I'm finally back! Bet you guys can't believe I'm still alive, huh? Well, I apologize for lagging with this update. A LOT has been going on lately. I find it kinda funny that it almost took me an ENTIRE YEAR to update! I'll make sure to be better about that in the future. I'll leave updates on my life for after the chapter, 'cuz I'm sure you don't wanna be left waiting for the next chapter.

Disclaimer: Naruto and Yu-Gi-Oh. Both totally different series, yet they have something in common. I don't own them! XD

Initiation: The Laid-Back Teacher

The next morning came normally; it seemed that today was going to become cloudier later on with a threat of rain. Quite calmly, Naruto and Tristan made their way to squad 7's normal meeting spot. Upon reaching the bridge, they spotted Sasuke leaning back casually against the railing, a bored expression on his face.

"Hey, where is everybody?" Tristan asked as he looked around, trying to spot a familiar face.

"I bet you anything Kakashi-sensei is running late again," Naruto stated with a frown, stressing out the last word with annoyance in his voice.

"Actually, he came early today," Sasuke said nonchalantly, causing his blond teammate to stare in surprise. "He told all of us that were here that we don't have any missions this week. He said that would give us time to train our guests. Sakura and Tea said that they were going to stop by the hospital to get Yugi, so I decided to wait here."

The information given to them hardly made an impact on Naruto; currently, he was still shocked by the fact that Kakashi was not only on time today, but early too! The one day Naruto had decided to actually sleep in on purpose his sensei decided to arrive on time. The whole situation frustrated him to no end!

Suddenly, Tristan noticed another missing presence and asked, "Um, where's Joey? I thought he came here with you, Sasuke."

Sasuke scowled at the mentioned name and turned away from the two, saying, "How should I know? Do I look like an idiot's keeper?"

The two other boys looked at each other for a minute, both a little taken aback at the young Uchiha's retort. Then, the brunette looked back at Sasuke and said, "I don't know; I'm just worried about my pal. Besides, I thought you were supposed to be helping us out."

"All I have to do is make sure you're not attacked; that doesn't mean I'm going to want you guys around me on a regular basis," Sasuke told him bluntly.

"Well, you don't have to be grumpy, Sasuke," Naruto said, a look of slight anger on his face. "He just asked you a question, that's all."

"Gee, thanks for ditching me, mini-Kaiba!"

The three boys turned their heads and saw Joey approach the bridge, hair messier than usual and an annoyed look on his face.

"What happened, man?" Tristan asked after seeing his friend's state. "Did you get lost or something?"

"No, I just overslept," Joey grumbled before rubbing his eyes and yawning. "I don't get it. I should've gotten enough sleep, but I still feel so tired."

"I bet," the brunette responded, nodding in understanding. "The two of you were probably arguing the whole night."

Both Joey and Sasuke flinched slightly at the mention of last night. Startled by their silence, Tristan looked between them and asked, "What? Did I ask something strange? What did you guys talk about last night?"

A bit more silence passed before anything was said. Sasuke merely looked down while Joey said, "Actually, we didn't really talk at all last night."

"What? Seriously?" the brunette asked with surprise. "I thought for sure you would've bickered until dawn with the way you've been interacting with each other."

Joey said nothing to this, thinking about last night. Normally, he'd probably be happy to share his life with his friends, but this time, he felt like it'd be best not to say anything. The blond teen wasn't exactly sure what type of person Sasuke was, but he did feel like the boy wouldn't be happy with people treating him with pity just because he lost his parents. Plus, Joey didn't want to make the young Uchiha dislike him even more. What happened last night probably stayed in his mind as well, because when Joey got up that morning, Sasuke was nowhere in sight. All that the blond boy had seen was the extra mattress set up and a note explaining where he was to go meet the others. Joey just figured from that moment that the other boy simply didn't want to have to talk about last night's conversation.

"Joey!"

"Nyeh?" Joey broke out of his sudden trance to see Naruto in front of him, a slightly annoyed look on his face. Figuring out that the blond shinobi was trying to talk to him, he said, "Oh, I'm sorry. What'd you say?"

Somewhat annoyed, he said, "I asked you if Sasuke even tried being sociable with you last night or if he just ignored you."

