Akari held the black cat by the scruff of its neck, turning to her team mate she held him up, "This is the one we're looking for right?" She asked blandly.

Taki pulled out a picture and nodded, "Yea that's it, but you shouldn't hold him like that Akari, you might hurt him." She said.

Akari shook her head. "Nah, he's fine, his mother would have picked him up like this all the time as a kitten," She told her team mate.

She heard movement from her left and turned as Azuko and Naruto came out of the trees.

"Akari what the hell!?" Azuko shouted, "You were supposed to wait for the signal. You could have jeopardized everything!"

She turned a cold blue eye to her other team mate and spoke. "Well I didn't," She told him in an even tone. "He came close to me, didn't react when I moved closer and didn't really care when I picked him up. An opportunity presented itself and I took it."

Azuko growled at her and turned to Naruto. "Sensei you agree with me on this right, she acted stupidly and put the whole operation at risk!" The boy said pointedly, razing a finger at Akari as he spoke.

Akari's eyes narrowed and she opened her mouth to speak.

Naruto cast a quick glance to Taki to see that she was gearing up to speak as well. Granted she probably would have tried to stop the conflict escalating but Naruto decided to put a stop to it himself.

"Geez give it a rest you two." He said in a tired voice. "The thing is your both right." He said.

The three Genin looked at him not really comprehending what he was talking about so as their Sensei he elaborated. "Look sometimes a Shinobi should take opportunities as they present themselves, much like Akari did with Tora, yes she broke formation, but she had an opportunity and took a calculated risk, in operations as inconsequential as this, such risks are fine, and even in most missions a Shinobi should take advantage of every opportunity." He explained.

Akari smirked at Azuko, enjoying the sense of superiority she had, but all too quickly Naruto snatched it away, it never did well to allow his Genin to get to full of themselves.

"However, taking advantage of such situations and braking formation could be deadly." He said.

An icy feeling fell over the group as Naruto became more serious, imparting some very real information to his young Genin. "In some missions, especially one's that involve conflict with enemy Shinobi, braking formation and leaving yourself without back up – much like you did just now Akari – could have got you killed. As you advance and become Chunin Ninja, or even Jonin, taking risks on a mission become more and more dangerous. Sometimes they will pay off, and other times they won't." He told them.

"So how do we know what risks to take?" Akari asked after a long silence.

Naruto offered her a half smile. "Unfortunately, developing an instinct for them is something you have to develop by trial and error." He told her. "However, it is better to stick to the mission plan and keep formation." He told them, making sure he didn't contradict himself too much.

"Whatever," Akari said in her usual monotone voice. Azuko glared at her and she tossed Tora at him. "Well I captured the bugger so you might as well take him back." She said turning back towards the village.

Azuko let out a yelp of surprise as he stumbled forwards towards the suddenly air born Tora, he let out another yelp, this one of pain, as the cat started flailing in his arms, claws at the ready.

Eventually, Tora was secured and the group made their way back to the village.

Naruto walked at the back of the group keeping an eye on his team. Azuko walked a few passes a head of him, holding Tora, firmly enough so that it couldn't get away, and lightly enough to keep him calm. Initially the boy had tried to hog tie the cat in order to take it to the village, but Naruto had shown him that at a lighter touch the feline would behave itself. Further ahead Taki walked side by side with Akari.

"You're really good with cats." Taki said, trying to start a conversation with her distant team mate. Akari just shrugged, "My family had a cat when I was younger," She answered factually.

Taki nodded and tried to keep the conversation going. "That sounds nice, what are your Mum and Dad like?" She asked hopping to get a little closer to her.

Akari bit her lip and her fists clenched at her sides. "They died in the War," She said bitterly.

Taki's eyes widened in shock and even Azuko looked up in mild interest. The words caught in Taki's throat and she couldn't think of anything thing to say, eventually she managed to speak.

"Oh, I'm…I'm sorry," She stammered, not really sure what to say.

