So, I hate to disappoint you guys, but the mission to the Wave country will not be featured in this fic. In the past, I have tried it, and it hasn't worked. I expect it will be no different for Tsumeki-chan, and so a different C-ranked mission will be introduced. You'll recognize it as a more detailed rendition of the one from Kyuubi-chan, if you're familiar with that one.

Also, I'd like to do a quick shout out to "Fan", an anonymous reviewer who brought up a good point. Fan tells me that I'm missing an important part of the team 7 dynamic, being Sasuke's prodigyness, and that Sasuke isn't weak. My response is this: I know he's not weak. And I apologize if that's the impression my writing gave. The reason he failed was because he was taking on Kakashi alone instead of with the rest of the team. I'll do better to make sure that it doesn't come across that way in the future. Also, Tha Golden Boy brings up a good point: I left a plot hole in my story, because there's a question as to when exactly the retaliatory strike against the Uchiha happened directly after the Fourth Hokage's death or seven years later, which would have been when Sasuke would have been seven. I'm going to go ahead and say that it was seven years later, with more details possibly pending. I need to think on it and figure out how exactly I want to patch the hole. Thanks for the heads up on that one.

Anyways. I'm sure you're sick of listening to me talk. Sorry for doing another half-page author's note. Without further ado, here's the next chapter.

Three months later

"Naruto, you're awfully quiet. You usually complain about D-rank missions," noted Kakashi.

Naruto was smiling, looking up at the clouds. "Yeah, well. I don't mind helping out at the orphanage. Especially with something as important as that."

On the top floor of the orphanage, the roof over one of the bunk rooms had collapsed. Fortunately, the creaking before the collapse had alerted several of the older orphans enough in advance that they were able to evacuate the room before it caved in, and nobody was harmed. There were twenty orphans now sleeping in various other parts of the orphanage which really weren't meant to be used as bedrooms. The mission their team had been assigned was to remove the debris from the room so that the village's carpenters and masons could patch up the roof and walls and make the room livable again.

Tsumeki smiled. "They really need help, whenever they can get it. And we're more than happy to give it."

"Speak for yourself," grumbled Sasuke. The menial labor of D-rank missions got to him as much as it did to Naruto, if not more, but Sasuke didn't care about the orphanage like his blonde-haired compatriot did. Really, he didn't care about much of anything outside of himself.

Asshole.

At the moment, they were walking to the Hokage Tower to report their mission as completed and receive their payment. Naruto and Tsumeki walked together, but Sasuke was on the other side of Kakashi, trying to separate himself from the other two as best as possible.

Over the past three months, Naruto and Tsumeki had grown to be very close friends. Not a day went by, even when they had no team events or missions to do, where they didn't carve out some time to talk and hang out. Having Naruto to talk to was doing wonders for Tsumeki. She no longer had her permanently sad expression on; in fact, she was often caught smiling, now. It seemed that being reassured by Naruto that she wasn't different had helped her break out of her introverted shell. Now, she was making friends with other genin, especially the kunoichi. She was also being a good influence on Hinata Hyuuga, who was as shy as the day was long. Hinata and Tsumeki were often seen together when the latter wasn't with Naruto, practicing taijutsu and ninjutsu at the Hyuuga compound.

Naruto smiled. He was happy for Tsumeki. Making new friends was good for her. We remembered his feeling of elation when she started smiling (actually smiling, too, not just a twitch at the corner of her mouth) regularly. He didn't like seeing anyone sad, but especially Tsumeki. Naruto wasn't sure if this was because she was on his team, or because she was his close friend, or what, but he didn't put too much thought into it. That she was happy was all that really mattered.

He never had figured out what was on her mind that day on the Academy roof. She had never broken down into almost crying again, and Naruto remembered Ayame's advice. He wouldn't be bringing it up until she did. He wanted her to continue to feel comfortable around him, and trying to crack open her emotions wouldn't be conducive to that endeavor.

They reached the Hokage Tower and made their way up to the Hokage's office. When they reached the door, Kakashi knocked three times.

"Come in," came the Hokage's voice.

Kakashi opened the door. "Team Seven, reported mission complete."

"Mmm. Yes, that was the orphanage, wasn't it?" The Third Hokage looked at Naruto and Tsumeki and smiled. The two genin returned the gesture, beaming brightly.

"Yes, sir," Kakashi said.

"Very well. As a D-rank mission, you'll receive the usual payment." The Hokage stamped their mission form and handed it to Kakashi. "Turn this into the secretary, as always. I'll have another mission for you all in a day or two."

"Uhmm...Hokage?" said Tsumeki nervously.

Everyone in the room was looking at her. "Yes?" the Hokage asked.

"We were wondering...if...uhm..." Tsumeki blushed from everyone staring at her. "Well, we've been doing D-ranks for three months now. We were wondering if we could maybe...get a...a C-rank?"

The Hokage shook his head. "No, I don't believe you're ready for a C-rank. You're barely genin, after all."

"Aw, c'mon, old man!" said Naruto in exasperation. "If I have to rake another lawn or, god forbid, catch that cat again, I might actually have to kill myself."

"Naruto," said the Hokage, "I do not believe that you or your team are ready for a C-rank mission."

"Why not?" asked Naruto. "We're all good at taijutsu, and we all have something else to back it up! Tsumeki has genjutsu, Sasuke has lots of ninjutsu, and I..." What do I have? "...I have the Shadow Clone jutsu, and lots of chakra to go with it." It seemed a lame consolation prize when put up against the other two.

