A/N: Hello, people!

I don't own Naruto.

I have no beta.

ENJOY!

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR. HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

Still homeless and dealing with shit!

If you're curious, I've been most active on Archive of Our Own. According
to the site, I've posted 500K words this year alone over there.

TAGS: Drama, Humor, Adult Themes, Instrospection, Maturity.

"Yuuki, should you be sleeping that way?" Ino asked when they settled down for the night. The mission to the border was technically over since they'd passed off the scroll already, but Asuma-sensei hadn't wanted them to rush back to Konoha, so they'd decided to camp out in the woods for the night.

The Academy had prepared them for this, and like deja vu, Yuuki set everything up just as it should be. And this time, she had a pot sealed into her scroll so they could actually have clean water to drink and cook with. No going hungry or dehydration this time!

She glanced down at her bedroll, wondering what was giving Ino a problem. It was one of those shinobi supplies that had to be purchased from an official shop. Shinobi Regulation or something like that. "Everything seems to be in order. What's wrong?"

"You'll get sick if you sleep with your hair wet."

Ah. She'd dunked her head in the nearby river in order to cool off a bit. The speed of the running water felt nice at the time, but it did result in her shirt and coat ending up a little wet in the process, but those could dry off without a problem while she slept.

"I always sleep with wet hair though. Besides," she shrugged, "it's short and will dry pretty fast as we're sleeping close to the fire anyway."

Of course, for someone like Ino who loved fashion and beauty stuff, the idea of sleeping with wet hair had to be terrifying. Ino had a lot of hair naturally, even if it was in the process of regrowing after The Incident in the Academy, and it would probably be uncomfortable for her if it got everywhere and then made her bedding damp.

"You know, I can totally recommend some good products to better manage your hair," the blonde offered as she went through the laborious process of brushing her hair out before sleeping. "It'll become all nice and soft and you can probably put some clips in it for decoration."

"I'm more of a frugal person," Yuuki told her. "I don't spend money if I don't have to. Not until I'm absolutely sure that such random splurging won't negatively affect my ability to pay rent or buy groceries."

Shikamaru sighed, making that fact that he was listening in, public knowledge now. "Will you ever get to that point though?"

"Hm?"

"Like, you have a guaranteed paycheck just from being a ninja, but you're also getting money on the side for developing board games. You have at least two forms of income that you get at least every month. Surely, you're in a place where you can be a little more open with your expenses now, yeah?"

The thought of spending money at all made her want to die, actually. Like, physically she felt like she'd puke if she entertained the thought any further. And it was obvious that he noticed her discomfort because he sighed once again.

"Look, you feel guilty spending money, and you feel guilty when others spend money on you. You're allowed some frivolous spending now and then, and it won't make you a bad person to pamper yourself or be pampered by others. And I know this mindset exists because of your life and what you've had to go through up until now, but we really need to break you of this habit, so it doesn't hold you back forever. How much money is enough money before you can start buying things you like when you want them? Will there ever be enough money for your guilt and worry to not get in the way?"

She felt called out in a sense.

And she was also aware of the fact that he was right to an extent. Growing up in severe poverty meant she had to be on alert about everything in life. And while things were better now, she couldn't chance getting too complacent or careless for the time being. Not until she had multiple stashes of emergency funds on hand, so she didn't have to worry about what the future held in store.

And yeah, it would be nice if there came a day where she didn't have to stop and think about money for every little thing. Unfortunately, that day was a long way off from now.

"We can revisit this topic of conversation at a later date, when I'm actually in the place where I can be frivolous with money," she declared, laying back and ending the conversation then and there.

As she prepared to sleep, her mind flashed through all manner of new game ideas based solely around the thought of how she'd only come up with board games. Card games were becoming quite a hit recently as well and it would be cool to come up with some news ones that work. Ichi ended up really popular among her friends.

In fact, she had a great idea for a new game already.

How would her business partners feel about a game designed to get the worst possible responses to the most benign questions? Adult Only of course as there would be very sensitive topics involved. And it could be called… Cards Versus Mankind?