Akari didn't say anything and Taki allowed the other girl to get a few passes a head. Naruto sighed inwardly as he looked at the girl; Akari was incredibly distant and withdrawn. She didn't really speak unless she needed to, and even when she did it was usually in a bland monotone voice, void of any real type of emotion.

It had been two weeks since they had become Genin and the only real emotion she had seen, was anger – mostly towards Azuko's constant insults.

She had shown traces of other emotions during their final test but nothing really tangible. Worse still she seemed to have no real motivation or personality. When he had asked them why they had become Shinobi in the first place she didn't even answer. Furthermore in the two weeks since, Taki had tried on multiple occasions to bridge the gap between the two of them, but Akari had rejected every one of them.

Taki at least seemed to be a perfectly normal kid, she had her friends, both ninja and civilian and she seemed to be on relatively good footing with Azuko though the boy didn't really appreciate small talk. She took to all her tasks well and she was a friendly and open young woman. Wanting to make both of her parents proud of her, and protect the village by becoming a Shinobi.

Azuko had become a ninja because his parents were both members of ANBU and had been schooling the boy in the Shinobi arts since he was a toddler. Of course they had cared rather little for him emotionally, which had led to the boy having very poor social skills and emotional awareness. After joining the academy the extra training had rocketed him to the top of the social hierarchy, which had of course gone to the boys head, leading him to have a bloated opinion of himself.

Naruto allowed a sigh to escape his lips as he looked at the three Genin before him. He certainly had his work cut out for him this time around.

Eventually the group made their way back to the village and to the Hokage's office to report on their mission.

The Daimyō's wife was, of course, delighted with the return of her 'darling little Tora' and after giving the three Genin a little extra cash for such a speedy job, she left with a clearly disgruntled Tora held tightly in her arms.

Tsunade looked at the three Genin over her glasses and smiled at them. "I must congratulate you on a job well done." She said approvingly. "I do believe that you three have set a new record for finding and retrieving Tora." She told them.

Taki nodded enthusiastically and spoke. "It was all thanks to Akari," She told the Hokage. "She just walked right up to him and picked him up."

Tsunade shifted her gaze to the blue eyed Genin before her, who merely shrugged indifferently. "Cat's like me." She said, trying to move the topic along.

Tsunade nodded and handed the team their payment for a mission well done. As they walked outside Naruto turned to look at them. "All right guys, I have some errands I need to run, so you can have the rest of the day to yourselves." He told them. "I'll see you at the bridge bright and early tomorrow okay."

The three Genin nodded and Naruto vanished from view. Once he was gone Azuko turned to Akari. "Next time we get a job, stick to the plan." He told her in a none to kind manner. "I won't have you wrecking any missions cause you're too stupid to follow the plan."

Akari looked at him with a look bordering contempt. While the boy behaved himself when Naruto was around he was always dismissive and rude when they were alone. "Get over yourself," She said. "The mission was a success and we even got a little extra because I acted on an opportunity, so quit complaining." She said before turning to leave.

Azuko growled at her softly as she walked away.

Taki looked at the two of them before she followed after Akari.

"Akari wait," She called out to the other girl. Akari – somewhat reluctantly – turned to look at her team mate, a board expression on her face, her arms resting behind her head.

"Um, about earlier," Taki began uncertainty, playing with the hem of her shirt as she spoke. "I'm…I'm sorry about-."

"Don't bother," Akari said in an unusually sharp tone which made Taki flinch. Akari noticed it and changed her tone to a more gentler one – at least for her anyway. "It's not like you can read minds so it's not like you knew." She said the last bit in a more dismissive tone, before walking off.

Taki sighed to herself before turning around.

"I don't know why you bother with that loser," Azuko said as she walked back his way.

"She's not a loser," Taki shot back sharply. "She just hasn't been given time to show how good she is." She said in a less assured tone.

Azuko only shrugged. "Whatever," He said before walking away. Taki stood there for a moment, hanging her head in something like shame before she too made her way home.