If the Hokage noticed Naruto's doubt and hesitation, he gave no sign of it. "You do make a good point, Naruto. As far as genin go, your team is quite exceptional. I will think on it. You'll know in a day or two."

Tsumeki's face split in a wide grin, and even Sasuke smiled somewhat. Kakashi gave no indication that he knew what was going on, as he had his face in his book again. Naruto, however, drew no joy from this. He was too busy thinking over his realization.

All I have is that one jutsu. What else can I lay claim to?

Naruto followed the others out of the room as they were dismissed, and continued to walk, deep in thought, after they left the Hokage building.

Tsumeki jogged up next to him, having stopped to talk to the receptionist in the tower. "Heya, Naruto."

"Hey," he said.

"So, got any plans for today?"

"Not really."

Tsumeki frowned. Something was obviously bothering him. "What's on your mind?"

Naruto exhaled heavily through his nose. "I don't have any special abilities."

She cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

"You have Genjutsu, Sasuke has all sorts of advanced Ninjutsu...and I have Shadow Clones."

"But that's a great jutsu. It's very advanced; you had to get it off of the scroll, for crying out loud."

"But it's not everything. I need to know more than just one jutsu."

Tsumeki looked at him for a moment. "All right then." She took him by the hand and started walking.

Naruto was jerked out of thought by the sudden pull on his arm. "Wha- Hey, where are we going?"

"The library. We're going to find you something."

"Right now?"

"Yeah, right now. After all, you don't have any plans today, right?"

Naruto didn't respond. He just let Tsumeki drag him along to the library.

In the library was a wing dedicated entirely to ninjas, full of scrolls on ninjutsu of all sorts, as well as smaller sections dedicated to genjutsu, healing jutsu, and other highly specialized techniques. Naruto and Tsumeki were allowed access, as they openly wore their headbands.

"All right," Tsumeki said as they entered the cavernous room. "Let's see what we can find."

This wing of the library was divided into two sections. There was the main section, which housed the many scrolls and books on the various subjects covered, and then there was a training section, which was a series of small rooms meant for practicing quieter, less destructive techniques. The main room had bookshelves covering every inch of the walls, as well as a maze of stand-alone bookcases in the middle of the room. There were three levels, but the upper two were only catwalks for accessing the bookshelves located higher on the walls. From the entrance, Naruto could see several ninjas browsing on the upper catwalks.

"Where to start, where to start," murmured Tsumeki. "Any input, Naruto?"

"I don't know, there's so much..."

"Then let's go this way!" she said, leading him down a row of bookshelves. "It looks like these are mostly fire jutsus. What do you think about those?"

"Uhm...No, Sasuke uses a lot of those. I don't want it to look like I'm copying that bastard."

"All right then." She dragged him down the aisle more. "Lightning type, maybe?"

"Tsumeki, I'm pretty sure these elemental type jutsu require a lot of chakra control."

"Hmmm, you're right. You don't do that whole control thing. That really cuts down on your options, Naruto. Maybe you should work on that more."

"Look, I'm trying, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." She continued to browse, occasionally looking at the plaques bearing the name of the section the bookshelf in question was a part of. "Oh, look, Naruto, medical jutsu! You'd be great at that!" Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Har har har. Hardy har. Har. ...Har. You're hysterical, congratulations."

"You should be thanking me. I'm taking time out of my day to help you do this."

"Like you had anything better to do."

Tsumeki looked at him. "How do you know I didn't? Maybe I've canceled plans with Hinata to come and do this."

"You didn't talk with her before we came, that's how I know."

"Ahh, but perhaps, young genin, I am psychic, and knew you would have a midweek crisis before we even came here, so I preemptively canceled my plans."

"Well, that'd be a possibility, but you're not psychic, so I think I'm safe."

Tsumeki scoffed and spun on her heel, marching down the row.

And so the process went on. Naruto sighed. It hadn't been long before the entire first floor had been ruled out. It was mostly elemental jutsu, with some genjutsu mixed in towards the back. They lowered the ladder down from the second level and climbed up.

"I don't know, Tsu, maybe there's just nothing here for me."

"Nonsense. Sure, it's not every jutsu ever created, but there's so much here. There has to be one thing, if only one thing, that interests you. What about more taijutsu?"

"I don't know. I like taijutsu, but I'm not sure if I want to call that my specialty."

"Fair enough. But, that does give us ground to work with. You like physical stuff, right?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Well then, let's find something physical that will work well with your Shadow Clones. You know, so that they don't burn their chakra too fast, maybe you get more out of them."

"I get what you're saying, but I'm not sure what that might be."

"Howsabout kenjutsu?" Tsumeki said, pulling a scroll out of a cubby.

"Swordwork? I don't know anything about it."

She rolled her eyes. "Which is why we're here. Duuhhhh."

Naruto pushed her arm. "Shut up. What've you got?"

"Well. It looks like kenjutsu is going to be like taijutsu with a sword. From what I'm reading off of this scroll, it looks like there are a lot of different stances and whatnot, depending on your situation. Just like taijutsu. You would fall right into this."

"Well, yeah, but...I don't know. We'll keep it in mind, I guess, but let's keep looking."

Tsumeki sighed and rolled up the scroll. "You are such a drag. I thought I finally had something for you and you just say, 'I'll think about it,' like an asshole." Her quote of him made him sound like an idiot.

"Cut it out," Naruto laughed, pushing her again.

"Stop pushing me," she countered, pushing him back.

"Make me," he said, shoving her once more.

"Hey, you two! Be quiet, this is a library!" came a hushed voice.

Naruto and Tsumeki turned to see an angry looking man. "Sorry," they said in unison.

