Naruto

Azure Cat, Crimson Fox

Act 2

Gloves Come Off

Chapter 11

Graduation

It was a simple classroom, tables and chairs removed to give the examinees enough space to perform their designated Jutsu. The only pieces of furniture in the whole room were a teacher's desk and three steel fold up chairs. Sitting on these chairs were the examiners for his entire year.

The examiners for his year were Uchiha Midori, a relatively new instructor to the school, taking over from Mizuki-sensei in Taijutsu. She was pretty cool and taught them some awesome moves which weren't in the curriculum, making her alright in his book. Shizuo Mikado was their survivalist lecturer, a little eccentric and broody, but otherwise fine, and their homeroom and class lecturer, Umino Iruka sat in the centre of the group, frowning down at his notes before looking up at him.

"Alright Naruto-kun," he began, looking up at the twelve year old blonde with a tired smile. "You know the drill, produce three Bunshin and you pass, you ready?"

Naruto grinned, and put his hands together for a seal, "You bet."

The first thing Iruka noticed was that the seal he made wasn't the usual ram, snake and tiger, but instead he placed his index and middle fingers into the shape of a cross and flared his chakra. That same grin still in place Naruto called out the name of the technique, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

"You gotta be kidding," Mikado muttered in half awe and half shock as a cloud of white smoke engulfed the room. Idly the central tutor was happy they decided to open the windows before the test began before looking at the dispersing field of white.

Four Naruto's stood in a straight line before his lecturers, all grinning broadly and standing proudly. His three tutors looked at him in complete and utter surprise. The blonde boy was dead in the centre of the class, middle of the pack, not terrible but not brilliant either. He excelled in subjects related to physical activity, like survival, Taijutsu and Ninjutsu but when it came to classes more related to theory like maths, biology and history he was barely able to pass.

Silence prevailed, and the four Nauto copies, once smug were now looking at them with a frown, "What? Did I get the Jutsu wrong?"

"No," Midori replied as she rose to her feet and circled around their table. She walked until she was standing right beside the Naruto on the far right. "Far from it Gaki, just let me try something."

Before Naruto could reply she leaned down until they were face to face, and the blonde boy blushed when he caught a glimpse at her cleavage. Midori-sensei was a cool instructor, fair, impartial and willing to help anyone who was struggling, plus she was a raven haired bombshell with a supermodels physique and a face which was very easy on the eyes. She smirked that smirk which seemed to be an Uchiha trademark before poking his clone in the forehead with the middle and index fingers of her right hand.

"Owe," the clone exclaimed, reaching up with his hand to massage his forehead. "Hey Midori-sensei, what gives?"

She blinked in surprise before righting herself and turning to the other two instructors, "They're completely solid."

"He created three Kage Bunshin," Mikado muttered in disbelief, before turning to Iruka and lowering his voice, just as Midori sat back down. "Isn't that a forbidden technique because of the chakra requirements?"

Iruka nodded, "It is, but with Naruto's condition I'm not surprised he was able to do it. So what's the verdict?"

"He passes with flying colours of course," Midori replied. "Creating a Kage Bunshin is well over the necessary requirements."

"I agree," Iruka replied.

"Sure, sure," Mikado added with a dismissal wave of his hand.

Iruka looked at the blonde, well blondes in front of him before smiling, "Congratulations Naruto, you pass."

Naruto's grin returned full force as Iruka rose from his seat, picked up one of the headbands on the table and presented it to him, "Uzumaki Naruto, you are hereby a Genin of Konoha, welcome to the Shinobi ranks."

Naruto felt like jumping up and down in pure joy, but managed to school his features down to a grin. He bowed his head, remembering the procedure and took the Konoha Hatai-ite from his mentor with both hands. He looked down at the headband in awe, almost as if it were a valuable treasure. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka grinned, "Your welcome Naruto-kun, now get out of here and back to class. Oh, and tell Yamanaka Ino that she's next."

Naruto nodded and walked out of the classroom with a skip in his step. The moment the door closed the three lecturers could hear a shout of 'Hell yeah!'

Iruka sighed as he took his chair, "At least he waited until he was outside the classroom."

"Mm-hmm," Mikado agreed as he too began sorting through the student roster for the next student. "How many are left?"

"Just another three and we'll be finished, finally." Iruka replied. "It's a good class this year, beat the record in passes."

"What did you expect with so many clan heirs present?"

"I suppose,"

"Um, how did he learn such an advanced technique?" Midori asked with a frown. "I knew the kid had a lot of untapped potential but-"

"It's times like these when we are reminded how new you are, Midori-chan." Iruka smiled teasingly, enjoying her reaction when the Uchiha huffed lightly. "Just think of whom his tutors are outside of school and it'll come to you."

Naruto entered his classroom just as he finished tying his Hatai-ite to his forehead. The class was full of students milling around, showing off their new Hatai-ites to each other and talking in hushed tones. Sasuke was sitting in the middle, being harassed by his little club of fan girls, Naruto didn't envy the guy too much. He spotted Shikamaru, Chouji and Kiba sitting near the back and walked up to meet them.

While on his way up to them he passed by a small crowd. The Uchiha was looking bored and stoic as ever, or was it moody? He had trouble telling. His club of fan girls were all around him, particularly Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino who were sitting on either side of him. When he saw Naruto through a smirk etched his face. "So you passed huh?"

Naruto frowned. The two of them were joint rookie of the year, but they weren't really what one would call friends, more like fierce rivals determined to be better than the other. Both had drawn dead even in almost every class from Taijutsu and survival courses to class examinations. The only real advantage Sasuke had over him was in the Taijutsu tallies, forty wins to his forty one. A single point was all that stood between them.

