Another hour into their training and the two children were huffing harshly against their trees, though Naruto was doing better. She smiled to herself; her chakra control had improved greatly from Sakumo's guidance and her hate of losing to the man's son. Using her shirt, Naruto wiped her face and turned to Kakashi, who noticed.

He glared. "What?"

"Nothing," she grinned, "just grateful for you being here."

The boy raised a brow at her, before scoffing. "You're weird."

"I'm just honest."

"That's what makes you weird."

"Hm… really?"

Is she an idiot? He grumbled under his breath, knowing she couldn't hear. "What's wrong with you?"

The smile on her face faltered, before she walked over to him. Her face emitted dark waves with an obvious twitch on the left corner of her lips, and Kakashi knew that her (short) patience was gone. She crouched and jabbed a finger to his chest, "What's wrong with you?"

He swatted her hand away like a fly, a scowl evident even without his mask on. Sakumo watched the two of them, shaking his head, "You two…"

Kakashi's glare on Naruto intensified then. If his father didn't have to take care of this… girl's training, this wouldn't have happened. "You're so annoying."

"And you're such a prick."

Sakumo clapped once loudly, putting a stop to their verbal fight before it evolved to something worse. "Since you've completed this drill, I guess we should move onto the next one."

He took them away and Naruto grinned, nostalgia bubbling inside her. They were going to the baths!

She froze. Wait…

Baths?

Baths equal tons of boiling hot water. Oh shoot.

Ebisu's strict training session ghosted into her mind.

"Father, why are we here?" Kakashi snapped her back to reality, and she took pity on the boy's obliviousness to the danger they were about to face.

Naruto puffed her cheeks, zoning out of Sakumo's instructions on how to walk on water. Luckily she hadn't used many clones, so she would have plenty of chakra to use. When Sakumo allowed them to start on the secluded bath, Naruto tied up her shirt just below her (unfortunately flat, she thought miserably) chest, snapped off her weapon holster and pouch, and took off her sandals.

"Hm?" She noticed that Kakashi wasn't doing the same. "You'll catch a cold, you know."
He ignored her, and promptly fell into the scalding hot water.

Naruto frowned. It would be easier if I got rid of some chakra first… She had planned on saving it but that would be wasted on failing, and if she used her clones they would remember how much chakra she should put in.

She shifted her hands into her favorite seal, and added more chakra than necessary. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Six clones popped into existence and all the Narutos tentatively dipped their foot in the water. They applied chakra, testing what was too much or too little, and after maintaining a constant flow, they tried the other foot.

For a minute, it worked, before one clone lost concentration and fell in the water.

One by one they were distracted by the others and couldn't maintain a perfect rhythm of chakra to their feet. Kakashi watched with twitching eyes at their stupidity.

Sakumo ruffled the blonde's bangs proudly, "That was really fast, Naruto! I didn't expect you to almost get it on the first try."

"Oh, it was pure luck…" since I already knew what it should feel like and didn't rush in this time... She laughed awkwardly. A shudder ran up her spine; is it just me or is there… she gulped, killer intent!

She robotically peered back, and shot back to the waters. She can bet with her life that she saw evil chuckling ghosts swarming around the boy.

"Gyah!" She quickly applied chakra to her hands to stop herself from falling. They sank down before she bobbed back up.

"That was great, Naruto." Sakumo announced, thoroughly impressed. "I'm surprised you caught on so fast. Well, you two, I'll be going to get some towels and clothes, so make sure you keep training."

"Okay!" Naruto said, while Kakashi grunted. When the man was clearly out of earshot, she snapped at him. "For the love of God, what's your problem?"

He glared hard, "You're my problem." Having said that, he promptly stomped off into the hot bath.
Naruto stared after him, frozen in her spot. "…Ouch." Her sensei wouldn't say such cruel things, she reminded herself, but her face still twisted in pain as she gazed downcast. Kakashi and Kakashi-sensei are different. She shook her head, pasted a smile on her face and went to practice her drills as well.

