"I exist... only for that reason!"

Those were the last words he had uttered before the impact had sucked the life from his body. The psychotic look in his eyes dulled and soon became completely empty. The body that had been moving around at such high speeds came to a crashing halt, slammed and drilled into the side of the mountain. For a moment, his body hung in the crater. Then, slowly, it peeled away and collapsed to the ground. Revenge had consumed him so utterly that he felt required to constantly seek out something to destroy. And, through that very same faulty reasoning, he had met his end. Blood rapidly poured from the gaping hole that had been twisted into the front of his body, staining the ground crimson.

Falling to the ground as well, Naruto stared at the lifeless body of Uchiha Sasuke. His own body was trembling from the limits he had been forced to go to to meet the Sharingan-user's power. A power that had been acquired through ill means. A power that was beyond him. A power that had ultimately helped cause his downfall. Feeling the bile rise in his throat, Naruto lurched forward, coughing violently and grinding his fingers into the dirt as his body shook.

When the heaving finally came to a halt, Naruto pushed himself to his feet. As he shakily made his way across the battlefield to where his former friend and teammate was lying, his hands clenched into fists. This wasn't how it was supposed to have ended! This wasn't the way he had wanted to put a stop to Sasuke's seemingly endless thirst for revenge! Tears welled up in his eyes as he finally reached Sasuke's body and, once more, he dropped to the ground. Reaching his hand out slowly, he moved to put it on his friend's back, where the symbol of his clan still stood unmarked by their fight.

Suddenly, one of Sasuke's hands shot up, gripping at Naruto's arm so hard it drew blood. A gurgling, rattling breath was sucked in as his other hand moved up to grab hold of Naruto's shirt. And, as he lifted his head, his eyes spun to life for a brief instant longer. Blood pouring from the corners of his lips, Sasuke drew another rasping breath in, opened his mouth, and screamed.

He wasn't sure where Sasuke's scream had ended and where his own had begun. But as he jerked awake in bed, sitting bolt upright, Uzumaki Naruto felt a panic unlike any he'd ever experienced in his life. The scream came to an abrupt halt, however, as his stomach gave an almighty churn. Slamming a hand over his mouth, Naruto ripped the covers back and shot towards the bathroom in the dark, scrambling to make it over either the sink or the toilet before his body gave up on him.

The sink was the unfortunate victim this time, gripped by shaky hands as his dinner came up. His head was pounding, and he could almost make out what sounded like the Kyuubi trying to say something to him. But once more, the words were muted by the memories lashing at his consciousness. Every breath was accompanied by a horrible retching cough, and by the time he had finished vomiting, he felt as though he would pass out at any moment.

Turning on the water, Naruto quickly scooped up a handful to wash his mouth out before making sure the sick had been cleared from the basin. When he raised his head, he found himself staring into the mirror over the sink. He was a ghostly white, sweating profusely, and was still shaking just as badly as he had been when his stomach had decided to kick back its contents. His breathing was coming in sharp, ragged bursts, and he was feeling lightheaded. It was then that the Kyuubi's voice started to come into focus, though it was booming so loud that it almost made him double over again.

'-up! It was just a memory! You won't have to see that this time! We'll figure out a way to stop him without killing him! You need to slow your breathing down or you're going to hyperventilate. And if you pass out before your stomach's decided to stop rebelling, you could choke yourself to death! Are you listening?'

"Shut up..." whimpered Naruto, letting go of the sink, turning around, and slumping to the floor. He drew his legs up to his chest, wrapped his arms around them, and lowered his head. "Too loud."

'Good, you're paying attention. I know what you saw. I know how you feel. And I know what you're thinking. But going after Orochimaru now wouldn't stop anything. Going after Pain now wouldn't stop anything. And if we tried taking on Uchiha Madara right now, we would die in an instant! One thing at a time, kid. We have to start small.'

"Hate him. S'all his fault." Naruto hissed out, desperately trying to control his breathing.

'He'll get what's coming to him.' Growled the Kyuubi, its voice getting low. 'Uchiha Madara will suffer endlessly for what he's done to us.'

