Memory lane

Author's Note:

For those that didn't know where I got the idea of Ashina's last stand from, it's from the Silmarillion. Hurin was of the race of Men and was considered the greatest warrior of Men in all of Middle Earth. (The First Age had elves and half-elves that could slay balrogs on their own). Hurin stayed behind to hold off the forces of Morgoth, Sauron's master, and killed 70 trolls while shouting 'Aure entuluva'. This is directly from the Silmarillion.

"Last of all Hurin stood alone. Then he cast aside his shield, and wielded an axe two-handed; and it is sung that the axe smoked in the black blood of the troll-guard of Gothmog until it withered, and each time that he slew he cried: 'Aure entuluva! Day shall come again!' Seventy times he uttered that cry; but they took him at last alive, by the command of Morgoth, for the Orcs grappled him with their hands, which clung to him still though he hewed off their arms; and ever their numbers were renewed, until at last he fell buried beneath them. Then Gothmog bound him and dragged him away to Angband with mockery."

One of my favorite parts of the Silmarillion.

And a HUGE disclaimer. I don't own Naruto. I sure as Hell don't own the Silmarillion or ANY books, films, or shows that I make references to. This is fanfiction that I make no money off of. I'm just playing in other people's sandbox.

Anyway, here's new chapter.

For those who commented about the supposed Rin/Naru possibility: It was never going to be a thing. They're not getting together. Like I put in the first author's note, no twincest in this fic.

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"Yoshino-san," I greeted Shikamaru's mother at the door, "I hope Shikamaru gave a head's up that I was coming?"

Nara Yoshino was a dark haired woman in her thirties with dark eyes, the lady looking at me skeptically.

"Uzumaki Naruto," She said neutrally, her eyes glinting with an emotion I couldn't make out, "I've heard of your escapades from my son and his teammates. I hope they embellished it."

"They probably downplayed it," I admitted, shrugging my shoulders, "Shikamaru doesn't like that I train like Gai-sensei and expect effort from him."

'Please be overdramatic, Shika.' I thought to myself. Shikamaru said his mom could see through lies and had struck his dad with a pan before...and I could see it behind her back.

"Hmm," She hummed, thinking to herself. She slowly smiled and laughed softly. "I'm thankful that my son has friends that encourage him to train." The way she said the word made me involuntarily shiver.

'Shikamaru, I'm here to free you.'

"I'll go tell him you're here." Her smile, which was unsettling to me, shifted into a scowl as she turned. "Shikamaru!" She shouted, "Your friend is here!"

I cringed at how loud she was, my sympathy for the Nara men going up a notch.

After a minute or so, Shikamaru came down, his hands wrapped to convince his mom that he actually was going to be doing taijutsu training.

"Shika." I greeted him politely, glancing at his hands, "About time you actually prepared before I got here."

Shikamaru barely reacted to what I was doing, the two of us having planned this out already.

"Troublesome." He muttered, walking outside next to me.

I gave Yoshino a wave and smirked.

"He'll be crawling back home," I promised her, "Training will be fun."

"Ah," Yoshino genuinely smiled, "You're such a sweet boy. If only Shikaku had a friend like you when he was your age," Her eyes then turned to Shikamaru. "Listen to him and do everything he says."

"Yes, mom." Shikamaru looked away, probably so she wouldn't spot the lie.

The two of us left and we exited the area, getting to a training ground after we walked there without saying a word to each other.

Once we got there, I glanced at Shikamaru expectantly.

"Can I take these off?" Shikamaru gestured towards the wrappings around his hands, fidgeting a bit.

I nodded and made a cross sign, spawning two clones, one of them Henging as Shikamaru.

"Go through the usual motion," I instructed them, turning back to face the Nara heir, "Ready?"

Shikamaru nodded and I threw my arms out, letting myself fall into my back and look up at the clouds.

Shikamaru opted out of falling down and just lounged with his arms behind his head, gazing at the clouds.

We did nothing but that for close to half an hour, not saying anything at all. But eventually, I glanced over at Shikamaru and spoke.

"Any idea on what you're going to do a few years from now?" I asked, expecting some type of vague and bored response.

Sure enough, Shikamaru sighed and turned towards me slightly, his dark eyes holding a calculating expression.

"Why are like the way you are?" He asked simply, looking back up at the sky.

I blinked and tilted my head with some surprise.

"Come again?"

Shikamaru scowled lightly and sat up, staring directly at me.

"You help me out, train like someone possessed, are both extremely nice and extremely vicious at different times, and the higher ups seem to favour you because you're not part of a genin team, nor have you been assigned to a jonin."

I honestly should've expected Shikamaru to figure out that I was being treated differently compared to everyone else, but it still left me a little annoyed that he brought it up when we were supposed to be relaxing, mainly for his sake.

"I wouldn't expect you to be obtuse enough to bring up that stuff and not think it was private or kept a secret for a reason." I said coldly, not breaking eye contact.

Shikamaru flinched and looked apologetic as he put up his hand.

"I didn't mean it to sound harsh. I just don't like not knowing things."

I relented and sighed irritably.

"Being smart and having an instinctive grasp on what chakra can do isn't fun, Shikamaru," I said quietly, glancing at the two Henged clones, "Or at least not as fun as some would think."

Shikamaru's expression didn't hold any of the laid-back or uninterested look he usually exhibited, so I could assume that he was pretty damned interested.

He didn't even have to prompt me to talk.

"I like talking with you because you can actually hold a conversation without looking down a bit at me as an adult when I talk about this kind of stuff."

I'd talked with Kakashi about how I could potentially improve the world, wanting input from somebody who actually grew up and lived through a warlike timeframe.

It opened my eyes up to how cynical Kakashi could be at times. I could tell he wasn't completely convinced that he'd ever see an uninterrupted era of peace that wasn't caused by a catastrophic war shattering nations. That was basically what happened to Iwa in the Third War and Konoha when Obito unleashed Kurama.

But Kakashi was still the one I could talk to about this stuff in a more relatable way than Hiruzen. Hiruzen was simply too old and from a completely different type of upbringing than me.

Shikamaru seemed to understand somewhat, leaning back and looking back up at the sky.

"Adults are troublesome." He muttered, "And women."

I scoffed at the last part, expecting that from the Nara.

"But we can't live without them." I replied, expecting him to get annoyed.

He didn't disappoint.

"You sound like my dad," He grumbled, giving me a side eye glance, "Sakura is troublesome. Ino isn't as bad, but she's still a troublesome blonde."

"Careful, Shika," I mock warned, "Rin is a blonde too."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"Then you know what I mean," Shikamaru stared at me seriously, "She's a menace when she wants to be. She's not like that with me, but I see how she acts around Sasuke. I'm surprised they haven't tried to kill each other."

Leave it to Shikamaru to not have much of an issue with arguably the most chaotic and headstrong girl in our entire generation, my sister.

"I've lived with her for almost thirteen years, Shikamaru," I said flatly, "I can personally say that she definitely can't compare to me on being a menace."

"Then thank Kami you aren't a girl."

I actually laughed at that, looking at a cloud that looked vaguely like a cow.

"Long answer or short answer on why women are great."

Shikamaru scowled and sat up.

"I'd prefer training over listening to you go on one of your sermons."

"Just because your dad doesn't explain why doesn't mean he's whipped." I pointed out, "Although your mom definitely is a bit over the top."

"A bit?" He asked sarcastically.

"Okay, she's crazy," I admitted with a smile, "But girls aren't constantly crazy like you think. You just need to understand them."

"And you do?" He deadpanned, "The guy who trains and trains constantly?"

"I've lived with Rin my entire life," I returned the same deadpan energy he used, "You're not as smart as they say the Nara are."

Shikamaru sighed tiredly and stood up, stretching his arms as he looked towards me.

"Thanks for the excuse to get out of the house." He started to walk away, "I'll probably just walk around some. Same time next week?"

I nodded at the question, but thought of something else a second later.

"Henge as me or Sasuke," I advised, hiding my sinister grin, "Nobody will bother you then."

Shikamaru looked at me suspiciously, but he shrugged and walked away, leaving me alone with my two clones.

After the little slice of relaxation passed, I got off the ground and went to Sasuke's house, expecting Rin to be there after the both hilarious and aggravating decision Kakashi made to get them to cooperate.

