Chapter 4: Bark Like a Dog

Chapter Four – Bark Like a Dog

Uzumaki Naruto: "I bet you're dying to know my name!"

Gaara: "I couldn't care less."

With his hands firmly planted in his pockets, Shisui watched their academy sensei go through the basics of Shuriken throwing. It was a sunny day in early February, but the wind was so cold he was wearing gloves and a scarf to keep out the chill. Not that they were very effective against the wind, but every little layer helped.

He was not the best clad kid, but he hadn't expected to be outside for this long. Though he was far from the worst dressed child in his class, that was for sure.

Their sensei was a short man with retreating black hair. He was one of those people who talks slowly and clearly when trying to explain something to you. Making each and every sentence he uttered sound extremely dreary. It was always a feat to remember the start of his sentence by the time he came to the end of it. That was how much he dragged out the words. It was also why Shisui was currently finding the whole lecture to be extremely boring.

Next to him was Nara Ensui, his closest friend in the class. He looked close to dropping asleep where he stood, and was only paying a slither of attention because he'd get scolded if he didn't.

Shisui's eyes wandered over the group of children, his classmates, and rested a moment on Umino Iruka and Naruto who stood opposite him in the crowd. The sunny girl probably took the prize for worst clad kid in the class. She was only wearing her normal orphanage attire and a thin jacket. Shisui wondered how she wasn't shivering from the cold, or maybe she was freezing but hid it well.

Iruka and Naruto had been very good friends lately, and spent most of the time in class sending notes secretly. He was amazed they hadn't been caught yet, it was truly a testament to how sneaky they could be. As far as Shiusi knew they had bonded over their love of ramen, at least that was the only subject he'd ever overheard them talk about. Every day.

Naruto sat on the same row as him in class, just on the other side of the classroom while Iruka sat on the row in front of him. It caused him to be the unwilling witness many of their more obvious attempts at conversing while their sensei talked about the five affinities.

Once, Naruto had used one of Ensui's senbons to send a message over to Iruka. Her aim had been off, and it had almost stabbed Shisui in the hand during its sail. He was pretty sure she'd been aiming at the wall, but senbon throwing was obviously not her strong suit. He'd told her as much too after class, and she'd bashfully apologized. It was the first time he realized just how difficult it was to stay mad at Naruto. She was just so sweet it felt like he was scolding a kitten.

Iruka could be just as mischievous as his blonde friend, but he was less of a risk taker. Shisui thought he was an alright guy. He was very normal, neither brilliant nor bad at anything. Naruto however… She was very good, beyond average strong. Had it not been for her complete lack of concentration in lectures she'd be top of the year. It was mysterious yet curiously understandable how she'd managed to skip first year with such a short attention span.

"Shisui-kun, you'll go first." Said their sensei suddenly, and the dark haired boy looked away from the duo whispering on the other side of the ring.

"Okay, sensei." He replied and walked over to the Shuriken bag. It was the first time he'd ever been allowed to touch one of these. His father Kagami would never let him close to them so he was very excited to finally do this.

Shisui was excited but at the same time very nervous that he had to go first, what if he completely messed up? The Shuriken felt different in his hand, heavier and smoother, so his aim would probably be off since he was so used to the wooden Shuriken at home.

"Alright, just copy my wrist movement and try your best. No one expects you to be an expert at this yet." Their sensei said reassuringly. It helped... but still, Shisui felt a lot of pressure since he was the first to go.

Focusing on the poles they were supposed to hit and the circles painted on the bark, he tried to slow his pulse. It was drumming in his ears while he tried to get the feel of the Shuriken. It wasn't that heavy, but the steel was cold and felt very solid. Not at all like the wooden ones he had at home.

He shot forward and the Shuriken hit the ring furthest out. Their sensei clapped and smiled eagerly at him. "Good job, Shisui-kun! That was an excellent throw; did you see the way he held his hand? That is the correct way to aim everyone. Try to copy it, and soon you all will be able to hit the target." He told the class and let Shisui try two more times. He missed the second one, but not by much, and the third one landed on a circle closer to the middle than the first.

After him Ensui was called forwards. As they passed each other the Nara smiled at him and gave him the thumbs up while Shisui chuckled.

Ensui didn't get his first shot in the circle, and got two more tries without success. It continued like this for eight more students, and Shisui was feeling more and more confident about his results until it was Naruto's turn. The blonde jogged onto the stand and picked out two Shuriken and stood straight towards the poles. She raised a Shuriken with her right hand while twisting her torso slightly, her eyes fixed on the target.

Shisui was staring intently at her stance and technique. It looked right but the girl wasn't throwing, maybe she was nervous?