Hm. It was an idea, but perhaps someone else would come up with a better name.

Actually, no. She'd come up with a better name herself so profits didn't have to be split even more than they'd already be.

Perhaps… Cards Against Humanity could work? It had a nice ring to it. It even felt familiar in a sense. There wasn't a game with that name alreayd, right?

She'd have to run it by Shikaku.

"That was the most normal C-Rank mission I've been on," Yuuki declared as they stepped through the village gates. "Nothing happened at all. And while the other two weren't exactly something concerning, I dread the time when my mission with Team Seven comes up. They have the worst luck ever."

Though it'd be nice to hang out with Naruto in a professional capacity. They'd been classmates, neighbors, and friends before, but adding a professional work environment was a new layer of interaction. Certain things were not acceptable in the public eye after all, and she wondered how Naruto managed to comport himself in front of clients.

With the Uchiha there, he surely wouldn't let Naruto get too rambunctious, right? He was too composed to enable Naruto that much. He wouldn't let his little crush/obsession get in the way of their job, right?

The fact that Yuuki couldn't even say for sure what Uchiha Sasuke would do, seemed pretty bad on the surface. She chose to keep her observations to herself though, at least for the time being. Sage forbid the anal-retentive Uchiha found out about it or anything. Not when they were just seeming to get along.

Shikamaru groaned at the mention of Team Seven and there… eccentricities. "How much do you want to bet that Naruto is somehow at the center of every time one of their missions goes awry?"

She snorted. She loved him like a brother, but Naruto was definitely the mischievous fox he looked like. "He'd be so offended you said that."

"Considering how much he's matured since meeting you, he'd probably cave a few minutes later though."

"What do I have to do with it?" she asked with a frown.

Choji was the one to actually answer, though it was around a mouthful of chips. "You know, you're the one who got him the help he needed and got the adults to finally stop treating him terribly, and helped his grades improve. Without you, Naruto would have probably ended up dead last of the class."

Ino scoffed. "Not just him, if you'll recall. Yuuki's the one who kept complaining to Iruka-sensei about the curriculum being outdated or whatever. If Yuuki didn't raise a fuss about our classes, all of us would be much more dumb than we are now. We probably wouldn't even know basic first aid."

Shikamaru looked as shocked as Yuuki was to hear such positive words from Ino. "You have a point. The whole Academy kind of owes the updated curriculum and better training to Yuuki, huh?"

"I really wouldn't go that far," she murmured awkwardly, since it didn't feel like she'd done much other than make Iruka have to deal with everything even though it wasn't within the scope of his abilities. "I pointed out a few inconsistencies here and there, and then took my concerns to an adult that could actually be trusted. Nothing would have happened if Iruka-sensei hadn't taken me seriously from the start."

Asuma-sensei decided to cut in then, before the credit-shifting could continue on much further. "Then it is safe to say that many people are to thank for how better prepared the new Genin are for the life of a shinobi. However, if all of this simply started because you raised concerns about your friend's well-being, then in the end, Yuuki-san, you are in fact the catalyst to all of this happening. There is nothing wrong with accepting praise or gratitude for actions rendered. Especially if you never expected such to begin with."

Wow. Yuuki wasn't exactly used to people saying such things. It felt a bit much if truth be told. Yuuki never sat there and thought, hey, I'm going to revolutionize a small corner of the world or anything of the sort. She just saw the glaring issues in the plot, stuff that felt incredibly oppressive on her conscience and harassed her even in her dreams, and decided to do something about it. That was all.

Any sane person would have looked at Naruto's situation and wanted him to be treated right. That didn't deserve praise in her opinion, because he deserved common decency from the get go.

Once they handled the mission report, the Genin went their separate ways. Though Shikamaru did manage to wrangle a promise for her to come to his house for dinner because apparently Yoshino was missing a fellow woman of sense being in the house. That meant free food and cool vibes, which was nice. But she'd have to make sure Naruto was settled first.