Deciding to try and forget about the night before, Joey put on a smirk and said, "Well, it was more or less the latter. I guess mini-Kaiba just had a stick up his ass yesterday."

"This is Sasuke we're talking about; he ALWAYS has a stick up his ass!" Naruto said in response, having a huge grin on his face.

As the two blondes chuckled at their own comments, Tristan looked at them and said, "Wow, those two really are alike…"

Sasuke merely looked curiously at the two, pondering over Joey's behavior. Before the boys could do anything else, Sakura and Tea ran up to the group with slightly worried expressions on their faces. After approaching them, the blue-eyed girl said, "Guys, we have a problem!"

"Huh? What is it?" Naruto asked bluntly, wondering what was wrong with them.

Quickly, Sakura said, "It's Yugi; he's gone!"

"What?!" all the boys, even Sasuke, exclaimed in unison.

Tea went and explained further, saying, "Well, we reached the hospital to pick him up. But the nurse at the reception desk said he had checked out a half hour ago and left."

"That's not good," Joey said. "He didn't take that tour like we did; what if he gets lost?"

Everyone could very well picture that scenario of Yugi wandering lost among the many villagers, and the thought worried some of them greatly. After a moment, Sasuke calmly said, "I wouldn't be too worried about it. The Leaf Village isn't that big, and Yugi is pretty noticeable. I'm sure we'll run into him on the way to our destination."

"Wait, where are we going?" Tristan asked out of curiosity.

A little taken aback, Sakura said, "Oh, we're going to meet up with Shikamaru and ask him to help train you guys. Didn't we tell you that?"

The brunette shook his head along with Joey's. Then, Sakura said, "Oh, well, now you know. Anyways, we'll probably bump into Yugi on the way there."

"Yeah, Sakura's right," Naruto said reassuringly. "Now, let's go already."

"Okay," Joey said with a little bit of doubt. Then, he quietly mumbled to himself, "Poor Yug's probably completely anxious right now…"

"Man, I feel so anxious…" Yugi thought while walking down the streets of the Leaf Village. The small boy mentally said to his friend. "Yami, please remind me again. Why did we check out of the hospital instead of waiting for the others?"

Calmly, Yami appeared in spirit form beside him and replied, "I just wanted to go through town. After all, if we're going to be staying here for a while, we need to know our way around. Besides, you seemed tense staying in one place; I figured walking around would do you some good."

"I could've waited!" Yugi replied, his mind not feeling at ease at all. "Besides, I'm not really sure that walking around the village alone is such a good idea."

Getting serious, the puzzle spirit said, "Don't worry. I don't believe that Itachi would come back after being driven out just yesterday. He probably knows that he has to strike while our guard is down and when we least expect it."

"That's not what I mean," Yugi said a little nervously.

Yami gave the small boy a startled look. As he had time to think, he finally came to notice all of the strange looks coming from the villagers and the way they murmured to themselves. Then, he took a look at his counterpart who was fussing around with his hair. Finally realizing what the child was worried about, Yami gave him a slightly amused look and asked, "Yugi, are you seriously worried about what the villagers are saying about you and your appearance?"

In a slightly embarrassed tone, the small boy mentally replied, "Well, I don't want to sound overdramatic, but I haven't been this self-conscious about my hair since I was ten years old!"

Yami chuckled at his friend's response and said, "Yugi, people are bound to curious. You don't have to get so worked up."

This didn't seem to ease Yugi's mind at all, and with a bit more volume, the small boy responded, "Well, I can't help it! Not a lot of people find three different hair colors as normal you know! It's probably strange to these people!"

"I highly doubt it. After all, Kakashi is probably in his 20s with grey hair, and Sakura's hair is pink. I'm sure if they were worried about your appearance at all, it would be your clothes: not your hair."

"I'd probably feel more at ease with someone else here, though. I just feel like someone is going to come at me with loads of questions any second now, and I'm telling you, Yami, I don't think I'll be able to handle it!"

It was at that moment that Yugi felt someone lightly tapping his shoulder. At the touch, he jumped slightly and yelped in surprise, causing whoever tapped him to give out a small shriek as well. When Yugi spun around, he recognized the shy girl who he met yesterday. In a slightly calmer state, the small boy said, "Oh, hi Hinata. Sorry about that."

