Want to know how I got these scars? Good for you, it's none of your business.-H.M.L(Me!).
Naruko sat up in horror at the memory of what had happened.
She looked around at the people in the room. Jiji, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Iruka and Anko.
"Naruko! Are you alright?! Can you tell us what happened?" Iruka asked in worry. HIs hands were checking her temperature, making sure she was okay.
Naruko looked over to see Sasuke laying on a bed. Looking around, she noticed that they were in their room. She pointed to a spot on the floor and said, "A large snake appeared over there and Orochimaru slithered out of it! He attacked Sasuke, and I used Hiraishin to get him away from the creep. I then used it again, but Orochimaru must have some experience with it, cause he got me, then Sasuke."
The adults looked at each other. Jiraiya stepped forward, "Did he say anything?"
Naruko nodded, "Yeah, he said that he came for us. That he was taking us with him because he was going to give us power. Power because, I wanted to get power as soon as possible and Sasuke because he wants to kill his brother."
"WHAT?!"
Naruko shook her head, "I have no idea where he got it from! When I decided to become the most powerful ninja to ever exist, I knew that is was going to take a lot of work! Like I told Konohamaru regarding the seat of Hokage, there are no short cuts! Right now I'm at Chunin level, maybe a Tokubetsu Jonin, which for fourteen years and only graduation two months ago, that's pretty good. But I have a long way to go. Short cut my ass!"
The Hokage smiled at her conviction. "And what he said about Sasuke?" he asked.
Naruko rolled her eyes, "Not true. Sasuke's only goal in life is to best Itachi in a spar. He doesn't have anything else planned."
Jiraiya coughed out something that sounded like, 'marrying you', but she decided to ignore him.
She continued, "Orochimaru seemed sure of what he was saying. I was trying to divide his attention so I could think up something, so I called him a pedophile, which he wasn't happy about and then explained how he had a history of kidnapping children. With that I threatened to tell everyone he was here and Hiraishied to Iruka-sensei, because I had put a seal on him when I entered the tower."
"This is bad. What could that damn snake want here?" Tsunade frowned as she folded her arms.
"It's not good, I can tell," Jiraiya said. "The Fuja Hoin is used to seal a technique induced marks. For a weak seal, it can suppress the power completely. But, Ten no Juin is too powerful to seal away completely. Instead the Fuja Hoin converts itself while weakening the seal so that it can't overtake the victim easily. It allows the seals power to rely on the will of the person marked. If they decide not to use it, the power of the mark won't affect them. That is why Anko isn't affected by hers. She doesn't have the bloodlust and hunger for power to use such a seal."
Naruko huffed, "It was painful, even in my mind. Orochimaru was there, when Kyuubi was trying to get rid of the seal. Some part of him was in the seal and he was all proud. But then Kyuubi felt the power of the seal drop and she said she could get rid of it. Orochimaru's smugness changed and he was all, 'there's no one in the village with enough mastery of Fuuinjutsu to destroy the seal'. When I told him Ba-chan and Ero Sennin were here, he got worried. As Kyuubi destroyed he rest, he began screaming about how he had found a 'good body'. Then he was gone."
The adults sighed. Jiraiya shook his head, "He wasn't using you as an experiment. My spy network told me that he perfected his seals years ago. So, he needed you and Sasuke for something. What did he look like?"
"Well, all I can say, is that you, Ero Sennin, are the only Sannin to grow old gracefully. Ba-chan looks twenty and so does Orochimaru. The difference is, Orochimaru wasn't under a Genjutsu. So, he's done something to appear so young," Naruko explained.
She sat up, realizing that she was only in her sports bra and the top part of her mask, that reached from the middle of her neck to the bridge of her nose. The material of her top was bunched up around her neck and she shivered at the coldness in the room.
She ignored her lack of clothes in favor of Sasuke, "Why isn't he waking up yet?"
Jiraiya sighed, "Unlike you, he doesn't have a demon inside him, so his recovery and healing rate isn't like yours. Also, his seal will remain, unlike yours, because he doesn't have a demon to destroy it once it's weakened. He'll wake up by tomorrow, don't worry."
She frowned, "So, I'm hickey free?"
They all nodded and Jiraiya smiled, "You're lucky. From what I know of the seal, it's designed to give the bearer an increase of chakra and a foreign power. Apparently, part of Orochimaru's soul enters the body with the seal. That was what you saw in your mind. It was to slowly take over your mind."
