What comes next Chapter 2 Here we go again, a naruto fanfic

One by one students began to filter out the room. There was only a handful of us left, shikamaru, Choji, Ino and Miley, Genny, Hinata, Kiba and Shino. Alice was one of the only ones not here today, the girl seemed to have a knack for healing ninjutsu and pretty much got immediately transferred to the medic school. She seemed happy doing that and lord knows she's damn good at it. In fact, Genny has a knack for healing ninjutsu too. I knew a little, enough on how to clean chakra and transfer it to someone else, but nowhere near the level of precision and skill they had.

Now we just had to wait for the sensei, whoever was unlucky enough to get us to show up. One by one sensei filtered in and out, leaving us four sitting there just staring at the door. I'm not really sure when but at some point I must have drifted off to sleep.

I've learned over the years that even though I was admittedly laid back, even a little lazy, I probably would never get a decent night sleep again. There's something about becoming a ninja that turns a peaceful rest into a light sleep. You learn to perfect the art of getting rest whilst being alert and ready to go at the same time. Even after all this time, I know i'm safe here in the village. But something inside me is just uneasy.

I'd been through this before, and hadn't really intended to go through that all over again. Maybe it was naiveté but I assumed I would just transfer like Alice to work under Ibiki in the intel squad.

Looks like the Hokage had other ideas for me. I guess I could manage with this though, whilst I had a certain distain for Sakura, I would have to shut up and deal with it. Cos it looks like we've been teamed up.

Although, i'm pretty sure even if I were in a deep sleep, the condescending tone of Sakura could still snap be back to reality.

"NARUTO what are you doing?!"

I lazily opened one eye, wanting to know what was going on, and, not really wanting to know.

Saskue's eyes darted over in my direction. Although he had that same unfazed vibe, I could tell he was bored out of his mind. The smirk gave that away, even with his hands covering his face. Though I have a feeling that was more to hide it from the others.

I sighed and sat up from my temporary pillow. Geez, just how long had we been waiting my neck was killing me.

"Well its about time you woke up. Geez you all are so lazy!- Oh, I didn't mean you Sasuke"

I couldn't help but groan, was she gonna be like this all the time. This is gonna be a massive pain in the ass.

It's rare someone's louder than Naruto, but Sakura was doing a pretty damn good job of it. Speaking of which, said troublemaker was currently inserting the blackboard eraser in-between the door.

I chuckled, Naruto was always gonna be Naruto.

Sakura's attention turned back to the young boy, once again, scolding him. I felt a pang of pity for him but he put the damn eraser there he can deal with the consequences.

Stretching didn't seem to help, my neck still hurting and bones clicking when they definitely shouldn't have, classrooms were definitely not designed for sleeping. How the heck does Shikamaru fall asleep here all the time?

I went over to the window, leaning out for some fresh air and stretching a little more. Going by the clock we'd been waiting for at least an hour, and I was starting to wonder if we're actually gonna get a sensei. At least watching the world go by outside would kill a little more time, besides, I think Sakura shot down any sort of chance of falling back asleep.

As luck would have it, as soon as that thought would finish the door slid open, and whilst I wasn't even facing that direction the sound of the eraser hitting a surface then bouncing onto the floor, followed by Naruto's laughter indicated his little prank worked. Interesting.

Not many jonin would let a newbie get away with that.

I turned around to see a familiar figure, a tall man with a white spiked hair stepped in. I didn't need to see his face to know who it was, even if it wasn't covered up.

Kakashi?

Thats… an interesting choice. I'd heard he never passes his students. Well, at least thats what the chunin said. Over the years I'd weaselled my way through every back street in Konoha, scouted every corner and found some interesting spots. One of which, was a hidden entrance to the intelligence division, and much to the distain of Ibiki, I kept finding my way back there. It was a fun little game to play to pass the time and a way to test my senses.

The look on his face when a six year old was wandering around T , well, lets just say I've never seen that look since, no matter how many times I've tried to surprise him over the years, Ibiki Morino was not a man who would be startled easily. Believe me, I've tried many, many times.

