Chapter 7: Fleeting Moments

DISCLAIMER: This story is not mine!! Read the original at fanfiction.net "Naruto: The Uchiha Prodigy" by Rifat

==========

10 Days Later, Woods, The Uchiha Clan Compound, Konohagakure no Sato.

"Ano, Naru" Kasumi said as Naruto was practicing his bukijutsu.

"What is it Kasumi?" Naruto asked as he stopped his practice.

"I want to ask you something." Kasumi said as she fidgeted with the sleeve of her black shirt. After spending and learning a week from Naruto, Kasumi was wearing less orange. The keyword being less as there was still enough orange to go around for her. In Kasumi's own words, Naruto did not understand 'the true power of the color orange.' But Naruto had also learned a lot of things about Kasumi.

For one she was always overpriced for everything she bought. Her rent was taken care of by the Sandaime, which Naruto probably guessed was due to her being a member of the Uzumaki Clan, and the stores in Konoha had always ripped her off. Another very important thing that he learned about Kasumi was her drive to be acknowledged. Even if the village hated her she did not. She was truly a kind person and wanted to protect the village. She wanted to be the Hokage because that way people would acknowledge her and treat her with respect. Her role model was of course the Yondaime Hokage.

Moving on, Naruto knew that if he was seen walking around the village with Kasumi a new breed of rumors would be born and he would rather avoid such an event. Why? He did not want people to know that he was close to Kasumi, particularly the Civilian Council. They'd probably rant about him being tainted by the demon or something like that. This brought another question to Naruto's mind.

'How stupid could they be to even think that? If the Kyuubi had Kotoamatsukami then it would've been possible.'

"Naru" Kasumi whined out and was doing that cute little pout face. "Did you daze off again?" Kasumi too had learned a fair share of things about Naruto. He was a very quiet boy, just like in class. But there was huge difference between the one in the academy and the one at his house. He was stoic but he was very kind. Ever since she started staying here, Naruto did not want her to do a single chore saying that she deserves a rest from being treated as a pariah for now, Naruto was smart enough not to use that word when discussing this. She had also seen pictures of his family. His parents and his brothers. She felt warm and cuddly when she saw all their pictures. She mused at how Naruto must've felt when his family was alive. And from the pictures she saw, Naruto was quite happy as a child.

However, a problem for both of them rose during this ten day time span. The hormones were acting up.

Naruto knew that Kasumi was by far the most beautiful girl he had seen so far. Her face, hair and most of all her eyes. They intrigued him to no end. He found it quite hard not to stare into her violet orbs. It was too mesmerizing. He greatly appreciated her presence at his house as well. He has been living alone ever since he was seven and Kasumi was great company to have, albeit a little loud sometimes. But he wouldn't change it for anything. Which made him ponder more on his true feelings. Is she just a friend? A close friend? Does he just wants them to be friends?

Kasumi was equally curious about the situation. For the first time in her life she could say that she was not alone. She had someone to see when she woke up. The raven haired boy would treat her kindly. He cooked for them. He would say 'Good Morning' and 'Good Night'. He was training her properly, something most of the instructors bar Suzume and Iruka had not done. He had taught her from the ground up. But most of all, he care about her.

More than the Ichirakus, more than Jiji and her friend Hinata. He would never show it in a excessive display, but after staying with him for 10 days she pretty much had an idea how her raven haired friend functioned. But therein lied her problem as well. Was Naruto just a friend to her? Seeing him shirtless one day certainly did not help that much. Also, when Naruto looked at her it would be much different from the looks Kiba and her other fanboys gave her. It was a reassuring look that he'd be there for her.

"Gomen, Kasumi." Naruto said scratched the back of his head. "What did you want to ask?"

"Well... Um." Kasumi put a hand on her chin. She knew the question was somewhat personal and she also learned that Naruto had some secrets. What she did not know was that Naruto had secretly traded places with himself with a reinforced Shadow Clone, while he went to train. He did not want to crank up her stress with his level of training, well not yet anyway.

"Go ahead Kasumi." Naruto said with a reassuring smile. "You can ask me anything." Getting the confidence from her words she went ahead with it.