He grumbled irritably and turned to walk the other way.

Tsumeki planted her hands on her hips, screwed her face up into a mockery of the man's, and lowered her voice. "Blah blah blah, you teenagers. Damn city folk and their flyin' machines. Blah blah blah."

Naruto covered his mouth to muffle the snicker that was escaping. Tsumeki smiled, and they continued down the catwalk.

Tsumeki read the section names as they went down. "Taijutsu...taijutsu...more kenjutsu...taijutsu...what's this?"

Naruto bumped into her as she suddenly stopped. "What?"

The redhead pointed at a particular cubby hole. "This one. It says, 'Chakra Flow (Weapon)'."

Naruto reached over her and pulled out one of the scrolls inside the cubby. He unfurled it and began to read. "Woah. Way cool."

"What is it?"

"It says you can channel chakra into most metals to make them...I don't know, stronger, I guess. Get this: 'Chakra Flow, in this instance, refers to the channeling of chakra into a bladed weapon to accomplish one of three tasks: One, to make the weapon more effective at cutting, stabbing, etc. Two, to extend the reach of the weapon by using solidified chakra. And three, to add additional effects to the weapon's blade by using elemental chakra to augment the way the chakra interacts with the weapon.'"

"Woah, that is cool. And it works perfectly with kenjutsu." She elbowed Naruto. "Hint, hint, Naruto. Kenjutsu."

"Yeah, I get it, I get it. It doesn't look like there's much here on chakra flow, though. Maybe we should ask Kakashi about it?"

"That's not a bad idea. We should still see what they have, though."

"Yeah, for sure."

Naruto returned the scroll he had to the cubby and pulled out another. Tsumeki grabbed a smaller one from the back. Naruto's scroll discussed the different properties bestowed upon a blade when imbued with elemental chakra. As it was, Naruto was really hoping he would be able to use Wind chakra. The scroll said that Wind chakra allowed for the most cutting power, and it was not uncommon for blades imbued with Wind chakra to cut right through thick stone, and sometimes even metal, with relative ease.

"Uh-oh. Bad news, Naruto."

"What?"

"It looks like Chakra Flow might require a decent bit of control."

Naruto growled in irritation. "Well, screw it. I guess I'm just going to have to get better at chakra control." He looked up from the scroll, and Tsumeki was staring at him blankly. "Tsu?"

Her eyes suddenly focused back in. "Huh? What? Did you say something?"

Naruto looked at her skeptically. "No...are you okay?"

"Yeah. Fine. Why?"

"No reason." Naruto put the scroll back. "I guess we'll just ask Kakashi about chakra flow tomorrow, during the training session."

"You should ask about learning kenjutsu, too. He might know someone who can teach you."

"Yeah. Just in case, though..." Naruto went back to where Tsumeki had found the kenjutsu scrolls and took a few that looked like they were at a beginner level. "I'll need to buy myself a bokken."

"Well, then, let's head over to the market."

Naruto and Tsumeki climbed back down to the first level. "Front desk first, though," he said, holding up the scrolls. "I want to check these out."

They swung by the front desk, and Naruto presented the scrolls to the librarian.

She checked each scroll individually. "Name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki."

The librarian checked her computer. "Genin. Yes, you have sufficient rank to check out all of these scrolls. They'll be due back in two weeks. If you're sent on an extended mission and would like to hang on to them for the duration, please return and inform us so that we may make note of that." She placed each scroll in its own wooden scroll case, and then handed them back to Naruto. "Always make sure that the scrolls are properly closed in their case when the weather is bad and when you are not using them."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, okay." He accepted the scrolls from the librarian, and he and Tsumeki left the library.

The Next Day

Naruto woke in a cold sweat. He didn't remember what he had been dreaming about, but it hadn't been pleasant. He rubbed his eyes, and then looked out the window. It was still dark out. Whatever it was, he thought, I'm not chancing falling back into it. Looks like I'm up for the day.

Naruto climbed out of bed and made his way to the bathroom, throwing off his pajamas on the way there. He turned on the shower and sat on the toilet lid as he waited for it to get warm. What was it? I haven't woken up sweating like this in years.

With a gasp, Naruto jerked his head up. He had nodded off, and almost fell back into the nightmare. "Ugh, how long was I out?" he murmured, getting off of the toilet. He tested his hand under the water. It was ice cold. "Terrific. Looks like I'm out of hot water." Naruto braced himself and hopped into the shower. He immediately winced. "Sweet mother of god, that's cold!" he said, fully awake. Naruto washed himself in record time and hopped out of the shower before he even grabbed his towel. He dried himself off and opened the bathroom door. Immediately, he shielded his eyes. He must have been half-asleep on the toilet for a while, because it was daytime.

Naruto made his way to his clock by memory, as the light was still too intense for him to actually be able to see. Once he was there, he lifted the alarm up to his eyes, using it to block his view of the window and the angry light streaming in from it. 9:43. Kakashi told us we were meeting at eleven. I still have time. Naruto dressed himself and went to the kitchen. He didn't feel like cooking today, so he opted for a bowl of cereal instead.

As he ate, Naruto's gaze flickered to the four scroll cases stacked together on his counter, as well as the newly-bought bokken leaning up against it. I need to remember to bring those to the training session today, he thought. And I need to ask Kakashi about Chakra Flow. Naruto was excited about what he and Tsumeki had discovered at the library yesterday. He knew that a knowledge of kenjutsu wasn't uncommon among ninja, but not very many used it as a specialty – at least, not that he knew of. Any ninja that mastered the art of kenjutsu, however, had a knack for going down in the history books, like the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Or, if not the history books, than at least the Bingo book. The thought made Naruto grin. He wouldn't mind showing up in an enemy nation's Bingo book one bit.