Their sensei was about to speak up when she threw the Shuriken quickly with precision. The metal twirled through the air and hit the second closest ring, one further in then Shisui had managed.

His fists clenched while Naruto looked very frustrated. She picked up a second one and threw this one even faster than the first. It landed almost on top of the first one and the third followed soon after, still in the same ring but higher up.

The girl looked hard at the post while Iruka cheered from the sideline. Shisui had the impression she was disappointed though. Her eyes were fixed on her work and her jaw was set. With a sigh and a frustrated grin she left the throwing spot so Iruka could have his turn.

Shisui met her eyes as she found her place back in the ring of children. Smiling he gave her a thumb up. She'd done a good job and really shouldn't be disappointed. He was also curious about how she'd learned it. Maybe he would ask her later.

It was also odd that she felt bad about her skills. She'd done better then everyone so far. Naruto smiled back at him and gave him a thumb up in return.

Ensui grumbled and put his weight on one foot while folding his hands behind his head. "Naruto-chan is so talented. I heard she already had training." He whispered while Iruka failed to hit a single ring on all three attempts. His friend however was cheering loudly for him on the sideline. Naruto sure had volume when she wanted to.

"Well… Many have had training already. I mean, my clan has been training me for years already, and they expect me to work hard. Hasn't yours?" Shisui asked quizzically. Ensui shrugged and tilted his head while Mizuki was the third person to hit the pole. He hit the fifth ring just like Shisui had managed too in his first round, but missed the other two attempts.

"I guess they have." He said bored while Shisui chuckled at his friend.

A few days later Shisui was walking down the street alongside Mikoto who was carrying Itachi securely in her arms. He was four months old now and was already bigger than Shisui remembered him the last time he saw the baby.

Fugaku and his father were working at the police station today, so again the academy student was left with Mikoto for the afternoon. Not that he minded much, but the baby wasn't really much fun anymore. All he did was eat, sleep and poop as far as Shisui could see.

He had heard his aunt say that Itachi was a very good baby who hardly ever cried. But Shisui hadn't been around many babies, so he couldn't be sure if that was true.

"Kushina!" Cried Mikoto suddenly, and Shisui glanced up to see a woman with the longest and straightest hair he'd ever seen stop and look towards them. It was also very, very red. The woman grinned widely and started a quick pace towards them.

"Mikoto! Oh, my! Is this your baby?" Cooed 'Kushina' as she came up to them. Crouching slightly she stroked Itachi gently with the tip of her finger over his cheek. "I heard you had a boy, he is precious." Kushina added and beamed at Mikoto.

His aunt radiated a quiet pride and nodded. "We named him Itachi and he's four months now. It's good to see you around the village again, Kushina. You've been out of Konoha so much lately I hardly remember the last time I talked to you."

The red haired woman grinned sheepishly and waved her hand. "Oh, you know how busy everything is because of the war. They are slave drivers up in that office I swear. Still, I'm a Konoha kunoichi so it's my duty, I won't complain about being needed, dattebane."

Mikoto chuckled and she nodded with an amused smile. Shisui was getting very bored with their conversation so he found a stray cat to stare at while women did what women do. Why did all females have to be so chatty? And he was always being ignored while they talked about stuff he didn't know much about.

"There's nothing that frightens you is there, Kushina?" His aunt asked while Kushina straightened up proudly.

"Those Iwa ninja can just try it! And if Kumo gets involved as is rumored, I'll have a field day! I have some unfinished business with them, dattebane!" She exclaimed while still smiling. Shisui had never seen anyone smile with their teeth and still be able to talk. His aunt could be happy and laugh, but most of his family and cousins were more calm compared to this woman. In fact Shisui suspected most of the human race was more calm than this woman.

Well, his cousin Obito was one of the contenders, and maybe-

"NARUTO!" Cried suddenly a shrill voice from behind him. Shisui turned immediately with a start. Bursting out from a street corner came the blond girl from his class running past them, escaping from an older girl who threw a kunai after her.

"Oh, my!" Cried Mikoto scandalized by the violence.

"Naruto-chan?" Wondered Shisui aloud, and without a second thought he ran after them. He heard his aunt call after him but the young Uchiha was already on a mission. He'd once claimed he would protect the village, and that included his classmate.

"Oy! Stop it! Why are you attacking Naruto-chan?!" Shouted Shisui, running as hard as he could. The dark haired girl was definitely a kunoichi though. She was so fast Shisui couldn't dream of keeping up. Naruto however didn't show any sign of exhaustion, and though the scary girl was gaining on her while ignoring Shisui's question, she still managed to keep a distance.