"Well it's about your eyes." Kasumi said. "Why did they become red? And there were commas all around them."

"Those weren't commas." Naruto chuckled lightly. "Those dots are called tomoe. And the red eyes I have are called the Sharingan."

"Sharingan?" Kasumi said and then she remembered something important. "Oh yeah... Your eyes changed right? I mean the design." Naruto sweat dropped at the word 'design'. It sounded so wrong and girly in his mind.

"Hai. The shape changed." Naruto explained. "That stage is called the Mangekyou Sharingan. It's a more advanced stage of the Kekkei Genkai."

"What's a kekkei genkai?" Kasumi asked. Unknown to Konoha in general, she may have sucked in history but when it came to shinobi knowledge she would want to know everything about it.

"Kekkei Genkai. A blood limit. It's a unique special ability that is passed down from a shinobi family. Every major shinobi clan has one. For example, the First Hokage Hashirama Senju had the Mokuton. It is said that along with his monstrous chakra reserves and his Wood Release, he constructed the entire forests surrounding Konoha. As such, it is widely considered the most powerful kekkei genkai along with the Sharingan." Kasumi had stars in her eyes after hearing how the Shodaime had made the entire forest but the last sentence had also caught her attention.

"Well what does the Sharingan do?" Kasumi asked. Her friend had one of the most powerul Kekkei Genkai in the world. She was swelling with pride.

"Well." Naruto activated his Sharingan for dramatic effect. "The Sharingan only manifests in the members of the Uchiha Clan. The Sharingan can see the chakra network in your body. It can also see the build up of chakra inside your body. There is also another factor to the Sharingan. It can predict what attack you are going to perform."

"Sugoi!" Kasumi yelled excitedly. "That way no one can touch you! You'd be unbeatable!" Naruto shook his much to her dismay. She was confused.

"The Sharingan is only as strong as it's user. I know there are a lot of shinobi out there that I could never beat. Not right now. If they are faster than me then I can never predict their attacks. But there is one more upside to the Sharingan."

"Ooh. What is it?" Kasumi asked.

"The Sharingan means the Copy Wheel Eye. As it's name suggests it allows you to copy ninjutsu, genjutsu and to an extent some taijutsu moves as well. You could copy a jutsu down to the tiniest detail and have it memorized to use it later."

"Wow." Kasumi said while grinning. "You're the best you know that Naru!" Naruto felt a little embarrassed at the statement.

"Oi oi." Naruto spoke as he deactivated his Sharingan. "Don't say that or I'll slack off. By the way there are four days left until your exam. How is everything beside the Bunshin?" Naruto intentionally changed the topic because he knew that Kasumi would bring up questions about the Mangekyou. Right now she did not need to know. Besides, her exams were coming up.

"It's perfect. But," Kasumi said with a downed look, " what if I fail again? I could never perform a Bunshin ever. Then all your hel-"

Kasumi was poked on her forehead again by Naruto with his index and middle fingers. She rubbed her forehead like a child. Naruto was smiling.

"Don't worry." Naruto said. "We'll just do a different bunshin according to your chakra reserves. Also Kasumi I want you to promise me one thing."

"What Naru?" Kasumi grew nervous as she saw the nervous look on Naruto's face.

"Never tell anyone about my Sharingan unless I tell them or I told you to. Not even the Hokage." Naruto said.

"Okay but why?" Kasumi asked.

"Well it's sort of personal and to be honest I don't want anyone to know that I have the Sharingan. That way they might treat me with delicacy. I don't want that."

"Okay." Kasumi nodded. From what she understood and experienced, Naruto did not appreciate when someone looked at him as just a member of the Uchiha Clan. She was never going to lose him again.

'Wait! Where did that thought come from?!' Kasumi was lightly blushing and Naruto grew curious as went in front of her and was eyeing her curiously.

"Oi Kasumi" Naruto was directly looking into her eyes, he did not realize that their noses were just away from each other " are you oka-"

"KYAA!" Kasumi instinctively punched Naruto away with her feminine fury. Naruto was lying on the ground with swirls instead of eyes, absolutely uncounscious. Kasumi realized what she did and was shaking Naruto even more violently to wake him up. She was holding his head in her lap and was sweating comical bullets.

