Wake up call

Author's Note: I'm fairly certain that Orochimaru's parents died when he was either first enrolled in the Academy, or right before he was. It's serving me better to have them die when he was older. It's helping me to write Hiruzen's pov and thoughts on his former student that way. Just chalk that little detail up to this being AU/Deviation from the Canon Universe.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the songs that I have in this story. This is a work of fanfiction that I make no money off of.

Chapter 18: Wake up call.

It was late afternoon and Hiruzen was expecting a report from Kakashi about how team 7 did. He'd already spoken with Kurenai and Asuma about their teams. The two teams had passed, unsurprisingly, but Kakashi's could have ended up anything. Hiruzen heard a knock and felt Kakashi's presence. Raising his voice, Hiruzen called for him to enter.

Kakashi entered the room, his posture relaxed and his expression one of immense pleasure.

"I take it things are good?" Hiruzen asked.

"Very good." Kakashi grinned, his voice betraying how good he felt.

Hiruzen gestured for Kakashi to continue, wishing to hear the news.

"Team 7 passed," Kakashi said, "And Naruto helped play a part."

Hiruzen was surprised at that.

'What did you do?' Hiruzen thought.

"How so?" Hiruzen asked.

"Naruto thought it would be funny to prank me," Kakashi started, "He Henged as me, convinced Rin, Hinata, and Sasuke that he was me, told them to meet at training ground 7 at 6:30, and then Henged his clones as the three when I showed up at the Academy. He then told me he told them to meet at noon." He finished.

Hiruzen chuckled at that. "I doubt that was everything he did."

Kakashi twitched at that, obviously remembering what transpired.

'If I were a betting man, I'd say it had something to do with another 'Gai' joke that Naruto seems so fond of.'

"I'd rather not get into that right now, sir, " Kakashi replied.

Hiruzen just smiled slightly, "Alright, I'll drop it. Continue, please."

Kakashi nodded, "I had Naruto play the role I was going to. Rin, Hinata, and Sasuke needed to work together to get the bells from him."

Hiruzen just smiled fondly at the bell test. It was one that he had done with the Sannin. Jiraiya did the same with his students, and Minato did so with his genin team. It was something of a tradition to use that test with team 7.

"How well did Naruto do?" Hiruzen asked, assuming it was at the very least good, given how pleased Kakashi looked.

Kakashi was quiet for a moment, "He was phenomenal." He said quietly.

"He started off with something I never would have thought of doing," Kakashi continued, "He offered a bell to Sasuke if he'd attack Hinata."

Hiruzen's eyes widened at that. 'He actually offered that?'

"Based on your mood, Sasuke didn't accept, yes?"

"He thought about it for a moment." Kakashi said, before continuing, "Naruto then said something along the lines of 'Be a good little Uchiha and kill your comrades. Be just like him.' "

If anything would dissuade Sasuke from turning on a friend or comrade, it would be a comparison to Itachi.

Hiruzen still didn't know why Itachi used that Genjutsu on Sasuke. He'd read the psych report from Inoichi. Sasuke had suicidal thoughts after what he saw, what he had felt. It took a great deal of counseling on Inoichi's part to keep Sasuke even remotely "stable". Inoichi had initially been resistant to letting Sasuke continue to be enrolled in the Academy, but the following months after the massacre showed Sasuke to have recovered enough to still be "fine", so to speak.

Naruto and Rin, although not technically being friends of his, gave Sasuke a sense of stability. The constant demands and blackmail in the form of pranks forced Sasuke to not be as insular, causing his thoughts to not fester in silence.

"I take it that Sasuke did not react well." Hiruzen said simply.

"He froze when Naruto said it. He probably hadn't thought of that and it shocked him." Kakashi answered.

Hiruzen nodded, wanting to move on the Rin, Hinata, and Naruto's performance.

"Could you continue with Naruto?" he questioned.

