The meeting was a bust nearly completely, Hokage-Sama and an older man I don't know much about leading us around by the nose. Then he entered, and my ability to make sense of things faded to the background.

As I had turned my head to see who interrupted our meeting it felt like I'd been staring at a photo. Watching him open the doors and stand there in all of perverted glory, knowing he was welcome in such an important room was like a kick to the head.

All of the colors seemed to bleed out of the world as he approached, trying to touch me like I was still someone who couldn't fight back. Yet I couldn't bring myself to do anything other than shy away from him, hoping he wouldn't pursue me.

Even after he left the room everything was muted, a buzzing sound in the back of my head that was so loud I couldn't hear the conversations going around me. My nails dug into the palms of the person holding my hand, so hard I could feel blood drip onto my skin.

That started making me feel in control, as horrible as it was. The slow realization that Naruto was the one leading me, letting me hurt him even if it was by accident.

The world seemed to regain its color slowly and surely after that recognition. Starting with the red of his eyes. We were sitting in a restaurant, an Akimichi self grilling steak place. Sasuke let Naruto cook strips of meat for him, likely for the best as we didn't want charcoal at the table.

I slowly let go of his hand, causing him to turn. His entire face lit up with worry, a dozen questions trying to leave him at once and leaving him wordless as a result. I merely look down at my shaking hands for a moment before sliding on my gloves, the ones with built in brass knuckles, before they stilled.

A single hand on his shoulder a few whispered words and he happily goes back to cooking the food. Giving me a chance to look over the table and see how everyone else is faring.

Sasuke seemed annoyed as he shared his side of the booth with our Sensei, the masked man seemed gleeful as the food on the table cooks in a simmering pot. My plate quickly fills itself as I begin to eat.

"So, after that I imagine the three of you would like to do something you have a bit more control over." My gaze is dragged back to him, my mouth full as I nod and try not to choke.

"Yesh!" Naruto of course has no such qualms about speaking with his mouth full. A simple stomp and he swallows. "I-i mean yes Sensei." I give a small nod, my eyes meeting the third member of our team.

He's looking off into the distance, his eyes unfocused and his clasped hands covering his mouth. He strikes me as torn over something, and despite feeling like a shell of my usual self I can shift that off to the side to reach over and place a hand on top of his.

He jolts in surprise, now properly looking into my eyes. I'm surprised at the only thing I can see in those dark eyes, concern.

"Right, looks like we've polished off this food. So let's get to training!" We don't have any time to get into it, but I doubt this conversation will be put off for long if he has anything to say about it. I'll just have to see how I can spin this. It doesn't need to be their problem after all.

The three of us are practically dragged out after our Sensei flashes some kind of tattoo at the waitress and she just kind of nods, a look at Sasuke gives me a shrug even as we're rushed down the street.

"Sensei, why didn't you have to pay?" He glanced at me, giving me that eye smile he does but doesn't answer. Thankfully my boy has a horrible filter.

"It's because you were ANBU right?" The eye smile disappears, going a bit wide as it stares at Naruto.

"How do you… right, my scent." We stop for a moment even as he runs a hand through his hair. "Do me a favor, and don't talk about it?" He gets a nod from Naruto and I'm content enough with that to let it slide. I can see the annoyance in the way Sasuke's entire body clenches for just a second.

We begin to work our way through the busy main road, a small bubble of two meters forming around us as they stare at Naruto. I can't say I'm overly surprised as he looks like a piece of fruit that's been diced and then folded back together like a deck of cards.

His armored coat is hanging on by threads in places, and if the light hits his face just right I can see the blood soaked into the shallow grooves that the, now widened, whisker marks that still seem to be oddly wet.

Once we clear the main road we're on a side path that I don't recognize, the small waist high wooden fence we pass though informs me that it's a training ground. Sasuke glances around, his frown deepening as we see what appears to be a bit of a clearing, a decent sized pond, a deeper than comfortable sand pit, and thick trees.

"Training ground 2, has a variety of terrain and is best for non-destructive combat" Our Sensei nods, going over and standing roughly in front of the path we entered from.

"Correct Uchiha, here's a brownie point." He seems proud of himself for that, going as far as a small chuckle. Naruto's head cocks to the side suddenly, his ear seeming to almost turn and twitch. I've suddenly noticed they seem to be vaguely pointed and longer than before, and have an odd range of motion that aren't usually possible by human standards.

"There are others here… two groups." He points with both hands, to a far too conveniently placed set of additional paths onto the training ground.

