Hey! So, this is where the story really begins to diverge from canon. Naruko is a little smarter. Her chakra control is also a little better because she can sense it, and therefore is able to observe how jutsu work. I really struggled to write this chapter...I must have drafted five times before I got to someplace I liked it.

Also- Crystal Clear Ice by Yung Lean (it's a song and it makes me think of Haku)

The Forest of Chakra チャクラの森 (Part I) 1,665 words.

Naruko Uzumaki, container of the Kyuubi, was fed up. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy carrying her teacher home or anything...well, she did mind. None of her teammates would assist her because she could make clones to help instead of them. And Kakashi-sensei was heavy. What the hell was all of that weight coming from. It wasn't all body weight, he was in shape. Was it kunai? Shuriken? Maybe it was just a ton of little books.

She had no idea what the book he carried around was, but he must enjoy it a lot, as he always read it. She was pretty sure it was only one book! Well...he was passed out. She could just take a peek...? The blonde summoned one more clone to take her place. He deserved this, dattebayo! She reached into his vest pocket. The small orange book was called...Icha Icha Paradise?! Where had she heard that before?

Walking down the path, she flipped open the first page. Yuki walked down the road towards her hotel. A gust of warm, tropical wind rushed through her silver hair. Her hair was this color at birth. In truth, she was only 21. The sun had already begun to set, and the bright, vivid colors of the evening were slowly fading in favor of a calm violet hue. Yuki seemed to struggle slightly, three bags of luggage weighing her down. The road receded into a path leading up to her destination. The revolving doors led to a wondrous place...scorched concrete turned to cool marble tiling. Her small heeled shoes clicked against to floor, breaking the solitary silence and alerting the clerk behind the check-in desk.

Naruko looked up in confusion. She had expected something...worse? This wasn't bad. Maybe she should hold onto it. "It'll be another thirty minutes until we arrive at my home." Tazuna's voice broke through her train of thought. Nodding absently, she acknowledged his words. She made her way to the desk, greeted by a very cheerful clerk, whose lively eyes and bright smile seemed fixated on her face. "Hello there, how may I help you?" Her voice was as chipper as her expression, apparently. She had curly red hair, and a pretty face. It was nothing out of the ordinary, but semi-attractive all the same. What she lacked in her face she certainly made up for in body. Her breasts were perky and waist thin.

Okay...that was a little strange. She was confused, why was that important? Maybe it was so you could picture what the lady looked like? Yuki smiled back, "Hi!" She placed her luggage down. "My name is Yuki, and I believe I have a reservation for one of your rooms." The attendant nodded politely, smile never leaving her face. She had on a pair of rather thick reading glasses, connected by a red string that matched the color of the frames. The torrent of the summer heat weighed heavily on her long hair, and her skin seemed to glow with light perspiration. Still, she seemed a great deal more accustomed to the sultry temperatures of the resort than Yuki herself was.

"Here we are," she stated, pulling up a file on her computer, "Yuki Fuji, seven evenings in room 105, with a nice view of the main gardens. Sounds quite nice."

Twenty six pages later, Naruko found out exactly why it was called Icha Icha Paradise. The secretary from earlier walked into her room. "Hello, Miss Yuki. I'm just here to see how your stay had been so far." Yuki suddenly began to notice things she hadn't about the secretary. Without the glasses on, she was quite attractive. If she was interested in woman, the secretary would be a prime choice. "My name is Miko." Miko peeled off her sweater, leaving only a revealing, short, red dress that showed off her breasts and waist line. That was a fine piece of ass. "You know, Miss Yuki...there is a reason this is called...a paradise." The dress came off. "Come now, don't you want to join me?" The red head sauntered forwards to reach Yuki.

A hand brushed through her hair. The secretary- Miko, licked her red-painted lips and bent forwards. Why don't you take off that pesky dress of yours, hmm?" With that, her lips descended on Yuki's and her hand cupped her brea-

Naruko suddenly realized why Kakashi-sensei giggled as he read this...book? What should it be called? Was that even qualified to be 'real literature'? She had to admit, the writing was okay until it turned into erotic fiction. A small bead of liquid slid down towards her mouth...blood? What!? Was she hurt!? She wiped it away with her sleeve. It didn't matter, she'd find out another day. If her teammates found out she was hurt...