A brisk walk through the village, a street vendor that was usually neutral towards Rin and me got a bit of business from me when I bought the weird kebab looking meat he sold, taking a bite.

Still eating it, I eventually got to Sasuke's house and almost choked when I saw both Sasuke and Rin trying to put the door back on.

Snickering to myself, I stayed back and made a half seal with my right hand and pursed my lips, forcing some of my chakra to form into water.

Suiton: Mouth Shot.

I kept the water blunt so it wouldn't actually hurt, but it still whistled through the air as it shot towards the back of Sasuke's head.

The concentrated bit of water struck Sasuke with enough force to knock him to the ground, startling Rin.

Right before Rin turned to look at where it came from, I Henged as Kakashi and walked towards them, eye smiling like the silver haired jonin.

"How are my adorable little genin doing in team building exercises?" I asked happily, smirking as Rin gave me a deathglare.

"Bakakashi," She gritted out, leaning down to help Sasuke up, his hair soaked at the back and plastered to his head, "What is your problem?"

Sasuke's customary glare normally reserved for me was aimed at who he thought was Kakashi, but I just smiled.

"You both need to be constantly aware of your surroundings," I then fixed my gaze on Sasuke, "Instead of thinking of how pretty you think your teammate is."

Sasuke scowled openly, while Rin just simply glared.

"Will you stop it?" She asked, "I already have to deal with Sasuke and Naruto."

"Why are you talking like I'm not even here?" Sasuke asked irritably, "You broke my door and I have to deal with you just as much."

"That was an accident!" Rin said hotly, grumbling under her breath in English with words that she definitely shouldn't be saying.

"Language, young lady." I couldn't help but say, not wanting Rin to say those words.

Rin scowled at me, narrowing her eyes.

"You're not my dad," She glared at me, before she tilted her head in suspicion, "and how did you know what I said even?"

Thinking quickly, I shrugged lazily.

"Naruto says those exact words when he's angry, so I assume it's profanity that's not appropriate for a little lady like you."

Rin's face was getting progressively redder as she kept getting angrier at being put on the spot.

"I bet you're not mad at Naruto though." She accused, muttering under her breath again.

"I can hear you," I said flatly, ignoring the hypocrisy of me being particular about Rin when I swore like a sailor at times, "And Naruto is older... and a boy."

Sasuke took a step away from Rin when she predicably got mad.

"3 minutes!" She scowled, grabbing the door on her own and lifting it up against the frame, "And what does being a boy have to do with me speaking my language?!"

"Princess's shouldn't swear." I said simply, clicking my tongue when Rin pinched a couple of her fingers forcing the door in place, causing her let out more expletives.

"Language."

It wasn't me that said it that time, it was Sasuke. And boy did he look pleased with himself for aggravating my sister.

Rin whirled around and shot an icy look at Sasuke, her hands balled into fists.

Without breaking eye contact, Rin kicked the door and knocked it back down.

Sasuke's head jerked to the door, looking horrified before shifting to anger.

"Stop destroying my house!" Sasuke shouted, leaning towards Rin and glaring directly into her eyes.

Rin had the audacity to giggle, shooting me a quick look before she turned back to Sasuke.

"It's our house, Sasuke-kun." She said happily, hopping a bit in excitement.

At my confusion as well Sasuke's, Rin tilted her head to the side and leaned forward, planting a kiss on Sasuke's cheek.

Sasuke stiffened and turned red to the roots of his hair, while I nearly choked on air and turned away.

"I'll see you two at training." I managed to say, repulsed by Rin harassing Sasuke.

Right before I Shunshined away, I heard Rin giggle and say something that annoyed the hell out of me.

"Later, onii-chan."

I still shot away, but that little comment made me realize that she figured out that it was me disguised as Kakashi.

My little sister predictably poked the one spot she knew would get a reaction out of me, and it obviously worked.

'I hate you for corrupting my sister, Anko.' I thought to myself as I ran towards the training grounds.

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"What was that for?" Sasuke demanded, still red-faced from what just happened.

Rin made a show of grimacing and wiping her mouth, spitting to the side for good measure.

"That was Naruto, not Kakashi-sensei," Rin explained, fighting back the snicker at her brother's reaction, as well as Sasuke's.

Naruto thought it was good fun to aggravate her, so she'd respond in kind by making him uncomfortable.

Sasuke getting embarrassed was just a bonus.

"What does your brother," Sasuke seemed to avoid Naruto's name for some reason, "Have to do with you kissing me?"

Rin giggled again, causing Sasuke to back away from her a bit.

"Something to know about Naruto," She smiled, forming a clone with a hand seal to put the door in place, "He doesn't like it when I'm around you."

Not liking it was an understatement. Naruto practically glowed when she went on about how annoying Sasuke was to deal with. But to be honest, Sasuke wasn't that bad. Sure, he was reclusive, cold at times, and extremely arrogant when he wanted to be, but he actually went through the effort of remaining civil.

It still didn't change how fun it was to wind him up.

But what was even better was the thought of when Naruto found out that she actually enjoyed being around Sasuke some of the time. His reaction would be hilarious.

"I don't like being around you." Sasuke scowled, pushing his damp hair back from Naruto's jutsu, "And how are you going to fix my door?"

"Our door," Rin said teasingly, turning to face the now in place door as her clone popped, "Not my fault that the hinges broke."

"You tried to fix the squeaking hinge by putting a seal on it." Sasuke reminded her irritably.

Rin rolled her eyes, pulling out four senbon from a storage seal stitched on her sleeve.

"Do you hear it squeaking anymore?" She put two of the senbon in the bottom hinge to act as a temporary replacement for the broken pins, repeating the process for the top as well.

She could hear Sasuke sigh audibly.

"You're definitely related to Naruto."

"And you're definitely a stick in the mud." Rin stood up, wiping the dust off her pants, "And I just realized that I didn't get my stuff out of your house from yesterday."

Rin did not want to tell Sasuke what she accidentally left. He'd be pissed and rightfully so.

"What is it?" He sighed once more, looking resigned to it, "I'll grab it for you."

"Ooh, a gentleman," Rin intentionally mocked him, wanting him to not be helpful, "Are you trying to save the beautiful princess?" She snickered as he scowled in the way he always did, curling his lip and narrowing his eyes.

"Fine," He turned away from her, leaning against the wall, "Grab it and hurry up."

Rin smiled and gingerly pushed the door open, cringing when she heard it scrape.

Sasuke forced himself to not look, but Rin walked on into his living room. She then grabbed the pack she'd forgotten, being packed with explosives that were to be tested out when she had the opportunity.

'I will never hear the end of it from Sasuke if he found out. She walked out and closed the door, glancing at the raven haired Uchiha.'

"Ready?" She asked politely, already having her fill of annoying Sasuke. A certain amount was fun, but too much was just being cruel.

Sasuke grunted an affirmative and started walking towards the training grounds they needed to, staying silent while doing it.

The two walked through one of the streets that had a few people selling from small stands, the wares mostly trinkets.

Just like her twin, Rin could hear the mutters of people clearly, except they said different things about her compared to Naruto.

The blonde ignored them, but she still decided to be petulant and bared her teeth at one, causing him to flinch away.

Sasuke, if he saw anything, didn't comment.

Once they got within sight of the training grounds, Sasuke turned to her.

"I expect you to replace the hinges you broke." He said without any room for denial.

Rin stared at him silently, tilting her head at him.

"There's no way you're going to have a wife with that attitude."

Sasuke flinched and wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Like I said," He turned away sharply, "I won't bring stupidity into my clan."

Rin shook her head at that and lengthened her stride, smacking the back of Sasuke's head as she passed him.

"I'll fix the hinges if you beat me in a spar." She then sprinted forward to the training grounds, ready for some fun.

She didn't notice the expression on Sasuke's face.

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Naruto pov:

I looked at the Ino, Sakura, and Hinata practicing the first stage of Iryo-ninjutsu on superficial cuts that they'd gotten when undergoing dodge training with Anko, the woman flinging kunai at them, with envy.

I knew, realistically speaking, I'd be far more likely to make a limb explode than to heal it. My chakra control may have been considered above average of what a chunin with normal chakra reserves would have, much better than what I'd expected, but I'd never be able to heal a teammate or friend when my chakra was so chaotic.

