Hey guys! Really sorry for the delay, I've been preoccupied with a lot of school work. It really doesn't help that the majority of my classes are art related, so yeah. I meant to upload this yesterday, but since it was Thanksgiving, I was preoccupied with spending it with my family. Anyway, I hope you guys spent the holiday well, and here's the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 3: Birth of Team 7

The events of the previous night were revealed to the entire Shinobi council, and they were definitely pissed that Mizuki would betray them so easily. Hiruzen tried to figure out why Mizuki would do something like this, but he couldn't figure it out. So, he sent the traitor to Ibiki and Inoichi for interrogation. All that was left was for Naru to report in. That was when Hiruzen heard knocking on his office door.

"Enter." Hiruzen answered the knocking, and Naru walked into the office. "Hey Jiji." Naru greeted. "Naru-chan, how are you feeling?" Hiruzen greeted. "I'm doing fine, I managed to get an actual night's worth of sleep this time, so that's good." Hiruzen wondered what Naru meant by that. "I see. Well, I must thank you for helping bring Mizuki in."

"Oh, it was nothing, dattebayo." Naru said, feeling a little bashful. "Anyway, Iruka already filled me in on the events that transpired the previous night, so no report will be needed." Naru thanked Iruka for that in her head. She hated reports, of any kind. Hiruzen brought out some papers from a folder on his desk and said "Now, normally I wouldn't do this, but I would like your opinion on some of your classmates."

This had Naru a little confused. Hiruzen wanted her opinion on some of her classmates? This had to be related to team selections, somehow. "Um, Jiji? Does this have anything to do with team selections?" she asked nervously. Hiruzen nodded. "Yes. I figured that after last night, and everything you've had to endure these past few years, you deserve a break." Naru was touched that Hiruzen wanted to help her that much, so she happily replied "O-Oh, okay! Thanks, Jiji!" Hiruzen smiled at the girl, looked to his papers and asked "What are your thoughts on Sasuke Uchiha?" Naru wasn't all that surprised Hiruzen started with him first, since all the girls except Hinata were fangirls. "Well, Sasuke-kun is a really cool guy, and when you get to know him, he's really nice, and thoughtful. He's definitely strong, though he does brood often. I tried breaking him out of that habit, and it's mostly worked. He keeps to himself most of the time, though he lets me be near him, since we're best friends." Naru answered.

Hiruzen considered what he was told and asked "So the two of you can work with each other?" Naru nodded happily and replied "Yup!" Then Hiruzen asked "Is he aware of your true self?" Naru's mood went down a little bit as she said "No, he doesn't know yet. Though, Kyuubi said that Sasuke-kun's already suspicious. I don't know how he'll take it, dattebayo." Hiruzen simply nodded. Then he went to the next paper and asked "What about Sakura Haruno?"

Naru immediately crossed her arms like an X and said "Nuh-uh. Absolutely not. That girl's a nightmare, dattebayo!" Intrigued, Hiruzen pressed on "What do you mean? According to her profile, she seems like a perfectly nice girl." Naru groaned in frustration and said "Jiji, those profiles are biased. Sakura is a horrible person. She's always calling me a demon and is vicious, both verbally and physically. I never hit back because I know that she's only like that because of her stupid parents. Not to mention she stalks Sasuke-kun whenever I'm not around! Jiji, if Sakura is teamed up with me and Sasuke-kun, she's only gonna be more abusive towards me, and she's gonna distract Sasuke-kun from his training! Plus, there's the chance of us being deaf because of her, dattebayo!" Hiruzen was definitely upset that even a girl Naru's age would treat her in such a way. Sakura's parents were both on the Civilian Council, so of course this would happen. Then there was the part Naru mentioned about profiles that had him curious. Hiruzen looked for Naru's file and saw it to be true. Naru's file made it sound like SHE was the nightmare, completely uncooperative, and terrible all around. He was definitely gonna fix that when this meeting was done.

"I see. Is there anyone else that you think would be willing to work with you and Sasuke-san?" Hiruzen said. Naru immediately answered "Yeah, Hinata-chan!" This definitely had the old Hokage interested. Originally he was going to place Hinata on Kurenai's team, but this may change things. "Hinata Hyuga? Care to explain why?" he asked. "Sure! Hinata-chan's the only one in our class that knows I'm a girl. She found out last year and hasn't told anybody, thank god. She always hangs out with me and Sasuke-kun, and we trained together a lot. She's sweet and kind, and is really comfortable around us. Even Sasuke-kun doesn't have a problem with her. If you put her on a team with me and Sasuke-kun, we could be 'Team Dojutsu' dattebayo!" Naru said excitedly.

Hiruzen chuckled at the title, remembering that Naru had the Tsukigan. If she was put on a team that had a Sharingan user and a Byakugan user, that could very well be the most powerful team in the village. It would work out, according to Naru, since all three are already best friends. He knew Naru wouldn't lie about this, so he trusted her. "Hehe. Team Dojutsu, huh? It certainly does have a ring to it." Hiruzen said. Naru giggled a little too. "Well, what about your Jonin sensei? What would you want from them?" Naru thought about it and said "Well, I just want someone that actually teaches us something and doesn't have a biased opinion of me." Hiruzen grinned and said "Well, what if I told you your sensei would be Kakashi Hatake?" Naru beamed and said "K-Kakashi-nii?! That'd be awesome! That would literally be the perfect team, dattebayo!"

"Yes, I figured you'd say that. Well, thank you for answering those questions Naru-chan. I will take what you said into consideration. I want you to come here two days from now to get your photo taken for your shinobi registration form. As you know, I have other teams to make, so in two weeks, you are to report back at the Academy at 8 am for team assignments." Hiruzen said. Naru nodded, and said "Okay. Thanks Jiji. I'll see you later." Then she left, leaving Hiruzen with papers all over his desk. He's said it once and he'll say it again: he hated paperwork!

After that day, Naru got her picture taken, twice. One with her henge, and one without it, just in case she was ready to come out. She was really tempted to wear some type of face paint as a joke, but she figured that would only make things a little worse. Once that was done, Naru spent the rest of her time training and spending time with Sasuke and Hinata. The whole time, Sasuke kept wondering how to figure out if his best friend was really a girl. Then it hit him: just ask Naruto to spar with him! That way, it'd give him an excuse to use his Sharingan, to see if there was a henge active.

More than a week into the break, Sasuke knocked on Naruto's door. He heard someone fall, grunt and trudge towards the door. It opened to show Naruto in his pajamas. "Sasuke? What time is it?" Naruto yawned. "It's only 10, dobe. You're still sleeping in?" Sasuke exasperated. "Oh. Well, what's up?" Naruto asked, feeling a little more awake. "Well, I was hoping that later you and I could have a little sparring match. You know, that way we aren't soft by the time we're placed on teams." Sasuke answered. "A match? Hell yeah! When do you wanna do it?!" Naruto exclaimed. He was always like this when it came to sparring with the Uchiha. The two always come out better and stronger than when they started. "Maybe once you've actually eaten breakfast and gotten ready." Sasuke said. "Right, on it!" With that, Naruto shut the door and started getting ready. "Just meet me at training ground 7, dobe!" Sasuke half-shouted from outside. "I got it teme! Just don't be asleep when I get there!" Naruto shouted back.

Making sure Sasuke left, Naru dropped her henge and got in the shower. "Kit, I think you should know, this is a trap." Kyuubi said. "What are you talking about? How is it a trap?" Naru asked. "I mean that he's probably using this match as an excuse to see if you're a girl or not. And no, I'm not messing with you." Naru paled at the thought and began to panic. "Ohmygod. Ohmygodohmygodohmygod! What am I gonna do?! He's gonna find out, dattebayo!" Naru exclaimed, very distressed. "Look kit, it's like that guy Iruka said, the Uchiha was gonna find out eventually. Relax, it won't be the end of the world. If he's really your best friend, he'll accept you, no matter what."

Kyuubi's words did help a little bit as Naru ate, got dressed, put on her henge and headed towards the training grounds. There, Sasuke was waiting next to a log. He noticed Naruto approaching and greeted "Hey. So, you ready?" Naruto nodded, a little nervous. "Alright, but before we start, let's make things a little interesting." Sasuke said. Naruto was confused and asked "Interesting? What, you wanna make a bet or something?" Sasuke nodded and said "Yeah, and the bet goes like this: whoever wins gets to make the loser do one thing for them, anything they want." It took only a second for Naruto to realize that if Sasuke won, he'd ask for him to drop the henge. On the other hand, Naruto could have Sasuke pay for all the ramen he would eat for dinner. Grinning, Naruto said "Oh it's on, dattebayo!"

With that, Naruto and Sasuke got into their stances, and waited a few seconds before charging at each other. They simply started with simple punches and kicks, both of them countering or blocking the attacks. Neither of them have activated their dojutsu just yet. Naruto tried a roundhouse kick, but Sasuke blocked it, grabbed his leg and threw him at a tree. Naruto groaned from the pain and noticed Sasuke was getting serious. Then, he noticed that Sasuke had his Sharingan active.

"Oh no...he's gonna find out…" Naru whimpered in her mind. Sasuke saw that he was right. Naruto was using a henge, however, that didn't really mean he was a girl. In Sasuke's mind, he tried to think of different reasons for this, that way he wouldn't be let down in case he was wrong. Maybe Naruto wasn't a girl. Maybe he was horribly scarred and had to wear a henge to hide the scars. Or maybe he didn't like how he looked, or…..or…..yeah, Sasuke was running out of excuses, so he went with the direct approach. "Oi, Naruto." Sasuke called out. Naruto jumped a little, scared about what would happen next. "Y-Yeah?" Naruto answered, trying to mask how he felt. Then Sasuke asked the dreaded question: "Why are you wearing a henge?"

Inside, Naru paled as her fears were coming true. "I-I don't know what the hell you're talking about, dattebayo!" Naruto stammered, activating his Tsukigan and rushing in to attack. Naruto shot out several jabs, a right hook and a body shot, all blocked by Sasuke. Then, he saw an opening, and Naruto used an uppercut, landing a direct hit on Sasuke and launching him upward. Not stopping there, he grabbed the Uchiha's leg and slammed him into the ground. Using his experience from years ago, Naruto tried to push Sasuke back with air pressure, visualizing air pushing outwards at violent speeds. Sure enough, it worked, and Sasuke was sent flying back, his back hitting a tree. The Uchiha was shocked. Where the hell did Naruto learn something like that?

"In case you're wondering, I did that thanks to these." Naruto said, referring to his eyes. Sasuke immediately understood, it was a visual jutsu, similar to what Itachi could do with his Mangekyo Sharingan. Sasuke starting going through hand signs and declared "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" He shot out a huge ball of fire from his mouth, and it was heading towards Naruto at high speeds. Naruto went through hand signs as well and declared "Wind Style: Air Bullet!" He shot out pressurized air from his mouth that put out the fireball immediately. Using the fireball as a distraction, Sasuke went in to attack Naruto from behind. However, with his heightened senses, Naruto reacted accordingly and performed the traditional back kick, Sasuke barely blocking it with his cross guard. Seeing his chance, Sasuke threw Naruto's leg aside and did an open palm strike while sending chakra to said hand. He hit Naruto square in the chest, not only sending the Uzumaki back several feet, but also disrupting the henge. He could've sworn he hit something squishy but firm when he sent that chakra pulse. Then Sasuke went through many emotions when he saw his best friend without the henge, from confusion to outright surprised.

Laying a few feet away from him, in Naruto's place, was a girl that beared a striking resemblance to his best friend. The girl's hair was still spiky and blonde with red highlights, but it went past her shoulders. The girl still had the Tsukigan active, and still had the jumpsuit on, though the jacket somehow was opened by the attack, showing some of her hidden figure. Even the whisker marks were still there, somehow making her look cuter. Sasuke was speechless. His suspicions were actually right. Or were they? Maybe Naruto figured out a way to layer henges? Or did he use his Sexy Jutsu as a joke? Sasuke checked with his Sharingan, and saw there was no henge active. This was real.