"Course I passed, surprised you did though."

The Uchiha snorted, "I was the one before you moron."

"I care why?"

The Uchiha shrugged before laying his head on his folded arms. Naruto grumbled something under his breath before making the rest of the way up to his group of friends. Fully aware of the murderous glares Sakura and Ino were sending his way. It was only then that he remembered. "Oh, Ino you're up next."

Ino gave him a mild glare before rising to her feet. She didn't even caste him a glance as she gave one last longing look Sasuke's way before walking down the steps towards the exit and the final examination beyond. Continuing to walk up the central steps Naruto took a quick look at what his friends were doing, and wasn't at all surprised. Chouji was feasting on a bag of chips, Shikamaru was sleeping. The only one who noticed him was Kiba who grinned as he approached. "You passed too huh?"

Naruto returned his friends grin, "Hell yeah, you expected otherwise."

The Inuzuka shrugged, "Nah, I knew you'd do it, right Akamaru."

The puppy yipped in agreement.

"Yea, well done Naruto," Chouji added between mouthfuls of potato chips.

"Hmm," Shikamaru muttered sleepily, looking up with dreary eyes and a table mark on his right cheek. "What I miss?"

"Naruto passed," Chouji filled in.

The Nara shrugged before returning to his comatose state. The four of them had been friends since midway through their first year. It hadn't happened immediately. Shikamaru and Chouji had already been friends, and Naruto and Kiba had become friends after a couple of weeks. The Inuzuka and Uzumaki had so much in common, and enjoyed pulling pranks to much that they just started working together out of habit. The results of their collaboration during first and second year had been explosive.

Then Shikamaru and Chouji had gotten involved, and when they had grown out of pulling pranks in third year they had begun hanging out in their spare time, cloud watching, eating out, to the cinema and plenty of other activities kids their age were known for doing.

Five minutes passed before Iruka re-entered the classroom and stood on his lecturing pulpit. The class quietened down, each now listening with rapt attention to what their homeroom teacher had to say.

"Congratulations to all who have passed. We are very proud of each and every one of you. Be back here at 0900 hours tomorrow morning to be sorted into your Genin squads and meet with your sensei's, got it? But for right know we have a few more things to take care of, including getting your pictures taken for your registration cards, so line up!"

It was a beautiful day, she thought as she sat on the window frame, looking out over the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The sun shone down from the heavens, wisps of thin cloud being the only blemish in the otherwise clear sky. Below her people milled about in the early afternoon, mothers shopping with their children, businessmen returning to their offices after the lunch hour, even the odd Shinobi wandering through the busy streets.

Yugito smiled before returning her attention to the instrument in her hands, pricking a few cords of her Shamisen before starting to play one of her favourite musical pieces, a soft melody which always lifted her heart when she was feeling worried or down. The instrument itself was just a typical Shamisen, made of Konoha fire oak and painted white, cords were made of nylon. Any real musician would consider it a simple brand. But to her it was special. A gift from Naruto when she turned twenty one, Sage only knew how much he spent on it.

She continued to play, absently singing the lyrics to the song in a soft voice.

"Am I loud and clear, or am I breaking up."

"Am I still your charm, or am I just bad luck."

"Are we getting closer, or are we just getting more lost."

"I'll show you mine, if you show me yours first."

"Let's compare scars. I'll tell you who's is worse."

"Let's un-write these pages and replace them with all wrong words."

Now smiling she upped the tune, fingertips skipping across the necessary cords with perfection born from years of practise. It wasn't a typical song you played with a Shamisen, but it was one of her favourites.

"We live on front porches and swing life away."

"We get by just fine here on minimal wage."

"If love is a labour I'll slave till the end."

"Won't cross these streets until you hold my hand,"

"Until you hold my hand;"

"Yo,"

She jumped with a surprised squeak, almost losing her grip on her instrument before levelling a glare at the intruder. Standing beside her, leaning down with that usual eye smile was none other than her partner and friend Hatake Kakashi, looking a little too smug for his own good.

"Don't you ever knock?" she growled.

"Where's the fun in that?"

"How long have you been here?"

"Since a moment before you started to play," Kakashi replied, anyone who knew him as well as she did would be able to make out his subtle moods, and at the moment he was enjoying himself, especially so when she started to blush in slight embarrassment. "You looked so at peace when you started that I almost didn't want to interrupt."

She huffed lightly before nudging off the window sill and into her apartment, Kakashi followed in a fluent step. "Seriously Yugito, if you were a stranger to me I would have mistaken you for a musician."

Setting her prized instrument on the coffee table as she entered the kitchen, Yugito opened the fridge and fished out a small carton of milk. She didn't mind the lack of suffix; they knew each other so well by now that it didn't feel necessary. "This isn't the first time you've heard me play, Kakashi."

The scarecrow shrugged his shoulders, "So, are you worried about Naruto that much?"

She stiffened slightly, before recovering. Yugito turned around, tossing Kakashi another carton. "What makes you think that?"

"Like you said I've seen you play before," Kakashi replied as he caught the bottle on reflex, giving her a quizzical look.

"Milk is good for you," she chided lightly before her face turned into a slight frown. "And I'm not worried."

"Please," Kakashi replied in a disbelieving drawl. "I know you Yugito. You only ever sit on a window sill playing your Shamisen under two conditions. When you're having a bad day, or when you're worried about something."

She scowled at him. Ever since she had been accepted into the Konoha ranks as an elite Jōnin she had found herself paired up with Kakashi for most elite missions. The two had fought and bled together over the last three and a half years, completing six A-rank and two S-rank missions together. They worked so well as a team that Hokage-sama decided to turn them into one.

