Hokage Tower

"They did what?!" Yugao fumed as her gaze fell on her charge, her glare sharp and angry. Sakura gulped and shrunk back, looking away to avoid that glare. Yugao, Kakashi, Tsume and the members of Team Seven were standing in front of the Hokage. Kakashi had just reported a mission gone wrong, and Tsume and Yugao were immediately called to the office.

Turns out that the three Genin of Team Seven had pranked their client after he had bad-mouthed them. Sakura had been the mastermind behind the plan, while Kiba and Naruto made sure everything was in place and set. Let's just say the shopkeeper will be walking around town looking like a human ink pen. It seemed funny to the three Genin, until Yugao and Tsume walked through that door. Sakura had immediately ceased her giggles while Kiba had gulped in fear of his mother. Naruto had been the only one chuckling then, bursting into girly-like giggles every time Kakashi would send him a one-eyed frustrated glare.

Sarutobi sighed and nodded. "They pranked their client. It's not surprising, seeing as Naruto and Kiba are together. I never thought Sakura would help them, though." The Hokage shared a look with Sakura, who looked away in embarrassment.

"We'll see to it that they're punished, Hokage-sama." Tsume growled over at her son, who flinched in fear. The Hokage sighed again, giving Tsume and Yugao a copy of the report. After giving a brief glance to the paper then to the children, Tsume straightened up. "Hokage-sama, I wish to speak with you, Yugao and Kakashi regarding matter of project 10-10." The other two Jonin in the room tensed, while the kids gave Tsume a confused glance.

Hiruzen hummed then nodded. He turned to the Genin. "Why don't you wait outside for a few minutes?" The three shared a look then nodded, turning to walk out of the group.

Yugao glared on after them. "And while you're out there, think about what you did today and how we should punish you." She saw Sakura's shoulders tense up, and sighed inwardly. Once the kids were out of the office, the purple-headed woman turned to the clan leader. "What about Naruto and Sakura?"

Tsume grinned at the other two Jonin in the room. "Those two brats came to my daughter Hana a few days ago asking if it was possible to have fox familiars. We told them there were a few newborn foxes at the vet-"

Yugao frowned. "You know how dangerous is it for them, Tsume-"

"Now, I never promised them anything other than being able to go see them when the kits are slightly older. You three are the ones who decide whether or not it's safe for Naruto and Sakura to have fox familiars." Tsume interrupted, looking at the three surrounding her. "I'm not an expert but maybe it could help Sakura with her control and Naruto with his vast amount of chakra."

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes at this. "What are you suggesting, Tsume?"

"I'm saying that if Naruto and Sakura were to get familiar foxes, because they don't come from a family that having familiars is basically a bloodline, they'd have to share their chakra with their familiars."

Kakashi hummed. "That means also sharing some of Kyuubi's chakra, seeing as their seals were designed so that Kyuubi's chakra could merge with theirs as they grow."

Tsume nodded, looking over to the Hokage. "That's right. For Sakura, it could work as a means to learn how to control her weak seal and Kyuubi's chakra. In Naruto's case, it'll work as an outlet for his unlimited energy." The Hokage narrowed his eyes at this, rubbing his chin in thought. "It'll also serve as an addition to the team, seeing as Kiba already has Akamaru and Kakashi has his Ninken. This way, Naruto and Sakura have partners. This may motive Kiba more and make the team stronger."

"But, what if things with the Kyuubi chakra go wrong?" Yugao asked, frowning.

Kakashi turned to the Hokage, "We could always have Tenzou hiding in the shadows in case things do get out of control." Yugao tensed at the mention of the Anbu and turned to look at Hiruzen.

Sarutobi nodded, standing up. "Very well. I will allow Naruto and Sakura to have fox familiars. However, I'm putting Tsume and Hana in charge of training them in the aspects of having a familiar. Tenzou will be assigned to watch over the Genin when they 'connect' with their familiars. Is this clear?" When the three Jonin nodded (Kakashi in his usual relaxed pose, Tsume grinning happily and Yugao frowning in worry), The Hokage dismissed them.

The adults left the office, finding Naruto and Kiba bickering, with Akamaru barking a few times, and Sakura looking to the ground in what seems like concentration. Tsume hollered, "Kiba! Get your ass over here! We're going home." Kiba looked over and ran over while waving goodbye to his team and Akamaru barked at the other two Genin from atop of the brunette head.

Naruto and Sakura followed Kiba's example and went over to their guardians, Sakura flinching when she locked eyes with Yugao. Naruto bid his farewell to his female teammate, Sakura mumbling a "Goodbye" after him as he and Kakashi left the building. She looked up at Yugao, who stared hard down at her. The Jinchuuriki winced then lowered her head as she followed the Jonin out the building. Once they were on the streets, they headed over in the direction to their home. Yugao glanced over at Sakura and took a deep breath.

"Look, Sakura-"

"I'm sorry, Yugao-sensei-"

They looked at each other after talking at the same time. Sakura blushed in embarrassment and looked at the dirt under her feet again, reaching over to rub her left forearm. Yugao noticed the girl's nervous habit and smiled gently. She looked forward, "Sakura, I understand that you never really had a childhood," The Jonin noticed Sakura's wince but kept on talking. "However, you're an official ninja now. There's a certain time to do certain things. There's a certain time for training, just as there is for doing missions and for playing around."