Kakashi nodded, wanting to move back to Naruto, "He managed to set up multiple traps and logs to slow down Rin and Hinata. The two managed to evade or fight through all the traps effectively. Naruto ambushed and restrained Sasuke before he baited the three into an open battle so I could personally gauge their teamwork by looking at it myself. His strategic mind is as good as can be with the lack of field experience he currently has. His taijutsu is impeccable for his age. He can fight off both Rin and Hinata if he needed to. Sasuke was the reason why they were able to beat him, his clones' coordination and his jutsu were able to hold them off for a time." Kakashi finished.

Hiruzen was pleased. Everything pointed to Naruto being an amazing teacher and role model. His idea of having Naruto bounce between the different teams looked to be a better idea than he previously dared to hope.

"How did they manage to defeat Naruto exactly?" He asked, genuinely curious.

Kakashi grinned slightly. "Hinata got a lucky hit," he started, " She didn't use her Byakugan because of Naruto using flashbangs, but she still managed to connect with a Juken strike to the main tenketsu in his arm."

'That'll do it.' Hiruzen thought. Losing the ability to move chakra in an arm severely hampered ones ability to use most jutsu.

"But that didn't end the fight," Kakashi started again, prompting Hiruzen to focus again, " Naruto forced chakra out of his tenketsu to flash Sasuke and Hinata when they pressed him. Rin had been trying to contain Naruto's clones, she'd managed to break through an opening and charged at Naruto..." Kakashi then paused for a moment, "This is where I was surprised," he said, "Naruto disoriented Hinata and Sasuke, grabbed Sasuke's hand and used it to make several handsigns to send a water bullet at Rin."

Hiruzen was surprised at that as well.

'He actually thought to use someone else's hand for a jutsu? Unheard of.'

For a twelve year old to think of using another's hand to make handsigns was very uncommon. That was something veterans knew about from either doing so themselves, or witnessing it in combat. Naruto managed to figure it out himself.

It requires someone to slightly overload the "foreign" chakra with their own, similar to how a Genjutsu works on its target. Naruto overloading Sasuke's chakra with his own wouldn't be surprising, his chakra reserves are large and dense.

"What happened next?" Hiruzen needed to know what else happened.

"He barely got the Water Bullet to work." Kakashi clarified, "It was weaker than what it should have been, it missed Rin and smashed into her clones."

Naruto would have never let them live it down if he managed to defeat them. I can almost hear him. 'I beat you with one hand tied behind my back'. Hiruzen chuckled to himself.

Hiruzen lowered his head in a nod for Kakashi to continue.

"Rin broke through Naruto's guard after a few hits and Hinata recovered before Sasuke did. She stepped in to finish Naruto. He likely sensed her because he spun around and tried to blindly kick at where Hinata's strike was coming from. He ended up spinning as Rin tried to kick his ribs and ended up getting kicked in the balls." Kakashi finished with a wince.

Hiruzen also winced at the image. Jinchuriki, especially Uzumaki ones, were much stronger physically than most Shinobi. Getting hit there by one was not something Hiruzen wanted to imagine.

"How bad was it?" He asked sympathetically.

"He puked up his breakfast and couldn't stand for several minutes." Kakashi said simply.

Hiruzen felt almost ill at what Naruto had felt. He himself had been hit there before, but never by someone with the strength of an Uzumaki jinchuriki.

"So that's how he lost the bells," Hiruzen mused to himself.

"No." Kakashi clarified.

Hiruzen just gave him a questioning look.

"When Naruto was trying to not pass out, Sasuke was still on the ground from getting his ribs kicked, and he grabbed the bells." Kakashi then grinned at the next part, "Sasuke tossed one bell to Rin... and the other to Hinata."

Hiruzen was quiet for a moment, trying to digest what he'd just heard.

Sasuke went from hesitating on whether to attack a teammate to get a bell, to giving up the prospect of passing the test and having to "wait a year" until he could get training from a Jonin.