But it was a fun little game we had. I found a secret entrance, they'd block it and make a new one. I would leave little clues and notes around the office, then sneak out or hide. It got to a point where Izumo or Kotetsu's sole job for the day would be to shadow me and find out how exactly I was sneaking in. Having security issues for the intelligence division was less than ideal. If a child could get in, who else could find it. But, I am pretty damn good at manipulating chakra, even then I could feel the natural flow of chakra around me, so when say, a walls chakra was disrupted with something foreign or artificial such as, a hidden door… well… its easy once you know what to look for, and impossible to hide the signs. Apparently, being able to sense natural chakra is rare, so it's not really an issue.

Although it did annoy them.

In the end the entire division gave up, and I spent most of my free time there. They almost became a second family and I was pretty set on joining there, once I graduated.

So now, as I looked at Kakashi sensei, I felt a whirlwind of different emotions. I liked Kakashi, don't get me wrong, he was the first person we met when we arrived. He led us to the Hokage and if we didn't find him I wouldn't even be here right now, but, there was an air about him of just… I dunno. I can't put my finger on it.

"How do I put this…. I hate you all"

Wow. Yea ok, this is gonna be interesting.

"Are you sure this is right for her, she spends most of her time with us anyway?"

Ibiki looked at the Hokage, he didn't like to question the man, but he knows Mika. Completely, better than most, and once the girl had her mind set, there was no shaking her out of it.

He knows. He's tried.

"Are you questioning my decision? Think about what's best for her. If she's as set as you claim in joining your division Ibiki, she will do so, however she needs time with friends. She's been distancing herself recently. I believe this is what's best for her."

There was an awkward silence settling over the room. Both men were unyielding in their conviction. Both wanted what was best for the girl, and Ibiki wondered if he would ever truly feel okay with letting her loose. Not that she couldn't take care of herself, he taught her enough to get through that, well, whatever Talim hadn't already. But still, what if she got hurt again, was she truly ready for this?

The conflict of wether to trust his judgement or to go with his own instincts rattled the man. The air was getting thicker, hotter with discontent.

if only for a moment, the knock on the door shook it away briefly.

"Lord Hokage, you wished to see me?"

Iruka was tired, the stress and worry of sending his students off to start their journey, even though he had full confidence in their capabilities as ninja, sending them out into the world never got easier. Especially this class. Had he done enough? Would they be okay?

Would Naruto be okay?

"Ah, Iruka, yes come in. So how did it go?"

A pang of guilt hit Iruka, he stayed with the last group as long as he could but Kakashi had a tendency to always be late, annoyingly so. The Hokage called, so he begrudgingly left.

"Ah, yes well.. you see.. most students were sent off, except.."

The Hokage gave a sad smile, drawing on his pipe, knowing exactly where Iruka was going with this "except Kakashi's group, yes don't worry. As I was telling Ibiki here, things will work out. Trust me"

Ibiki sighed, clearly he wasn't going to get anywhere with this and even as the Hokage chuckled, even with his uncertainty with the girl, there was a warmth and certainty to the old man that was undeniable and hard to question.

"They need each other, together they will forge the path to becoming a ninja. Don't worry in time she will find her way back to the division."

"Thats not what i'm worried about, she's a magnet for trouble"

The Hokage chuckled, knowing full well what Ibiki meant, the bluntness wasn't unusual for the man, but the concern for his pupil however, thats far odder behaviour for the head of T . He never really believed Talim when she said there's something different about teaching a student, he never even considered taking on a pupil, some people just aren't fit for becoming a teacher and Ibiki believed himself to be one of them. But when Mika bounced down the halls of his division he was intrigued, curiosity lead to amusement, days and eventually weeks of her sneaking in, leaving notes, upturning the entire division lead to him teaching and caring for the girl.

"lets hope their sensei can deal with it then. Don't worry Ibiki, she will be fine you have my word"

"Yes sir"

Kakashi had us gather on the roof, I really didn't see the point of moving from a classroom to an area outside, its not like there was anyone else left anyway.

We covered introductions, although Kakashi glossed over himself, and we where promptly informed of our first mission. It was veiled with a threat of sickness, which was clearly a red herring to make it more difficult on the group. If this is how lethal he is with new genin no wonder nobody ever has passed his test before.

"Don't eat or you'll puke… dismissed"

And with that he poofed away.

