Anko Mitarashi's Student

by AbientEcho

(AR/Fem!Naruto/OOC-ness) After the fall of Root, Hiruzen Sarutobi is left with some troubles forming teams. When a certain special jounin takes it upon herself to turn the most hated genin in the village into a well-rounded apprentice, she has her work cut out for her. But will she prove capable of making the defiant, kind-hearted brat, into a kickass kunoichi?

7. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX:

"...What was normal in the evening

By the morning seems insane

And I'm not sure what the trouble was

That started all of this

The reasons all have run away

But the feeling never did..."

---

DISCLAIMER: This chapter contains torture, violence, etc. Oh, and angst.

I've got a feeling some of you will really hate this chapter.

I still don't own Naruto.

---

Monday morning was much like every other, with Naruto rising out of bed with the same indifference of previous days.

Recently, she'd been a lot less energetic. It was hard to maintain that kind of positivity with the entire world weighing down on you. Regardless of it all, she got out of bed like every other day. She ate her instant ramen breakfast, got dressed, and went to meet her sensei at Training Ground 44. From there, she'd expected to be taken to the Hokage's Tower, and then they'd do their D-ranks, and train. However, that wasn't what she'd arrived to.

When she entered the infamous training, there sat her sensei, chewing on a stick of dango. That wasn't what caught her interest, though. Next to Anko, a large stack of books was resting.. No, not books, no, they were tomes. Her jaw fell slack, and she stared ahead at the large books.

"Oiii! Naruto, look what I found!" She said, making large gestures to showcase the dusty tomes next to her. Anko snorted when Naruto's face grew into a grimace, glaring at the stack of books.

"Oh please, they're complex fuinjutsu textbooks, don't act like you expected some pamphlet." She said, rolling her eyes. Well, no, Naruto hadn't expected a pamphlet... But a few of those textbooks were bigger than her head... by a lot...

Sitting down in front of her teacher, Naruto hefted the first book off of the stack. She dropped it onto the dirt carelessly, wiping down the cover with her hand. "How am I ever supposed to finish the books Inoichi and Hayate told me to read, get my research done, finish my weaponry book, and read these at the same time?!" She questioned, tugging the pigtails on each side of her head in exasperation.

Throwing her dango stick as if it were a senbon, Anko smiled. "Clones." She replied simply. Naruto glared at her, knowing damn well that Anko has given her that suggestion several times now. And yet, somehow Naruto never managed to remember that herself.

Sighing, her palm collided with her forehead. "Genius." She said, before summoning five clones to her side.

Each of them stared at her awaiting orders, which she soon gave.

"You, you're going to get started on practicing calligraphy. You, are gonna finish my weaponry book. You two will practice katas. Then there's you, you can read that medical book Inoichi told us to get. And I am going to get started on these." She pulled out the scrolls on her hip, one of which contained the book Inoichi recommended and the one she'd gotten from Tenten all that time ago.

Another contained parchment, ink, and brushes that Tenten had told her to get. She tossed each scroll to the clones, and a third scroll which contained her weapon to the second clone.

Considering how dunderheaded her clones usually were, Naruto was surprised they all managed to catch their respective scrolls. She wasn't exactly pleased with having to use her clones.

When she used so many, it often gave her headaches and drained her. She wasn't excited to see how terrible she'd feel after giving her clones such complex orders.

She'd probably get a rush of memories, and her mind would be all foggy and aching the rest of the day.

Thankfully, she could always sleep off that aggravating sensation. Resigning herself to future migraines, the blonde opened her textbook and began.

"Well, kid, I'll leave you to it. I've got training of my own to do, after all." Anko said, standing up abruptly. Naruto's sapphire eyes looked up at her curiously.

"You've got training to do?" The blonde asked. "Yup. I'm... Looking towards getting a promotion." She explained.

Naruto gave her a bright smile. "Cool! I bet you'll get it in no time! You could kick half the elite jounin around here into the ground." Naruto said deviously, causing Anko to give her own vulpine grin.

"Maybe now that I've got an amazing apprentice they'll bless me with a promotion." She mused, partially being truthful. Anko didn't tell Naruto that she'd long ago earned the title of Elite Jounin, but had never been officially given the title.

"Eh, it's all political! I'll see ya tomorrow, Naruto." She said, giving a two finger salute before teleporting away. Naruto merely shook her head, before continuing to read. Anko rarely used the shunshin, so Naruto concluded that she must be serious about working for promotion.

---

The next day was quite similar, though by the time Anko had arrived, Naruto was already working hard. She had several clone reading, running through katas, sparring, and the like.

The blonde was working up quite the sweat, doing exercises while her chakra network maintained the strain of having several clones running about.

She couldn't help but swell with pride at the sight. Naruto Uzumaki truly was something to behold.

---

Konoha's Shinobi Library

---

Naruto realized as she walked into the Konoha Shinobi Library, that she'd been here so many times she was beginning to memorize every inch of the place. It was a large building, so that was saying something.

With many bookshelves and large signs hanging overhead to indicate what each section was for, the shelves sprawled up the walls and up to the ceilings. If you needed a book on the higher shelves, you'd have to find one of the many ladders scattered around the building.

The white plaster walls were as inane as the navy blue carpets, and Naruto remembered why she hated libraries as a child. They were so incredibly, insanely boring if you weren't lost in some reading material.

Though, the quiet atmosphere was perfect for focusing on study or research. So, Naruto supposed the location served its purpose well. After learning of her mother's name, she'd been not-so-patiently waiting for her free day so she could come here.

She'd come a few times for short periods to scour the place for something on Kushina Uzumaki, but had found nothing of note thus far. It was disappointing, but Naruto truly wanted to believe that she would find something today. She'd feel quite upset if she didn't, but she had other things to read anyway… Other things to read which were actually a necessity, unlike her desire to read about her long-dead mother.

She started by looking in the clan section, of the "Village History" sector of the library. When nothing was found in that section, she began scouring in the area where Konoha's autobiography and biographies on powerful shinobi were tucked away. Unfortunately for Naruto, she'd found absolutely nothing there, either.

She'd even skimmed through a few of the books on kunoichi, hoping to see at least some mention of her mother. Naruto was quite desperate, in all honesty.

Her blue eyes scanned pages, glossaries, and yet she yielded no results.

After a few hours of seemingly endless searching, she'd realized that her search here was likely another dead-end. With her father, she was able to learn a lot about him. She knew he was taught by Jiraiya of the Sannin, that he was incredibly close with his three genin, he was a fuinjutsu master and a deadly shinobi.

But there was absolutely nothing about her mother. All the information she'd gained on her father had meant nothing, she could do nothing with it. She could not meet his friends, or sole-surviving student, and there was absolutely no point in trying to seek out his Sannin sensei. She'd hoped for something else in regards to her mother, but alas, life could never be that easy for her.

With a heavy heart and a sigh, Naruto resolved to move onto other more important matters. The lovely people at T had told her she'd need to learn the "tricks of the trade," which included things like poisons, the current area she should've spent that wasted time studying.

"No better time than the present." Naruto muttered, before begrudgingly opening her book on poisons and toxins. She just knew that her brain would be aching by the time she left this place.

---

Konoha's T&I Division..

GRAPHIC VIOLENCE AHEAD!

---

Marking off another day on her calendar, Naruto welcomed Friday, her third favorite day of the week. Just two weeks ago, she did her very first interrogation for Torture and Interrogation. After the first, she'd done a second and third without complaint.

All in the very same day, of course. And since, she'd been more involved in the serious aspect of the T&I unit. Aiding in and doing her own interrogations, organizing the important paperwork, and even sitting in on her very first torture session. Frankly, she didn't even want to think about that. To many, it would sound like Naruto Uzumaki was being completely overworked. And that would be true, considering she was doing all the aforementioned things, and still doing all the menial tasks around the place as well. But she hardly minded. Naruto was, if nothing else, an extremely hard worker.

Today, she would yet again be going to the T&I office to run errands, do assorted tasks, and get into spats with her sensei's coworkers. And maybe, she'd have to make another petty criminal piss his pants. And hopefully, she wouldn't have to observe any gore today.

Unbeknownst to her, that was exactly what she'd be doing.

It would sound unpleasant to most to work at T&I, but to Naruto, it could be a lot of fun, especially when she swarmed the place with shadow clones to do her tasks.

Like a total loon, Naruto threw open the door to the T&I building with ferver. Inoichi, who was nearly slammed by the door, shot her a flower-wilting glare.

Naruto, who'd seen scarier looks from Anko and Ibiki, paid him zero mind at all.

"Oi, Naru-kun. Have you finished the books I sent you to read at the library?" Inoichi requested, fully expecting a no. The older man had told her to read five books last week, each being rather large, with information on a variety of subjects. Most notably, human anatomy, body-language, poisons, the human mind, anti-bodies, and toxins. The girl gave yet another of her 100-watt smiles.

"Of course! It turned my brain to goo reading all those, but I did it anyway. I even took notes!" Naruto said, digging out her notepad.

Inoichi blinked in surprise, as she shuffled through the notepad. As the pages flickered by, he could see glimpses of information on plants, poisons, and the like.

He couldn't help but smirk. He'd known the girl could churn through tasks, but he was surprised nonetheless. He'd actually planned to give the girl a set of books, knowing how she had to drag herself to the library to study so often.

She stuffed the mini notebook into the pouch on her hip. Gekko Hayate, having heard the conversation, walked into the lobby.

Hayate was always kind to her, so she couldn't help but smile at him as well. His ringed eyes crinkled with his own smile.

"You're awfully excited to do more chores- er, work, Naruto-kun." Said the sickly man by the name of Hayate. His voice always held a rasp, worsened by cigarettes, but caused by illness.
In recent days, Naruto thought his voice sounded like it was getting worse.

He'd even begun having terrible coughing fits, which he was currently in the midst of.

Waiting for the man to compose himself, Naruto finally spoke. "Chores are always fun when you've got a hundred manic Naruto's running around!" She replied, smiling still.

Hayate gave her head-pat, "If you say so, kid." He walked down the hall, and Ibiki Morino entered.

"No chores for you today, Uzumaki. You're doing your first torture session. Congrats." He said dryly, his face schooled. Inoichi, being the protective, fatherly man he was, nearly dropped his coffee mug.

Hayate peeked around the corner, bagged eyes widened in disbelief. Mozuku, another T member, also peeked around another corner in concealed disbelief.

Naruto felt a bit squeamish at the thought. She'd done a few interrogations of her own before, but they never involved torture, and she was never on her own. Ibiki or Anko had always been waiting just outside, watching from the two-way mirror present in every interrogation room.

But Naruto steeled herself. She could do this. Her sensory ability could give her all the power, with her ability to detect lies and zero in on emotional responses.

She'd aided many in interrogations, because of her ability to see through deceit.

She'd even sat in for one torture session last Friday, but the entirety of the Torture and Interrogation force had coddled her after.

But she'd only done a few interrogations, and no torture sessions. Hell, hadn't even begun learning the tricks of the trade yet, her knowledge on drugs was abysmal, the best methods to gather information.

She nodded, but Inoichi placed a hand in front of her.

"Ibiki, she's too young. The kid is just 14, there's no way she can handle it."