The Copy Ninja and the Azure Cat, known jokingly among their fellow Jōnin as Team Copycat; She still owed Anko for that one.

"Alright," she sighed in defeat, falling onto the couch.

"You know you shouldn't be worried. The kid should be fine." He sat down on the chair across from her. "By the way, when did you teach him the Kage Bunshin?"

She smirked, "So he did do well in that class."

"You didn't answer my question Yugito," Kakashi sighed. "The Kage Bunshin is considered a forbidden technique because of its high levels of chakra consumption, Jōnin level technique."

"Relax," Yugito waved off her teammates worry. "It was Ero-Sennin who gave him the scroll. He went up to the old pervert last time he was here and told him about his inability to create a regular clone without blowing it up. Jiraiya grinned, said 'leave it to me', and was back an hour later with a scroll which read, and I quote... 'Highly Forbidden Jutsu, read at users own risk'... I was about to send him flying across the village."

"I can understand Naruto calling him Ero-Sennin, but you?"

"I do it just to see him flap around like a headless bird." Yugito grinned that Cheshire cats grin. "Never gets old that one. Oh, I hear the Hokage has asked you to take on another Genin team."

"You heard about the others huh?" Kakashi replied, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"Four Genin teams sent back to the academy in as many years," Yugito nodded as she folded her arms under her considerable bust. "Sounds like your Genin test is nigh impossible to pass."

"Hmm, you may be right about that," Kakashi replied as he got to his feet and walked to the window, hopping onto the sill. "But then again maybe that means that I haven't been given a competent Genin team yet. From what I remember Hokage-sama asked you to take one on as well, why did you turn it down."

"I'm not cut out to lead a Genin team," she replied dismissively.

"Yet you were more than capable of looking after a hyperactive four year old?" Kakashi raised a thin eyebrow. "Well anyway, I have a meeting to get too, sorting out the Genin teams and all that."

She snorted lightly, "Yeah right, you're going to waltz in an hour late like you always do."

"What can I say," Kakashi replied as he gripped the frame of the window. "Black cats follow me like the plague."

He was out the window, missing the half full milk carton she hurled at him, and across the street in the blink of an eye, and Yugito watched him go with a growl and a shake of her head before walking towards her bedroom. The cub's exams were almost over, and she wanted to see how well he did.

The bell had rung, and the newly minted Genin had rushed out of the academy in droves to be greeted and congratulated by their proud parents. Children laughed and pointed at their Hatai-ites, telling their mothers and fathers slightly exaggerated tales of how they had passed the examination. Naruto walked through the courtyard towards his usual resting spot, a tree with a swing tied to the strongest branch, and waited.

Kiba, Chouji, Shikamaru and Hinata had all be greeted by their parents or guardians, and the blonde didn't want to interrupt them while they were congratulated by their proud elders. He was completely unaware of two women within the crowd, looking at him with scathing glares.

"Isn't that-" one started with a frown, but cut herself off before she could finish the sentence.

The other wasn't nearly as fidgety, "Yea, that's him, and he's passed too."

"Why did the Hokage allow him to be a Shinobi anyway, don't they even remember what he is?"

"Shush," the other one said a little quickly, "We're not allowed to talk about it."

Someone walked passed them, shoving them aside with enough force to make both women stumble. The one on the right was the first to recover and was about to throw an insult at the person, only to freeze as she opened her mouth as she locked eyes with the perpetrator and recognised those dark orbs.

She wore the attire of a Konoha Shinobi, black pants and jacket, ankles and forearms tied tight with white wrappings to stop the clothes from billowing. Armoured leaf green Jōnin vest worn over her uniform, orange swirls etched into the back as well as her shoulders. Katana strapped across her back, weapons holster tied to her right thigh and the Konoha Hatai-ite worn over her forehead, half hidden by blonde bangs. She would be considered beautiful in any culture with her pale skin, slanted eyes and pale blonde hair tied into a braid of white cloth. She was Nii Yugito, Azure Cat, one of the most powerful Shinobi in Konoha's considerable armed forces.

She looked at the two women with a glare which would have melted steel before walking away, leaving both women pale and shaking, not from words, but the rush of killing intent which swept over them like a tsunami. Naruto noticed her approach, and with a bright grin jumped to his feet, "Hey mom."

She smiled as she waved back, "Hey, so how'd it go?"

He pointed to his Hatai-ite, tied to his forehead, keeping his blonde bangs back, "Passed with flying colours."

She hugged him, "I shouldn't have been worried should I?"

"Nah, you worried over nothing mom. The exams were a piece of cake." He said as he returned her hug.

Yugito's eyes took on a mischievous glint, "Oh and who was unable to sleep last night because of that piece of cake exam?"

He pouted at her, "Don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm sure you don't," she replied with a sweet smile, rising to her feet and ruffling her charges blond hair. "So I suppose I should take you out to celebrate, Ichiraku Ramen, on me."

Naruto jumped for joy as she led him out of the academy gates, looking forward to telling the old man and Ayame all about it. He supposed he should send a letter to Ero-Sennin to, and Samui-Nee in Cloud.

"So when are they assigning the teams?" she asked idly.

"Tomorrow morning at nine," Naruto replied with a grin.

The Uchiha clan had undergone an unprecedented period of change over the last few years. The events of the Uchiha Revolt had begun a period of tense suspicion between those remaining Uchiha and the rest of the village. It never got out of hand, but the surviving fifty Shinobi and two hundred civilians felt the pressure on their shoulders. The need to prove their loyalty to the village that their ancestors helped found.