The only way I could would be if there were seals the Uzumaki clan had designed to possibly manipulate chakra by filtering certain parts of it to resemble medical chakra and a tightened filter to not overload the injury. At least one Uzumaki would have designed something to get around the hurdle of massive reserves making healing a little problematic. Me and Rin were the exception on healing from fatal injuries, but regular Uzumaki didn't have half a Bijuu on hand to bolster their healing.

I'll need to broach the topic with Hiruzen.

Turning back to Sasuke, I took a ready stance.

"Ready, duckling?" I asked with a grin.

"Ready as ever, fox." he grinned back.

Sasuke, without realizing how damn close he was, realized that I would only cut down on the nicknames and jokes if my target responded in kind. It meant they learned to at least partially shrug it off and think of a retaliatory response without getting angry. I just had the misfortune of having red hair, whisker marks, and a mischievous personality. So of course Sasuke would think of "fox" as a nickname. It didn't stop me, Rin, and Kakashi from nearly having a damn heart attack the first time he said it.

'Think later. Focus now.'

I charged Sasuke, ready to have some fun. My first punch was aimed at his face, only to be blocked no problem. We fell into a rhythm of punches and kicks, the flow of attacks being blocked and countered by the other. I could see how Sasuke's style was incomplete without his Sharingan. The Uchiha combat style relied on the processing speed of their eyes and the slight predictive nature of it. Sasuke had neither.

It didn't change the fact that he was almost as good as one could be without the Sharingan to augment it. Punch to chin, only to be blocked. Kick to the ribs avoided. Grappling his arm when he didn't retract it in time, I pulled him towards me to get him in an armlock. Sasuke let me pull him forward.

Before I could let go, he let his legs collapse to fall to the ground. He brought his right leg up and kicked right underneath the arm I'd gripped him with.

The lower angle he was at would've caused my shoulder to twist horribly from the kick if I didn't let go.

I dropped his foot and flung a kunai at his face, which he blocked with his own. The Uchiha flipped up with his legs and charged at me again, his right fist raised.

I ducked slightly and pushed my forearm up between his fist and my face, lashing out with a kick. Sasuke twisted out of the way and ended up blindly swinging an additional kunai that somehow clipped off my bracer and buried itself in-between the bones in my arm.

Growling, I let go of Sasuke, not able to clench my fist. I tried to yank it out, but Sasuke didn't give me time. He charged forward and started raining punches towards my face, knowing I couldn't stop them all with one arm.

One of the punches he sent, I let through. Anyone else, it might have knocked them out. But my brain wasn't as squishy as the other mortals. I was an Uzumaki. We had the toughest heads and brains in all the land.

The punch knocked me to the ground. Feigning disorientation, I let Sasuke think he had an opening to jump on me to subdue me. The look of complete shock on his face when I drove both feet into his chest when he stepped towards me was priceless.

He ended up curling into a ball, trying to get air back into his lungs. I decided not to end the fight, I wanted it to last. Sasuke had made immense improvement over the last month, only Rin and me making more than him.

I stood up and pulled the kunai out, hissing as it burned from sealing shut. Jumping up and rotating my arm, I looked back at Sasuke who was back on his feet, nursing his chest slightly.

"Ready to quit?" I asked.

Sasuke's gaze went over me with a reproaching feel to it.

"Not a chance." He shot back.

"Good," I grinned, "I like it when my prey fights back."

Sasuke just glared at me, before charging me this time. His flying kick at my head was blocked, and I pivoted on my left leg as Sasuke's momentum sent him over my head. I managed to block the second kick to my head as he twisted in the air, kunai being pulled from his holster.

Drawing my own, we clashed into each other with our kunais screeching as they made contact.

Sasuke strained to match my strength, my kunai getting closer to him.

"You're not strong enough," I said neutrally, feeling his arms shake from the effort, "Don't try to match me where I'm strongest at."

Sasuke growled and drove a knee towards my ribs. I lifted my leg to block it, only to feel my leg jolt from the hit. Having your kneecap get hit at a bad angle by another kneecap doesn't feel good at all.

Sasuke winced, it hurting him more than me. I managed to break his block and grabbed at his shirt to pull him towards me. I used my chakra to get his shirt to stick to my hand since his shirt wasn't slick to my chakra like Kakashi's shirt was.

Sasuke, probably suspecting I'd pull him into a headbutt to break his nose again, jerked back. I heard a tearing sound and felt the resistance on my grip slacken. I looked down and saw that I had Sasuke's shirt in my hand. I looked up and was met with I sight I'd never forget.

Sasuke was standing in front of me shirtless. I knew that the Uchiha had a paler complexion than most people, but this was ridiculous. His chest was almost as white as his teeth. The sweat made his skin seem to glow in the sun, and a memory made itself known that came from nowhere.

Vampires are shiny.

I fell over and started laughing hysterically, still holding onto Sasuke's shirt. Sasuke looked ready to freak out that his shirt was off and several girls were around. None of the kunoichi that were currently training with an ANBU for introductory Iryo-ninjutsu seemed to realize what had just happened.

Rin and most of the boys who were doing taijutsu weren't far away and saw what happened. Gai and Kakashi were busy sparring with each other, and Asuma and Kurenai were 'sparring' as well, more like flirting.

"Give me my shirt." he growled quietly, looking at the girls nervously.

"You look like a pearl." I managed to wheeze out, finding this to be the funniest thing I could imagine.

Sasuke would have been the prettiest girl of our generation if he was a chick, based simply on how he would have probably looked as a girl in the same way Rin looked like a female 'Naruto'.

I was aware that several of the boys found Rin to be very pretty. I didn't need to give them the whole 'I'm gonna stomp your guts out if you break her heart' talk that most brothers felt the need to do. Rin would threaten to cut their balls off if they did something outlandishly stupid. Probably why nobody tried to ask her out, probably thinking she was crazy instead of bluntly honest.

Sasuke gave me a withering glare, his eyes flicking towards the girls.

"Give me my damn shirt." He demanded.

I managed to stop my laughing for a moment. I shot him my biggest grin, before I pushed some chakra into a spare storage seal I had on my bracer. His shirt disappeared in a small flash.

"Oh no!", I exclaimed, looking around, "I seem to have lost it. I'm so sorry, Uke-kun. What ever shall you do?" I was internally cackling.

Sasuke's face twisted into anger and he charged at me.

I grinned when I thought of an idea. I Henged as the Sexy jutsu and started giggling, running away from Sasuke.

"Give it back!" he shouted, grabbing the attention of the girls.

"Never, Sasuke-kun!" I shouted, abruptly stopping and letting him tackle me.

Sasuke realized what I had Henged as moments after he started grabbing me and jumped off me like he'd been burnt, revulsion clear on his face.

"Punish me, Sasuke-kun," I begged him, "I stole your shirt and I've been a bad girl."

"Shut up." Sasuke glared at me, the look of disgust still present.

I noticed that the girls were watching us. Sakura was blushing as she looked at Sasuke without a shirt, while Hinata looked resigned to my antics.

"Sasuke-kun," I cooed, hiding any disgust I had by focusing on how pissed I was making Sasuke, "You need to loosen up and stop being a blushing maiden. Be proud of you pastiness."

Sasuke started visibly shaking and I silently wondered if his Sharingan was possibly going activate from me pissing him off.

I lost the battle with keeping a straight face and started laughing openly.

"Okay okay, I'll stop," I said, putting a hand up to calm him down.

I pulsed chakra into the bracer to open it, his blue shirt coming out.

"Here," I said, tossing the shirt to Sasuke," Sorry for tearing your shirt. Didn't know you'd pull away."

Sasuke pulled the shirt on, his glare slightly less hateful.

"Why the do you act like that?" he asked after forcing himself to not take the bait of staying mad.

I walked closer to him to whisper it. "Enemy kunoichi will use their bodies to catch you off guard. They've turned seduction into an art form. It's a bad way to die."

Sasuke's eyes widened, not even thinking of that.

"I think it's just an excuse to annoy me," he said, "But you're still an idiot." he snarked good naturedly.

I grinned back at him, "And you're a perv."

