Chapter 8

It's now a week until graduation.

Everything has been going great for Revan, Saya, and to some extent Naruto. Revan had advised the foxy blonde to keep his skills to himself until the exam, for he felt that a certain petty instructor might pull out all of the stops to ensure the boy failed the exam. He didn't ask any questions and agreed. After that, the three began had a heated discussion about his questionable sense of style when it comes to clothing.

"What the hell is wrong with my clothes?" Naruto asks.

Revan arches a brow, "Seriously? You don't see the problem?" Naruto shakes his head causing Revan to sigh, "When you see the higher ranking shinobi, not including that horrifying green Jounin we often see running around with his mini double, what are they normally wearing?"

Naruto thinks for a moment before replying, "I never really thought about it."

Saya cuts in, "They are always wearing darker colors Naruto." She says rolling her eyes at his lack of attention, "No one in their right minds would go out in the field wearing bright, obnoxious clothing. They would be easy to notice and negatively affect the mission."

"She is right Naruto." Revan says, "Are you intentionally buying those jumpsuits or are they the only things the shops will sell? You can't possibly think those clothing look cool right?"

"Well...." Naruto pauses before laughing sheepishly, "At first this was the only thing they would sell me, even at twice the prices, but I eventually started to warm up to them. At least I had something to wear. You know?"

"I see."

Revan sits back and thinks for a moment before pulling out some ryo and hands it to his cousin.

"Wha..."

Revan holds his hand up to shut the blonde up, "Don't say anything yet! I want you to take this ryo and buy some proper clothing for a shinobi. I don't care if you wear that horrid orange while off duty, but I'll be damned if you were to go out on a mission wearing them if I have any say so."

"But.."

"Before you say anything about the money..." Revan interrupts him again, "Or the fact that they won't let you buy anything in their stores." He holds up a finger, "First of all, you can repay me the money later on when you start doing missions and save up some money. Second of all you can just use the transformation technique to go into the stores to buy whatever you want."

Naruto's eyes lighten up at the realization, but then it returns to normal when he thinks of something else. "Don't most stores have seals set up to prevent illusions?"

"Yeah, but if you think about it Naruto, your transformation isn't a mere illusion. You pump in so much chakra that it becomes an actually physical transformation." Revan says chuckling, "Just transform into me or Iruka sensei and buy yourself a change of wardrobe. Preferably me considering our similar physical characteristics. Similar, not accurate pipsqueak."

"Hey!" Naruto took offense to the short jab causing Revan and Saya to chuckle.

Later...

They continued to train amongst themselves without many people knowing their progress. Well, no one but the hokage who occasionally checks in on his crystal ball, a few ANBU operatives who are assigned as the blonde's protection detail, and Iruka who had known about the improvements Naruto had been making. Thankfully Naruto had been keeping his progress hidden from those who would seek to hinder him.

One afternoon Revan had invited Saya back to his apartment for dinner. She was surprised to know that he was a great cook, but understanding after knowing that like her, he had to look after himself. What he had cooked for them was a curious recipe he had recreated in this world from his past life. It took a little experimenting on his part, but thanks to the food he stole from the merchant councilmen, he had the resources to splurge on it.

Pasta!

A world famous Italian dish from earth.

Saya enjoyed the meal quite well and to her surprised had three helpings of the dish before satisfying her hunger. Revan chuckled as she tried to hide her embarrassed face behind a tissue. She couldn't control her appetite and when the pasta first touched her tongue, it disappeared quickly.

"Well..." Saya clears her throat, "I must admit that I have never tried such a dish before. It was simply delicious."

Revan smiles, "Why thank you Saya, I appreciate the compliment." He says, "Jutsu aren't the only things I experiment with. I find that, although good, our village has fallen behind on creativity when it comes to the culinary arts. Thus, I made something on my own."

"Your experimentation paid off I must say." Saya compliments his creation. Well isn't technically his creation, but he won't say anything. They continued to talk over dinner about miscellaneous things ranging from classes, advice on techniques, and other things. Saya is surprised that she could even have such conversations with someone she had only known personally for such a short time. She would even admit that it was... intriguing, fun even. Such a sensation she hadn't felt since the day her brother Itachi massacred their clansmen.

Her conversations with her twin brother Sasuke mostly consists of. "Hn," of even just a few simple nods and grunts. The incident affected both siblings much differently, but she didn't desire vengeance as much as her twin. It's been so long since she could have such a intelligent and meaningful chat with someone her own age, a friend as Revan had considered her. He even went as far as to get back at the few people who would constantly harass her in attempts to court her, even punishing the people who would try and food poison his cousin. It felt... nice to have someone stick up for her unconditionally.

Their chat went late into the night and before they know it, darkness blanketed the village.

"It's late." Saya says.

"Indeed." Revan nods looking out the window and continues, "It would go against my good nature to have a lady wander the streets late at night. Even if we are a village of shinobi, the nights are still cruel for those without strength. So..." He is silent for a moment and speaks, "You can stay here for the night."

Saya looks at him questioningly, "What?"

Revan chuckles and shakes his head, "I don't mean anything bad by that, relax. You can use my bed, I'll crash out on the couch." He points to the bathroom, "There are some bathrobes in there you can use, the washing machine is behind the door next to the kitchen."