"Oh, it's okay," the young Hyuuga replied timidly, still slightly startled by his earlier actions. While pushing her two pointer fingers together, she smiled at him and said, "So, you got let out of the hospital today? I'm glad you're feeling better, Yugi."

"Yeah, me too," Yugi admitted out loud, glad to be moving around. As his spirit managed to calm down, Yami's retreated back into the confines of the puzzle, seeing that his friend now had a companion to converse with. Curiously, the small child asked, "So, what brings you this way?"

Getting over her shyness, Hinata replied, "Well, I had just finished my training with my team, so I was planning on going home to train with Father and Neji."

Seeming to forget about his earlier nervousness, Yugi smiled at the small talk the two were having. As he enjoyed himself, the small boy asked, "Is Neji a friend of yours?"

Hinata shook her head and answered, "My cousin. He's a year older than I am. I'm a little confused though. Before the Chuunin Exams, Neji used to be so cold towards me; yet now he's helping me become stronger. He's really changed…"

"Well, from the way you're speaking, he must be changing for the better, right?" Yugi asked her happily. Immediately after asking, the indigo-haired girl gave a quick nod, smiling and blushing lightly. Hinata remembered the Chuunin Exams with a strange sense of fondness; during the exams, she was able to improve her strength because the young girl had been inspired by Naruto. Then, he was able to change Neji so much. She was very grateful for all that he had done for her, even if some of those things may have been unintentional…

Realizing something, Hinata asked, "Um, Yugi, where's Naruto? Weren't you and your friends staying with him?"

This seemed to snap the small boy's mind back to the current situation he was in. Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, he replied, "Well, to tell the truth, I kinda left the hospital early to look around the village for a bit. I sort of got lost, though, and now, I have no idea where I am or where anyone else is for that matter."

Out of slight embarrassment, Yugi laughed a little, and Hinata just looked at him with a slight hint of confusion. Then, an awkward silence filled between the two of them. Suddenly, Yugi got an idea, and he asked, "Um, Hinata, do you think you could show me around the village? Just so I know my way around here?"

Hinata stared back at the small boy with surprise and stuttered, "Y-You want m-me to show you around?"

"Of course," Yugi replied with a soft smile on his face. "We're friends, aren't we?"

In response, the shy Hyuuga blushed a light shade of pink and looked at him curiously. They had only met yesterday, and he already considered her to be his friend? This thought startled Hinata, yet it also gave her a slight sense of joy. As she thought of how kind Yugi was being, the small boy suddenly said, "Oh, wait. You have to train with your family. Perhaps I should go looking around myself…"

"Oh no, it's alright," the young girl quickly said. "I don't have to be home for at least another hour, and if I'm late… well, Father will understand."

"So you'll help me?" Yugi asked her.

Hinata smiled back at him and gave the boy a nod.

"Thanks, Hinata. I really owe you one."

"Oh, don't worry about it. Let's go."

And with that, they both began to walk through the streets with Hinata guiding Yugi along. As they walked together, Yugi thought quietly to himself, "I wonder what the others are up to right now…"

"…This is weird," Sakura muttered as she and her friends passed through the village streets. "We should've ran into him by now."

For the past several minutes, the group of shinobi and new-comers had traveled in silence towards Shikamaru's house. With that one statement, though, the silence had been broken, and Joey shouted, "Argh! I knew it! Something bad must've happened to him!"

"Guys, relax," Naruto said, trying to calm the enraged teen down. "He's probably off hiding somewhere."

"He wouldn't be the type to hide though," Tristan stated to the young boy. "Plus, I'm sure he wouldn't move around if he was lost."

"Exactly!" Joey exclaimed. "So what if Yugi actually got himself hurt?"

"Or perhaps…" Tea murmured before going quiet, an expression of worry on her face.

"Hm? What is it, Tea?" Sakura asked, hearing her unfinished statement.