Sakumo sighed from behind the wall he hid when he finally looked away from the two children, shaking his head as well. Keeping his hands in his pockets, he flickered and disappeared.

"Young Naruto is extraordinary, Hokage-sama." Sakumo said—beamed, "When you told me that she might be behind, I had thought that you meant she didn't understand chakra control at all."

"Ah, no, I never meant that." Hiruzen laughed as he watched the lights of stalls flicking on from his wide windows, "She just seemed to have some problems with it."

"Hm… Well, she wrapped it up pretty quickly," the silver haired man pondered, leaning back on the wall, "made me quite surprised, actually."

"That girl… she never fails to surprise anyone, I can tell."

Sakumo hummed again, "She interests me. Not only because of her skills, too."

"Oh?"

"She looks so much like Minato and Kushina-san. I wanted to know if…"

"She does look alike to that couple, but she's not their daughter." Yet. "I doubt only that's the other reason. Is it because of your son, Kakashi?

"Yes." He said, smiling, their conversation easily turned. "It's the first time I've seen him express so much emotion ever since..."

"Ah…" Hiruzen softly spoke. "She was young and beautiful. I almost thought of her as a daughter."

"I'm sure she's watching over us as well as her best friends."

"Yes, they were quite the trio despite the difference in their age. Her, Kushina, and Mikoto, that is."
Sakumo smiled, before glancing at the clock. "I just remembered—I promised Kakashi that I'd practice mind games with him."

"Alright," The Hokage said, before stopping the younger man with one question, "Sakumo, what do you think of Naruto?"

The man blinked as he turned his head back, before a stronger smile appeared on his lips, "In some aspects, she's just like her."

"I see."

Minato looked up from his scroll at the ring of the doorbell, "Oh, she's back."

Kushina put down her ladle and followed him to open the door, "Welcome home, Naruto!"

Naruto blinked, before she matched their grins, "Tadaima!"

"I was just finishing up dinner, so—oh, did you take a shower outside?" The woman pointed out her damp hair that wasn't in their usual pigtails while Minato went back to prepare the table.

"Ah yeah, my sensei's Hatake Sakumo, and he trained me and his son—"

"His son and I, Naruto."

"Yup, his son and I with chakra control. One of the drills was water surface walking, and we went to the baths for that."

Kushina smiled, "Was it fun?"
"Yup! Really, really fun, though Kakashi was annoying me."

"Annoying you? That nice kid?" The she bit her cheek to keep from laughing at the young girl's adorableness. "Well, let's talk it over dinner, shall we?"
They had Naruto's favorite; miso ramen, with lots of pork. "You're awesome, Kaa-chan!"

"I know I am." Kushina grinned at the compliment and what she had been called. "I'm the best ramen maker in this town."

"That's only because you don't even know half the village's cooking, and because there hasn't been a ramen shop for years." Minato said pointedly as he split his chopsticks.

"Hey! Naruto, you agree with me, don't you?"

"… yeah?"

Kushina huffed, "Your tone sure boosts my confidence. I swear, all blonds have something against me."

Naruto stuffed herself with the noodles, trying to survive from choking as she laughed at her parents' playful banter. Gulping the food down, she grinned, "Kaa-chan, I doubt she meant anything behind that."

"Oh really? So it's perfectly normal for her to throw a flower pot at me?" The redhead scoffed. "She hates me, and wanted me to know that with her sickly 'sweet' smile! She's suffocating me with all that eye poison."

"Now, now, Kushina…" Minato tried, failing pitifully. He then turned to the girl sitting next to her, in an attempt to change the topic. "Naruto, I've noticed this before, but your vocabulary's pretty impressive." Kushina put away her ill temper and clasped her hands together.