Inoichi was speaking from literal experience, he was a master of psychology and the human mind. And he knew it was bad enough for a 12 year old to be a shinobi, let alone doing gruesome T&I work. It was better to save that for those with fully developed brains.

The Yamanaka knew as well, that Ibiki held all the power here in T&I. Inoichi might be a prominent figure in the Intelligence division as a whole, a seasoned psychiatrist, and veteran shinobi..

But when Ibiki made decisions, he was as stubborn as a mule. There would be no changing his mind.

"Stand down, Inoichi. She's seen a torture session once already, she'll be fine. You can't mother-hen the newbies forever." Ibiki replied sternly, which to many, would've been enough to make them cower in a corner.

But the members of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation force were quite aware of just how scary Ibiki could be, and this wasn't even the tip of the iceberg.

And Inoichi Yamanaka was no coward, he looked Ibiki in the eye as if he were a child.

The blond man might've been heralded throughout Konoha's Intelligence division, but everyone was aware that Ibiki was top dog when it came to T and I in particular.

A certain purplette entered the lobby, witnessing the hellish atmosphere as Inoichi and Ibiki were caught in a harrowing glaring contest.

'When an immovable object meets an unstoppable force…' She thought grimly, her nose scrunching up.

It seemed even the fly on the wall was halted by the thick discomfort churning in the air, the men near the point of emptying their KI on each other.

Before that could happen, though, Anko placed a hand on her student's shoulder. "C'mon kid. It's time." She said gravely, forcing the murderous glares to turn on her. Unflinching, Anko led her student towards the stairs into the basement.

She could feel Inoichi's eyes searing holes into her back, and the quiet footsteps of Ibiki behind her.

Throwing open the basement door, winding stairs were illuminated by one yellowing lightbulb, hanging from cords in the ceiling.

The entrance to the basement was intentionally terrifying, instilling fear into prisoners the moment they entered. However, Naruto had been in the basement several times before, and it no longer made her skin crawl..

Except when she thought about how haunted it could be. That, much to her chagrin, still filled her with terror. She was purely inculpable, though! Absolutely blameless in her fear!

Ghosts scare everyone, and if they say otherwise, they're lying.

Or at least, that's how Naruto saw it..

The basement nearly resembled catacombs, if it weren't for the floors made of sheet metal and the cement walls. The cement was a dark gray, with small sediments disrupting the rough surfaces.

There were six rooms on each side of the basement, which was a large rectangle, with the rooms built in. Half of these rooms were reserved for your normal interrogations, the others for torture sessions. Each of these rooms had thick metal doors, with seals engraved that prevented any form of chakra-usage.

Every one of these rooms also had a window, on their east-facing walls. That way, you couldn't see in by just entering the basement. Unless, you turned the corner, and walked up to it. On the inside, they appeared to be simply mirrors.

Naruto gulped as Ibiki stepped up beside her. In his hand, there was a thick yellow file.

"Here. This has all of the information we've gathered. It's your job to fill in the blanks."

Ibiki stalked off, to check in on the other interrogations. With a deep breath, Naruto flipped open the first page.

Naruto tried to ignore the strong scent of cleaner, nearly masking a light odor of iron as she began reading.

---

"Taro, a man planted in Konoha for at least the last decade. Under the guise of a civilian, he entered Konoha and quickly made friends. He made connections with both civilians and shinobi, even starting a family. After having three children with a civilian woman, Victim #1104 (First Name Tsubaki, Last Name Ryu) He was observed as a content and happy man by those around him.

This image was shattered when 1104 intercepted a letter intended for Taro. Friends of 1104 shared that the victim was of the belief that Taro had a mistress. The contents of this letter are unknown, but surely grave, as Taro murdered his entire family after 1104 opened the letter. The letter was reportedly reduced to ash by the time ANBU arrived on the scene. ANBU nearby and neighbours both reported hearing screams, and crying children, which is what had gotten ANBU attention before the police force could arrive.

Taro was detained upon the discovery of three corpses, belonging to Victim 1104, Victim 1114, (First Name Makai, Last Name Ryu) and Victim 1124 (First name Mako, Last Name Ryu.)

It is of the belief of ANBU operatives on the scene that 'Taro' is a spy, planted to observe the economic stance of Konohagakure, in regards to both civilians and shinobi. There is no foreseeable other explanation for his actions. Additionally, 'Taro' said that, "he would never crack, no Yamanaka could get in his mind," when arrested. His brain is protected by seals, which would destroy his mind if any Yamanaka attempted to use their mind-techniques. Additionally, 'Taro' is observed as having a sociopathic personality type. Regard any information with caution, and do not allow him to press your buttons."

---

By simply reading the report, Naruto knew that this guy was no small fry. He was nothing like the others.

She swallowed her anxiety, taking in another deep breath. The reality of this case wasn't only terrifying, but rage-inducing as well. Not only had the man murdered innocents, but he'd infiltrated their village and walked amongst them for ages. The thought of that alone made Naruto feel slightly paranoid.

'There could be spies anywhere, huh?' She thought to herself, uneasily.

There was no time to waste, Naruto realized. Her cheery mood had long since disappeared, and now it was time to do actual work. Sticking the file under her arm, she straightened herself and schooled her features.

She couldn't walk into this looking vulnerable, otherwise this man would get under skin, and she'd get nothing from him. Naruto knew she could not fail this, even though it wasn't a mission. It was a matter of justice, not to mention that it was her first attempt at torturing information out of someone.

Walking towards the third torture chamber in the basement, the blonde turned the knob, throwing the door open with confidence.

In the cement rooms, bright lights hung overhead, illuminating the center of the room. Directly under the light, a bound man was tied to a metallic chair.

His hands were strapped to the arms of the chair, while his legs were also strapped. His eyes were blindfolded, but he was smirking nonetheless. Naruto had seen a few prisoners who attempted to look confident, or threatening in this position. But somehow, the hairs on the back of her neck stood anyway. Shaking away her fear, the blonde kicked the door shut behind her.

This man was trying to intimidate her already, and she wouldn't allow him to succeed.

"Taro, was it?" She asked, intentionally making her voice sound low and smooth, like honey. For someone with a natural rasp to her voice, it was certainly a feat.

He chuckled dryly, "Oh, did they send in a girl this time? Tch." He shook his head in disbelief, bringing his wet hair to Naruto's attention.

'Probably got waterboarded by Hayate earlier.' She thought, noting that Hayate was the one he used Torture Chamber #3 most often. That would mean Hayate wrote the report, as well.

"Does that bother you?" She asked, prepping the room. Ibiki had demonstrated set-up to her several times, and she knew it by heart. She intentionally made noise, slowly removing the poisons T supplied from the briefcase which contained them.

Setting them down on a silver tray, she then began taking out the tools.

"No, no. Not at all. I'd love to have some eye-candy. I just think it's funny that they think a little girl could crack me, when a grown man couldn't." He said, causing Naruto to roll her eyes.

Misogyny wasn't something that could really get under her skin at this point.

"Well, Taro, I suppose we should get started." Despite her even tone, Naruto wasn't quite as stoic as she sounded.

She was nervous, but she couldn't afford a blunder right now.
Roughly tugging the blindfold from his eyes, the man squinted at the sudden brightness. She kept a smile on her face, her eyes frigid as she stared down at him.

"Ha! You're a kid! That's just rich, seems Konoha is running low on adult shinobi. How pathetic." The man grumbled.

"Is it different where you're from?" She asked sweetly, as she went back to laying out her tools.

He merely snorted, watching as the girl laid out pliers, a box cutter, and a taser.

Picking up the taser, the girl stood in front of him. "Now, why don't you tell me what you're here for?" She asked, moreso demanded, causing Taro's face to darken.

Her heart thumped in her from it's place within her ribcage, knowing she couldn't simply wave around a taser and make him talk.

Noticing how he stayed quiet, she swallowed her fear, pushing her chakra into the taser. The taser filled on her energy, it powered on, making a loud buzzing noise.

"You already know." He said, narrowing his eyes. In the moment, Naruto decided not to show any mercy. After all, that was one of the main principles Ibiki had taught her in the past. She immediately connected it with his shoulder, causing his body to shake with tremors.

She felt no guilt, until she realized she was feeling no guilt. Then, she'd began feeling guilt purely over the fact that she was so apathetic towards this man.

Now that she'd stopped tasing him, the man gave a dark smirk, before retelling the exact story written in the to the letter, he retold the story. Except, he included many crude details and curse-words.

Normally, this sort of thing wouldn't bother Naruto, except for when he got the part about the children.

"And Mako, that brat, I don't even think she was mine. That just made it easier to kill her, though. She watched with those big, yellow eyes as I killed her mother. Oh, and her brother too." He paused again, letting the words sink in to Naruto, like a venomous snake biting into a rabbit.

Unknown to him, Naruto was not any kind of prey.

She clenched her jaw, something he noticed right away. He opted to continue, with even more detail. "You should've seen how she started crying when she saw Kai's brains spill on the floor. She screamed, 'Daddy, you hurt him.'" He made a childlike voice, imitating his dead daughter.

"Over, and over again. I couldn't help but bash her head in next. Did they include that she was clutching her favorite bear when she died? It's ironic, really, since I'm the one who got her that stupid fucking bear."

Naruto's fist was clenched at her side, shaking with rage.

'Taro' had known he was in the hands of T , and he'd heard of how Konoha's T&I force was notable for their viciousness. However, he'd believed that he'd gotten lucky with easy interrogators. He was tortured by a sickly man and a little girl, so he wasn't fearful at all. He expected that they'd just put him to execution soon, because he wasn't important enough to be under Ibiki. He'd mistaken them all for fools, thinking that they hadn't known about his status as a spy.

So imagine his surprise, when the fist of the little girl, whom he'd deemed as no threat, slammed into his nose. A loud crack broke the silence that had settled, his nasal bones shattering. The sheer force of the fist had crushed his nasal bone, and cracked his temporal bone. If the punch had been any harder, it surely would've killed him.

That alone had terrified him, as he'd assumed that T in Konoha couldn't use lethal force, or just straight up beat their subjects. Clearly, he'd been wrong to underestimate the little girl- no, the shinobi- in front of him.

But that wasn't what truly terrified him.

The girl, who was now holding him by the collar of his shirt, was the true source of his terror.

She released her KI, which bordered on demonic. He'd have been in disbelief, if he weren't so horrified.

Lost were her crystal blue eyes, instead, there were two crimson irises in their place. Those peculiar whisker marks on each cheek were thicker, nearly protruding from her skin. The flaxen bangs which framed her face looked raggedy, and her snarled lips revealed razor-sharp canines.

"D-demon! No, y-you're some kind of monster!" He managed to mutter, to which she growled.

"Demon, maybe. Monster? You're more of a monster than I'll ever be." Her once smooth voice was now a deep rumble, spoken from the lowest sector of her throat. It was purely animalistic, and absolutely ghastly.

Lifting a clawed finger, which she inspected with her red eyes, she slowly brought the sharpened fingernail to his jugular. Poking his skin just barely, a small bead of burgundy colored blood ran down his neck.

"You will tell me everything, or I will ensure the rest of your life is spent in utmost agony. I will begin by peeling off your skin, with my own nails. Once every inch of your epidermis is gone, I suppose I'll move on to severing your muscles." Naruto had long since lost any semblance of her empathy, overwhelmed by the rage-filled youkai of the demon within her.