"What on Earth did Naruto say to him to get that much of a change?"

"He fought Sasuke on his own and taunted him, told him the only reason he survived the massacre was because he wasn't worth killing, told him that at least Rin had an older brother that didn't see his younger sibling as 'Totally useless.' Kakashi used air quotes at the last part.

"Naruto told you he said this?" Hiruzen asked, some unsettling thoughts about Naruto's restraint on things being potentially called into question.

Kakashi shook his head. "I had a clone watch him, he didn't sense the clone."

Kakashi had played ignorant to see how much Naruto was willing to share on how badly Sasuke reacted to his comparison to Itachi. Naruto didn't mention the near panic attack Sasuke had, he didn't mention what Sasuke called Rin, and he didn't specify precisely what he had said.

He probably didn't think Sasuke really meant it. Emotions can run high when you're remembering a terrible memory.

Hiruzen was thinking on what he'd heard.

Naruto seems to be able to get into people's heads very effectively and tell where their weak point is.

Hiruzen still remembered how badly it hurt Kakashi when Naruto had jabbed at his worst fear. Kakashi still held lingering guilt over Obito and Rin's deaths, even though he stopped being near suicidal in the missions he accepted. Skilled Shinobi he may be, but Kakashi had very little business taking S-rank missions on his own. Kakashi had lied repeatedly and said he'd gotten Gai or another Jonin or two to go with him.

The only reason Hiruzen didn't punish him for lying to his superior was because it was a time before Kakashi had pulled himself back together. Killing and being in near death situations prevented Kakashi from giving up.

A part of Hiruzen, a more cynical part, thought it was ironic that the event that started Kakashi's healing was when Naruto was nearly killed and demanded to be trained. It gave Kakashi a swift wake up call that he was needed, needed by a prodigious boy who ran the risk of ending up broken like Kakashi had been when he lost everyone he saw as family.

Naruto had needed guidance from a kindred spirit, Kakashi being that spirit. It may have hurt him at first to be around the two people that resembled the closest thing Kakashi had to a second mother and father, but it forced him to confront his demons and pulled him towards the path of recovery.

Hiruzen looked at Kakashi, another question on his mind. "Will their teamwork be an issue?"

Kakashi adopted a contemplative look, thinking deeply on the question.

"There might be a couple of issues due to Sasuke have trouble opening up, but I don't see any issues in the long run." he answered.

"Good," Hiruzen said firmly, "Out of all the current graduating genin, Team 7 has the greatest potential of them all." Hiruzen then got quiet.

"Almost as much as my students." he added quietly.

Kakashi stiffened at his superior saying that. Hiruzen didn't share that particular observation with anyone, until now.

"That is why I chose you to be their Jonin Sensei," Hiruzen revealed, "Naruto may have given Rin and Hinata the foundation and drive to be great simply by doing his own training, but you will be the one that gets the two of them and Sasuke to that point."

Kakashi looked shocked at what he was insinuating.

"You think I can make them what you made the Sannin into?" He asked weakly.

Hiruzen nodded resolutely, "Even if you don't think you have it in you, Kakashi," he told him kindly, " It doesn't mean that others don't see you for the good man and teacher you are. Naruto wouldn't be half the Shinobi he is if not for you."

The silver haired jonin looked unconvinced.

"But I've only passed one team," Kakashi said, trying to dissuade Hiruzen from having that much faith in him. "Naruto is a once in a generation Shinobi. It's no surprise that he would do well from me training him. Anybody could train him and he would progress."

"You ensured that he learned the greatest thing of all," Hiruzen countered, "We both saw the path he could have taken in his training. He'd have been consumed by the need to grow stronger if he hadn't been guided by you. He was already taking risks before you began training the two of them on a regular basis, Kakashi. Rin came to me because she was worried about him."