"I agree!" She rather forcefully slammed the blonde to her chest, on the verge of vigorous crying. "Oh, Naruto, I'm so proud of you!"
"You weren't the one who taught her… that's for sure."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean, eh? Hm?"
Naruto took a moment to respond, "Eh, ah… I was taught by the teacher I told you about, Tou-chan. He's, um, really good at pretty much everything…" She smiled, but couldn't let go of the bad taste left in her mouth—and it definitely wasn't because of Kushina's brilliant cooking.

"Oh, I heard about him from Minato. He seems pretty awesome, eh? Snagged yourself a great teach!" Kushina elbowed her, before taking a slice of pork into her mouth.

"He is good. Wonder what village he was from…"

Naruto feigned confusion, "He never really did tell me anything about him, but he was really nice and caring." All of her mentors were, and Kakashi-sensei never really did reveal much about himself for the first few years of them knowing each other.

"Hm…"

Kushina grinned, "He's good with manners too, eh?" She pointedly looked at the proper way Naruto ate; elbows off the table, waiting until she had nothing in her mouth before she talked. "Even knows the proper way to eat ramen, I see. Chow and slurp!"

Minato brought a hand over his eyes and Naruto grinned, "Yup, my mentor was picky with how he ate." She. Sakura had all but beaten the manners into her brain. The only thing she failed to knock out of her was her style of eating the best food in the world.

"So?" Kushina stared, a smile on her face that seemed, from Naruto's perspective, knowing and mischievous. "What's this I hear about your new partner? Hatake Kakashi, was it?"

The girl puffed her cheeks, and looked the other way as she said in annoyance, "Oh, yeah. He's so mean." Her mouth curved down further in distaste. "He thinks I'm stupid and 'brainless' so he pushes me into sixty degrees water!"

Minato raised a brow disapprovingly, "What he did isn't quite sensible."

Kushina's grin kept its sly curl. "I think it's quite cute; you know what they say about young boys and their behaviors towards the girls…" Naruto sweat-dropped, and Minato rolled his eyes.

"'Boys tease the girls they like'? Isn't that a bit too early for him? I mean, he's four years old, the same age as Naruto," he reasoned. Ah, she inwardly sighed exasperatedly, Kiba had once said something about that when he noticed Sasuke's attitude with me… She grumbled. Though I'm pretty sure it was because the bastard hated me to guts that time. "If anything, it seems to me that he just dislikes her with a very… strong passion." Nicely put, Dad; a much better way of saying that he, like his future favorite student, hates me.

"Isn't that a bit too fast? He barely even knows her except for her talents and maybe her weak points. Nothing about personality or lifestyle."

"That's enough reason to, Kushina." Minato withheld a smile, "Didn't you hate me the first day you got into the academy? Seeing me as someone who's—what was it? Flaky and weak?"

The woman huffed, realizing the argument was settled—with her boyfriend being the winner again. Naruto grinned and asked, although she already knew the answer, "Do you guys always have small quarrels like this?"

"Quarrels?" Kushina frowned in thought, "I don't think I knew the word until I was at least ten years old…"

"You never really cared much about the textbooks and writing much unless it had something to do with seals, after all." Minato laughed, "Actually, you never really cared for your studies until you turned genin."

"That's 'cause Konoha's a little late in teaching stuff! I mean, the academy teaches basic ninjutsu, writing skills that we don't need to even memorize half of, math, textbook styled taijutsu—which sucks—only." She ranted heatedly, caught up in her frustration. "Kids need more action!"

Naruto firmly clamped her mouth shut, but the shy thoughts didn't stop popping up in her brain. I couldn't even get any of the stuff they taught us until I failed on my first exam… "Anyways, how was Sakumo-san?" Minato asked, preventing the fiery woman from continuing her tirade, "I'm pretty sure he's a good sensei—not only is he talented in all arts, he's exceptionally good in teaching."

"Yup!" The girl squeaked, more than glad that the subject shifted. "He points out the stuff I'm weak at, and helps me with it. Sometimes though, he lets me solve it on my own—that way I'll be able to remember better of what's bad or good to do and stuff." Now that she thought about it, the man seems similar to Jiraiya in terms of teaching—nothing related to his 'research', of course. But he occasionally did shove her into a bar or two a few times.