There had been no serious incidents. No civilian was crazy enough to try and attack a fully trained Shinobi and the Hokage had made it abundantly clear that if any harm came to the survivors of the clan there would be serious repercussions. The Hokage's declaration that the surviving Shinobi of the clan were unquestionably loyal to the Leaf had calmed a good portion of the people, but the tension was still there, and would remain for some time.

Still it did not stop some crimes from being committed. The Naka shrine, which had been cleared of bodies and cleaned of blood, had been vandalised, insults and death threats had been painted on the walls. At least twice the clans own defensive walls had been vandalised, windows of nearby houses had been smashed and doors defaced. The perpetrators had been caught and charged for their crimes, but this didn't make the civilian element of the clan feel any safer.

Then there were the rebuilding of the clan.

The five surviving eldest Shinobi of the clan were elected to the now vacant council positions, not a single one was over thirty and they were all still active duty Shinobi. The new clan head had to be the strongest and best of them, so Uchiha Shisui was selected by the new interim council. It was between him and Itachi, and the former clan heads son was considered too young, being only thirteen at the time.

The first few months after the Revolt had been the toughest, when the suspicion had been at its most rampant. Itachi, Shisui and Mikoto had been the target of assassination attempts by a few hardliner survivors of Uchiha Fugaku's ideals, wishing to destroy the traitors before they destroyed the clan. None of these assassinations had worked, with either loyal Uchiha or the Hokage's own ANBU foiling them.

Now it was four years later, Sasuke realised as he waited in the main courtyard of the academy. Four years since the revolt which had severely weakened his clan, lead to the death of his father and fundamentally changed his outlook on life. It was hard to hear that his father had attempted a coup against Konoha, and had nearly taken the entire clan down with him.

Sasuke had refused to believe it at first. He found it difficult to understand, and for a time he didn't speak to either his mother or brother. Now he knew that he had hurt his mother terribly, but then he just didn't care. All of his life he had looked for his father's approval, to prove to him above all others that he was his own person and not Itachi's shadow. He had looked up to the man, held him in awe and, as a child, felt that he could do no wrong.

Eventually he had cornered his brother and demanded why he and the surviving Shinobi of the clan had turned against him. Why had they made the choices they did? Itachi had looked at Sasuke with true sadness in his eyes.

"Because I love this village and all that it stands for," Itachi said at last. "I love our clan and our mother just as much, but there was another reason why I did what I did, someone else that I wanted to shield from it all."

"Who," Sasuke had demanded, still angry, still bitter. "Who was precious enough that you were willing to fight against our father!"

Itachi had looked at him for a long moment, and smiled sadly. There were a mass of emotions visible from those onyx eyes before he used the Shunshin no Jutsu to disappear in a whirl of smoke and leaves. It would take Sasuke some time before he realised who his elder brother was talking about. He was talking about him. Then some time later he had just let it go. He hugged and apologised to his mother, and he apologised to Itachi. His brother had poked him on the forehead like he usually did, smiling slightly and calling him his 'Foolish Little Brother'.

The next week he heard that his big brother had officially resigned as an ANBU black ops, returning to his status as an elite Jōnin of the village. His mother too had re-entered service, regaining her rank as a Tokubetsu Jōnin. That had surprised Sasuke because he could never imagine his kind, serene, patient mother as a former Shinobi. He had never known, and when he asked his mother about it she laughed lightly and told him that it had been a secret.

For a time since the revolt Sasuke had been at a loss in what to do next. Then he realised something. The Uchiha clan needed to be able to prove themselves to the village if they wanted to survive. It was then that Uchiha Sasuke had made up his mind in what he was going to be. He would not be an avenger, wishing vengeance against his surviving family and the village. He couldn't bring himself to hate his big brother, who he idolised for so long, nor his mother who out of his two parents was the only one who really helped him.

He would be a redeemer. He would help redeem his clans' reputation. He would prove to the village that the Uchiha clan, young and old can be trusted again. He would be the best for that purpose.

Sasuke was so deep in thought he didn't realise his mother was there until she tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to see her smiling down at him, and he smiled back. "I see you passed."

The young Uchiha smiled as he tapped his Hitai-ite, tied to his forehead, "First in my class."

She must have just returned from her mission, and rushed over to the academy to pick him up. Ever since she retook her position as a Shinobi he had noticed a change. She was more happy, more vibrant and cheerful.

Mikoto smile was still in place as she hugged her son, "Well done, Sasuke."

The youngest child returned her hug, "Thanks mom."

Yugito slurped up the last of her noodles, gave a happy sigh and set her chopsticks down in the empty bowl. She had to admit that although Ramen wasn't exactly her favourite food the stuff Ichiraku served was pretty good. She saw why Naruto came here as often as he could, not just for the food but because of the people who owned the stand.

Ichiraku Teuchi, an elderly man in his middle years and his daughter, a pretty young teenager called Ayame, listened intently as Naruto regaled them with the story on how he managed to pass the exam. Yugito liked the two of them. They were friendly, outgoing people who treated her and Naruto like anyone else. They even considered her adopted son to be their best customer, and when he came into their little stall showing off his Hatai-ite they gave him a large bowl of his favourite ramen, on the house.

"It's a good thing you passed Naruto-kun," Teuchi said with a chuckle, leaning against the counter as he talked to the young blonde in a grandfatherly sort of voice. "But don't take that as a sign for you to slack off. The real work begins tomorrow when you meet your instructor."

Naruto grinned broadly, "Yeah, I can't wait for that and I can't wait to see who I'm going to be put on a team with."