"Not him!" Barked Naruto, immediately regretting his outburst. His stomach hitched, and he went very still, sucking in a slow, deep breath. Letting it out just as slowly, he continued in a softer voice, "Meant Sasuke."

'Yes, the boy's no better than the adults. Hounded by some sense of injustice until his death. Nothing will change that. We won't kill him, but we may have to cripple him. The question is - in what manner? Destroying his legs would keep him from being too mobile. Destroying his arms would keep him from being able to form the necessary seals. Destroying his eyes...'

"Can you please stop talking about cutting up that idiot?" Yelled Naruto, not caring what his stomach did. "I'm trying not to puke my internal organs up here, dammit!"

'...Then what do you suggest we discuss?'

"Nothing! Just let me sit here and try to make sense of what I just saw!" Naruto said, his voice dropping to an almost inaudible level halfway through the sentence.

'...I am sorry. At times, it is difficult to remember that you are still young and inexperienced. Your older self was tempered by war. By the end, nothing fazed him anymore. And here you are, forced to try and get a handle on the things that, to him, had dulled to the point of inconsequentiality. You're right, of course. The memories of the Uchiha brat must be flooding in now that his death has shown itself to you. I will be silent unless you wish to speak. Though I will suggest one thing - get dressed and go outside. The night air will do your sore throat a world of good.'

The Kyuubi went quiet after that, leaving Naruto alone with his thoughts. Minutes passed slowly, feeling like hours, before he decided to take the Kyuubi up on its suggestion. Getting back to his feet slowly, Naruto shifted his weight around a little. Upon seeing that he was getting steadier, he nodded to himself and began undoing the buttons to his pajama top. Fresh air would do him some good, he decided, moving to a window and opening it. It was a chilly morning, but the crisp air felt like it cleansed him as the gentle wind blew in. He stuck his head out and pulled in a long, slow breath through his mouth. It felt good against his ravaged throat, though he winced at how cold it was.

Stepping away from the window, he slipped off his top and peeled off his bottoms, heading for his dresser and pulling out his new outfit. After quickly changing and going downstairs to grab his shoes, Naruto launched himself from his open window, quickly getting onto the rooftops and pausing to take a look around town. Though the town had been rebuilt after Pain's attack, it had never been quite the same. This time, he wouldn't allow the town he loved so much to be turned into a crater. He would go with Jiraiya and stop Pain before he got a chance to strike Konoha.

Eyes narrowing slightly, his head turned in the direction he knew Sasuke's house was in. For a long while, he stared off toward it, the only movement caused by the winds picking up and whipping at his clothing. The memories were still swarming him, though he had already seen the worst of them. He was trying to take in and categorize everything, but it was still a bit much to handle all at once. Things were playing out backwards to how his older self had experienced them. He needed to intercept Sasuke at just the right time and deal with him. After Itachi, but before Hebi was formed.

He would bring Sasuke back even if he had to break every bone in his body to do it. Slowly walking toward the end of the house he was on, he shoved his hands into his pockets. Everything he had done, he had done for her. In the end, he hadn't been able to keep his promise. That, almost over everything else, had never sat well with him. Sasuke's death had come after Sakura's, so she had never known what the Uchiha boy's fate had ultimately been. Perhaps, he thought, looking around the city once more before jumping to the next house and breaking into a sprint, it had been for the better that way. It was a selfish thing, he realized, but he was almost glad that he hadn't had to return from that fight, only to see the look in her eyes.

Though the two had eventually become a couple, it wasn't a long-lasting one. War had breached the town's walls again and she had been one of the many victims. It was shortly after that that he had gone on the run. Madara was doing everything he could to reach Naruto by that point. It had been an incredibly foolish idea, staying in Konoha in some ridiculous attempt to protect it. He hadn't been ready for what had marched on the town, and he had lost everything because of it. Had he been on the run before Madara decided to mobilize, the town might have been spared. There was no way of knowing, of course. Either Madara had destroyed Konoha to find Naruto, or he had done it just to torment him.