Hiruzen still hadn't forgotten when Rin came to him about how worried she had been about Naruto coming home smelling of blood with a noticeable limp. He hadn't been spending time with her or talking with her. He'd been nearly consumed with training and studying. And this only happened after he had nearly been killed and remembered the night of his birth. The training given by both Kakashi and Anko was as much of a babysitting task as it was educating the boy so he didn't hurt himself from unsupervised self training.

Hiruzen looked at Kakashi again. "You taught him the importance of not doing things alone. My students would have died if they hadn't been such close friends and had unmatched teamwork."

Tsunade had shown Hiruzen what happened in their fight with Hanzo not long after it had occurred, using a Genjutsu to give him a first person perspective. As he was now, at nearly 70 years of age, he would have very likely been killed on his own. Back nearly 25 years ago, when his students did fight Hanzo, it would have likely been the fight of his life. He could have won, but it would have left him spent and vulnerable to enemy nin. He saw the force of nature that Hanzo was. He knew how capable his students were, yet they still left that fight wounded and on fumes, Hanzo only letting them live because he knew he wouldn't have the strength to kill the three and escape from the Konoha Shinobi arriving as reinforcements.

"Teamwork is what brought my students home," Hiruzen continued, "It's what Jiraiya taught to Minato, and Minato taught that to you," Hiruzen's voice got quiet once more, " That now lives on in Naruto, and he helped nurture that in Rin and Hinata."

Hiruzen didn't want to voice out loud what his other thoughts were. They were private ones.

'Naruto reminds me of what Orochimaru was like.'

Orochimaru had been nearly broken when his parents died. Hiruzen was able to make sure that he didn't give up on life completely when it initially happened. He was the closest thing his student had to a parental figure that was still alive. Even Jiraiya and Tsunade toned down on their arguing and bickering for Orochimaru's sake.

Jiraiya was an orphan. The death of Orochimaru's parents helped to show Jiraiya that his teammate wasn't just simply a genius that would humiliate him in training and have their teacher's constant praise. He was a child, a child that had lost something precious to him long before it should have been. Jiraiya saw part of himself in Orochimaru, he'd said as much decades ago.

Both no longer had parents, neither had any siblings to speak of, and the closest thing they had to family alive was each other, Tsunade, and Hiruzen. Orochimaru nearly had all of that taken from him when his team fought Hanzo. Instead of seeing how their friendship, teamwork, and refusal to abandon one another made the three of them greater than something that had already never been seen before in the Shinobi world, a team consisting entirely of S-rank/near Kage level Shinobi at the time, he let them nearly being killed be used as a fuel to drive him to find a way to conquer the unconquerable.

Death itself.

He'd brushed aside Jiraiya's concern. He thought it was just him being overly concerned for his best friend following the battle, but it didn't go away with time. Orochimaru was the one, not Jiraiya, that had to try and console Tsunade after Dan's death. Jiraiya was the best out of the three at helping someone grieving. He was kind and was able to talk people through the most terrible moments in their lives and he'd saved multiple Shinobi out in the field when a Yamanaka wasn't on hand to help those falling apart. Several Uchiha had sworn a debt to Jiraiya when many Uchiha had been stopped by him from suicide charging the enemy after a close friend, or more often a lover, had been killed in front of them.

The Uchiha considered suicide shameful, but dying whilst covered in your enemies blood was acceptable, it helped to give the perception of the Uchiha being peerless fighters in the minds of other villages. "If you're going to throw your life away, at least do your clan the favor of dying in combat." was along the lines of what most of the Uchiha elders told their younger clansmen. They weren't the best people to talk with when you were falling apart. Most of the old guard still paid heed to the Warring clans era of thinking, "You're only aloud to die after you've taken 3 others to the Shinigami with you." Jiraiya was good at keeping someone from destroying themselves when they were at their most vulnerable.

Orochimaru wasn't a people person like Jiraiya. The civilians were borderline terrified of him before things had gotten bad. Those who didn't know him well found his intellectual tone and gaze to be off-putting, even inhumane sounding at times. The Shinobi veterans knew better and found him very likeable. He was a nearly peerless fighter in the field and saved many lives from doing tasks and taking point in battles that would have required the combined work of dozens of skilled Shinobi.

