Yo. Sorry this took so long, I've been rather busy, what with school and such. Also, I promise I'll get to the action soon. I'm just gonna spend another chapter or two establishing relationships. For example, Sasuke will NOT be a douche-bag. Also, with the pairings, NaruxHina is the main... and I'll see what I can do about ShinoxIno. Gotta make it a little believable, hmmm? BELIEVE IT!

READ THE DISHCLAIMEH: I do not own Naruto, ya' fools, YA' FOOLS!

Despite the caring concern in the voice, Naruto sat up quickly, pulling a kunai from its pouch, spinning his head around to find the source.

He turned to see Hinata, standing almost a metre from him. She was clutching at the bottom of her coat, and Naruto could see she was breathing heavily. A wave of relief washed over him as he saw that her previous hateful expression was now replaced with a slightly surprised, anxious look, her soft, lilac eyes opened wide.

However, Naruto did not withdraw the kunai, and slowly stood up, feeling his legs tremble slightly, and watched her carefully.

"What's going on?" he asked her loudly, his voice shaking a bit, oblivious to what she had just said.

The young Hyuuga visibly flinched at his tone, and took a small step back. She averted her eyes from him, instead focusing on a spot near his left foot, and started to fiddle with her fingers nervously.

"Y-you were put in a Genjutsu, Naruto-kun," she repeated, a little more high-pitched now.

The jinchuriki licked his lips, his body slackening a little, but still remaining in his alert pose, feeling even more befuddled.

"A... Genjutsu?" he asked, struggling to speak in his confusion.

"Yes... a-a type of jutsu that affects the chakra f-flow in the brain..." she explained, trying to force her voice to become calmer.

Naruto nodded slowly, and placed his kunai back into its pouch. However, his wary expression did not weaken for a second, and Hinata blushed, feeling rather unnerved as she realized that the young shinobi was observing her closely.

"Did you do it?" he asked after a few seconds, his body tensing again. He narrowed his eyes slightly, but Hinata gasped, and shook her head fiercely.

"N-no, Naruto-kun! I-I would never...!" she yelped, startling Naruto a little, but her voice faltered quickly, leaving her to stare at the ground.

"Sorry, Hinata-chan! I know you wouldn't! I'm just a little confused... who would do such a thing?" he wondered out-loud, now looking regretful for his hasty accusation, yet still perplexed.

"That would be me, Naruto,"

Both younger Ninja whipped their heads around, only to both gasp in shock at the person who had spoken, who stood no more than a few feet away, watching them with a look of amusement.

"Kurenai-sensei!?" the teens exclaimed in disbelief, Naruto's jaw dropping comically, while Hinata didn't even bother to hide her surprise.

The black-haired Kunoichi slowly walked up to them, chuckling lightly.

"Yes, it was me. I cast the Genjutsu over the pair of you," she explained softly, crossing her arms over her stomach, a gentle smile forming on her pretty face.

Neither younger ninja returned the smile.

"But, why!?" Naruto asked incredulously, seemingly infuriated by her casual approach. He furrowed his brow, glaring at her, while Hinata stood beside him, trying to force herself to remain calm.

"Well, as you're going to be my students, I thought it best to test you. Kakashi has his bell-test, and I have this. I was testing your ability to recognize and escape from a Genjutsu... which Hinata seems to have done well," she explained, giving Hinata an encouraging smile, making the young kunoichi blush slightly.

"However, it seems that Naruto failed to do either... and Shino's bugs helped him, instead," she said, her voice becoming sterner as she looked at Naruto, her eyebrow raised.

As if on cue, Naruto felt a slight wiggle beneath his collar, and a few insects flew out from his orange jump-suit. The young Jinchuriki watched as they flew off, somewhat sluggishly, into the air, and out of sight. He reached back, placing his hand onto his neck, and felt what seemed to be insect bites under his fingers. 'Thanks, Shino...' he thought, half-thankful that he had escaped from the Genjutsu, but half-irritated that he did not do it himself.

"So, what does that mean?" Naruto asked, his voice slightly fearful, glancing at Hinata for reassurance. She could provide none, however, as her face mirrored his anxiety.

Kurenai sighed, her stern expression slipping, and Naruto recognized the regret in her eyes.

"Unfortunately, it means you all failed. I'm sending you back to the Academy..." she said solemnly, and as soon as she had spoken, she wished she hadn't. The look of disappointment on the young ninja's faces was... heart-wrenching.