"And there's your brownie point Uzumaki, I've gotten the best of your graduating class together for a uh… friendly spar." His singular visible eye is narrow as he says that last line. As though he himself has trouble believing what he says.

Stepping out onto the field is a man that most Shinobi and Kunoichi will recognize. The Hokage's eldest son Asuma Sarutobi. A Jonin flak jacket over fishnet armor, underneath it all I'd what appears to be a silk shirt that I can tell is from my mother's business.

Behind him are the Genin assigned. Ino Yamanaka, the Heiress to the Yamanaka clan and supposedly a prodigy at clan techniques. She wears mostly dark purple and black but I can't see any fishnet armor, and her ponytail is so long that it nearly goes down to her ass. A large tuft of hair has been neatly stylized as a singular bang covering one of her eyes in the front as well. A new piece of clothing is the skirt that has a slit up one side all the way to her hip, allowing just a peek of dark violet underneath.

Choji Akamichi, no one to really write home about sadly. A nice enough kid that ended up making friends with the wrong people in my opinion. Held his own against Naruto in a duel once, Naruto stopped holding back that fight and nearly broke his arm in three places. His clothing choices are simple, to a nearly comical point. Cotton shirt, cotton pants, and the traditional Akimichi armor, long claimed to be a clan secret for how to make it.

Finally there's the jackass himself, Shikamaru Nara the Heir of the Nara clan. Tall and lanky, his hair left to hang loosely around his head as though it would be too much effort to tie it back. His hair and skin seems to have some kind of oily texture to it, as though he hadn't showered in a while. Not much is known about the Nara clan other than the fact that they were the last major clan to join Konoha, and they only joined us in the second Shinobi War out of convenience.

Sarutobi-San and Sensei shake hands firmly, the six of us standing behind our respective teachers as they don't quite glare. The silent stand off between two giants of the Konoha shinobi world being broken with startling ease.

"Wahoo! This is fuckin great!"

"Kiba-Kun! Wait for your team!" The nuisance that is Kiba Inuzuka, heir to the Inuzuka clan, lands on all fours on the dirt a few feet away from us where he had been tree jumping. His canine companion Akamaru gives a happy howl as the still tiny puppy pokes his head out of the front of his owner's jacket.

The woman, named Kurenai Yuhi, running after him was what many would call stunningly beautiful. Red eyes that have pupils in the shape of lotus flowers, and cascading jet black hair that likely takes too much time in the shower. She wears a simple red dress that covers her more modestly than I'd expect it too, white combat wrappings can be seen on her neck, arms, and legs. Her pumps are a poor choice of shoes though, causing her to struggle as she runs to catch up with her on the uneven terrain.

Shino Aburame is ghosting along behind her, a quiet guy and needlessly tall at nearing six feet. He was the tallest of our graduating class by a wide margin. Small round shades and a long necked trench coat that hides most of his face, a bandana covering the top of his head and completed the hiding of skin. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the jacket was armored.

The last person to join our dysfunctional triangle is Hinata Hyuuga, the current heiress of a strictly patriarchal clan. Much like her teammates she's wearing a heavier winter jacket, and my eyes can easily see the shifting of plates in it like Naruto has. Her pale eyes are wide as her team gets a look over our team, though I notice her mounting look of vague horror as they focus on Naruto.

From the outside Sasuke looks fine, but if you're good at reading emotions he's frazzled and a bit snappish. I already covered how Naruto looks like a mess, his right hand settled onto the hilt of his katana. I'm likely pale as a ghost, but at least I'm not shaking.

"Sorry we're late, I had to retrieve Hinata from her clan compound." The woman gives a brief bow to the Sarutobi-San and Sensei, the latter making a dismissive gesture.

"It's fine - it's fine. We've hardly been waiting at all." Sarutobi-San draws a pack of smokes from his kunai pouch while Sensei speaks, opening it and placing one inside the pack upside down before offering the pack to both other Jonin.

"You shouldn't refer to your brats by their first names, it's unprofessional Yuhi-San" she flushes, her nose wrinkling at the pack even as she takes one. Sensei doesn't bother being polite, merely shaking his head as Sarutobi-San places one in his mouth.

"I… I don't need to justify what I call my students, Sarutobi-San." He gives a huff, placing a hand around the cigarette before a flash of red comes from the cupped palm and smoke begins to rise.

"So, Kakashi-Kun, why do your brats remind me of drowned rats?"