Dropping into a crouch at the end of another rooftop, Naruto stared across the road with an almost lost look on his face. There, behind the sliding door and the pulled-down blinds, she was sleeping. Still alive, still in love with Sasuke, and still innocent. As he stared at the wall as though trying to see through it, Naruto let out a shaky sigh. Would he even be able to get close to her this time around? If he managed to bring Sasuke back, then what? He would keep trying to leave. He would keep trying to get stronger. He would keep being driven by revenge. If Naruto handed him over to the right people, he was certain the boy could be brainwashed into behaving himself. But would it really still be Sasuke afterwards? Would he still act the same, only without his insane drive fueling him? How differently would he be if he were to take that route? Would Sakura hate him if he were to do that? Would she turn and try to help Sasuke settle down? Would helping Sasuke end up causing him to lose having another chance to be with Sakura altogether?

"It's heavy..." Naruto whispered, his words being stolen away by the winds.

'That is the burden you carry.' Replied the Kyuubi, its gruff voice quiet as well. 'Yes, you have the knowledge of future events. But changing the slightest thing could throw it all into chaos. If you save him, the Haruno girl might want to stay and be with him. But if you kill him, she would hate you. No matter what you do, you run the risk of losing her again. If we kill Orochimaru when he attacks during the Genin exams, then Sasuke will have nowhere to turn. But Sasuke would be able to take out both Itachi and Orochimaru for us. We would only need to find Kabuto afterwards. But if we do that, then will Madara turn to someone else for assistance in the end? If we round up the other tailed beasts and their vessels, what would we do when Akatsuki started going after them? Would Madara be able to do anything if all nine tailed beasts stood against him at once? The decisions we make are going to make or break things. We cannot diverge too much or we lose our advantage. We cannot let things play out as they did the first time for too long or else we risk failing. The burden is a great one, kid. I have no doubt that you are the only one who could handle this kind of strain.'

"Saying I'm handling it doesn't cover things very well." Murmured Naruto. "Do you have any idea how painful this is? How much I want to go in there, wake her up, and just explain everything? How much I want to hold her again? She's going to look at me with that same expression on her face when we go to try capturing Sasuke. She's going to look at me with that same expression, just barely hiding how upset she really is, when she finds out we failed our mission. I can't stand the thought of seeing that look on her face again. I want her to be happy, yes, but..."

'You want that happiness to be with you, not him.'

"Yeah. I'll be able to lie convincingly enough if things go south. She'll never see how much it hurts if she chooses him over me. I won't let her. Even if it isn't with me, I want her to be happy. Even if I wind up alone, as long as everyone else is alive and well, then I've succeeded. It doesn't make it any easier, but knowing how many lives I've saved; knowing how many people will still be able to smile and laugh and continue living... that'll be enough to help keep me going."

'I daresay that excluding yourself from the happiness you seek to restore is going about things in the wrong way.' The Kyuubi said. 'You shouldn't give up on yourself. What good is coming back and putting ourselves through this nightmare if we can't also enjoy peace in the end? What good is saving the rest of these people if you cannot sleep at night?'

"This was never about my future. It's about theirs." Naruto said, pushing himself up finally. Still gazing down at Sakura's bedroom window, his eyes closed and he murmured, "I'll get by fine on my own if I have to. If nothing else, I've always been a convincing actor. If I don't want anyone to see me in pain, then that's what will happen. No one was ever able to see through that mask in the past. I don't see why things would be different this time."

'If you say so. Though I feel, as we begin to make more and more changes, your stance will change.'

"Maybe so." Naruto said, eyes opening as he hopped off the roof. When he landed on the ground, he switched to mentally conversing with the Kyuubi. 'Heading for the Academy. No point in staying out in this wind. The town's already starting to wake up. Might as well sit in class and worry about whether the teams will be the same...'

'We can only hope. We've not changed things much thus far. Hopefully things will play out the same way for this. And this, at the very least, will allow you to both keep an eye on the Uchiha brat and be close to the Haruno girl.'