"N-Naruto?" Sasuke asked, confused. "Owowowowow, that really hurt, dattebayo!" Naru winced in pain. Then she realized her voice was normal and covered her mouth, hoping Sasuke didn't hear her, but he did. She stared at Sasuke, who looked at her with wide eyes, mouth agape and trying to form words. Then Naru stared down at herself and saw her henge dropped and her jacket was open. Naru's face turned red as she zipped up her jacket and tried to hide behind a tree. Sasuke followed and saw Naru sitting, her face covered mostly by her arms and knees, and she was close to crying. She looked like she wanted to hide from the world.

"I-Is that really you, Naruto?" he asked again. Naru looked up at him with a guilty expression, and simply nodded. "I'm sorry….I'm so sorry Sasuke…." Naru started saying as tears started flowing down her face. Sasuke tried to calm her down and said "Hey, you didn't do anything wrong, alright?" Naru wasn't convinced. Sasuke looked around, hoping nobody was around, and said "Hey, let's get you back to your apartment, alright? We can talk about this there." Naru just nodded, the tears slowing down for the moment, and let Sasuke take her home.

Once they were at Naru's apartment, Naru sat on her bed, and Sasuke sat right next to her. Naru was a mess at this point, she didn't know what to do. Kyuubi just stayed silent and watched, wanting to know what Sasuke would do. Sasuke shifted a little, feeling the awkward tension in the air. Then he got the guts to ask "Naruto, how long has…..THIS….been going on?" He gestured towards Naru's figure as he asked this. Naru nervously said "I….I was always like this. I was born a girl." Sasuke pressed on "If that's the case, then why did you use a henge to make yourself look like a guy? And why didn't you tell me?" Naru's tears were coming back, as she thought Sasuke was mad at her. In a way, he was, but not for the reasons she thinks. "I'm sorry….*sniff* I'm really sorry."

Sasuke placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and said "It's okay. I just want to know why. I promise I won't get mad." Naru's eyes widened a little as she stared at Sasuke with disbelief. "Y-You promise?" She asked timidly. Sasuke nodded, and Naru took a deep breath as she decided to tell him. She told him what she told Hinata the year before, about how she was always attacked when she was younger, and how it started escalating. She still couldn't bring herself to fully say out loud what almost happened to her, it only made her cry harder. Sasuke managed to put two and two together, and he was pissed. "Why didn't you tell me about this?" Sasuke asked, wanting to know why the girl lied to him for years, why the girl hid her pain. "I….I thought that y-you'd hate me….if I told you. I thought you'd hate me for lying to you….for tricking you all these years…*sob* for using you…." Naru cried, her insecurities coming to the surface. "I'm sorry Sasuke….I'm so sorry….for everything! I know I don't deserve to ask this...but ….please…..don't…. *sob*...please don't hate me…" she sobbed even harder.

Sasuke couldn't believe his eyes, or his ears. Yeah, he was pissed, but only because of how the village treated Naru. He was already pissed since he knew Naru was hated by most people and was somehow called a demon by almost everyone. But now, this was different. Naru was almost raped, tortured and worse. How the hell could the villagers do that to such a nice girl, and at a young age?! He was shocked that Naru would even think he would hate her. He had no reason to. He was a little upset that she didn't tell him, but she thought Sasuke would react like he would if he found a fangirl stalking him. The thing was, Sasuke didn't feel that at all. He was sure that deep down, Naru is still the same as the best friend he remembered growing up with. But he had to make sure. "Was there anything else you lied about, when we hung out? Besides the whole gender thing?" Sasuke asked, strangely sounding calm. Naru shook her head furiously and said "N-No….just that."

"Then all those times we hung out together, you were being yourself?" Sasuke asked. Naru stared at him and nodded. Then, Sasuke wrapped her in a hug. "Then why would I hate you? Boy or girl, you're still my best friend." he said. Naru's eyes widened in shock. "Y-You mean it? Y-You really don't hate me?!" She asked in disbelief. Sasuke simply said "Yeah, I mean it, dobe." Naru then clung to Sasuke and bawled her eyes out on his shoulder. First it was Hinata that accepted her, and now even Sasuke accepted her. He didn't hate her! She couldn't believe it! It was too good to be true! But it was true, and that was what filled Naru with so much happiness. All these years, she worried over nothing.

Once Naru calmed down, they separated and Sasuke decided to get an actual up-close look at Naru. Overall, she was beautiful. He couldn't understand why the villagers would do something so horrible to her, it doesn't make sense. He wanted to ask about it, but he didn't, because he wanted Naru to tell him when she was ready. Then he started to wonder who else knew about Naru. "Naruto, does anybody else know about the real you?" Sasuke asked. Naru wiped her tears way and said "Y-Yeah. The family that runs Ichiraku, Kakashi-nii, Pervy Sage, Hokage-jiji, Mikoto-basan and Hinata-chan." Sasuke was surprised by the last two. "Wait, my mom and Hinata-san know about you?" he asked. "Mmhm. Mikoto-basan knew from the beginning, and Hinata-chan found out last year. She caught me training without my henge, I panicked and once I explained everything, she promised she wouldn't tell anyone. That's mostly why she started hanging out with us more." Naru said.

Sasuke took this in, and it certainly made sense. It definitely did explain why Hinata slowly started getting more confidence, and why she hung out with them more often. Then another thought hit him. "Is Naruto even your real name?" he asked her. Naru laughed sheepishly, scratched the back of her head and said "Y-Yeah, it is, but I prefer going by Naru. I only use my full name when I'm using my henge, since it sounds more like a boy's name than a girl's, dattebayo." Sasuke just nodded. "I still don't get why you thought I'd take it badly though. Did you think I'd treat you like those…..fangirls?" He asked, shuddering at the last word. Naru just nodded, so Sasuke asked "Why would you think that?" Naru took a deep breath and said "Because I know how you get around most girls. I was afraid that you'd think I was just another fangirl stalking you, using you, and trying to get close to you. I was afraid you'd hate me if you knew the real me. I grew up having a lot of people hating me…..and I don't know what I'd do if you hated me too." While Sasuke was hearing Naru's explanation, he was still trying to process everything that's happened. She clearly didn't have a whole lot of confidence in others and herself, when it came to revealing herself, or just being herself. Plus, she was afraid of how he would take it, why? Why would his opinion matter that much to her? Unless….

Sasuke looked Naru in the eye and asked "Naru, how do you feel about me?" It took a minute for Naru to process what she was asked, but once it sank in, she turned red all over and started stuttering "W-W-What the hell a-are you talking about, dattebayo?!" Seeing Naru react like this was really amusing, to both Sasuke and Kyuubi, who was in his cage laughing hard. Sasuke just gestured for her to answer, so Naru blushed a little harder and got out "W-Well….I….um…." Kyuubi just groaned and said "Oh for crying out loud, kit! Just say it! You know you want to, so just do it!"

Naru struggled to get the words out, but she finally said "I…..I like you….Sasuke-kun." If it was possible, her blush got darker, making her look similar to Hinata when she gets flustered. Sasuke was definitely surprised by this, and seeing him not answer, Naru quickly answered in a panicking tone "B-B-But not like those fangirls, dattebayo! I mean, they have an obsession, and I'm not obsessed or anything! I just mean that since I've known you for years that I really like you and you've always been nice to me even when everyone else wasn't and dammit I'm rambling, dattebayo…."

Sasuke just laughed a little at Naru's reaction. She was definitely cuter when she acted all flustered. He was glad she liked him for actual reasons, unlike his fangirls. Naru just stared at him and asked "W-What? What's so funny?"

"You, all flustered like that." Sasuke answered. "It's not funny, dattebayo!" Naru shouted in embarrassment. "Well, it kinda is. I mean, I'm used to you being a guy, so seeing the real you acting all flustered like a real girl is fun to watch." Naru was definitely embarrassed right now. "D-Don't say something like that, dattebayo. I-It's embarrassing." She said timidly. Sasuke was really enjoying messing with Naru. There aren't many girls that he actually liked, and so far, Naru seemed to be the only girl he could really stand, next to Hinata. Plus, Naru said she liked him because he was one of the few people to show her any kindness. She didn't care for his clan name, or his wealth, or his power. All she cared about was just him. "Well, I'm glad you don't act like those fangirls, at least." Sasuke said, trying to get Naru acting normal again. It worked, and she said "Yeah, there's no way in hell I'd be caught acting like one of them. They're just sad." The two laughed a little, remembering how the fangirls would normally act, caring more about their looks, fashion and boys than actual shinobi training.

"But you won't have to worry about that with me. I still train, and I usually hide my looks anyway, so it really doesn't matter." Naru said, still worried she might be compared to them at some point. "Naru, I know that already. I'm not going to compare you to...them." Sasuke reassured. Then he rubbed the back of his neck and said "Actually, to be honest, you look better than everyone else anyway." Naru's blush started taking in a little pink as she said "Y-You really think so?" Sasuke nodded, clearly a little embarrassed too. The complement alone made Naru's heart feel like it grew wings and was flying. She couldn't remember ever being this happy.

Just then, they heard someone knock on the door and Naru jumped a little. Sasuke went to get the door and saw it was Hinata. "S-Sasuke-san? Um...i-is Naruto-kun here?" Hinata asked. "Yeah, Naru's in here." Sasuke replied. This had Hinata very surprised. He actually found out, but how? Hinata rushed in and saw Naru on the bed. "Naru-chan?!" she exclaimed. "Uh...hey Hinata-chan. What's up?" Naru said sheepishly. "H-How did Sasuke-san find out?" Hinata asked, taking a seat right next to Naru. "Well…."

"I asked Naru to spar with me, and I disrupted the henge during the fight. I brought her back here and she explained everything." Sasuke answered for Naru. As he was explaining, Naru suddenly remembered how the henge was disrupted. He had palm striked her right in the chest, in between her breasts. Naru blushed furiously as she punched Sasuke in the head and yelled "YOU JERK!" Sasuke was definitely confused now, what did he do? "What the hell was that for?!" he asked. "That was for what you did back in the training grounds!" Naru said, not even facing Sasuke. Hinata saw Naru's face was red, so she asked "Naru-chan, w-what did Sasuke-san do to you?" A tic mark appeared on Naru's head as she snapped "He hit me in the chest with an open palm strike, dattebayo! With chakra!" This didn't help the confusion. Hinata just tilted her head, not understanding, and Sasuke just said "You make it sound like it's a big deal. We were sparring, remember?"

Naru just turned around and said "You….hit...me….in the chest! Right in the middle! Don't you get it?!" Hinata gasped and blushed a little, finally getting it. Sasuke was still a little slow, so Hinata said "Umm…..Sasuke-san….I think w-what she's trying to say i-is…..you t-touched her w-where you s-shouldn't." It took a minute for him to get it, but when he did, he was the one blushing. "Wait, I didn't mean to do that, I swear!" Sasuke exclaimed, trying to make things right. Naru just hit him again and shouted "You freaking hit my boobs, dattebayo!" Now Kyuubi was having the time of his life right now. "BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh man, this is too good!" Kyuubi got out between laughs. "SHUT UP, YOU PERVERTED FOX!" Naru shouted in her head. "N-Naru-chan, I'm sure Sasuke-san didn't mean it." Hinata said. While the situation was a little funny to her, she sort of felt bad for Sasuke, since he made a mistake and was paying for it in pain. Naru just stared at Sasuke suspiciously and said " *sigh* Fine, I forgive you, teme. Just don't do that again, okay?" Sasuke got up and started nodding, fast. Naru's anger was not to be tested, or else.