Naruto picked up his bowl and slurped up the last of the milk. He stood up, wiping his face on his sleeve, and started collecting his things for the day. Kunai and shuriken pouch, he thought, picking it up and hooking it onto his belt. Scrolls. He put them into a drawstring backpack and put the backpack on. And let's not forget the bokken. On his way to the door, he picked it up with his right hand and tossed it to his left. He turned out the lights and left the apartment.

Naturally, the first thing Naruto planned to do was meet up with Tsumeki. If she wasn't at the door to his apartment complex, he'd head over to hers, which was just a little down the street and around the corner. He speedwalked down the stairs, skipping the last step before each landing and the floor. He left the stairwell to enter the main lobby, where things were surprisingly busy.

"'Scuse me. Pardon me. Sorry, sir. Sorry. Excuse me."

He opened the door out of the apartment building to find Tsumeki leaning against the wall and snickering.

"What? What's so funny?"

With a renewed fit of giggling, she snapped her fingers and pointed into the apartment lobby.

Naruto turned around to look. It was empty, and the receptionist was looking at him like he was an idiot. "Oh, Tsumeki, that was just mean."

She was now done giggling, and had proceeded to all-out laughing. "Oh," she said, wiping a tear from her eye, "Oh, but it was so funny to watch you shuffle through it."

Naruto walked past her, holding up one arm in a 'talk to the hand' gesture.

The laughing redhead jogged up next to him and matched his pace. "Aw, who's a Mr. Grumpy Pants today?"

Naruto rolled his eyes, but didn't respond.

"Is it Naruto? I think it's Naruto. Is Naruto a Mr. Grumpy Pants today?" She pushed her shoulder up against him, lay her head on his shoulder, and looked up at him sideways.

Naruto struggled against laughter, and he was winning.

Tsumeki crossed her eyes.

Naruto couldn't contain the laughter after that. Tsumeki lifted her head and took a step to the side, giving him some space.

"You're so weird, Tsu."

"I'm weird, Mr. Frog Wallet?" She looked at him, a grin on her face.

"Yes, you're weird." He put his hand on her face (it was so large that you almost couldn't see her face behind it) and pushed slightly.

"Get your hand off of my face," she laughed.

When Naruto refused to comply, she started licking it. "Aw, okay, now that just feels way too weird," he said, wiping his hand on his pants.

Their walk to the training ground continued to look something like this as they made their way through the winding streets of the city and went outside the walls.

Training ground forty-one was, as usual, empty when they got there, except for Sasuke. The Uchiha was practicing his taijutsu sets.

"Morning, Sasuke!" called Tsumeki, like she did every morning.

Like every morning, Sasuke ignored her and continued his sets.

"Dickweed," Naruto mumbled.

"Stop it," said Tsumeki. "Just because he's a dick doesn't mean you have to point it out every time."

Slightly irritated, Naruto ignored the statement. Tsumeki sighed. Naruto dropped the drawstring bag near one of the three posts and leaned his bokken up against it. "So, what first, Tsumeki?"

"Three laps around the grounds?"

"Last one to finish buys dinner?"

"You're on."

In the end, Naruto ended up losing by the space of a few seconds to Tsumeki. She stuck her tongue out at him. "Ha ha! You're buying me dinner!"

Naruto stuck his tongue out at her. "You be quiet. If you hadn't tripped me, I would have won."

"Tripped you? I never tripped you, you tripped over your own clumsy feet, you doofus!"

"Whatever. Double or nothing on taijutsu."

"Ha, any day of the week, princess," Tsumeki teased.

Naruto dropped into a fast-paced offensive stance and began throwing a barrage of punches at Tsumeki. She didn't block a single one of them. Instead, she ducked, dodged, and sidestepped her way out of them, slowly maneuvering herself to Naruto's left. Naruto sent two more punches her way, and to readjust to the new angle, he threw a roundhouse kick, using the pivot to line himself back up with Tsumeki. The girl didn't dodge nor block the kick. Instead, she walked forward into Naruto's guard, inside the kick, grabbed the back of his knee, and pushed up. Naruto was thrown off balance, but managed to turn his fall into a backward roll. He ended on his feet and tried to reassume his previous stance. Tsumeki didn't give him the chance. She pressed him, throwing light punches. Naruto blocked most of them, but Tsumeki was fast on a whole different level. He had trouble keeping up with all of her movements, and soon, she had his back pressed up against a post. She threw another punch, and Naruto ducked.

Her fist hit the post, leaving a small dent. "Ow," she said reflexively.

Naruto swept at her legs, attempting to knock her over, but she jumped over his leg. Naruto turned the motion into a springing jump, and he made contact with Tsumeki's stomach with his shoulder. He heard the wind get knocked out of her lungs. They hit the ground and tumbled. Naruto landed first, however, and he lost his breath as well. The roll ended with Tsumeki on top. By this time, she had managed to recover enough breath to put her forearm firmly on Naruto's throat.

"I..." she breathed, "...win."

Naruto tried to push her off of him, but he didn't have enough strength to do so, and he started to see black dots on the edge of his vision. He tapped Tsumeki's arm twice, and she let go.

They sat on the ground for a moment, leaning against each other, before Tsumeki suddenly leaped to her feet. "Wohoo! You're buying me lunch AND dinner! Hahaa!" She began to do a victory dance.

Naruto laughed breathlessly and shook his head. "What...whatever," he panted.