We both turned to see the audience we had. Hinata looked about as emotionless as her sister, father, and cousin could be, possibly from hiding any annoyance towards me riling up her teammate. Ino had her eyes moving back and forth between me and Sasuke, not knowing what to think. While Sakura was still looking at Sasuke.

Neji had been trying to catch a breather after a taijutsu spar with Rin and was giving me a glare.

"Jealous, Neji-kun?" I smiled at him, grinning even more when he twitched.

I'd embarrassed Neji when I sparred against him last week, making him hate me.

He wasn't expecting me to Henge as a very attractive female the moment his Byakugan was active. Neji hated me ever since I 'mistook' him for a girl when we first met, waxing poetic about how we were 'Fated' for one another, and the Sexy jutsu stunt knocked him down a peg or two.

But I still thought "mistaking" him for a girl was funnier.

Telling a boy he had 'Such bright, beautiful, eyes like the full moon and long, luscious hair' doesn't exactly sit well with them. Who'd have thunk it?

Kakashi had heard the last part and just shook his head, glancing at an irritated looking Gai as they finished their own taijutsu spar to keep in prime condition.

"You're an idiot and a fool." Neji said simply, trying to ignore me.

"Try as you might," I said happily, "You cannot wrestle with Fate."

Neji's glare came back again at my dismissive tone regarding 'Fate'.

We're all Fated to die, yet I didn't seem bothered by it.

Winning against 'Fate' may be impossible, but other people had wrestled with it and got something out of it.

Every nation and people had their heroes that defied the undefiable. Orpheus, Heracles, Arthur, Siegfried, Roland. Neji needs to chill out, he's self-imposing a sense of inability because of ink and chakra placed on his damn forehead.

"Naruto," Kakashi warned, "Behave."

I rolled my eyes and nodded, deciding being an ass wasn't worth the hassle for now.

"Fine," I said, "Anything for me to do? I beat Sasuke and the girls are working on other stuff. I'm bored."

Boredom. The bane geniuses, especially the eccentric ones, such as myself.

"I could have you spar with Kurenai." Kakashi thought out loud, "You really took a shining to her."

I just shot him a glare. I still hated fighting against her. Genjutsu specialists were pains in the ass, especially for someone who hates that kind of stuff.

"Pass." I said simply.

Kakashi seemed to think for a moment. He evidently thought of something because he glanced at Asuma, who was still 'sparring' with Kurenai.

Taking the initiative, I Henged as the Hokage and shouted at Asuma.

"Asuma! Stop staring at Kurenai's tits!"

Asuma's head shot directly towards me, a look of fear on his face at his father catching him ogling his 'not my girlfriend' friend. His hands lowered and one of Kurenai's punches slipped through and struck his eye, making him almost fall hard backwards.

"What the hell?" He said, grabbing at his eye.

"You might want to check your eyes." I snarked, relishing in the irritated look he shot me as I dropped the Henge.

Kurenai was apologizing profusely to Asuma, not meaning to hit his eye.

Asuma walked straight towards me.

"Why?" He asked, more like demanded.

"Kakashi has a question." I said simply.

Asuma looked pissed, but turned to look at Kakashi, requesting clarification.

"You think your Genin team's ready to fight Naruto again?" He asked.

Asuma thought for a moment, looking at Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino.

"Have them fight Rin first," he said, "They need to know how to fight against someone who's a Ninjutsu specialist that isn't you or Naruto."

"What's wrong with me?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"You don't know how to pull your punches properly." Asuma deadpanned.

"What?" I asked, affronted by such a statement, "I'll have you know that I spar against my fellow genin with the utmost care." I finished, my nose turned up.

"You hit Shikamaru in the balls."

I grimaced at the memory. "You know that was an accident."

It wasn't a hard hit, but it still managed to make him say he needed to sit down for a second to make sure he didn't get sick. It was nothing compared to the night terror inducing hit I received from Rin.

Asuma just shook his head, before Kakashi explained.

"You're better than Rin at fighting multiple people, Naruto. You won't get much out of fighting them and I can tell you're tired from all the training you've been doing." The way Kakashi worded it had me twitching.

I'd been kicking my private training in the forest into a higher gear to keep my progress in Ninjutsu from stagnating, but it left me drained of chakra when I overdid it like last time.

Hell, I'd been supposed to meet with Konohamaru and passed out at one point in training, missing our meeting.

"They need to work on their teamwork, and Rin needs to get better at fighting multiple opponents."

"But it's fun fighting them."

"Then fight me." Asuma said flatly.

"You're boring and smell like smoke." I deadpanned, "And wind jutsu is for losers."

"Your sister uses wind." Asuma pointed out, scoffing at the juvenile insult.

"And?" I raised a brow. "I'm the superior sibling."

I was thankful Rin was sparring with Lee a distance away with Anko supervising so she didn't fuss about hard truths.

"Kakashi," Asuma sighed, turning to the man, "Please, muzzle your dog."

"I'm a fox, not a dog." I sniffed imperiously, "I don't lick my balls. I'm sneaky and a menace."

"Naruto." Kakashi eventually decided to rain on my parade, "Stop."

I cut it out and decided to stop making his job of dealing with a bunch of students a hair pulling nightmare.

The other genin kept looking back and forth between us, still surprised that I kept up the whole 'defiant back talker' that I'd been doing for the last several weeks. I didn't care though. It was fun and I wanted the Jonin to know how I could be before we started working on missions that were different from cleaning up dog shit, babysitting, and gardening.

I had a very short fuse for tolerating idiotic things and I was worse than Rin on being intentionally aggravating when I put my mind to it.

"Fine," I said, "I understand."

Asuma nodded and looked to his genin, gesturing for them to come to him. Kakashi wondered off to grab Rin and started speaking with her to come to him.

"Sit over there with the other genin." He instructed me after he came back with Rin.

I nodded and did so, walking over to where Hinata and Sasuke were.

"Why are you acting that way towards Neji?" Hinata asked me quietly, not wanting to be overheard.

I took a deep breath. "He's too obsessed with his love affair with 'Fate'." I said.

She frowned at what I said.

"Do you have to be so rude about it?"

I knew why she was sometimes uncomfortable with how I acted towards the other genin. It reminded her of how her father used to treat her when she'd make a mistake, until he realized how much it was hurting her.

But I wasn't hurting them the way Hiashi had hurt Hinata. If I did that with Rin, it'd be different. The other genin didn't have a close relationship to me like a father and daughter would or a brother and sister. Shikamaru was a good conversationalist and a good acquaintance, but no one else aside from Hinata and Rin were close friends to me. What I was doing wasn't scarring to them like what Hiashi had done.

"Better they learn now, from someone who really does care for them," I said quietly, "Instead of out in the field."

You could only do so much to mentally prepare someone for the outside world. Combat was different from training. I knew what it was like to kill someone. I also knew what war could be like. I knew Kakashi kept some details out when he talked vaguely on some of the things he saw in the Third War.

Kakashi obviously didn't think I would react completely well if he up and told me that I'd be dismembered and killed if Iwa found out who I was. I still remembered when I murdered my own clones when I found copies of reports from Jonin that were deployed near the border with the land of Earth. Yamanaka girls with blonde hair ended up being found naked, with their heads scalped. I needed something to get the thought of Rin being one of those girls out of my head. I never told Kakashi about me killing my own clones with the most painful Jutsu I knew.

Getting the memories of dying repeatedly and painfully helped to drown out the images of Rin that sprung up in my head. I knew, beyond all doubt, that it is very unhealthy to do so, but I didn't want to bring it up because Kakashi and the Hokage would dig until they realized I knew who my father was. It wasn't something I wanted to deal with at the moment.

"You say you care for them," Hinata countered, "But do they know that." she pointed towards Ino and Sakura.

I went to say something, to tell her that I'd already started to talk with them to apologize for my less than gentle approach in the Academy, but Hinata held up a hand to stop me.

"I know why you're harsh to them," she said firmly, "Ino is a Yamanaka. They'll try to sell her because of her clan's mind abilities."

'She realizes what they do to kunoichi?'

"How did you know that?" I asked, unconvinced that Hiashi or anyone else would have told her yet.

Hinata looked at me, but her gaze seemed to be slightly unfocused. "It happened to me when I was four." She whispered quietly.

'She was abducted. How could I have possibly overlooked that?'