After Naru calmed down, she turned to Hinata and asked "So, what did you stop by for, Hinata-chan?" Hinata remembered the reason for her visit and responded "O-Oh, well….we only have a few days b-before team selections a-and….um…." Naru assumed what the girl came for and finished "You wanted to hang out before we're put in teams, right?" Hinata nodded. Naru got up and said happily "I'd love to! Actually, we could all hang out today!" Sasuke turned to the blond and asked "You sure? It kinda seems like a 'girl's night' thing." Naru simply said "It's fine, dattebayo! I'll even go out like this!" Both Hinata and Sasuke looked at her with worried expressions. "A-Are you sure, Naru-chan?" Hinata asked, remembering what Naru said about how the villagers treated her. "Yeah, it's fine. I doubt the villagers remember what I looked like as a girl anyway."

"That may be, but your jumpsuit will give you away, and your little whisker marks." Sasuke pointed out. Naru looked down at her clothes and groaned "Yeah….but I don't have much else. I could hide the marks easily, though." Sasuke immediately suggested "I could ask my mom to get some stuff for you. Besides, you need a better wardrobe, anyway." Naru was really grateful and said she was okay with it. An hour later, Mikoto came over with clothes for Naru. She was glad her son still accepted Naru, and was happy to see Naru smiling the way she was. Mikoto gave the clothes to Naru, who went into the bathroom to change. The older Uchiha looked around the apartment with disdain and said "I still can't believe they forced Nau-chan to live in a place like this." Sasuke and Hinata agreed, the place was a dump. It was bad enough the apartment complex looked terrible from the outside, but Naru's was worse. Years of breaking and entering have caused the apartment to look like bombs were dropped everywhere. It was no place for a 13 year old girl to live in. "Um...Mikoto-basan? I need some help…." Naru called from the bathroom, sounding embarrassed. Mikoto looked a little confused at first, but immediately remembered why Naru asked this. Naru hardly ever wore clothes for girls, so they were practically foreign to her. When Mikoto entered the bathroom to help, it turned out that there was another issue: not only were the clothes difficult for Naru to put on, but they were also a little short on her. Apparently the young girl grew recently, and the jumpsuit hid it pretty damn well (take that however you want).

Eventually, the two came out of the bathroom, Mikoto looking like a proud mother, Naru just looking shy and embarrassed. Sasuke was so used to the jumpsuit he didn't expect Naru to look so good in actual clothes. The girl wore a simple white shirt with the fire symbol on the front, skinny jeans and her regular sandals. The clothes themselves weren't the reason Sasuke was so shocked. No, the reason was that the clothes clung to Naru, showing the figure that was normally hidden under her jumpsuit. Plus, she used a henge to cover the whisker marks, so she looked like a normal girl. Yeah, nobody's gonna recognize her looking like that. Hinata gushed and said "Wow! Naru-chan, y-you look great!" Naru gave a small smile and said "Thanks Hinata-chan." Then she caught Sasuke staring at her and blushed a little. "W-What?" Naru asked. Sasuke snapped out of his trance and said "Nothing. You look really good in that, that's all." Naru blushed again and said "T-Thanks Sasuke-kun." Once they were ready, they left. As they were leaving, Miskito said "Have fun, you three!" They all just smiled as the went out.

"So, Naru….about that bet…" Sasuke started. "Hm? Oh yeah, we never finished the match, did we?" Naru said, remembering what they promised. "Well, I'll just let you get the prize." Naru was a little surprised Sasuke would just let her have the prize from the bet. "A-Are you sure?" she asked. Sasuke nodded and said "Yeah, I'll do one thing for you today. Anything you want." Part of him was nervous of what Naru would demand. Part of him thought Naru would make him pay for her ramen, and she eats A LOT of that stuff, in one meal. Another part of him was a little afraid that Naru would want something else, something his fangirls would kill for. "Weeeeellllllll…." Naru contemplated, wondering what she wanted. Then, an imaginary light bulb appeared above her head as she said "I want you to come hang out with me and Hinata-chan, and pay for our lunch." Well, his first thought was right. Now that was something he could handle. At least, until he realized that by doing that, he would be flat broke by the end of the night.

After that day, whenever they weren't in public, Naru would have her henge off when she was around Hinata and Sasuke. Honestly, the thought of finally being her true self, and not hiding from them anymore was enough to fill her with joy. Sasuke learned that even as a girl, Naru still did a lot of the same things she did with her henge one, with a few differences, obviously. The girl was a tomboy, that went without saying. However, now whatever she did seemed cute to Sasuke. Every time she laughed, Sasuke couldn't help but smile at the sight. He noticed Naru acted a little more shy around him, especially whenever he's nice to her. Then Sasuke remembered Naru saying she liked him. While she made it clear she wasn't going to obsess over him like the fangirls, it was also clear to Sasuke that Naru's feelings for him were definitely strong and genuine. He learned this when the three went to Ichiraku's and Ayame teased Naru about it. The girl got flustered in no time and tried to cover it up. The whole time, Sasuke thought about what was going to happen now that he knows the truth. Though, one thing he made clear was he wanted to get to know Naru as much as he could. The day before team selections, Sasuke asked Naru if she was willing to sleep over at the Uchiha Compound. The girl beamed and agreed on the spot.

Sasuke told Mikoto about it, and she was more than happy about it. She started cooking right away, so when Naru arrived, the food was done. As Naru approached the estate, she was nervous. She knew Sasuke asked if she wanted to sleep over, but several thoughts were going through her head. Mainly what she thought would happen during the little sleep over. First she thought they would just be talking about a lot of things, though she knew Sasuke wanted to know more about her. Then the thought of them cuddling in their sleep came into her head, and Naru blushed furiously. Her imagination started getting more intimate, then it turned just plain erotic and Naru's ears were puffing out smoke, she was that embarrassed by the thoughts. She didn't hate them, but she was still embarrassed. "What the hell am I thinking, dattebayo?! Sasuke-kun wouldn't want to do something like that….right?" Then she heard Kyuubi laughing up a storm, and she knew the reason. "KYUUBI! Did you put those thoughts into my head?!" She demanded. "You're goddamn right I did!" Kyuubi said with a shit-eating grin. Naru just groaned from annoyance and embarrassment from the tailed beast's antics.

Naru knocked on the door, and Sasuke was the one who answered. "Hey Naru." Sasuke greeted with a smile. Naru smiled back and said "Hi Sasuke-kun. Thanks for inviting me over." Sasuke let her in, and Naru was still amazed with how the huge house looked. It definitely made her apartment look like a closet. Mikoto came out of the kitchen and greeted "Naru-chan! It's so good to see you again!" She gave Naru a big hug, which was returned. "It's really good to see you too, Mikoto-basan." Naru said, enjoying her aunt's embrace. Itachi walked into the room, and was confused by the sight. "Sasuke, who's that girl hugging mother? I wasn't aware you were dating already." Itachi asked, wanting to mess with him a little. Both Sasuke and Naru blushed furiously at this statement. Naru started stammering "M-Me and S-Sasuke-kun? D-D-D-Dating?! I-I-I-Isn't t-that a l-little f-fast, dattebayo?!" Itachi recognized the verbal tic and said in surprise "Naruto?" Sasuke groaned and explained that Naru had a henge on the whole time and this was who she really was. He also explained she was sleeping over tonight. Itachi looked at the two of them, ruffled Sasuke's hair and said in a joking tone "It would seem my little brother's growing up." Sasuke groaned in annoyance as he saw Naru was still blushing.

Once that was cleared up, they started eating dinner. Throughout the meal, Itachi and Mikoto were asking Naru questions about how things were going with her. Naru answered them, all with a smile that never left her face. "So, Naru-chan. How do you feel about Sasuke?" Itachi asked suddenly. Sasuke wanted to bang his head repeatedly on the table for asking Naru something he knew would be embarrassing for her. Naru blushed and said "W-Well….I like him." Itachi decided to press on, just to mess with her. "You like him? As what? A friend, or maybe something more?" He asked. Naru's blush darkened and she blurted out "I don't know, dattebayo! I know I like him, but I don't want to be like that pink banshee or the other stalkers!" Well, Itachi got what he wanted. Naru clearly had strong feelings for Sasuke, maybe even loves him, but is afraid to act on it. Sasuke picked up a little on that too. Sure, he liked her too, but he didn't want to rush it. Sasuke held Naru's hand, trying to calm her down and said "I know you don't act like them, so don't worry about it." Naru's heart fluttered a little when Sasuke held her hand. She smiled warmly and said "T-Thanks, Sasuke-kun." Sasuke's face turned a little red from seeing Naru smiling at him, but luckily nobody noticed.

When everyone finished eating, Naru offered to help clean up, which Mikoto was grateful for. "So, you really like Sasuke-chan huh?" Mikoto asked, wanting to know more. Naru almost dropped the dish she was washing as she said shyly "Y-Yeah…" Mikoto found this cute and squealed while hugging her niece. "Oh, I can't believe how fast you're growing up! Your mom would be so proud of you!" She said. While Naru was still embarrassed by what Mikoto asked her, the mention of her mom was enough to make her feel warm inside. Mikoto let her go and asked "So how long has this been going on?" Naru tried to remember when she started seeing Sasuke as more than a friend, but she couldn't quite place it. "I...I don't know. I know I've liked him as a friend since we were kids, but I don't know when I started to...you know…"

"When you started loving him?" Mikoto teased. Naru blushed hard and exclaimed "B-BAASAN!" The older woman really knew how to make Naru embarrassed, especially if she mentioned Sasuke. Inside Naru's mind, she was trying to get a grip on her sanity. She knew she liked Sasuke, a lot. She'd go as far as to say she had a crush on him, but to say she loved him? Did her feelings go that deep? "Trust me kit, even I can tell you love that kid." Kyuubi said from his seal. Naru just groaned and said "Am I really that obvious?" Kyuubi just gave a deadpan stare and said "Yes, you are. Seriously kit, you wear your heart on your sleeve. Even that Uchiha kid is starting to get that impression."

Naru almost snapped and said "WHAT?! I don't believe you!" Kyuubi, unfazed, responded "Well, I don't care if you don't, because he's starting to be in a similar situation. You forget, I can sense emotions from you humans, so I know what I'm talking about." Naru was confused by this and asked "Wait, I thought you could only sense negativity? SInce when could you sense other emotions?"

"I've always been able to do it kit. Though, I'm best at sensing negativity. The rest is a little trickier. And before you ask, no, you can't sense other emotions." Kyuubi clarified. Naru processed what she was just told. It certainly explained why Sasuke has been treating her different, but she didn't want to get her hopes up. Instead, she left the mindscape and tried to get back to cleaning up.

Once everything was cleaned up, Mikoto gave Naru permission to sleep in Sasuke's room. The thought of the two sleeping together in the same room normally didn't freak Naru out as much as it did now. Back then, Naru had her henge, so it wasn't weird. Now Sasuke knew, so there was no telling how awkward things would get. When she went up to the room, Sasuke was already there. "H-Hey Sasuke-kun. Um..I don't know if you knew this but…" Naru started nervously. "Yeah, I know, you're sleeping in here. It's fine." Sasuke said. This made Naru feel a whole lot better. "Oh, ok. *phew* I thought you'd be weirded out or something." Sasuke gave her a weird look and asked "Why would I be weirded out?" Naru's face reddened slightly as she said "Well...it's just that...you know….you're gonna be having a girl sleep in the same room as you." Sasuke tried to understand what Naru was saying, and slowly realized why she was acting like this. Back then, when they had the occasional sleepover, they usually shared the bed, as they didn't have a guest room. Of course, they stayed on their respective ends, as the bed was big, but what Sasuke didn't know was that every time, Naru was ecstatic and embarrassed about the situation. Though, she hid it very well with her henge, but she couldn't do that anymore.