The blue-eyed girl was quiet for a moment before she continued, saying, "Well, maybe, while we've been looking for him… Maybe, he ran into those two from yesterday…"

Most everyone in the group began to worry at hearing this suggestion. Before much freaking out could be done, Sasuke looked at the group in annoyance and said, "Will you quit overreacting? I can assure you all Itachi wouldn't go anywhere near him today."

"How can you be so sure?" Joey asked. "It's not like any of us really know Itachi. What makes you think you would know?"

His questions earned a cold glare from the young Uchiha. Joey backed off, and after thinking, he realized what the boy meant and muttered, "Oh yeah. You're related. Almost forgot."

Sasuke didn't acknowledge the last statement and just continued explaining, "Itachi isn't an idiot. If he struck again this soon after coming the other day, the Hokage would be prepared for it. He's the type of person that would avoid making a scene, so unless Yugi wanders away from the eyes of the villagers, I'm sure he'll be fine."

After a moment of silence passed, the blond teen said with a hint of doubt, "Fine, I'll take your word for it, mini-Kaiba. But I'm not going to be satisfied until I see him in one piece."

Suddenly, Tristan said, "Wait a second. I just thought of something. Couldn't Naruto just use that strange technique he used the other day to find Yugi? The, uh….. Shadow Clone Jutsu, I think he called it."

"That actually doesn't sound like a bad idea," Sakura said after pondering the suggestion. "That way, if he's not close to Shikamaru's house, we'd still be able to find him."

"Are you guys sure?" Naruto asked, addressing his teammates. "I mean, shouldn't the three of us go talk to Shikamaru together?"

"I don't think it would be that important, Naruto," Sasuke said calmly. "Besides, you heard the Hokage yesterday. Our job right now is to keep the four of these guys safe; you should go find him before something does happen."

After thinking this over for a brief moment, Naruto smiled and said, "Okay then." He quickly made his hand signs, and multiple clones of Naruto were made. Before leaving, the blond shinobi said, "Good luck with Shikamaru."

Then, before another word could be said, Naruto and the clones ran off in different directions. The group stared after them for a moment. As soon as they were gone, though, Tea asked, "Wait, couldn't Naruto have just left one of the clones here to help us out while the others went to find Yugi?"

Sasuke smirked and said, "You're right; he could've. But Naruto, being who he is, probably didn't think about it. That idiot…"

The older teens looked towards the raven-haired youth, wondering if Sasuke had pleasure in thinking that Naruto was inferior to him. Then, the group continued walking. After a moment, Sakura asked, "Where do you think Yugi is right now, anyways?"

"Hm, I'm not sure."

"Beats me."

"Not a clue."

"Hn."

Elsewhere in the village, Hinata and Yugi were walking at a leisurely pace along the dirt road, both enjoying the walk quite a bit. The young Hyuuga had already pointed out several nice things to the boy such as the Yamanaka Flower Shop, the heads of the past Hokages engraved in the Cliffside, and even the Ichiraku Ramen Stand, and it all seemed wonderful to the small boy. Although the village seemed pretty primitive when compared to the technologies in Domino, Yugi felt much more at peace here.

Thinking back on Domino, Yugi got a slight hint of sadness on his face while thinking, "I wonder what's happening in Domino right now. We've been gone for well over a day now. I'm sure Grandpa's worried sick about us…"

Noticing the boy's expression, Hinata asked with concern, "Yugi, is something the matter?"

The small child was quickly snapped out of his thoughts and replied, "Oh, uh, to be honest, I guess I'm just a little homesick. But I'll be fine; I promise. Thanks for your concern though, Hinata."

Yugi smiled back, hoping that the young girl wouldn't be too worried about him. Hinata, in response, just smiled and nodded back. After this converse of words, the two walked for a little bit longer in silence, enjoying the relaxing scenery. Eventually, the two stopped to rest. It was then that Yugi noticed that they had arrived in an abandoned part of the village. He noticed a gate that led to a mini-community where small stores and houses had lined the streets.

Although it looked peaceful enough, Yugi couldn't help but feel that something was different about this place; for him, the atmosphere felt tense: almost as if things were too quiet. Curiously, he asked, "Um, Hinata, what is this community here?"

For a moment, she looked towards the place that Yugi was talking about. Then, she replied, "Oh, that's the Uchiha Compound. All of the members belonging to the Uchiha Clan used to live here years ago."