He quirks the only visible eyebrow, seeming to look us over before giving a shrug. Kiba approaches us, clawed hand out for a handshake from Sasuke. He takes it begrudgingly, but I'm more bothered by the way Naruto shifts in front of me. Making sure to keep himself between everyone else and me as though we were expecting a fight. I couldn't see it well around him, but I got the impression that Sasuke shifted around the other direction pinning Kiba between the two of them.

"Uchiha-Kun, is kun ok? It's good to see you man." Sasuke gives a grimace.

"San is preferable, we are not teammates nor friends Inuzuka-San." He raises his hands in a surrendering motion.

"Right, yeah no." He takes a step back even, as though he's afraid he'll get bit. "Understandable, San it is." Shikamaru approaches our quickly growing cluster, hands in pockets as he slumps. Choji padding behind him munching on some kind of chips, the brand unrecognizable from my glance.

"This bites, anyone know what we're doing here?" Neither of my boys seem to want to grace him with an answer, thankfully they don't have too. Shino ghosted forward, following up on his teammates' initiative.

"Kurenai-Sensei said we would be dueling today." I hide a snicker at Shikamaru trying to hide his surprise, Shino's voice monotone with an odd lilt to it I can't quite place. "Learning to fight opponents of a similar skill level before we take our first mission." I had to take a moment to process that, practically shoving past Naruto.

"Wait, you haven't been on a mission yet?" Now all four of them are staring at me, Kiba's mouth open where was about to say something instead turns into maniacal laughter.

"Are you telling me that's why you guys look like shit? Couldn't fucking hack it huh?" He bends over holding his stomach as he has to lean on Shino. Their female teammates circling the trio of Jonin who seem to have put their own conversation on hold to watch us. Hintata looks like she wants to say something, a hand silently reaching out as Ino scoffs.

"I mean, are you surprised? Uzumaki-Dobe likely dragged them down!" Shino looks distinctly uncomfortable being so close to us now. Sasuke reaching for his kunai pouch at the same time as Naruto's thumb begins to tap the guard on his katana. Kiba is getting up properly into a crouched stance, his arms low and spread out to the sides as the clawed finger tips seem to have an almost metallic glint. Shikamaru and Choji have beat a hasty retreat for the tree line wanting to be out of the splash zone.

The last thing I want right now is a full on fist fight in front of three of our superiors, who knows what kind of reprimand that would slap on us. A single finger snap is all that's needed, both of my boys taking a step back and resheathing whatever weapons they had managed to pull out. I can hear a cough from the Jonin but I can't risk glancing away from my opponents. Kiba's eyes are wide, his mouth twisting into an angry grimace. Ino looks as though she just ate something sour, her bait not being taken. Shino looks apathetic to the world around him, but there's a small step he takes away from Kiba.

"You want to keep saying me and my boys can't hack it? Or you wanna put your money where your mouth is? Naruto wallet." He pulls it out, an underhanded toss lands the simple cloth wallet into my hand as I heft it. Everyone's eyes are on the overflowing sack of Yen, what's visible being decently big bills. Naruto hasn't had much to spend money on since we moved in with Sasuke.

"T-that's more than my allowance in a year!" Ino is stumbling a bit now, her eyes wide. Kiba's eyes are practically Yen symbols as he stands up properly.

"Alright, what kinda bet we lookin at? I'll take you on in anything?" I cock my head, resisting the desire to have a grin split my face. I don't even bother turning my head as I speak.

"Naruto, how confident do you feel?" He seems to mull it over, before he turns to the Jonin.

"Can I get a bokken?" Our sensei came prepared as he pulls one out of a sealing scroll before the question is even done. The inky black space that forms around space warping seals barely a flicker compared to the art work I've seen on the toad sage. "Very"

"Alright then, Naruto versus Kiba and a partner of Kiba's choice." Naruto begins to walk around, unclipping the Katana from his waist and handing it to Sasuke as he works his way towards the center of the training field. Shino doesn't get the chance to try and warn the idiot.

"You're on! Shino, let's fuck him up!" I watch the bug user twitch violently at the use of his name with no honorific, but he silently nods as the two of them approach the other half of the center of the field. I don't think anything of the dog jumping out of his coat and walking beside them Asuma-Sensei stepping forward to and officiating the duel as a neutral party. As the challenged party Kiba gets to name the stakes, I had been hoping for first blood.

Knock Out was his choice.