From a tree not too far from the intersection where he had left them, Naruto watched the events unfold between his Genin team with a heavy heart. He had hoped that the group would have made a little progress socially by now, but it looked like they were getting worse.

He sighed to himself in defeat. He had never face a challenge like this before, he thought for a few moments about what to do before coming to a conclusion. There was someone he needed to talk to.

The bell to signal the end of the day at the Academy rang and the children gratefully left for home. Naruto walked through the halls of the Academy in a blissful nostalgic haze as he remembered his own days in these halls.

He came to the class room he was looking for and knocked on the door, drawing the attention of the young, bond haired teacher sitting at the desk, going over paperwork.

One pale blue eye, fixed on him, and she smiled standing up to greet him. "Naruto," She exclaimed happily as she gave him a hug.

"Hey Ino," Naruto said, returning the hug.

"So what brings you here?" Ino asked him as they went back to her desk.

"I need to ask you something." He told her.

She gave him a sly look before sitting on the edge of her desk, indicating for him to take the chair. He nodded his tanks and sat down.

"About?" Ino asked as he sat down.

"About my students," Naruto answered, resting his feet on the table. Ino nodded and lent back on her arms, "Which ones were yours?" She asked him.

"Azuko, Akari and Taki." He told her.

She nodded bringing up all she could remember about the three students. "What did you want to know?" She asked him.

"What were they like here?" He asked her. He was sure he'd get the same response he had gotten from their profiles and from his own assessment of them but he always liked to check his references.

Ino nodded and thought for a moment before she spoke. "Well Azuko was always popular and good with his studies, though he was a touch too arrogant for his own good I say, he was okay in class but I did catch him bullying a few of the students now and again, he had his friends, though I think they respected and feared him more than they liked him. He never like to be proven wrong either, hell he even berated students for even arguing with him, not exactly a likable kid, but he had talent."

Naruto nodded taking in the information, just as he had been lead to believe, Azuko was an arrogant brat with a superiority complex.

"Taki was a good kid," Ino went on, moving on to his next student. "She was polite and well mannered, always did her work and never really got in trouble with anyone. She like and was liked by everyone, a kind of queen bee if you would. She seemed to get along with Azuko and keep him on some sort of leash, always stopping him from taking things too far."

Again Naruto nodded to himself. Taki was always a good kid and he knew she'd do well in life.

"Then there was Akari." Ino said in a noticeably sadder tone. "She was somewhat of a troubled kid. She never really applied herself to her studies and it unfortunately showed in her grades. She placed last in almost every test and didn't seem to care about it. She's not stupid, just…" Ino's voice trailed off in search of the right way to explain the girl.

"Not motivated," Naruto said, mostly to himself.

Ino's head snapped back to his and she nodded emphatically. "Exactly!" She exclaimed. "She just didn't seem to care about it, or making friends. A few of the kids tried to be friendly to her, but she shooed them all away, one way or another. I even tried to give her a little extra help after class to boost her grades but she was just too distant. She sat alone every day and only really stayed back if I made her. She was an awfully lonely girl. And to make matters worse all of the parents gave her the old stink eye whenever she was around."

Naruto made a sound of recognition as he stared at his feet. He was well aware of how the rest of the village treated her when she was alone. The same looks the villagers had given him in a bye gone age.

After a few minutes of silence Naruto stood up. "Thanks for your help Ino." He said, giving the blond another hug.

"Any time," Ino said cheerfully. "Hope I was able to help."

Naruto nodded to assure her. "You did. I think I'll need to talk to Kakashi Sensei when he gets back to the village, figure out how he dealt with me when we were younger."

Ino smiled. "Take it things aren't going too well then?" She prompted.

Naruto offered her a wiry smile, "You don't know the half of it."

Taki walked through the front door of her house, unintentionally ignored her mother's greeting, and went straight to her room. She felt exhausted.