"We're gonna crush this first mission, believe it!"

As annoying as he could be, the kid's enthusiasm was infectious. A sense of nostalgia hit, followed by a wave of sadness. Was this feeling ever gonna go away?

"Hey, Mika, you wanna go grab some ramen?"

"Ah. Sorry Naruto I promised auntie Yoshino i would help with dinner tonight. I uh, could ask if we all could go together but."

The look on his face sent wave of guilt over me, I looked over to Saskue, who was already walking away. Traitor. He could at least act like he wanted to be part of this group.

"Hey listen, i'm staying at Shika's tonight, sorry but if I don't go I won't hear the end of it, but we can meet tomorrow on the way to our first mission, and I promise, ramen as my treat to celebrate, kay?"

The boys mood was elated "You mean it, your treat! AWESOME"

I begrudgingly turned to Sakura, I suppose I had to start trying to make an effort.

"Of course you and Sasuke are invited too, we are a team now. But anyway lets get through the mission first".

Sakura didn't seem sure at first, but the idea of sharing a meal with Sasuke won her over, we said our goodbyes and I headed back to the clan.

There was a heaviness I couldn't shake. I'd been in this position before, images of my old team flashed by like ghosts haunting me on the road up to the mountains. back when we first arrived I along with the other girls were put on special teams, extra curriculum to get us up to speed with chakra usage. It seemed like the best idea at the time, given the fact we came from a world with no chakra, or even ninja for that matter, at all.

Was this why Shikamaru was so insistent I stayed over tonight.

It didn't appear like he was gave a damn about anything other than sleeping or shogi, at least to anyone not paying attention. But he was shrewd, and incredibly caring. Sensitive even and he was one of the only people in this world who I could not for the life of me, keep a secret from even if I wanted to.

Maybe he's just smart enough to see through my bullshit.

Either way I need to shake off this mood coming over me. No matter how many times that god awful night comes back into my mind, it's different now. Saskue's in the team, even though we gotta watch out for Nartuo… and Sakura to an extent too, though give the girl credit she's pretty damn smart even if she's smitten for Sasuke.

Things are different now. So why am I freaking out about this. I found myself hesitating to open the damn door to the house. I just stood there, for a few seconds, for a minute who knows. My senses heightened of their own accord. Next door was unusually quiet, no sound of my mother normally banging about or creating some sort of argument, so they're probably out. Who knows maybe they're off arguing with the Hokage, although I'm pretty sure they've given up at this point to change my mind about what I'm doing at any given time. Im gonna be a ninja. I am a ninja, my path is set. My mind is set.

I must have spaced out, long enough for uncle Shikaku to open the door with an amused look on his face. I could see his gaze out of the corner of me eye following my vision.

"its… unusually quiet tonight, they've gone out huh?"

The man nodded in response, the amusement leaving his face, "yes, why don't you come in"

There was an unspoken acknowledgement there, I was thankful that he never pushed or lingered on the conversation, but he always listened. He never judged, he listened and was always there to give advice when I asked.

Its funny, but now I look back, I probably spent more time here than I did in my own home, even though its right next door. But here I was never judged. Never criticised. well… aunt Yoshino had opinions but there was a.. I dunno a love behind everything, like there was never a true harshness or spitefulness behind the intention there. Here I could relax and be more of myself, I didn't have to have a guard up or be on edge all the time, it was nice.

There was a sweet smell in the air and I felt a little betrayed. "Auntieeee you started cooking without me come on!"

I slipped off my shoes and headed into the kitchen, Shikaku chuckling behind me. Cooking was something I never really cared for, but its a basic skill needed for ninja, and I was awful at it. To tell the truth I still am not that great, and asking my mother for help would only end up in an argument no matter how many times I asked. So I asked her, she happily accepted the help, and in return taught me how to cook. Before I knew it, it got late and I would end up staying over and even helping with breakfasts too. Much to the dismay of Shikamaru as naturally, he ended up being dragged into helping too.

"Well you're late, but not late enough to help out come here!"

