So, I updated this one this time. I was out of inspiration for the other ones, so then... Hope you like. ^.^

"Holy hell! You nearly fried me, ya red-eyed freak!" Youko yelled, waving a fist comically towards Sasuke, who simply smirked triumphantly. "Well, maybe you should've watched your surroundings more, then." He retorted.

Youko huffed, and scratched his cheek idly with a black claw. "Whatever. How's it going with the sharinghan?" He asked his fellow 9-year old. Sasuke shrugged. "Better. I've got two in both now. By the way, where is Houkou? I would've thought she'd want to come train too." He raised one dark eyebrow.

The blue-eyed half-demon scrunched up his nose. "Scheduled match with her little sister. That's one bratty brat! Anyway, I heard you'd moved back into the Uchiha compound?" He wondered. Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, I did. It's not like there are ghosts there, and my 'irrational fear of freaky older brothers' is more or less gone." He snorted.

Youko grinned. "That's good! Wonder where Itachi is now? Poor guy, he's probably running from the hunters." He snickered. Sasuke smirked. "Maybe. Well, I got to go, mom's making yakitori for dinner." He said, amused at his strange friend's jealous expression.

"Fine, fine. I'll see ya tomorrow?" The red-blonde asked. Sasuke nodded. "Sure. Bye!" He waved before setting out in a run.

Youko tilted his head thoughtfully, before he smirked and disappeared.

XXX

Houkou skillfully dodged her little sister's fierce attempts at hitting her, a blasé look on her face. Hanabi was getting frustrated, but tried to keep up. Around stood several elders, some branch members and Hiashi.

"Enough already, Hanabi. You're too stiff." The dark-haired girl sighed. Hanabi snarled and continued. Hiashi watched them both carefully, his gaze disapprovingly following Hanabi. Houkou narrowed her eyes at that.

"Wow, how utterly boring. You're way too skilled, Hou-chan."

Everyone turned in surprise to see Youko leaning against the wall, a smirk on his face. His now more red-than-blonde hair fluttering slightly, revealing that he had just arrived.

Houkou smacked Hanabi on top of her head, and went over to Youko. The Hyuuga members were too shocked to say anything. A twitch formed in the girl's eye, before she slapped the boy, who still smirked.

"Mou, Hou-chan, that's mean. Say, what's up with you fighting against each other anyway?" He questioned, red hand mark on his face fading rapidly. Houkou shrugged. "Stupid thing. It's a Hyuuga thing, you wouldn't get it." She snorted.

"What is that abomination doing inside the Hyuuga house? How?" One of the elders screeched. Youko shook his head annoyed, and Houkou glared at the old man.

"Some of us have sensitive ears, old man. And really, abomination? That's real nice. And for how, I just…moved. It's a demon fox thing, you wouldn't understand." The whiskered boy shrugged. The elder looked more or less livid.

Houkou palmed her face. "Naruto, you saying you can do demon fox things doesn't exactly help against them thinking you are the fur ball, does it?" She pointed out. Hiashi studied the boy and was surprised at the emotion of his eldest daughter.

Youko scrunched up his nose in irritation. "How many times do I have to tell you to call me Youko? Damn, I hate that stupid name. Oh, but I can do kitsune things. What use would it have to say I can't, and then do it? Besides, Kyuubi can't do it as well as me. He's too big." He snickered.

"Boy. Why are you here?" Hiashi demanded calmly. Youko raised one eyebrow. "I'm bored. Hou-chan's bored, though she doesn't admit it. I figured we could do something together! …Say, do ya want to come with me to the forest? The lighting is amazing now." He turned towards Houkou, who smiled.

"Sure. May I, father? Do know that I will do so whether it be with your permission or not." She said. Hiashi narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, but nodded. "I see… yes, you may leave. Return before midnight." He said, and walked out of the dojo.

Youko looked after him with a curious look. "So… is he like your original father used to be? And what about your mother?" He wondered. Houkou frowned. "I don't know, actually. My father died early on, and now my mother died early. She was human though, which makes it somewhat strange that I'm still half-demon, since Hiashi is also human." She muttered.

The fox half-demon blinked in confusion, before taking a hold of Houkou's hand and simply disappearing together with the dark-haired girl.