"Who do you want to be placed with?" Ayame asked with a smile.

Her adopted son took on a thoughtful stance before deciding. "I'm not sure, but I'd like to be placed with a few of my friends. Like Shikamaru, Kiba, Chouji or Hinata."

Yugito listened in carefully. He could very well get his wish on the matter. Officially students were placed together on a system of a person on the top of the class alongside a middle achiever and someone who barely passed. It seemed like a good idea, evening out the teams so that everyone had a fair shot. Unofficially was another matter. Usually students who come from clan backgrounds were teamed together, the last two generations of Ino-Shika-Cho for instance. She knew Naruto was considered a clan kid. He was one of the last few survivors of the once infamous Uzumaki clan of Uzushiogakure.

"Naruto," she spoke up at last, flashing Teuchi and his daughter an apologetic look.

"Yeah mom,"

"You remember when I told you to hold back during the academy?"

He nodded his head, slurping down some noodles, "Yea."

"Don't talk with your mouth full sweetheart," she reprimanded easily, not missing the amused looks Teuchi and Ayame flashed them. "I'm rescinding that order." She sighed at his blank look, "That means I'm taking it back honey."

"Oh, right." Naruto replied thoughtfully, and then he grinned. "That means I can cut loose from now on right?"

She grinned in response, "Right, but there's just one thing. There will be one more test after you meet your Jōnin instructor, I'm not sure what it will be but I'm told that it has something to do with teamwork."

"Teamwork, gotcha," Naruto nodded his head, and then smiled that mischievous smile. "You got the info from Kakashi didn't you?"

Yugito gave him a bemused look before taking a drink of her soda, "Maybe."

"So have you asked him out yet?" Naruto asked innocently. The suddenness of the question caused the older blonde to choke on her soda, breaking out into a series of coughs.

"What?" she croaked. "What makes you think he's interested in me?"

Ayame gave her a disbelieving look, "Where to begin. He's obviously interested in you, what with all the glances he's given you when you weren't looking. You're drop dead gorgeous." She flushed slightly at the compliment, obviously not used to it. "The two of you are usually together during your spare time. The two of you have become an unofficial team since you became an honorary Shinobi of Konoha. The signs are so obvious you'd have to be a complete and utter moron not to notice them."

Yugito looked at her piercingly, "Where did you get all of this information?"

She smiled mischievously, tapping her nose with her index finger. "A good spy-master never reveals her secrets."

But Yugito already knew, and threw a gaze Naruto's way, making him stop slurping up his noodles and flinch. "Oh come on mom," he said as he swallowed his food. "Everyone has their own opinions about the two of you, I just told Ayame. You should hear some of the stuff Anko says."

"Anko, I should have known, but as for you. Don't talk with your mouth full. And there is nothing going on between me and Hatake Kakashi." She frowned at their disbelieving looks. "I mean it!"

Sure Kakashi was handsome, sure he was talented, sure the way he slouched drove her nuts and the way his eyes curled upwards when he saw her made her feel warm and secure. But there was no way he would be interested in someone like her. No one would ever be interested in someone like her. It was one of the curses of being a Jinchūriki, a vessel for a Biju, something that she had accepted many years ago. Maybe Naruto would get lucky and find someone who truly loves him despite his status. It was her greatest wish, but she was beyond that.

Naruto had arrived early and taken his seat on the middle tier of the classroom, proudly wearing his Konoha Hatai-ite for all to see. He was excited, so excited that he could barely sleep last night. After four years of the academy he was finally going to get his shot at becoming a Ninja, a Shinobi, just like his mom. It was something that he couldn't wait for, something that had him literarily bouncing off the walls in elation.

The time had come, and he would do her proud. He made that promise to her last night, and his Nindo was that he never went back on his word. Naruto had vowed to prove himself to not just his mother but the whole village as well. Prove to those that believed it that he wasn't a monster. He would prove his critics wrong, and it started right here, right now.

He found he wasn't the first to enter the class either. The rookie of the year had beaten him too it, Sasuke sat in his usual place, eyes staring at the front of the class with intensity. He looked around when Naruto entered. The rookie of the year's onyx eyes met the dead centre's azure for a few brief moments before the Uchiha nodded his head in greeting. Naruto hesitated, but nodded back as he walked down the central stairway and took his usual seat at the other side of the middle tier. From then on the two of them ignored each other, waiting for the last class of the academy to begin.

Slowly the rest of his classmates began to filter into the room, many grinning broadly and showing off their Hatai-ites. Of his friends Kiba came in first, Akamaru perched on his head, and sat down beside him. The two of them shared a grin before bringing their attention back to the front of the classroom. A few minutes later Chouji and Shikamaru entered. The Akimichi munching on his favourite potato chips while Shikamaru looked his usual, slouching self. The two of them took their seats to Naruto's left, saying hello.

The buildup to the beginning of the class was pretty uneventful. The class slowly filled up with fresh Genin, thirty boys and girls grinning and laughing and joking around as they all waited. Ino and Sakura entered the room a few minutes before the class was scheduled to start, pushing each other through the door before arguing on who got their first. They must have been doing one of their little competitions again. It wasn't long before the two were at Sasuke's side asking if they could sit with him.

"What's up with those girls," Kiba growled. "What's so great about Sasuke that they're all over him like that?"

"No idea," Naruto replied, petting Akamaru as he jumped from his owners lap to his. The puppy was more energetic than normal today. "As far as I can tell out of all the girls there is only one who hasn't joined the bandwagon of lunacy."

"And that would be?" Chouji asked, before a soft voice broke through the conversation.