She wasn't even thinking, aside from the pure desire to hurt him. Despite her objective, a darker part of her almost wanted him to be defiant.

The man gulped, quivering in her gasp. Her eyes followed the small trail of crimson, which had gone dry at his collarbone. At that moment, Taro realized that he was no snake, and she was no rabbit. This girl was beyond that, she was an apex predator, and he was quite literally grasped within her claws.

With hopes that he would be given a merciful death in exchange for whatever this girl had planned, 'Taro' retold his tale.

This time, with nothing excluded.

"I'm a s-spy! From Kusa, I was hired by another village for a long-term infiltration mission, which worked in the i-interests of both Kusa and their village." He practically bawled, under a scrutinizing red-eyed glare.

"What village hired you?" She demanded impatiently.

"I c-can't remember, it was years ago!" He said quickly, petrified at how the girl seemed to notice he was lying instantly.

Which, thanks to her sensory ability, she had.

In a gruesome show of callousness, she dragged one of her nails along his skin, tearing his flesh. Naruto was too high on her endorphins, rage, and adrenaline to even notice how she was acting. The demonic chakra, fueled by negative emotions, was pumping through her tenketsu, barely contained within.

It made her more aggressive than ever, more apathetic, more.. Hateful- Sadistic, even.

"Liar… Who. Hired. You." She didn't even take notice of the tears flowing from his eyes, a stark contrast from the overly confident man he'd been moments ago. Instead of a trained spy, the man before her looked more like a pathetic child.

"O-Otogakure! But that was years ago, Kusa severed ties with them! I don't know anything about them, except that they're a s-shinobi village! In the Land of Rice Paddies!" He spat the words like fire from his tongue, wriggling in the metal chair he was strapped to.

"An unallied, new shinobi village hiring another shinobi village.. For an infiltration mission.." The blonde mused incredulously, her glowering eyes narrowed at him.

By now, the man was in literal hysterics. Never in his life had he felt so threatened by another person. 'Taro' had been the best infiltration specialist in all of Kusa, an excellent spy, an incredible fighter, and a master of his trade. An elite jounin.

And here he was, trembling before a 14 year old girl with pigtails.

It was an incredibly humbling experience, considering how high of a regard Taro had held himself to. A superiority complex wouldn't have begun to cover how self-inflated his ego was. If Taro had lived past that day, he probably would've been traumatized for life.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, he wouldn't.

"What was your purpose in this mission?" The blonde jinchuriki questioned, still leaking potent KI into the air. Her KI was its own unique travesty, a dark sensation which made the blood rush to your ears and overhaul your heart with a burning sensation, causing images of your imminent doom to fill your mind.

"T-to study the happenings of Konoha! Economics, Up and Coming Shinobi, Clan drama, Politics, a-anything of note, really!"

"And have you been exchanging information with Kusa in these regards? Or are you a sleeper agent?" She asked, tilting her head.

"Every six months, via letters carried by my s-summons." Seeing as the girl said nothing, he further elaborated. "I-I'm a holder of the H-Hawk S-summoning contract, the only one. They delivered my letters out of Konoha i-inconspicuously."

Naruto's quest for information momentarily faltered, knowing well that summoning contracts were a rarity in the ninja world.

A rather disgusting thought grasped her mind, to which Naruto had a sudden idea. Summonings were rare, and although she had no interests in the hawks, it would certainly be a boon worthy of taking.

Somehow, the man caught her train of thought.

"If you w-want it, you can have it, as long as you leave me the hell alone! The Hawks are a prideful, moral bunch, so they'll likely never accept you as their summoner anyway!" He said, somehow mustering the courage to take a drag at her in the same sentence as he pleaded to be left alone.

It was almost humorous, really.

"Y-you can find it in the safe, directly under the bed, beneath the f-floorboards. I've told you everything, just get away from me!" He screamed, to which Naruto decided to comply. She stepped back slowly, glancing at the bleeding wound she'd made with her own nails.

She'd sensed zero deceit in his last words, and opted to walk out the door for a break. If she had to deal with that sniveling man any longer, she'd probably blow a gasket.

Slowly walking out, she could hear the man sniffling as she left him behind. The moment she stepped out, two strong arms wrapped around her. A light floral perfume assaulted her nostrils in the most pleasant way, one she recognized as belonging to Anko.

The woman squeezed Naruto in a hug, pride radiating from her.

With the influx of mind-numbing chemicals in her brain finally reaching a halt, Naruto quickly came back down to Earth. It was as if the gravity of what she'd done actually hit her, and she suddenly felt incredibly queasy.

Thankfully, she had just enough calm left in her to make a brave face.

Ibiki and Inoichi, who'd watched the entire time, flanked both sides of her.

"Well done, Naru-kun." Inoichi said, tussling her hair as she took in steadying breaths. Ibiki grunted in approval, his own calloused hand resting on her shoulder.

"I think congratulations are in order." Morino said, clearing his throat loudly.

Naruto's world seemed very mute all of sudden, lacking the brightness and colorfulness she was used to. She found herself hardly capable of listening to those around her, caught wondering if this was the effect of truly losing your naivety, your innocence, even.

She knew it was her job, her duty. But that didn't make the reality any less harsh. She'd just tortured a man, interrogated him. And she'd used Kyuubi's power to do it!

A chill ran through her veins at the thought, and she quickly came to the verdict that she'd only ever use that power if absolutely necessary.

That kind of power.. It was, blinding, to say the least. If she relied heavily on that stuff, she had no doubt in her mind she'd become addicted. And if she was addicted to that, the Nine-Tails would easily consume her body and mind.

That was something she could never allow.

"Well, Naruto Uzumaki, you are hereby an official member of the Intelligence Divison, placed in the Torture and Interrogation unit, under leadership of one Morino Ibiki. Congratulations, Genin Uzumaki. You've just accomplished something that few shinobi can." Inoichi said, with a warm smile she'd never once seen dawned on his features. If she had to call it something, Naruto would've called that kind of smile fatherly. His speech was formal, but laced with pride in her.

Despite her sour, introspective mood, Naruto couldn't help but beam at him.

Ibiki, who'd been standing to the left, abruptly shoved something into her arms.

Naruto's eyes grew starry at the sight, gasping audibly. In her hands, a trench coat made of fine, onyx leather. The interior was a burnt orange silk, clearly custom made for her. The inside had several hidden pouches, pockets, and scroll-loops.

Her blue eyes flickered from the jacket, to Ibiki, to the jacket once again. Anko was hardly keeping in her giggles, as were the two newest spectators standing behind her. Yugao Uzuki, and her boyfriend Hayate Gekko were standing behind her, exchanging amused glances in disbelief.

Ibiki, who'd actually looked slightly flustered in that moment, couldn't even make eye-contact with the blonde. Slowly pulling open the satchel which Naruto had left behind when she'd entered the T building, Anko took out the camera she'd given the blonde.

And just in time, too.

Naruto dawned the trench-coat, something that held significant meaning to every serious member of T . Not everyone chose to wear theirs, instead opting to keep them at home, but some did. And judging by the stars in Naruto's eyes, she'd be wearing hers.

This was further cemented by what she proceeded to scream, "I SWEAR I'LL NEVER EVER TAKE THIS OFF, IBIKI-SENSEI!" She said.

Then? Well, Anko had just enough time to snap a picture of the next scene.

Naruto leapt into Ibiki's arms, something which no one except her would've ever dared to do. By now, half of T had gathered just in time to see Ibiki getting damn-near tackled by the small blonde.

Anko snapped yet another picture, perfectly timed to capture something so rarely seen it could be a national treasure. Morino Ibiki, smiling as he caught a small blonde in his arms.

The members of T stared in shock at the image, looking up to see Ibiki as stoic as ever, a blonde being held at a distance in his arms.

It didn't take a genius to see the fondness in his eyes.

An unspoken agreement was made, and the photo passed to Yugao, who shunshinned away to make copies of the image without the knowledge of the two subjects.

Naruto, who had cartoonish tears of gratitude streaming down her cheeks, was quite literally trying to assault the man with a hug. Something he was not keen on accepting, not at all.

Inoichi took hold of the girl's coat collar, pulling her away. "I have a gift for you too, kid." He nearly grumbled, clearly perturbed that he'd been forgotten.

"Eh?!" She asked, turning to him in surprise. Dropping the girl back onto her feet, Inoichi took out a scroll. Unsealing it quickly, three moderately sized books dropped onto his open hand.

"Psychology, poison, and human biology. I know you've been struggling to find the right books from the library, so I got you these myself. The poison one is intended for jounin, while the psychology and biology books are intended for doctors and med-nin. They'll help you advance quickly, so be sure to read them well. Come to me if you have any questions." The blond man said, and this time Naruto gave a much less forceful hug, instead opting to run at him rather than leap.

Inoichi gave a hearty laugh as he caught the girl, glad she'd been so happy with their gifts. He'd always had a love for kids, and it helped that Naruto was a similar age to his own daughter. Though, Naruto was a kid he could empathize with a lot more and also a co-worked, whereas Ino was his pride and joy and his own kin.

"You guys are the best, 'ttebayo!" The girl practically cried out.

Anko tousled her hair, "You've got the rest of the day off, kiddo. Go home and relax." The purplette instructed, causing Naruto to give a hesitant nod.

"Okay, I'll see you guys next week. Stay awesome, 'ttebane." She said, as Inoichi handed her the scroll of books.

---

Soon after that, Naruto went on her merry way home.

Her new trenchcoat billowed behind her, making her look much more intimidating than she was. In a passing thought, Naruto realized she'd have to get a short-sleeves shirt to wear under it. It was far too warm in Konohagakure to wear long-sleeves and a trenchcoat in the early summertime.

Oddly enough, Naruto had once again fallen into an odd mood. Her blue eyes focused on the passing clouds overhead, like puffs of fluffy white cotton. She nearly ignored two exuberant presences nearing her, despite the distinct feel of their chakra.

"LEE, IS THAT THE ONE AND ONLY NARUTO-KUN I SEE?!" A very peculiar man in green spandex asked loudly.

With an equally loud reply, another peculiar boy replied. "YES GAI-SENSEI! I WOULD RECOGNIZE THOSE BLONDE PIGTAILS ANYWHERE!"

By now, Naruto had dawned a comically pained expression. Her narrowed eyes stared at them from her peripherals as they practically charged at her.

They stopped suddenly, skirting to a halt and causing an enormous dust cloud to form around them.

"HELLO THERE, YOUNG NARUTO!" Gai greeted bombastically.

She sighed, turning around. Even if the two were painfully odd, Naruto could at least respect them for both their hard-work, and how amusing they were. Naruto couldn't lie, their attitudes and flair for the dramatic were infectious.

Opting to be polite, Naruto gave her own greeting. "Yo, Gai-sensei, Lee! Good to see you!"

An audible ping came when Gai gave his own million ryo smile, and Naruto fought the urge to snort at his obscenely bright teeth.

"Naruto-kun, it is a pleasure! I must ask, what is the reason for your peculiar state of dress today?" Lee asked, pointing a finger at her jacket.

She.. was dressing peculiarly..? She quirked a blonde brow at that, opting not to comment on that remark.