He saw Naruto jump up onto the roof of a dango shop with her attacker right on her heel, but the Uchiha wasn't even going to attempt getting up there. So he ran around instead, but before he was half way around he heard a loud splash.

Coming around the corner he watched Naruto stand there, laughing her arse off at her pursuer who was neck deep in a barrel of water. At least Shisui hoped it was water… The consistence looked a bit off.

"You are so dead, Naru!" The girl screamed and struggled to get out. She slipped as she tried to get a hold of the edge, and fell down again. The barrel was taller than her.

"Are you alright, Naruto-chan?" Asked Shisui uncertainly, his classmate didn't appear very scared at all, more like she was having the time of her life.

"Shisui!" Exclaimed Naruto and ran up to him. "No worry, Anko is just being her stubborn self." She answered and grabbed his hand. "Quick! We need to leave before she gets out of there, dattebyo." And then she dragged him along with her.

It was the most absurd situation he'd ever been in, because the girl had finally managed to climb out of the barrel and they only a small head start. Naruto was chuckling while she ran, and by kami she could run. Shisui was gasping already and could barely keep breathing without straining himself, far less laugh. It was a little annoying too, since Shisui had always prided himself on his speed.

Naruto tugged him with her around a corner where she suddenly stopped and pushed them both flat against the wall of the building. The girl named Anko soon came rushing into view, dripping water everywhere and cursing Naruto's existence at the same time. She was rushing so fast that she didn't realize they had stopped before she was already far past them, and by then Naruto and Shisui were running in the opposite direction.

With a wide grin Naruto stuck her tongue out over her shoulder and Anko shouted in fury. Shisui didn't understand how the blond could be having fun. He could clearly feel the dark haired girl's killing intent even from a distance.

Naruto dragged him into the shopping street and soon he found himself crawling underneath the booth tables with edible merchandise. There was a food market today, so the street was littered with newly constructed booths which created a labyrinth of tables to get through.

It was amazing how she didn't get lost. As if she had mapped out their route from the beginning she found her way through and Shisui followed her as she took a side street out of the busy crowd.

Heart hammering harder then he could remember, they came to the playground right on the outskirts of the market. It was a miracle he hadn't collapsed yet, and there in front of him stood Naruto. The girl was a little out of breath but still smiled from ear to ear. "That was so worth it, Shisui! I'll be in trouble later but did you see her face? I thought it would pop from the steam coming off her." She laughed while Shisui sat down panting. As he looked up at her beaming face he felt his own chuckle start, and before he knew why, he was laughing and catching his breath at the same time.

Maybe Naruto was laughing at him more than the situation, since he was making some odd choking sounds while he chuckled, but he couldn't find it in him to care.

After five minutes he sobered up enough to ask the question he wondered about. "Who was that? Why was she chasing you?" Asked Shisui and Naruto's mischievous smile grew slowly on her face.

"That was Mitarashi Anko, she lives with me at the orphanage. I sort of borrowed her genin photo earlier and made some improvements." Naruto explained innocently. The curios look Shisui was expressing was enough for the girl to reach into the pocket of her black pants and take out a small picture.

He looked curiously at it and felt a smile pressing at the corner of his lips. It was like those team photos every genin took with their teams. His dad had one too, but this one was of only two people. He recognized them both since one was the girl who'd been chasing them and the other was clearly Orochimaru of the Sannin.

He concluded that Naruto was not a very good artist. While the scribbled moustache and eyebrows added to the picture was funny, it was clumsily done. "You ruined her genin photo?" He asked, trying to sound serious, but failing miserably since he had started shaking with suppressed laugher.

"Anko has five. She can do without this one, dattebayo. I was thinking about nailing it to the entrance of the Hokage tower." She said, and this time Shisui didn't bother keeping his laugher in anymore. He would never have the guts to do something like that himself, but it was funny to imagine it.

It took Naruto half an hour to prove him wrong.

Shisui had no idea how she convinced him, but soon Naruto had dragged him with her to do just what he had been so certain he'd never do. The only problem was the ninja guards patrolling the entrance of the tower.

"Okay… Maybe not the front door then… Hey! I know where we can stick this. Do you know the jōnin have their own break room? It's on the third floor of that building." Naruto exclaimed and pointed to a smaller building next to the Hokage tower.

"Eh… I hope you're not thinking-" Started Shisui, but was rudely interrupted before he could finish.

"Of course that's what I'm thinking. Come on, Shisui." She retorted and grabbed his wrist again. For someone so small she had an unbelievingly firm grip.