And he was terribly equipped to help Tsunade when her entire life came crashing down. Jiraiya and Orochimaru were there for her when her clan, considered to have been one of the most powerful in history, withered away until it was only her and her brother that remained. Then... She was all alone. Jiraiya left the village for a time. Orochimaru, who already had difficulty showing empathy and kindness before his parents death, was thrust into a position that Jiraiya was his superior in every way. Tsunade left the village despite his and Orochimaru's best efforts.

Hiruzen could see the way Naruto's eyes would seem to come to life when he read an interesting new theory from one of Tobirama-sensei's journals. Anytime he was confronted with a problem that needed solved, Naruto seemed to glow with enjoyment. Hiruzen remembered when he'd asked Tobirama, over 50 years ago, what he thought on the power his brother and Madara wielded, whether power was a bad thing. After he'd heard when he was but a small boy of how Madara had tried to kill Hashirama and take over the village using the Kyuubi, it was a question he'd wondered.

He will never forget the answer. It was an answer that shaped his entire world view.

"Power is an extension of a person's will. The same power that could save a woman from being brutalized is the same power that could kill innocents. My brother used his power to help create this village. I am a smart man. It is not a boast, it is simply fact. Knowledge is its own form of power. I have helped this village become something better than what my brother envisioned it could become in such a short time. Madara used the great power he wielded to try and destroy what had been built. Had he been able to let go and move on from the deaths of his brothers, as I have had to do, he would be remembered as a man as great as my elder brother."

"Do you understand, Saru? Power is not good or bad, it is neutral, much like how water is. Water gives life when it is drunk, but I can use it to end life, which I have done. I've put out fires, I've parched the thirst of those in need, but I have ended the lives of hundreds as well. I have killed others so my clan would survive, and now I do so because there are thousands that depend upon me being powerful enough to protect their futures. You will one day be strong enough to do the same, you have the Will of Fire in you just like my brother did. We saw how great you could be. Your teammates will help you be great just as I helped my brother achieve his dream."

Hiruzen knew that Tobirama was wary of the Uchiha. But he didn't think the civilians or most of the Shinobi were dangerous. One of those he trained was an Uchiha.

Madara could have been great like Hashirama if he had let go of his hate, Danzo may have been his closest friend, his confidant, had he not fell to his own paranoia and hatred, Orochimaru could have been like him if he hadn't let his fear of death destroy the brilliant and loyal friend he had been.

If Naruto fell prey to his hatred, the intellectual brilliance and raw power he had could make him eclipse the greatest threat Konoha had ever faced.

Uchiha Madara.

Naruto had a Bijuu sealed in him. The same Bijuu that Madara sent after Hashirama. Naruto didn't need any power to control it, will power was what was needed for a Jinchuriki to use the power they had.

And Naruto had more Will than he had brains.

Hiruzen had tormented himself for years about whether he would fail again. He had failed to save his Sensei from the Kinkaku squad, he failed to save his student from himself, he failed to protect Konoha like Minato had done, he had failed to stop the Uchiha from being wiped out, and he had failed at something that every man swore to do.

Protect his wife.

When he married Biwako, he swore to love and cherish her, to protect her from any who would harm her, to make her burdens his own, to lay his own life down for her and the children and home that they built together.

If he couldn't protect his mentor, his student, his village, or his soulmate and mother of his children, how could he hope to protect a young boy that had far too much intelligence and disregard for personal safety to not look before he leaped?

The Uchiha massacre had brought him to one of his lowest points in life. He had decided that Itachi would be his successor. He'd hold onto the mantle of Hokage for several more years, personally tutoring Itachi until he would be ready. But hatred and fear had robbed him of one of the best Shinobi, in both terms of skill and humanity, Konoha had ever produced. He was left with the choice he feared more than anything.