"What if your clothes?" She asks.

He shrugs, "I'll wash them tomorrow. I've got plenty of extras after all."

Saya nods, "I thank you for your generosity."

Saya heads into the bathroom and removes her clothes, wearing a bathrobe after having a quick shower, her clothes are being washed at the moment. The two chat a little more while Revan studies more up on fuinjutsu, occasionally answering her curiosity about the subject. She is surprised about the creativity and potential uses that seals have to a shinobi. Everyday seals like explosive tags are the result of fuinjutsu after all and the tool is often used in saboteur missions.

After setting her clothes to dry she enters Revan's bedroom and furrows her brows in confusion.

"What's up with the burn marks?" She asks and Revan just shakes his head and scratches his cheek wryly.

"I may have done a few experiments over the month. Luckily I was able to contain the damage." He replies.

Saya nods, "I see. It's good to see your taking yours and your neighbors' safety in consideration."

"Yeah...." He looks away looking somewhat guilty, but she didn't notice that look of his.

"Well, I bid you goodnight." Saya says before closing the bedroom door. She looks around at his surprisingly clean bedroom and sits on his bed. To her it feels comfortable, warm even. Never once did she find the bed back at her own apartment as homely. It was only a means to keep her away from her clan's district, a place where so many bad memories rest. Laying back on her bed she begins to think about the month. When she started training with Revan, how disappointed she somehow became when Naruto shows up to train with them, which to her was kinda odd. Why would she be disappointed? When it was just her and Revan she felt it was much nicer, like she preferred to train alone with him than with someone else. A particularly odd feeling, an alien feeling to her. But a nice one too.

"What kind of feeling is this?" She murmurs.

She removes the bathrobe and buries herself in the blankets, drifting off into a blissfully slumber.

The next morning...

Revan awakens from his Floating Meditation safely without crashing this time and stretches in with a satisfying yawn. no matter how many times he comes out of a whole night of meditation, he can't help but admire the results. A full nights of rest, improved focus and Force control, a clearer mind. Shinobi can never understand the benefits of a clear mind, otherwise they wouldn't be driven to single minded vengeance like Sasuke.

Speaking of Sasuke, he had come to find Naruto's improvement impressive and comes to accept the petty rivalry Naruto had with him. The more Naruto improves, the greater a sparring partner he had become, making the brood king actually enjoy their matches. A healthy rivalry is always a good thing. Sasuke is also surprised to see his sister becoming more sociable with someone. He hasn't head her speak much since the massacre, but now he can hear her hold an extended conversation with the red headed Uzumaki, about topics that are beyond him.

"Meditation is so nice." Revan says with a yawn, "I feel that I can pick up a small ship with the force now. Who knows, by level 3 I might be able to pull a Starkiller and crash a starship too."

He gets up and does a few basic stretches to help his body wake up. Never will he neglect his body in favor of his powerful Force and chakra abilities. Even if they are superior to his close range capabilities. After getting rid of his body's stiffness he goes to awaken the sleeping beauty in his bedroom. The moment he opens his door he freezes, his face turning red at the sight before him. Saya is laid out on her bed, the blankets pulled down just barely above her waist, her bare chest in all their glory exposed to him to see in full.

"Well..." He mumbles to himself, "She likes to sleep in the nude it seems." He admires her figure. The size of he breasts are far larger than he expected, topped with her pink nipples. If this his her at 12, then what would she look like at 16? 18? 20? He shakes his head of those thoughts and cleans his mind of impure thoughts. "Thank god for Force meditation. Otherwise I might lose control and do something I might regret."

Revan gently closes the door as he leaves, to refrain from awakening the sleeping beauty, After doing his morning routine he starts working on breakfast for the two of them. Once the food is done he knocks on the bedroom door to wake Saya up.

"Morning sleeping beauty! Breakfast is ready!" He says loud enough for her to hear. From outside the bedroom he could hear shuffling sounds from inside, telling him that she had heard him and had awaken. He set the table and sits down, soon enough the sleepy looking Uchiha beauty comes out of the room, the bathrobes worn loosely. Obviously a light morning person. Sitting down at the table, she offers her thanks and starts eating. Revan smiles as he watches her, but his face turns a slight red after remembering what he saw in the morning before clearing his head again.

'Damn hormones! Not even a full teenager yet!' Revan curses in his head, 'It's only less than a month until my birthday, guess my hormones have decided to kick in a little early.' Then he is reminded of Gavin and chuckles, 'If Gavin were in my situation he probably would have run off to the bathroom to rub one off.'

After breakfast the two clean up, get dress, and head off to school.

As graduation gets closer, the two spend more time together. Saya had even started staying at Revan's place more often that she had practically moved in, claiming his bed as her own. It doesn't bother him all that much. Whatever makes the young lady happy he muses. They go to school together, train together, chat, share meals, and now they ended up as roommates. Never did Revan expect to become so friendly with such a beauty. He is glad to see her open up more to him, and to some extent Naruto, but he still wishes she would speak more to their classmates. Time can only help us there.

Saya is gradually thawing out of her icy shell, but hopefully her brother can overcome his demons and accept the aid of others and return to the light.

And now the day of graduation has arrived....