"Oh no! I killed Naru!" It was even more funny because she was ranting on about how no one else would be her friend and what not. Then she noticed a figure standing away from them. The presence had just arrived.

"What are you doing here, dobe?"

Kasumi gritted her teeth at that sentence. Standing a few feet away from her was the heir of the Uchiha Clan. Sasuke Uchiha or as Kasumi called 'teme.'

"Teme." Kasumi said, proving the point of the author, "Go away. I have to wake Naru up."

Now this sentence got a different reaction from Sasuke. Normally, he'd be "Hn'-ing away but for some reason he felt jealous. The lamb from the branch side of the clan had someone to care for him. Even now. His mother Mikoto had often praised Naruto along with his traitor of a kinslaying brother Itachi. He had seen Naruto casually spend his time with his family and Sasuke's yet there was no indication of pressure or sadness in him, until the massacre occurred.

"Why are you here in the Uchiha Compound? You're not allowed here unless you're an Uchiha or an Uchiha allows it." Sasuke said with smug authority.

"Sasuke san" Naruto's voice made itself known to the both of them. Kasumi was smiling widely as she looked down at Naruto who had a neutral look on his face once more. " I was the one who allowed Kasumi to come here."

"Hn." Sasuke grunted. "You really are nothing like the Uchiha are you Naruto? I don't see why you drag our clan name into the mud by hanging out with this loser."

Naruto was about to say something but Kasumi spoke up.

"Listen here teme!" Kasumi all but yelled. "I am not a loser! Just wait till I pass the exams four days from now! Then you'll see!"

"You're being allowed to take the exams again?" Sasuke smirked. "Looks like you're gonna fail again. Just forget about it. You're not fit to be a kunoichi anyway."

"Sasuke san." Naruto spoke up this time. "We are no one to tell a person what to do and what not to do. A person is free to do whatever they wish."

"That soft mind of yours is going to be your downfall one day Naruto" Sasuke said. "Do our clan a favor and stop training this loser."

"No." Naruto replied. Both Sasuke and Kasumi were staring at him for his immediate reply. "Kasumi was setup to fail in the exam. As a Leaf shinobi, I for one cannot let something like that happen to an upcoming promising kunoichi. Let alone a friend."

Kasumi beamed once more at Naruto's words. He really did believe in her. But Sasuke had a different question in his mind.

"What do you mean 'setup to fail'?" Sasuke asked. Naruto inwardly cursed himself for his big time fuck up. He needed to handle the situation but Kasumi went all guns blazing.

"Don't you know teme? Apparently I was given an exam paper based on the older and tougher questions and I still passed that one. So they're gonna give me another shot at the exams."

Sasuke was gritting his teeth. This no name clanless orphan had passed a written exam based on the previous curriculum. He felt threatened for some reason.

"That still makes you a loser." Sasuke said trying to make sure Kasumi loses her temper. But Naruto had enough of this. He grabbed Kasumi by the wrist who had butterflies in her stomach at the contact.

"Let's go Kasumi, we have to work on your bunshin." Naruto said dragging her away, completely missing the blush on her face. "I'll see you later Sasuke san"

Sasuke stood alone and watched them walk off. Why did he feel so angry at the moment? Sasuke walked away. He has better things to do.

Naruto's House.

"Kasumi." Naruto said with a stern voice as Kasumi shrunk under his vision. "You shouldn't have told Sasuke about the exam. You could've lied."

"I know but." Kasumi stopped. "It's just that whenever someone calls me dobe or loser. I. I feel so angry. I mean I never really had anyone to help me before. No one other than the Ichirakus and Jiji treated me nicely, but they weren't around all the time. I've always been alone and when people look down on me I feel like proving them wrong."

"I understand why you do it Kasumi." Naruto said. "And it's not wrong to feel like that. What I'm saying is that you should control your emotions better. That's what makes a good shinobi. Now we're going to have lunch and then we're going to fix your Bunshin problem. I have just the thing that could help you."

"Really?" Kasumi asked with all the innocence she had.

"Hai." Naruto said with pride. "It'll get you to pass the exams easily."

Timeskip: Four days later, Room 105, Konoha Academy.