"G-good morning,"

Naruto smiled as he turned around to see Hyuga Hinata take a seat a row above them. "Speak of the devil."

Kiba also looked up with a grin, "You know what you're right. Out of all the girls in this class Hinata here is the only sane one."

The compliment made the young Hyuga heiress blush, but she shook it off and smiled down at them. "Y-you guys couldn't sleep either?"

"Not a wink," Naruto grumbled.

"I was fine," Kiba laughed.

The door at the bottom of the class opened and Umino Iruka waltzed in, carrying a folder which obviously held the team assignments. Naruto immediately sat up in his chair, as did the small group of friends around him, except for Shikamaru. All remnants of conversation ceased when the Chūnin lecturer slammed the folder onto his pulpit, a mark for all to be silent. Newly minted Genin ended conversations and rushed to their chairs, waiting for their assignments to be handed out.

"Alright, roll call!" Iruka exclaimed, looking around. The next few minutes were filled in by their teacher calling out the names of the students, followed by said student answering an affirmative that he or she was present. When that was completed the Chūnin looked around, taking in the faces of each of his students.

"Look at you all. I remember that day four years ago when you all began here at the academy, and now here you all are, full Ninja of Konoha. You have no idea how proud your lecturers are in every single one of you. But don't take this as the end of your learning, for it is only the beginning. As Ninja there will be trials ahead that you must face and best." Iruka smiled as he looked over his students. "Now everyone listen up and listen well for I am going to announce the makeup of your Genin teams. As you are all aware the teams are set with three members and a Jōnin sensei. Once your teams have been called out we will break for a quick recess, then report back here for your new sensei's to pick you up, clear?"

"Yes sensei," the chorused.

"Alright, here we go." Iruka opened up the folder and pulled out a small handful of sheets. "The teams are as follows, team one-"

Naruto waited for rapt silence, silently hoping against a hope that he would be placed in a team with his friends. Maybe Kiba and Hinata, maybe Shikamaru and Chouji, he wasn't sure. As long as he wasn't placed with one of Sasuke's fan girls then he was sure he would be able to cope. Iruka continued to shout out the team numbers and names, some looked excited, others looked disappointed, but the best moment had to be when Team Sevens names were shouted out.

"Team seven." Iruka called out, "Inuzuka Kiba, Haruno Sakura and Uciha Sasuke!"

THUNK!

The noise was Kiba's head hitting off the top of his table. Luckily Hinata acted quickly and plucked Akamaru from his furious owners head before he was sent flying across the classroom like he had been launched from a catapult. Everyone was staring at the Inuzuka as he jumped to his feet, hitting his fist against the table. "Oh come on sensei, why did you put me with him!"

He was pointing angrily at Sasuke as he said it. Sakura looked indignant but Sasuke just looked like his usual uncaring self. Iruka spoke up before a fight could break out, if all the murderous glares from the Uchiha's fan base were any indication. "Uchiha Sasuke is the best student in the class, while you Inuzuka Kiba, are the worst student. It is common acceptance to place the best student with the worst student."

The class laughed at this, and Kiba, growling angrily fell back into his chair. Hinata placing his little white puppy back on his head. "This sucks."

"You were kind of asking for that one," Naruto snorted.

"Bite me,"

"Team Eight." Iruka yelled over the hushed conversations, "Aburame Shino, Uzumaki Naruto and Yamanaka Ino."

THUNK!

This time it was Naruto's head that made contact with the wooden surface, "Oh no."

Kiba laughed at him, patting his friends back. "You know what man, I take it back. Maybe a fan girl and a snobby brat are better than a fan girl and bug boy."

"Shino I don't mind," Naruto grumbled. "I can live with him as a teammate. It's Ino that I'll be having problems with."

He was surprised when the Yamanaka didn't jump to her feet and shout about the injustice of the team assignments. But all was silent and Iruka moved on to naming the three members of the next team. Naruto turned his head to look, and noticed that she looked more than a little disappointed. Sakura making a childish face her way didn't help much either.

Team Nine went by without a word of protest. Then Team Ten came up. "Team Ten. Nara Shikamaru, Hyuga Hinata and Akimichi Chouji."

Naruto leaned in to his two friends, knowing that Hinata was leaning forward as well. "I'll trade you Hinata for Ino."

Shikamaru opened a lazy eye, "No way."

"Yeah Naruto, good luck with her," Chouji added, not being helpful in the slightest.

"I hate all of you," he muttered.

"Alright that's the team assignments," Iruka called out, placing the papers back within the manila folder. "There will be a short recess of fifteen minutes, get to know your teams, then report here for your Jōnin sensei to collect you, dismissed."

It was a beautiful day. Not a cloud disturbed the infinite blue of the skies above. The temperature was mild and a nice cool breeze floated with the morning air. All around him he could hear the calls of nature, of hundreds of different species of insect from the bees and wasps pollinating flowers to the dragonflies doing their mating dance to the crickets chorusing in their early morning song. To be in the middle of nature was the most relaxing place for an Aburame to be.

The tiny creature crawled along the back of his hand, flexing its translucent black tipped wings and straightening its white abdomen. Shino knew the species the moment he saw it, a Whitetail Dragonfly, also known as a Long-Tailed Skimmer, very common in the Land of Fire. He watched it for a brief moment before it took off from his hand, flying into the distance.

It didn't just take off for any reason. Someone's approach had scared it. The Aburame looked up in time to see a familiar blond boy walk towards him, and immediately knew him as Uzumaki Naruto. One of the people he had been placed on a team with. Shino had nothing against this boy. He was in the middle of his class and was shown to try hard in almost everything he did. Uzumaki Naruto may at times be a little loud and over exuberant but when push came to shove he did what he had to do.