She stopped dancing, a smile splitting her face, and offered Naruto her hand. He took it, and she helped him stand up. "Let's take a look at your kenjutsu scrolls now. Sound good?"

Naruto nodded, inhaling a large breath. "All right. Yeah, all right, I'm good."

Tsumeki took a scroll out of its case and opened it. "This one looks like it's a defensive stance. Look, all of the pictures are of a guy blocking and parrying."

Naruto looked over her shoulder. "Yeah, that's what it looks like." He grabbed his bokken. "Show me the scroll. I want to copy the stance."

Tsumeki moved a bit away from him to give him space to move, and then turned the scroll toward him.

Naruto took up the stance shown in the first picture. He held the blade low and held the hilt close to his waist, the blade pointed up. He copied the foot positioning and held the stance. It was actually comfortable; the bokken didn't seem to weigh as much, the way he was holding it.

Tsumeki looked at the scroll again. "It says here that this is a stance you'd use against other swordsmen. This one here," she said, pointing, "says that it's primary use is deflecting kunai and shuriken."

And so, until Kakashi finally arrived, Tsumeki help Naruto get the basic positioning of each stance on the scrolls down. She made him keep doing it until he could do the stance without looking at the picture, and until he could tell her which stance was for what.

He wasn't as late this time. He showed up at 12:30, instead of the usual three hours late that he was. As always, Kakashi entered the training ground, he had his face buried in his book.

"Good afternoon, sensei," Tsumeki called, before Naruto had a chance to say anything stupid.

Kakashi looked up for a moment. "Good-" He paused for the briefest moment when he saw Naruto with the bokken. "-afternoon." He then went back to reading his book. "Learning kenjutsu, Naruto?"

"Yeah, I am." Naruto sounded very proud of himself.

Sasuke stopped working with his fire jutsus for a moment to come towards Kakashi.

"Just remember. Knowing the stance and actually being able to use it are two completely different things. You're going to need a partner to train with."

Naruto's enthusiasm flagged for a moment. "Yeah, I figured as much."

"I just came to tell you that we aren't doing anything today, so you don't need to be here. You can have the day off."

Sasuke didn't seem to care. "Whatever. I would have been training anyways." He turned around and went back to his grassless area in the middle of the training ground to continue practicing his jutsus.

Tsumeki covered her face with her palm and sighed. "Yeah, that's fine. We probably would have been doing the same."

"Well, good. I'll see you all tomorrow." Kakashi turned to leave.

"Sensei, hang on a second!" called Naruto.

Kakashi stopped, but didn't look back.

"Do you know anything about chakra flow? Like, with weapons?"

Kakashi turned around and looked at Naruto. "Is that why you're trying to learn kenjutsu?"

"Yeah, I – that is, me and Tsumeki were in the library yesterday, and we found some scrolls on Chakra Flow. There wasn't much, but it sounded interesting."

Kakashi nodded, though Naruto got the impression that it was more to himself than anything. "Yes, I know some about chakra flow. It's a very useful skill. Most ninja learn how to use it at some point in their career..."

Naruto was a bit disappointed by that statement. He thought he had found something more unique.

"...but very few actually use it on a regular basis."

This re-encouraged him somewhat.

"There is one thing you should know, though, before you proceed with learning it. While it is an exceptionally useful skill and can give you an advantage in a fight, especially against another swordsman, it is not an end-all ability. You're going to want to make sure to spend some time learning new jutsus to add to your repertoire." Kakashi thought for a moment. "Chakra Flow also requires a decent amount of control, so you're going to need to work on that."

"But...how do I do that? I mean, control isn't something I really ever managed to grasp with the academy jutsus."

The sensei sighed. "You've seen ninjas walking on walls before, haven't you?"

"Uh...I think so?"

"I have, sensei," said Tsumeki.

"Perhaps we are going to do something today. Sasuke! Come back over here!"

Sasuke stopped in the middle of a particularly impressive fireball jutsu and came to the area the rest of the team was gathered in once more. "What?" he asked, sounding irritated.

"We're going to do a chakra control exercise today," Kakashi said. "Follow me."

He led them to the edge of the forest. "Each of you stand in front of a different tree." When they had followed his directions, he told them, "I want you to climb these trees without using your hands."

"But how, sensei? I don't know how to do that," protested Naruto.

"It's easy, idiot," Sasuke said. "You just focus chakra in your feet."

"Precisely," said Kakashi. "Focus your chakra in the soles of your feet, and you can walk right up the tree." Kakashi demonstrated this and strolled right up the tree, effortlessly and without any use of hands. "Now, all of you try. Make it to the top of your tree and then stand there on the trunk."

Tsumeki took a running start at her tree. She actually made it a decent way up before her foot slipped off the bark and she fell to the ground. Sasuke started up his, but he must have used too much chakra or something, because he blasted off of the tree and left a sizable hole in the bark. Naruto gulped and ran at his tree. His foot made contact with the tree, and he took another step, but then his control failed and he fell off of the tree, not even three feet off of the ground.

"This is hard," Naruto said.

"Maybe for you," Sasuke said. He ran up the tree again, with better results than before. He still lost his grip, but this time, there wasn't an explosion of chakra.

Tsumeki ran up her tree again, and she actually made it to the top, but she couldn't hold on to the chakra well enough to stand there, so she had to run back down the tree. "I think I'm getting it," she said, excitement evident in her voice.

"I expect all of you to have this down by the end of the week, if not sooner," said Kakashi, descending from his tree and pulling his book back out. "Remember, meet here the same time tomorrow." With that reminder, Kakashi left the training ground.