'I need to change myself enough that she accepts me sooner. The hardest part of that's going to be trying to be civil around Sasuke. I don't want to kill him... but I'd be perfectly happy crippling him for the rest of his life.' Naruto said, biting at his lower lip as he walked. 'Here, let's get back on that subject. Help me burn off this anger before class begins. I need to be able to be calm when the teams are announced...'

'As you wish. Starting on your meditation is the first part of fixing this imbalance you have at the moment...'

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Showing up so early, Naruto was the first person to arrive at the Academy for some time. The building was still silent, and it would be a bit longer before the teachers showed their heads. In fact, Naruto was counting on this fact, as it gave him more time to try and focus. At the very least, it would give him time to squash his anger down. That's what he was really worried about, though he wasn't entirely sure why. Even to the end, he knew his future self still considered Team 7 a thing. He never once let the idea of the team's destruction enter his mind, even when he had been the only one left alive.

Walking to his normal spot, Naruto unceremoniously flopped down into his seat, leaning back and staring up at the ceiling. The tightness in his chest hadn't left, either, though he wasn't entirely sure what he could do to ease that particular pain. There was still so much to do, and he had to try and break it all down into manageable bits. Thinking of Sakura hurt, but it also made him think about Sasuke, which only served to dredge up more anger. And while he had tried not to think of either of them on his way to the Academy, the teams being announced that day made it difficult.

"C'mon, help me focus. You mentioned meditation..." He said, keeping his voice down.

'Yes. Your older self took to it quite well in his later years.' Said the Kyuubi. 'It's simple, really. Close your eyes.'

Naruto did as he was told, leaning forward against the desk. "Now what?"

'Now slow your breathing down. Deep breathing is key, and it's going to help you focus yourself. Once you've done that, imagine yourself in a large, empty room.'

'Large, empty room,' Naruto responded mentally. He pictured a room much like his own bedroom, though without any furniture in it. 'Why a large, empty room?'

'It's going to help in sorting your memories. This will, with any luck, help you to at least minimize the impact your future self's experiences have on you. What you need to do is picture doors. The doors will also lead to large, empty rooms. You'll want to sort your memories into these rooms. When you've got them all sorted, your head will feel much clearer. Once the memories are packed away, you can also seal them off with the proper preparation.' Explained the Kyuubi.

'Yeah, this is gonna take awhile. Barely took in any of that.' Naruto thought, making a bit of a face.

'To be expected. It will take time and practice. When we have free time, we will work on it. This will include an hour leading up to bed. That way, you can sort the day's memories away and it should allow you to sleep without incident.'

'If it means not waking up and having to scramble to the bathroom to throw up, I'm all for that...' Thought Naruto, a hand moving to his stomach. 'I'll do what it takes, though. I don't want to see things like that. I know I need to know about them, but experiencing them firsthand like that is... hard...'

'Indeed it is.' Said the Kyuubi. 'Now then, while we have time, let's continue...'

For the next half hour, Naruto sat perfectly still, his attention almost solely on his memories. The Kyuubi was being almost surprisingly patient with him as he worked out how to set things up. Once he had figured out the basics, however, he realized it wasn't going to be anywhere near as difficult as it had sounded. Happy memories went behind the door with 'Happy' written on it. Sad memories went behind the door with 'Sad' written on it. Sasuke memories went behind the door with 'Giant, egotistical, pigheaded asshole' on it.

And though Naruto was focused on sorting his brain out, he wasn't tuning out the world around him entirely. He could sense Iruka approaching and, when the man actually entered the classroom, Naruto stopped sorting memories and just sat at his desk. His eyes remained closed and he was still leaning forward, and he hoped it would seem as though he was simply trying not to fall asleep. Iruka paused for a moment after entering, no doubt surprised at seeing Naruto in the class before anyone else, before heading to his desk at the front of the room.

After shuffling some papers around and taking his seat, Iruka turned and glanced over at the blond. "Couldn't sleep?"

"Nightmares again." Naruto said. At least this time, he thought, he wasn't lying. "Woke up and nearly got sick all over the bed. Barely made it into the bathroom."