Naruko was disgusted, "So, the pedophiliac hebi's soul is molesting Sasuke's mind right now?"
Everyone cracked a smile at the question. Anko even laughed, but they all nodded.
"Basically," Jiraiya nodded.
"Gross! So, there's no way to get rid of it?" Naruko asked, eyeing Sasuke's shirtless form. He was pretty well built for a fourteen year old. She shook her head and frowned. Now she was being a pervert.
The adults frowned, "No."
She sighed. Orochimaru just had to come in a fuck everything up! She wondered where he got his info. Whoever told him about she and Sasuke, obviously weren't as smart as they thought they were.
"How long has it been since we got here?" she asked after a moment of silence.
"Five hours," Anko answered.
"Anyone else show up yet?"
"Nope! You killed the record. If anyone ever beats 29 minutes and 34 seconds, I'll drop dead."
Naruko snickered, "I'm lucky my father put a seal on the tower door. Otherwise, it would've taken too long."
BOOM!
Ankos eyes widened and she ran to the window, Naruko was right with her. They peered outside to see a gaping hole and debris everywhere. Some limbs scattered over the area.
Naruko started to laugh, "It worked! I can't believe it worked!"
Anko backed up and looked the blonde in the eye. "What just happened?" she asked.
Naruko took a deep breath, "When we got to the tower, I created a bunch of Kage Bunshin and gave them a bag of ninja wire and explosives. I then ordered them to make it a minefield out there and to make as many traps as they could. Someone just suffered because they weren't vigilant."
Anko grinned, "That was a great idea. I just hope i wasn't someone you know or are friends with."
Naruko waved her off, "All of my friends are smart. Hinata and Neji would see them with the Byakugan. Kiba would smell the explosives. Shikamaru and Shino would notice the dug up earth. Sai would use his paint birds to get here and with his previous training, he's good at spotting detail. Lee is fast. His speed would most likely get him over without a problem. Everyone else is on their own because I could care less what happened to the other participants."
Everyone but Iruka was grinning at her explanation. Iruka was praying that no one else got hurt.
The bedroom door opened and a Chunin ran in, "Anko, another team just made it!"
Anko grinned, "Maybe they took great care where to step if they saw that explosion!"
The man nodded, "Yes, the boy used his sand to fly him and his partner over the area."
Naruko looked up at that. Boy with sand? It was Gaara and Hinata!
"Can I get dressed now?" she asked.
The adults filed out of the room and she gathered her clothes and went into the bathroom. After she was dressed, minus the breastplate, and put Kubikiribocho at her back just incase, she turned the light in the main off and left to find her friend. Two guards that were outside, waiting to go in the room, told her that Sasuke would be fine.
She returned to the entrance room of the tower to see Hinata shaking like a leaf and Gaara staring at her like she was a piece of meat.
Once Hinata saw her, she ran over and threw her arms around her friend.
"You okay? Do I need to kick his ass?" Naruko asked, rubbing the girls back.
Hinata took a deep breath as her shaking subsided. "N-no. H-he's just very un-n-nerving," the girl stuttered.
Naruko sighed, "I hate to tell you this, but better you find out now. Teams have to share rooms."
The Hyuga heiress went paler than Sasuke and gave a loud "Eeep!"
BOOM!
Naruko threw her hands up and screamed, "YES!"
Hinata gave her a horrified look, so she elaborated. "When we got here, I made a thousand Kage Bunshin and gave them a bag of explosives and ninja wire. They rigged the outside up, to stop the competition. If they get hurt right before they walk in, they can't continue."
"Y-you w-were the one w-who did that?"
Naruko nodded, proud of her efforts.
Iruka walked into the room from a door that was off the side. "There is a cafeteria downstairs if you're hungry," he told them, before he disappeared through another door.
Naruko grabbed Hinata's hand and looked back at Gaara, who was still staring at the Hyuga heiress.
"You can come if you want."
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Sasuke wasn't happy when he finally woke up. He demanded to know what had happened and was pissed when the Hokage and Jiraiya explained it to him. He was even angrier at the fact that they couldn't remove the seal and that Orochimaru thought he wanted to kill his brother!
They had to explain to him why Naruko couldn't use Kyuubi's chakra to remove it, because he wasn't born a Jinchuuriki. Biju chakra was dangerous to anyone who wasn't a Jinchuuriki and none of them felt like risking his health or his career.
