Episode 11:

"Team Seven Part Deux!"

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, than the Sharingan wouldn't be the most ridiculous Deus Ex Machina ever thought up.

Naru stared at the child for a moment before turning her gaze towards her teacher. "You're joking, right?" she asked. Kakashi shook his head in response "No, this isn't a joke. Genin squads are comprised of three members. We would have needed to find a new member even if the Chunin exams weren't coming up. Unfortunately the only available Genin was Hanabi."

Naru looked over her new teammate once more before glaring at Kakashi. "But she's just a little kid!" the blonde exclaimed. Kakashi walked over to stand behind his newest student and placed his hand on top of her head. "I will admit that Hanabi is quite young, however she passed the same Genin exam that you did" he said cheerfully.

Naru would have continued arguing if she wasn't interrupted by Sasuke. "You mentioned the Chunin exams" he said. Kakashi patted Hanabi's head before pulling away and responding to Sasuke "Yes I did. You may or may not know that the Chunin selection exams are held once every six months. The location of the exams changes from one village to another on a rotating basis. It just so happens that this next set of exams will take place right here in Konoha."

"It's the responsibility of each Jonin instructor to determine whether or not his team is ready to take the exams. After your performance during the mission I decided to nominate you but as I said the test is taken in teams of three. Hanabi had recently graduated the academy and because she graduated early there was no one else to form a team with. Under normal circumstances a tutor would take her on while she waited for a spot to free up on another team."

"This has occurred a bit sooner than expected but considering we needed to fill out the team. It works out for us in the end. Either way discussing it is pointless as she's a part of Team Seven now. And on that note I want you three to meet me at training ground 18 in an hour" with that being said Kakashi gave them a wave before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

Naru grabbed at her hair and tugged on it in frustration. "Grrr… I hate it when he does that!" she shouted with a growl. Sasuke gave his two teammates a look of disinterest. "Hn…" he mumbled before turning away and leaping out of the window. Naru growled once again at turned her gaze to the newest member of Team Seven. "Well?" she said.

"Well what?" asked the brunette.

Naru gave her a blank stare "Aren't you going to go out of the window like everyone else?" Hanabi looked at her as if she had some strange disease. "Do I look like I want to jump out of a window when there is a perfectly good door nearby?" she asked as she turned away from the blonde and calmly walked out of the room.

Naru's gaze dropped to the floor as she wilted. "They're going to be the death of me" she said with a whimper. The blonde girl looked up when a large hand settled on her back. "Don't worry about it too much dear. I'm sure Hanabi will be a great teammate. Just give her a chance" Kensuke said as enthusiastically as possible.

Naru let out a sigh and gave her adoptive father a smile. "I better get going or Kakashi-sensei might actually get there before me" she said before heading off towards the open door. Just before leaving she turned her head back to Kensuke and waived. "Bye Dad!" she said cheerfully before walking out of the room leaving Kensuke alone with a look of shock on his face. Slowly that look of shock turned into a smile and he spoke to himself in a whisper "Goodbye sweetheart."

A short while later…

Naru glared at Kakashi as she stood facing him with a scowl on her face. "I am not fighting a little kid" she said stubbornly. Kakashi sighed and rubbed at his temples. "It's not a fight Naru, it's a spar and you all need to get used to each other's fighting style if you're going to perform well as a team" he replied. The blonde Genin crossed her arms and shook her head. "No way!" she shouted.

The grey haired Jonin shut his eyes in his exasperation. He knew he would have trouble getting Naru to cooperate. The blonde had been less than thrilled when she found out that her new teammate would be a seven year old girl. Sasuke didn't seem to mind but then again all he probably cared about was the Chunin exams.

Kakashi was usually willing to indulge Naru's little temper tantrums however with the recent loss of Sakura his patience was wearing thin. After a minute the Jonin made up his mind on what he wanted to do. So with one last sigh he turned to the young Hyuga. "Attack her but go easy remember it's a spar" he said.

Naru stared at him in shock. "What do you think…" she began to ask before having to dodge to her left as Hanabi's open palm came flying towards her stomach. As soon as Naru dodged Hanabi's first strike a second one was already heading for her. The blonde responded by leaping backwards. Once her feet touched the ground she fell to her back.