"Oh." Sasuke said as the realization just dawned on him, "Well, I could just sleep on the floor and you take the bed." Naru frantically said "N-No! You don't have to do that, Sasuke-kun! I-I'll sleep on the floor!" Sasuke just shook his head and said "Naru, there is no way in hell I'll let you sleep on the floor." While Naru was very touched that Sasuke said that, there was still the problem with sleeping arrangements. "S-So you're o-okay with m-me s-sleeping in t-the same b-bed a-as y-you?" She asked. Sasuke gave Naru one of his rarest smiles and said "If it's you, yeah." Naru's heart practically skipped a beat. Sasuke hardly smiled like he used to, so for him to say such a nice thing with the one thing she missed on his face, it made her really happy. "O-Okay." Naru said happily, one tear of joy sliding down her face. They decided to take turns changing into their pajamas in the bathroom, and once they did, they got into bed. Naru's breath hitched when Sasuke held her hand. She saw him looking at her, his smile still there. "S-Sasuke-kun?" Naru asked. "Yeah?"

Naru blushed a little and said with pure happiness "T-Thank you….for not hating me." Sasuke just wrapped her arms around Naru in a hug and said "Hating you is impossible, especially after everything we've been through. I'll always be here for you, Naru." Naru thought she couldn't be happier, but she was proven wrong. She snuggled closer into the embrace and said "Thank you...Sasuke-kun. I-I'll be there for you too, dattebayo." She soon fell asleep, using Sasuke as a pillow. He actually liked seeing Naru like this. Seeing her look so delicate and vulnerable in her sleep, Sasuke swore to stand by his word, and always be there for Naru. No matter what.

The next morning, Hiruzen called in the Jonin instructors to let them know who they are responsible for teaching, should they pass the true final test. He went down the list until he was down to two Jonin: Kurenai Yuhi, the genjutsu mistress, and Kakashi Hatake, the copy ninja and former ANBU. "Kurenai, I'm afraid I have made changes to the squad roster for your team." Hiruzen said, knowing how the young woman would take it. Kurenai was definitely worried, what did he mean by that? She had some worries and suspicions, but she just hoped they would be wrong. "W-What changes, Hokage-sama?" Kurenai said, trying to mask her fears. Hiruzen still saw them and sighed. He saw this coming, so he figured he should break it to her slowly. Hopefully she would understand.

"I'm placing Hinata Hyuga on Team 7. Sakura Haruno will take her place on Team 8." Hiruzen said. Kurenai paled a little, her worst fear came true. Kakashi's eye just widened, as this was a sudden change. "M-May I ask why? This team was made specifically for tracking. Changing one of the members could make that purpose null and void." Kurenai said. She really wanted Hinata on the team, not just because of how she'd contribute to the team, but because the two were really close. The woman was like a mother figure to Hinata, and she really wanted to help the young girl heal from the emotional damage done by the Hyuga clan elders, as well as her own father. "Well, I realized that had I left the team lineups as they were, there would've been major consequences." Hiruzen explain. "Major consequences? What kind?" Kakashi inquired. "Naru brought this up, and I looked into what she said. Explain this to me, you two: how do you think Team 7 would be with Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno?"

Kurenai pondered and came to a conclusion. "There would be friction in the team." She said. Kakashi found an answer too. "The girl would be a problem, given her behavior. From what Naru-chan told me, Sakura Haruno is verbally and physically abusive to her, as well as the worst of Sasuke's fangirls. Their progress would be hindered because of her." Kakashi said. Hiruzen nodded and said "Yes. Hinata, on the other hand, would help the two improve. Sasuke has recently discovered Naru's true identity, and Hinata has known for some time. Placing them on the same team as her would help Naru grow as well. The girl's already done wonders with breaking the young Hyuga out of her shell." Kurenai nodded, now realizing why Hinata has been a little more cheerful lately. "I see. So placing Hinata on the same team as Naru would be beneficial for everyone." Kurenai guessed. "That, and I noticed Sakura is more suited for using genjutsu, like you, Kurenai. If she were under your wing, she might just become a better kunoichi as a result. That, and I'm hoping you might be able to break her out of her fangirl phase." Hiruzen added. The two Jonin thought this over, and accepted what Hiruzen just said.

Sasuke woke up early that morning, and was a little surprised to see Naru still using his chest as a pillow. He had to will himself to not have a nosebleed. Why? Because A: the girl looked insanely cute when she slept, and B: said girl was literally using him as a pillow. Normally he would shrug off such things, but since it's Naru, he couldn't. And Naru's pajamas didn't help, considering all she wore was a t-shirt and shorts. This meant Sasuke was feeling Naru's breasts on his chest, and he was not sure how to handle it. When he accidentally hit them days ago, he remembered them having a squishy feeling. Now, they still had the same feeling, squishy but also firm, which was odd to him.

Before he could start losing blood, Sasuke poked Naru's nose, trying to wake her up. Naru eventually started waking up, yawning cutely as she opened her eyes slowly. Naru just saw Sasuke poking her nose and she giggled. "Morning, Sasuke-kun." Naru said, not used to waking up like this. "Morning. Did you sleep alright?" Sasuke asked. Naru nodded and said "Yup. I haven't slept so good in a long time. I feel great, dattebayo!" Sasuke was glad Naru was feeling better after everything, but he still wanted to address Naru's current position. "Naru….I don't know if you noticed…." Sasuke said, gesturing to Naru's current position. Naru looked to what Sasuke was talking about, and saw she was still using him as a pillow. Though, when she noticed she was pressing her breasts against his chest, she blushed furiously, got up immediately and said "Ohmygod, I'm so sorry, Sasuke-kun! I swear I wasn't trying anything, dattebayo! Really!"

"I know, dobe. Relax, I know you're not like that." Sasuke reassured. This calmed Naru down a lot, but then Sasuke mumbled "Besides, I didn't really mind it." Naru's blush intensified as she thought "H-H-He liked it?! He liked me sleeping with him like that?!" Naru didn't know what to say, so instead of saying coherent words, she started babbling nonsense instead. Sasuke saw Naru flustered and stifled a laugh, finding it amusing. He noticed he's been thinking that a lot lately, especially when it came to Naru. He never really felt anything for other girls, mainly because they were mostly fangirls and the only exceptions were Naru and Hinata. Hinata was nice, but the only thing he felt around her was what he would feel for a friend. With Naru, there was more. He didn't know how to explain it, or what to think about it. All he knew was he had to figure this stuff out, and fast. Naru suddenly got off the bed and said "U-Um, I'll be in the bathroom! Don't want to be late, dattebayo!" Then she left in a hurry, leaving a smoke trail behind her. Sasuke noticed the time and saw it was 7 am, which meant they only had an hour before team placements started. He also noticed Naru bolted for the bathroom that was linked to his bedroom. Sighing, Sasuke just made do with the bathroom across the hall. It was bigger anyway.

Naru was beyond embarrassed by her own actions. She cuddled Sasuke in her sleep, used his chest like a pillow and practically clung to him until he woke her up in the most adorable way possible. Seriously, she was just tempted to do it back to him and say 'boop'. Naru hadn't realized Sasuke had an affectionate side, so this was foreign territory. Trying to block the thoughts from her mind, she striped naked and jumped in the shower. "I can't believe that happened, dattebayo." Naru whispered to herself as she felt the warm water on her body. "Well, it happened, kit. I'm just surprised he hasn't banged you yet." Kyuubi said, chuckling at that last sentence. Naru went red from head to toe and screamed through the bars "SHUT UP, YOU PERVY FOX! I TOLD YOU SASUKE-KUN ISN'T LIKE THAT, DATTEBAYO!" Kyuubi just waved it off and said "Oh please, the Uchiha's definitely having those thoughts. The only thing is he hides them pretty damn well. You wouldn't know, obviously." Naru's embarrassment only grew. Was Sasuke thinking those kind of things? Well, he has been treating her nicer than before, but that was because he knew the truth. Okay, most of it, since he still doesn't know about the whole Jinchuuriki thing.

That little fact, she was still nervous about telling. Noticing Naru's conflicted feelings, Kyuubi said "Look, kit, jokes aside, the Uchiha does seem to have feelings for you too. Though, like you, he's not sure what to make of them. If you're so worried about what he'll think of you being my host, don't be. If he truly cares about you, then knowing about me won't change that. Compared to your last little secret, this shouldn't even phase him." Naru smiled and said "Thanks Kyuubi. You're really sweet, you know that? Even if you are a perv….." Kyuubi just gave the girl a look and said "Kit, everyone has their pervy side, it's just that I'm not afraid to show mine with pride." Naru was well aware of the Tailed Beast's perverted streak, and just groaned. "I'm so glad you haven't spoken to Pervy Sage yet. That would be really bad, dattebayo." she exasperated.

While Naru was showering, Sasuke was still trying to figure out everything that happened earlier. He could understand why Naru was embarrassed, she never did something like that before. Hopefully she'd be more comfortable around him. Sasuke got out of the shower and went back to his room wearing only a towel around his waist. He noticed Naru was still in the shower, so he started to get dressed. However, Sasuke only got as far as his shorts before Naru came out, wearing a towel to cover most of her body. They stared at each other for a brief second before they screamed from shock and embarrassment. "BWAHAHAAHAHA! Oh man, great way to start the day, kit! Practically flashing your tits in his face, genius! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Kyuubi said, laughing his ass off. Naru couldn't take her eyes off of Sasuke. "W-Woah, Sasuke-kun looks so HOT! I had no idea he was so toned! If he looks this good without a shirt, I wonder how he'd l-AGH, WHAT AM I SAYING, DATTEBAYO?!" Naru thought, embarrassed by her own thoughts. "I….I knew Naru had a nice figure….but this….this is-no, don't think like that. You're an Uchiha! Naru's your best friend! Don't act like a perv around her!" Sasuke thought, really trying not to have a nosebleed. Though, that was kinda hard, considering he could clearly see Naru's cleavage above the towel, and it clung to her.

Naru, still blushing madly from the situation, tried saying "I-I'm so sorry, Sasuke-kun! I...I didn't know you'd still be here." Sasuke broke out of his little trance and said "I-It's fine. I thought I'd have enough time to change while you were in there." He had to look away a little, because Naru was still in a towel, and his face was getting redder by the minute from the situation. Plus, some blood managed to leak. Sasuke quickly put on his shirt, and Naru was both relieved and disappointed by this. "At least he put his shirt back on…..though he did look really good without it…...WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME, DATTEBAYO?!" Naru thought, her mind conflicted. "It's a little thing hormones, kit, and it only gets better from here." Kyuubi said in between chuckles. Sasuke went into Naru's bag, grabbed one of Naru's emergency jumpsuits and gave it to her. "Here. Put this on." Sasuke said, still trying to look away, but his eyes always drew back to her. Feeling grateful, Naru said "T-Thanks. I won't take long, promise." Then she rushed back into the bathroom, but came out a second later and asked "U-Um, Sasuke-kun? C-Could you pass me my bag? I need my underwear, dattebayo." Sasuke didn't need to know that, so he grabbed it and practically threw the bag at her. Naru thanked him again, and went back in. Sasuke let out a sigh, not knowing how much he could've taken from that little scenario.

He went downstairs to have breakfast, where Mikoto and Itachi greeted him. "Ah, Sasuke-chan! Good morning!" Mikoto said cheerfully. "Morning." Sasuke said, wanting to forget what happened earlier. "So, what was that screaming from earlier? I hope you weren't doing anything to dear little Naru." Itachi questioned. "Damn you, Itachi." Sasuke thought. He immediately retorted "I didn't do anything to her!" Itachi just nodded, not buying it for a second. A few minutes later, Naru came downstairs in her jumpsuit and said with her famous smile "Morning, everyone! What's for breakfast?" Everyone greeted her, and Mikoto told the girl she made onigiri for everyone, since she knew they didn't have long before they had to leave. "So, Naru-chan, what was all that screaming about?" Mikoto asked. Sasuke could feel Itachi's grin, knowing how honest Naru could be. Naru blushed and said "W-Well, Sasuke-kun a-accidentally ran into me when I got out of the shower. A-And I only had a t-towel on, dattebayo." Her embarrassment came back and multiplied from that explanation. Mikoto tried to silence her laughs, but a few giggles still came through. Itachi, on the other hand, just turned to Sasuke with a shit-eating grin and said "So nothing happened, huh?"

