessons are to teach you how to use and control your abilities. There are various obstacles and activities we perform to help you hone them, but that'll be done tomorrow. The obstacle courses are all outside. Today, we spar."

Naruto nodded, slightly put out. He knew how to spar, as he'd taken a year or two of martial arts classes before...Naruto changed his train of thought quickly. "Okay. But it's not all three of us sparing at once, is it?"

"No," Kakashi told him. "You'll fight with Sakura first, until one of you draws blood and the one that wins will fight Sasuke. It'll continue like that until the end of the lesson."

Kakashi turned to Sakura. "Try not to blow up the gym today, okay?" Naruto watched Kakashi's eyes close in a smile as he said this and Sakura blushed before nodding. Kakashi turned to Sasuke.

"No Chidori today, Sasuke." Sasuke scowled at the gray-haired man. "Naruto is new, and we don't want him put out of commission before we see what he's got. Stick with the Sharingan."

"Tch." Was Sasuke's only acknowledgment before he looked away petulantly. Naruto fought the urge to laugh at the way the other boy was pouting.

"Alright, everyone!" Kakashi clapped his hands, getting the attention of everyone in the gym. "You may begin!"

Naruto watched as everyone got to their feet and into various sparring positions with interest, before his attention was caught by a tugging on his arm. "Come on!" Sakura said, pulling him a few feet away from Kakashi.

She stood a good five feet away from Naruto, who watched as she pulled black gloves on, wondering what they were for. Naruto had gathered that the sparing usual took place with the use of Kekkai Genkai's, but was kind of nervous since he didn't have the slightest idea how to control his.

He separated his feet and crouched down slightly, working with what he could remember from his martial arts classes. Sakura gave him a small smile, and Naruto didn't like the looks of it.

It was a smile that clearly said, "This is going to hurt, sorry."

He watched her charge at him and barely managed to avoid the fist she had aimed at his skull by turning to the left. He watched her turn gracefully, bring her knee up to slam into his gut, but he ducked down before it got there, kicking her in the back of the knee. She fell forward for a moment, and then she was just...gone.

"Above you, dobe." Naruto's eyes widened at the sound of Sasuke's voice, but he looked up nonetheless. Sakura was descending on him rapidly, and before Naruto could even wonder how she managed to jump so high, he lurched sideways, barely avoiding the hit.

Which blew up their side side of the gym.

Naruto coughed through the large amount of dust that had risen in the air, as he watched the floor of gym rise like a current, crumbling into various pieces. When the wave reached him, he fell over, still hacking.

Yeah, he never, ever, wanted to piss off Sakura.

Kakashi turned to Sakura and gave her a reproachful look and she grinned back at him sheepishly.

Naruto managed to pull himself to his feet, his eyes watering from all of the rubble he had inhaled. The back of his throat was still itching, he fought the urge to cough as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

He looked up in time to see a gloved fist coming directly toward his face before everything went black.

He woke up a good two minutes later, blinking at the fluorescent lights that flickered on the high ceiling. He sat up slowly, his head pounding, and looked around. Sasuke was standing three feet away, next to Kakashi, smirking at him. Naruto scowled, which hurt his face.

"Naruto?" Naruto looked to his right. Sakura was kneeling beside him, an apologetic look on her face.

"You sucker punched me." He accused, eyes narrowing. She lowered her eyes at this, before sighing.

"I'm sorry." And she really sounded it. "When I start sparring I just kind of forget everything else but the fight and you were wide open and I-"

Naruto held up a hand and smiled at her, hurting his face even more. "It's all good, Sakura. I'll just have to be more alert next time."

Sakura sighed with what seemed like relief. "Come here." She ordered, motioning of him to lean forward, before putting her hand over his nose. Naruto could feel the dried blood that was crusted there. He was pretty sure it was broken.

A green glow invaded his peripheral vision as Sakura healed him. He felt the disjointed cartridge sliding back into place and fought the urge to grimace. It wasn't exactly an unpleasant feeling, but it didn't feel good either. It was more uncomfortable.

Before he knew it, Sakura was on her feet. She smiled at him. "All done!" She declared, before pointing at him. "You're not half bad, by the way. The only reason I got you was because I had the element of surprise on my side. If I didn't, we could have gone on like that for hours."

Naruto gave her a goofy grin – relieved when it didn't hurt his face – and blushed at the compliment.

He watched Sasuke walk toward Sakura, his face expressionless. He stopped beside her. "Let's go." He said, and she just nodded and followed him to the pile of rubble that had been the left side of gym.