"So glad you asked, Lee." She said, flipping her hair over her shoulder in a show of faux-confidence. She didn't realize it then, but she was definitely becoming more like Anko.
"I got promoted to an official member of the T unit today!" She finished.

"HOW AMAZING, THE FLAMES OF YOUR YOUTH BURN BRIGHTLY ENOUGH TO BRING A PROMOTION! I APPLAUD YOU, NARUTO-KUN!" Lee said, pumping his fist excitedly.

Naruto's rapturous smile only grew brighter, radiating joy. She'd been quite overjoyed at her promotion, but she'd also been quite the sucker for compliments. It brought back her happy mood quickly.

"I HAVE TO AGREE WITH LEE! NARUTO-KUN, ALLOW ME TO TREAT YOU AND LEE TO LUNCH, THEN WE MAY RUN A DOZEN CELEBRATORY LAPS AROUND THE VILLAGE ON OUR HANDS IN YOUR HONOR!"

---

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle, before realizing that Gai was completely serious.

When Naruto reluctantly agreed to spend the rest of her evening with Lee and Gai, she truly hadn't expected it to be so much fun.

Gai nor Lee believed in doing things in conventional ways, which was one of Naruto's own traits. So obviously, what should've been a leisurely afternoon quickly became… Well, something else entirely.

Somehow, those two had managed to make a walk around the village into some fun, "hot-blooded," competition.

They ran across roof-tops swiftly, Naruto barely keeping up while Gai held himself back substantially. They reached the end of the road, or rather, the end of connected roofs, with an alley below them forming a gap between this roof and the next.

Lee leapt from the rooftop, landing upright before continuing his sprint on the beaten ground, spinning dust into the air. Naruto, spotting a line of balconies just below, decided to get creative.

Gai opted to do a 360 degree flip in the air, flying over the gap, before landing upright on the next roof with zero hesitance.

Naruto dropped from the roofs onto one of the many balconies in a line, terrifying a docile feline that was resting on the banister.

Vaulting herself over the railing of that balcony, she landed on the next.

Using chakra enhanced leaps, she hopped from one balcony to the next, disgruntling many citizens as she ran along, while also attracting plenty of attention.

Gai laughed exuberantly as Lee and Naruto ran with bright grins. He could see that both of them were sweating, and slightly red-faced, but they were absolutely joyous. In that moment, Gai truly felt he was witnessing the pinnacle of Youth.

And meanwhile, on the ground...

Team Seven was finishing up yet another D-Rank, when three obnoxious shinobi began racing towards, by, and ahead of them.

The genin paid them hardly no mind at first, aside from curiosity from Sai and Sakura, and annoyance from Sasuke. He had only rolled his eyes, while Sakura furrowed her brows.

Sai wondered if that was what friendly competition looked like.

and Kakashi? Well... Watching a girl with familiar blonde hair race by in a blur was enough to make him shake his head in surprise. Closing his perverted orange book to spectate, he recognized the blonde immediately.
It was his sensei's daughter. He'd felt a pang of guilt, despite how happy she looked in that moment.

Flanking each side of her, was his own... "Rival" and his rival's prized student. He truly wondered what Naruto was doing with Gai and Lee. Most were too uncomfortable with the pair to even tread in their direction.

Upon further thought, he remembered hearing rumors of the "demon child" getting an apprenticeship. He hadn't been listening to that conversation very intently, so he hadn't heard the details.

He lamented not paying closer attention to the girl, noting to himself that he didn't even know who the girl's sensei was.

The silver-haired jounin watched the girl run across balconies, the tail of her coat flying in the air behind her.

Kakashi had known that T members wore those almost exclusively, but surely Naruto hadn't taken that path. Given how well he knew her parents, it was nigh impossible to believe that their offspring could actually commit to a career like that. Both Kushina and Minato were incredibly soft-hearted, though Minato was also pragmatic, he wouldn't have been capable of dedicating himself to that particular career either. It was a funny thought, really. They were both powerful shinobi capable of killing, but would never consider torture. He understood well, as he had doubts whether he could stomach such a thing either. He had enough guilt on his conscience as it was.

The blonde vaulted herself over the railing of yet another balcony, soaring in the air triumphantly right before landing yet again.

Instead of fighting against the momentum, she skirted across the flooring of the final balcony. He felt a lump form in his throat as she skidded along, Naruto couldn't stop if she wanted to.

Kakashi actually found himself perturbed by how unbothered she looked by her impending injury. If she kept up with that momentum, she would fly directly into the banister and hurt herself badly.

Gai nor Lee seemed at all concerned, and he learned why a moment later.

He was on the verge of stepping in, when Naruto suddenly used chakra to push herself into the air, flying over the railing just before she would have collided with it. That alone was an impressive feat, showing skill in evasion.

In a swift show of physical prowess and foresight, the blonde back-flipped while still in the air. On each side of her, her two companions stopped to watch. The two of them were both already on the ground, their heads craned upwards to stare.

Kakashi felt like everything around him was in slow motion, watching his sensei's 13 year old daughter so high up in the air, with only the hard ground to break her fall.

She was at least four stories up, which would be nothing for a seasoned jounin. But for a newbie genin..?

Instead of aiming her feet for the ground, Naruto ended her flip with her hands facing the ground.

Collective gasps broke out, the nearby civilians believing that she had failed the landing and was crashing to her death. Even his own genin looked surprised (Sasuke), intrigued (Sai), and fearful. (Sakura.)

His lone eye widened imperceptibly, when the blonde somehow managed to perfectly stick the landing, on her hands. Without so much as a blink, the blonde performed a front handspring, transitioning that into a double-cartwheel before landing upon her feet yet again.

Both of them cheered loudly for her, along with a few civilians laughing in good faith at the show. The jounin and his student made various huzzahs and praised her, before it became clear to Kakashi that they must be friends.

That was further cemented when the three walked into a curry shop together, leaving Kakashi with a nagging feeling of regret.

It dawned on him then the gravity of what he'd done. He'd never, not once in her entire 13 years, spoke a word to Naruto Uzumaki. He'd only seen her in passing, never visiting or anything of the sort. He'd left his sensei's daughter to her own devices.

Yet somehow, she seemed to be flourishing.

That was both disconcerting and comforting at the same time.

---

Tenten's House, Konohagakure….

---

Naruto, for what felt like the hundredth time since they'd met, had spent her day with Tenten. She'd visited the day before, on Saturday,only for a short time so that they could train together.

Due to her pensive mood, she'd left quickly and spent the rest of her day thinking at home.

Today however, she'd stuck around. She'd thought that she'd gathered herself enough to stay longer. The events of Friday had been plaguing her mind, as did the issues with her parents and the pressure of getting stronger and learning so many things at once.

Their Sunday morning passed like most of their time together. They'd started with a spar, then spent some time chatting and snacking on the tatami mats on her back porch.

Not to say that the girls didn't enjoy their little routine. They always rushed to see each other, meeting in early mornings and hanging out when either of them had extra time outside of their designated Saturdays. It had been nearly two months since they'd met, and the two felt like they'd known each other for many lifetimes.

Tenten snorted at Naruto's crude sense of humor, and would always egg her on despite her allegedly being a, "goody two-shoes," according to Naruto. It was a harmonious friendship, their kindness towards each other, their fun-loving ways, etc.

Though, Naruto had changed recently. Tenten had noticed, hell, everyone could have.

And although Naruto had changed, she was always the same around Tenten. Except for today. Naruto kept glancing over her shoulders, her arms remained crossed defensively, and her posture stiff. It worried Tenten greatly, and despite the current good mood, she knew she had to ask.

The weapon's mistress knew her bestfriend's schedule like the back of her hand, and she knew that Naruto spent her Fridays at the Torture and Interrogation division.

Normally, the blonde would tell her all about what she did at the office. She'd detail the horrible criminals that she had to question, she'd groan about running errands, she'd tell her about funny spats.. But today? Nothing. And Tenten just knew that there had to be some reason. She hadn't even mentioned it yesterday, either.

The mirth in the brunette's face dimmed when she finally worked up the nerve to ask about how her new apprenticeship in T was going.

"So, er, Naru-chan.. You've been kinda off today. What happened?" She asked gently, her naturally caring personality shining through.

Naruto grimaced. She didn't want to tell Tenten about the horrible things she'd done to that man, even if it was her job. The guilt had set in late last night, when she was laying awake and unable to sleep.

Of course, there were about a hundred other things weighing on her as well.

But she knew better than to believe Tenten would just let her get away without venting. The brunette's soft heart could make her a pushover at times, but, when it came to her friends, she could also be frighteningly stern.

The blonde's head dropped, staring down the floorboards. "If I tell ya, you'll be disgusted with me, Bunny." Naruto said softly. There were two reasons Naruto believed this, but she only intended to tell one of them. She was open discussing the things she'd done at T … But she certainly wasn't comfortable with including how she'd drawn on the Kyuubi's power.

"I would never. What's bothering you?" She asked, melodic voice stern and soft.

"I did my first torture session yesterday. I- I succeeded, and got what we needed to know. He was a spy, for Kusa, here to keep his eye on our village.. But, he was horrible. And- And because he was so damn disgusting, I didn't even feel bad! I broke his nose without even thinking, and-" Blue eyes shimmered with unshed tears, and the girl went quiet suddenly.

"He was terrible. He killed his whole family, and I don't feel bad for torturing him over it. But I should, right? What I did, it was wrong..."

Two hands rested on her shoulders, compassion flooding and rushing into Naruto.

"Naruto, that doesn't disgust me at all. Why would it? And even if it wasn't a pretty thing to do… You had to. It's your job, to protect the village and extract information."

Tenten paused, seeing as how her friend didn't seem swayed. She knew that if she threw in some personal experiences, Naruto would truly understand.

"You know that-.. That I've killed before, right? Last year, during my team's first try at the Chuunin exams, I had to kill another genin. Are you disgusted with me for that? Was it wrong that I did what I had to?" She asked, her brown eyebrows furrowed in determination.

Tenten remembered how that sensation, snuffing out a life, felt- almost like it was yesterday. It was bone-chilling. The way that Lee stared at her afterwards made it even harder, like he was afraid she would crumble, but also terrified she would lash out.

Needless to say, it had been a hard couple of months after that. Which was why Gai hadn't recommended them again after, and was looking to enter them again now, a year later- though that wasn't very important right now.

She didn't wallow in her self-loathing forever, and she wouldn't let Naruto, either. Even if the scenarios were different, Tenten knew they were both actions that were just part of their job as shinobi.

Naruto looked up at her as if the mere suggestion of her finding disgust in Tenten was preposterous. And to Naru, it truly was.

"No, of course not!" Naruto said, her sclera tinted with pink as tears finally dropped from her eyes.

"Then why would I think that of you? You say you don't feel bad for hurting him, and maybe you don't, but you do feel bad for the actions you committed. But you needed to, it's your job. He did what he did fully knowing that there would be punishment, and that punishment came in the form of whatever you did to him." Tenten kept her soothing words vague, not knowing the context of the situation. In truth, she didn't know much at all regarding the situation.