"S-Shut up!" Sasuke retorted, his face as red as Naru's. Once they ate, Sasuke and Naru noticed they only had 10 minutes before team selections started. "Okay mom, we're heading out." Sasuke said. "Okay, good luck you two!" Mikoto said, proud of the two children. Once they were outside, Naru put her henge back on. "Why'd you put that back on?" Sasuke asked. "Because, you may know about me, but nobody else does." Naruto explained, "Plus, I don't feel like I'm ready to tell everyone just yet." Sasuke stared at him and just accepted his words.

The two made it to the Academy pretty quickly, and ran into Hinata on the way. "Morning, Hinata-chan!" Naruto greeted, running to the girl and giving her a big hug. Hinata blushed at the sudden affection, returned the hug and said "G-Good morning, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-san." Sasuke grunted out a greeting, and the three went inside. When they went inside the classroom, almost everyone was there. The only ones that haven't arrived yet were Sakura and ino, so they had a few minutes of peace. "Yo, Naruto! You passed! Congrats, man!" Kiba cheered. Akamaru barked a few times, probably congratulating the blond. "Yeah, thanks Kiba. You too, Akamaru." Naruto said, petting the dog, who enjoyed his touch. "So, come on, you gotta tell us. How'd you do it?! You had some ace up your sleeve, what is it?!" Kiba inquired, wondering how Naruto did so good in the exams. Everyone else got curious too and listened in.

Naruto just said "Okay, I do have an ace, but I hardly used it in the exams." Now he had the whole classroom's attention. "Seriously?! What was it?!" Kiba kept asking. Naruto scratched the back of his head and said "Well…..I have a dojutsu, like Sasuke-teme here." Kiba's jaw dropped as Shikamaru looked disbelieving. "I never heard of the Uzumaki clan having a dojutsu. How do we know it's not just a joke?" Shikamaru asked. "Well, it's not in the textbooks, that's why you don't know. And it's not a joke, dattebayo! Here, I'll show you!" Naruto exclaimed.

He made sure all eyes were on him before sending chakra to his eyes, activating his Tsukigan. Everyone practically got out of their seats, they were that surprised. Even the lazy Nara heir got up, he was that stunned. "Woah! How are you two not surprised by this?!" Kiba asked, referring to Sasuke and Hinata. "We knew." Sasuke simply said, not wanting to explain anymore. "Well why didn't you tell us you had something that awesome?!" Kiba pressed on. "Well, I was told not to use it at the Academy, only for emergencies. Plus, these eyes are the reason my hair turned a little red. It's a side effect, dattebayo." Naruto explained. "So, what would this particular dojutsu be?" Shino inquired. "It's called the Tsukigan, and it's ultra rare, even among the Uzumaki clan. My mom had it, and I inherited it." Naruto explained. Everyone's eyes widened as they were surprised by this information.

"These bad boys can copy and predict movements like teme's Sharingan, see a person's chakra network and through walls like Hinata-chan's Byakugan, and I even got a sonar mode, dattebayo!" Naruto continued, making sure to leave out the matter manipulation ability. He wanted to keep that a secret for a little while. Now everyone was confused by that last bit, including Sasuke and Hinata. "Sonar? You never mentioned that, Naruto. What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Sasuke asked. "Hehe, it's called Second Vision, and it's like the Byakugan's 360 vision, but I can't see as far. It links to my 'seeing through walls' thing, and it works even when my vision's messed with. I don't know if I can do it with my eyes open though." Naruto said sheepishly. Naru only tried it when she closed her eyes or had a blindfold on. Kyuubi wasn't even sure if it could be done with your eyes open. "T-That sounds amazing, Naruto-kun!" Hinata said, happy for him. "Yeah! Try it out!" Kiba encouraged. Naruto moved his headband from his forehead to over his eyes, and sent slightly more chakra to them, activating the sonar. "Okay, it's on." Naruto informed. "Great, now how many fingers am I holding up?" Kiba asked, going through a series of numbers. "1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 2, 4, fuck you too Kiba." Naruto said when Kiba stuck the middle finger. Everyone laughed, including Kiba, as he was hoping the blond would say that. "Awesome! Can you read like that too?" Kiba said, amazed. "Yup, I still see everything in detail. From texts, to a person's face. I can even see things outside-uh oh." Naruto said, paling at what he saw. Choji, munching on his chips, asked "What's wrong, Naruto-san?" Naruto turned his head mechanically and just said "The fangirls are coming."

Sasuke paled too and asked immediately "Which ones?" Naruto didn't even have to focus on the two figure approaching at high speeds to know who: "The banshee and the fashion police." he said. Everyone knew who they were, Sakura and Ino. Everyone got their earplugs ready, and Naruto and Hinata made sure that they were next to Sasuke, so that the fangirls wouldn't get near him. Then, the two fangirls burst into the room and said in unison "I WIN!" Then they got into a glaring contest and tried to race to sit next to Sasuke, finding the seats were already occupied. "OUT OF THE WAY, NARUTO-BAKA! I'M SITTING NEXT TO SASUKE-KUN! YOU TOO, HYUGA!" Sakura yelled, malice coating her voice. Naruto just stared at them with his Tsukigan still active, and Ino flinched at the stare. However, Sakura wasn't moved. "AND NOW YOU'RE TRYING TO COPY SASUKE-KUN?! WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO LEARN THAT A LOSER LIKE YOU CAN NEVER BE LIKE SASUKE-KUN?!" She screamed. Good thing everyone upgraded their earplugs, the noise was less damaging. Everyone looked to see if the glass was affected aaaannnnndddd…..it shook. It shook! They're close! "Wow….not even a minute…..record time…" Kyuubi actually counted how long it would take for the pink haired girl to scream at Naruto. "Wow, you were right on the money, Kyuu-chan." Naru said. "Kyuu-chan?! What the hell, kit?!" Kyuubi exclaimed. Naru just tilted her head a little and said "What? It's your nickname."

Kyuubi rubbed his temples and said "I'm aware it's a nickname, but why would you make THAT my nickname?" Naru just huffed and said "Well, I don't even know if Tailed Beasts have real names, and I wanted to call you something that's cute, and I thought Kyuu-chan was cute." Kyuubi blinked a few times, unsure if what he heard was true. This girl called him Kyuu-chan because she thought it was cute? She even wanted to know if Tailed Beasts had names! He was touched, but he had too much pride to show it at the moment. " *ahem* Well, Tailed Beasts do have names, but I'm not telling you mine just yet." Kyuubi said. "Awwww. Can I at least call you Kyuu-chan?" Naru pouted cutely. Kyuubi just sent the girl out of the mindscape.

Before Naruto could say anything, Sasuke said "Sakura, they're sitting here. And Naruto isn't copying me, that's his power. Honestly, I thought you were supposed to be smart." Sakura seethed, but relented. Her crush was acting differently, more than usual. She wondered if Naruto had anything to do with it. "Hmph. Fine, stay there! But why is a loser like you even here? This is for actual graduates, not dropouts." Sakura demanded, at least having the courtesy to not scream. "Uh, I did graduate, Sakura. Or didn't you notice?" Naruto said, referring to his headband. "You cheated! You had to! That's the only explanation!" Sakura exclaimed, clearly in denial. Just then, Iruka entered the room, and before he could say anything, Sakura went to him and said "Iruka-sensei! Why is Naruto-baka here?! He's the dead last! A loser!" Iruka was already a little irritated and said "Well, Naruto passed. That's why he's here."

Everyone snickered at Iruka's response. Sakura didn't want to believe it, but seeing that Iruka wasn't going to budge, she huffed and went to her seat. "Anyway, now as you know, from this day on, you are all shinobi of the Leaf Village." Iruka started, grateful he didn't have to use his infamous big-head jutsu to get everyone's attention. Sakura did that for him, in her own annoying way. He began a somewhat lengthy speech, one that Naru and a few others didn't really pay attention to. Then Iruka started going through the teams. The first six were made of genin from civilian families. Iruka knew they wouldn't pass because of the final test, but it had to be done. "Next up is Team Seven. The members are…..Sasuke Uchiha….," Iruka said, gaining everyone's attention. All of Sasuke's fangirls begged internally that they would be on a team with him. It didn't help that he turned out to be Rookie of the Year. Iruka noticed their not so subtle pleading, looked down at his board and announced the next member: "Naruto Uzumaki….,"

They looked at each other and grinned. "I'm actually on a team with Sasuke-kun! Woohoo! I'm on a team with my first best friend, dattebayo!" Naru cheered in her head. She was tempted to cheer out loud, but she knew that it would seem really odd. Two members down, only one left. Every fangirl in the room was begging to every god in existence that they'd be put on the same team. They didn't even mind Naruto being a part of it, since they've seen firsthand that despite his looks, he was extremely nice. Ino saw that the way this team was going, the next member would be the Kunoichi of the Year, and paled. She could only think of Sakura, if what the pink haired girl said was true. Sakura was giddy in her seat, just waiting for her name to be said. Deciding they've had enough suspense, Iruka announced "And finally….Hinata Hyuga."

Well, all the girls were shocked, disappointed and crying internally, and a little bit externally. The newly made Team 7 looked confused, then pleased. Naruto took it further and cheered "YES!" Hinata did the same, but more silently. Sasuke was beyond relieved that his teammates were his closest friends. "Sasuke-kun AND Hinata-chan?! BEST. DAY. EVER!" Naru squealed in her mind. Hinata was ecstatic that she was on a team with her two friends, and was especially happy that Naru would be with her. Iruka was about to announce the next team when Sakura snapped.

"WHAT?!" Sakura exclaimed, her shock, anger and hatred clouding her better judgement. "Iruka-sensei, the top student is always paired with the one with the highest marks! I should be on Sasuke-kun's team, not Naruto-baka! He's a nobody!" She seethed in fury and hatred. "Sakura, Naruto isn't a nobody. Hokage-sama himself hand picked this team, and reviewed their grades themselves. As a matter of fact, Naruto was never the dead last." Iruka stated. "HUH?!" Everyone said in shock. "That's right. Hokage-sama noticed that Naruto's grades were always sabotaged, so he had to review everything personally. It turns out, Naruto is among the top 5 in this class." Iruka continued. Before Sakura could say anything, Iruka pressed on "And as for who had the highest marks, Hinata's scores were higher than yours. We did not just measure written test scores, we measured your physical abilities as well. While you and Hinata more or less had similar high scores on written exams, Hinata's physical exam scores scores were far higher."

"THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! NARUTO-BAKA'S WORTHLESS! THAT'S ALL HE IS!" Sakura exclaimed. "How dare that demon steal my place on Sasuke-kun's team!" Inner Sakura hissed in pure fury. "How the hell am I worthless, Sakura? I worked just as hard as Sasuke, I earned my spot here. You make it sound like he's a god, but he's no better than I am." Naruto said, starting to get sick of Sakura's one track mind. Kyuubi saw Sakura getting redder and redder from her rage, so he muttered "Oh boy, here it comes…" and covered his ears. Not that it'd do him any good.

"ALL YOU ARE IS A CLANLESS ORPHANED NOBODY THAT PROBABLY CHEATED TO GET HERE! SASUKE-KUN IS AN UCHIHA, WHICH AUTOMATICALLY MAKES HIM A GOD WHEN COMPARED TO SCUM LIKE YOU!" Sakura screamed in all her fury. Luckily, the earplugs held, though the damage got through a little. Everyone looked at the windows again, and this time, they finally cracked. It finally happened. They didn't fully shatter, but close enough. "Wow. I had no idea she held THAT much malice in her. Tch, her parents are idiots, kit." Kyuubi said with disgust. "What was your first hint? The stalking, the abuse or the way she talks to me?" Naru thought with equal disgust.