"We can't go in there! It's bound to be guarded." Hissed the Uchiha as she dragged him across the street. His head was going from side to side automatically, watching for ANBU, guards, some police relatives of his and Mitarashi Anko all at once. Anyone and anything that would see them commit this hilarious crime.

"We'll have to climb, baka." Replied the girl and Shisui looked up at the building.

"I can't get up there..." He muttered weakly, feeling his teeth grit at the idea of falling halfway up the exterior wall.

"Then you can look out for guards!" Naruto decided and walked him over to some trash cans by the building next to their targeted destination.

Shisui's eyes bulged out of their sockets. There was no way he could do that…

"What about the ninjas already inside? And how am I supposed to tell you if someone is coming? Shout?" He exclaimed exasperated but still followed as she pushed him behind the garbage. There was a heavy smell around him, and Shisui was hoping the odd substance he had trodden in was just a wet patch after the rainfall last week. Probably not.

"I'll know since you will warn me by barking like a dog, dattebyo." She answered reassuringly and then hurried over to the building. For a moment all he could wonder about was how to make that sound. No one in the Uchiha clan had dogs, plenty had cats though, but Shisui was unsure if he could imitate those sounds either.

Looking back towards Naruto his jaw slackened as he watched her make her way up the side of the building and disappeared through a window on the third story. She could climb up the walls with her hands and feet like some sort of monkey? It looked odd, but it was actually a little awesome.

While she was gone Shisui shot repeated glances around nervously, feeling like some sort of burglar as he spotted two men walk past a small distance away. Neither of them looked at him, and Shisui felt thankful for that. His face probably resembled a deer caught in the headlight, and he faintly noted that was something he should work on. There was no good in having a ninja who couldn't mask their emotions after all.

He scoped the street in a hurriedly matter until the sound of movement caught his attention. His head snapped up to the window where he knew Naruto disappeared to.

It had taken the girl exactly two minutes to appear again, rushing while holding in her contagious laugher. The Uchiha was extremely thankful for her quick efficiency and without a word he met her at the foot of the building. With a small nod to one another they ran as fast as they could away from the scene of the crime.

"I left a note on their window you know." Grinned Naruto while Shisui sat opposite her in the secluded cover of the forest.

"Oh? What did you write?" He asked eagerly. Shisui was still pumped up with adrenaline and their little adventure suddenly felt like a successful mission to him.

"I wrote; 'Maybe you should secure your building a little better. A six year old just broke in here."

They both started giggling and Naruto clapped Shisui's shoulder. "Are you sure you're an Uchiha? They are usually so serious, but you can actually have fun." Naruto wondered while Shisui sobered up.

"Of course I'm an Uchiha, Naruto-chan!" Exclaimed Shisui, but was still smiling. He sort of understood what she meant, many people were under the impression they all were snobs but it wasn't true. His father was the kindest person he knew, and also the most badass.

"Fine, fine. And don't call me Naruto-chan. Naruto is fine." Replied Naruto with a wave of her hand, Shisui raised an eyebrow, but decided he didn't know her well enough to stop using the honorific. It was than he remembered what he'd left behind.

"Oh no! My aunt is probably worried. I just bolted without saying anything! I'll be in so much trouble..." He moaned and his face fell into his hands.

Naruto got to her feet and reached out her hand to him, the boy was helped to his feet and looked miserably at the blond. He'd get grounded for sure. Maybe he would even be refused dessert after dinner!

"Come on you worry wart, let's get you home, dattebyo." She said, and together they trekked back to his house.

Shisui did get grounded, but his father wasn't strong enough to deny him dessert.

He told Naruto about the aftermath in great detail the next day at school while Iruka chuckled on the row in front. Hitomi who sat next to Shisui didn't look pleased about what Naruto had done though. "What if you'd been seen, Naruto-san? Seriously, you have no regards for the rules at all do you?" She huffed and continued reading her 400 page book on different herb types.

Naruto had often wondered if the green eyed girl might be in the wrong occupation. She'd make a killing if she'd been a botanist or a gardener. But no, Hitomi wanted to become a medic ninja who specialized in poison.

It was probably to compensate for the fact that she out of everyone in class had the least amount of chakra. That could still change though, most were only seven and no one had fully developed chakra coils. But no matter what Naruto said, Hitomi seemed to take it as an insult.

"But we weren't seen, Hitomi." Naruto argued, still chuckling from retelling the event to Iruka.

"Hitomi-san." Corrected the green eyed girl and frowned at Naruto.

Naruto shrugged and looked at Iruka. "I never use honorific. Not usually at least?" She said, feeling her good mood dwindle with Hitomi's stern attitude.