Naruto sighed in relief, finally letting her friend's words sink in. "Y-yeah. You're right. Thanks, Bunny." Her sapphire eyes seemed to twinkle with the unshed tears, as the girl gathered herself again. She didn't have the heart to argue with the brunette, or reveal the entire truth of why she felt so horrible.

The blonde girl's cheeks flustered, and she looked askance when she spoke again. "You're my best friend, 'ttbayo. I'm really lucky to have you.. Ya know, these past few months have really changed me. I- Since I've become a ninja.. I guess I've learned a lot of cruel truths. It kinda sucks, but.. If I hadn't taken the path I did, I'd probably never have befriended you, or even met Anko-nee." Naruto had a great understanding of emotions, but much like her surrogate older sister, she wasn't great at expressing them.

Tenten smiled at her, and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug.

"You know, Naru.. You're the only best-friend I've ever had. You're actually the first girl I've ever even made friends with me. Back in school, none of the other girls really liked me. They thought I was weird." Tenten admitted, still holding firmly onto the blonde.

Naruto snorted loudly.

"Heh, you're definitely a weirdo. But it's cool, 'cuz I'm a weirdo too. So is Anko-nee, and Lee too. We're all weirdos. It's great, huh?"

Tenten couldn't help but laugh, and laugh she did.

"Great? It's like, a disease! We've all got weirdo-itis." Tenten said, rolling her eyes mirthfully. "Pfft, it sucks it's not contagious. If it was, there'd be way more cool people around here." Naruto said softly. Due to their close proximity, Tenten heard, only humming in response.

"Say! You should come to train with Anko-sensei and me tomorrow! She'd love to meet you. She's kinda crazy, but you'll love her, dattebayo!" Naruto's blue eyes filled with hope and excitement, quelling any of Tenten's desire to decline.

You just can't say no to puppy-eyes like those! It's impossible!

"Okay, okay. You guys meet at Training Ground 44, right?"

"Yup, you better be there!"

A series of shutter noises snapped Naruto and Tenten out of their conversation, noticing that Naruto was still within the older girl's embrace.

Looking up to see the source of the noise, the two girls saw Tenten's grandmother…. Holding Naruto's analog camera, with three fresh pictures of the two girls.

"How adorable you two are!" Her grandmother cooed, looking at the pictures.

Tenten's face turned bright red, as she snatched away one of the pictures. "Oba-chan! You're embarrassing me in front of Naru again!" She whined, inspecting the picture.

It was her and Naruto with their arms wrapped around each other.

The one which Naruto snatched had them smiling brightly, while Tenten laughed. The other, the final picture, was taken just as they noticed the noises. They were both looking in the direction of the camera with soft smiles, having not yet realized the source of the noise. They both still had one arm around the other, making for the perfect photo.

"These are great, I'm totally keeping this one!" Naruto cheered, causing Tenten to groan. "Well, then I'm keeping this one!" Tenten said, holding the picture close to her chest.

"This one is going on the wall!" Tenten's grandma said, running away to frame the perfect photo.

Naruto expelled a sigh of contentment, unabashedly happy. When she was with Tenten or Anko, life just seemed so much clearer. So much easier, brighter. But there was so much internal turmoil, that even her time with them was becoming a bit convoluted with her more negative feelings.

She'd just connected with her friend even deeper, affirming her trust in Tenten. She knew that Tenten was her best friend already, but that interaction really cemented it. The blonde knew there was more weighing on her than just that, which was what had caused her to break down like that.

With her grandmother gone, Tenten quickly took notice of how her friend had become solemn once again. "That wasn't just it, was it?" The girl asked, her voice soft.

The brunette observed how her friends sniffled, her cheeks still moist with tear trails.

"There's so much.." The blonde muttered, one of her hands resting over her heart, the photo still clutched in it.

Naruto had recently discovered that she hated feeling vulnerable like this. Wearing her emotions on her sleeve, it made her feel weak. Subconsciously, that was one of the other reasons she always faked being happy. Because, to her, being seen as anything else would've been embarrassing, pathetic- even weak.

It didn't help that her feelings had been so easily used to manipulate her, by the damned Hokage.

She still wasn't sure how to feel about that. It made her way to openly show her emotions, something which used to be her first nature response.

But here with Tenten? She trusted her wholeheartedly. She could show her feelings with no hesitance at all, if she wanted to. The same with Anko, though, that was a given.

"Hey, why don't we go over to your apartment? Then we talk about everything in private, with no pesky grandmas to bother us." Although the brunette attempted to add some humor into her proposition, it was clearly wrought out of concern.

"Y-yeah. We can order cheap delivery food, and we can just- We can just spill our guts, ttebane. And then stuff our faces, and eat all of our feelings." Naruto said, nodding to herself.

Tenten chuckled dryly, "I'll go get my sleepover bag. Wait right here."

Naruto's Apartment

When the pair arrived at Naruto's apartment, they'd both tried to be as nonchalant as possible. They'd kicked off their sandals, changed into pajamas.

They'd even made a makeshift bed on the living room floor, just as they had last time.

It was tense all the while, even regardless of that. Even when Naruto was raving about the ramen place she'd sent her clone to place an order at, there was an underlying tension. That was, until Tenten finally broke the silence.

"So, I know whatever it is that's bothering you has to be important. More important than torturing someone. You don't have to tell me-"

Naruto interrupted, waving her hands. "It's not that, I just- It's kind of hard to believe. I don't want you to think I'm lying or something."
Naruto said, albeit excluding one major piece of the secrets she needed to confess.

She'd had so many things weighing on her, since she'd become a genin and after. From her parentage, the Hokage subtly attempting to manipulate her, to the fucking Kyuubi.

All of which were things she felt like she needed to tell Tenten.

"I trust you, Naruto. What is it?" She asked gravely.

The blonde swallowed her nervousness.. "You know I'm an orphan, right?" She asked calmly.

Tenten merely nodded, prompting the whiskered girl to continue. "I.. I found out who my parents were, and I don't really know what to do now." She said, tucking a strand of flaxen hair behind her ear.

"I eventually got an idea of who they were. My dad, actually. He's, well, he's famous. And when I talked to the Hokage about it, my sensory ability activated. And… He lied to me, Bunny. He tried to deny who my dad is, but my bloodline told it all.."Tenten's breathing hitched at the implications.

Famous?

"What did you mean by he's famous?" She asked softly.

"My dad.. I don't know any way to put it, so I'll just come out and say it. The fucking Yondaime was my dad." Naruto declared, making Tenten's mouth gape.

Her chocolate eyes immediately noticed the resemblance- That electric yellow hair, and the cerulean eyes. She'd seen pictures of the Yondaime before, and Naruto did resemble him strongly. Hell, Naruto even had his facial structure, the oval-shape ending in a pointed chin just like his.

Though, Tenten realized that Naruto's eyes and cheekbones must've come from her mother.

Unlike Anko's blatant shock and near disbelief, Tenten schooled her features quickly and her brown eyebrows furrowed. "Hokage-sama must've had some reason for lying, but Kami.. That's so awful, you deserved to know." The brunette said.

"I found out who my mom is too, but.. There's damn near no record of her, anywhere. I searched the library, and there wasn't a single book on her. I just- I want to know who she was. I remember the Hokage telling me she was a powerful shinobi when I was a kid.. But I can't find anything." Her voice was on the verge of breaking by now, it's natural coarseness on an entirely different level. It maintained it's childish lilt somehow, serving to make the sorrow in her tone even more heart wrenching.

"I just.. I know it's stupid to keep chasing after a dead lady. But it's a dead-end on my father's half, and, I don't know.. She's where I get my damn name, Uzumaki. I hold the Uzumaki surname with such pride.." She grumbled, seemingly incapable of organizing her thoughts or even explaining.

Her current emotional state was definitely impacting her ability to think, both Tenten and Naruto knew it.

"I just wish I had a mother, or even just some record of her. A book, a picture. a certificate, anything. I wish she was alive, so she could tell me about our clan, and my dad.." Her voice got progressively weaker, until it was barely a whisper.

"I understand. I wish my mom was still here, too. We're different, though… You have nothing of your mom, not a trace. But my mom left behind so much for me, my dad always told me about her.. I, I'm sorry, Naruto. I can't imagine how much worse that'd be." Tenten's eyes became visibly downcast, before she continued.

"I visit the memorial stone twice a month to speak with her.. I like to think she can hear me, that's probably why I'm so interested in ghosts and stuff." The brunette gave a sad laugh at the end, which felt like a blow directly to Naruto's chest.

"So, your mom.. She was a shinobi, then?" Naruto asked gently.

"Yeah, she was.. A chuunin, but a shinobi nonetheless. According to my dad, he was the house-husband while she did all the hard work. They opened the shop a year or so before I was born. The year my mom died, I was only a year old.. She was going to retire soon, and focus on raising me and running the shop.." Tenten trailed off.

"But she never got the chance.. Her and my dad were having chamomile tea one evening- It was her favorite- When she was called into the battle that took her life."

Cerulean eyes gazed at her friendly solemnly as she retold the story.

"It was October Tenth." Naruto's heart nearly stopped in her chest at that, her eyes widening. She'd been listening to her friend's story as she undid her hair, but halted completely just then.

"The Kyuubi attack started with no warning. No one was ready, no one had expected such a thing. She- She did her duty, running out to the frontlines to save the village. Before she left, she swore she'd protect my father and I.."

Tenten's voice broke, and she choked up for a mere moment. With a few audible sniffles, the brown-haired girl finished the tale.

"And she left, and we weren't harmed." She finished her story with a sad smile, finding the retelling to be therapeutic. She'd never told anyone before, not even Lee, Neji, or Gai.

Naruto stayed completely silent, even as Tenten cried next to her. The weapon's mistress wasn't offended or upset by that, she knew that it would be natural to be left speechless.

"Oh, no. No, no, no.." Naruto murmured, once again overwhelmed by tears streaming down her cheeks.

Tenten, who was also weeping softly, tilted her head to look at the distressed girl next to her. Despite how therapeutic etting all the parental drama off their shoulders was for the both of them, Naruto seemed even more upset after hearing about the brunette's mother.

The blonde's twin pigtails were untied, leaving a mess of molten gold hair cascading down her back, tightly wadded in the girl's fists. She clenched the hair closest to her scalp, her knuckles white with tension. "You really will hate me. Just like Mizuki, and- And the shopkeepers, and the matrons. Kami, Tenten.."

The girl in question abruptly sat up, watching as her friend's body was wracked by sobs.

Quiet mutterings of the word no made the entire sight even more pitiful. Tenten had never seen Naruto so distressed, hell, she'd never even seen the girl look mildly upset before today.

She was always so happy, so energetic, so full of humor and life- To see her friend like this, it was sobering in the worst way.

Placing a reaffirming hand on her friend's shoulder, Tenten's teary eyes tried to will the blonde to calm down. "Naru- Naruto, what is it? What's the matter?"

"Tenten, you asked how I found out the fucking Yondaime was my dad. There was more to it than what I told you…" She paused, sniffling. Her shoulders were practically quivering with suppressed cries.

"I-I found out because of- of an inkling I had. When I took it to the Hokage, he unknowingly confirmed it, but.."

"But?" The brunette asked softly, her heart bleeding with compassion for the blonde. As the blonde removed her shaking hands from her hair, Tenten raked her own hands through the blonde locks, soothingly attempting to straighten out her friend's messy hair.