Sakura looked up at her. "I know! And I'm sorry. It's just that the shopkeeper was glaring at Naruto and I, then insulted Kiba and Akamaru for being around us. They didn't deserve that, so I thought-"

"You thought a little revenge would justify it." Yugao stated, and Sakura frowned, agreeing. The former Anbu nodded in understanding. "I understand, Sakura. Wanna know something?" Yugao looked down at her and reached down to flick the Genin's Hitaiate upwards, making the metal plate marking her as a Konoha ninja hit Sakura's chin. "It doesn't justify it. The man was wrong in treating you three – I mean, four, the way he did. You have to be the better person. He was wrong, and you knowing it and not getting revenge makes you the better person."

"What if the man hurt someone I love?" Sakura asked absentmindedly, rubbing her sore chin.

Yugao raised her brow at this. "Why? Are you in love with Naruto or Kiba?"

Sakura's eyes widened and a blush spread across her cheeks. She shook her head frantically. "No! I don't want to date a boy anytime soon, sensei, you know that. But…" Sakura trailed off, a frown marring her features. Yugao waited patiently for her to gather her thoughts and speak. "Kiba and Naruto told me that Uchiha Sasuke's older brother killed off his entire clan except for Sasuke. Now, Sasuke wants to take revenge on his brother because of it."

Yugao nodded and looked forward again, collecting her thoughts. Sakura looked up at her in question. "Sweetie, Sasuke's case is….a little different. Revenge isn't right and should never be justified, no matter what. However, it is Sasuke's decision whether he wants to avenge his family or not. Just because he decided to kill the man who killed his family doesn't mean he's going down the right path. Revenge is never justified. Do you understand?"

Sakura frowned and nodded, "Most of it."

Yugao smiled slightly, 'You need to figure things out on your own, Sakura. You should be your own person.' Silence blanketed the two as they kept walking home, each woman deep in their own thoughts. That was how things were, anyway, until Sakura interrupted the silence.

"It's Naruto, isn't it…" Yugao looked down at the Genin in confusion. Sakura glanced at her from the corner of her eyes then looked back forward. "Naruto's the other Jinchuuriki." Those words came out as a statement, something that stunned the Jonin enough to falter in her step and thoughts.

"How'd you-?"

"The Hokage really needs to put up privacy seals whenever he's talking about matters as secret as these. Someone could overhear the conversations." Sakura advised absentmindedly.

'Crap. She heard us.'

"I'll take your stunned silence as a yes, Nee-chan." Sakura said in amusement. At Yugao's slightly frantic gaze, she sighed and looked away. "Relax. I'm the only one of us that heard. Enhanced hearing, remember? Even if you guys could be heard within a normal hearing range, the guys were too busy arguing to even listen." Yugao sighed in relief and relax just as they reached their front porch.

"Yes, he is. Are you going to tell him you know?"

Sakura bit her lip as Yugao confirmed her highly believable suspicions. "There's a reason we haven't told each other, Nee-chan. We don't trust each other, yet. I won't tell him about the Kyuubi until I can trust him, and he won't tell me until he can trust me. I'll keep it that way."

Yugao nodded as they walked inside of the house and closed the door behind themselves. She turned to Sakura, who was already on her way to her room. "Sakura," She called after the girl, who turned to her in question. "I do want you to be careful around him. His seal is stronger than yours but it's still designed the same. If either of you draw chakra from the Kyuubi while you're in close range with each other, your seal might weaken and it could become disastrous. Please be careful."

Sakura smiled at her. "I will. Don't worry." She turned around and walked into her room. Yugao sighed in exhaustion before going to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Inuzuka Clan Compound

"Hey, Kaa-san?" Kiba looked up at his mother while the two walked around the compound on their way to their home. Tsume glanced at him and nodded for him to continue. "Is it possible for two people to have the same exact smell?"

Tsume frowned in confusion. "Of course not, Kiba. Every person has a unique smell." She looked down at him. "What brought this up?"

Kiba shook his head. "Just curiosity, Kaa-san. No worries." Kiba grinned up at her then turned to look at the ground. 'Every person has a unique smell? Then, why do Naruto and Sakura smell a lot alike? They have their unique smell, yes, but there's something under that smell that's exactly the same on both of them. It's really hard to tell them apart sometimes, actually.'

Tsume glanced at her son, who had become quiet. 'Did he notice the similarities between his teammates' smells? If he did, things might become chaotic for him to identify them in the long run.' Tsume sighed inwardly and prayed those similarities won't become a problem for the team in case something bad happened in the future.

(Hey! Been a while, huh? I'm still alive, no worries. Music has just become a huge part of my life right now, though, so that's taking up most of my free time. I decided to end it here. Next chapter, we'll go over to Naruto's part and there'll be a flashback on the Bell Test, an event I'm still trying to write down. So, I'll drop this off here and I'll see you next time!

7th Creature)