"Anything you feel like talking about?" Asked Iruka.

"Not unless you want to be mopping the floor when everyone else gets here." Replied Naruto, opening his eyes and giving his teacher a smirk.

"I'll pass, thanks." Iruka said, rolling his eyes. "Why'd you come here, though? I don't think you've ever arrived before me."

Shrugging, Naruto told the man the truth. "Decided to get out of my room for awhile. The cold air felt really good on my sore throat. It was close enough to morning that I figured I'd just wait it out in here. Didn't want to head home so soon, anyway. Left my window open to air the room out while I was gone."

Iruka nodded. "Alright, then. Looking forward to hearing what team you're on?"

"I can probably guess who I'll be stuck with." Naruto said, giving Iruka the evil eye. "If you didn't pair me up with that idiot Sasuke, I'll be stunned."

"Honestly, I wish I could make you two get along..." Iruka said, blowing out a sigh.

"C'mon, Iruka-sensei, can't you gimme a hint or somethin'? No one else is here! Tell me what team I'm on!" Said Naruto, grinning at Iruka hopefully.

"Nope!" Chirped Iruka almost as soon as his student had finished speaking. "You'll find out when the others get here and not a moment before."

"Ahh, you suck." Naruto groused. There went trying to quell his fears early. "Oh well, it was worth a try, I guess."

After that, Naruto and Iruka made small talk until the other students began filtering into the classroom. Most of it had to do with how well Naruto was taking care of himself, though Naruto also got in a few questions here and there. Those were mainly concerned with how well Iruka's wounds were healing. Iruka dismissed his worries, saying that the staff at the hospital had him healed up in no time flat. It had looked far worse than it actually had been, apparently. And, despite the fact that the room was filling up, somehow the conversation had taken a turn toward Naruto's gardening skills.

"Look, I just don't think they're growing." He had said, shaking his head. "I put them in the window, I'm keeping them watered, but they just aren't coming up."

"Did you add any of that plant food I gave you?" Asked Iruka. "That might speed them along."

"Did that." Naruto said. "I dunno, maybe it's just a bad spot. They aren't really getting a ton of light in the kitchen. Would it help adding more fertilizer?"

"Not on the herbs, it'll affect their flavor." Iruka said. "Yeah, try moving them to a better spot and see if that helps. Who knows, it might just be a bad bunch. You get those every so often. Stubborn things just don't want to grow. Have you had any problems with bugs?"

"Not yet, but I haven't seen many bugs lately, period." Naruto said. "Probably a few months away from them getting really bad. Also, everyone's staring at us. Might wanna get started, Iruka-sensei."

"What? Oh! Right." Iruka said, blinking as he realized that the class was indeed watching their conversation with utterly baffled expressions. "What? I taught him how to grow his own herbs. The boy can't sustain himself purely on ramen..."

Naruto made a face at Iruka. "Not for lack of trying."

"Not for lack of trying, yes." Iruka repeated, getting to his feet and grabbing at one of the papers on his desk. "Now then, today's the day I'm sure you all have been waiting for! You'll soon be assigned missions by the village. To take these, you genin will need to have a jounin watching over you. In addition, you'll be split up into three-man teams. You'll follow your jounin instructor's orders as you do your work for the village. We've gone through your scores and have split you up into groups we think can work well with one another..."

Naruto went tense as Iruka walked around to the front of his desk, glancing down at the paper in front of him once more. This was it. Team 7 would be listed soon. If anything was going to happen at this point, everything would be thrown into chaos. If things changed this early on, then his future self's sacrifice would have been for nothing. Time slowed to a crawl for Naruto who, despite initially attempting to focus, was letting it get the better of him.

He saw, rather than heard, Iruka say Sakura's name, then his own. Then there was the seemingly infinite pause before the man said Sasuke's name.

Naruto didn't even bother registering Sakura's excited outburst, so relieved was he that his own team, at the very least, would remain the same. As it turned out, however, his wasn't the only one. Whatever impact the slight change during his fight with Mizuki had brought about, switching up the teams that comprised the future Konoha 11 wasn't a part of it. For now, though, it was still at 12, and that was how Naruto was hoping to keep it this time.