"See you later then," she waved before heading off to her shabby apartment. "I got a blond to check on."

Naruto was not home when she went to see him, but there was a note on his door saying that he had a 'day of D-Ranks' around the village. Apparently, his team had decided to try and break the record for the most D-Ranks completed by a single team in a single day. The plan, as their sensei had limited what he could do, was for Sasuke and Sakura to each take two of Naruto's Kage Bunshin, which were under a Henge to look like their absent teammates, and then Naruto would head out with a team of his own Kage Bunshin under Henge, and all rush through their assignments.

They could have easily blown everything out of the water, but Hatake Kakashi decided that Naruto making a hundred Kage Bunshin to do it defeated the purpose of teamwork, so Naruto was only allowed to make six Bunshin in total. This was both work and training, though Naruto admitted to not understanding how it counted as training on the side.

Basically, both Sasuke and Sakura would have to learn to work in a team with just one of their teammates. Specifically, the boisterous one who was hard to tolerate by most people. For Sasuke it was to keep his crush in check while working, and for Sakura it was probably to make her chill the fuck out with her attitude toward Naruto. And it was obvious that Naruto and Sasuke worked well together, and that it would be a bad idea to pair up Sasuke and Sakura for a mission any time soon, so this was their sensei's way of handling things.

He was probably watching over them all from a distance and getting a feel for how they operated. Sakura, while walking around with a Sasuke and a Naruto at a glance, was actually just walking around with Naruto alone. How was she handling it, Yuuki wondered? Especially with her less than stellar history in dealing with Naruto.

Still, it seemed like he'd be busy for the rest of the day. After all, the job of a shinobi did not only happen from nine to five. They technically had until midnight to work on the record, and she had no doubt that Naruto managed to coerce his teammates into going that long with him. There was a bet going around about it being impossible to break the record and there was like five hundred thousand Ryo on the line.

With him busy, she could just go on over to dinner with Shikamaru's family after a good shower.

With actual hot water these days.

Blackmail was a wonder.

Nara Shikaku smirked the moment his son perked up upon hearing that Yuuki had entered the Compound. He'd wanted to keep it a secret, but seeing the boy's lack of energy made him feel mischievous. After all, his budding crush on Yuuki was adorable, and watching them interact was entertaining.

So when Shikamaru shot up, looking alert and awake again, he knew it had done the trick.

"Why don't you go let her in," he suggested.

Yoshino snickered from the doorway of the kitchen as their son departed as fast as he could manage while tired from a C-Rank mission. "It'll be good to see Yuuki-chan again. I've missed her dry wit."

When their son returned, it was with his good friend in tow. Her hair was freshly washed judging by how poofy it was from air-drying recently. She wore a simple black t-shirt and a pair of black shinobi trousers. It was the most dressed down they'd ever seen her be, even at Shikamaru's birthday party she was more put-together.

Perhaps this was a sign that she was more comfortable around their family now.

"Hi!" the girl waved. "I got some great news. While I was trying to fall asleep last night, I came up with a new game to sell and I've already worked out all the details about it."

Shikamaru's head whipped around, and he gaped. "While we were on a mission?"

"Yeah. My dreams were filled with plots, and I took an hour before coming here to start on a prototype so I could run it past Shikaku-san and get his opinion. It's a card game."

She withdrew a stack of papers from her pocket and set them down in front of Shikaku. "The black cards are answers, the white cards are questions or unfinished statements. The blank space where a word or words would be on the white card, should be filled in with the answer written on the black card of choice. Or the black card will be used to answer the question the white card poses. Each player will get seven black cards and will compete for points, by playing the black card or cards that would make the most offensive response.

"Shikamaru, flip over one of the white cards and read it," she ordered as she grabbed the stack of black slips of paper.

He popped down beside her and did as he was told, reaching toward the center of the stack. "I learned the hard way that you can't cheer up a grieving friend with [Blank]."

Yuuki started to cackle and held up a black card. "Life sucks and then you die!" She devolved into further laughter, her face becoming bright red and tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "Do another card!"