"That's because you're a hooligan who lived in the woods. You have no manners at all!" Bit Hitomi out and left her seat to go talk to one of her friends instead.

Naruto gaped after her, seeing red at the rudeness of her classmate. Shisui teeth grit in annoyance as Hitomi left, his eyes narrowed at her back. He was surprisingly angry at her obvious animosity towards his friend.

Iruka on the other hand sent a pencil flying towards the back of Hitomi's head, making the girl stumble and fall down the aisle and effectively getting himself detention for two days. Still, after their sensei finished scolding Iruka he proudly told them that it was all worth it. This made Naruto beam brilliantly.

It was a couple of weeks later something interesting started happening again. Namely the academy outing.

They were outside in the morning and were being given backpacks. Their parents had already been informed about what would be happening, and that none of them would be returning home before the following day.

There was a good deal of confusion about exactly how this outing would go, and Naruto scratched the back of her head when she noticed the people coming towards them. They were on the academy grounds after all, and a troop of strangers were coming from the gates.

After a few moments of squinting in their direction, her heart suddenly skipped a beat. Amongst the people of different ages was none other than her former genin sensei, Hatake Kakashi. It was the first time she'd seen him since she fell back to the past, but there was no mistaking the boy.

He was small though. And clad in dark blue and loose clothes with a cross strapped sort of holster. Naruto preferred the jōnin attire he'd worn in the future. But one thing both outfits had in common was that blasted mask.

He looked much put out and was followed closely by Minato. Kakashi actually appeared pissed off about the whole situation as he stared pointedly at the ground while they came closer.

When the group was only a few steps away the blond spotted other familiar faces too. Some she'd already met and was happy to see, such as Anko. But there was some who made her almost tremble in excitement. Gai, Asuma and Kurenai were also amongst the group of people, and Naruto had a hard time not shouting in joy.

But she didn't have much time to dwell on these things. Their sensei shouted at them to pay attention so he could make sure everyone was gathered by calling their names, and Naruto's focus was drawn to him instead.

While she waited to hear her own name so she could prove she'd shown up, Naruto recalled her own genin days and how she'd done something similar to this. In her time she had Konohamaru corps as her own troop and it hadn't turned out too well.

While the sensei talked the older group came closer. Naruto heard a few girls sigh when Minato stopped in front of them. She almost giggled when she saw Kurenai blush scarlet and bash her eyelids in the direction of Kakashi. Apparently she wasn't in love with Asuma yet, he was standing next to her with a grumpy expression that could rival Kakashi's.

The blond skipped up to Anko who was distracted. "Anko! This is great! It'll be really fun to go on a trip instead of boring lectures." She said, ignoring how the academy sensei bristled and Kakashi, who was standing close by, rolled his eyes.

Anko however was still not paying attention to her, instead she was busy peeking at Minato, and to Naruto's disturbance the girl looked flustered.

"He is so dreamy." The older girl sighed, sounding a lot like one of Sasuke's fangirls from her own time than the brisk and headstrong person Naruto had gotten to know.

"Are you insane? He's like… old..." Muttered Naruto, and she was getting worked up at the possibility of Anko having a crush on her dad. Kakashi seemed determined not to be involved in this, and stood stonily with his hands folded in front of him.

"Oh, you just need to grow up a little, Naru. Namikaze-san is really handsome." Anko whispered back with a teasing grin. Naruto grimaced, feeling a slight impulse to hit Anko in the jaw for saying such a thing. Only her mum was allowed to think of her dad in that fashion. No one else should and that included Anko. At that moment Minato recognized them, since he suddenly waved and beamed in their direction.

Anko blushed scarlet while Naruto ignored her while waving enthusiastically back. "Hi Minato! Are you one of the ninjas we'll be going on survival training with? That would be awesome, dattebayo! I hope I'm on your team." Naruto babbled and left her classmates behind to go talk to him. Anko trailed after Naruto with an eager smile that sent shivers down Naruto's spine.

"Eh, no sorry, Naruto-chan. I'm just dragging my students in for today. They're the ones doing the survival training. Guys, be polite and say hi to Anko-chan and Naruto-chan." Ordered Minato and nudged Kakashi's shoulder. The boy mutely turned towards them, for the first time acknowledging that they were there at all. Next to him, a girl Naruto didn't recognize did the same, but with more interest than anything the silver haired boy could muster up.

Kakashi turned towards Naruto and nodded shortly, his eyes bored as he met her own. "Naruto, I'm Hatake Kakashi." He said evenly. Minato chuckled uneasily while the girl stepped up when it became apparent Kakashi wasn't going to elaborate any more.