"You're going to hate me, Tenten.." She muttered, still gathering the courage to tell the truth. Tenten deserved to know, at the very least.

Especially considering that the girl had lost her mother to the beast within. Naruto couldn't help but think of Iruka, how Mizuki had told her that Iruka hated her for something similar.

The beast had slain Iruka's parents, and despite that Iruka had been more tolerant than her other senseis, he still hated her for it apparently. She wasn't sure that he did, but in this moment, she truly believed it had to be true.

For a long time, Naruto had convinced herself she didn't care that others thought she was the Kyuubi incarnate. Those times she'd been refused service, those times she'd been screamed at, ran off, isolated, nearly attacked. She'd nearly left them all in the past.

She'd truly thought her life as the demon brat was left behind now that she was a genin, with a great sensei and a lovely best-friend.

But now, she sat before that best friend, anticipating her judgement. With one sentence, she could ruin their entire friendship, Tenten would hate her like many others.

And she would have expected it, and even understood.

And despite the grave possibilities ahead, Naruto trusted Tenten. So, she said it.

"Tenten," Her voice was so soft, so grave, that Tenten immediately stiffened. The smaller girl took in a steady breath, before continuing. "The Yondaime- He died on the battlefield. But he didn't kill the Kyuubi, nor did the Kyuubi kill him. My father died because he sacrificed his life to seal the beast. The price to use the Shiki Fujin, or Reaper Death Seal, is the life of the caster."

She swallowed, and Tenten's blood chilled.

"He sealed the beast into an infant. Not just any damned infant, though. His own child. Me. It was me, Tenten, he sealed the beast into me. I'm a jinchuriki." Her voice was louder, trembling, damn near frantic.

The brunette was already racing with thoughts. So, her best-friend had a demon sealed within her. The very demon that killed her mother, and countless other Konoha citizens and shinobi.

Of course, Naruto's own parents were among those casualties.

"I found out that he was my father by connecting the dots.." She added weakly.

The brunette was caught off guard at first, disbelieving for only a moment. Once her mind began to race, her brain began racking itself to rationalize the situation. Naruto was her best friend, Kyuubi or not. Even if it was a startling fact about her friend.

Tenten was no fuinjutsu prodigy, but she understood sealing well enough. She had an intimate knowledge of storage seals, explosive seals, and the like. So she knew that whatever seal holding the demon within her friend had to be mighty powerful. The older girl also knew that the Yondaime was heralded for his fuinjutsu capabilities, so surely it contained the beast well.

Once again, Tenten found herself in complete disbelief regarding Naruto. This time though, it was different. The blonde had believed that Tenten would hate her over that?

Yes, Tenten hated the Nine-tails for killing her mother. But, Naruto was not the Nine-tails.

Just like how storage scroll containing a kunai was not the kunai itself.

Roughly, she wiped away the tear streaks on her cheeks, huffing. Her eyes were puffy and pink, showing she'd been crying.

"Naruto you brat!" She declared, her voice hoarse and yet, still compassionate. Her friend froze, shimmering blue eyes flickering up to her.

"I'm not some idiot, I know you're not the demon or anything silly like that. And I know how seals work, at least vaguely. I- I hate Kyuubi, for taking my mom away. But you're not it."

She wagged her finger chidingly, a gesture that was quickly becoming familiar with Naruto. The blonde chuckled sadly, sniffling as she wiped her own tears away.

"S-sorry, Bunny. I just-" Before the blonde could finish, Tenten interrupted. "None of that, okay? We're bonded for life, nothing is going to come between that."

There was an unspoken understanding that came with Tenten's proclamation. That she understood, and that they would be friends regardless. Regardless of anything, they would be friends. Their bond would be unbreakable.

Releasing a soft exhale, Naruto laid down against the wooden floors. Despite the blankets and pillows they'd scattered on the floor, she could still feel the cold planks below her. Uncaring, she batted her dampened eyelashes, staring up at the ceiling.

Her friend imitated her movements, also laying against the floor.

The both of them just laid there for a moment, the radio still playing in the kitchen, just within earshot. Naruto's arms laid limply at her side, and Tenten took one of her free hands within her own, her other hand resting on her stomach.

"Yeah, for life. Believe it." The blonde muttered, a soft smile on her face.

The radio, which they'd long forgotten, began playing a song which oddly fit their emotional night.

Soft acoustics played, a soothing sound generated by the strumming of a guitar.

"...By the morning they'll be gone."

The mellow guitar continued, each of the girls closing their eyes to listen to the subdued song.

"When everything is lonely, I can be my own best-friend. I get the coffee and the paper, have my own conversations.."

The brunette entwined their fingers, humming along.

"With the sidewalk, and the pigeons, and my window reflections."

Surprisingly, Naruto sang the next line, drawing attention to the melancholic lyrics.

"The mask I polish in the morning, by the evening, looks like shit."

Before Tenten could comment on the song, a knock at the door alerted them that the food they'd ordered had finally arrived. Naruto had spoken highly of the ramen shop they'd ordered from, so it didn't surprise the older girl when she rushed off to get the door.

By the time Tenten had gotten up to follow her into the small living room, Naruto had thanked the delivery girl warmly, and closed the door.

Somehow, it seemed like the addition of ramen had brightened the girl's whole mood.

---

Tenten's chocolate eyes blinked open blearily, squinting as the morning sunlight hit her face.

The events of yesterday came back to her, her remembering that emotional night she'd had with her best friend. She glanced over, seeing Naruto still very asleep, her mouth open as drooled on her pillow. The brunette couldn't help but snicker at the sight. She wiped her eyes, cautiously sitting up so as not to wake her blonde friend. Looking around the room, she saw the empty bowls of ramen sitting right by the place they'd slept. What slobs they were, she thought humorously as she picked up the plastic take-out bowls.

She gave her snoozing friend one last glance before exiting the room to toss the trash away.

'Jinchuriki, eh? A human sacrifice...' She mused solemnly, her brown hair messily cascading down to her shoulders.

As she washed her hands, a very groggy blonde entered the kitchen. "Mornin' Bunny.." She yawned out, her eyes half-lidded. The blonde opened her fridge, taking out two cartons of orange juice, passing one to the brunette. Taking her orange juice, Tenten couldn't help but realize that Naruto certainly was not a morning person.

"Are we still meeting your sensei today?" Tenten asked, getting a very drowsy nod.

"Yeaah.. We'll leave soon. We usually have a schedule, but since you're around I don't think she'd mind switching up the schedule." The blonde girl started doing some stretches, her bones and joints occasionally popping or crackling as she did.

Her mind slowly became less muddled, but she still remained drowsy even once they had left.

As they walked towards their destination, Tenten did most of the chattin, being the early-bird out of the two of them.

"I seriously am gonna have to step up my game this year. Neji became a chuunin last year, and Lee and I are still genin. I hate to say I'm jealous." Tenten admitted, catching Naruto's attention.

"So find your weak points and work on those." She said simply. Sound advice, no matter how basic it was.

Tenten sighed, "Easy for you to say, Naruto. You have huge reserves and a sensei who could teach you any ninjutsu you wanted. That's my weakest point. My arsenal is limited and I've only got the Shadow Clone jutsu you taught me."

The blonde's lips screwed to the side, her brows furrowed in thought. She suddenly remembered that Summoning Contract the man she'd tortured had offered her, in exchange to be left alone. Technically, she'd held up her end of the deal, so that scroll was good as hers.

Stealing a glance at her friend, Naruto proposed her very morally-gray solution.

"Er, I might know of a way to expand your arsenal..But I don't know if you'll like it very much.." She said, rubbing the back of her head with one hand.

Tenten looked at her curiously.

"Hooo boy. You remember that guy I tortured? Well, he offered me something I can't really use in exchange to be left alone.." Naruto paused, allowing confusion to creep onto her features.

"I'd nearly forgotten about it, because the idea of entering a murder scene to take something seemed kinda grim. But, you'd probably get a lot of use out of it, and it would give you an edge in battle." Naruto said, trying to balance the negatives with the positives.

"A- A murder scene?"

Following that very frightened question, Naruto went into a detailed explanation of the man and his crimes. By then, Tenten had discerned that the man was scum and his family deserved closure. Being as spiritual as she was, the brunette refused to take something from that place without leaving a gift. Naruto actually agreed, anything to keep the ghosts of those innocent civilians haunting her. Besides, she thought the entire prospect was morally reprehensible.

Though, Naruto was slowly learning that she was not the world's definition of a good person. No shinobi was, killing was inevitable in their career-path, after all. And Naruto was a member of the T unit, meaning she was especially… Bad? She wasn't sure what the word would be.

Was doing a bad thing for the greater good truly evil? Naruto wasn't so sure anymore, and she was leaning towards no. So long as the action was necessary, and resulted in more good than bad, it was not truly evil.

Though, stealing a scroll from a spy, at his murdered family's place of death was not quite covered by that philosophy.

Moral quandaries aside, Naruto cemented herself with the idea that it was better in Tenten's hands anyway. Besides, what was theft when she would be torturing and killing for a living? Especially when it was not truly theft, it was hardly anything at all.

She was actually comforted by that, even if she knew her actions were mildly wrong.

Tenten had several bags in her arms, intending to make a vigil on the porch of the home they were now walking towards. They'd bought a bouquet, three candles, two teddy-bears, incense, and a few food offerings to the spirits. The plan was, Tenten would set up the shrine while Naruto broke in and got the scroll.

Despite her fear of ghosts, the blonde knew it made more sense that way. She fully intended to explain herself the moment she entered, and pay her respects at the shrine before she left..

Naruto was generally unsurprised to see that the destination they'd arrived at looked just like every other nearby house. The entire neighbourhood was eerily quiet, the gentle chirping of birds being the only sounds she could truly hear.

Judging by the numbers on the mailbox, this was absolutely the right place. She'd remembered the address from the file she'd read those days ago, and this was it.

"I.. I'd never guess that something so grisly had happened here.." Tenten said softly, clutching her bags just a bit tighter.

Giving her friend an uneasy glance, Naruto said, "Are you sure you want to do this? Just because we know it's here doesn't mean we have to take it."

"Even if we weren't here for the scroll, I wouldn't turn back now. We've already got the stuff for the shrine, there is no way I'll turn back now."Tenten declared resolutely, looking at the home in front of them.

The blonde couldn't argue with that, even if she wanted to.

Naruto could imagine the joy that had been had here, how the children must've played in this very front yard.

All the while, someone they'd trusted so much was a spy. All their memories with him, they'd been nothing more than a facade.

And they'd paid for their trust with their lives.

Naruto grimaced at the dark thoughts drifting through her mind, before pushing open the front gate. If she waited any longer, she'd back down.

It was such an uncharacteristic thing for her to admit, but true nonetheless.

Legally, the man had told her she could take the scroll. He'd told her the location too, so there would be no legal issues with taking it. But that didn't mean she felt good about it, because the issue wasn't about legality. It was a matter of morals.

Tenten followed in behind her slowly, setting up the vigil the moment she reached the porch. She first placed the candles, then the teddy bears and flowers. Naruto stared at her for a moment, noticing Tenten's soft gaze and methodical movements. Her eyes practically showed just how tender-hearted the brunette was. The blonde stopped suppressing her sensory ability for a moment, and was damn near overwhelmed by the strength of the emotions coming from her friend.