With wonder at this new information, Yugi looked back at the buildings, thinking, "Oh, so this is where Sasuke must've grown up…"

Suddenly, the small boy realized something and asked, "Wait, 'used to'? What do you mean, Hinata?"

The shy girl gave him a look of bewilderment and asked, "Oh, don't you know?"

"Um, I don't think so," Yugi responded, now very curious. "Why? Did something big happen here?"

He suddenly noticed that Hinata became somewhat fidgety and looked at her with confusion. After a moment, she responded, "W-well, you see… I'm not sure if I could say… I-I don't even know where to begin…"

Yugi could tell just from Hinata's voice that something bad had to have happened at this place. Noticing her discomfort, he said, "Um, if it's something you don't feel comfortable with telling me, you don't have to say anything."

"No, it's… okay," she replied after a moment. "It would probably be best if you knew the truth. Besides, if you know what happened here, maybe you can avoid being insensitive to Sasuke."

"… Insensitive?" Yugi thought quietly to himself. As he pondered this, both he and his spiritual counterpart got a bad feeling.

After taking a few deep breaths, the young Hyuuga girl said, "Well, for as long as I can remember, the Uchihas were a very noble clan: much like mine. There are some people that revere them still to this very day. I guess you could say they were the pride and joy of the Leaf Village. Many in the Uchiha Clan used to live in this place, but…"

Hinata paused, as if not sure about if she wanted to continue. Yugi looked towards her in curiosity, wondering why the young girl had grown silent. Then, with a sad look in her eyes, she said, "… But then, without warning, the Uchiha Clan had suddenly been destroyed one night in a mass genocide."

Yugi's amethyst eyes widened in complete shock at this revelation. In a voice filled with disbelief, the small boy asked, "Genocide? You mean they were all killed?!"

As Yugi stood in shock, Yami had asked himself, "But what kind of person could be capable of wiping out an entire family in a single night?"

Hinata looked down at the ground shyly and replied, "Yes. The entire village had been shocked by the sudden massacre. It was so awful; of all of the members of the Uchiha Clan, Sasuke was the only one to survive."

"That's horrible!" the small boy said. Hinata merely nodded at his statement. They both stood in silence for a while, neither able to lighten the mood. Suddenly, Yugi realized something and asked, "Wait, but I thought Sasuke had an older brother. What happened to him that night?"

"… His brother?" Hinata asked, a perplexed look on her face.

The small boy nodded, eager to know the answer to his question. Hinata thought really hard for a while before saying, "Well, I can't really remember him having an older brother. I guess if what you say is true, that really makes you wonder what happened. Either he was killed or out on a mission; either way, I think Sasuke's the only Uchiha in the Leaf Village that has the Sharingan… Why do you ask, Yugi?"

At first, the boy was taken aback by the sudden question, and for a brief moment, he thought about telling her what had happened yesterday to him and his friends. However, he thought better about it, and he simply replied, "Oh, no reason, I guess. I heard rumors about it and was curious, I suppose."

"… Oh," Hinata replied softly. Trying to get their minds off of the dark story, she said, "We should probably get going. We still have more of the village to see, after all."

"Yeah, you're right," Yugi said with a small smile.

So, the two began to move again. As they moved on, Yami walked beside his younger friend in spirit form and asked, "Yugi, why did you choose not to tell Hinata about your encounter with Itachi?"

Yugi sighed and thought to his friend, "Well, I don't think she even knows that Itachi exists right now, and if that's what's keeping her away from him, then I would rather her not know. It's not like I want to make any trouble for her right now."

"… I see," Yami responded after letting his answer soak in.

"Anyways, don't you think there's something strange about what Hinata told us?" Yugi asked.

"You mean about the Uchiha Massacre?" Yami asked his partner. After seeing a nod from the small boy, the older spirit said, "Yes, I do. She claimed that Sasuke was the only survivor, but if that's true, then how is it that Itachi is alive? Was he really out on a mission like Hinata guessed? Or maybe, is there something more to this story?"

"I'm not sure, but perhaps we should save those questions for another time," Yugi suggested. "After all, we've already got enough to worry about as it is."