They started fighting and Naruto's jaw dropped in astonishment.

Sasuke was amazing.

Naruto watched as Sasuke moved with lithe grace, avoiding every hit Sakura tried to land as if it were and intricate and erotic dance, rather than a sparring session. A few times, he even met her fist head on with his hand before he'd push her to the side and land a spin kick or particularly well aimed punch.

"He's good, isn't he?" Kakashi said, sitting down next to Naruto. Naruto just nodded, not taking his eyes off of Sasuke. Kakashi grinned. "He thinks you're good too, you know." Kakashi told him airily.

Naruto looked over at him disbelievingly. "There's no reason why he would. He doesn't like me and I don't have any outstanding skills."

"No, you don't." Kakashi agreed. Naruto laughed at the honesty. "But you could. Sasuke sees your potential. The only offensive fighter who has been able to one up Sakura is Sasuke. No one else has ever come close in all the time they've sparred together." Kakashi looked at him appraisingly again. "But you did. Sasuke may never admit it, but he knows your talented"

Naruto almost snorted. Not sure whether to be pleased or skeptical. "And how do you know what he thinks?"

Kakashi gave him one of those closed-eye smiles. "Because I'm his guardian."

"Oh." Naruto said flatly, shocked by that information. "Well, I'm no where near as good as he is and I'm guessing it'll be a long time before I'm on even footing with him, if ever."

"Nah," Kakashi said, still smiling as he looked around the gym. "You just need practice. You don't even know how to use your ability on command, do you?"

Naruto just shook his head. Kakashi nodded, as if he expected as much. "Well, we'll change all that in a few weeks."

Naruto turned his eyes away from Sasuke and let them sweep the gym. It looked like Shikamaru had trapped Chouji, but judging from the way he was acting – hands on his hips and a flashy smirk on his face – Naruto was willing to bet that Ino had gotten Shikamaru. His theory was confirmed when he spotted her unconscious body laying on the ground.

He eyed the group the long haired brunette was in with interest. The brunette easily dodged a kick aimed at him by a boy in a green unitard with a bowl haircut. Naruto watched the brunette pin the overly-enthusiastic boy and then as they swapped, a girl with twin buns on her head taking his place.

Something caught his eye and he turned his head in time to see a girl walk into the gym. She was petite, with blue-black shoulder length hair and light eyes. Naruto was surprised when he saw the brunette leave his fight and go rushing over to the girl. They talked and she hung her head, as the boy seemed to flail in exasperation.

"Hinata!" Kiba's loud voice boomed, as he practically skipped over to her, throwing an arm around her frail looking shoulders. The brunette scowled in annoyance before marching back to his team. "You're back early!"

Kiba steered the girl toward Naruto and Kakashi with a grin on his face. "Naruto! This is Hinata! She's my team mate!"

"Hi." Naruto said brightly, examining the girl more closely now that she was nearer. Her eyes were a very light shade of indigo – almost translucent – but stunning. Her hair was straight as a board and very fine looking. She had a bright red blush on her cheeks. "I'm Naruto."

"H-hello, Naruto-kun." She said quietly, not raising her eyes to look at him. He smiled at her. She seemed like a bashful girl, but not at all unpleasant.

The grin on Kiba's face faltered a bit, which did not escape Naruto's notice. Sakura came bounding up to them, her left shoulder cut and leaking a steady stream of blood. "Hinata!" She exclaimed excitedly. "You're finally back! You've been gone for ages. Have you met Naruto?"

Hinata glanced at Sakura before staring at her shoes again. Naruto watched her take a deep breath and then look up at Sakura, a small smile on her face, and nod. Sakura's returning smile was almost blinding.

"Hinata." Kakashi addressed the girl. "Have you been to see Tsunade yet?"

Hinata nodded, her gaze dropping to her shoes again. "She told me to go see Kurenai-sensei after the lesson today." Her voice was so quiet that Naruto had to strain to hear it.

Suddenly – as if they were a flock of vultures – the other students descended on the girl. Ino gave her a long hug, Shino nodded at her, Shikamaru sighed and gave a lazy wave. The girl didn't seem to know what to do amidst all the attention.

Naruto smiled again. Apparently this girl was very loved at Konoha High School, and he could see why. She was polite and sweet. She seemed to carry a good heart by nature.

Naruto suddenly whipped his head around, eyes widening. Sasuke was standing ten feet away, staring at him, with his mouth slightly open. When he noticed Naruto staring back at him, his eyes widened and he turned on his heel and walked out of the gym.

Naruto could have sworn he saw a slight blush on the raven's cheeks.