The wait for the other teams was boring. There wasn't much to do besides eating and sparring. Naruko even brought the keyboard out several times, but that getting old fast. When the Second Exam was finally over, the Genin that had made it, rejoiced with loud cheers.
They were grouped into the largest room there. The arena. With two monitors on either side of a statute that depicted the Hitsuji hand sign, and two balconies for fighters to wait their turn.
The teams were lined up before the Hokage, some Anbu, the Jonin sensei of the teams competing and the Chunin Exam proctors.
Anko gave an announcement. "I'm depressed that there are so many who made it through. Half of the people who started this exam, actually passed. That is thirty people! The first time in the history of anyChunin Exams. Though I'm sad that you aren't in the single digits, I'll admit, I'm impressed. Now look alive! Hokage-sama has a few words for you all!" she glared, turning to the old man.
"I'd like to congratulate you all for making it through!"
Naruko looked around the room. Checking out the competition. Half of the remaining ninja were from Konoha. And more than half of those were the Rookie Eight! The rookies were proving to be tough competition it seemed and Naruko felt pride for her friends and a little for Ino.
Jiji was talking about the exams being a replacement for war. How they were a way for other countries to see the potential of each others ninja.
"I'm sorry to inform you, but we need to have a Preliminary Round."
Everyone straightened up at that.
"WHAT?!"
The Hokage just gave a seene smile, "Yes. There are way too many to move on to the Third Exam. A preliminary round can be held at any time if the proctor feels that there are too many too continue. Your Third Exam proctor feels this way and he will judge the prelims as of right now!" The old shinobi gestured to a sickly looking Jonin who had stepped forward.
"I am Gekko Hayate," cough cough "the proctor for the Third Exam." cough cough "These screens above the arena," cough cough "will randomly choose two names and the people chosen will fight a battle." cough cough "I'll end the battle when I see that," cough cough "one is incapacitated, unconscious or death has occurred." cough cough "Do not argue with my verdict. The first two fighters will be chosen now," he finished with a few more coughs.
Sai/Osore.
Osore was an Iwa ninja, who was quite large and imposing. Sai wasn't affected.
Naruko looked over to Sai and gave him a smile, which he returned, though it was small. His time spent with Ino, gave him some insight to emotions and he had admitted that he was relieved to see his teammates once again. Apparently Ino had tried to make a move and kept talking about herself and how great she was and that he should go out with her.
Everyone went up to the balconies to watch the matches. Naruko was interested in seeing the competitions abilities. She and Sasuke made an agreement to not show off too much, so they could leave the others in suspense.
Sai and Osore stood a few feet away from each other. Hayate raised a hand, "Hajime!"
Osore rushed forward, with his fist pulled back. He wasn't very fast though and Sai jumped high, flipping around to stand on the ceiling. He reached into his pouch and pulled a scroll. He then released a much larger scroll from that one and lay it out on the ceiling. The enormous paintbrush he used, was the size of his body.
Sai started to paint, ignoring Osore's threats. Osore never moved to attack or even jump to try and catch Sai. This gave Sai the time he needed to finish what he was painting on the large scroll. He finished a moment later and made a hand sign.
"Fuuinjutsu: Koshi Tandan."
A large, detailed tiger rose from the scroll and lunged, catching his shoulder in its massive maw. It began retreating back into the scroll, taking Osore with it. Both sank into the scroll and Sai gave a fake smile when a painting of a large tiger pinning Osore to the ground appeared on the blank area for everyone to see. Sai the put his supplies away and jumped down to the floor, giving Hayate an expectant look.
The man coughed a bit before saying, "Shosha: Sai!"
Sai ink Shunshined to Naruko's side.
"He's never coming out is he?" she asked.
"No, it's permanent. I've never been able to use that Jutsu, because I needed to understand emotions better. I do now, and I wanted to see if it worked. I believe I am, happy that it succeeded." he answered.
Kakashi, who had joined his Genin patted the former Root operative on the back, "Good job."
"Thank you."
The monitors showed two more names.
Sasuke Uchiha/Ayame Hosei.
Sasuke smirked when he saw his opponent. It was a tall, lanky man. A man named, Ayame. Ayame was a Takigakure ninja, who looked to be built for speed.
The match started and Sasuke waited for Ayame to do something. Ayame just stood there and Sasuke watched his every move. He felt something strange and activated his Sharingan briefly to cancel the Genjutsu, before shutting it off. No one had seen him use it.
He stood there as if still in the Genjutsu and watched as Ayame moved forward. Taking his time. He didn't move, not letting on that he was free.