"Hi Anko-chan! You look well." Said the cute girl with short brown hair and purple markings on her cheek. Naruto didn't know who she was, but apparently she was on the same team as Kakashi. She turned towards Naruto and smiled prettily. "I'm Rin. It's nice to meet you Naruto-chan."

Naruto grinned back, but didn't have time to reply before someone interrupted her.

"I'm here! I'm here!" Shouted a voice from the gates, and they turned towards a boy coming running bent forwards in his haste to reach the group. He was red in the face and when he came to a stop in front of Rin he bent down with his hands on his knees while breathing heavily.

"I'm so sorry! There was an old man who needed help with his dog. She was being really disobedient and he had problems holding on to the leash, so I had to help him back home." He straightened up and gave them all a brilliant smile, his black spiky hair blowing in the wind while he ran a hand through it. Kakashi was sending him a seething glare which effectively distracted the newcomer.

In the meanwhile Naruto was having a hard time controlling her features; the excuse sounded just like something the old Kakashi would have come up with whenever he was late. These two must be spending a lot of time together if the new boy had been affected by Kakashi's behavior to such an extend he was using the same lame excuses.

"You're late. Why can't you just show up on time for once?" Kakashi muttered scornfully. His eyes narrowed towards the black haired boy. Naruto furrowed her brows, not fully able to comprehend what Kakashi had meant.

The silver haired man, now turned boy, was always late too. With the rare exception of a missions here and there where Naruto never failed to be surprised on seeing him on time. Maybe the two boys had a fight earlier?

Her eyes drifted to Rin who was smiling warmly to the unknown boy. Clearly she hadn't been a part of the argument. It was a strange mix, and Naruto was having a very strong senses of deja vu while she observed the team. It was something in the air, something familiar with the atmosphere.

"I said I was sorry! And it's not like I'm really late. We haven't left yet so stop being a bastard, bastard!" Shouted the boy heatedly, and Anko rolled her eyes.

"This idiot is Obito." Stated Kakashi and looked fleetingly in Naruto's direction. She was probably the only one amongst them who didn't know who he was, and she nodded slowly while she took in his full appearance and not just his face. He was wearing a dark blue jumpsuit while smiling brightly at her despite the fact he had been pissed at Kakashi just a moment ago. Obito was also wearing orange goggles which he was straightening absentmindedly. Naruto already liked this guy.

"So typical, you haven't changed have you, Obito?" Muttered Anko and folded her arms. Naruto watched as Obito stuttered and moved away from Anko. Like most he seemed to have a fear of Anko, but he covered it up with a disarming smile. Though Naruto knew better. It was one of those smiles you put on to fool your audience. For some reason the blond had a feeling she'd just met her counterpart in the past.

Kakashi rolled his eyes and nodded at Anko. "Mah, you could safely say that. He's as hopeless as always." He said matter of fact; making Obito grind his teeth and send death glares in Kakashi's direction.

No more was said because at that moment her sensei barked at her to get back to her classmates, and the other girls in her class seemed to take great offence that Naruto was already talking to the older kids.

"Alright everyone, listen up because this is very important. You will be put into teams under one of the Genin here. Some of them recently graduated the academy and you may know or recognize Genins who have been on active duty longer. By now they have some experience to share with you, and you better do well and listen to their instructions." Their sensei said sternly. He continued by reading up the teams, and the blond used the time to examine the younger version of the people she'd once called her comrades.

Naruto waited expectantly to hear who she would be teamed with, and felt a rush of emotions when she was told to walk over to her former sensei together with Shisui and Ensui.'

Iruka, to his dismay, was paired with Mizuki and Hitomi under none other than a very pumped up Gai.

In predictable fashion, Gai gave Iruka a vigorous thumb up and a shiny smile. This caused more people than just Iruka to take a step back.

Dragging Ensui and Shisui with her, Naruto met Kakashi who looked less than impressed with his task. It was clear in his narrowed eyes and slight twitch of his eyebrow. The blond wondered what the hell the big deal was, and if maybe her former sensei was having a bad day. He might be moody because for once he was actually on time. Maybe he was used to sleeping in longer?

Minato came forward and pointed at Kakashi and the two teams standing next to them. "Come with me. I'll be briefing you about what your mission will be." he said. The three leaders with their respective teams followed him as he walked away from the mayhem of students trying to find out who their genin leader was.

"Hello everyone. My name is Namikaze Minato. I'm the Jōnin in charge of these three here." He explained with a smile and gestured to the dysfunctional team in front of Shisui.

"For those who don't know this is Kakashi," He said and pointed to Naruto's old sensei that wasn't so old anymore.