The brunette was practically bleeding out empathy and sorrow for the family.

Not only that, but the house itself was radiating strong emotions. She could feel such sadness, terror, betrayal, it cut into her like a knife through warm butter.

Naruto could also feel very, very weak traces of chakra in the home. They weren't flickers like civilians, or flames like shinobi. They were mere embers, soon to become ash.

Not wanting to think about what those presences meant, she tried to shake it off, even as the slight traces seemed to be coming to the shrine Tenten was building.

With a deep breath, the girl walked around the shrine and to the front door. To her immense surprise, the door was unlocked, allowing her entry instantly.

Warily, she gave Tenten one last look before walking in and closing the door behind her. The blonde was carefully timing her breathing, keeping herself calm as she took in her surroundings.

It wasn't all that long ago that there was a happy family living here.

And it was even less long ago that the happy family was dead on the floors in this very house.

Shaking the grim thought out of her head, scanned her surroundings.

There was an inverted L shaped hallway up ahead, and Naruto presumed that must've been where the master bedroom was.

The weight of her body made the wooden floorboards creak unnaturally in the dead-silent house, the only other sound being the pulsation of her own heart.

The frantic thumps echoed in her mind, her very own heart threatening to break it's way out of her ribcage with its beating. She tried to focus on her breathing yet again, calming herself significantly. Her wobbly legs carried her towards the direction of that room, regaining herself as she did so.

By the time she'd reached the closed door, she was as collected as a girl with a phobia for ghosts could be.

Raising her hand to the door knob, she slowly pushed the door open. A soft breeze of cool air hit her, nearly unnoticeable, yet Naruto still felt it. It didn't make her feel any better, that was certain.

She swallowed, trudging forward. The room was exactly as she had expected, a master bedroom.

Knowing the scroll was hidden here, Naruto went to work immediately.

She pushed aside the bed, using chakra enhanced arms to make it light as a feather. Beneath the bed, one floorboard was out of place, as if it had just been moved.

Under the place that the wooden board should have been obscuring, a safe composed of dark iron resided. It was oddly convenient that the safe was also unlocked, just as the door had been.

Sucking in a deep, steadying breath, Naruto wedged her forefingers into the slightly cracked opening of the safe.

She gently guided it open, her eyes focusing on the items inside. A large stack of ryo, a Kusa hitai-ate, and the item she'd come for, the scroll.

A rotolus with aged papyrus paper the size of her forearm. It was rather slim, and had bronze engravings around the base.

"I-I'll be taking this, I h-hope no one minds." She managed to stammer out, pushing the safe closed right after.

Upon not seeing, hearing, or perceiving anything that could be signifying that she shouldn't, The blonde took the large roll of parchment close to her chest.

Placing her back against the bed, she used the strength of her legs to push the bed back into place.

Looking over the room one last time, Naruto scampered away, eager to leave. She didn't even notice the door of the bedroom clicking closed behind her, too caught up in getting the hell out of dodge.

Naruto had been out of the building in no time at all, heaving in deep breaths as she closed the front door behind her.

Heaving in breaths, she noticed that Tenten had her head bowed over the shrine.

"H-hey, I uh, got the scroll..." She said weakly, causing the brunette's head to snap up in her direction.

Eyeing the large scroll and her friend, she stepped aside to let Naruto through.

"I will never, ever, go in a haunted house again. No matter what." The blonde said, stealing a glance at the building.

After that, Naruto had passed the scroll to Tenten and took her turn at the makeshift shrine. She knelt down in front of it, giving her respects, apologizing for a hundred different things, wishing them a good afterlife, etc. Her eyes were closed the entire time, and it was nerve-wracking to see those ember-like chakra signatures watching her as she did.

They were so small, it only proved they weren't really living beings. At least not anymore. After having a sort of one-sided conversation to the spirits, she eventually stood up and stepped away. She gave a polite bow to the shrine, before turning and exiting the front-yard as fast as she could.

Tenten was awaiting her just outside the gate, scroll in hand.

"Well, I suppose that's that, huh?" Naruto asked, her voice retaining a melancholic undertone. The both of them kept stealing glances at the house as they walked away.

"Yeah... It is. We still have to meet your sensei after all this, you know.." Tenten replied softly.

"I know. She'll be impressed that we actually had the guts to do that, at least. A summons doesn't exactly solve your issue, but it does give you something your teammates don't." Naruto said, bringing back up the idea that had brought them there in the first place.

"Oh, yeah. That's true, but, I have a feeling this will come in a lot of handy later on." Tenten said, trying to be optimistic.

---

TRAINING GROUND 44

---

When Anko Mitarashi arrived at Training Ground 44, she'd expected to see her working herself into the ground with clones once again.

However, that was not what she'd walked up to.

Instead of her usually bright blonde student working hard. She was seated on the ground, making noncommittal small-talk with a brunette.

It didn't take long for the special jounin to remember the girl, it was the clerk at the weapon's shop she'd taken Naruto to over a month ago.

The blonde noticed her presence quickly, despite the fact she and her friend were facing away from her. Naruto turned her head, looking at Anko with a delicate smile.

"Oi, Anko-sensei! I brought Tenten along today!"She informed, pointing her thumb at the brunette next to her.

Anko grinned, excited to tell her surrogate little sister about her good news. Walking over and sitting down with the two girls, she noticed a storage scroll in the hands of the brunette. Pushing observation aside, she spoke.

"I don't know why you kids are looking so down-in-the-dumps today, but you better cheer up quick. I got recommended for the Elite Jounin exams and I'm feeling generous, so we can work on whatever you brats want today."

"Congratulations!" Tenten remarked, happy for the woman, even though she didn't know her.

"Hell yeah, that's awesome, Anko-sensei!" Added the blonde, giving the purplette a fist-bump.

"Since you're in such a jolly mood, could you teach Tenten and me a jutsu or something?" Naruto asked excitedly, suddenly looking quite happy.

Anko thought about it for a moment, realizing that she didn't know any wind based ninjutsu to teach Naruto. If her friend was a fire nature like she was, she could just show them both a fire jutsu. She knew a few water and earth techniques as well, which she could also show the girls.

Though, she wasn't very keen on teaching genin high-ranking techniques, that could cost her promotion before she even got it.

She'd need to think about it more before she could come to a decision, but first things first, she needed to know this other girl's chakra nature.

"O-kaaay, so, Tenten. What is your control like, and do you know your affinity?" She asked, wringing her hands.

Tenten sighed, "I've got good control, average reserves.. And I don't know my affinity, my sensei doesn't really do ninjutsu so I never figured it out." She said, scratching the back of her head.

"Well, I suppose we're going to have to get a chakra paper to figure that out. On your feet, let's get goin!" Anko said, leaping onto her feet with renewed vigor.

Naruto had thought that Anko was actually excited to teach them something, or simply happy because of her possible promotion in the near-future.
However, the truth behind the purplette's eagerness came out moments later. "The sooner I get done with you gakis, I can go get wasted!" She said cheerfully, leading them out of the training ground.

Tenten blinked in surprise, before snorting loudly. Naruto rolled her eyes, still smiling nonetheless, walking a few paces behind the woman. The blonde supposed that Tenten was probably used to weird Jounin by now, given that Gai was her sensei. Anko's brutal honesty could hardly faze the bun-headed young lady.

The trio were at a shop for general shinobi needs in no time at all. Whereas Tenten's father owned a Weapon's Shop for shinobi, this shop carried a surplus of random items for cheap prices, all directed towards shinobi use.

Naruto and Tenten stuck directly behind the purplette, as neither of them were particularly interested in shopping. They chattered while Anko made her purchase.
Naruto nearly walked tripped over a rock once they'd returned outside, as she was so invested in the conversation between her and the bun-headed girl

Anko put her arm out, stopping the girl before she could fall.

"Okay, Tenten, it's time we check your chakra nature." The purple-haired jounin instructed, passing the slip of paper to the older girl.

"Ah, yes Anko-sensei!" The brunette replied enthusiastically, a cute look of determination on her features.

Raising her purple brows, the woman smirked at how polite the blonde's best friend was. A drastic difference from Naruto herself, who didn't care much for manners most times.

"Yeesh, Naruto! If only you could be as polite as your friend, gaki." Anko teased, getting only a harrumph and an eye-roll in response.

"So, what do I do?" The brunette interrupted, before Anko could tease the whiskered girl any further.

As Anko explained, Naruto's eyes wandered their surroundings. They were on the edge of town, the closest section of shops to Training Ground 44. She was fairly familiar with every inch of Konoha, including here. It was just as congested with vibrant wildlife as everywhere else, tall trees with emerald leaves and small shrubs as far as the eyes could see.

"Naruto, look!" Called her friend, making naruto's head turn instantly.

In her friend's palm, a chunk of rich earth sat in her hand. Soil, indicating that her friend had an Earth affinity after all. Naruto supposed that the Earth element suited Tenten, though she had been expecting her friend to get the water element.

Anko sighed, "Well, I'd been hoping that Tenten here would have fire affinity so I could show you some basic fire jutsu and call it a night. But instead, I've got a better idea now anyway."

Both girls instantly looked at her, excited at the prospect of learning a new jutsu. She clicked her tongue, "Do either of you girls know the Shunshin? Or the body-flicker technique?" She asked.

"Hell no!"

"No, I don't." The brunette confirmed, much more politely than her blonde companion.

"Great! The shunshin is a common ninjutsu, but a real useful one. By forming the Ram hand seal and focusing your chakra, you can increase your speed while disappearing from sight. This makes it look like a teleportation jutsu, but that's not exactly it." The jounin explained, using her best version of a 'teacher-voice.'

"Nearly everyone who knows the technique uses some kind of element to conceal their shunshin. Here in Konoha, smoke or leaves are used most often. Basically, you add an element to conceal yourself, you disappear from sight, and speed off wherever you're headed." Anko summarized lazily.

"Wait, so how does it make you disappear?" The short blonde asked, her hand raised as if she were in a classroom.

Anko huffed, "By cloaking yourself with chakra, it conceals you from any normal eyes. A Byakugan can easily see through the technique, but it still improves your speed greatly. Even if they can see you, they have to be fast enough to react. It's essentially a speed technique with a bunch of add-ons."

Naruto managed to wrap her head around the technique after Anko explained it better, while Tenten had understood it immediately. Seeing the brunette put her hand into the Ram seal, Naruto watched in silence.

The older girl pushed out chakra, manifesting it into a cloud of smoke to conceal herself. Surrounding her body in a thin sheen of chakra, making her body disappear from sight. As if her body were weightless, she ran over to where Naruto was standing and released the hand sign.

She suddenly appeared right next to the blonde, who's eyes were closed. She had expected to startle the girl, but she was entirely unperturbed.

"That was so cool! My Mind's Eye of Kagura ability could still track you, but you were going super fast." Naruto said, causing Tenten to make a pouty-face.

"No fair! I wanted to scare you." Both Anko and Naruto chuckled at that, finding her sulking to be quite entertaining.

Naruto then decided it was her turn to try out the Body Flicker, or Shunshin, technique.