XXX

"Yo! Youko!" Kiba waved enthusiastically as the slightly taller boy entered the academy grounds. Youko blinked. "Hm? What's up, Kiba?" He wondered. Kiba looked pointedly at him. "It's survival training 'till tomorrow! This is going to be awesome!" He exclaimed.

Youko's grin was downright scary.

"Aa, I'm sure it'll be. Know anything about it?" He asked. Kiba shook his head. "Nah, but I think we might be parted into groups. Hope I get with you and Hinata!" He grinned. Youko smirked. "We'll see, right? But you shouldn't get your hopes up too much." He said, before he disappeared only to appear behind Kiba and pushing him forward before disappearing into the academy.

XXX

"You will be led out, then you will have to manage on your own. Shoot up a flare if you can't do it, and someone will come and get you." Iruka finished his explanation, and smiled at everyone's enthusiasm.

The brown-haired chunin started when Youko suddenly stood right beside him, and shook his head wearily. "You should really stop doing that, Naruto." He sighed.

After finding out that Naruto was related to one of Konoha's biggest heroes, he had tried to apologize for hating him and acting very formally, until the blue-eyed boy had blown up and told him to stop it – and to call him Youko.

So now, he had actually turned to some sort of older-brother-figure, strangely enough.

"The name's Youko, not that stupid ramen-name! Geez." Youko muttered. Iruka smirked. "It does mean maelstrom too, you know. Now go to your 'team' and make a plan for survival." He pushed the boy towards the stairs, and he pouted and went up to Houkou and Sasuke.

XXX

"So, Sasuke'll be in charge of making us a fire, and keeping it, Houkou is in charge of finding a good place to camp, and I'm in charge of watching out and making sure we have food." Youko nodded with a grin.

Sasuke nodded slowly. "What do we have with us, exactly?" He asked. Houkou tilted her head. "We have one tent, a tarpaulin, one pack with sleeping bags and fishing poles as well as a bow with three arrows, and three flares." She counted it up.

Youko nodded. "Okay, I can take the pack, as it is the heaviest thing. Houkou can take the tent, and Sasuke the tarpaulin. Sound okay?" He wondered. Both his temporary teammates nodded.

After a small while, the chunin began leading them out.

XXX

"Here! There is a slight cover underneath this cliff, and with our back against the mountain, no one can surprise us. There is also soft moss to lie on." Houkou pointed out, blazing white eyes scanning the surroundings through the furious rain.

It had started to rain only two hours ago, and they were already drenched. Sasuke was shivering, but neither Houkou nor Youko felt cold, so they gave him one of their jackets each.

Youko and Houkou hurriedly put up the tent, and Youko leapt up to fasten the tarpaulin over the tent, giving some more cover from the rain. "Sasuke, can you find some wood? It shouldn't be too hard, but just call and we'll come." Houkou said.

Sasuke nodded resolutely, even though his teeth were clattering somewhat. He quickly went into the trees, while Houkou set about hanging up some threads around the tent, to dry things on when they finally got a fire.

Youko finished fastening the tarpaulin, and looked up at it. It was quite large, and he had fastened it with a slight curve at the ends, not allowing rain to assemble in the middle. It reached about two meters out from the tent on all sides.

Sasuke came back with an armful of wood, and both the others helped putting it up with a ring of stones around. Then he did a few hand signs and blew a small fireball on the wood, igniting it at once.

In the trees some ways away, two chunin were watching the kids expertly set up camp. "Wow, they're pretty amazing for being 9 years old. And I'd say that's pretty good teamwork too, they gave the Uchiha their jackets because he was freezing and they weren't." The one on the left, with spiky dark hair said.

The other, with a brown lock of hair in front of half his face nodded. "All three of them seems to know how to set up camp very well, though Uzumaki and Hyuuga are more experienced than Uchiha." He mused.

"Huh, Uzumaki is moving out? I'll follow him."

XXX

While Youko left to hunt, Houkou began taking off her clothes, to Sasuke's surprise. "What are you doing?" He demanded. Houkou tilted her head. "Our clothes are soaked, and need to be dried. Besides, we're only 9, we're not that developed yet for modesty to be needed." She shrugged, and hung her t-shirt and pants over the thread she put up earlier.