Well, Sasuke-teme would make fun of her, and Sakura would be a bitch and do whatever he did, so. No asking for help. Thankfully, a small house appeared at the end of the path. It was quite cute, made out of wood. It was by a small lake, and a layer of mist covered the water itself. She quickly put the book back in her sensei's vest. It was best if no one found out she read that. Just as they were about to reach the house, a woman opened the door. She wore a pink kimono, and had long black hair. Speaking of hair, maybe she should cut hers? No, she was getting off track.

"Father!" She ran up to hug the old bridge builder. Clearly he raised her right, if only he shared the same manners. Naruko snickered as she grabbed the bottle of liquor and threw it away. Good. The bastard may have shaped up at the last part of the journey, but he was still an asshole. "Oh, hello! My name is Tsunami, thank you for protecting him." She noticed the Narukos carrying their sensei. "Come inside, we can patch him up and eat."

The blonde jumped happily, food! "Yatta! Finally some food, dattebayo! Oh. Uh, thank you for your..." She breathed in, trying to remember the right phrase, "Hospitality! Yeah." Remy popped out of her collar and squeaked. "This is Remy. He stays with me." The woman nodded warily, but seemed to accept that as a shinobi it must be okay.

The clones had carried Kakashi up the stairs where he laid on a futon. He was tended to by Tsunami, and she wondered how the civilian learned how to do that. "Ne, Tsunami? I'm pretty handy with bandages, but...how are you doing that?" The woman smiled brightly, and laughed a little. Naruko, embarrased, crossed her arms and looked away with a pout. "Never mind."

Tsunami waved her arms quickly, "No! It's just I only have a son, and he is more concerned about doing the damage and not fixing it. It's nice..." she looked away, brown eyes looking miles away, "...almost like a daughter." The last half of the sentence had been whispered, Naruko's enhanced hearing barely picked it up.

She wasn't one with much tact, but it seemed like a private moment. Instead of hugging the woman, like her instincts had screamed at her to do, she sat quietly for the nice lady to snap out of her reverie. "Ah, I'm sorry Naruko-chan! I just got a little lost in thought. My mother taught me how. Maybe shinobi families don't find it necessary?" Naruko flinched a little, and put up a bright smile.

"Yeah, maybe." Then she walked out of the room, suddenly not so interested in learning how to tend to the wounded. Tsunami couldn't do much anyways, Kakashi-sensei had passed out from chakra exhaustion. Even now, the man had dangerously low amounts. Whatever. She scowled despite herself. It wasn't Tsunami's fault. She didn't know anything about Naruko. It wasn't her fault at all. But it still hurt.

She slouched a little, hands in her pockets. Maybe hiding in the forest for a couple hours would help. Sakura looked up, slightly concerned. She had never seen the bubbly blonde this low before. It almost seemed like Sasuke. But she stayed with her Sasuke-kun as Naruko opened the door and left. It was probably best to leave her alone.

Blue eyes squinted up at the sky. The sun was slowly traveling across the sky, and the blues were receding to a colorful array of pastels. Sunset was approaching. Remy pressed his nose the her cheek. The whisker marks twitched slightly, a smile threatening to overtake her sadness. The rat tried again, and again, and again until a wide, genuine smile adorned her face. She could always count on him to make her feel better. She grabbed his small body and placed him on her chest just as she plopped onto the grass. "No matter what, Remy...I will always protect you. 'Cause you're my family, dattebayo! I don't need anyone else."

Both stayed like that until Tsunami called out for dinner. Kakashi's chakra supply was slowly raising. He would be up by tomorrow, hopefully. When she reached the table any trace of sadness was a distant memory, and she even ate the vegetables without a problem. Tomorrow she would ask Kakashi-sensei to train her some more.

There was no question that she had improved, but...during the bell test, Teme already had an elemental jutsu. She only had the Henge, Kawarimi, Kage Bunshin, and...that was it. Crap. Well, she knew many jutsu intheory, but actually performing them was another thing entirely. But, when Ducky used the Kawarimi, it seemed like he used a lot less chakra. Was she over powering? That would be for tomorrow. It was time to sleep now.

She climbed into the futon next to her sensei's, and stared at the ceiling. It would take a while, but eventually sleep would take Naruko into it's grasp.