Doing as Tenten did, she first tried to conceal her movements. Instead of using smoke or leaves, she tried something else. Her affinity, that is.

Small winds began to pick up around her feet, slowly rising around her. It was painstakingly slow to the blonde, the gusts concealing her knees, then up to her thighs.

It was hard for her to manipulate chakra like this even now, despite that she'd put a fair amount of time into practicing her chakra control.

Finally, her entire body was surrounded by what resembled a cocoon of tornado-like winds, hiding her away as she cloaked herself in chakra. Once fully concealed, she could instantly tell that there was a timer on her concealment.

Knowing she didn't have much time before she was revealed, she ran diagonally very quickly in the direction of her sensei.

Releasing her hand seal, she appeared right next to her teacher and surrogate big sister.

"Great job, kiddos! Even though it's only a D-rank, I didn't expect either of you to get it right off the bat." The honey-eyed woman said gleefully, a proud smirk on her lips.

Clearly Anko's teacher skills were improving.

Naruto was a bit disappointed by how short she could hold the technique in comparison to how long it took for her to actually start it, but she was happy with it nonetheless.

Tenten took the moment to glance at her wrist-watch, before gasping in surprise. "I'm late for my shift at the shop! Sorry guys, I better get going!" The brunette said.

She was about to take of running, before she realized this would be perfect time to put her new jutsu to use

"Thank you again, Naru, Anko!" Both of them gave her a smile.

"I'll see you soon, Naru. Double thanks for that.. Thing you got me." She finished elusively, putting her hands into the Ram sign.

And just like that, the older girl disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving Anko and Naruto alone.

Before her surrogate older sister could twist Tenten's remark into something weird and inappropriate, she explained everything. She of course did not include how she'd been utterly terrified for the entire time, nor did she comment on the fact that she'd handed over something of such value so easily.

To her credit, Anko looked mostly unbothered aside from being mildly surprised.

"You know, they were going to send me to get that scroll for you. He technically left it to you, but I didn't think you'd accept it. It's a good thing your friend will get some use out of it, though." Anko informed her student cooly, uncaring of the fact that Naruto had broken into a place and stolen such an item.

Well, it wasn't technically stealing, but still-

Naruto rubbed the nape of her neck, "Yeah, for sure. We set up a vigil, so hopefully we don't get.. Haunted, or somethin." The blonde remarked, getting an amused hum from her teacher.

Looking up from where her eyes had been glued to her feet, she saw her teacher was holding something now, which she hadn't noticed before.

She pursed her lips subtly, trying to figure out where she'd pulled the rectangular thing from.

"You didn't really think I'd let your official promotion at T go without reward, did ya?" Anko asked, a sly smile across her face.

Naruto tilted her head. She thought the nice, expensive trench coat Ibiki had given her was her reward…

Before she could ask any questions, Anko passed herthe rectangular tin with a ribbon around it.

"It'll be a good way for you to use all the stuff you'll be learning at the office. You can't exactly coat a meteor hammer with poison and expect it to be effective. I know it'll be ages before you figure out poisons, but still.." Anko said, watching as Naruto pulled the tin open.

She audibly gasped. A shimmering pack of copper senbon, unlike any which she had seen before. Clearly, Anko had picked them because of their orange-ish color.

The girl glomped her sensei, who squawked in surprise as she was tackled by the short girl. Naruto never thought she'd actually get around to learning how to use the pesky throwing needles, but now that her beloved sensei had gotten her some..

Well, there was no way that the blonde would leave them around to collect dust.

"I expect to see you here again tomorrow, Imouto. Tuesday is for taijutsu, and I intend to work you into the ground! You need to get those katas perfect before the exams in a few months." The purplette said, a challenging edge in her voice.

Anko's surrogate little sister smirked.

"Great, you better have something planned than that shit you call evasion training. That doesn't really improve my katas, you know." The blonde said, flipping a blonde pigtail over her shoulder.

In that moment, their attitudes magically switched from wholesome, to deviously crass.

It only made sense that the two could only hide their true nature for so long. The two were rather infamous for their.. Unique.. Personalities, after all.

"Oh please! It totally helps your flexibility and dodging. You should be grateful, bitch." Anko began to strut away, her nose stuck up as she waved dismissively.

Naruto snorted, "Whatever! You just get off on throwing pointy needles at your innocent little sister!" She declared, folding her arms.

Anko halted, turning on her heel. The short girl quirked a blonde brow, her amused expression fading.

It didn't take a genius, or a super-cool sensory ability, to notice the predatory leer on Anko's face. The blonde's neck visibly recoiled in surprise, her face going pale.

"And what if I do?" She asked, a distinctly serpentine look in her eyes. Naruto rolled her eyes, mostly just to hide her unease.

"You're one sick bitch, Nee-chan." Naruto said in a deadpan tone, to which Anko could only cackle loudly.

They parted ways, each turning in opposite directions and stalking off. Having been ditched by Tenten, Naruto mulled over what she could do with her day.

Normally, she'd train well into the night. It was the only way she could keep her mind off of things. Though, Inoichi had at one point said that overworking was unhealthy for the mind and the body.

The blonde really wasn't surprised by that.

After her heartfelt sleepover with Tenten, however, Naruto wasn't so weighed down by her thoughts. It had relieved some of the tension within her, nearly all of it really. She didn't know why, or how. It was probably something to do with human psychology, another thing that Inoichi had previously told her to learn about.

Regardless, Naruto couldn't help but realize how much she had changed, as had her life. And surely, things would keep changing.

---

OMAKE: Ibiki Morino's Biggest Nightmare

---

Ibiki had woken up the Saturday after Naruto's promotion just like every other. He'd gotten up, taken a shower in ice-cold water just to feel alive, had a healthy breakfast of nicotine and black coffee, and headed out for the day.

Truly, it had been a day like every other.

Up until he'd arrived at the T&I office.

People were huddled around different spots in the room, chatting amongst themselves. Nothing that new, shinobi slacked off at work just like citizens did.

It was when he noticed them stealing amused glances at him that he realized.. Something was wrong.

Ibiki Morino was a man known for his dedication, his intelligence, and finally- His instincts.

And his instincts were raising every alarm they could.

Something was wrong here in the Torture and Interrogation unit, and he had to get to the bottom of it.

Narrowing his sharp eyes, he studied the room around them.

Outwardly, he could see nothing out of place. There was nothing on the walls, nothing on the floors, the physical state of the room was unmarred and completely normal.

He heard a giggle to his right, where a huddle of his men were whispering amongst each other like civilian schoolgirls.

Ibiki's eye twitched agitatedly. He really, truly, most definitely did not like being left out of secrets.

If he had to, he would interrogate his own shinobi to discover the truth behind this odd day.

Walking slowly past his shinobi and kunoichi, he could hear their mutterings as he passed by. Their hushed voices and snorts and giggles only served to agitate him further- the cacophony of sounds only substantiated his belief that there was something terribly amiss.

He passed Gekko on his way up the stairs, who instantly pursed his lips and rushed past him, his face reddening as he passed.

Ibiki was unsure of the reasoning for his flushed face, perhaps it was the cost of holding in his coughs?

On the second floor, Inoichi was leaning against the brick walls with a smirk. Catching sight of Ibiki, the man made an unusually snide remark. "Hey, Morino. You know, I may have misjudged you after all these years. I never knew you could actually experience joy."

Ibiki stared at him blankly, raising his slim eyebrows ever-so-slightly.

"I don't know what you're referring to."

Inoichi didn't falter under the pressure of Ibiki's slowly increasing KI, still looking smug and not explaining his remark.

Grunting in aggravation, Ibiki shoved past him to walk in the direction of his office. He rude gesture was unnecessary but served to show just how irritated Ibiki Morino was.

He was usually a patient man, but he was already getting a migraine from these odd happenings and had no desire to be kept in the dark.

Throwing open his office door, Ibiki immediately spotted something which shouldn't have been there.

Atop his wooden desk, a small black rectangle sat upright, which he knew he hadn't placed there.

Without even seeing what was contained in the thing, he could deduct that it was a picture frame. The man had never been the sappy type, he had no pictures on his desk, only papers and pens. His drawers were similarly barren, though one of his drawers had an emergency stash of tobacco and ibuprofen, for when his, "I'm-surrounded-by-idiots," migraines became especially troublesome.

Moving at the speed of light to discover the contents of the picture frame, he swiped it from his desk and turned the image around to study it.

His jaw fell slack and his eyes became impossibly wide at the image. It was a horror the likes of which Ibiki had never imagined.

This image alone had the capacity to ruin his entire career- No, this image already had ruined his career. It's mere existence had turned his terror-striking name into a joke!

Now what would he do? His life was ruined now, his brain was practically melting at the sight of the horrendous image.

In the frame, there was a picture taken yesterday. It was him, with Naruto leaping towards him.

But that wasn't the bad part, no. That was fine.

The problem was that smile on his very own face.

With white-knuckled trembling hands, Ibiki cracked the wooden frame of the photograph.

Placing it back onto his desk, Ibiki stomped back into the hallway. Red-faced, with smoke practically blowing from his ears- The man was unpleasantly surprised that his shinobi were standing in the hallway outside his office.

They'd witnessed his discovery of that image, but their amused faces had became terrfieied very, very quickly.

With audible gulps, they listened to his shout with ghostly pale faces.

"WHICH ONE OF YOU MAGGOTS DID THIS?!" He practically screamed, his eyes bulging in his rage.

Before anyone could be implicated or blamed, everyone took off. Either by running like hell was on their heels, or by using the body-flicker technique to disappear.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS INSUBORDINATION, WITH YOUR LIVES!" He charged at the horde of fleeing chuunin and jounin, causing terror-stricken screams to fill the building

---

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
So.. I was really nervous about uploading this chapter. One, because of the angst and very strong emotions in half of it. I feel like this important to show Naruto's development, from a measly academy student into a mature genin. Two, was because of the several things Naruto is now learning. Poisons, senbon, and fuinjutsu overshadowed her other studies this chapter. This was because I wanted to accentuate how hard Naruto is working. She WILL NOT learn these in a month and suddenly become mega OP. She'll only begin really getting the hang of poisons after the chuunin exams, same with senbon and fuinjutsu. However, I will say that this Naruto is significantly stronger than canon!Naruto.

Tenten has the hawks contract! I hope you guys don't hate me too much for this. I know it seems overly convenient, partially because it was. I've wanted Tenten to have some kind of bird summons for like a month now, so I decided to implement it now. Naruto WILL NOT be signing the Hawks contract. Someone else might, though. ;)

Also.. I recently learned that someone can have two summoning contracts..? I don't know how I forgot this, but it might bring some changes way later on.

So please, PLEASE, give me some constructive reviews for this chapter! I'm kind of unhappy with it, honestly. But i'm not sure of that's because its bad or because I hate everything I make.

It'll take a while for me to churn out Chapter Seven, but we've got a new friend, even more training, and who knows what else~

Did you guys like the Omake? Maybe the Omake was just one of Ibiki's worst nightmares? Would you guys like more of these in the future?

If there is ANYTHING you guys feel like needs expanded upon in this story, like character interactions or something, let me know! I might just write a scene and squeeze it into the story based on your suggestion.

Head pats for all of you, I bid you goodbye, dear readers!