Hinata was probably terrified that she'd be taken again if she wasn't strong enough, before she met me and Rin.

I looked away from her, not wanting to make eye contact.

"I'm not like what your Dad was." I forced out as I tried to not feel ashamed at forgetting something so important about my friend, still not looking at her.

I heard Hinata take a deep breath, before saying something.

"I would remember that memory as a good one, before we met." She said quietly, her voice cracking slightly.

No one else was around us. Sasuke had shifted towards the rest of the genin to get a better viewing angle of Rin and Asuma's team spar, which Hinata and I were ignoring to talk.

'What? Her abduction being a good memory?'

At my look of shock, she continued.

"My father saved me," she said quietly, "My mother had died," she paused for a moment, wiping away a tear, "And my father ignored me. He wouldn't even look at me when he would speak at times without getting silent."

This was obviously a painful memory for her. I couldn't let her do this to herself.

"Hinata," I started.

She glared straight at me. "Uzumaki Naruto," she interrupted, "You will not stop me from helping you like you helped me. You will not interrupt me. Do. You. Understand?" She finished firmly, fire in her eyes.

I closed my mouth and let the rest of what I was going to say die on my lips.

'Where did this come from?'

Hinata never interrupted me. She wasn't timid and unsure like she would have been, but she didn't try and force me to comply with something either. Was this really that important to her? To make sure I understood something?

Hinata took a deep breath to steady herself. "I tried to cry out for help when I was taken," She continued, "No one heard me. I gave up when I was stuffed in a bag and was carried away. That was the first time I activated my Byakugan."

'Screaming for help, but no one came. Not a soul answered. Not as my parents died. Not when the darkness, save for one bright spot, surrounded me. Not when unfamiliar people stole my last light from me. And not when the caustic chakra of the Kyuubi gnawed at my thoughts and dragged me into the realm of unconsciousness. Not a soul.'

I shivered at the memory of the day Rin and I were born, trying to avoid showing how much I was shaking.

"The first thing I saw through the bag was my father's chakra. He saved me, and held me, telling me he'd never lose me again. That he'd always protect me." She paused again, trying to keep her voice steady. "I always remembered the promise he made to me, even when he would shout at me, demand I do better, to not be weak."

I didn't know what to say. I never thought to ask Hinata about when she was almost taken. It wasn't something that seemed important to any conversation we had.

"He remembered his promise after the infiltrator broke in." She said, "My father may not admit it, but I think he's thankful for whatever the man said to him."

I tried to steady my thoughts to speak, but not sure what to say in the first place.

"You care for them," Hinata said again, "Even if they don't know it. Let them know why you're harsh to them. Don't end up like my father could have been."

I swallowed and nodded to her, knowing she was right because I'd already thought that too.

'I have been too harsh. They're not soldiers, even if they are on paper. They're naive and don't know the bad stuff in the world.'

I'll tell Hinata I'd already figured that out after this training session. She's been a good friend and is trying to help me, so I'll let her know that.

////////////////////

Ino pov:

'I hate Rin.' Ino thought, her arms aching from constant hits.

If it wasn't Naruto being strange and his behavior making her read as many psychology books written by her clansman to try and figure out what made Naruto tick, then it was the continuing gap between her and Rin.

The training sessions had started to reduce her like for Sasuke, but she still had a sort of crush on him. Naruto looked more rugged than Sasuke, but he actually interacted with her and she started having a more polite feel to her interactions with him after some D-ranks and actually seeing him outside of training.

Rin, and it made her jealous of Rin in another way, was the one Sasuke talked with the most and would actually smile sometimes when around her.

It made her feel inadequate. Try as she might, she could learn Iryo-ninjutsu, her clan techniques, and improve her sensory skills, but Uzumaki Rin would always beat her in spars and would run her into the ground.

Rin had evaded Shikamaru's shadow, she'd been able to almost match Choji in brute strength, and she kept calling Ino the same word that applied to her.

Dumb bitch.

The clones she made kept Shikamaru from holding her still, and the wind and weak fire jutsu they fired at Choji made him keep his distance. Rin constantly, whenever she had the chance to, would attack her to take her out. She couldn't understand why. Why her? Why not Choji or Shikamaru? Why was she, out of her other teammates, worthy of Rin's personal attention?

"Why do you keep attacking me?" She demanded, her head pounding from a kick to her temple.

Rin just tilted her head and grinned, not appearing tired at all.

"You're the weak link." she shrugged.

Ino growled at that.

"I'm not weak." she gritted out.

"You're panting and can barely stand," Rin deadpanned, "Shikamaru is in better shape and he's smarter than you."

Ino hated every word that came out of the bitch's mouth.

'No.' Ino scolded herself. It wasn't fair to call Rin that.

Ino kept up a defiant mask, jabbing at Rin's face and twisting and bobbing to avoid the kicks and punch Rin tried to hit her with, the Yamanaka's breathing laboured from fatigue.

She wasn't lying about anything she said. Ino was in worse shape than Shikamaru, she couldn't think herself out of a trap as well as him, and she wasn't as physically strong as him. The only thing she had was her Iryo-ninjutsu.

'If I can't be better than anyone, how can I even call myself a kunoichi?'

Her father's look of disappointment. The shake of his head at her failure to listen to him.

Shouting, Ino charged Rin with the strength she had left, wanting to at least get one true hit in.

Her punch went to Rin's face. Rin diverted it down and threw a quick jab with her off hand as a counter. Ino barely blocked it before it made contact with her face. Rin followed through with an axe kick to Ino's head and her guard collapsed from the force of the kick, driving her to one knee. Before Rin could capitalize on her vulnerability, Rin's eyes widened and she did 2 quick handsigns and was replaced with a log.

Ino quickly glanced to where Rin looked and saw Shikamaru about 20 yards away, his whole posture looking fatigued, his hands forming a sign, with his shadow grasping the log Rin had used for her Kawarimi.

"Troublesome clones." She heard him grit out, his shadow wavering slightly, before he deactivated his Jutsu.

Ino heard a shout and turned to Shikamaru's left, seeing Choji suplex Rin into the ground. She saw it was a clone when 'Rin' popped in a puff of smoke. Shikamaru looked bad, but Choji looked worse. His clothes had scorch marks all over them from near misses from a surprise fire Jutsu from Rin, another thing added to her arsenal, he was favoring his left leg slightly, and he was breathing heavily.

"You're going to have to do better than that, Shikamaru." Rin grinned, about thirty yards in front of Ino.

Shikamaru just stared at her, his face twitched slightly.

'He's going to stall to think of a strategy and to give us time to catch our breath.'

"How did you know I was sending my shadow?" He asked, "You weren't looking, and you aren't a sensor like Naruto." he frowned.

Rin didn't answer, not wanting to give anything away.

"I speared a clone with my shadow," Shikamaru said out loud to himself, before he tensed and looked at Naruto, before looking back to Rin. "That's why you two use Kage bunshin."

The blonde Uzumaki cursed under her breath at some unknown discovery that Ino didn't know, her hands clenching.

Rin tensed and charged at Shikamaru, throwing her hands up to form close to thirty clones. Ino made the first handsign to use her clan's mind Jutsu, but a clone Shunshined directly into her, dispelling, but knocking her to the ground with all the air forced from her lungs.

Coughing and pulling herself up, she saw Shikamaru shape his hands into a seal forming a partial sphere around him out of his chakra, before blasting it out in inky black spikes. The dozen clones that blitzed him were impaled and dispelled. Shikamaru collapsed to his knees after the shadows retracted, the Jutsu obviously taking most of his remaining chakra.

Choji did a partial body expansion and smashed several of the clones, but two clones stayed back and launched two Jutsu, one a wind jutsu that she didn't recognize and the other a fireball. Choji replaced himself with a small boulder to his right, but Rin already had several other clones circling where they were fighting. Rin's clones brought Choji down as they swarmed him and slapped multiple gravity seals on him to hold him down.

Ino jumped up and tried to do something to help her teammates and friends, but it was too late.

"Stop." She heard her Sensei call out. "Spar is over. Well done to everyone. Rin, take the seals off Choji. Ino," he turned to her, "Help Shikamaru get up, he looks like he needs it."

Shikamaru hadn't moved from where he collapsed, his breath more than a little ragged. Ino walked to him to help him up, most of his body weight being held up by her.