"And just why," said Sasuke, suddenly, "do I have to be on the same team as him?"

Iruka looked over their way, smirking faintly. "Because his grades were dead last... up until very recently, anyway. And yours were the top among all 27 graduates. We had to do things this way to balance the teams out."

Sasuke glanced aside at Naruto for a moment before scoffing. "Just don't get in my way, dead last."

"Says the guy who felt it necessary to upstage the 'dead last' during the Bunshin test." Naruto said, smiling sweetly at Sasuke, who sent a glare his way.

"Knock it off, you two." Iruka said. Raising his voice to get the class' attention back on him, he continued, "This afternoon, you'll be introduced to the jounin assigned to your teams. Until then, you're free to do what you want."

The tension in the room lifted with these words, with most of the students immediately getting up to join their new teammates. Naruto, however, needed to get out of the classroom for awhile. He needed a bit of fresh air, and being around Sasuke was already starting to grate on his nerves. That, and he had had a flash of something that was about to happen while he and Sasuke had been arguing. Or, at the very least, something that had happened during his older self's timeline.

And, despite knowing exactly how it was going to play out, he knew it was something he needed to do.

With a sigh, he got what he needed and waited for the right moment to strike. Sasuke still left himself unguarded while eating, and Naruto was going to take advantage of that. And while Naruto could perfectly change his appearance to that of the Uchiha's without dragging him off and tying him up, it wouldn't be as much fun. Aside from trying to play things out as closely as they had originally, Naruto had two other reasons for wanting to do this. The first was that he simply wanted an excuse to drag Sasuke off and tie his smug ass up for awhile. The second was that he wanted to gauge if his personality change had been noticed at all by Sakura.

Minutes later, he was smirking down at an angry, hogtied Uchiha Sasuke. "Now stay there and be a good boy until I get back and I might untie you if you ask me nicely enough." He said. Bringing his hands up, he transformed his appearance into that of Sasuke's. With one last smirk over his shoulder, Naruto launched himself out of the window and down to street level.

'Don't like looking like that idiot.' Naruto thought as he bounded across the rooftops.

'No, but it was enjoyable to get the better of him like this.' Said the Kyuubi.

'Yes. Yes it did. ...Damn, there she is. What do I do?'

'Follow my instructions...'

Naruto landed behind a tree, peeking around at Sakura, who was sitting on a nearby bench, staring down at the ground. Once he was sure she wasn't going to look his way, he slipped around the tree, crossed his arms, and leaned back against it. He looked her way and did his best 'smug jackass' face, which felt decidedly odd. He got the feeling that he should have practiced a bit before landing. When she finally noticed him, he pushed himself away from the tree and walked over to her.

"Have I ever said just how much I've wanted to kiss your forehead?" Naruto asked, hoping his damnedest that the Kyuubi wasn't just pulling his tail so he'd make an ass of himself. "Pff... man, that really sounds like something Naruto would say..."

Sakura seemed slightly put out by the way he had finished speaking, and glanced down again. Hesitating for only a moment, the disguised Naruto sat down on the bench next to Sakura. "Hey, there's something I want to ask you."

"What is it?" She asked, looking up at 'Sasuke' hopefully.

"What do you think about Naruto, anyway? We're stuck on the same team together, after all."

Sakura looked back at the ground, brow creased for a moment before she started speaking. Naruto tried to brace himself for the impact he knew was coming. "He doesn't know anything about me, but he acts all weird around me. I don't get it at all. It's like he was put here just to get in my way... especially around you."

Swallowing hard, Naruto managed to find his voice and ask, "Around me?"

"All I want is for you to acknowledge me." She said, turning to face him. And, glancing up at him through her eyelashes, she continued, "I like you, Sasuke-kun..."

Glancing off, Naruto forced himself to keep his expression neutral. He wasn't gaining any ground, but he sure as hell wasn't going to give that idiot Sasuke any help, either. "He's been acting strange lately, though. Have you noticed?"