And with that, their conversation ended, and Yami's spirit retreated back into the confines of the puzzle while Yugi continued to walk alongside Hinata in silence.

It was coming close to noon now, and the group of friends were still wandering the streets. Luckily, they were nearing their destination.

"Okay guys," Sakura informed the group of teens. "If I remember correctly, Shikamaru's house should be right here."

As they came up to the front door, Tristan said, "Finally. I thought we'd never get there."

Tea looked around, a concerned look on her face, and said, "It's so weird, though. We still haven't bumped into Yugi."

Sasuke said in a slightly annoyed tone, "How many times do we have to tell you not to worry? He'll be just fine on his own. Even if he runs into trouble, Naruto probably will have found him by then."

"Right," Joey replied with a nod, feeling assured of that since Naruto had left earlier. While Sakura rang the doorbell, the blond teen asked, "So, mini-Kaiba, I think I forgot to ask earlier. What's this Shikamaru guy like?"

For the briefest of moments, Sasuke actually looked slightly baffled. A moment of silence passed as he tried to think of the right words to use. Finally, after a while, he said, "Well, let's just say he isn't the type of person you'd expect to be a shinobi."

The older teens looked at him, slightly startled by the response. Then, after a moment of silence, Joey said, "So, pretty much, he's a hippie?"

"What? No!" Sasuke told him. "Or at least, he isn't as far as I know. He's more the type to not want to put effort into his job."

The teens thought a little bit longer before Tristan said, "So wait, do you mean he takes the easy path?"

Sasuke groaned and finally just said, "I mean he's--"

Before he could finish, however, the door opened. Standing before the group was a woman who looked to be in her 30s, maybe 40s if they wanted to push it. She had long brown hair with penetrating eyes. Over her clothes, an apron was placed, telling them that the woman was in the middle of either cooking or cleaning. After looking over the group, the woman said to the shinobi, "Aren't you children Kakashi's students? What brings you here today?"

Cutting to the chase, Sakura said, "Hello, Mrs. Nara. We were wondering if Shikamaru was home."

"Sure he is. Wait right here," the woman said before retreating back into the house. For a moment, the group was left waiting. Suddenly, they saw from the door a tall man appear. He looked to be roughly the same age as the woman. His hair was put in a ponytail that stuck up, and he had a scar or two on his face. At seeing him, the older teens were in awe.

"Wow, he sure looks rugged," Tea said. "Is that him?"

"Nope," Sakura said bluntly, causing the older teens to become slightly startled. Calmly, the other man left, and from behind him came another person. This person, however, was just a child: no older than Sasuke and Sakura were, actually. His hair was styled the same way as the other man's, his hair being colored a dark shade of brown. His eyes were dark with a bored expression in them. The boy wore a grey jacket with a headband identical to the other ninjas attached to the sleeve.

Slowly, he meandered to the door, and at seeing his visitors, he said, "Sasuke? What do you and Sakura want from me?"

"I'll cut to the chase," Sasuke said with a serious tone. "We need your help, Shikamaru."

"Help, huh?" the bored boy said. Then, he looked towards the older teens and said, "I'm guessing those three have something to do with it…"

Sakura replied, "That's right, we need you to help them learn how to fight."

"Wait, this is the guy we need to help us?" Tristan asked in disbelief. "But he's a kid!"

Shikamaru blankly looked at him and said, "Is there something about that you find strange? In other villages, there are shinobi younger than us and stronger than even the most hardened Jounin."

Tristan was slightly taken aback, and Joey chuckled at the boy's remark. In the meantime, Tea said, "Oh, don't mind those two, Shikamaru. It's okay if I call you Shikamaru, right?"

Shikamaru shrugged, indifferent to it. Then, the brunette continued, "Anyways, if you could help us learn how to be shinobi, then we'd be honored and forever grateful."

Hearing this statement, the young boy looked a little surprised and he turned to Sakura and Sasuke and asked, "Wait, you're asking me to train them as ninjas?"

The two of them nodded, and after a moment, the boy said, "Forget it."

The older teens looked shocked at the boy's statement, and after a while, Joey asked angrily, "What? Why won't you help us?"