"What was that Jutsu you used?" She asked.

Shikamaru tried to steady his breathing to speak clearly. "It's one my Dad taught me. He said to use it when I was being overrun, it costs a lot of chakra," he grimaced, trying to keep his steps from dragging, "Can't say he wasn't wrong."

He's obviously been working on his clan jutsu just as much or more than I have. She thought, her face contorted in anger and shame.

Choji was already freed from the gravity seals and was waiting for them, right next to Asuma-sensei and Rin.

Shikamaru staggered slightly, forcing Ino to stop.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked.

"Yeah," he nodded, "Just a bit tired. That Jutsu is an intense one."

Ino again frowned at the Jutsu he mentioned.

It felt like she was turning her wheels and not even Shikamaru could be outpaced by her. Sakura was better at Iryo-ninjutsu and she had Kurenai to teach her Genjutsu. Hinata had her Byakugan to improve her already fairly decent grasp of anatomy.

Ino's clan couldn't do that.

"Don't be like that." Shikamaru said simply.

"Huh?" she asked.

"Don't take what Rin said seriously." he said, rolling his eyes at her, "You're not weak."

"Yes I am." She muttered.

Shikamaru pinched her side where he was holding on to her for support.

"Hey," she jumped from the pain, "What was that for?"

"Just because she punches harder and is faster doesn't mean you're weak. It just means she's better. I can hardly keep up with anyone. Do you think I'm weak?"

"No." she admitted. "But you're smarter."

Shikamaru scoffed. "Look what good that did against Rin. I had to pretty much destroy myself to stop her clones."

Ino knew that Shikamaru was right. Just because Rin was better, it didn't mean she was weak, but it still stung.

Who was she kidding? There were too many extremely skilled genin in their year and it made her feel helpless at times, even if it wasn't accurate.

"I understand," She muttered, "But I still don't like it."

"Keep training, and you'll close the gap," Shikamaru said simply, "That's what I've been doing against Naruto."

The two were quiet after that, walking slowly towards Asuma, Choji, and Rin.

Asuma looked Shikamaru up and down. "A bit stupid to use that Jutsu, don't you think?" he asked.

"Didn't realize it would take that much out of me." Shikamaru replied simply.

"When did you learn it?" Asuma asked.

"Just last week." Shikamaru answered.

Asuma nodded. "Well done," he said, "You managed to use it effectively, I'll give you that."

Shikamaru nodded at the praise.

"Now," Asuma continued, "I think it's about time for lunch, and I'm no medi-nin, but I think you need a healthy dose of cloud watching to clear up that exhaustion, hmnn?" he looked at Shikamaru.

Ino couldn't help but roll her eyes and giggle at her Sensei. She knew he was being partly serious about it too.

Shikamaru just grinned, looking forward to a nice long break to lounge and do nothing.

Ino helped Shikamaru over to the other genin, before sitting down herself.

////////////////////

Naruto pov:

'Ah, homemade pizza, the food of the gods.' I thought to myself.

All the genin were taking a lunch break from training, chowing down on our food. Rin was eating her bento box with all the necessary food for a physically active Shinobi, plus a slice of pizza I hand crafted.

Pizza was one of the foods I made. Drinks were sadly out of my reach. I didn't have the slightest clue on how to make Dr. Pepper or Big Red, putting me in a foul mood when I realized I didn't have a fitting beverage for the first pizza I ever made in this life just a couple years ago.

"What is that?" Sasuke asked me, looking at the pizza.

I smirked as I chose to bless the raven haired Uchiha with knowledge.

"This glorious creation of mine," I said grandly, "Is pizza. An unholy amalgamation of ground up wheat, crushed fruit paste, curdled bovine lactation, and cooked swine posterior." I finished.

Rin rolled her eyes at me and Sasuke looked unimpressed. "What is it?" he asked simply.

I just scowled at him. "Slightly crispy bread with tomato sauce, cheese, and meat on it. It's pretty good " I said, taking a bite from my slice.

"Was it really that difficult to say it that way in the first place?" Sasuke asked sarcastically.

"Nope," I said, taking another bite, "I just like screwing with people I like."

Sasuke just raised a brow.

"Really," He said, "You like me?" he asked flatly.

"Aside from being quiet and a bit abrasive," I started, "You aren't bad. You're an acquired taste, much like me."

Sasuke still looked at me with an appraising glint in his eyes.

"Why are you like that towards the fangirls?" He asked, "They weren't exactly as bad as you thought I was."

Sasuke was probably thinking I despised him initially, which he wouldn't be completely wrong. I saw the possibility of him taking what was precious to me, but I also saw the potential that he could do. The saying of 'Those who shine the brightest can cast the darkest shadow.' applies to him. With him being Indra's incarnation, he had power that few could ever dream to understand, let alone obtain. If I could guide him and mold him to understand what evil could be wrought from believing 'Might is Right', I could break the cycle. I could break the chain of two brothers reincarnating that began when one defied his father, questioning the judgment of a man forced, with his twin, to fight the woman who gave them life, who loved them as children, who was there for them when they cried and were scared.

I couldn't imagine fighting and try to kill my sister for centuries, or any children I'd have. I'd rather be in the void, everything that made me me withering into dust. If my legacy were to end, I don't want to see it.

I looked at Sasuke, lowering my tone so Rin wouldn't hear me. "It's not only Rin and Hinata I'm looking out for."

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly. He obviously still remembered the contents of what I said to him during the bell test, specifically about what would happen to Rin and Hinata if they were captured.

Sasuke just nodded his head. "I think I understand now."

I just smiled slightly and turned to look at the other genin that were a little ways away, letting my mind drift like the clouds above us.

//////////////////////

Ino pov:

Training for today was close to the end, being nearly 3:00, but Ino still wanted to talk to Naruto.

She walked towards him with purpose in her steps, intent on getting an answer from him. He was talking with Sasuke, Rin and Hinata right beside them, talking about something else.

Naruto perked his head and turned towards her, probably feeling her presence move towards him.

"Yes, Ino?" he asked, head tilted slightly.

Ino cut straight to the point. "Am I weak?" She asked, wanting an honest answer from someone who would be blunt with her.

Naruto thought for a moment, before he replied.

"What do you mean by weak?"

Ino puffed her cheeks in frustration. "Am I weak?" she demanded.

Naruto just rolled his eyes and looked straight into her own.

"You're stronger than a newborn but weaker than Tsunade."

Ino's face felt her face turn red from anger.

"That's not helpful." She said irritatedly.

Naruto's eyes flicked towards where the genin would spar against each other.

"Oi, Kakashi!" he shouted, Kakashi turning towards him after talking to Asuma about something. "Do I have enough time for one more spar?"

Gai and Kurenai's teams had already left early to do some D-rank missions that the teams had been falling behind on. Only Asuma's and Kakashi's were still there.

Kakashi looked towards Asuma with a questioning look.

"Think we still have some time?" he asked her Sensei.

Asuma just shrugged and nodded.

"One more won't be an issue." he replied simply.

Kakashi turned to Naruto, walking closer to him. "Who do you want to spar against?"

"Ino." he said simply.

'What?'

Ino turned to him, shocked by what he said.

Kakashi just shrugged and said something that sounded like, "Go right ahead."

Ino followed Naruto as he walked towards the sparring section, still wondering why he wanted to spar.

//////////////////////

Naruto pov:

I have no idea why Ino up and asked that the way she did, but I needed to get it through her head that she's improved a lot.

I'm happy that everyone was getting better, ecstatic that Rin and Hinata were, but the one that surprised me was Ino.

She was the one that went for a more diverse skillet compared to the others. Genjutsu, Iryo-ninjutsu, her clan techniques, and her fitness being but a few. Add in a sensory ability that was fairly impressive in spotting people and you've got a kunoichi with no discernable weakness. Hell, even Hinata could have her Byakugan exploited by my flashbangs.

My musings were forcedly cut off when Ino got about 10 feet away from me.

I stood in the sparring section and readied myself, looking directly at Ino.

I made a hand seal and Henged to look exactly like her. She shot me a look of confusion in response, which I gave an answer.

"What's the matter?" I asked, "Weirded out by fighting yourself?" I made sure to use her voice.