"Obito." He continued and pointed to a black haired boy giving them all an ear splitting grin.

"And Rin." He finished pleasantly. Rin waved and Naruto thought she looked like a really friendly soul. She had instantly taken a liking to both Obito and Rin, and wondered how on earth she'd never heard of these two before. It was then she recalled the bell test with team seven, and how their sensei had told them his best friend died. Maybe they both had a premature death…

"When the test begin you will set out from different points that I have marked here on this map, and then your task is to make it to the end station." Minato explained and took out three scrolls and handed them to his students.

"There's a time limit and the quicker you get there the more points you gain. Everyone will end up in the same place, but you will reach there through different routes. On your route you will have to find a few objects to make sure you have actually done it correctly. It's a very large area, but we have good security covering the borders, so there is no need to be afraid of enemy ninjas. The start is in half an hour and you have until then to get to your assigned starting point. Understood?" He said while everyone nodded. Ensui for once was not looking the least bit bored.

"I'll beat you this time, Bakashi!" Cried Obito and pointed to the Hatake with a challenging smile. Naruto didn't have enough time to suppress the laugh bursting from her lip.

"You keep saying that, but the only thing you've bested me at is finding Tora the cat, and that was only because you know everyone over the age of sixty in this village." Kakashi answered exasperatedly.

Naruto felt her brow rise in surprise and peeked at Obito who looked ready to throw something at him. Naruto glanced over to where Anko was standing with her team, and the older girl waved at her when she noticed Naruto watching.

"So Naruto, you're the one who can deal with Mitarashi, eh?" Asked Obito and came closer. Naruto had been waving back, and turned to look at the boy in the blue and orange jumpsuit. Most of her life Naruto had been wearing a jumpsuit herself, but since she lived at the orphanage she was forced to wear the standard dress code. Obito's attire was pretty awesome though.

"Yes. Anko is my friend." She replied and folded her hands in front of her. The girl named Rin chuckled and glanced over at them while she talked to her own team of academy students.

"Obito, don't be so rude." Muttered Shisui pointedly at the taller boy. Obito grinned widely and roughed up the Uchiha's hair.

"Shisui! I heard from Kagami-san you are quite the criminal these days. Breaking into the jōnin's break room of all things." He said, but Shisui only chuckled and pushed Obito's hand away.

"Dad told you the story wrong then. I was only the lookout." He answered and grinned at Naruto.

"So you're the bad influence, eh? I already like you kid." Obito said while Naruto watched in confused at how Obito and Shisui interacted.

"You know each other?" Naruto asked Shisui.

The boy nodded and pointed to the genin. "He's one of my cousins. A bit remotely though. Something like my third cousin once removed, but we live close to one another." he answered and Naruto did a take back.

"You're an Uchiha?" She asked the boy in the awesome jumpsuit.

"Of course I am! I'm the Uchiha Obito! And soon I'll even awaken my Sharingan!" He explained proudly and straightened his goggles out of habit.

"I thought the Uchiha were less… energetic." Answered Naruto and glanced over to Shisui. Apparently Naruto had only encountered the broodiest within the clan before. These two were nothing like Sasuke or Itachi.

"Obito is a loud mouth, Naruto-chan." Stated Shisui teasingly. Obito started denying it, but the effect was ruined by his female teammate giggling in the background.

Minato was smiling at them while Kakashi was already studying the map they would be following. Not paying either of his teams any attention. "I had no idea you were a second year, Naruto-chan. How old are you again?" Minato asked, looking curiously down at her.

"I'm six." She answered, grinning back. "I was so awesome they moved me up a year, dattebayo." Ensui rolled his eyes while Kakashi looked up slowly and glanced thoughtful down at the little girl.

"That's really amazing, Naruto-chan. Kakashi actually skipped a year too when he was around your age." He answered.

Said boy looked very skeptical as he sized up the girl. She was so small he had problems imagining her being able to take down as much as a toddler, but didn't comment anything about his internal thoughts.

"I want to graduate as soon as possible. Then I can go on missions and earn money to buy my own clothes! It would be great to get some ninja tools too. Maybe I'll look for a jumpsuit while I'm at it, where did you buy yours, Obito?" She asked hopefully to the older boy.

The Uchiha glowed at those words, but just as he was about to answer a snort escaped Kakashi. "Wearing a jumpsuit like Obito's is too obvious. No ninja with any sense of self-preservation choose to wear that." Stated Kakashi ruthlessly, sending his teammate a very obnoxious glare.

"Why do you say that? Jumpsuits are awesome!" Naruto exclaimed while rapidly getting worked up. From behind them Anko turned around, curiously as to why Naruto was shouting so loudly.