A small breeze moved across the battlefield as they took their battle stances. Kiba seems to limber up his entire body before he just kind of throws his coat off to the side. He's wearing a wifebeater that says 'treat bitches right', and ends up standing on all fours. Akamaru jumps up onto his back, the puppies front paws resting on his shoulders as the two of them stare at their opponent. Shino takes a more traditional stance, his feet firmly planted as his hands come up in a boxers guard of his face with kunai held in reverse grips.

Naruto has the bokken's tip buried in the sand he's standing on, a grin wide on his face. His other arm opened in a come and get me stance. I was curious what his plan was, I don't often get to watch him fight alone. We will never count the bridge.

A cry of battle, and I watch in mounting horror as a cloud of smoke appears on his opponents. Akamaru turns into a second Kiba as both of them begin to charge on all fours, bugs leaving Shinos coat at a rate so quickly it's all a blur. A hand closes around my mouth so tightly that I can hardly breath, Sensei speaking right into my ear.

"He has to be able to do this on his own." I hated those words, but I hated more knowing that he was right. I need to be able to trust that he has this, besides. It's much better to learn your limitations in training than on the field.

He still hasn't moved from his place in the sand, the howling Kiba's using Gatsūga as they turn into massive pillars of seemingly endless claws and wind. The cloud of insects surrounding the sand pit he's in as they all begin to buzz in unison. The pit and cloud of bugs acting like a funnel for the sound and making it all the louder. Shino waits on the outside of it, his boxing guard not dropping a bit. We can't see much of anything on the inside, a few clouds of sand being kicked up on occasion and the cries of their technique being used time and again.

"Enough" a single word cut through the buzzing, followed shortly by the body of Kiba cutting through the cloud of insects as he's being shoved by Naruto. The beetles attempting to swarm him and leach out his chakra in a futile effort to help their master and his teammate. Naruto doesn't even bother trying to swipe the insects off him as he instead goes after Shino, tossing his impromptu battering ram hard enough that he hits a tree. Shino, the conductor that he is, tries to back up with a desperation seldom found in a spar. The wooden bokken leaves small trenches in the dirt as Naruto tries to connect it with his target's head.

The Kiba that didn't get thrown into a tree lunges out of the sandpit, spear tackling Naruto as the insects crash over them like a wave of water. The bugs are ignoring their preference of chakra and begin biting or stinging every inch of skin they can find. Steam is billowing off within seconds as he headbutts Kiba, using the beetle's natural dislike of steam and Kiba's pain to gain distance.

Both sides take a moment to gather themselves, Naruto breathing calmly through his nose as his eyes are closed. Those strange new ears using an unknown range of motion to his advantage, Shino and the two Kiba's quickly regroup. The Kiba who got headbutted has a nasty crooked nose but doesn't seem properly broken. The other Kiba seems a bit dazed, and there's some blood seeping from his hair. I'm guessing he hit his head on the tree, or possibly a rock at its base.

The three of them take a moment to strategize, not speaking but instead using hand signs. Yuhi-Sensei looks like a proud mother as she wipes away a tear, personally I think she's a bit too proud considering they just lost that entire exchange. The insect cloud moves forward again, Naruto beginning to back up from it as he doesn't have any good Jutsu for the situation. I can see that's a problem we desperately have to fix.

Soon his feet are in the pond's water as the Kiba's race forward again, not using their Jutsu's this time but rather seeming to run on the water itself.

"The fuck?" Sasuke is glaring at our Sensei, who merely shrugs in his defense.

"I had planned on teaching it in Wave, but we got busy." I have to rip myself away from that before it turns into an entire argument. I look back in time to watch them rip the bokken out of his hands after he gets one of them in the ribs with a gasp of pain we can hear back here. The wooden weapon goes flying behind them and nearly hits Shino in the head.

Both Kiba's put a hand under Naruto's armpits and throw him into the middle of the pond. His feet kick as best he can with the heavy boots and metal armor dragging him down. His three opponents now begin to run on the water after him to finish him off.

I so desperately want to run out and help him, do something, anything at all I could do to help. But I can't, and I won't. Sasuke keeping a grip on my wrist before I can even think about trying to take a step forward. Neither of us were expecting for Naruto to dive, and if we weren't expecting it I can be damn sure his opponents weren't either.

The three of them just kind of stand on top of the water and stare at where he went down. There's enough muck, silt, and plant life at the bottom of this deceptively deep pond to hide him from view. Not that it helps him in terms of needing to get air.