Minato must have thought along the same lines, as he mumbled, "Kind of reminds me of a serious Jiraiya-sensei." Naruto blinked, remembering what her father had said before.

"Hey, hey, Tou-chan," She started slowly, curiosity on her features. "Do you know him personally?"

"Sakumo-san? Ah, yeah. He's my sempai, and taught me quite a lot of tips during missions."

Kushina's smile, Naruto noticed, was turning strained the more they talked about the man. "Kaa-chan?" She turned to her hesitantly with blue eyes of worry.

"Hm?"

"Are you okay?"

"Oh, yes, yes, Naruto. What makes you ask?" The smile turned firmer now as the woman ruffled her hair affectionately. "Well, we have some bowls to wash, so will you help me?"

The whiskered blonde kept her gaze on her mother for a moment longer, before letting go. Kushina was just as, if not more, stubborn as she was. "Hai." She saluted, and stood to collect the red ramen bowls with her as Minato went to study some scrolls. From her messy bangs, Naruto still watched the red-haired woman walk to the kitchen, worry still evident.

Naruto coughed out the dust and tears prickled her eyes as she adjusted her knees to the dirty floor. "Really, Hokage-sama, why of all places did you keep the Uzumaki clan's scrolls here?" Here, as in the hidden, underground chamber. The Hokage fully trusted her, now that the paternity test was over. "It doesn't look like it has been cleaned for over a decade."

"Well, I can't allow anyone other than myself or Kushina to enter. We can't come here so often since someone might see us, and she doesn't really like to come down here."

"Oh. Why?"

"I'm thinking it is because it's… hard for her."

Naruto didn't speak—she couldn't. What can she say? Her mother, unlike her, knew of her village and clan, which were both destroyed by enemies because of their power. She continued carefully searching through the old scrolls and paper seals, but focused on the former. While seeing the actual seal can allow you to find out new techniques to a fuuinjutsu, it was quicker to find the scroll holding the secrets and effects to it.

This was taking forever.

"Hokage-sama?"

"Hm?"

She kept her eyes on the dust layered papers in front of her, "I think it's best to tell you what happened in my future now." Not only is this room soundproof, we're several meters underground. Hearing his nod from the rustle of his scarf, she began from the moment she was born, but kept everything brief, only mentioning the important bits and pieces. However, she noticed that almost everything that came out of her mouth revolved around Sasuke, and knew that the elder realized as well.

"I went with Killer B, and trained to control the fox. I managed to mold Kyuubi's chakra, but while I use it, he'll take mine as well. So if I use too much of his chakra, I'll die easily. Anyways, after that, I found out about the war and went to the battlefield." She blew away a thick layer of dust and brought her jacket to her mouth and nose, muffling her voice. "I went to help the medic squad, but there I met the Whirlpool kunoichi. She tried to make me shrink, but at the same time I used the Hiraishin—I panicked. So the two fuuinjutsus somehow mixed and wound me up here."

"I see… no wonder Orochimaru's been so different lately. I've had my suspicions, but to think that he would go that far…" Naruto was glad she didn't look at the Hokage; she could hear enough despair in his voice. "Well, that's something I'll have to take care of. I can't let any other innocent people be used as guinea pigs for my—my student."

"I think it would be best to call E—Jiraiya-sensei as well—"

"No, Naruto. He's very much like you. It would be hard for him to cope, which would make it hard for me to stop Orochimaru. It's very similar—your bonds with Sasuke and Jiraiya's with Orochimaru are very alike."

She tried to lighten the atmosphere; the room was already suffocating enough as it is. "Well, Jiraiya-sensei better be glad that I think of Sasuke as a brother."