When the Taki ninja was a foot away, Sasuke reacted and landed a spinning kick to the mans jaw. The force of the hit and the small distance between them, made the hit more effective and Ayame landed on the floor. Sasuke was there in a second with a kunai to the ninja's throat.
"Forfeit."
He dug the blade into Ayame's skin and the man gave up.
"Shosha: Sasuke Uchiha!"
Sasuke Shunshined to Naruko's side with a smirk. She smirked back, "Feeling good?"
He gave a shrug, "I could be feeling better."
The next match was ridiculous as Shikamaru took an Oto ninja to the cleaners. He had her beaten in a couple of moves and she didn't even know it. She just kept bragging about herself and then she was caught and everything she had said, became a joke.
"Shosha: Shikamaru Nara!"
Naruko looked at the screen as it ran through the next fighters.
Sabaku no Temari/Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze.
The two kunoichi jumped into the arena and faced each other.
"You're a wind user," Naruko stated, looking at the large fan on her opponents back.
"Yep." Temari answered.
Naruko sighed, "So am I."
Hayate looked between them, "Hajime!" He jumped away quickly, to avoid any damage.
Temari whipped her fan out and swung it toward Naruko, unleashing a strong gust of wind.
Naruko pulled Kubikiribocho off her back, charged it with wind chakra and sliced through the wind like it was butter.
Temari held out her fan, which had a purple circle on it, "One star."
She swung the fan again and Naruko retaliated in the same manner.
She flipped the fan over, and another circle joined the first, "Two stars."
The same thing as before.
Temari smirked as a final star joined the other two. "Three stars! Kamaitachi no Jutsu!"
This wave was far worse than the others, nearly sweeping Naruko off her feet. She was smart to make sure she was glued to the floor when Temari had let her jutsu loose and even covered her body in a thick layer of wind chakra to avoid injury from the slicing gale.
Naruko Shunshined, and swung her sword at Temari who turned in time to block with her fan. The problem, was that Naruko was using her weapon one handed and was focusing chakra into her left hand, "Kaze no Yaiba!" She plunged the attack into Temari's right shoulder, feeling the muscle tear and sever upon contact.
Temari reeled back and fell to the ground, dropping her fan in the process. The weight of the object, creating a dent in the floor.
Naruko stood a couple feet away, waiting for the next move.
Temari's shoulder was bleeding severely, soaking the material of her battle kimono.
"If I attack you there again, your arm will come off. Of maybe I'll attack the other arm. You know, so you match," Naruko suggested, raising her sword again.
Temari paled as she held her arm. She stood slowly, picking the fan up with her left hand and whipping it to the side, "Kamaitachi no Jutsu!"
Naruko slammed the large sword into the ground, shielding herself from the attack as she made a Kage Bunshin. They made some hand signs and ran out from behind the weapon. "Futon: Kamikaze!" "Katon: Habishiri!"
The two jutsu combined to create three medium sized fire tornados. Temari moved to grab her fan with her bad arm and flinched, dropping it for the second time. The tornado's surrounded her, spinning around her form. Not touching, but still damaging as the oxygen was being sucked from the air.
Temari collapsed, gasping for air.
"Forfeit!" Naruko called out.
The girl refused to, even though she couldn't breath. The tornado's began closing in and Naruko looked toward Hayate.
He nodded and she stopped the jutsu. "Shosha: Naruko Uzumaki Namikaze!"
Medics came in a carried an unconscious Temari out of the room.
Shino Aburame/Miwa Torumei.
Naruko groaned at the boringness of this particular battle. All Shino had to do, was show one of his Kikaichu and the girl gave up.
The next match was between Neji and some Kisuke guy who lost horribly because he underestimated the Hyuga. Neji delivered a chakra filled palm thrust to the mans chest. He was pronounced dead when the medics came to get him.
Sabaku no Kankuro/Choji Akimichi.
Choji himself was about to give up when his sensei, Asuma offered to buy him barbeque if he did his best. A silly bribe, but it worked nonetheless and Choji actually vaulted the balcony and told the Suna ninja to bring it on.
Kankuro rolled his eyes.
"Hajime!"
"What do you think you can do against me fatty?!" Kankuro taunted with a smirk.
The air froze and Naruko glared at the puppet user, "You deserve what come to you now, clown!"
"Baika no Jutsu!" Choji's body expanded to the size of a ball, as he pulled his arms and legs in. He started to spin, "Nikudan Sensha!"