"Hel-!" A cut off cry for help is the only warning we get as suddenly Shino is dragged down into the water. Both Kiba's desperately trying to pace around and kind of mindlessly paw at the top of the water like a particularly dumb animal. The once peaceful water now thrashing and bubbling as Shino desperately tries to break the death grip Naruto has on him under the surface. My boy begins to roll like a crocodile, trying his damndest to slam the bug user into the base of the pond or get him tangled in the plants. There's a brief moment where Shino's head breaks the surface before he's dragged farther back down, the Kiba's trying to grab him and merely succeeding into crashing into one another.

Suddenly Shino is released, clinging to the top of the water like a soaked cat. His coat lost somehow as he's coughing up water and insects. Small holes are visible all along his neck and arms, the compression shirt he's wearing not covering any of them. I can see the water drips from each and every one of them, beetles seeming to fall out of him. I can only imagine what that must have felt like, to drown from the inside out and having to watch as your team mate just kind of stands on top of the water. His glasses are still firmly on his face, but the bandana is gone revealing a patchy head of hair as he stands up on the water and begins a slow walk to shore.

Both Kiba's seem to come to a decision before they rush off of the water, getting onto dry land. Naruto surfaces shortly after them, taking a few well needed gasps for air as he begins to swim for the shore. By the time he gets to it he's abandoned his coat, and his boots are making a squelching sound with every step. His opponents are shifting on their feet as they stare at him, seeming as though they're unsure of the fight at this point. Both of them are scraped and bruised, one of them bleeding from the head. Naruto though seems as unphased as ever, his hands flexing slowly as I can see the claws growing and shrinking on his fingers.

He needs to end this fast, before he forgets it isn't a spar. A Kiba charges forward, a Tsūga spinning through the air like a saw blade on a mission. Naruto doesn't budge an inch though, his hands coming forward and grabbing onto the center point of the Jutsu. Kiba just kind of stops mid air as Naruto has him held by the head, and he begins to spin on his heels before throwing Kiba into the trees hard enough that we can hear the creak of his bones against the broken branches. The other Kiba nervously puts its hands up, a puff of smoke rising as a lightly wounded Akamaru chases after its master.

"I'll make sure he pays you." My eyes drift over to Shino, the water logged man leaning up against a tree a bit behind us. Before more can be said we're cut off by a rambunctious set of applause coming from the trees. A big man, a little on the heavy set side but with more muscles than should be possible steps out from them. His lime green jumpsuit leaves too little to the imagination, thankfully he's wearing a cup. Unfortunately I can clearly see he's wearing a cup. The only other clothing he's wearing is a Tokubetsu Jonin vest that is left open, not even a kunai or first aid pouch can be found on his figure.

Behind him three people probably a year or so older than us come out of the woodwork. What I can only call a mini him with combat wrappings on his arms and legs waves lightly at us. Another Hyuuga in near formal robes and long hair that's tied back into a braid and tucked into the back of his clothing stares at us. His hands tucked into his sleeves as they crossed in front of his chest and a blank stare that reminds me of a cat just waiting to pounce. Their last teammate is a petite girl, several scrolls strapped to her hips as she's wearing a pink sleeveless shirt, standard shinobi style cotton pants, and rather thick fishnet armor that goes all the way down her arms and poking out of the bottom of her pants.

"Kakashi-Kun, your student was quite commendable there!" As the man approaches the trio of Jonin, Yuhi-Sensei looks vaguely horrified, Sensei seems almost bored as he waves hello, and Sarutobi-Sensei just seems irritated.

I end up tearing my eyes away from the sight that is the man as Naruto trudges over to us, still dripping with pond water. After he slumps down to sit on the ground I remove a bit of underwear weed from his hair. He's breathing harshly, Sasuke stepping forward and making sure there's no water in his lungs and inspecting a steaming mark over his ear.

"Lost my jacket somewhere down there…" a silent conversation is held between us, as well as a game of rock paper scissors after he makes sure nothing is wrong.

A minute later I'm kicking my boots off and ditching my shirt before I dive into the pond. Silt floats in the water still all kicked up from the scuffle. The first thing I find is Shino's coat caught on a rock, it looks a bit torn but I grab it anyway. Sitting on the bottom of the muddy floor is Naruto's coat, a metal plate nearly floating out as jagged claw marks seem to ripped through the material.

I'm back to the surface soon dragging both coats with me. Sasuke has given him back his sword, the weapon now sitting across his lap as he sits in the lotus position against a tree. The bug user looks baffled as I set his clothing beside him, but nods in thanks even as inspects the damage on it.