"You're… right about that." The mental image of Jiraiya and Orochimaru being together was probably too much for the man to bear. He coughed into his hand, and Naruto noticed the slight urgency of how he tried to change the topic. "Well, have you found something?"

"Yeah, while we were talking about Hokage-sama's two male students' questionable relationship, I thought this might be it." She lifted a scroll, having already dusted it off. Black whirlpools decorating the sea of faded green. Green… a light frown marred her face. If I remember correctly, Ino had once said that green flowers symbolize youth. Her lips curled down further, and black usually is a bad color, isn't it?

She forced herself to calm down, and unraveled the old scroll—tried to.

She noticed the small, broken circle at both corners of the opening, along with the kanji for blood. "To keep it this guarded…" She caught the Hokage's attention, and let him peer over her shoulder as she bit her thumb.

Blood seeped out, and a small drop landed on one of the miniature seals.

The circle's missing parts appeared to form an Uzumaki swirl, which was pulled into the crimson liquid. Experimentally, Naruto peeled the edge. I see… So it requires the blood of an Uzumaki to unlock it. She frowned, studying the other circle. But it's looks much simpler than the ones I've seen before…

Finding that it worked, she smudged her blood on the second and unbounded the scroll with care. Who knew how old this thing was…

"As expected of the Uzumaki clan." Hiruzen said, standing back up the same time she did. "However, they wouldn't add such security onto them, thinking that they would have been able to secure these themselves. So why…?"

"I was thinking the same thing, unless this one is…" very dangerous. Naruto clenched at the cloth covering her stomach; her cut had quickly healed. She looked at the long, thin paper in her hands, "This is it. The one jutsu we've been looking over half a day for."

It was all there, the instructions on how to make the seal. However, reading further into it, she noticed something terribly wrong.

"W-What…"

Hiruzen's brows furrowed in worry at her horror-stricken face. "Naruto? What's wrong?"

"It's not… How to stop it… isn't on…" Her breathing quickened and she combed a hand through her spiky bangs. "There're only the steps on how to activate—it doesn't say how to stop the user's chakra!"

"Calm down, Naruto," The Sarutobi ran his hand up and down her back gently. "Even if it doesn't have how to do it, you should be able to find out on your own, can't you?"

"Y-You're right…" She hugged herself as she let out a shaky breath. "But that… that would take too much—"

"Time?" The Hokage pressed his hand to his mouth, thinking for a moment. "We have no choice but to get Kushina's help for this. While I do have experience with seals, she has much more knowledge of it, especially the ones of Uzushiogakure's. She might even start being able to enter here on her own will. Are you fine with this?"
"I thought it best for only you and me to know of my situation."

"I can't do much for you, Naruto, and you can't do this on your own."
"On my own?" She frowned, "But it would be risky for anyone else to know—"

The Hokage's eyes grew sharper, "You can't shoulder everything on your own. Eventually… you'll turn out to be the very person you hate; Madara."
"Wha—"

"As I said before, you can't forget that you have possible strong allies around you. You'll become as egotistical as Uchiha Madara. You should find comrades you can trust." The Sandaime smiled pleasantly, "You said that you wanted to become Hokage ever since you were a child?"

Naruto nodded, wide eyed. "I still do."
"Well, you should remember that I, my predecessors, and in the future, your father, earned the title of Hokage because of those around us. If you have the same ambition as your parents, you will need support from friends to accomplish it."

"I…" She bit her bottom lip, squeezing the green scroll until her knuckles turned white. "I understand, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen ruffled her bangs, causing her to pout. "Why does everyone do that?"

"You're adorable—I have yet to fully register that you're actually sixteen."

"I'm just glad that Kiba—he's one of my childhood, annoying but fun friend—ain't here to see me. He'll surely say something cruel like 'that kunoichi had returned you back to your real age'" She imitated him by deepening her voice. She laughed, but suddenly it didn't feel so S "He'll totally... say..."

The Hokage figured out right away. "Don't worry, Naruto, you'll find your way back."