"Okay Kasumi you passed the written exams and the bukijutsu portion as well" Suzume said as Iruka was sitting down. They had seen that Kasumi had considerably improved from what she was two weeks ago. They had also been informed by the Hokage about Mizuki as well. They were disgusted that such a person would act so casually with them. Suzume spoke once more, "Please perform the Academy Three."

Naruto was waiting outside the room, that was the one thing Kasumi was more focused on more than anything. He was there and he promised that he would always be there.

Kasumi brimmed with confidence and performed the Henge. She turned into Obito Uchiha. Black spiky hair, goggles over his eyes and the blue shinobi clothes. All in all he even had that goofy grin on his face.

"Um Kasumi," Suzume asked, "who did you henge into?"

"Obito Uchiha" she replied. "He was Naru's oldest brother.''

Suzume and Iruka were also informed that Naruto had personally decided to train her for the exams. But the way Kasumi so casually spoke about Naruto had spiked some interest in them. It seems that the two teens had some feelings for each other and Suzume for one was not going to let that chance get away.

"Naru huh?" Suzume said with teasing grin "Are you sure it's not Naru-kun?" Kasumi blushed at the way Suzume implied the suffix at the nickname she had given to Naruto.

"Okay Suzume tease Kasumi about her boyfriend later." Kasumi blushed even harder. The tomato look was coming back. Generally Iruka would not do this however after seeing their little interactions at the day of the exams he too concluded that they didn't look at each other as just friends. Naruto and Kasumi were probably going through that denial phase he assumed.

"Hai hai Iruka senpai" Suzume said and looked towards the blushing Kasumi. "Okay Kasumi please perform the Kawarimi."

Kasumi did so and replaced herself with Iruka who nodded satisfyingly. She was taking a whole lot less time than before. Now came the moment of truth.

"Kasumi." Suzume said. "Please perform the Bunshin technique."

"Gomen Suzume sensei, Iruka sensei. I can't do the Bunshin." Kasumi said and both teachers were a little disappointed. She was a real bag of sunshine and honestly they liked her. Suzume had known about the Uzumaki Clan and probably figured that it was probably because of her high chakra reserves that she was not able to do it.

"But." Kasumi gave an all knowing grin. "I wanted to ask you. Is any other form of Bunshin is acceptable?"

"Well generally that's not the case but I think we can allow it. Right senpai?" Suzume looked towards Iruka who nodded.

"Okay Kasumi please perform the other type of bunshin you know." Iruka said. Kasumi's next action had both of their jaws drop.

Kasumi grinned and made a cross hand seal with both index and middle fingers. This was the technique that Naruto had taught her four days ago. The technique, that she pulled off quite easily and was more comfortable with. It was a jounin technique, it was considered kinjutsu, a forbidden jutsu, because of the large amounts of chakra this ninpo drains. However to someone like Kasumi, this was no problem as Naruto explained. She had more chakra than Naruto had.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Four puffs of smoke appeared beside Kasumi. The smoke faded away and there were four identical Kasumis standing beside her. All of them were grinning. Both the chunnin however were surprised. Iruka more so because he did not expect a soon to be genin to pull off a jutsu like that. They were perfect too. He was glad that there were not fanboys of her around otherwise some of them would've fainted out of sheer joy that there was more than one Kasumi.

Suzume was shocked too but to a lesser extent than her fellow senior co-worker. She knew that members of the Uzumaki Clan could pull this off, their chakra capacities and densities were so large their former village Uzushiogakure was called the Village of Longevity due to their large life spans.

Both Suzume and Iruka were broken out of their stupor when every Kasumi asked the same question at the same time.

"So did I pass?"

Outside Room 105, Konoha Academy.

Naruto had gone to get some popsicles for both himself and Kasumi. It was a mint flavored one and considering the somewhat increased heat of the day, it would be the perfect treat to have. Unfortunately there was only one and he decided that to get one for Kasumi. Of course he would've gotten there sooner if it wasn't for some annoying fan girls that always seemed to have him on an invisible radar. He sighed and curtly refused them and they were even more swooned claiming how he was such a nice guy.

Naruto sighed even more and once again felt pity for Sasuke knowing that he too had more of them. Why couldn't the girls be more like Kasumi. She was pretty and worked hard at the same time?