"That was a waste, you know." I'm halfway through drying my hair using a rag Sasuke gave me when the new team approaches us, the girl speaking up. Her chin is jutted up, her whole head tilted back a little in fact. As though she's trying to make up for being nearly the same height as Naruto as she tries to look down on me.

"I'm sorry?" She gives a huff, a hand settling on the scrolls on her right side. Her nails click softly as she taps them against the wooden caps. There's three on each hip, held there by what I can only assume is either a chakra suction or grip seal.

"You wouldn't have the time or energy to waste in the field to go back for the jackets." I can hear the wet fabric being clutched tighter by him, the ruined coat being held protectively against his chest. I can feel my chest heat up, a quiet anger that I could see reflected in coal black eyes.

"This coat was a gift from my Sensei." She rolls her eyes, pulling a piece of chewing gum out.

"Really? Not proper Shinobi equipment, you don't even wear fishnet armor." Her teammates seem to be conflicted on her attitude, the Hyuuga keeps the vague glare. Only a hint of vicious pleasure behind his eyes as she's trying to rile us up. The mini version of their Sensei looks frustrated, his brow furrowed underneath the bowl cut and his mouth pressed into a thin line.

"You don't even know how to use a bokken properly, just swinging it around like a brat." That snapped my attention back to her. Naruto didn't quite recoil like she expected, instead starting to put his feet under himself. He's slow moving though, as if his balance is off.

Sasuke is reaching for his kunai, the other teams making the active choice to back up and give us space. Shino being the only exception as he supports his back against the tree to help him stand, a few throwing stars at the ready.

"Fine, if you think we're so shit." I'm moving into a proper boxers stance, the brass knuckles on my gloves catching the light. "Why not show us?" She just kindly chews for a moment before she blows a bubble.

"Fine, I'll whoop your ass girlie." A single scroll is pulled off her hip, the rice paper unrolling and revealing storage seals of all varieties. Not even a glance is given as she reaches her hand into the rapidly forming oily black void before I have to jump back, allowing my center of balance to falter so I roll to dodge the wooden staff that would've connected with my temple.

The scroll rolls itself tight, the bo-staff not slowing for a second as she begins to spin it on her form. Balancing it on her shoulders, elbows, knees, and palms she moves like a cursed dancer. Despite her height being hardly one and a half meters the staff is clearly over two, not that it slows her down the slightest.

"Yosh! Feel the power of youth, my student!" I ignored the cry of her cuck teacher as best I could, doing my best to dance in between the swipes and strikes as she kept me at a distance. The only thing I could do was keep going in a circle and throw kunai.

They were either easily dodged or swatted to the side by the very weapon forcing these actions. She planted one end in the ground suddenly, using it more like a pole vault as both feet planted firmly in my chest as I went crashing into the undergrowth of the thickly forested part of the training ground.

"Come out-come out, wherever you are~" a single pop of the gum seems to follow her words as I work my way out of the bush that cushioned my landing. I have no reason to charge out in the open though, that would just play into the reach of her weapon.

After a few moments of silence she gives a frustrated sound, jumping up into the trees above me to try and get a bird's eye view. The bo-staff resting against her shoulder, a hand gripping it closer to the center but it still hangs a fair bit down the tree branch.

A simple jump, grab, and bracing my feet on the tree trunk before I essentially throw her down to the ground. She wasn't expecting it, giving a yelp of surprise as she tried to twist around mid air to land on her feet on the trunk.

I yank the pole towards me, the gap between us shortening to the point where I can headbutt her, our headbands clashing together as the pieces of metal give an angry scream. She lets go and hits a branch on the way down, a bit of blood trickles down my face as I take the chance to look over the bo-staff in my hands.

It's made of a simple flexible wood, making it lighter than I expected as well as an oddly springy quality. While this likely helped her keep up momentum it lacks the stopping power a proper one should have. Clearly it tries to make up for that by having small weighted metal caps on the very ends, but that's more likely to leave welts than any serious damage.

"You fucking bitch!" She's fought her way to her feet, having spit out the gum at this point as she bares her teeth at me. Her hair having come undone from the twin buns during her landing in the branches. "Give me back my bo-staff!"

"Go fuck yourself." I draw it back, placing one end against the tree trunk itself as I stomp down hard enough to shatter the bark underfoot. Her eyes and mouth are wide in disbelief, a sound of rage coming her chest.