Everyone was beyond furious at the girl, knowing damn well she went too far. The fact that she said such horrible things in front of not only the class, but the instructor as well, it was bold and stupid. Naruto had to try his hardest not to use his Tsukigan on the girl, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. Sasuke and Hinata activated their respective dojutsus in rage, and began releasing their killer intent. Now Sakura was actually feeling it this time, and she felt suffocated under the pressure. "Haruno, you do realize that Naruto is the sole heir of the Uzumaki clan, just as I'm the heir to the Uchiha clan? He is essentially in the same position as me." Sasuke said, his tone freezing the air around them. Everyone knew the Uzumaki clan was almost extinct, so to hear Naruto was a member of that clan was a shock. They just thought it was a name given to him due to his parents being dead. It certainly would explain his red highlights. "Also, he is NOT a nobody, he is NOT scum, he did NOT cheat, and I am NOT a god in comparison. So why don't you stop listening to your prejudiced parents' words and actually think for yourself? Because the only scum I see here is you." he continued, his rage barely controlled. He was not going to stand by and let Sakura insult Naru like this.

"B-But I…." Sakura stammered, realizing what she said was wrong. Hinata had to reel in her rage, because if she said or did anything, she knew that she would potentially hurt the pink haired bitch. So, she just grabbed the edge of her desk, but she just broke it from her hard grip. Everyone was just stared. Even Hinata was angry. She never showed anger, over anything. "What? Got something to say, you weak little bitch?" Sakura sneered, forgetting what Sasuke said and acting only on her uncontrollable temper. This made Hinata snap and have Sakura against the wall. "Haruno, I will not tolerate this behavior anymore. I am sick and tired of you treating those you think are below you like scum. You have constantly abused Naruto-kun, even though he has done absolutely nothing to warrant such hatred. If you continue to act like this, so help me, I will make sure you never use your horrible voice, or your chakra ever again!" Hinata threatened, not even stuttering once. To further emphasize the threat, she had a hand ready for a Juken strike to the throat.

Everyone was beyond shocked by the scene. "Well I'll be damned. She has fangs after all." Kyuubi said in surprise. "Y-Yeah." Naru said in equal surprise. She blushed a little inside, not used to seeing Hinata like this. Sasuke was pleased that Hinata stood up for Naru, and silently cheered her on. "Hinata-san, could you please release her? This isn't how classmates should act." Iruka reasoned, trying to calm the Hyuga down. He was shocked and almost terrified by her anger. Hinata reluctantly let her go, knowing Iruka was right. "Yeah, that's right, you white-eyed freak! Walk away!" Sakura insulted. Now Naruto snapped as he used his Tsukigan to pull Sakura in, grabbing her by the neck. "Shut. Up. Or I really will become the demon you think I am." Naruto threatened. He channeled some of Kyuubi's chakra throughout his body, empowering his Tsukigan, making his eyes slitted. Sakura was petrified by this. "Naruto. Allow me to handle this." Iruka said, his tone a little too calm. You can tell he was holding back his anger by a great deal. Naruto knew Iruka would be the more intimidating of the two right now, so he let her go. Sakura started coughing from Naruto choking her. "Sakura, I have been patient with how you treat your classmates, but this is out of line and uncalled for. If I hear another outburst like that again, at anyone, I will go to Lord Hokage himself and have him drop you from this program. You are supposed to be a Shinobi, as of today. So start acting like one." Iruka hissed. He may not have been screaming, but you could feel the anger dripping from every word, every letter that he uttered, as if he was screaming.

Sakura looked extremely pale and terrified at this threat. Afraid to say anything else, she simply nodded rapidly as Iruka continued "As I was saying before that...interruption, Team Eight will consist of Sakura Haruno, Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame." Kiba just slammed his head on the table and said "Damn it!" Sakura whimpered that she wasn't on Sasuke's team. Shino was fine with Kiba, but was less than pleased about Sakura, though you couldn't tell from his sunglasses and coat. Kiba was obviously pissed off about being put with Sakura. "Since Team Nine is still active, the last team is Team Ten. They will consist of Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi." Iruka finished. Ino groaned. She honestly didn't have anything against them, since their families were really close, but she was still disappointed that she wasn't with Sasuke.

Once that was done, Iruka went out to get each team's designated Jonin sensei. One by one, they came and collected their teams. When Kurenai came to collect Team 8, she gave Hinata one last look before she left. Sakura tried waving Sasuke goodbye, but he refused to look at her. Disappointed, she left with her team. Now it was only Team 7 that was left in the classroom.

Naru dropped her henge. " *Phew* Not how I was hoping team selections would go. But I'm so happy I'm with you guys, dattebayo!" Naru said, hugging her new teammates. "Yeah." Sasuke agreed. Hinata just hummed in agreement. When the blond let her go, she asked "A-Are you okay, Naru-chan? I know Sakura said some….horrible things s-so…" Naru appreciated her concern, put on a sad smile and said "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Really." But then a tear went down her face, and the two knew she wasn't fine. Naru started to crack, and when the two hugged her again, she started crying. "It's okay. It's okay. Sakura doesn't know what she's talking about. Don't let her get to you" Sasuke said, trying to comfort her. "I know...I know but….*sob* it still hurts. I know I've had to deal with worse from the villagers but…it still hurts, dattebayo." Naru sobbed. Sasuke and Hinata looked at her with worry and concern. They only knew a small part of what the villagers did, and it was horrific, inhumane. What Sakura did was probably worse since they were the same age. After a while, they calmed her down and waited for their sensei.

Hiruzen watched the whole scene unfold in his office, using his glass ball. He was feeling a mix of emotions. He was happy Naru could be herself around her new teammates, saddened by the pain the girl was feeling, and lastly, furious and disgusted by Sakura's actions. He prayed that Kurenai would be able to break the girl out of that mentality.

They waited for hours. HOURS! And Naru knew what this meant: Kakashi was their new sensei. While she was ecstatic about it, she was still pissed about his habit of being late. In her mind, lateness worked like this: if the sensei was a few minutes late, that's understandable. 15 minutes late, blame traffic. 30 minutes, hey, shit happens. But over 3 HOURS, you better hope whatever you were doing was worth it, because you'd have hell to pay. "What. The. Hell. Is taking so long?" Sasuke asked, getting more irritated with each passing minute, tempted to slam his head into the desk. "I-Is Kakashi-sensei always like this?" Hinata asked, losing her almost infinite patience. " *sigh* Unfortunately. Knowing Kakashi-nii, he's either A: reading his smut, B: paying his respects again, C: lost in his train of thought, or D: he's watching us waste time to see what we'll do together." Naru said. Knowing what had to be done, Naru made a few shadow clones and instructed them to get certain materials. "Oh, this is gonna be good. If only I could get popcorn in here." Kyuubi said, knowing what was going to happen. Once they headed out, Naru got out a deck of cards and asked "Anyone wanna play Uno?"

So for the next half hour, the three were playing Uno, and were having a really good time. Naru's reactions whenever she was skipped or had to draw cards was funny for everyone. Suddenly, the clones came back with several bags. Naru beamed and said "Oh, you're back! Did you get everything?" One clone handed her a bag and said "We sure did, boss. Everything's ready." Naru couldn't wait to get started, so she dispelled most of the clones, leaving one to keep a lookout and got to work. "Uh, what are you doing?" Sasuke asked. "Well, Kakashi-nii is late, again. So, I'm going to set up a prank just for him." Naru answered with a huge grin. "A-Are you sure that's a good idea, Naru-chan? W-What if we get in trouble?" Hinata asked. "It's fine. Besides, he has this coming, dattebayo."

Sasuke thought it over and asked "What exactly are you planning?" Naru's grin widened. "You'll see. Wanna help me out?" She said, getting more eager. The Uchiha just shrugged and started helping. Not wanting to be left out, Hinata reluctantly helped too, against her better judgement. Once they were done, the clone saw Kakashi walking down the hall and alerted them. "Okay guys, ready?" Naru asked, feeling really giddy. Sasuke nodded, a small smirk on his face, and Hinata nodded shyly. The door opened, but that activated the miniature cannon on the desk, which launched small projectiles right at the Jonin. Before they hit, they then exploded in his face, leaving Kakashi looking like he took a dip in a rainbow, resembling a certain plumber when he grabs a mystical star.

Naru and Kyuubi laughed their asses off at the sight. "Oh my god! That was priceless! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Naru roared with laughter. "BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Nice one!" Kyuubi agreed, laughing just as hard. Hinata tried not to giggle, but some came out anyway. Sasuke smirked and clapped slowly, thinking "That girl is amazing. Whoever she gets together with is lucky." Then he frowned and the thought. "Wait, where the hell did that come from? And why do I care so much about that?"

Kakashi looked at himself and tried getting some of the dust off, not that it'll help. "I'm guessing this is my punishment for being late?" Kakashi asked. "Yup. I told you you'd regret it one day, Kakashi-nii!" Naru said with a toothy grin. Kakashi was a little stunned that Naru didn't have her henge active, so he said "I take it they knew for a while?" Though he already knew the answer. Naru replied "Well, Hinata-chan's known for a year, and Sasuke-kun found out a few days ago, dattebayo."

Glad that Naru could be herself around them, Kakashi eye-smiled and said "Alright, meet me on the roof in 10 minutes." With that, he vanished in a puff of smoke. "Why 10 minutes?" Sasuke asked. "Well, he's gotta clean that dust off. Come on, let's go!" Naru said, racing towards the stairs. They waited for 12 minutes before Kakashi showed up again in front of them, clean this time. "Alright, now for introductions. Who'd like to start?" Kakashi asked. "Um, do we have to say anything specific or…." Naru asked, a little annoyed from the vague request. Kakashi just listed carelessly "Oh, you know, your likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams, fetishes, favorite sexual position, that stuff." Naru choked on some of her spit as Sasuke and Hinata turned beet red. "W-WAIT, WHAT?! What were those last two?!" Naru choked out. She wasn't sure if what she heard was correct. Though, this didn't help the embarrassment everyone felt.

Hiruzen facepalmed himself, irritated by Kakashi's words. Seriously, did he have to bring his porn into this?! "DAMN IT KAKASHI!" He bellowed, but this caused the stacks of paperwork on his desk to fly all over the place. Both paperwork he finished and hadn't gotten to just yet. Hiruzen just twitched a few times and started swearing "FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU" Adults outside had to cover the children's ears and lead them away, he was that loud and vulgar. Others were laughing their asses off.

Kakashi tried playing dumb and said "I don't know what you're talking about, Naru-chan." The three Genin just sweatdropped, hoping their sensei was just joking. But Kyuubi took it seriously and said "My fetishes are orgys and yuri, and my favorite position HAS to be-" Naru blushed a very deep shade of red and screamed "Shut up! I don't need to hear that!" This had the fox laughing even harder. Hinata was extremely caught off guard by Kakashi's statement and was as red as a tomato. Sasuke could've sworn his brain fried a little when he actually considered his own little fantasy. Naru groaned and said "Well, why don't you start us off. You are our sensei now, so…"

Kakashi pointed to himself in small surprise and said "Me? Alright then. My name is Kakashi Hatake. I'm not sure I should tell you my likes, since some are inappropriate. I don't really feel like sharing my dislikes, they're rather unpleasant. I've never really thought of my goal in life. As for hobbies….I have lots of them. Reading, mostly."

The three sweat-dropped and thought in unison "All we get is his name?" Hinata and Sasuke looked to Naru, to see if there was more, but all she said was "Well, the reading part could use some work, since you read your smut everywhere." Hinata just covered her mouth in surprise and blushed. Sasuke just gave him a look that said 'I'm watching you'. "Wow, was that a lame ass introduction. And he's supposed to be your old man's student." Kyuubi deadpanned. Naru just nodded in agreement. Seeing that they still didn't speak up, Kakashi decided to pick them out one at a time. "Alright, you first." He said, pointing at Hinata. Hinata's nerves kicked in as she began "O-Oh. W-Well, m-my name is H-Hinata Hyuga. M-My likes include m-my teammates, cinnamon buns, and m-my little sister." Her nerves started to go away slowly, the more she talked, but her stutter was still there, somewhat. "My dislikes a-are r-rapists, k-kidnappers, t-the Hidden Cloud Village, a-and bullies, of any kind." She continued, remembering bad memories from her childhood. "M-My hobbies a-are flower pressing, t-training, reading a-and spending time with N-Naru-chan and my sister Hanabi-chan. My dream is….is to desegregate the Hyuga Clan." She finished, feeling confident in achieving her dream. Kakashi nodded and thought "Not bad. Her confidence is growing, but still needs some work. Her dream is pretty admirable too."