Sakura blinked at this, obviously not expecting the conversation to go back to Naruto. "Strange? How so?"

Naruto shrugged. "He's gotten quieter. And he made a proper Bunshin during the test. It just seems like there's something strange going on with him, that's all. He's always trying to talk to you. I thought you might know."

"If he said anything, I wasn't listening." Sakura said. "As far as I'm concerned, he's still as annoying as always."

Naruto stood up at that point. "Class will resume soon. We should get back."

"I'll come with you, then!" Sakura said, hopping up and moving beside 'Sasuke,' only to see him focusing very intently on a spot in the distance. She turned her head, but didn't see anything interesting off that way. When she went to look back, however, she found that he had vanished in the split second she had looked away. With a defeated sigh, Sakura began muttering to herself as she headed back for the Academy.

Naruto had ditched the transformation as soon as he was out of view of Sakura, vaulting his way back for the Academy as quickly as he dared to let himself move. He was only vaguely keeping track of where he was, though, as he was too busy trying to file away the new memories near the old ones so that he wouldn't have to think about them. Even bracing himself, that had hurt to hear. It hurt even more knowing the other half of the conversation that was probably taking place as he was leaping across the city's rooftops.

One night, his future self had been awakened by a nightmare. At his side at the time, Sakura had stayed up to try and calm his nerves and comfort him. She had talked about the past and had brought up the conversation she had had with Sasuke the day they had been assigned to Team 7. Naruto had laughed at that, asking if she had known that the first Sasuke she had seen that day had been him. She admitted that, at some point after he had left to train with Jiraiya, she had spent a lot time thinking of the past. That particular incident had always stood out to her. The first time she had seen Sasuke, he had been talking almost exclusively about Naruto. And the second, he had completely shut her feelings down by calling her annoying.

When he reached the roof of the Academy, he stopped to lean forward, panting heavily. When he looked up, it was to see Sasuke standing there, looking as far from amused as he possibly could have. Pushing himself back up straight, Naruto forced himself to smirk. "Looks like you managed to untie yourself."

"Those pathetic excuses for knots wouldn't keep anything tied up for long, dead last."

"You got here fast. Happen to run across Sakura-chan?" Asked Naruto, thinking it was a little strange that Sasuke had caught up to him already.

A shadow passed over Sasuke's eyes for a moment. When it left, he let out a noncommital noise and shoved Naruto aside, heading for the door. That told Naruto all he needed to know. Must have been a much shorter conversation than his older self had thought. For now, Naruto followed behind Sasuke at a distance, trying not to use the fan on the back of his future enemy's shirt as target practice for a well-placed Rasengan.

When they re-entered the classroom, it was to find many of the other students already loitering around, waiting for class to pick up again. Sakura was one of the last to arrive, and Naruto glanced her way long enough to see the hurt look in her eyes as she sat down. Immediately, a fire bubbled up from somewhere behind his stomach, and it took a great deal of willpower to not pivot and slam his fist into the side of Sasuke's head as hard as he possibly could.

'He'll get his, in the end.' The Kyuubi growled. 'We'll find a way to drag him back whether he wants to return or not. He won't get a warrior's death this time. You're getting too riled up. Focus. Remember what we did earlier.'

Naruto closed his eyes and tried to slow his breathing down, but it took a lot of effort on his part. He didn't want to be calm. He wanted to chuck Sasuke off the Hokage Monument and count how long it took for him to hit the pavement. But he did as the Kyuubi asked, as he knew it would only be a matter of time before he got to burn off some of his anger in a constructive way. As time passed, the jounin assigned to watch over the genin arrived and departed with their new students. In the end, it was only Team 7 left behind, with even Iruka heading home for the day after wishing them luck.

The silence in the room was heavy after Iruka left, however. Naruto knew he should have been up, preparing a prank, but he just didn't feel in the mood for it. He did get to his feet to check out in the hall, despite knowing Kakashi wouldn't be arriving for some time. Blowing out a frustrated sigh, he went over and sat down in Iruka's chair, letting it spin him around a few times as he stared up at the ceiling.