Naru used her legs to scramble back as the small Hyuga continued to advance a look of fright filling her eyes. Hanabi seeing her opponent backing away went in for the kill, however she was stopped when Naru's leg lashed out and a sandaled foot slammed into her stomach causing her to double over.

Hanabi wrapped her arms around her midsection as she fell to her knees. The young girl gasped for breath as tears sprang from her eyes. Her pale eyes slowly turned up to gaze upon the blonde girl as she towered over her. She tried to speak but couldn't seem to get enough air to utter a sound.

Naru reached down with her right hand and grabbed the child by the throat before lifting her up by her thin neck. Hanabi's eyes widened when she saw the crimson gaze of her teammate. Naru's grip tightened around the small neck as the child clawed at her wrist trying to break the hold that was slowly killing her.

"Is this how I'm going to die, strangled to death by my own teammate before I even go on a mission?" Hanabi thought, her vision darkening as the world blurred before her.

Kakashi was nearly frozen in shock at Naru's violent reaction to Hanabi's attack. While he did expect the blonde to be upset about his order he certainly didn't expect her to try and strangle Hanabi. Kakashi quickly shook off his shock and rushed over to the pair of girls, it only took a second for Naru's blood red eyes to register with the Jonin.

"Stop this Naru! You're going to kill her" the grey haired man shouted as he grabbed the blonde's wrist. He tried to pry the fingers from around Hanabi's throat but trying to release Naru's grip was like trying to bend steel with his bare hands. Kakashi continued with his futile attempts to force Naru to let go however he noticed that Hanabi's struggling was slowing down and that the girl's face was turning blue.

Kakashi released Naru's arm. Grabbing a kunai from his holster he placed the blade against his blonde student's throat. "Naru please I'm begging you! Don't make me do this!" he said pleadingly. The blonde's head turned slowly to face Kakashi, her skin dragging across the razor sharp edge of the kunai sending a trickle of bright red blood down her neck. Still she held on.

Sasuke meanwhile stood off to the side staring at the trio in shock. While the fact that his new teammate was a little kid and a Hyuga as well, he certainly didn't want to see the girl killed. He knew that he should intervene and try to get Naru to stop but he couldn't seem to get his legs to move. A month and a half, that's all it took for his view of the world to be shattered.

Sasuke had been in the top of his class at the academy, they called him a genius. Naru on the other hand was dead last. Her grades were terrible and her skills negligible. She was nothing more than a nuisance with her loud mouth and brash actions. But when it came down to them sparring on that last day during the exam, she won.

He thought it was a fluke that he had underestimated her and that was all. Then Wave happened and he saw the truth that the adults had hidden from them. Naru held within her power, a power both terrible and vast. He knew at that moment, when she killed a Jonin in the blink of an eye that he wanted that power. "Itachi wouldn't last a second against me if I had the Kyubi by my side or at the very least the Kyubi's container" he thought.

So Sasuke would befriend Naru. Not too quickly of course. The girl was an idiot but she would get suspicious if he became too friendly overnight. He would start slow and then bit by bit she would become his. That of course would be impossible if Kakashi had to kill her to keep the Hyuga alive.

It was with this thought that Sasuke rushed over to them and grabbed Naru's shoulder. "Hey dead last snap out of it!" he shouted at her. As soon as the words left Sasuke's mouth Naru's hand released it's' hold on Hanabi's throat. Kakashi didn't waste any time as he kneeled next to the fallen child to see if she were still alive. The grey haired man let out a choked laugh as relief flooded through his body when he felt the girl's pulse.

At the same time that Kakashi was finding out that he wouldn't lose two more students Naru was busy yelling at Sasuke. "I told you not to call me dead last, you bastard!" she shouted. Sasuke grabbed her hair and yanked it before using it as a handhold to shove her head forward. "If you don't want to be called dead last then why don't you try to keep yourself from killing your teammate" he said with a growl.