Naruto ran at the tree again, and he was met with more success than the last time. He made it five steps up the tree before falling. "Damn it!"

"Come on, Naruto, keep trying! You can do it!" Tsumeki yelled. She was at the top of her tree again, but she still couldn't hold on. She had to run back down it again.

Sasuke made it to the top of his tree, too. He almost fell off, but he caught a branch on his way down and was able to safely get down to the ground by going from branch to branch. "Five steps? Really?"

"Shut up, Sasuke!" Naruto yelled.

"Your chakra control is terrible, Naruto. You can't even make it to the first branch!"

"I know, Sasuke, now shut the hell up and go die in a hole!"

"Naruto!" snapped Tsumeki, who was sitting on a branch, taking a quick rest. "Be nice!"

Naruto looked at her incredulously. "Do you hear -"

"Yes, Naruto, I do. Be a better person."

Naruto grumbled at Tsumeki, but listened to her and ignored Sasuke. Focus, he thought. Just envision the chakra going down to your feet. Now, make it go down to your feet. Just like that. He ran at the tree again. This time, he made it to the first branch, but he still lost his grip on the tree and fell.

Sasuke seemed to actually be losing progress as Naruto gained it. While his first attempt wasn't repeating itself, Sasuke was suddenly having difficulty reaching the top of his tree again.

I'll beat him, Naruto thought. I'll get to the top of the tree and stay there before he can. With determination serving to redouble his efforts, Naruto ran at the tree again. While he didn't even come close to the top, he at least matched the progress Tsumeki had made on her first attempt before he fell.

Tsumeki, who had managed to stick to her tree for about five seconds before losing her grip this time, clapped at Naruto. "Good job! You're getting the hang of it!"

Naruto got up, dusted himself off, and looked up at the tree. I've got this.

Naruto and Tsumeki left the training ground together. Naruto felt a few bruises coming on, but they wouldn't last long. He was a quick healer.

"You've almost got it down, Naruto," Tsumeki said. "I think another solid day of working at it like this will be all you need."

"I think you're right. I'm glad Kakashi showed us that exercise; my chakra control has gotten loads better just today. Or at least, I think it has."

Tsumeki noddeed. "It definitely has. You'll be on your way to Chakra Flow in no time."

"I think I want to get at least some kenjutsu down first. You know, at least have an idea of what I'm doing. With something that powerful, I wouldn't want to be inexperienced with my weapon. I could cut my leg off or something."

She laughed. "Oh, you so would. If anyone would cut their own leg off, it'd be you."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "You got the time?"

Tsumeki checked her watch. "4:27."

"A bit late for lunch."

"Mmm. Probably. You can just buy me breakfast tomorrow, then."

Naruto groaned. "What? Morning things? I hate mornings."

"Oh, don't be such a baby." They passed through Konoha's gates. "I'm going to go back to my apartment to shower and change. You can pick me up for dinner at six."

"Where am I taking you?"

Tsumeki put her hands in her pockets. "I dunno. I guess I'll figure that out for you when we're ready."

"Please don't pick anywhere too expensive."

The smaller girl looked at Naruto. "Please. I'm on the same paycheck you are. I know what you can afford." She thought on that for a moment. "Perhaps we should just get a nice piece of cardboard."

"Oh, shut up." Naruto pushed her.

"Do you really want to go there again?"

"Yes, I do." He pushed her again.

Tsumeki laughed and pushed Naruto. He had to pull off some fancy footwork to dodge a grocery-laden woman. "Watch where you're going, Naruto! You're such a klutz!"

Naruto stuck his tongue out at her.

"Oh, a six year old's insult! I feel faint!"

"Shut up, Tsu."

"Make me."

"All right, I will!" Naruto moved toward Tsumeki purposefully.

She laughed. "Only if you can catch me!" She took off down the street running.

Naruto made sure the drawstring bag was situated on his back before giving chase. They went down the winding streets of Konoha, weaving in and out of the pedestrian traffic.

"You'll never take me alive!" Tsumeki shouted over her shoulder.

Naruto laughed and chased her around the corner. They were right in front of her apartment building. Tsumeki had stopped outside the door and was laughing heartily.

"I'm going inside now," she said after she had gotten herself under control. "Remember. Pick me up at six."

"I know, I know, I'll be here at seven sharp."

Tsumeki laughed again and punched Naruto's shoulder. "Six, you dork. I'll see you then."

Naruto grinned and started to walk toward his own apartment. He was lucky to have a friend like Tsumeki, and he was very glad that they were placed on the same team. He had friends, but very few were anywhere near as close as he and Tsumeki had become, and he very much enjoyed hanging out with her.

"Oops, sorry, excuse me," Naruto said. He had been lost in thought and had accidentally hit someone with the flat of his bokken's blade.

"Oh, it's no worry at all, young man," said the elderly gentleman as he continued on his way.

Still, even though Naruto and Tsumeki were very good friends, she hadn't opened up to him completely. She hadn't told him what had been on her mind that day on the academy roof, nor had she really gone into her past. That was okay, though. Friends didn't have to share every detail of their lives with their friends. He hoped that she would tell him, so that he could help her, but if she didn't, that was fine. It was her choice.

Naruto entered his apartment building. The receptionist looked at him oddly. Naruto remembered the events of the morning and grinned sheepishly. "My friend had put me under a genjutsu. It made me think that the room was full." When the receptionist made no sign of understanding what he was talking about, he continued. "A genjutsu is like an illusion that directly affects your brain." Still, the receptionist stared at him with the same, 'are you crazy' look as she had been. Naruto ducked into the stairwell.