"I've been thinking…" She looked down and widened her eyes in an effort to hide her effort to hold back tears. I'm turning into a crybaby now, aren't I? "What if… What if I shouldn't go back?"

"What do you mean?"

"What if… I should stay here to make everything better? For them?"

"As the village leader, I would say it is best that you do." The aging man sighed. "But, as a fellow human being, I would say that it is up to you. You have done more than enough good for them, and the war can still come out to be in the shinobi world's favor with your help."

"The world would be more peaceful if I stayed, but I might lose the chance to unite the Five Great Nations because of the changes I make. I'll never get to be with my friends the same way I have been before, and even though they're there, my parents wouldn't know that I'm their daughter." She laughed emptily, "Even though I'm going to suffer a lot, there will always be someone worse off than me. I am but one person. My decision can either bring happiness to millions of people or take it away."

"Which will it be?" He asked solemnly, despite knowing her answer.

A plastic smile was already pasted on her face. "I'll stay."

The Hokage sighed heavily, as if he had just added a boulder to his shoulders, and readjusted his scarf. "I see. Thank you, Naruto."

They had bumped into each other once in a small town on a winter night. She had been on a solo mission to find a criminal, while he had been sent to assassinate a man who attempted to defy snake. The blonde wore a cape that hid her from head to toe as did he, but they could tell.

The streets were empty. Now was the perfect time for her to capture him and get him back. Back to where he belonged. Even as she had those thoughts, she froze the moment their shoulders touched.

After a few steps, made in what felt like an eternity, he stopped as well.

Her eyes were wide, as the whisper of his name fumbled out of her lips.

He didn't move.

Hesitance bubbled up restlessly within her. What if she was wrong? Would she be able to bear the disappointment? Can she keep herself from crumbling along with her hope?

His deep yet emotionless voice calling her name grasped her back to where she stood, feet planted against the rough cement.

She whirled around, not paying heed to her hair brushing over her wide and suddenly moist eyes. Her lips parted, a gasp escaping when she realized he was in front of her, red orbs glowing in the shadows of his coat.

His arms reached the edge of her cloth, bringing it down to reveal her long, golden hair, and brightening her sapphire eyes with the moonlight. He, almost fondly, used his thumbs to dry her cheeks as she took off the head of his coat.

His skin, as pale as the moon, shone as the crimson seeped into obsidian. Her fingers kept their clutch on the dark cloth.

He slowly drew his hands away, letting the tears flow freely down her whiskered cheeks, and gently wrapped her much smaller ones. His jaw clenched and brows knitted together in regret, the first time in three years she saw emotion on his porcelain face.

A tortured and strained plea escaped his mouth.

"Give up on me."

He disappeared, and she went back to her home, keeping their meeting to herself. What he said hadn't discouraged her; it did the opposite. His words encouraged her, a powerful hope and relieved happiness that would free her of her chains. He can still be reached.

That encounter was the last touch they felt from each other.

Naruto slowly opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling, briefly touching one of her cheeks. Tears settled at the corner of her eyes, and trickled down to her pillow.

I wonder, she brought her hands up to wipe them, will the chance given by my enemy really free you and the rest of us from pain? A smile touched her lips. Even if it costs me my own happiness, the sweet memories we shared, she sat up and made her bed, I'll save you and our precious friends. The door silently closed.

That dream was just what I needed, Sasuke.

"Where were you, Naruto? You do know that you attend the academy starting from today, right?" Kushina frowned as she flipped a pancake into said girl's plate. "You should know that it's bad for young children like you to go around the streets at night."

"I wasn't at the streets, and I only went out a few hours ago—I was practicing taijutsu while using chakra to stay on the walls of this apartment." The blonde grinned, "I had a dream so I couldn't go back to sleep."

The woman ruffled her hair, "A nightmare?"

"Nope, a good dream!"

"Oh, well," Kushina blinked and smiled, "I see. What was it about?"

"My best friend."