The next sound she made was one of shock as I jumped down after her, forcing her to roll out of the way as the make-shift spear plants itself in the dirt where she was. I wrench it out of the ground sending splinters flying as I search for her.

She's trying to make distance, retreating into another tree as she unrolls another scroll. A single kunai through the rice paper and the inky void sputters out of existence, the item inside of it gone as the pocket dimension implodes from the damage to the seal. She gives an angry scream, practically lunging for me off the branch as I dance backwards and allow her to crash into the dirt.

The still weighted end of the make-shift spear slammed into her head in an overhead swing that clearly rattled her, collapsing back into the dirt but still struggling to get up. I drop it and step over to her, grabbing both wrists as I place a foot in the small of her back and lean backwards.

"Yield, before I break something." I can feel the muscles in her arms tensing as she tries to squirrel her way out of my hold. Sadly, for her, she's all lean muscle. Designed more for speed than stopping power, and while I'm no match for my boys in terms of raw strength I'm better than most Kunoichi.

"I y-yield!" I let go of her wrists, letting her slam face first into the ground, ignoring the sound of her nose breaking from the impact.

"Whoops, oughta have that looked at." I spit a bit of flem off to the side as I head out of the underbrush. Her Hyuuga teammate has his Byakugan active, the veins on his face pulsing in time with his heartbeat and standing out as bright as day. His face is twisted into a nasty grimace, his teeth grit to a point that if I cared I would worry they were going to crack.

Sasuke ghosts over me, a hand running over my arms, neck, and head before he kind of stutters to a stop as he would get to my torso.

"She hardly touched me, but do your checks." He nods a bit, more at ease as his hand hovers a few centimeters off my body instead of against my skin, his palm glowing a greenish white as healing chakra mingles with mine. He seems satisfied after pulling a series of splinters out of my leg.

Hinata looks battered, a black eye just beginning to take shape on her soft face. Kiba is up and moving again, a bandage wrapped around his head as his clawed fingers flex. Naruto's head bumps against my thigh gently.

"You didn't have to" I rolled my eyes at his watery words, crouching down to be eye level with him.

"I know, but I couldn't let that insult to your teacher slide." He smiles softly, and I run a hand through his hair. "What I miss while I kicked the shit out of her?" Sasuke lets out a chuckle, and if he smoked I'm pretty sure he'd have lit one.

"Hyuuga-San dueled Akimichi-San, while she was able to shut down some chakra points he had enough muscle to put her down like a sack of potatoes." I give a hum, reaching up to adjust my hat and realizing it's gone. Must've lost it in the bush when I first crashed there.

Sensei is not quite frowning as he speaks with the man wearing the leotard, a hand gesture moving towards me. Naruto is standing at this point, a finger running along the inside of his now impeccable ear. I can't help but give an annoyed huff.

"You're not going to have a single scar are you?" He shrugs, but Sasuke chuckles.

"Unless he outright dies and is resuscitated, no." I shake my head now. Shino visibly approaches me from the side as he gives a bow.

"I wanted to thank both you, Uzumaki-San for treating us as real opponents and Haruno-San for retrieving my coat." I return the bow, grabbing Naruto's shoulder to have him do so as well.

"Not a problem man, to be honest you were the worst of the two for me. We should spar again sometime!" Naruto's smile is infectious as he stands back up, a hand out to shake.

"I think I would like that" Shino takes the hand, their grip both seeming firm.

"Call me kun, I insist."

"Then I ask you to do the same, Naruto-Kun." With that the handshake breaks off, Shino and the rest of his team begin to leave the training field. The girl mutely waves goodbye as she stares at Naruto. Kiba stormed off down the path ahead of his teammates and teacher, Akamaru trailing his heels. The teachers union seems to have broken up, Kurenai leaving to be with her students with a stiff posture. She's likely not taking the losses well. Asuma-Sensei is walking off the field already, Shikamaru slouching back behind him without a care in the world. The only seeming outright happy on that team being Ino as she tries to give sasuke a wink before leaving our vision.

I'm not really sure what happened to spandex or his team, by the time I went to give them a final look all that was left was a ruined bo-staff and a ripped up scroll. Sasuke juts his chin out into the trees, letting me know which direction they left. Sensei approaches us slowly, not bothering to look up from his book.

"Well I won't lie, that training session didn't go quite how I wanted it to." I resist the urge to roll my eyes, Sasuke doesn't lack the will power merely the effort to care. Naruto stands on his feet now, whatever problems with his balance seem gone.