Naru let out a yelp and tears welled up in her eyes. She would have retaliated against Sasuke's rough treatment but her eyes fell upon the limp form of her newest teammate. "What happened?" she asked although she already knew. She could feel the ache in her hand and see the ugly hand shaped bruise that was forming on the girl's small neck. "I…I…Is she…" the blonde finished her sentence with a whimper as Sasuke released his hold on her hair.

Kakashi scooped the young Hyuga up and cradled her in his arms. "She's still alive. I'm going to take her to the hospital. Sasuke I want you to take Naru to the Uchiha compound. Stop by her house first though and pick up a week's worth of clothes and supplies" he said. Sasuke knew from Kakashi's tone that he had no room for argument in this situation.

"Why do I have to go to his place? Why can't I just go home" asked a highly distressed Naru. Kakashi stared at her for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Because you nearly killed the head of the Hyuga clan's daughter. You were completely out of control Naru." He said sternly. "I didn't mean to!" the blonde replied with a sob.

"And that is exactly why you are going to the Uchiha compound. I know you wouldn't purposely try to kill her and it is my fault for telling her to attack you in the first place but that might not be enough to keep the Hyuga from seeking retribution. Right now the safest place for you is with Sasuke. His name still carries weight at least in the political sense" he explained.

Kakashi looked down in alarm when Hanabi let out a pained cough. "I have to get going. Sasuke hurry up and get moving I want Naru behind your compound's walls before word of this reaches Hiashi" he said with some urgency. Sasuke responded with a nod and took Naru by the wrist. "Let's go blondie" he said as he gently tugged on her arm. Naru gave her Sensei one last worried look before turning away and following Sasuke towards her new house.

The pair of Genin stopped however when Kakashi called out to them. "I hesitated Naru. That's the only reason why I didn't cut your throat and while I may hate myself for the rest of my life I won't hesitate again. I've come to care about you, all of you more than I ever thought possible and it's for that reason that I won't let the Kyubi take control of you. I'll kill you before that ever happens" he said, his voice full of emotion.

Naru tried to say something in response but the only thing that came out was a whimper. Sasuke sighed and once again tugged on the crying girl's arm. "Come on Naru let's go" he said. The blonde girl nodded and meekly followed her raven haired teammate. It only took a short while for the duo to reach Naru's new home. Luckily for them Haruno-san was not there at the time.

Naru gathered the necessary items and scribbled a quick note to her adoptive father. Sasuke asked her if she had everything and she replied with a nod. So without further delay they made their way to the Uchiha compound. Sasuke lead his teammate towards the center of the compound. The two passed building after building before finally reaching a grand manor house sitting at the very heart of the Uchiha district.

Naru followed as Sasuke entered the house. He led her up a flight of stairs and down a dark hallway before stopping in front of a door. Naru watched listlessly as Sasuke opened the door and led them into the room. She looked around in shock once she got a good look at the room. Outside of the room everything was grey and colorless but inside the walls were painted a rich red.

At the center of the room sat a large four poster bed covered in silk sheets the color of blood. "It's beautiful Sasuke" she said in wonder. The raven haired boy smirked. "The Uchiha clan spares no expense when it comes to taste. This is just one of the many guest rooms that are in this house" he said with a hint of pride. Sasuke pointed to a door a few feet away from the bed "You'll find a full bath right through that door. Why don't you clean up while I prepare something for us to eat. Okay?"

Naru gave him a nod and watched as he left the room. Closing the door behind him the blonde girl padded over to the bed and flopped down on top of it. She let out a mewl of pleasure as the soft mattress seemed to swallow her up. Naru could have laid there forever but she knew that she should get moving before she fell asleep. So with a sigh the Genin rose and made her way over to the bathroom. She opened the door and noticed a light switch on the wall beside her. Naru flipped the switch and grinned when the room was illuminated for at the end of the room was an oversized tub that could probably fit five people.

"I think I'm going to like staying here" she said with a purr as her eyes flashed crimson before settling back to their normal blue.

A/N: And there's chapter 11. I hope you all enjoyed. If any of you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. I'll try and answer to the best of my abilities without giving away the story. One thing I want to let you know is that there is a purpose to Naru's quick shifts in mood. That will be explained fairly soon… I think. As always thank you for reading and please review!