Kankuro wasn't expecting this fromt he 'fatty' and didn't have time to dodge. Choji's rolling body slammed into Kankuro, pushing him against the wall and crushing him.
Choji stopped spinning and jumped back. Every gaped when they saw Kankuro's body in pieces. The bundle that he's been holding, moved and the bandages unraveled, revealing the real Kankuro, who looked pissed.
"You fat asshole! You broke Karasu!"
Choji glared and made a sign, "Bubun Baika no Jutsu!" His body grew and his arms swelled. He brought his left arm back, and slammed it into the ground in front of Kankuro, making him lose balance. He then brought his right arm down on the Suna Genin, slamming him into the ground and crushing him on impact.
When Choji's body returned to normal, Kankuro was revealed to be unconscious in his own crater.
"Wow. The Suna ninja aren't as strong as we thought!" Ino said, really loudly.
Naruko turned to glare at her, immediately putting the other blonde on edge.
"Watch what you say. Gaara is on a different level than his siblings. In fact, he's a Jinchuuriki like me," Naruko explained. Ino paled at the news. Naruko nodded, "And unlike me, he isn't sane."
Everyone took the hint quite well. Don't piss the redhead off.
"Shosha: Choji Akimichi!"
Rock Lee/Shigure.
Hayate began the battle between the Taijutsu specialist and the Ame ninja.
Shigure threw one of his umbrellas in the air and many senbon rained down on the arena. Lee was nowhere in sight though. Shigure had no time to react as Lee appeared beneath him, kicking him under the chin and forcing him upward. He then used Kage Buyo to follow the movements. The wrappings on his arms began covering Shigure and they started falling, heads first. Lee slammed him into the ground and back flipped away.
His breathing was extremely ragged as he held him arm. Shigure didn't move and Lee was announced the winner.
Gai and Lee then embraced, promising to run a thousand laps around the village in celebration.
Yugito Nii/TenTen Hakoda.
"Hajime!"
Yugito was on the move, "Nezumi Kedama!"
Several little flaming mouses burst from her mouth and TenTen tried to unseal something from a scroll, but was too late as the mice got too close and exploded, sending her flying back and into the wall. That was the end of the battle.
TenTen was carted off to the medic ward and Yugito jumped up to the balcony next to her sensei.
The next combatants were chosen. Hinata Hyuga/Misumi Tsurugi.
Naruko patted Hinata on the back, "Good luck. Kick his ass."
Hinata straightened and flipped over the railing, landing in the main Juken stance. Misumi joined her a second later and Hayate began the match.
Misumi ran forward with a kunai. Hinata activated her Byakugan and dodged his attack, hitting him in the neck before she stepped away. He cracked his neck and attacked again.
Hinata moved, but his foot wrapped around hers and his body began to stretch. Soon Hinata was caught in a full nelson, as her opponents body wound around hers. He began squeezing and she gasped.
"Come on Hinata!" Naruko yelled.
The Hyuga heiress took a deep breath and reached her arms back, showing her flexibility. With absolute focus, she slammed her chakra filled hand into Misumi's neck. His unrelenting grip loosened and he fell to the ground.
Hinata sighed, thankful for being flexible and for listening to Naruko when she taught her about a pressure point to knock an enemy out. It was something Hinata could use because she didn't like fighting and hurting people.
"Shosha: Hinata Hyuga!"
Baiu/Yoroi Akado.
Naruko rubbed Hinata's back. "I see you used a pressure point instead of a chara point. I'm so proud of you!"
Kurenai, Hinata's sensei was also very proud and promised to by the girl as many cinnamon buns as she wanted.
When everyone finally looked to the battle, it was already over. Both Yoroi and Baiu were unconscious.
"Well that was boring," Naruko muttered.
Everyone nodded.
Kabuto Yakushi/Hana Kisai.
Kabuto showed impressive medical skills as he healed himself from every would he received almost immediately. He dealt his opponent a good blow, but wasn't expecting the Iwa ninja to pull out a water jutsu. "Suiro no Jutsu!"
He was trapped in a prison of water and couldn't go anywhere.
Hana was the winner and both had to go to the medical ward for a checkup.
Naruko hmmed, "Kabuto was holding back, a lot."
Kakashi found this interesting, "How can you tell?"