Sasuke blushed slightly at seeing the dark-haired girl in only her panties and a sports bra, but she just snickered at him. "You should get your clothes dry too, Sasuke. You can leave your t-shirt on if it makes you feel better." She smirked.

The dark-haired boy nodded, and took off his clothes except for his boxers and t-shirt. A dark blush was still on his face, and Houkou shook with silent laughter. "Honestly, you humans are way too modest." She pointed out.

Sasuke huffed and sat down beside the fire, poking it with a stick. Not long after, Youko returned with three dead rabbits. He blinked at seeing their un-clothed states, and shrugged. He himself looked pretty much drowned.

"Hou-chan, why don't you prepare them? You're better than me, and I should probably get out of these clothes I too." He gave them to the half-demon girl who immediately set to skinning them.

Sasuke frowned interestedly. "Say, is it because you're half-demons that you don't react to the cold?" He wondered. Youko nodded while wrenching his t-shirt over his head. "Demons have much higher resistance to cold, heat, sickness and so on than humans. So we're pretty sturdy we too, though not as much as a full demon." He explained.

Houkou finished skinning the rabbits with her claws, and put all three of them over the fire. "Mm, it smells yummy. I haven't had a real meal like this in years!" She licked her lips. Sasuke and Youko snorted.

"How old are you guys anyway?" The Uchiha boy asked. Youko blinked and sat down beside the fire. "Well, I and Houkou were about 120, before we were reborn or whatever. We looked 16 at that point. You see, when a demon or half-demon reach 15, we'll stay like that a hundred years before looking like we've aged another year." He said.

Sasuke looked fascinated. "So you'll grow normally until you're 15?" He wondered. Houkou nodded as she prodded the rabbits. "That would be a problem if we were in a human settlement, if it weren't for Youko's illusions. He's a master illusionist. As expected by a demon fox." She chuckled.

"Is food ready yet? I'm dying of hunger here!" Youko exclaimed. Houkou silently handed him one of the rabbits, and he tore into it, causing Sasuke to look somewhat disturbed. Houkou snorted.

In the trees, the two chunin were talking. "He's really efficient at hunting, though he uses claws of all things. But he's not the Kyuubi. Maybe he's gotten them from the fox?" The spiky-haired one suggested. The other one frowned.

"Maybe. But that girl too, there's something about her. And I'm not talking about her lack of modesty." He snorted. The spiky-head laughed silently. "The Uchiha's got modesty instead, it seems! He's still blushing somewhat!" He cackled.

The one with hair in front of his eye chuckled too. "Yeah. But he's an Uchiha so it's to be expected. From the Hyuuga too, really, but she defies everything. It is smart though, to do as they've done to dry their clothes faster." He complimented.

"Yeah."

XXX

The next morning dawned with glittering sun, putting lights in every raindrop still hanging. Youko sat outside the tent with his now dry clothes on and a small fire where he was grilling fish.

Sasuke came out of the tent sleepily, rubbing his eyes and smiling when he smelled the fish. "Ah, you're already awake?" He wondered, looking at the half-demon. Youko smirked. "I've been awake for at least half an hour. I usually wake early. Here, eat and you'll get some energy. Your clothes are dry, by the way."

Sasuke blinked as he noticed that Youko was wearing his black, ripped pants and crimson t-shirt, and hurriedly went to clothe in his own black shirt and white shorts. The jackets were left hanging, as it was quite a pleasant temperature.

Houkou came out next, yawning. "Mm…gimme." She muttered, grabbing one fish and munching on it. Youko raised one eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

"So, today we're supposed to get back to the academy. First we'll have to pack, making it look like no one was here. So as soon as you two are done eating, let's get to it! …And Hou-chan, you should perhaps think about putting on your clothes too."

Houkou snorted. "Fine, fine." She agreed. Sasuke huffed with a small smile.

After eating, Houkou clothed in her dark blue pants and t-shirt, and they began packing up. Youko being the most agile jumped up to fix the tarpaulin, while Sasuke helped Houkou to pack the tent and remove the fire.

After 15 minutes, they were done. "Well, let's head out!" Youko grinned, and they began running, disappearing into the foliage.