"Shino," he greeted with a nod.

"Naruto-san," the Aburame greeted in return, raising his eyebrows at the scowl he saw, followed by a shake of the head.

"Just call me Naruto. I don't like any of that honorific stuff."

Shino nodded his head, "Very well, Naruto."

He sat down beside Shino, and for a while the two were silent with only the song of the crickets as company, finally Naruto spoke, leaning back to look up at the cloudless sky. "So we're going to be on the same team?"

"Indeed,"

"And I decided to introduce myself ahead to you, try to get to know you a little better."

"That is a logical conclusion," Shino agreed.

Naruto frowned a little, used to people who spoke their mind more to people who remained quiet. "So what's your opinion on the team makeup?"

Shino was silent for a moment, seemingly in deep thought. Though with that high collar and sunglasses covering most of his face it was difficult to tell. "It is a logical setup. The team has a reconnaissance specialist in me, a close to mid-range fighter in you and a long range fighter in Yamanaka-san."

Naruto thought about that for a moment, realising that on paper their team was well rounded, not specialist in anything but more along the lines of a jack-of-all-trades setup. He hadn't thought about it from that angle, all he thought about was getting on a team with a couple of his friends. "Hmm, I never thought of it from that angle."

Shino didn't respond, instead raising his head to look at his new teammate. "Where is Yamanaka-san?"

Naruto shrugged, "Probably fuming about how she didn't get on the same team with her beloved Uchiha. I'd stay clear of her until she calms down."

Shino nodded, noticing Naruto sighing before placing a bag on his lap and pulling out a small bento box. "So I suppose we should start asking questions about each other, get to know each other better."

Shino nodded, "Another logical step."

"Okay," Naruto grinned, opening his box, and removing a set of chopsticks. "What's your favourite colour?"

The recess passed by fairly quickly and both Naruto and Shino returned to the classroom just before the bell rang. Most of the other students had already arrived, new teams all sitting beside or hovering nearby each other. His few minutes of questions and answers with his new teammate had left plenty more, well, questions than answers. Ten to fifteen minutes later and he still felt like he had gotten nowhere at all. Shino was quiet and guarded, just like the rest of his clan.

Naruto saw Ino at the back of the class and with a nod to Shino walked up the central steps towards their wayward teammate. They sat down beside her, Naruto to her right and Shino to her left, and for the next few minutes sat in a slightly uncomfortable silence. Suddenly the Yamanaka spoke, straightening in her seat and closing her eyes as she talked in a very matter-of-fact way. "Okay, if this team is going to work out you two are going to have to do exactly as I say."

Both boys looked over at her. Shino's eyebrows vanishing into his mess of black hair, Naruto's eyebrows did likewise, but didn't reach that far. He answered her statement with a very eloquent, short response. "Huh?"

She sent him a mild glare, "Don't give me that, if this team is going to survive it needs a team leader, and that team leader will be me?"

"How do you figure that?" the other blond in the team said a little indignantly.

"It does seem a little premature to be choosing a leader at the present," Shino added.

Ino groaned, falling back against her chair, "Hopeless, the both of you."

They waited in an uncomfortable silence until the class bell rang, and over the course of the next five minutes a couple of Jōnin teachers entered the room, collected their teams and left. It wasn't long before their sensei arrived. In fact he was the third to arrive. The sound of the sliding door grabbed the attention of every team, and hushed whispers of awe filled the tiered classroom.

The man wore the typical attire of a Konoha Jōnin. Black fatigues bearing the mark of the leaf on his shoulders, green Chūnin flak vest, Shinobi sandals, a kunai pouch on his right thigh and what looked like a Ninja-to sheathed diagonally across his back. He was definitely an Uchiha by his flowing black hair that hung near his cheeks to frame his face, pale skin and deep onyx eyes. His face, while youthful also had a hint of maturity to it, especially the lines under his eyes.

Naruto felt he knew him from somewhere, but couldn't quite remember. Then he remembered, that time four years ago when he was captured by those Nuke-nin. He remembered him as one of two Uchiha who had attempted to save him that day. His mother told him their names soon after he was rescued, what was it?

Uchiha Itachi swept the tiers of awestruck students with serious onyx eyes, "Team Eight, Aburame Shino, Uzumaki Naruto, and Yamanaka Ino. Follow me please!"

Back to Normal

"Moooom, where are we going?"

Yugito sniggered at her adopted little brother/son's whining tone as she led him through the well worn path. The eight year old appeared to have completely recovered from the ordeal, which she was eternally grateful for. So much had happened since then with the Uchiha Clan Revolt, her sister returning to Kumo under heavy ANBU guard to present the Raikage her evidence and the Nuke-nin eventually being set free thanks to their assistance. She had heard that A-sama had acted swiftly, rounding up those within Sakamoto's clan who supported him and executing several of the ringleaders. The bastard himself had vanished from Kumogakure before the Raikage's ANBU could arrive, and hadn't been heard from since

Shaking the thoughts from her head Yugito surveyed the terrain. On either side of the duo were two meter high fences of barbed wire, separating training grounds which usually only fully qualified Shinobi were allowed to enter. Huge Fire Country trees stretched up well beyond their heads, canopies leaving a thin area of free space for the sun to shine through. These were where Jōnin instructors took their Genin teams, and where Chūnin and Jōnin elites came to practise.

She needed to thank the Sandaime for allowing her to take him out here. She was aware of the two ANBU agents shadowing them from the thick branches of the trees above. Yugito didn't mind their presence, after two months living here she had gotten used to them.