'Wait pretty?! I have got to stop thinking like that. What if she stops being friends with me?'

But all thoughts aside, he was going near the door of Room 105 once more. He had full faith in Kasumi's abilities and knew that she would pass the exam. But a part of him was deeply worried about her. He could not really explain the magnetic pull he felt towards Kasumi. It almost felt like right now she was the center of the world. His world. He was afraid really. What if something happened to her in the future? What if she gets in a situation that-

The door was slammed open and an orange and black blur made it's way onto Naruto's chest. He fell down and felt something holding him down. Luckily enough he was still holding the popsicle perfectly. It did not fall down. His vision then went on to his own chest. A familiar mop of blonde hair with red streaks was on his chest. Her hands were clinging onto Naruto's shirt as she tried to bury herself deeper into his chest. It was getting wet. Now Naruto was getting worried. Did she not pass the test? How?! They worked so hard-

"Naru" Kasumi whimpered. Naruto felt his heart beating faster. Again there was her whimpering voice. A tone that he did not want to hear. But he knew she was going to say something else. She raised her head from his chest and looked deep into his eyes. How he loved to see those violet orbs of hers. She too had become fascinated by the sheer ocean that was his eyes. They would get lost and time would slow down for them. He then saw that some tears were leaking out of the sides of her eyes. But underneath that, her lips had twitched upwards.

She was smiling.

"I did it Naru." Kasumi said in whispers. He was still on the ground and Kasumi was on top of him. "I finally did it Naru. I'm a kunoichi now." She then buried herself into his chest again. She wanted to savor the warmth that was emanating from his body.

Naruto felt his entire body relax at the smile and small whispers that Kasumi let out. Instinctively, his left arm went around her back and latched itself lightly on to Kasumi's neck and she relaxed after that happened. Both were in complete bliss, not even realizing the inappropriateness of the position they were in. She was straddled on to his waist as their legs were crossed.

"Oh my~" A feminine voice echoed throughout the whole hall. Suzume was standing looking over them. She was smiling at the scene before. It was taking all she had not to yell Kawaii from the cute little scene that was being displayed right before her. "You two should get a room."

Immediate reactions from those words followed and two very polarized reactions they were.

Kasumi "Eeped' and jumped away from Naruto while an atomic blush exploded all over her face. Now she did look like a tomato. Naruto also had a large blush on his face and was visibly stuttering while trying to recover from the situation. Suzume knew that the awkwardness of the situation would be well over 9000 if she did not go away right now, so she happily skipped away while chirping about Naruto and Kasumi sitting on a tree. She made it quite audible so they could hear it.

Naruto stood up and was still blushing. He didn't want to let go of Kasumi. In fact, he wanted to keep holding her. It felt so right. It felt so perfect. All his pain and worries had washed away when it came to Kasumi. If his world was covered in darkness before after the massacre happened, then Kasumi was the sun that rose afterwards and brought forth the light that made him feel peaceful again. He also felt occasional flutter in his heart when he was with her. Her smile right now was probably the most beautiful things he had ever seen in his life.

Kasumi was still in tomato mode, she couldn't believe that she had hugged Naruto like that in the middle of the hall like that. It was something she could not describe. Naruto was the first person who had become her friend. The first person who lived with her. Sure he was a slave driver when it came to training but she remembered how she had drained out completely a few days ago and Naruto had piggybacked her to their home. She was awake but she pretended not to be. She liked it when Naruto was in contact with her body. But she also felt really shy around him. She never felt like this towards anyone.

She did get particularly angry when the fan girls would look towards her Naru...

'Wait my Naru?! Aaaaahhhh! Why does he make me feel like this?!'

"Ano Kasumi." Naruto said lightly while he was still blushing. "Congratulations on passing the exam. Here." Naruto then extended the mint flavored popsicle towards her. Kasumi was surprised. Sure he did not let her do a damn chore at their house until she terrifyingly ensured that she too will do them, but he had enough faith in her that he would pass so he went to get her a popsicle. There was only one and she assumed that he did not get one, as Naruto would rarely eat anything without her.