"What would make baa-san really happy?"

And here was where Yuuki practically collapsed, unable to hold herself upright as she held out the black card she wanted to use as her answer. "Doub-hulllllllll-"

Shikamaru took the card and read it aloud for her. "Double Anal, Double Vaginal."

Yoshino choked from where she was listening in the kitchen, and Shikakau was trying to pretend that he did not hear such words pass through his son's lips. Also, Yuuki's laugh became even more uproarious, and Shikamaru simply looked a bit confused. Obviously Yuuki would have more knowledge on these topics considering her options prior to joining the Academy.

"I see," Shikaku said diplomatically, trying not to smile. "So the point is to be offensive. What would it be called?"

Yuuki collected herself eventually, rubbing her brow as if to chase away a headache. "Cards Against Humanity. I was thinking sixteen and up for this one."

Shikamaru nodded. "If all answers are like that, I don't think kids should be playing it."

"I mean, I think it's fine if teens of all ages play it, but I don't think they should be allowed to purchase it without being ID'd basically. Typically, an adult buying it for them would usually be someone they know personally anyway and that's enough of a green light in my book," Yuuki shrugged. "I'm here for the laughs and the chaos, and this will definitely generate a lot of controversy."

"So you're adding card games to your collection now?" Shikaku asked, hoping to steer the conversation to more safe topics right before they began dinner. Yoshino would have a major fit otherwise.

"Yeah," Yuuki nodded. "I've had some ideas for a while that my friends and I have played around with, but this most recent one would be a really good way to break into the scene in my opinion. Kid games and family games are nice, but appealing to a wider market is also very smart. So having games for people to play when drinking with their friends can create a much more appealing atmosphere anywhere."

Always with that business mentality of hers. Her approach to making money was surprising for such a young person. It was almost as if she was an adult trapped in a child's body, using their life experience to make a better name for themself. If such things were possible, he would have entertained that idea by now because it would make so much sense with how Yuuki functioned as an individual.

Yoshino popped her head into the room to say, "Shikaku, come help set the table. Shikamaru-kun, Yuuki-chan, go wash your hands and then join us."

The teens nodded, heading off to do so.

Both parents watched in amusement as the two started conversing about other card game ideas Yuuki managed to come up with.

"What do you mean you decided to combine What Would You Do? with Truth or Dare?"

"Exactly that. It would be called Pick Your Poison, and then you'd have to do the thing you picked."

"No," their son stated simply.

"So cute," Yoshino murmured.

"So young," Shikaku added.

"Yuuki!"

Naruto glomped onto Yuuki the moment he noticed her door cracked open. Such action meant he was welcome to come in without knocking, and of course he was going to do just that! "I missed you!"

"I was gone for like two days."

"Two days can feel like forever when you're stuck doing boring D-Ranks!" he whined, because it was totally true. "To spice things up, we decided to break the record for the most D-Ranks undertaken in a single day and we destroyed it! -ttebayo!"

He was surprised that Sasuke and Sakura went along with it. It didn't take nearly as much whining as he thought it would. Maybe things were improving for their team.

"So what's the goal now?" Yuuki asked as she stirred her… rice stuff. "What do future brats have to look forward to?"

"Two hundred and seventeen. We beat the record by one hundred and seven missions." He was feeling very proud of that fact. "We got that money and split it three ways too! I'm going to buy so much ramen! -ttebayo!"

"And everything went well with Sakura?"

Oh, yeah. That. Of course, that was what Yuuki would be the most concerned about over anything else. "Well, it was a bit rough early in the morning since she didn't sleep well and she was still tired since she refuses to eat breakfast every day, but eventually she was able to get around and work without a problem."

There had been no arguments or snide remarks from Sakura, so nothing for Yuuki to get annoyed over. It had been a rather pleasant day, and the memories from the other Bunshin showed that Sasuke had been in a pretty good mood. Enough to smile and mess around with the Kage Bunshin he was working with.