Once in his room, Naruto stripped off his clothes and stepped into his bathroom. He turned on the shower and got in. It wasn't warm yet, but it didn't really matter. Regardless of how cold it was now, there was no way it could have been a worse shower than he had had this morning. While he let the water run over him, he pondered how much money he should take with him. He knew Tsumeki had no intention of breaking the bank, but he didn't want to be caught underfunded. Maybe it's best that I just bring more money than I reasonably intend to spend, he thought. That way, even if I'm caught a little off guard, I'll be fine. Naruto nodded to himself, sure that that was what he was going to do. He finished scrubbing himself off, and went into his room to get dressed.

Naruto looked at the chest of drawers that contained most of his clothes for a moment. He probably didn't want to start in on another pair of fatigues for just the latter part of the day. So, he just picked out a pair of jeans and an orange T-shirt. After that, he really had nothing to do but lie on his bed and wait for six to roll around.

"So, where am I taking you," Naruto asked?

Tsumeki shrugged. "I dunno. Somewhere I've never been."

"Such as...?"

"Maybe there?" she pointed at a restaurant.

"Eh, I wouldn't go there. They got their asses kicked about contaminated kitchen space not too long ago."

"Ick. Maybe not, then." Tsumeki looked around a bit. "Oh, hey, how about there?"

Naruto followed her finger and paled slightly when he saw she pointed at Ichiraku Ramen. But if we go there, Ayame will...

"C'mon, Naruto, I want to try their ramen!"

For the first time in the history of ever, Naruto Uzumaki dreaded going to the Ichiraku Ramen Stand.

Tsumeki sat down at the counter, and Naruto sat next to her. Ayame turned to greet them.

"Hello, and welcome to the-" She stopped when she saw Naruto. "Oh, hi, Naru-" She stopped again when she saw Tsumeki. "Naruto, who's your friend?"

"My name's Tsumeki," she said. "Does Naruto come here often or something?"

"Oh, all the time," Ayame said, eyes sparkling. "So, what's the occasion, you two?"

"She, ah, beat me in a race," Naruto said quickly. "So I owe her dinner."

"And," Tsumeki interjected, "I beat him in a fight, so he owes me breakfast tomorrow."

"Naruto," said Ichiraku, entering from the back of the stand. "What are you doing, losing fights to a girl?" He had a wide smile on his face, and it was plain for all to see that it was innocent jest.

Ayame's eyes were no longer dancing, now that she knew that Naruto did not have a girlfriend, but she still smiled. "So, what'll it be?" The question was directed at Tsumeki.

"Um... I don't know, I've never had much in the way of ramen, what's the best flavor?"

"Miso," said Naruto.

"I guess I'll have one of those, then."

"Coming right up," said Ichiraku. He and his daughter began preparing two bowls of ramen.

"Wait, aren't you going to ask what Naruto wants?" Tsumeki asked, confused.

Ichiraku laughed, and Ayame said, "Oh, honey, we already know what he wants. He gets the same thing every time he comes here."

Within a minute, both bowls were placed before the two genin.

"So, how do you two know each other?" asked Ayame.

"We're teammates," Tsumeki said.

Ayame's eyes lit up again. "Oh, so this is the girl you—"

"Yup. Mmhmm." Naruto was getting nervous. He didn't want this to go awkward.

"Girl you what?" asked Tsumeki, her ramen forgotten.

"Oh, he came in here right after you got your teams assigned and he was trying to figure out how to help you. He was very concerned."

"Oh, really?" she said. "What'd you tell him?"

Naruto sat there, slowly eating his ramen, as the two girls chatted about his coming for advice. His face was bright red, and he did his best to hide it behind his arms, his ramen bowl, whatever.

Ichiraku came by his stool and patted him on the shoulder. "It's okay, Naruto. I know the feeling." Naruto looked up a bit and half-smiled, grateful for the support.

Fortunately, it looked like Tsumeki had remembered that she had ramen and had begun to eat again.

"Why're you so low in the bowl, Naruto? Embarrassed?"

"No, Tsumeki. I'm here because I like the fumes."

She blinked. "Really?"

Naruto lifted his head and looked at her incredulously. "No."

"Well, how was I supposed to know? I've never seen you eating ramen before!"

"Just...no, Tsumeki. Just no."

Naruto picked up his ramen bowl and slurped up the last of the broth. Tsumeki took a bit longer to finish her ramen, but when she did, she followed Naruto's lead.

"Good meal, as always, guys. Thanks for spilling the beans on that Ayame, that was lovely."

Ayame smiled and curtsied. "Always happy to help."

Tsumeki got up. "Yes, thank you very much. The food was good."

Naruto handed Ayame the payment for the meal. "See you guys again soon."

"Bye, Naruto! Bye, Tsumeki!" said Ayame.

"You two have fun, make good choices!" called Ichiraku.

The two teens both turned a bit red. "Good bye," waved Tsumeki.

They left the ramen stand, no particular direction in mind. "Well," said Naruto. "That was...interesting."

"Aw, c'mon, it wasn't so bad. I think it's cute that you were so concerned about me."

"Yeah, well...Y'know."

She raised an eyebrow. "That's it?"

"I don't do well with sentimental...myekerblech."

"Sentimental myekerblech?"

"Yes. Why do you think I had to go and ask for help?"

"Well. I'm glad that you did. It's nice to have a good friend."

Naruto smiled. "I agree. I have a lot of friends, but you're...I don't know, closer."

Tsumeki smiled back. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"That's good to know." She looked to the side. "We're going there for breakfast, by the way."