"Arigato Naru" she said lightly and took the popsicle. It had two sticks for holding and Kasumi broke it in two and handed one to Naruto. "Here Naru. I don't want to eat it alone."

Naruto looked up and saw Kasumi's face once more. She was wearing that new orange outfit. It was a darker shade of orange and had some black in it. (Basically Naruto's clothes from Shippuden). Her hitai-ate was tied to her forehead while the goggles were hanging around her neck. Her twin pigtails were there as well. Her violet eyes were shining with happiness as the smile was still on her face. Naruto smiled as well. He took the halved popsicle.

"Arigato Sumi." Naruto gave her a nickname as well and Kasumi felt her heart beat rapidly fast now. Blood flowed to her cheeks once more. She was so happy now that she had forgotten about the fact that she had passed the Shinobi Exam.

"Shouldn't we go and visit Hokage sama?" Naruto asked. The old man was more than helpful throughout their lives and this was the least they could do right now. "I'm sure he'd love to see you wearing that headband."

"Hai. Jiji's gonna be happy when he sees this!" Kasumi said while she tapped her hitai-ate.

Both of them then walked onto the Hokage's office. The civilians were looking at them with awe. They were walking very closely and each of them had one half of a popsicle they were no doubt sharing. Just a little step to either side then their bodies would be brushed against each other. Naruto was smiling and this made his features look even more better as his usual fangirls squealed out of sheer delight and some late teen girls along with some mid 20's women blushed at the sight of him smiling. He looked so calm and cute in their eyes. Of course the same could be said in Kasumi's case because she looked absolutely amazing with that smile on her face. Her fanboys had swooned even more as some older chunnin were smirking at seeing such a cute girl.

Then there were the jealous glares from the opposite sexes. The males glared at Naruto and the females glared at Kasumi. However one similar conclusion was reached by both parties. They were one damn cute couple.

Hokage's Office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was one happy man right now. Not only did he finish that damned paperwork but he also got to see two of the next generation of Konoha's shinobi. He was really proud of the fact that Kasumi had severely improved with Naruto's help. Then of course there was the situation between the two youngsters and he wanted to take a jab.

"So Kasumi chan." Sarutobi said as he was trying to keep a good poker face. "Now that you're training with Naruto kun is complete I guess you're ready to move back into your old apartment ne?" He got the react he was expecting... No the reaction he was hoping for.

Kasumi felt a pang of pain in her heart as she looked towards Naruto. 'Am I going away from him?' She did not want to. She finally had someone. A someone who was always there for her. He was there when she woke up. He was there when she went to sleep. True, she was not an Uchiha and had no right to live there but Naruto had allowed it. Was she really going to move away from the one person she could not imagine her life without at the moment? The young Uzumaki girl kept asking herself as she found those familiar azure eyes staring into her own.

Naruto nearly felt like he was in Itachi's genjutsu again, yet different. What Itachi had showed him were illusions. Illusions that made him feel it was real, but this was real. That's what made this feel so much more horrible. After his mother died, all he had was his brother. Then came his Mikoto obaa chan and Tachi nii. Sure they weren't always with him but they made sure to visit him at least once a day. Then Itachi murdered the entire Uchiha Clan. He had lost everything.

Until Kasumi came that is. She changed everything. He had also lost her for more than five years because of his own foolishness and the last two weeks with her had made one thing certain in his mind. He needed her. He too had turned towards her and looked at her just like him.

They were looking at each other as the pain of being separated had landed itself onto their eyes. Hiruzen smiled knowing what their answers would be. Ever since a few years ago, the Civilian Council had become neutral to Kasumi Uzumaki's case and he was grateful. He had regained some of the power he had lost to them and asserted that he was indeed the Hokage and his word was final. Though he did wonder what had happened that caused that Council to become so neutral to the person, the very same person whose head they called for on multiple occasions. He had thought of a conclusion in his mind but he wanted to see how this plays out.

"Ahem" Sarutobi brought back their attention. "So Kasumi chan are you ready to go back into that apartment of yours?"

"..." Kasumi remained silent while her eyes found the ground very interesting at the moment. She then muttered something that both Naruto and Sarutobi could not hear.