I got a brief but warm hug before I was put to work. Of course, Shikamaru was nowhere to be seen, well until a bit later. After all the hard work was done. There was light chatter and endless questions in-between prepping for dinner and the cooking. We made tea and small talk, how was my new sensei and what was my team like. Im assuming it was obvious who Shikamaru's team were but he probably got grilled as soon as he walked through the door.

There was a slight stiffness to Yoshino when I mentioned about Naruto, a stern, unsure look on her face but she said nothing. And I was grateful for it. For whatever opinion she held of Naruto she never bad mouthed him or said anything negative, at least not around me. She knew we were friends and like I said whatever opinion she had of him she never said anything negative about him to me, neither my aunt nor uncle did and for that, I respected them immensely.

"Hey so, how'd it go?"

A lazy figure leaned against the doorway, hands shoved in pockets with a smirk across his face.

"good. I guess? I mean our sensei is a bit…uh…extra"

He seemed amused by the statement, turning into the room and pulling up a chair "oh yeah, how so?"

I explained the earlier events and how we're not supposed to eat breakfast, it's kinda extreme but training under Ibiki for so long, well lets just say i've had worse thrown at me.

I was trained well enough to spot a bluff when I see one.

"Seriously you can't eat anything, Asuma sensei just fought all of us and we passed. That seems.. a little extreme"

"Yes well, Kakashi has… high standards" Shikaku butted in the conversation, seemingly amused by our antics, although probably because Shikamaru doesn't typically hold any particular interest in most anything other than strategy or shogi.

I nodded along "from what I've heard no ones actually passed his test"

Shikamaru's eyes went wide, a small moment of panic maybe erupting on his face, if I didn't pass and was sent back to the academy, but he made genin…

"Don't worry we won't fail, we got Saskue on the team. To be honest I'm kinda bummed they didn't team us up"

"They probably didn't want two lazy genin on the same team!" Yoshino leaned out the kitchen with a stern look on her face. well. She's not wrong.

"Hah yea i'm pretty sure no sensei in the Leaf could deal with the both of us together eh?"

He scoffed the typical Shikamaru scoff and headed into the living room, looking back as an invitation. "Troublesome woman, you coming or not"

Yoshino was currently washing up but waved me off "go ahead I got this, you need to rest up for tomorrow. And I don't care what your sensei says you're eating!"

There it was again, a warmth to her voice, to this place that made me chuckle. I could let my hair down here and relax. "Okay okay I wasn't planning on starving myself i'm pretty sure he's messing with us to make it more difficult. Besides there's no way i'd turn down breakfast here, even if his test makes me ill"

"Quit it will ya, complimenting my mother isn't gonna work"

On the contrary, I found Yoshino to be sweet and caring, especially if you show appreciation.

"Alright i'm coming! hold on" I followed into the room giving the two amused adults a wink. There's no way I would ever not pass up the chance to tease him, if only a little.

"So, you're on a team with Naruto huh"

He moved another piece, it was weird. This isn't the way he usually plays.

"Uh huh"

Click

I moved in response

"And Sasuke"

Click

"And you're on a team with Choji, Ino and Miley, what's your point Shikamaru"

Click

Where's he going with this?

The boy sighed and looked up, for the first time in a long, long time he turned his attention away from the game.

"Look I… just be careful okay"

He looked serious. Like he was calculating his words more so than focusing on the game in front of us. I hadn't seen him this way in a while. My eyebrow arched, almost of its own accord.

"And since when have I not been careful. Besides from what I heard of Kakashi, if we do pass…"

Click

I moved another piece on the board, trying to be reassuring as I can.

Although he doesn't necessarily show it, he does care, I know that. This was his way of making sure we were okay. Making sure I was okay.

And I am, at least I feel that way most of the time, and its gonna take a long time to feel completely okay, but i've been working on it.

"He's probably one of if not the best jonin in the village. We'll be completely fine"

He leaned forward staring me dead in the eyes, now completely ignoring the game. It's incredibly uncharacteristic of him and it was starting to put me on edge.

"But you're not completely fine, and you need to be. We're genin now and look Naruto.. gets himself into trouble a lot and-

He cut himself off, wether its to stop himself from badmouthing him or to gather his thoughts I don't know. Where the heck is he going with this.