He feared that if he pushed or requested, that Naruto would not want the title of Hokage. He feared that Naruto could turn out like Orochimaru, the world crashing down him until his resolve cracked and the beast within all of Man lashing out at the hardships he faced. Naruto saw his mother, and unknowingly his father, die in front of him, he nearly died, he found out that the creature that took his parents from him was sealed inside him and his sister, and he found out that he would never be free from the beast for the rest of his life.

The villagers hated him, and Hiruzen had seen the hatred Naruto had for the villagers a couple years prior. A Hokage couldn't hate the village he was sworn to protect. But the death of Mizuki changed everything.

He remembered the conversation he had with Naruto. He remembered what Naruto had said.

"Even if many of the villagers hate Rin and me, they're not any less worthy of saving."

"Keep that hat warm for me, Jiji, I'll need it when you're done."

That day brought an end to the greatest fear that Hiruzen had. That Naruto would let the village burn because of the hatred shown by some. But he understood and realized that not everyone was like that. He saw how there were good people. People that were in need of protecting.

"-age-Sama? Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen was pulled from his very deep thinking by Kakashi's voice.

"I'm sorry, Kakashi," he said, blinking for a moment, "I was thinking of something."

Kakashi just nodded, understanding that Hiruzen would be in deep thought at times.

"Are there any more questions you have, Hokage-sama?" he asked.

"No," Hiruzen said simply, "I just wanted to know your thoughts on how Naruto and your team performed. You are dismissed."

"Sir." Kakashi nodded, before turning to exit the Hokage's office.

"And Kakashi," Hiruzen added before Kakashi left, "Don't think that you're the only one who thinks they've failed at things. You're not alone."

Kakashi was silent at what Hiruzen said. He then looked up and nodded, before exiting the room.

Hiruzen leaned back into his chair for a moment, taking a puff from his pipe. Exhaling the smoke, he set the pipe aside to look at a paper he had been pondering about sending for quite some time. The chunin exams would have involved Konoha and Suna as the only 2 of the major villages participating. Iwa and Kiri were out completely; Iwa wasn't in the mindset to even humour sending a single genin to Konoha, and Kiri was still a nightmare to navigate currently, with the civil war and bloodline purges still happening.

The last one, Kumo, was one that was also not likely to send anyone if he offered. The Hyuga incident soured the relationship of the two nations both ways. Konoha saw it as treachery and the unforgivable act of abducting a girl from her home for breeding purposes, and Kumo, or at least its civilians and most of its Shinobi, saw it as slander and a lie to justify Konoha killing an ambassador.

The Lightning Daimyo wouldn't have been pleased if he discovered that there was truth to the rumours of the abducting kekkai genkai holders from other villages. Hiruzen only even humoured the idea of Kumo possibly accepting because the current Raikage was displeased that the ambassador went ahead with the attempted abduction.

Jiraiya had managed to find out, with a couple of his best agents in Kumo, that the Raikage had trashed part of his office and flung his desk through a wall after hearing what happened. The Raikage had evidently disbanded and reassigned all the Shinobi that were apart of the kekkai genkai acquisition group that had been formed by his father once he took over as Raikage. The kidnap attempt was unsanctioned.

Hiruzen had replied with a command for Jiraiya to have his agents lay low for awhile. It would serve Konoha no good to have a spy found out in the heart of a rival village at such a fragile timeframe.

Hiruzen decided to hold off on sending the invitation, for now. He'd wait for a little while to think on whether it would be better to have a neutral village be present when Suna and Orochimaru attacked.

Grabbing his pipe and taking a long drag from it, he exhaled deeply and closed his eyes, enjoying the peace he had.

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

"Sooooo, I heard that you got your balls touched by a pretty girl." Anko grinned at me.

'Kakashi, I hate you.'