"Hmm… Alright, since you're in such a great mood, why don't you wake Dad up?"

Naruto beamed, "Hai, Kaa-chan!"

The woman gave a fond sigh, and took off her apron with a smile. I wonder how she'll react… Her eyes drifted to the documents on the counter, before snapping back to the blond duo, one rubbing his eyes sleepily as the other helped him reach to the table.

Perhaps it was more accurate to say that the girl was dragging the man.

Kushina deadpanned, "You're pathetic," to him, crouching down to make sure he heard her. She scowled, setting her palms on her hips, "Now be a man and help me get that plate down! We have something to discuss, remember?"

"Hmm…?" Minato sighed, "Ah… yeah." As if he had a heavy boulder on his back, he pulled himself up with Naruto's petite shoulder, ignoring the rather intense glare directed on him.

"Honestly… what's gotten you so weak in the morning?"

"Mission." Minato gave an apologetic smile to the blonde, before taking out the plate from the high shelf. "Mm, those pancakes smell really good."

"Of course, since I made them!" Kushina boasted unabashedly, and the three settled in their seats to eat their breakfast. The meal time consisted of the usual, trivial yet fun talk, but Naruto noticed something different. The best way she could explain the difference was that it was warmer. More… she sought for a better word while furrowing her brows, meaningful.

"Naruto," Minato began with a bright smile, different compared to his previous, lazy and tired expression.

"Yes?"

"We—Kushina and I have been wanting to show you something." Naruto then noticed the folder in her mother's hand. Kushina smiled from ear to ear as she passed it to her.

Naruto clenched the folder, finally realizing what the documents were after taking a look at the sheets. "This is…"

"Adoption form." Kushina ended for her, withholding her excitement as she watched her reaction. "So how about it? We can still take it back if this is too much for you, Naruto."

Minato crouched to be at eye level with the girl, tenderly holding her arms. "We've thought about this carefully for a while, and we're listed as your guardians in the Academy registration as well. It has only been two weeks, but we felt that this was… right." He petted Naruto's head, looking up at Kushina who had brought her arms on his shoulders. "I'm sorry it's so soon, and that I can't explain how Kushina and I feel about you better, I want you to understand that you are like a daughter to us now."

This isn't a dream, right? She tightened her grip on the bunched papers, tears overflowing down her cheeks as she tried to keep herself from sobbing in joy. Naruto glomped her father, while knowing that her words of gratitude were incoherent but continuing to let them run out of her mouth anyway.

Kushina smiled, before clapping her hands together, "Alright, Naruto! We can't have you going to the Academy with your eyes so red and puffy!" She hurriedly went into the kitchen, "I'll prepare some hot and cold towels, so you better change!"

Minato ended up piggybacking the girl back into her room.

Naruto waved goodbye to her parents, feeling nervous all of a sudden. The Hokage had warned her that the classes would be more uptight than the ones from her childhood days, seeing as it was the harsh times of war—the biggest one, in fact.

She shook her head—she was fine enough, wasn't she? Her chakra control was just barely chunin level thanks to her hard work on long hours. She had practiced her taijutsu earlier in the morning, so she shouldn't have a problem with the difference in her height or her limbs.

Naruto was fully prepared—

"Have you studied?" She snapped behind her to see young (and small—she was sure she was a little taller) Kakashi in his usual dark navy blue, mask-attached no-sleeves and pants. Wait…

"Study?"

"You haven't heard?" Naruto knew he was smirking; his smug tone said it all.

"Heard what?"

"We have a written test today. Our teacher doesn't care about late comers, either."

Well, she wasn't prepared for that.

And done.

This chapter was quite boring to write... sorry for the wait, and I hope this didn't disappoint anyone (it probably did though).

I made a lot of mistakes and I think I looked through them all, but if you find anything please write it in a review :)

And thank you so much for the feedback! I can't believe I didn't write that in the previous chapter! GAH, I feel like such an idiot!

Thankyouthankyouthankyou!