"You guys are looking for help from the wrong guy. You could find a better teacher somewhere else, no doubt. Besides, having to teach novices how to use jutsu and all sounds like a total drag," Shikamaru stated bluntly.

"What?!" Joey growled out in rage, not expecting such a response.

"But that's just it; we can't find anyone else to train them," Sakura said, trying to plead with Shikamaru.

Then, Sasuke added bluntly, "Besides, you don't have to do the actual training if you don't feel like it; all you have to do is supervise."

"Look, I don't know how many times I gotta say it; find someone else. Honestly, you're not sounding all that convincing. You would've had a better time at getting my attention if Naruto had been here, yelling at me with that obnoxious voice he's got," Shikamaru stated. Then, he looked around curiously and asked, "By the way, where is that little pain in the neck anyways?"

"How should we know?" Sasuke stated calmly. "As far as I can tell, he's still out in the village, looking for Yugi."

Hearing the name mentioned, Shikamaru perked up and asked, "Who?"

"Yugi," Tea said. "He's one of our friends. He was at the hospital this morning, but now he's somewhere in the village. Right now, Naruto's looking for him along with some of his clones."

Shikamaru groaned lightly and said, "Great, so I'm guessing you guys want me to supervise not three, but four people in shinobi training?"

After a pause, he let out a breath and asked the group, "Well, what does he look like?"

Everyone looked at each other for a moment, startled at his question for a moment. Then, Tristan said, "Well, he's kind of a short, little guy. He's got all of this hair that sticks up and is tri-colored; you couldn't miss something like that. He's also got kinda purple-y eyes and this golden pendant that he wears called the Millennium Puzzle."

Another brief moment passed before Shikamaru stepped out of his house. Then, he said, "Alright, let's go."

"Wait, go where?" Tea asked.

"Where do you think?" Shikamaru asked. Then, he said, "Right now, I really don't know if I'll feel like helping you guys, but I figure I could help you find your friend while I mull it over in my head."

Realizing what he wanted to do, most of the group beamed at him, and Tea replied, "Thanks"

As the group started walking again, Joey mumbled, "Geez, this guy is annoying. Why does he act like helping out would be too much work?"

"Like I tried saying earlier, Shikamaru is really quite lazy. That's what I meant by you wouldn't expect him to be a shinobi; he doesn't like putting effort into fighting," Sasuke simply stated.

The boy's earlier comments about Shikamaru finally made sense to Joey. He thought it over as he walked, and after thinking over the kid's tired look in his eyes, his attitude, and his lack of focus, the blond teen only had one thought.

"Never thought I'd ever meet a lazy smartass."

Joey: Woohoo! Finally, we get to start our training!

Sakura: Well, you seem energetic.

Tristan: So, after we get trained, what will we be able to do exactly?

Sakura: Well--

Joey: Ooh! I bet we'll be able to make hundreds of us to clobber the enemy!

Sakura: Actually, that's only if--

Tristan: Or maybe we can use some type of awesome paralysis technique!

Sakura: Guys, will you let me fin--

Joey: Or what if...

Tristan: We could move like lightning...

Joey and Tristan: ... and hit every food joint in this world!

Sakura: WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP?!

Next time - Ready, Set, Go! Training Begins!

I swear, those previews for next chapter are getting tougher to think of with every update. How do the guys who work on the Naruto anime come up with these things so easily?

Anyways, thanks for reading, and I give you my most sincere apology for taking so long! I promise the next update won't take nearly as long! Starting now, I'm changing things for how I go about with this fanfic. First off, I won't be writing out rough drafts anymore. Now that I have a laptop, I can work on my updates with it and finish chapters quicker. Next, to cover any flaws from getting rid of rough drafts, I'm getting myself a beta-reader to make sure everyone's in character all right. Finally, I'm going to allow anonymous reviews at long last. I'm doing it to hopefully get more reviews; I just hope that the reviews won't be negative.

Well, that's it for now. See ya!

P.S. I forgot to mention last chapter that for Chapter 7, I had referenced a few things off of volumes 16 and 21 of Naruto. Not sure if it matters now, but I thought if anyone had questions about things I had happen last chapter, it may have been due to info I got from those volumes.