I decided to visit the dango shop to relax after Team 7's test. Rin, Hinata, and Sasuke had gone to Ichiraku's, before parting ways to go home. I decided to spend my time lounging at the dango shop, eating the delicious meal and reading leisurely.

I should have known better than to think I could have any relaxing time to myself in the place that was Anko's favorite place in the village, aside from maybe the forest of death.

"Where did you hear that from?" I ground out.

"Kakashi." Anko said simply, a relaxed grin on her face.

"Could you have been any louder?" I growled.

There were several people staring at us, the women looking at me with annoyance, the word "pervert" barely audible, even for me.

"Ah, but my little gaki is all grown up," she fake sniffled, "He's already got a girl grabbing his junk even before your first kiss."

"Will you shut up?" I demanded, trying to keep my voice low.

At the look the other customers were giving me, I got pissed.

"Mind your own damned business," I glared at them, "I've had enough crap today. I don't need any more."

They just glared back at me before turning back to their own food.

Anko sat down at my table, grin still not leaving her face.

"I still want to know what girl you let do that." She said pleasantly, "She's got to be special."

I'd already vomited from getting my balls almost crushed, the visuals that the stuff Anko was saying wasn't helping matters at all. My stomach couldn't handle another round of nausea, but for an entirely different reason. I'd probably prefer visualizing Kakashi and Gai going at it over the filth that's decided to try and burn itself in my mind.

"Was it Hinata?" Anko asked, her expression lighting up when I shot a look of disgust at her. "It was her. She always did try to catch a peak. So she finally got the courage to take a hands on approach to inspecting the merchandise, hmmn?"

"Shut up," I growled irritably, "It wasn't Hinata and Kakashi left out some important details."

"Not Hinata?" Anko asked herself, before realizing what I'd also said, "What details?"

"It was a spar and it wasn't a hand that touched me... It was a kick." I visibly shuddered at the last part.

I could see Anko try to digest what I said. It took all of two seconds before I could nearly see the bulb in her head light up.

"Bahaha," She started cackling hysterically, "You got kicked in the balls? Oh, that's just great!" She started laughing again.

"Shhh, Shut up." I tried to get her to stop, but there was no possibility that I'd get her to stop laughing at something she found to probably be the funniest thing she'd heard all week.

"I thought I had you when I stomped your foot, but someone one-upped me," She snickered, having calmed down slightly from her laughing, "Soooo, I'll ask again, who's the lucky girl?"

"Rin." I growled, my patience running thin.

Anko just stared at me with surprise. "Why. The hell. Would she, out of all people, aim for your balls?"

"She didn't mean to," I sighed, "I was fighting her and Hinata both. I tried to block a Juken strike from Hinata and ended up pivoting to block her attack. Rin didn't realize that."

"That had to have hurt." Anko said simply, "You two both punch and kick hard." she added.

"No shit," I muttered, detesting the subject, "I ended up puking up breakfast. I've had spiral fractures that hurt less."

Anko got silent at that last part. She was the one that fractured my leg. She still felt pretty bad at that, even if it happened quite some time ago. She hadn't meant for her summon to keep squeezing til a wet crunch was heard when we sparred a few months back.

That was up there with one of the worst things I'd ever heard in my life. It healed after several days, but it wasn't a good week for anyone.

"Well," Anko started awkwardly, "How did Rin react?"

"She felt awful, predictably," I replied, "It was an accident, but she still felt bad afterwards. It's not like she meant to."

Anko looked like she was trying to lighten the mood with what she was going to say next.

"You sure you didn't need Hinata to have a look and make sure everything works?" She asked with a grin.

I just stared at her again. "Why are you and Kakashi on the Hinata thing? I'm pretty damned confused."

Anko just looked at me incredulously, "Hellooo, She's your closest friend and she's a girl. The only other person your age that you're close to is Rin, and I'm pretty doubtful that you'd want to fool around with your sister."