Ino just glared at me, before taking a deep breath and centering herself.

"Rules?" She asked.

"No Ninjutsu." I said simply.

She nodded and promptly charged me, fist raised.

I decided I was going to limit myself to the speed she was capable of just a when we first started all the training sessions, to show how much she really had improved. It wasn't my fault that Rin and I seemed to always improve each week. Being a stamina freak and knowing exercises on fitness in both my lives helped the two of us. Having trained with Anko and Kakashi helped immensely as well.

I barely stopped the first two punches from hitting my face and I fought the instinct to speed up. I could handle a busted lip if it was to help the girl. Ino looked surprised for a fraction of a second, before she tried to punch my ribs, followed by her knee rising to hit my gut. The punch slipped through my guard, not exactly the strongest hit I've taken. I managed to stop the knee from hitting me, getting my right arm in the way of it.

I backpedaled as she continued to rain hits towards me, several getting through.

"Don't treat me like a child," She demanded, "Fight me!"

I just ignored her.

"Fight!" she shouted, landing a hit to my left eye.

Her next punch was caught by me, her left hand was in my grip. She struggled to break free, before giving up and trying to punch me with her right, which I caught in my grip as well.

Dropping the Henge, I leaned forward to look into her eyes, our faces just inches from each other.

"You've gotten better." I said simply.

"Then stop holding back." she growled, not liking how close I was based on her trying to back away.

I felt her still struggling in my grip, so I slackened my grip on her hands, causing her to stagger back slightly.

"I was moving at the same speed you were when you first graduated and before the training sessions."

Ino's eyes widened for a moment, before they narrowed into slits.

"Liar," she bit out, "You were moving slow and weren't hitting hard at all."

"You were slower and weaker then." I countered, "Just because you don't see your improvement, doesn't mean you aren't improving. Don't try to compare yourself to me or Rin. We've trained for years and I can sleep off a spiral fracture in my leg. Taking time to recover doesn't exist for us."

Ino's face shifted to shock, before shifting to one of disbelief.

"That's not possible," she said simply, "Unless you can use Iryo-ninjutsu, and you don't have the chakra control for that." She finished, her arms crossed and hip cocked out.

I just shrugged and loosened my shirt collar.

"Remember when Kakashi-sensei stabbed me?" I asked her, wanting to make a point.

She flinched and nodded.

I lowered my shirt, revealing where a scar should have been if I didn't heal fast or was healed by an Iryo-nin.

"See a scar?" I asked simply.

Ino's eyes were fixed on my collar, eventually looking up at me with inquisitive turquoise eyes.

She shook her head. "That doesn't mean anything, you could have had it healed by an Iryo-nin." she said, eyes flicking back towards my collar.

I stepped closer to her, lifting up my sleeve and pulling a kunai out. She stared at the kunai for a moment, her eyes wide.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Kakashi!" I shouted, "Don't interfere."

I saw Kakashi nod out of the corner of my eye, though he didn't seem to agree with what I was going to do.

I looked straight at Ino and stabbed the kunai through my hand.

Ino's eyes widened and I heard her gasp at what I did, horrified that I just stabbed myself.

"Why did you do that?" she demanded frantically, making hand seals in a pattern for the Mystical Palms jutsu.

I yanked the kunai out and grabbed one of her hands, shaking my head.

"Trust me and watch closely." I said, but she looked at the wound with worry as it bled.

I forced a slight amount of Kurama's chakra toward my hand, causing it to seal right in front of her eyes.

At her going completely still, marvelling at the sight, I explained to her.

"Don't you remember when your Sensei knocked my tooth out and I said they itch when they grow back?"

She nodded shakily. "I thought you meant they itched when they were healed and put back in, not that they actually grew back."

"Well," I continued, putting my kunai back in my holster, "You misunderstood."

"Why do that?" She asked, "And how does that help you?"

"Muscles slightly tear and heal when we exercise," I explained, "They come back stronger than before. It takes Rin and me an hour to recover from something that would take you a day or two. Exhaustion is one of those, so we can train more hours than anyone."

"Why though?" Ino asked, "Is it a bloodline?"

I felt both Kakashi and Asuma's chakra sharpen slightly from hearing the conversation.

"Yeah," I said, "a bloodline. Don't know where we got it from."

I wasn't going to explain what the reason really is. Kakashi and Asuma relaxed at that.

"Don't compare your taijutsu to Hinata or Neji, and don't compare your stamina to me or Rin, it's not accurate to how much you've improved because they're trained with the Juken and Rin and I our built different."

Ino nodded at that, not looking at my eyes.

"You're getting better," I put a hand on her shoulder, "Don't forget that. I've been an ass because I know how strong you can be if you put your mind to it."

Ino tensed at the contact, but relaxed as I spoke.

"Okay," She said, "But I will beat you in a spar." She added with a grin, trying to break the somber atmosphere.

"You're six years too late to beat me." I chuckled, turning towards Kakashi and Asuma, to tell them we were done.

As I took a step, I felt Ino's chakra shift.

A giggle from the blonde was the thing that clued me in.

"If you ain't cheating, you ain't winning." I heard Ino say behind me.

My eyes widened and I turned. I felt her chakra split and a portion shot towards me. I was so caught of guard that I didn't have time to react aside from being terrified of what was going to happen.

I felt her conscious mind enter mine, everything fading to black, Kakashi and Asuma shouting being the last thing I heard.

//////////////////

Ino pov:

Naruto had explained why he was terrible to her, even if he didn't out and say it. It was natural that someone who was as good as he was at fighting would notice the potential in others.

He had been concerned about her potential. He knew she could be strong, and he probably saw it as a tragic waste. Naruto showed her how much better she had gotten by fighting at the speed she was at before she started seriously training.

It made her feel warm inside that the boy she misjudged still tried to be nice in his own way, but struggled to do it.

There was the possibility that he didn't know how to be nice about it, but she wasn't sure.

All that mattered was that she could be strong and that somebody had faith in her.

But she'd still one-up Naruto. Helping her didn't exempt him from getting fooled as he turned his back.

She decided she was going to get at least one win over him. She deserved that much. She repeated exactly what Naruto said to Asuma-sensei when he used Ninjutsu in their spar.

If you ain't cheating, you ain't winning.

She did the handsign for her clan's Jutsu that she learned. Her father had taught her how to insulate her mind to her targets when she jumped into their minds. She'd jumped into birds, mice, and a couple of other small animals. Her father had let her use it on him for her to learn how to navigate a human's mind and he'd helped guide her around in his mindscape to show her how to find memories or to control someone's body. He warned that a strong willed person could force them out, especially less experienced Yamanaka.

But Ino was confident that she could control Naruto just for long enough for her to say 'I surrender' to get her a winning spar finally. Naruto went on about winning at any cost, including deception. Her father said something along that line as well, saying that one of a Shinobi's greatest weapons were distraction and deception.

'Daddy will be proud that I tricked Naruto.'

Naruto would probably be ticked that he got tricked by her right after he beat her in a spar. Rin would be pissed that the 'dumb bitch' outsmarted her brother when she struggled to do that. Sasuke would be impressed that she took advantage of an opening to win.

But it would especially prove to herself that she could be great.

Ino made the handsign. She repeated what Naruto said. Her mind jumped towards his, but she realized something was wrong when she heard Kakashi and her Sensei shouting "NO" at the top of their voices. When she was projecting her mind, her sensing was temporarily enhanced above what it normally was and she could feel more.

She felt the fear rolling off of her Sensei and Kakashi, Rin as well. But Naruto's was something she never felt from the boy ever.

Terror.

Naruto was terrified of her using her mind Jutsu on him. She couldn't stop, not after she already cast it. She felt her mind enter Naruto's mind, hearing nothing but two words repeatedly screamed out.

'Get out! Get out! Get out!'

Ino tried to be cautious and pull her mind out, but she pushed to hard and was pulled into a memory accidentally.

'No.' She shouted desperately. 'I didn't mean to look at memories. I meant to control him.'

She saw through Naruto's eyes as he was talking to a much younger looking Rin.

"Would you still love me if I kept a secret from you?" she asked, her voice too small to fit her.

"Why are you asking this?" he asked her, a streak of worry underlining his voice. "You're scaring me. This isn't funny."