"Have a little patience Cub," she chastised lightly, flashing him a mischievous smile when he clasped his hands behind his head and frowned at her. "You'll love it, I promise."

Naruto had narrowed his eyes to the point where it seemed he had closed them, but she didn't mind that. It usually meant the little guy was either thinking of something or trying to act cool. At the moment she guessed on the latter. They continued to walk, Yugito mentally counting off the numbers at each training ground entrance one by one until she reached the one set aside for them. Training ground twenty three.

"Here we are," she proclaimed loud enough for him to hear. "Stay close to me, okay?"

He nodded his head as they entered the training field, Yugito opening the padlock and pushing open the wrought iron gates. They walked through a well made path until the duo reached their destination. After two months of practising with Anko, Kurenai and Yugao she had gotten a basic idea of the layout of most training fields. The majority of them, excluding special cases like the Forest of Death, were surrounded by old trees, usually sycamore, with a large open area of grassland. All of them had training posts and streams, the veins of water usually manmade and running from a huge river several kilometres away from the village.

Yugito walked with an awed Naruto until they reached the very centre of the clearing. She looked over at the younger Jinchūriki and smiled at his curious expression. "This is training ground twenty three, and as you've already guessed its one of the training grounds that the Konoha Shinobi use." Her smile grew as his curious expression once again became awestruck. "I've asked Hokage-sama to lend this out to me because I'm about to teach you something new and something I want you to keep secret, understood?"

He nodded his head frantically.

"Okay," she began. "First we'll go through the usual exercises to loosen up the muscles. Then I want you to show me how far along you are in the tree climbing exercises, depending on how you do I won't show you this new exercise?"

Once again he nodded, head bopping up and down.

They began with the usual stretches, Yugito joining him to loosen up her own muscles. No matter what anyone tells you three months of non-activity is pure murder to a Shinobi and after a while you're literally bouncing off the walls. She was thankful that her three associates, or should she call them friends, had invited her to their training sessions, but they were all either high level Chūnin or Jōnin, and as such they had missions which could take days, even weeks to accomplish. As such the training sessions she had with Naruto were a godsend, giving her the chance to do something useful.

They had gained a routine since coming to Konoha. After Naruto finished the academy she would come to pick him up and take him to the academy's training fields to continue his studies under her tuition. She would see what he leaned first, expanding from where his tutors left off. She had actually been a little worried that his teachers would be prejudiced against him at first, but found to her relief that wasn't the case.

It was during the weekends, like this beautiful Saturday morning, where she would really start training him. The sessions during the week were a warm up compared to Saturdays and some Sundays. Naruto didn't really mind, in fact he enjoyed his training sessions with her, mainly because she continued to teach him the Taijutsu art of the Kuroi Tora, as well as training him to the peak of physical fitness with physical exercises that pushed him to his limits, which he liked to breach.

They spent an hour going through basic physical exercises including push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups jogging, running, balancing exercises and other such exercises before moving onto a couple of hours of Taijutsu training. Here Yugito was impressed as she and Naruto went through the kata of the fighting art. He had come a long way from the kid she remembered, continuing to match her fluent motions with precision.

When noon came she sat down in the shade of a tree, enjoying a simple lunch with her adopted son before asking him to show her how far he had come in his chakra control exercise. Naruto showed her, running up and down the trunk of a rather tall tree without faltering or losing his step. Yugito sat cross-legged, taking a sip of her green tea before looking up at his grinning visage.

"Very good," she approved simply, before raising the cup to her lips and, just before taking a sip said. "Do it again. Don't give me that look, another four times before I show you the next step."

He frowned but nodded, repeating the motion another four times, running up the thick trunked tree, touching its tip at the top before turning around and running back down. By the time he was finished he was bent over, panting to regain his breath as he looked to her expectantly.

"Well done Cub, now I have no choice in the matter."

He fell to a sitting position in an attempt to regain his breath as she rose fluently to her feet and walked past him towards the stream. She stopped at the riverbank, turning to him and giving him a 'come hither' flexing of her right hands middle and index fingers. He obeyed, and when he was paying attention she brought her hands together in a basic sign, gathering her chakra and channelling it to the soles of her feet before taking a step into the flowing water. She walked until she was standing in the middle of the stream, and then turned around to face her adopted son, smiling at his shock.

"I am going to show you how to walk on water, so listen up Cub and listen well," she said, smile slowly morphing into a grin. "Because this is something that all the Jōnin and Kage level Shinobi know like the back of their hand."

The moment she said that she knew she had him.

Author's Note 1: Strange combination, but I thought it would be a challenge to try out. I was originally going for Kiba, but thought that he would serve better as Naruto's replacement for Team Seven. I basically decided on these two because I think it hasn't been tried before, Shino, Naruto and Ino. Should be an interesting challenge to try and write about. And I also choose Itachi as the Jōnin-sensei because it just kind of felt right to me, don't know why. I'm also aware that I'm breaking up Ino-Shika-Cho, just decided on a change of pace from the usual way.

Author's Note 2: As for the Omake. Well I was originally planning a chapter before this, about certain events which took place between the timelines of the Acts. Then I began to get bored of writing it and scrapped it so I could begin this new Act. So instead I'm going to introduce the segments in Omake's for now.

Author's Note 3: Thank you everybody for your support of this story, and letting me know that support with it hasn't waned all that much with time. For anyone wandering about any of my other stories I stress you all to be patient, it depends on which direction my muse wants to go and right now he's on a non-crossover Naruto binge, lol