"Gomen Kasumi chan I could not hear you. Could you repeat that?" Sarutobi asked. Naruto was having plethora of scenarios being played out in his mind. He knew that he shouldn't let his emotions get the better of him and how he had become so close to Kasumi would hinder with his regular training. But he'd be damned before he let her go. If she says yes, then he'll try to make her reconsider her decision. But he would not force her. He could never do that to her. Except training, that's a different case.

"I said no." Kasumi said lightly as Hiruzen smiled at her answer. Naruto felt like flying right now and a stupid grin had made it's way to his face but he suppressed it to a smile. His emotional masking was completely useless around Kasumi. "I want to train with Naru more. There are still two more months before I get placed on a team.

Naruto was still smiling. Two months. Two more months with Kasumi living with him. He was happy with that. More than happy.

"I see" Hiruzen said. He still wasn't done. "What about after that? When the team placements begin and your career as a kunoichi begins?"

Kasumi wanted to reply but she knew no matter what she said would come out in a wrong way and was trying to construct her reasoned sentence but Naruto beat her to it.

"Hokage sama, if I may speak." Naruto said completely serious and Sarutobi nodded. " The entire Uchiha Compound is empty and I live alone in my house which can no doubt house more than four people. I have no problems with Kasumi staying there. Even after the team placements."

"Hmmm" Sarutobi pretended to be in deep thought. "I see but let's see what Kasumi chan thinks. Do you want to-"

"HAI! I HAVE NO PROBLEM LIVING WITH NARU-TTEBAYO!" Kasumi yelled out and blushed in embarrassment. Naruto also blushed all the more because he found that verbal tic of hers endearing.

"I see. Well I don't think that will be a problem. Very well you are free to leave. Come back tomorrow for your Shinobi Registration Kasumi chan. We'll see about your move to the Compound matter tomorrow."

Naruto bowed his head to the Sandaime while Kasumi hugged the old man and Sarutobi too hugged his pseudo granddaughter. They were walking out of the office when Sarutobi decided to something smart much to his dismay.

"Oh and don't do anything I wouldn't do. Young love these days-"

THWACK!

A ramen cup had Sarutobi in the face once more as Naruto tried to look away with a blush and a completely red faced Kasumi had thrown the ramen cup at his face.

Naruto's House, Uchiha Clan Compound.

The two residents of the house had entered. There was once more life present in the house. However the situation was a bit different now. This house would now have two permanent members instead of the lonesome one as it was for so many years. It was just going to be dusk now. Time had flown by quickly. Naruto spoke up first.

"Kasumi." He said softly as he felt completely relaxed. "Go and wash up. I'll make something up for us. OKa-"

Naruto could not finish the sentence as Kasumi had hugged him once more.

"Arigato Naru." Kasumi said in a very low tone. She was not sure why she was hugging him. She only knew that she had to. Something inside her brain was commanding her to. Her arms had tightly wrapped themselves around his waist as her head rested peacefully on his chest. She was smiling at being so close to him. "Thank you for being here. For being a friend. You're the first person to accept me for who I am. Even after finding out what I have in me."

"Sumi." Naruto said softly as his one of his arms wrapped around her and the other arm was on the back of her head. Her frame fitted completely into him. They were tightly held by each other as if one them would disappear if they were let go right now. "You never have to thank me for anything. If anything I should thank you. You were my first friend. I was so alone after the Clan Massacre. I forgot how to smile. You made me feel happy again. So thank you."

Kasumi lifted her head to see Naruto's face again. Those kind baby orbs that completely mesmerized her to no end. He too stared back at those violet eyes that entranced him ever since their first meeting. Kasumi then did something he did not expect and Kasumi too did not know she was going to do that.

She kissed his cheek. She was waiting for something. Any reaction at all. Surprise. Fear. Anger. Anything.

She then felt Naruto's lips lightly kiss her forehead and a great swell in her heart began. Both were smiling and hugged each other again. Kasumi's face was once again on Naruto's chest as his chin rested on the top of her head.

"This feels good doesn't it?" Naruto asked a bit nervously. His previous action could've driven her away and he asked this to wash away any doubt he had.

"Hai. It does." Kasumi whispered once more as neither left each other's embrace.