Hinata simply stood, rigid, her face passive. Well, as passive as possible. Her bottom lip trembled slightly, and her pale eyes were wet. 'What will Father think...? What will Naruto think...? I've been sent back to the Academy... I'm a failure...' came her awful thoughts, and Hinata felt herself struggle to keep back her tears.

Kurenai felt her heart twinge with guilt at the young Hyuuga's expression. 'It's a team test... if one fails, they all fail' she thought, attempting to reassure herself. She then turned slightly, to look at Naruto. She was expecting some angry outburst of protests, but was instead shocked to see him glaring at her, his eyes full of fury. The intensity of the stare sent a tingle up her spine.

"You can send me back... but don't you dare think you can do this to Hinata-chan!" he shouted, his voice shaking. His hands were clenched into fists, and his teeth were bared in a fierce snarl. Hinata's eyes widened considerably as she turned to stare at him, a small gasp escaping her lips.

Kurenai's brow furrowed. She had expected some form of disagreement... but she certainly had not expected this. She uncrossed her arms, and brought her hand up to scratch her chin thoughtfully.

"I'm the one that failed, not Hinata-chan, or Shino-kun! You can't punish them like this because of MY mistakes!" he continued, waving his arms wildly in frustration. Hinata continued to watch him, shocked, before she came to her senses.

"No, Naruto-kun! What about your dream... to become the next Hokage?" protested the young Hyuuga, clasping her hands together, her shyness apparently forgotten. Naruto whipped his entire body around, his yellow, spiky hair flailing wildly.

"Hinata-chan... What kind of Hokage would allow his team-mates to be dragged down by him? There's no way I can become Hokage, if I can't even make Genin!" he exclaimed, his eyes burning with a passionate flare.

Unfortunately, Naruto had been staring into Hinata's eyes through his little speech, and she now felt as if she was on the brink of fainting.

Even Kurenai now stood, shocked. She certainly hadn't expected such a loud, brash, little kid to act so selflessly, for the good of two people he barely knew.

The kunoichi glanced over at the young Hyuuga girl. She was simply standing there, gaping at Naruto, her face a deep red, and her eyes shining with admiration.

'Well, it's not hard to see that she likes him... well, better him, than that kid Sasuke that the girls obsess over...' she thought, chuckling lightly.

Elsewhere, Team7 were certainly not having such an inspirational little moment.

Sakura was tied to a large, wooden post, a sour look on her dirty face, while Sasuke and Kiba sat either side of her, untied, leaning against the other two posts.

Kiba was growling at his two team-mates, his sharp teeth bared in annoyance, while Akamaru whined unhappily. The young Inuzuka was caked in dirt and blood, and his coat was torn in several places. In his lap lay a bento, which he munched furiously, occasionally giving a bit of food to Akamaru.

Sasuke was facing away from the other two, ignoring Kiba's growls, and Sakura's attempt to get his attention. While he was pretty filthy too, he wasn't as torn up as his dog-boy comrade. He was also eating, though with a little less gusto.

Sakura, however, had nothing to eat.

"Sasuke-kun... please... I'm so hungry!" she simpered, trying to cover her desperation with a sickly pout.

"No. You heard what Kakashi-sensei said. You're not allowed to eat," he replied, a small smirk appearing on his face.

Sakura bowed her head in defeat.

"You're right, Sasuke-kun,"

Kiba's snarl wavered for a moment, and he started to feel a little sorry for the pinkette.

"Hey, mutt-boy, give me some of your food!"

Kiba's sympathy quickly died.

"Fuck off," he replied, glaring at her. Akamaru barked in agreement.

Sakura glared right back, before her stomach gave a loud growl. She huffed loudly.

"Where the hell is Kakashi-sensei?" she muttered.

As if on cue, a puff of smoke appeared in front of them with a loud POOF, and when it cleared; there was Kakashi, looking down at them all, cheerfully.

"Oh, you didn't give any food to Sakura!" he said perkily, his one, visible eye smiling.

Kiba bared his teeth in a feral grin, Sasuke nodded slightly, and Sakura sigh.

"Well... I guess that means you all FAIL!" he proclaimed, his eye-smile remaining.

"WHAT!?"

Mhm, yeah, I know. But trust me, it'll get better. I promise.

Anyway, please R&R, if you would. It makes my day. DATTEBAYO, and stuff.