"His chakra scalpel had a large amount of chakra on it, as a way to cushion the blow. But Kabuto has great chakra control in order to heal himself while getting an injury and be able to be fine before the attack is even finished. He could've made his chakra thinner and made the attack more deadly, but he chose not to. He also had the perfect amount of control to break the water prison, he let her win," the blonde answered.
Kakashi nodded, "Very interesting. You noticed quite a lot in a small amount of time."
"Yeah."
Dosu Kinuta/Chikara.
The Kiri shinobi had slammed Dosu with a lightning jutsu right off the bat, killing him without even trying.
The next match was what got everyone's attention.
Fu/Sabaku no Gaara.
Naruko whistled, "Two Jinchuuriki face off! This will be fun!"
Simultaneously, everyone leaned on the railing to get a good looked at the battled.
With the help of her Biju, Fu was able to sprout wings and fly. Unfortunately, Gaara's sand seemed to protect him from all of her attacks. Even the flashy powder that she had coughed up had no effect as Gaara was safely protected by his sand.
Gaara never moved from his spot. In fact, he wasn't even looking at his opponent. Instead, his eyes were trained on Hinata, who was blushing. Gaara probably got annoyed with how long the boring battle was, because he moved his arm and his sand rushed forth, catching Fu's leg and slamming her against the ceiling and then the floor.
His sand started to cover the girls body.
Hinata gasped and yelled, "P-please don't!"
Gaara looked at Hinata for a moment, before his head moved slightly, barely a nod. His sand retreated into his gourd, leaving the Taki kunoichi bleeding on the ground.
Naruko watched as he Shunshined to his sensei's side, eyes still on Hinata.
"What was he about to do Hinata?" she asked the girl.
Hinata was shaking, "W-when we w-were in the f-forest, he c-crushed two t-teams of ninja with j-just his sand. N-nothing was left, b-but there was b-blood everywhere!"
The rookies and their sensei all looked disgusted. He had killed four people without a problem?! No wonder Hinata had been so shaky when they had gotten to the tower.
Kiba and Ino were left to fight each other. Ino caught Kiba at the beginning with her Shintenshin no Jutsu. She had Kiba forfeit the match and won in seconds.
Kiba threw a fit and raised all hell over it. How, he wasn't the one to quit and cursed the blonde out.
Hayate explained what happened and told him to stop whining.
Everyone assembled in the arena and they each chose a number to determine the match ups for the Third Exam.
Sai/Shino Aburame
Neji Hyuga/Naruko Uzumaki Namikaze
Hinata Hyuga/Ino Yamanaka
Yugito Nii/Chikara
Hana Kisai/Sabaku no Gaara
Rock Lee/Shikamaru Nara
Choji Akimichi/Sasuke Uchiha
Naruko could feel the excitement of fighting a Hyuga. She was going to beat the ever loving shit out of him. One, for how he treated Hinata, when she nothing to warrant his ire. And two, because he was a Hyuga. She needed to get back at them for what they did, and Neji was going to be her pinata.
I'll make the destiny loving bastard break.
Kakashi ruffled his students hair. "I'm so proud of you three! You made it to the Third Exam. The only other full team to have made it, was Team ten. I looks like the rookies are showing everyone up this year."
Naruko took on Gai's signature 'good guy' pose, "You better believe it!"
Gai then came over and congratulated Kakashi on his team having passed on to the next round. Kakashi ignored the man, who went on a rant about Kakashi being 'cool', to which Naruko and Sasuke snorted.
Kakashi then asked what they planned to do for training. Naruko was going to be training with Jiraiya, Sasuke had Itachi for a little bit but would prefer another person who would be there more. Sai said that he was fine with his training and didn't need any help.
Kakashi decided to take on Sasuke whenever Itachi wasn't around, so long as the others weren't offended.
Sai bade his team a farewell, and promised to see them in a month. Sasuke insisted on walking Naruko home, holding her hand the whole way.
Naruko sighed, "I can walk myself home Sasuke."
"I know, but if I'm going to get you to change your mind, I need to spend more than just training time with you. Since we aren't in the academy anymore, we only train and go on missions. Sometimes we eat lunch, but Sai is with us at those times. Besides, we probably won't see each other while training this month, so you'll have to deal with it," he explained, squeezing her hand.
"Thank you, oh so chivalrous Uchiha," she said when they reached her door.
He kissed her hand, gave a bow that was accompanied by a wink, and left.
"I knew you were together!"
She turned to see the miniMaki with the door open, a grin on her face.
Naruko rolled her eyes. "Let's get inside so I can tell you about the past three days."
"Yay!"