'I need to get out of here.' Ino thought frantically, 'this isn't what I meant to do, this is private.'

"I told jiji about your dream."

Ino tried to insulate her mind like her father taught her, but the intensity of the emotions were causing some to leak through.

She felt Naruto's fear, his hatred at feeling weak, his frantic, disjointed thoughts at being betrayed.

His breath quickened at the thoughts running riot in his head. He slowly backed away from his sister, looking at her differently than before.

"Naru-", she started, reaching out for him, before being interrupted by a frantic Naruto.

"No. No.", He flailed his hands out to keep her from touching him."You lied to me. You said no secrets. You said no secrets." He finished the last part in a whisper, almost as if it was to himself.

"Naruto, please", she begged, "I'm sor-"

"NO", he shouted, jumping away from her.

"YOU LIED TO ME!", He snarled, "WHY!"

Ino couldn't hold back the flood of emotion. She felt like she was drowning in hatred and anguish, unable to claw her way out.

'Please, make it stop.' she begged.

"I don't know you."

'STOP!' Ino screamed, the memory changing.

She saw a masked man in front of her, hatred going through her mind.

"Like I said kid, nothing personal." A Genjutsu hit Naruto, pulling her along. Her mind was hurting as a constant flood of emotions made her head feel like it was being split open. She didn't have the strength to insulate her mind from Naruto's memory.

She saw what Naruto saw. Felt what he felt. Naruto stabbing a hooded Shinobi, the hood falling back to reveal his sister's face. The look of betrayal in her eyes, asking why he had done this.

"I don't know you."

She felt Naruto's anguish as the image of his sister repeatedly dying by his own hand was burned into his mind.

She started screaming, trying to break free from Naruto's mind. She failed to and felt something bury itself in her chest, knocking the air from her. Her vision went black and she felt like the entire weight of the world was crushing her, drawing breath was impossible for her.

But it didn't end.

She felt the most awful level of Killing Intent she ever felt in her entire life, the air seeming be filled with the scent of blood. She tried to reach for something to her right, unable to find it. She felt a crackling presence above her, almost like Kakashi's, she felt the hands burn her and her mind broke the surface.

////////////////

Kakashi pov'

'No no no no!' Kakashi ran with all the power he could muster to get to Naruto, his Sensei's son on the ground after Ino's jutsu hit him.

Kakashi and Asuma were sprinting to Naruto and Ino, both of them on the ground, twitching periodically.

"Stay back!" he snarled to the 5 genin left at the training ground, not wanting any of them to get in the way.

Kakashi went straight to Naruto, his right arm reaching for something blindly as his body shook.

Ino jumped up and grabbed the left side of her chest and head, her eyes wide and blood flowing freely from her nose.

"I'm sorry," She choked out, "I didn't mean to." she was sobbing loudly, clutching her chest like she was hurt.

"Asuma," Kakashi ordered, leaving no room for discussion," Take her to her father and inform the Hokage what happened. It looks bad. Meet at the east hospital." he looked towards Naruto, whose eyes were a violet shade and were almost completely dilated, his breathing was labored and he kept trying to choke something out.

"Not yet. Not yet. Not. Ready." Kakashi could hear him gasping, his right hand blindly grasping at something that wasn't there.

"I'm sorry." He heard Ino sob, before Asuma lifted her up and Shunshined away.

Kakashi tried to talk to Naruto to snap him out of whatever memory he was trapped in.

"Naruto," He said, "You're okay. It's just a memo-" He turned sharply to Rin. "Stay back, Rin!" he shouted, seeing the girl try to run to her brother.

Rin paused about 15 yards away, her expression frantic and her eyes wide in fear for Naruto.

Naruto kept gasping like he couldn't breathe and Kakashi was starting to panic as Naruto seemed to pale like he was suffocating.

Kakashi gritted his teeth and tried something that had worked when someone hit by an improperly cast Yamanaka Jutsu was temporarily trapped in a memory.

He charged his hands with a moderate level of lightning chakra and put his hands on each side of Naruto's head, shocking his brain with point-blank contact.

Naruto spasmed and his hair stood on end, his eyes rolling back into his head. He stopped spasming suddenly and his eyes looked back down.

But that was when things went from bad to worse.

Naruto's eyes stayed the abnormal violet colour, but they seemed to lose their lack of focus. He stared straight at Kakashi and growled like a beast, his canines larger than they should have been.

Naruto kicked at Kakashi, making contact with his shin. Ignoring the burning in his leg, Kakashi put his entire body weight on Naruto, holding him in place.

"Naruto!" he shouted, "It's me, Kakashi. Your okay."

Naruto snarled something in words that he didn't understand, before a blade of golden chakra shot from his hand towards Kakashi's head. Kakashi shifted his head to the side to avoid whatever the hell shot out towards him and he grabbed the boy's arm to restrain it.

Thinking quickly, Kakashi pulled one of the few chakra suppressant tags he had in his pouch with his off hand that wouldn't be burned out in seconds and placed it on Naruto.

Naruto thrashed around for a moment, screaming constantly, before his body relaxed and Kakashi saw his eyes change back to their normal blue.

Breathing heavily, Kakashi looked straight into Naruto's eyes.

"Naruto?" he asked.

Naruto looked back at him, his face twisted in pain.

"Kakashi." He managed to choke out, his voice shaky as he whimpered like a small child in pain.

Kakashi pulled Naruto into a hug, relieved that he was okay.

"What happened?" He asked gently.

Naruto was visibly shaking in his arms.

"She saw a memory." He said, his voice hollow.

Kakashi stiffened at the tone Naruto used.

'It had to have been a bad memor- No. Not that one, please.'

Kakashi pulled back and looked into Naruto's eyes.

"Which memory?"

Naruto swallowed deeply. "The one where I was choking on blood."

Kakashi relaxed at that.

'It wasn't the Kyuubi. Good.'

Kakashi knew it would bring up all the emotions tied to the memory up to the forefront. His mandatory meeting with Inoichi after Rin's death wasn't a pleasant experience, the sessions forced the memory to the forefront of his mind, and that was with a skilled mind walker. He couldn't imagine how awful it would be when done by a Yamanaka who wasn't well versed in the mind like Yamanaka Inoichi was.

'What the hell was she thinking?'

"D-don't blame her." Naruto said weakly, his breath catching again, "She didn't mean to do. a. memory. dive." he forced the last part out, his face contorted in pain.

Kakashi stared at Naruto with concern.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"My head's pounding," Naruto started, his left hand not moving at all,"I can smell blood, I can taste it, and the tenketsu in my wrist and hand burn."

"We need to get you up and see Inoichi," Kakashi said, grabbing ahold of Naruto's hand, "We need to make sure your mind isn't too badly damaged."

Naruto nodded and let Kakashi pull him to his feet, unable to do it on his own.

Kakashi went to take a step, but was stopped by Naruto.

"Kakashi," He said, his vision unfocused, "I'm not gonna be able to walk. Can you carry me?"

Kakashi nodded and gently picked Naruto up, taking care in not jarring him.

"Thanks." He heard Naruto mutter.

"Don't mention it." Kakashi said simply.

In another world, Naruto and Rin would have been his younger siblings. Minato was the second father figure of his, and his children would have been the brother and sister he never had. Even if it took several years than it should have, he knew Naruto confided in him like a younger brother would with his older. Rin wasn't far off, but Naruto was a kindred spirit. He seemed to understand Kakashi for who he was, more so than anyone aside from Minato.

'Carrying him is nothing. The pack sticks together.'

Kakashi walked over to his genin team and Asuma's two other students.

"I'll be at the hospital on the east side of the village, training's obviously over for today."

He then Shunshined to his destination.

End Chapter:

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Sorry for the cliffhanger. The chapter would have probably exceeded 20k words if I continued.

When I first started this story, I never thought I'd give Ino more than a bit part in the story, but writing Inoichi made me change my mind. I've realized that I have a couple more routes to take the story than I initially planned if I wanted to.

So, our MC gets accidentally mind fucked by Ino who didn't realize he had such emotionally potent memories. Neither of the two escaped that without a bad headache and Ino found out some of the frightening crap Naruto dealt with in his past.

Anyway, here's a new chapter. Reviews are coveted most ardently. And may all of you have a wonderful day.

Raging..