"They really are not." Replied Kakashi rudely. The blond girl was a little put off about Kakashi's behavior, and was starting to have difficulties merging her old sensei with this rude little boy. Who incidentally was acting a lot more like Neji when he was young then the aloof person Naruto remembered.

"If you can wear a jumpsuit, even with the brightest colors, and still able to go undetected it's a testament to your stealth skills. It means you won't be caught no matter what, dattebayo!" retorted Naruto, gesturing with her arms while taking a step back.

"It means unnecessary risks. Why waste energy compensating for an unwise outfit when you can just dress more reasonably and spare your skills for better uses? It's dimwitted. There's a reason Konoha changed their uniform to a green vest from the old red armor. The metal shimmered in the light, giving away your position. It made noise, making it difficult to sneak up on your enemy. It was red which was a poor color choice for disguise. Especially in the forest and fields. They changed the dress code so that ninjas would be better disguised and have larger chances of success when on a mission. If you're going to wear a jumpsuit at least don't have one with orange highlights." Said Kakashi with an air of all knowing, making Naruto gape in response.

Kakashi gave her an icy glare as if she had fallen short of his expectation, or that she simply was an irritating fly he wished to swat away. Both alternatives made her blood boil.

"Then I won't get a jumpsuit with orange highlights." Explained Naruto slowly, her eyes narrowed and her mouth in a pout.

Kakashi nodded, satisfied his arguments had been accepted and deemed right. "Good."

Obito scowled at his teammate while Rin looked uncertainly at each of them in turn. The blond folded her arms and gave foxy smile, her blue orbs glinting as she grinned up to the silver haired boy. "Instead the jumpsuit will be all orange, dattebayo." retorted Naruto in earnest.

Obito barked a laugh while Kakashi grimaced and turned away. Shisui barely managed to not smack his forehead in exasperation. Because he was certain that Naruto would buy the blasted outfit just to make a point.

Shortly after the little scuffle in the academy grounds, they found themselves standing outside the borders surrounding Konoha. It had been the first time they had been outside the gates while still attending the academy.

The closest team to their starting point was team Gai. Iruka stood with Mizuki a little away with his backpack and warm clothing. It couldn't be clearer he was dreading this trip the most. Mostly because of the genin they'd been assigned.

Iruka kept looking nervously over to her team and back to the green clad nine year old who was talking animatedly with her own team captain. Or more like he was doing all the talking towards him; Kakashi wasn't answering.

A few of them had never seen the other side of the tall concrete boarders at all and was looking wide eyed around.

Kakashi was as annoyed as ever, and Naruto was taking comfort in the words Anko had whispered before they departed. "I'm sure you can sneak a snake in his sandals while he's asleep." At the thought Naruto giggled and cheered up again. The sound caused Shisui to look curiously at her, but she waved him off with a mischievous smile.

Ensui seemed indifferent, but gave Naruto a nod while she restlessly waited for the start signal.

Gai was chatting Kakashi's ear off while the Hatake was doing his utmost to ignore him. Noticing that the blond was looking at him, he gave Naruto a scowl before ignoring her completely as well. Naruto huffed back and looked pointedly away with her nose held high.

Kakashi was such a brat when he was a kid. Nothing at all like the cool sensei she had in the future.

"My eternal rival! We are now on the threshold of an adventure which will test our spring time of youth! We'll cross the dangers and find ourselves worthy to face the perils!" Shouted Gai, looking delighted at being able to talk to Kakashi. "If I lose, I will do five hundred laps around the village to improve my season of growth! And if I can't do five hundred laps I'll do eight hundred pushups." He continued while Kakashi looked painfully at him, clearly hoping Gai could go bother his own team instead of him.

The ninja tasked with signalling their start looked pointedly at Gai, motioning for him to return to his group of students. He responded with an energetic thumb up and a glinting smile, before flying over to his starting point.

The adult looked concerned after the green clad ninja. Shaking his head casually checked the time. He sighed and looked up. "You have until noon tomorrow to complete this mission, you may start now." He raised a flare gun towards the skies and pulled the trigger to start the mocked mission.

Gai gave a loud and happy; "YOUTH!", which probably exploded Iruka's eardrums, before taking off in such a fast sprint he left the rest of his team in a cloud of dust. They looked shocked at the sheer speed before turning pleadingly to the Chunin that flared the time.

The ninja smirked. "You should probably follow him. He has the map after all." He said and Iruka shoulders sagged in defeat as they heard Gai shout from a far distance.

"Come my youthful team! We need to hurry so our springtime will flourish!"

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To be continued…