XXX

Iruka was sitting in his classroom sipping tea while looking at some tests, when the door burst open and he was surprised to see Youko, Houkou and Sasuke.

"Hiya sensei! We're back!" Youko exclaimed, dumping the pack on the floor. Iruka blinked and looked at the time. "So early?" He wondered. Houkou shrugged. "Naruto wakes early, and he made food, so we didn't spend a lot of time on that, and packing was easy. Also, it was easy to find the way back with our noses." She explained.

Sasuke nodded. "Besides, flat grass, broken branches and other stuff like that is easy to see." He added. Iruka smiled. "Well, good job you three! You may go home now, but there's still school tomorrow." He warned.

The three of them had already disappeared out the door.

XXX

"So…you guys want to come over at my place? Mom wouldn't mind, I think she misses making food for more than just two." Sasuke said. Houkou shrugged. "Sure, Hiashi isn't expecting me before this evening." She agreed. Youko grinned. "I'm always free to come, especially if Mikoto's cooking!" He exclaimed.

Sasuke smirked. "Let's go then!" He said, and they dashed off towards the Uchiha compound.

XXX

"I see. Dismissed." The sandaime nodded to the two chunin who had been watching the temporary academy team compromised of Sasuke, Youko and Houkou.

The two of them bowed and disappeared in twin plumes of smoke. Sandaime thought about what they had reported, and the real purpose of the survival exercise.

Though many things could change in three years, the teachers had put together the students that seemed to be the best teams, to find out whether that would be a good set-up for when they finally became genin. Some of the set-ups were brilliant, while others went straight down.

Though the council was wary about placing the Uchiha heir together with Youko, sandaime knew of their friendship, and that Youko was the one who convinced the other boy not to go down the road of vengeance.

Placing the Hyuuga heir on the team also seemed like a bad move by the council, but then again, they didn't know that she and Youko was extremely protective and sibling-like over each other.

Of course, they could have put the Inuzuka heir in the group instead, but Iruka had felt it would misbalance the team's strength. And when Iruka Umino spoke, you listened. Though the usually soft-spoken and nice man seemed to fit being a chunin, he had once been one of Konoha's most dangerous ANBU.

Those who threatened what he protected, wasn't killed. They were obliterated.

In any case, sandaime was satisfied with the report on the team. They had acted like an experienced team, and it was somewhat funny to note the Uchiha heir's blushing at the Hyuuga heir's blatant non-modesty.

Now, he had something to read… Sandaime smiled impishly as he reached into a hidden drawer and pulled out an orange book.

XXX

Youko was grinning happily as he ducked under Sasuke's right hook and twisted around the other boy to kick Houkou away. The dog half-demon dodged by a hairsbreadth and proceeded to leap over Sasuke to kick the whiskered boy in the face.

Youko blinked out of view and appeared behind them both, flying through hand signs. "Fox illusion: Prison of nothing!" He declared, and the two others were caught in a bubble of air. Nothing could be seen, and there was in reality nothing there, but they were caught.

Sasuke pouted. "Oh, come on! Is this an illusion?" He demanded. Youko grinned and nodded. "Fox illusions are more real than the normal ones. Besides that, it is my imagination and your minds that are certain you are captured." He explained.

Houkou sniffed irritably. "No matter what I do, I always get caught in this! Fine, I admit it, you're better than both of us." She grumbled. Sasuke huffed and nodded mutely. Youko smirked. "Well, that wasn't so bad, was it? That only means you have to train more, to get to my level so we're just as good, all of us!" He exclaimed.

"Really now, how shall anyone of you get food if you're caught up out here?" Mikoto's gentle voice floated out as she stood in the doorway. Youko snapped his fingers, and both other 9-year olds were released and they all ran inside, yelling.

Mikoto chuckled.

XXX

Now, this chapter might come off as something confusing, considering the fact that there are many things that haven't been told. But the gist is:

Itachi killed the Uchiha, except Sasuke and his mother.

Youko talked to Sasuke and talked him away from vengeance.

Sasuke has been told of Youko and Houkou's half-demon status.

And... that's pretty much it, I think. Of what's confusing, anyway.

Please review!