Sasuke was so pretty when he smiled. It was so unfair!

"Make sure you use that money to get some good groceries too," Yuuki advised. "Not just ramen."

Naruto groaned. "I knoooooow. I'll be mature."

A good ninja takes care of his health and stuff like that.

"We have a new course applicant," Shizune announced once Yuuki stepped into Tsunade's office the following morning. "A lot later than all the others, but any chance for a new Iryo-Nin is appreciated no matter the time of day or season of the year."

And then she handed a tan folder to Yuuki, leaving both women to watch her like a couple of birds of prey. As if Yuuki's input mattered in this situation and her every minute reaction was important.

She flipped the file open and immediately understood. Haruno Sakura stared back at her from her shinobi forms, and the application to join the medical courses at the hospital was right below them. It seemed that whatever Naruto said to her on that mission to Nami no Kuni really struck home, so she decided to apply at the hospital.

And judging by a lack of shinobi endorsement on any of the paperwork, her sensei wasn't even involved.

Why was that man never involved in anything? He should be getting his team the training they needed and helping them get information so they can make the right choices for their careers... and he just didn't. Of everyone in Team Seven, Sakura needed the most help. Not just because she was an obsessive fangirl who didn't take being a shinobi seriously enough, but because she was from a civilian family and has less chances to acquire information before reaching Jonin status.

The one civilian who managed to get on an official team upon graduation and wasn't relegated to the Genin Corps. Her own efforts got her into such a position, and yet she wasn't getting anywhere yet because some people wouldn't do their damn jobs.

Annoying.

"So you want to know about Haruno?" Yuuki asked the two women, since it was obvious why she was being alerted to this instead of finding out one random day on shift.

Shizune nodded. "Since we don't have her Jonin Sensei's opinion, we had to go with whatever notes her Chunin Sensei from the Academy had made. However, you were in the same class as her and your best friend is on her Genin Team."

Right. Fine.

"You want personal or objective opinions because I'm going to tell as it is either way."

"How about both, but with your objective opinion first," Tsunade suggested, hands folded beneath her chin. "It'll give us much to consider before we hear about your personal thoughts on the matter."

"Okay." Yuuki could do that as it would be pretty simple. She took a deep breath and prepared herself to praise one of the most annoying people she knew. It took a lot more effort than she originally thought it would, and maybe her pettiness was a bit too strong. She'd have to inwardly deal with that some point soon.

"Haruno Sakura is very smart in topics that shinobi don't consider to be popular or important. She can remember everything she reads, so she has memorization and perfect recall are on her side. She is dangerously skilled at advanced maths and understands physics concepts unlike anyone else I've met. Her chakra control is perfect, and she rivaled Shikamaru's intelligence score if I recall correctly, which puts her on par with the Nara Clan in terms of intellectual aptitude."

Seriously, it was fricken nuts just how much aptitude the girl had.

"Sakura is the kind of person who isn't meant to be on the battlefield. She is best geared toward using her big brain to solve problems from a distance. Iryo Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Kekkai Ninjutsu, and Fuinjutsu would be the areas of study I'd recommend for her. Other shinobi pursuits that don't rely on shinobi Rank would be Recon, Cryptology, and T&I. Smart people can come up with some of the most fucked up shit. Don't let the abundance of pink and red distract you, Sakura could be very dangerous to have as an enemy the moment she chills the hell out and matures a bit."

As usual, Yuuki's frank manner of speech left her superiors gobsmacked.

Look, Yuuki really didn't like Sakura and had many personal reasons for why. Still, she could manage to be objective about someone she didn't like. It wouldn't make her feel any better to claim that Sakura was stupid or ugly because those were literally not true and even deep down, Yuuki would be fully aware of it. The effort it would take to lie to herself and others so terribly just didn't seem worth it.

She was too practical of a person to let personal grievances get in the way of anything important in life.

Medics and doctors were needed everywhere. Sakura had the potential to be great once her head was pulled from her ass. Depriving the world of another person who can save lives, all over a grudge held from school, would be foolish. Yuuki was simply too pragmatic to be that way.