"What happened with you anyway?" Naruto shrugs a bit, Sasuke now seeming annoyed.

"Inuzuka-San doesn't know how to spar properly." He's giving Naruto another look over now, using a small pen light to look in his ear. "One of his claws punctured an eardrum. Looks like it's finished healing." I just kind of stare there for a moment and debate trying to stab him after the fact. Sensei looks like he's debating something a bit worse than stabbing if the new forming crack in the spine of the book is anything to go off of.

"I'll bring it up with Yuhi-San, definitely something to cover. She's lucky Naruto has his healing." The book closes with a snap, before its tapped in his other hand. "We'll meet here tomorrow morning at 0600, am I clear?" all three of us snap to attention, giving proper salutes and responding in tandem.

"Yes sir." He looks over all three of us before nodding and pulling out a wallet before pulling out a piece of paper and handing it to me. It's a business card for a shinobi supply store, 'Shur-I-Can'. I'd seen the place a few times before, always felt shady.

"Go there, tell 'em the son of the white fang sent you. He'll fix up Na-" he coughs a bit, clearing his throat. "-Uzumaki's coat, and feel free to use my tab for anything you think you need or want." The two of us look at one another, Sasuke grinning at the thought of what all we can get.

With that he doesn't even say goodbye, and by the time we turn back to him all that's left is swirling leaves. Our trip back to the village is quick and quiet, the sun still far from setting seeing as we're in the dead of summer. The shop is a small hole in the wall, the door looking like it had to be carved to fit the gap that was already there.

The inside isn't lined with weapons or display cases, no kunai out for viewing. Instead all that's there is an elderly man sitting behind a wooden counter in a rocking chair. Wearing a simple blue yukata the man doesn't pause in his rocking as we enter. Naruto's ears perk up the moment we do, though I couldn't be sure over what.

"What do you want?" His voice is higher than I expected, and much more nasally than was hoped for. But it wasn't a rude tone, merely curious. I hold out the card so he can see it.

"Our Sensei sent us to your shop, said to mention he was the son of the white fang." That causes him to stop moving, his eyes straying from the card to my face. Seeming to roam over first me and then my boys.

"You're Kakashi-Kuns newest students then…." He slowly gets up, a hand taking a cane I couldn't see. "You must be better than the rest, seeing as you're the first he's sent to meet me." He motions for us to follow, silently opening the door to a backroom. Following after shows me more shinobi tools than I ever thought I'd see in my life. Shelves of kunai that were sorted by year of creation that date all the way back to the village's creation, same for throwing stars, senbon. Multiple swords are displayed on the wall, ranging from katanas all the way to some of straight blade with a ridiculously wide handguard and a simple black leather wrapped handle.

"Is that a longsword?" to say Sasuke sounded confused was an understatement, Naruto quickly growing bored as to him it was just another room.

"Indeed it is, straight from the smithy of a Western Wastelander. A rare sight I know…. I'm a collector of the interesting, and have a little bit of everything."

An hour later we walked out of that store with heavy pockets and still full wallets. Naruto's jacket was better than new, the old iron plates being swapped out for steel ones, internal pockets with pull out stitching making it possible to swap them out when they get too damaged rather than them just being trapped in there. Sasuke seemed greatly interested in the pair of hand sized battle fans, the edges bladed and sharp enough to remove a finger if the right force is applied. Any attempt to ask him about it was shrugged off, with a promise of for later. I ended up with refurbished gloves, still fingerless but the knuckle parts being steel rather than iron and small grip pads on the inside to make any work I have to do with them on all the easier.

By the time we arrived home it was late, Naruto put his sword up and began to work in the kitchen. Sounds and smells wafted out as we waited in the dining room, learning from experience that being out of the way is the best help that can be offered.

"We need to talk about it." I had been hoping to avoid this conversation, his eyes not grating or judgemental. Merely full of worry, and I could easily guess what it was about.

"I know." I don't say anything more than that, not because I can't or because I don't want to. But because the idea of making this more than just my problem makes me feel like throwing up, as though it will ruin everything between us.

"I… I'm not the best at this." he slowly reaches a hand out, putting it over mine in an odd clammy attempt at comfort. "But I do know I can't make you tell me anything. So whenever you're comfortable, we will be there for you." I duck my head down, and for once wished I had longer hair as the two of us start a nightly tradition that would last for years to come. Silently sitting at the dinner table as we share things we never will with outsiders.