"Look I, I know we're cousins but, to be honest you're kind of more like a sister and I- just don't let him drag you into any mess ok. Cos if you get hurt then i'm gonna have to butt in and it'll be a drag."

Seriously. Thats what was bothering him?

There was a moment of silence, I took it in and he sat there and waited.

"So can I call you nii-chan then?"

The question seemed to catch him off guard, like he was expecting a hundred different things to come out of my mouth and that was not one of them

"I uh, well I mean I. Huh thats not what I meant but I guess.. if you wanted to then…sure"

The boy fumbled over his words, scratching the back of his head, his gaze turned back to the board but wait… was he blushing?

"Well then I guess it's your turn niii-chan. And yes I know, but you promise too. We're not on the same squad so yo look after your team AND yourself, and Sasuke and I will mine, deal?"

Click

He was still blushing but seemed satisfied enough with the conversation.

"Troublesome woman"

It was a shock when she walked in. Not as bad as before, but still, Mika had a look about her, a look in her eyes that gave it away. Yoshino knew it well. Better than the girls own parents, she did after all spend more time here than at home and she grew rather close with her niece.

Shikamaru had grown closer to her too, and though he wouldn't show it there was a certain protectiveness towards her that was uncharacteristic of her son. It was a shame and she was slightly disappointed though she would never show it in front of them, that they weren't on the same team.

Mika had a liveliness to her that was unusual to someone of the Nara clan, but maybe that was due to growing up in a different world. Then again, there were times when she was undeniably a part of this family and it warmed her that however far away from home she might have been, a part of the village and of the family still rooted itself deep within her. Talim would be happy, even a little proud.

"Auntieeee you started cooking without me come on!"

The girls voice had a warm tone but her eyes gave it away, something was eating away at her. So, she did the one thing she knew to get her out of a funk, put her to work.

"Well you're late, but not late enough to help out come here!"

Even if her son was nowhere around to help, he would appear eventually. Her husband chuckled at the scene and started small idle conversation whilst the she and Mika got to work making dinner.

It was nice, Yoshino learned to treasure these small moments. The house would seem so empty when they were all out. But they would return, and when they would she would be here, for them all.

Besides Mika's younger brother had started to drift over, following his sisters footsteps. Perhaps it was for a break, perhaps it was to be like her, or just to get out of that noisy, unruly house. Either way it was nice having the company. He was a sweet boy, but nothing like her son or Mika. But even so, still nice to have someone different around.

Although it was an awful thought, and whilst she was definitely not alone in the sentiment, there was a pang or worry when Mika explained she was on a team with Naruto. The boy was as unruly as his mother, but thats not what was worrying her. What if the fox got out, what if they got hurt, both her and Naruto.

But it would be fine, it had to be. Besides, they have Kakashi to watch them, and if something did happen, there would be hell to pay, she'd make sure of it.

"Look I… just be careful okay"

She didn't mean to earwig. Years of training and living as not only a ninja, but as part of a clan of ninja made her constantly in tune to her surroundings, no matter how long it had been since she'd been on a mission. Those instincts wouldn't just go away. But regardless, she heard it. Going by the bemused look on Shikaku's face, he heard it too.

It was just too uncharacteristic of her son that she couldn't help but listen in, still scrubbing the last dish in the sink, if anything to keep doing something instead of being obvious.

"And since when have I not been careful. Besides from what I heard of Kakashi, if we do pass…"

"Listening in, come on now" Shikaku took the plate from her and started drying it, clearly amused.

"I… i'm just worried"

She couldn't help it, they were growing up, fast. Where they even ready for this?

"I know, but, they need to learn, to make their own mistakes. They're good kids, they'll be just fine. Besides, they're only genin."

He was right. He always is. And maybe she just needed to hear it, maybe he just always knew how to put her at ease but she felt better. They were good kids, smart kids. But she's a mother, there will always be a nagging, worried little voice always there. But he makes it easier to deal with.

A feeling of pride washed over her, they were gonna be fine. Shikaku just stood there watching her, smiling.

"Hey you're listening in too, aren't you!" She hissed back at him accusingly

"Well I uh-

"So can I call you nii-chan then?"

They both got caught up in the conversation, so uncharacteristic of the kids, and yet, heartwarming. They were gonna be just fine.