Naruto looked at the restaurant. "A fruit and yogurt bar?"

"Yes. The food is divine. And it's not too expensive. So that's where you're taking me."

"It looks like I have good taste in restaurants, then."

"Yes, you do. Pick me up at eight."

It was silent for a few minutes, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. Naruto was the one to break it. "Hey, Tsumeki?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry for not going out of my way to talk to you at the orphanage."

She looked at him, surprised. "What do you mean?"

"I shouldn't have waited until you were placed on my team to make friends with you. We could have been hanging out long before we started."

"Hey...don't worry about it. It's no big deal. We're pals now, right?" she tossed an arm around Naruto's neck. "Right?"

He grinned. "Right."

"God, you were right. This is good."

"I know, right?"

"I never knew granola could taste so good. And with blueberries. Son of a bitch, I think I'm in love."

"Sometime, we'll have to come here after eight PM. They bring out a whole bunch of dessert type things, right? They have this pie and ice cream dish that's to die for."

"What's that?"

"Hm? Oh, it's coffee cake. Have you ever had it?"

"No, I haven't."

"Here, have some."

"...Mother of God. As soon as I can afford it, I'm eating here every day. For the rest of forever. And ever."

All of a sudden, a ninja appeared next to the table Naruto and Tsumeki were at.

"Son of a bitch, man, you scared the shit out of me!" Naruto said, cleaning up some spilled yogurt from the table.

"The Hokage needs to see you. He has a mission for you. Come immediately." And with that, the ninja teleported away.

Naruto and Tsumeki looked at each other. "If we're being called instead of going to him for a mission, you think it means we got a C-rank?" asked Tsumeki.

"I bet it does. Can we get this stuff to go?"

"Yeah, you can get a little plastic doohickey. You pay the bill, I'll take care of those."

"On it."

With their breakfast secured and paid for, the two took off toward the Hokage tower at a run.

"What do you think we're going to be doing?" asked Naruto.

"I have no idea! I've never been on a C-rank mission before!"

"Me neither!"

Tsumeki looked at him and laughed. "I know that!"

When they arrived at the tower, they burst through the door and scrambled up the stairs.

"Watch it, you two!" cried a ninja carrying several boxes. "You almost knocked me over!"

"Sorry!" Tsumeki called back to him.

Kakashi and Sasuke were waiting outside the Hokage's office when they got there.

"What took you so long?" asked Sasuke. "Even Kakashi got here before you did."

"Shut up, Sasuke, nobody asked you."

"Well, idiot, considering that this involves me just as much as-"

"Knock it off, you two," Kakashi said. He knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Team seven entered the office. Inside were the Hokage and a man dressed in silk clothes.

"Team Seven, reporting," said Kakashi.

The Hokage nodded at them. "Team Seven, I have decided to give you your C-rank mission. You will be escorting Mr. Dogo's merchant caravan to Suna and back."

The man in silk, Mr. Dogo, bowed. "With bandit activity increased upon the roads to Suna, it will be good to have ninjas on the job."

The Hokage continued. "Mr. Dogo has received some information that persuaded him to contact us for a mission. He believes one of his men is spotting for a group of bandits. Your secondary objective, after making sure the caravan arrives safely in both Suna and Konoha again, is to determine the identity of the bandit lookout and apprehend him. Mr. Dogo has assured us that if lethal force is necessary, he will not press charges. Do you have any questions?"

Sasuke stepped forward. "How long will this mission take?"

"Provided there are no delays, it should be a five day trip both ways. You will be saying in Suna for two to four days. Expect that, if delayed by inclement weather, bandits, or other unforeseen circumstances, it is possible that you could be gone for twenty days or more."

Sasuke bowed his head slightly to the Hokage and stepped back.

"Is that all, Hokage, or can my team pack their bags?" asked Kakashi.

"There is one more thing. Team Guy may be in the area of Suna, as they requested our aid in tracking and apprehending some missing ninjas in the area. If they are in Suna at the same time as you and they have completed their mission, you are to brief them on yours and recruit them into it." The Hokage slid two scrolls forward on his desk. "As such, I have had two copies of your mission objectives made."

Kakashi stepped forward and took the scrolls, putting them in a pouch on his belt.

"That will be all," said the Hokage. "Mr. Dogo, when does your caravan leave?"

"We depart from the west gate at 10:00."

The Hokage looked at Kakashi. "Kakashi, that gives you and your team a little over an hour to prepare. You are dismissed."

And that concludes chapter two. I'd like to inform you all that this chapter is actually an accident. It was supposed to be a little bit of filler at the beginning and then it would segway into the C-rank, but as you can see, it sort of evolved on its own into a whole chapter. I guess it's not totally filler, as some plot points were kind of expanded on, such as Naruto's intent to train in kenjutsu and chakra flow, but still. I hope you don't mind the filler. I also hope that it didn't get too choppy. There were a couple of points I wasn't happy with, and I tried to smooth them over, but I don't know how successful I was.

Also. Shout out to another reviewer, 3ch0. He mentioned that Ichiraku's name is actually Teuchi. I know that his first name isn't Ichiraku, but since I couldn't remember his first name and had a memory lapse of the existence of Google, I called him by his last name. I will continue to do so for the sake of consistency.

I know I said all would be revealed about Tsumeki in this chapter, but like I said, this chapter was an accident. So, just bear with me for another chapter here.

I really don't intend to write such long author's notes, but it kind of happens. I'm sorry about that. It's not setting the word count off by too much, though, so I hope you'll forgive me.

All right, that's all I have for you. Read, review, see you next chapter.