Naru and Sasuke more or less thought the same thing. "Very good. You're next, ducky." Kakashi said, referring to the Uchiha. Naru laughed, remembering that was what she called Sasuke a few times when they were younger, because she thought his hair looked like a duck's butt. "You told him about that?!" Sasuke exclaimed. Naru just nodded, she couldn't stop laughing. Sighing, he started his introduction. "Hn. My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I like training, learning new jutsus, my mother and brother, and a...certain girl." Sasuke started, quickly glancing at Naru before looking at the floor again. Naru noticed this and blushed. "He likes me?!" She thought. "Kit, I've been telling you this all week! All he did was just confirm it. Are you that dense?" Kyuubi said. "He likes me. He really likes me!" Naru cheered in her mind. "I dislike hypocrites, fangirls and those that are power hungry. My hobbies are reading, training, and hanging out with Naru. As for my dream, I plan to make it a reality. I'm going to bring in a certain man to justice, and protect what's left of my family. I also wish to one day surpass my brother, Itachi." Sasuke continued. He still wanted revenge on Danzo for what he did, but he knew it would take years before he hit that level, no matter what training he took. Naru couldn't help but smile, proud of Sasuke for not obsessing over revenge. Kakashi took note of this and thought "Interesting. And here I thought Sasuke would have the mindset of an avenger. Looks like Naru-chan kept him in check the whole time."

Kakashi nodded. "Alright then. You're last, little sunshine." He said, referring to Naru. The girl beamed at him, remembering he used to call her that sometimes. Naru giggled a little at the old nickname and started "Well, my name's Naruto Uzumaki, but I like going by Naru. I like ramen, training, Mikoto-basan, Pervy Sage, Hokage-jiji, Iruka-sensei, Hinata-chan and Sasuke-kun." Both of her teammates smiled when she mentioned them. "My hobbies are training, pulling pranks and hanging out with Hinata-chan and Sasuke-kun. My dream is to be Hokage, and be strong enough to protect those I cherish. Also…." Naru started to blush as she said "I'd like to have a family one day, dattebayo." Everyone couldn't help but smile at Naru's words. But there was one thing she left out. "And what about your dislikes?" Kakashi asked. Naru's mood went down, fast. She said "I...I don't like people who are selfish, power hungry, prejudiced, or arrogant. And….I really don't like the villagers, because they embody everything I hate." Sasuke and Hinata each held Naru's hand as a way to comfort her, which she greatly appreciated. Kakashi knew the girl had been put through a lot because of them, which was why he started raising the girl behind the Civilian Council's back, as well as the elders. Now he was just glad the girl didn't have to go through this pain alone.

"Okay, now that introductions are done, let's talk about our first exercise." Kakashi stated. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, wondering what it was his new sensei meant. "And that is?" Sasuke asked. Kakashi gave another eye-smile and said "I was hoping you'd ask that. Simply put...survival training." Hinata tilted her head slightly in confusion and asked "B-But sensei, d-didn't we already do this training in the academy?" Kakashi nodded and said "You did, but this will be different, as I will be your opponent." This gained the trio's attention immediately. "All the other Genin teams will be doing something similar. Your graduation exam was to see if you had the potential to be ninja. This survival training is to see if you have the right to truly be a shinobi of the village. And here's the best part: out of the several teams selected, only 3 teams pass, meaning there's a 66% chance of failing." He continued, his tone dead serious.

Everyone gulped at this, realizing the stakes placed in front of them. "Relax, it'll be a simple test, nothing too bad." Kakashi reassured. "You'll meet me at training ground 7 tomorrow at 5 AM for your test." Naru just deadpanned "Are you actually gonna be there at that time, or are you gonna be there late again?" Kakashi just ruffled Naru's hair and said "I'll let you figure that out, Naru-chan." Naru giggled at Kakashi's antics. "Also, I suggest you all don't eat breakfast. You'll puke if you do. See you tomorrow." Kakashi said, before exploding in white dense smoke, leaving the three alone on the roof.

"Naru, you know him better than us, is he serious?" Sasuke asked. "Mostly. He's late to everything by 3 hours at least. So if he says meet him at 5 AM, he really means 8 AM, which makes more sense." Naru explained. Hinata nodded, taking in the information, and asked "B-But what about breakfast?"

Naru simply said "Don't skip it, Hinata-chan. Trust me, we won't be able to function without it. Which reminds me, I should probably pack some back-up food for us for tomorrow, just in case." Sasuke's eyes widened a little and asked "Wait, you can cook?" Naru suddenly seemed more bashful as she said timidly "W-Well yeah. I mean, I don't do it often, but I can do it."

Sasuke nodded, now extremely curious about how the girl's cooking tasted. "Well, what do you guys think about having dinner together to celebrate today?" Naru asked. "Oh, s-sorry Naru-chan. I'd love to, but I have to report to f-father about today. M-Maybe tomorrow?" Hinata apologized. Naru gave an understanding smile and said "It's okay. Tomorrow's good." Hinata smiled back and said "O-Okay. I-I'll see you guys t-tomorrow." With that, she leapt down into the streets, and walked home to the Hyuga compound. Naru just turned to Sasuke and asked "So, what about you?" Sasuke thought about it and said "Sure, but on one condition." Naru suddenly got a little nervous and asked "O-Okay, w-what is it?" Sasuke looked Naru in the eye and said "No Ichiraku tonight. I'd actually like to try your cooking." Naru blinked a few times before blushing madly at what Sasuke requested. "Y-Y-You want m-me to c-cook for y-you? A-Are you sure? I mean, I might make something bad, and you'd hate it and I'd have to make it up to you and I wouldn't know what to think of and why do I keep rambling, dattebayo?!" Naru said, her nerves going into overdrive. Sasuke just nodded, and Naru asked shyly "O-Okay. Do you...um….do you...wanna eat….at my place?" Her face got redder as she asked that. Sasuke didn't know why she was embarrassed by that question, but said "Sure. I'll let mom know." Naru started nodding frantically and said "O-Okay. Great. Is there...um...anything you'd like me to make?" Sasuke thought about it for a minute and said "Hmmmm….surprise me." Naru beamed a little and said "O-Okay! Meet me at my place at 5, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be there." Sasuke said, suddenly feeling a little excited. "Great! W-Well, I gotta start cooking, so I-I'll see you later!" Naru said, giving Sasuke a quick hug before leaving to her apartment. Sasuke's brain took a second to comprehend that Naru just hugged him. And he liked it. "Wait, did she ask me on a date just now?" Sasuke thought. While he's gotten offers like that before, it actually sounded fun when it was coming from Naru. Deciding to just go with that, Sasuke went back home to get ready.

"Man, it's a good thing Mikoto-basan bought stuff for me earlier, or I'd be screwed. But what do I make?" Naru thought as she ran along the rooftops. She didn't like walking through the streets alone, since she didn't have her henge on still, and she didn't want to hear anymore hurtful words today. "Hey kit, I don't suppose you remember what you just did to that Uchiha before you left?" Kyuubi said, wanting to see her reaction. It took Naru a second to recall, but when she did, she blushed again and almost fell in an alleyway. "I hugged Sasuke-kun! I mean, I know he's hugged me before, but I started it this time, dattebayo!" Naru exclaimed in her head. " *sigh* Kit, you've got it bad for him. And you do realize you invited him to YOUR place? To have YOUR cooking? Any of this mean anything?" Kyuubi exasperated. Putting the pieces together, Naru got redder and said "D-D-Did I just ask him on a date?!"

"It might as well be, kit! Now seeing as this is your first date, I have some advice that might help."

"Advice?! How do I know it's not just some perverted idea you have in your sick furry head that'll humiliate me?!" Naru accused. "Kit, I may be a pervert, but I still respect a woman. And even I know that if you want to have a date, it has to be nice. Now considering this is just a dinner that you're providing, I suggest you make something you know that you and the boy would like. Can you think of anything?" Kyuubi said in a serious tone. Naru was actually surprised the Tailed Beast was even showing interest in helping her with something like this. By this point, Naru entered her apartment and said "Well, Sasuke-kun likes tomatoes, and he's not a fan of anything too sweet. I've seen him eat spicy food before so…..maybe curry? Mikoto-basan makes it a lot, so he'll like it for sure." Kyuubi nodded his head and said "Curry….not a bad choice, kit. Though, I don't remember you ever making it."

"Oh, how hard could it be? Mikoto-basan gave me a cookbook, so it should be easy, dattebayo." Naru said as she grabbed the cookbook she had on her shelf. It was one of the few things that was still intact from the constant breaking-and-entering her apartment experiences.

Sasuke got home pretty quickly and announced "Hey, I'm home!" Mikoto came out from around the corner and greeted "Sasuke-chan! How'd team selections go? I hope you got a good team." Sasuke nodded and said "I did. Naru and Hinata-san are my teammates, and Kakashi's our sensei." Mikoto gasped and said "Really?! That's great! Wait, where's Naru-chan now?" Sasuke rubbed the back of his neck and said "Actually, she invited me over to her place. She wanted to eat out to celebrate, but I said I wanted to try her cooking. She got all red, but she was fine with it." Mikoto processed what she heard and a sly grin came on her face. "So you're finally going on a date, huh?" Sasuke blushed and retorted "I don't even know if this is a date! Besides, it's not that big of a deal." A lot of people would beg to differ, but Mikoto knew Sasuke was stubborn, so she let him be. "So, when are you supposed to meet her?" Mikoto asked, hoping he'd say that much. "She said to be at her apartment at 5." Sasuke responded, going upstairs to get ready. Mikoto was proud of both of them.

Since Sasuke had some time to kill before meeting Naru, he got in some last minute training before he jumped in the shower. Once he did that and got dressed, he headed out, constantly being teased by Mikoto and now Itachi about his 'date' with Naru. While the thought of this being a date wasn't bad, he didn't know how Naru saw it, so he didn't want to make her uncomfortable. As he was getting near the apartment complex, he noticed Sakura close by. Not wanting to deal with her, he chose to go the rest of the way by the rooftops. Sasuke approached Naru's apartment and knocked on her door. A few seconds later, Naru came out and said "H-Hi Sasuke-kun!"

"Hey." Sasuke greeted back, looking at what Naru was wearing. The girl was wearing only the pants from her tracksuit and the t-shirt she normally wears underneath her jacket. However, since she was cooking, she also had an apron on. "He's checking you out, kit. Normally I would've recommended wearing JUST the apron, but I'll let it slide this time." Kyuubi commented in her head. "There's no way in HELL I would do that, dattebayo! I'm embarrassed enough as it is!" Naru whined in her head. She cleared her throat and said "Well, come on in. I just finished cooking. I hope it tastes good, dattebayo."

Sasuke walked inside, still disliking Naru's living conditions. How she survived in a rathole like this, he had no idea. Then again, she always was unpredictable. There was a small table in the kitchen that could seat two people. Sasuke sat down as Naru got the food ready. Then she placed the plates on the table, and was surprised by what Naru served. It was curry, with chicken on the side. "Curry?" Sasuke asked. "Y-Yeah. I didn't know what else to make that we'd both like, and curry was the first thing that popped into my head so…." Naru tried explaining. She sat down too, and said "Well, I hope you like it." Sasuke took his fork, grabbed a nice portion of the meal and proceeded to eat it. He was surprised yet again. The curry was really good! It wasn't spicy like the famous Fire curry his mom was famous for, but it was still delicious! "S-So? How is it?" Naru asked nervously. Sasuke looked up at her and said "This is great!" Naru beamed and said "Really?!" Sasuke nodded rapidly and continued to devour his meal. Naru let out a sigh of relief and said "I'm really glad you like it. It took me forever to make this, even with the cookbook." Then she started to eat too, and she was definitely satisfied with the meal she made. Sasuke kept eating and said "I can't believe your food's THIS good! Had I known, I would've been asking for your cooking all the time!"