'Look on the bright side. The teams remained the same. That's one more major hurdle down.' Said the Kyuubi.

'Yeah, but now we have to worry about the same teams passing the next set of obstacles in their way. What if one of them doesn't make it? That's going to throw things way off.' Naruto retorted.

'We'll deal with those issues if and when we have to. For now, try to let yourself relax. And stop thinking about showing off at the training ground. You can burn off some of your aggression against Hatake Kakashi, but you're not going to pull any stunts.'

'Of course I won't be pulling any stunts.' Thought Naruto. 'Kakashi'd report back to the Third, and then we'd be in trouble. Aside from that, I don't want that idiot Sasuke knowing my tricks before I'm good and ready for him to. Still gonna get a bell this time. Same damn tactic I told Sakura about in the future. Er... the past? Man, I hate time travel.'

'Spoiling the ending to his book?' Asked the Kyuubi.

'He won't be expecting it, that's for sure. Just gotta get him serious enough to show off his left eye.' Naruto explained.

'Heh. The others won't have any idea...'

'That's part of the fun.'

"If you make yourself sick doing that, you're cleaning it up yourself." Sakura finally commented, having gotten dizzy watching Naruto spin himself around in Iruka's chair.

"I don't get dizzy." Naruto replied, smiling at the girl. "At least, not like this I don't."

"You're weird, has anyone ever told you that?"

"Plenty." Said Naruto.

"And it doesn't bother you?"

"Why should it? People have been calling me names since I was little for some reason. I've gotten used to it." Naruto explained. Finally, he hopped out of Iruka's chair and went back to check the door. "Seriously, where the heck's this Kakashi guy at, anyway? Did he get lost or somethin'?"

"Would you stay still?" Sakura said, rolling her eyes.

"Staying still's boring." Naruto said, proceeding to park himself on the floor just a few feet away from the door, sitting very still. "...Wonder if I should put an eraser on top of the door. Whenever Kakashi-sensei gets here, he'd open the door and it'd bounce off his head."

"A jounin wouldn't fall for such a stupid trick." Sasuke muttered.

"You'd be surprised..." Naruto replied, grinning crookedly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Asked Sasuke, cracking an eye open.

Naruto was about to reply when the door opened. This time, Naruto was ready for the onslaught of painful memories that came slamming into him from out of nowhere. He closed his eyes and started to file the memories away behind the 'future' door, slamming it shut when they had passed him by. He still felt winded by the experience, but at least he wasn't feeling nauseated this time. When he opened his eyes, it was to find Kakashi surveying the three of them.

"Hm... how should I say this..." He began. "My first impression of you is..."

"Lousy?" Suggested Naruto, smirking up at the man. "C'mon, we sat around patiently this entire time while we waited for you! Give us some credit for that, at least!"

Kakashi looked down at Naruto, and he could almost feel the man's Sharingan spinning away behind his forehead protector. Finally, a chuckle. "Alright, you three, follow me."

"Where are we going?" Asked Sakura.

"Up to the roof. Proper introductions are in order." Kakashi said, turning and heading out of the room, motioning for the three genin to follow.

'Gonna enjoy the rest of this week.' Naruto thought as he hopped to his feet and bounded off after the jounin. 'We're gonna have fun...'

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Author's Notes: And so, I've finally gotten off my lazy ass and finished another chapter. Will wonders never cease?

The Teams remain the same, but does that mean everything within them will still play out the same way? There's only so much Naruto can do on his own, after all. He's lucked out thus far, but there's still a lot that could go wrong at any given time. The road ahead is still almost unfathomably long.

The next test, of course... is getting the bells.

I've got a few ideas, including a huge bit that'll never make the final cut just because Naruto goes pretty all-out against Kakashi and it entirely didn't feel right at ALL. So it'll get scaled back a bit. As Naruto said, he doesn't want to show off his entire bag of tricks in front of Sasuke this early in the game.

Until next time, folks. Which, hopefully, won't take quite this long.