Granted she had done little to physically exhaust herself, but she still felt tired. She had spent the whole walk home worrying about Akari and Azuko and how she could help make them a real team. She knew that the other three Genin teams didn't have the same problem they had. They actually got along.

And Taki, never liking unpleasant confrontations had been trying hard to bridge the gap between her team mates since they had become a team. Needless to say it usually left her rather tired at the end of the day. She was vaguely aware of a knock on her door and propped herself on an elbow to get a look at the door.

Taki's mother was a tall woman, A little over six feet with jet black hair and sparkling green eyes. "Is everything okay Taki?" She asked as she walked into the room, sitting down next to Taki, wrapping an arm around her.

Taki responded by sitting up properly, and rubbing her mother's belly.

She was six months along and Taki always managed to smile when she thought about having a younger sibling.

"So…" Her mother said at length. "What's on your mind?"

Taki sighed and looked at the floor. "I made everything worse." She said sadly.

Her mother only smiled at her, pulling her into a tight hug. "Oh I doubt that," She said in a soft voice. she knew just how much her teams fractured relationship weighed on her daughters mind and how she burnt herself out daily trying to come up with a way to fix things before they went too far.

"I did," Taki protested, "I asked Akari about her parents and she said they died in the war and now she's mad at me."

Her mother only smiled and rubbed her shoulder. "There, there Taki," She soothed. "I'm sure she doesn't hate you."

Taki said nothing and her mother thought for a moment before coming up with an idea. "Tell you what; if I pack some dinner for you do you think you'd be able to take it to Akari's house?" She asked. "I'm sure she'd love a home cooked meal."

Taki smiled and nodded. "Sure,"

Two hours later Taki was running out the front door, boxed dinner in hand, heading for Akari's apartment.

On the second day of their training Naruto had made them all exchange contact details, in case they ever needed to get in touch.

It took about twenty minutes for Taki to find the building, and she quickly ran up to the top floor and knocked on Akari's door.

After a minute or two Akari finally answered, when she saw Taki her eyebrow raised in a questioning look. "What are you doing here?" She asked, not trying to be unkind, just genuinely puzzled to see Taki at her door and half seven.

Taki smiled and held out the box of food. "Well, I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me," She said.

"Why?" Akari asked, back to her usual manor.

Taki stumbled over her words slightly at the girls reply, she hadn't really been expecting that response although she wasn't too surprised.

"Oh well, I thought that, since your alone here, you might like to have some company for a while and-." She didn't get any further before Akari burst out.

"Look, just leave me alone okay!" She said almost angrily, causing Taki to shrink back a little. "I'll help you out on a mission but other than that just leave me alone. It's not like were friends or anything and being on the same team hasn't changed anything, you didn't give me a second glance back at the Academy so why the hell would you now? I hate shallow two face people who think that one thing changes everything!" She was shouting buy the end of it, and after her last words she slammed the door in Taki's face.

Taki stood there for a long time in a state of shock. She had never really expected Akari to be to mean, true she hadn't really reached out to her in the Academy, but she wasn't hoping to fix everything with a word. She would have been happy to have it happen piece by piece.

She felt tears welling up in her eyes as Akari's words fully reached her and she realised just how alone the young girl was.

But then she heard a noise coming from the apartment. It sounded almost like, sobbing. She held an ear to the door and listened for it again.

It was there, faint, but there. Taki hung her head sadly, leaving the food by the door before she began thee long walk back to her home.

From a tree branch not too far away Naruto watched the exchange with a sad yet approving smile. They were making progress. He thought to himself, albeit, very, very slowly.

Okay so as one would expected the character changed in the last 7 years, but I'm not going to make it drag on, and I will actually make sure that there are those lovely fight scenes that you know you want.

Also as you will have guessed this is going to be focusing just as much on the Genin and their development as Ninja as much as it will on Naruto. Hope you liked it, will start to pick up with the next chapter - currently in progress.

anyway, hope you enjoy it, leave a review if you chose and I'll see you next time.

Until Next time I which you all the best.
Yours truly.
Nicolai Grey.