Naru blushed and said "M-My cooking can't be that good. I-I'm sure you've had better." Sasuke automatically stopped eating and grabbed Naru's hand, saying "You should know better than anyone that I never exaggerate. Especially with you." Naru felt her face heat up even more from this. "T-Thank you. T-That means a lot, dattebayo." She said with a shy smile. Sasuke nodded, resumed eating and asked "How'd you learn to cook so good?"

"Well, Mikoto-basan taught me while you were out training. And she gave me the cookbook I mentioned earlier." Naru replied with some pride in her voice. "That would explain why it tastes so good." Sasuke thought. They eventually finished, and Sasuke helped Naru with the dishes. Once they finished, Naru said with a smile "I'm really glad you liked the food, Sasuke-kun." "Yeah, it was great. Any chance you'd be willing to cook again?" Sasuke asked. Naru beamed and said "Y-Yeah! I'd love to!" Then the two noticed the time. It was past 7 PM. They spent almost the whole evening eating and enjoying each other's company. "Wow, it's late. Are you gonna be okay heading home, Sasuke-kun?" Naru asked with concern. "I'll be fine, but what about you?" Sasuke asked. The young Uzumaki just tilted her head in confusion, and just to confirm Sasuke's worries, they heard voices outside the complex. They all sounded angry, full of hate. Naru used her Tsukigan to check what was going on outside and groaned "Another mob?! Damnit! Sasuke-kun, you have to leave before they find you!" Sasuke smirked and said "I have a better idea. Grab all your things." Naru stared at him in confusion, but did as he said. She managed to pack a bag full of everything she owned, which wasn't a lot, just some clothes, her ninja tools/weapons, her books and emergency ramen. "Okay, now what?" Naru asked, lifting the bag. Sasuke just put his hand on her shoulder and mimicked a jutsu he's seen over a thousand times.

Mikoto and Itachi were about to head upstairs for bed, but then Sasuke and Naru appeared in a puff of smoke. "Sasuke-chan? Naru-chan?" Mikoto asked, startled by their sudden appearance. Itachi was also surprised, but automatically knew what the two did. "So, you mastered the Shushin, Sasuke?" He asked his younger brother. Instead of answering, Sasuke looked a little green in the face. "Not...really…." Naru was a little better, however, so she just face palmed herself and groaned "Seriously, Sasuke-kun?! If you wanted me to spend another night, you could've just asked, dattebayo!" Once Sasuke started feeling okay, he explained what happened before they made their escape to Mikoto and Itachi. " *sigh* I knew this would happen eventually. Naru-chan, I don't think it's safe for you to go back to your apartment. You're more than welcome to stay with us." Mikoto said warmly. Naru just sputtered "A-A-Are you sure?! I mean, I don't wanna be imposing on you guys, and you don't really have a guest room for me or anything. Plus, people would find out eventually and the mobs would just come here instead, dattebayo!" Mikoto just walked up to Naru, flicked her nose, wrapped her in a hug and said "I'd like to see them try that. If they do, they'd be trespassing, and they'd get arrested or worse. Naru-chan, please, stay with us." Naru froze at what Mikoto said. She wanted her to stay, and from the looks of it, the others were all agreeing. Naru returned the hug and said "A-Alright. But where will I sleep?" Mikoto simply said "Well, you could bunk with Sasuke-chan. As long as he knows how to behave." She gave Sasuke an intimidating stare that made him just nod, a lot.

A little later, Naru was already changed into her pajamas and really red in the face. Only a few days ago, Sasuke learned about her true self. In that short time, they've already gotten closer than ever, had dinner together, multiple times, slept together-not in the dirty way- and now she was moving in with him. She wondered if this was happening to fast, but Sasuke pulled her out of her thoughts. "Naru, you alright? You were staring off." He asked, ready for bed too. Naru shook her head and said "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a lot on my minds, that's all." Sasuke figured that was the case. A lot happened between them in such a short amount of time, she must be overwhelmed.

The two went into bed and fell asleep, unconsciously inching closer to each other until they were cuddling again.

Sasuke's alarm woke him up, and he slowly remembered what happened the previous day. The team selections, his date with Naru, if it even counted as a date, and her moving in with him and his family. Turning slowly, he saw Naru once again practically sleeping on top of him. How the hell did she sleep through the alarm?! Sasuke started shaking her saying "Naru, come on. Get up." Nothing. Kyuubi tried helping out from in her head saying "Kit, get off your lazy ass and wake up already." Still nothing. So, Sasuke came up with an idea. "Naru, wake up. Your emergency ramen's burning." He said. Her eyes flew wide open, bloodshot as she activated her Tsukigan and panicked "NO! NOT THE RAMEN! WHO'S BURNING IT?!" Naru looked over to see Sasuke holding a cup of ramen over a match. "Me." Sasuke plainly said. Naru fell over from the blatant answer and pleaded "Sasuke-kun, please don't hurt the ramen! Please!" Sasuke smirked and said "If you want nothing bad to happen to it, get out of bed and get ready. We have to be at the training grounds in an hour." Naru noticed the time and panicked even more as she ran around to get her things ready.

After getting everything prepared and having breakfast, Naru made a few bento boxes before she and Sasuke left for the training grounds. Luckily, hardly anyone was awake at this time, so Naru just went out without her henge on. By the time they arrived, Hinata was already waiting for them. "Morning Hinata-chan! I hope we didn't keep you waiting." Naru said in a chipper tone. Hinata smiled and said "Good morning. I a-actually just got here."

"So, since we have some time to kill, any ideas on how the test is gonna go?" Sasuke asked. Naru held her chin in a thoughtful pose, and said "Well, I don't know much about Kakashi-nii's tests, since he hardly tells me anything about them. All he told me was this saying his old teammate told him."

"W-What was the s-saying?" Hinata asked. "I think it went like this: 'those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum'. He said it was something he uses to judge teams." Naru answered. All three had a vague idea of what the test would be, based on those powerful words alone. After about 30 minutes, Kakashi showed up and said sheepishly "Sorry I'm late. I saw a black cat and had to take the long way around." Everyone sweatdropped at their sensei's excuse. "Uh, Kakashi-nii? You can just say you were reading your smut, you know. Besides, we got here a little while ago." Naru deadpanned. Kakashi sweatdropped too and thought "Well, this is what I get for having my sensei's daughter as my student." Kakashi recovered and said "Well, here's what our survival training session is going to entail." Then he held up two small, silver bells and said "All you have to do is take these bells from me before that timer rings. It's set to noon, and whoever doesn't get one when it rings gets tied to that pole and watches while the others eat lunch."

"That's why he didn't want us to eat breakfast." Everyone thought in unison, and Sasuke and Hinata were glad they listened to Naru. "U-Um, sensei? T-There's only two bells, a-and there's t-three of us. So, i-is one of us g-guaranteed to not g-get one?" Hinata spoke up. Kakashi eye smiled and said "Very observant. Yes, that's right. And whoever still doesn't get a bell after lunch gets sent back to the academy." Everyone stared at him wide-eyed. But their minds were already working this out. "Sending one of us back? He couldn't pass us then, because there's no such thing as a two man squad." Naru thought. "You can use any weapons you have at your disposal. Come at me with the intent to kill. You won't get a bell otherwise." Kakashi advised. "First he tries to divide us with the bells, now he's encouraging we take him head on in order to get a bell. Does he really think that'll work on us?" Sasuke thought. "We'll start on my mark. Ready?" Kakashi started. "If that's the case….then the point of this test…." Hinata thought, beginning to put the pieces together. "The point of this test is…." Everyone thought in unison. "Go!"

"Teamwork!"

A/N: Another chapter done! This one actually broke my record of longest chapter I've written so far. Over 30 pages, which is insane. For me, anyway. I mean, I knew it was gonna be a lot of pages, considering what I was covering, but I wasn't expecting THAT much. I swear, I'm starting to write more with every chapter. Though, I doubt that anyone would complain.

Anyway, I wanted to address some things before I sign off for the day. Firstly, the reveal. Yes, Sasuke finds out about Naru this chapter. Honestly, I was mixed between either having him find out now or during the Wave mission. In the end, this won out for me. I figured if he found out now, then by the time they go on the Wave mission, things could play out more interesting. Then there's the interaction between Naru and Sasuke. Honestly, I had a little fun writing that stuff. It was a little tricky figuring out how Sasuke would take everything, but then again, you have to remember that this Sasuke isn't exactly the emo-brooding avenger his canon counterpart is. This version has his brooding moments, but besides that, he actually has a heart and cares about who he considers his friends. He can have fun and actually live life without obsessing over revenge. Since Naru is the main reason Sasuke didn't become like his canon version, he should be more understanding and caring about her. As for Naru herself, I wanted her to be a little more shy around Sasuke, as he now knows about her and her feelings, somewhat. Right now, they're at the stage where they are feeling something like a small crush towards each other, but it'll grow as time goes.

Second, Team 7 itself. I did mention in the summary that it'd be different. So, instead of Sakura being on Team 7 here, it's Hinata. Here, it makes more sense to put these three together because of their skillsets, their heritage, as well as the fact that they are already close. Plus, since Hinata and Sasuke now know about Naru, Naru will eventually get more comfortable being herself. Now there's another character in here that I really feel like talking about: Kyuubi. You probably noticed, Kyuubi's a little different from his canon counterpart too. Mainly, in here, he's a pervert like Jiraiya, and cares more about Naru and her well-being, even if he messes with her a lot. I noticed some of you actually like this version of Kyuubi, and I'm glad you do. Honestly, I kinda liked the idea of making Kyuubi not only powerful, but also a source of comic relief from time to time. That's actually the reason why I liked Jiraiya so much in the anime.

Then, there's Sakura herself. Honestly, I don't have a whole lot against her, but I couldn't stand her during Part 1. Seriously, she was useless, extremely naive, violent towards Naruto for no reason, and an obsessed, annoying fangirl. The fact that Sasuke kept rejecting her, but she still persisted, I wondered 'Just how dumb is this chick? Can't she take no for an answer, or is she that obsessed?' And how they got together in canon at the end, I don't know. Regardless, I wanted to make clear Sakura's hostility at the beginning, but there are a few things I want to change later on. So, if you hate her now, it'll escalate later, but she will get a reality check eventually. Just not now.

Now, I'm glad some of you are enjoying the story so far. I wasn't expecting to get over 80 followers from 2 chapters. Not that I'm complaining, because honestly, that's pretty awesome. I looked at the reviews you guys wrote, and they really helped. Though, one user's comments had me think some stuff through about this story. This user is Diana Luna Night, and I would actually like to address this person's comments. Now, to answer your first comment, I'm glad you like how I made Naru's appearance for the story, and about her clothing, I will have her stick with her jumpsuit for a while. I'll probably give her proper clothes after the Wave mission happens. You also asked about my thoughts on summoning contracts for Naru. Well, I was planning on giving Naru multiple contracts, as it is possible in canon. After all, canon Sasuke was able to summon Snakes and Hawks, but not both at the same time. I plan on doing something similar with Naru, but keeping that little limitation. I also still plan on giving her Toad summons, but I'm still trying to decide on her second summoning scroll. If anyone has any suggestions, they'd be greatly appreciated. Then there's your second comment, and I do apologize for that. I italicized the pronouns on instinct, but thank you for pointing that out. You are right, readers are smart enough to tell when Naru has her henge on, unless stated otherwise. So, I didn't do it so much here.

Anyway, I hope you guys liked this chapter, despite that cliffhanger I put at the end. The next chapter will, obviously, cover the bell test and its aftermath, and possibly Team 7's first missions. If you guys have any comments, questions or suggestions, feel free to share. Until next time!