"So what is your personal opinion?" Shizune asked. "How does that hold up to everything you just told us about her?"

And here came the truth.

"I think she's an asshole," Yuuki said bluntly. "My opinion is based solely on being in school with her and what I witnessed of her personally. That is it. The fangirl behavior and disrespect toward Uchiha Sasuke and the trauma he experienced, is one very big problem that needs to be handled. Her treatment of other women because her ego is weak and she cannot handle other girls being better than her at something, needs to be handled. Her vanity desperately needs to be nipped in the bud more than anything. She actively starves herself to stay thin, instead of training. She does not eat breakfast ever and half the time doesn't eat lunch because she thinks Sasuke likes skinny girls."

It was so damn annoying. And very concerning. Sakura was a kid and should never starve herself for any reason. The fact that there were people in the world with enough privilege to just decide that they don't want to eat for several meals, made Yuuki want to scream on top of it all.

"Sakura also has a history of bullying, which is what my main issue with her is. My friends don't know that I am aware of her and her fangirl group spreading rumors about me once they found out that I'm a girl, but I simply don't care about that. I care about if they targeted any of my friends, and they did. Many times. I don't like that. I especially don't like it when people lay hands on someone for no good reason."

Yuuki had to be held back from decking people many times as a result.

"My judgment stems from how Sakura treats those she thinks are below her. She has never spoken a word to me personally, but she was threatened enough to be nasty anyway despite how I'd done nothing but be decent in class and end up actually being a girl that she then went on to think was competition for Sasuke's heart. If you want to know the true measure of a man, you watch how he treats his inferiors, not his equals or his superiors. This, I have done and will always do."

Both Jonin took what Yuuki had to say very seriously. They probably wanted to know Yuuki's opinion because she went to school with Sakura and would know her better than anyone else in the hospital did.

And considering her work ethic, they valued her opinion very much, which was a nice thought. The boss and the boss's boss liked her that much.

"Now," Yuuki added before either could speak, "just because I don't like her and my experience is tainted by her many flaws, we are just freshly graduated Genin and aren't even fully grown yet. She has all the time in the world to grow up and change, and I don't want to be one of those people who claim that you can't change or leave your negative past behind. And hell, giving her a real chance when she passes the exam, could be what kicks her ass in gear." What if the harsh demands of a medic are what she finally needs to be a serious shinobi?

"'When'?" Tsunade repeated with a smirk.

"She'll pass," Yuuki said confidently. "Probably with the highest score you've ever seen." Thinking Sakura wouldn't pass was foolish. On a paper exam, she'd kill it.

Shizune hummed, taking the file back and giving it another look over. "Which person do you think would be best for her trial? Who does she look down on so much that she couldn't control her attitude and might refuse to help them even if they were injured?"

Not Naruto, despite their history. She probably disliked him still and would probably still explode and try and hit him if he acted up, but Yuuki doubted Sakura wouldn't help Naruto if he was legitimately hurt. And despite she and Ino falling out over Sasuke of all people, they were once friends and if Ino was in desperate need of care, Sakura would help and vice versa. Not even fighting over a boy's heart would stop them because they were from the same village, and they weren't villains.

"I don't think there is anyone like that," Yuuki shrugged. "She'd try for anyone. She might be a bit overly dramatic, or even mean if you're too emotionally fragile, but I don't think she would refuse to heal a shinobi from her own village or even a random civilian."

Yuuki had no idea if Sakura met people from other villages, but she didn't seem the type to ignore things like that. Even if it was just her need to be praised by authority as the driving force behind her actions.

"I see," Shizune nodded. "Very well then. We shall monitor Haruno-san closely. Thank you for your help, Yuuki-chan."

"No problem."

"As a reward, no bed pans today."

Oh, thank the Sage!

A/N: Another chapter is done!

How was it? Let me know!

Check out my other fics.

Ja ne! :D

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR. HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.