I was getting irritated at this point, and it wasn't because of the part about Rin. That wasn't something I thought of at all. But I was 12 almost 13 physically and my body decided that now was an amazing time to notice how women were starting to look very interesting.

I never thought it would be difficult to not stare. I'd managed to play it off around Anko by making it seem like I stared at her intentionally to "pretend" to be a pervert. But it was screwing with my head when a great deal of my thoughts were revolving around females. I didn't remember it being even remotely as bad the first time I went through it.

But I also didn't have the knowledge and experiences I had as an adult. Being in your early twenties at the point of rebirth left you with enough life experience to fill in the blanks on a lot of things. Things that an almost teenage body was all to eager to exploit.

I decided to answer with a question of my own. "You're friends with Kakashi, right?"

Anko just blinked for a moment, "What?" she asked.

"You're friends with him, right?" I asked again.

"Yeah," Anko said, "What's your point?"

"Would you sleep with him?" I asked simply.

Anko thought for maybe half a second before she answered.

"Hell yeah, I would."

I nearly choked on my dango at that.

"Huh?" I sputtered.

"Yeah, I'd sleep with him," Anko said again, "He's handsome, smart, and we get along fine. He'd be a perfect bed buddy."

I was a bit repulsed by the thought of the two people training me being friends with benefits. "I didn't think you'd answer that seriously."

Anko just scoffed at me. "You're not the typical 12 year old. You understand that stuff far more than most your age, and you don't turn into a stuttering mess when I flash some skin in a spar. If it wasn't for me knowing you think I'm hot, I'd have almost thought you didn't like girls."

Anko had been pleasantly surprised when she first pulled a trick that had killed many male ninja that weren't prepared for it since time immemorial. Anko had let her coat fall loose when I was beginning to overpower her in brute force during a taijutsu session. I ended up beating her because she was caught completely by surprise when I didn't react how she knew I would. I'd only been surprised for a second before I jumped back into the spar like nothing happened.

"You still haven't answered me," Anko said simply, "Why are you so antsy about answering? I know you aren't flustered to the point of not answering. You'd tell me you like her, or you'd tell me to leave if it was something you hated to think about." She said, being more accurate than I give her credit for.

"If you thought I was cute," I started quietly, "Would you try to be with me?"

Anko looked positively disgusted at what I'd said. "Don't tell me that you like me," she whispered furiously, looking to make sure no one could hear, "I don't need that shit right now. I don't care if you think I'm hot, you're 12. I'm not doing that with you. Ever." she finished.

"Even if it was several years from now?" I asked, wanting to steer her answer to what I wanted.

"I trained you. I'll never be able to put that aside. It'll feel like I'm taking advantage of you as your Sensei... And I'll never do that." she spat.

I didn't think she'd make the connection to Orochimaru. She'd never do anything that even slightly reminded her of what her bastard of a Sensei would do.

"That's almost how I feel about Hinata." I said softly.

Anko just stared at me. "The hell you do you mean 'how you feel about Hinata'?"

I took breath "You'd feel like you were taking advantage of me if you did like me that way. A student wants to please their Sensei, sometimes it becomes corrupted into something it shouldn't."

"Kid," Anko deadpanned, "I know you helped her with some things, but that isn't the same. You're only a month or two older than her and you obviously think she's pretty, otherwise you would have led with the 'I'm not attracted to her excuse'."

I wasn't going to say that and risk crushing Hinata's self esteem. I'd rather deal with being harassed instead of hurting her.

"I was the one that did the rabbit exercise with her." I said quietly, not voicing my real reason.

Anko just eyed me critically. "I thought the Jonin Senseis were supposed to do that. It's been like that for the last 6 or 7 years."

"It is," I replied simply, "But I was the one she trusts the most and I worked too hard on her confidence to let her fall apart."

Anko gestured for me to continue. She probably saw how important it was for me to say this.

"Let's do this somewhere else, please?" I requested, not wanting this to be heard.

Anko sighed and stood up, dropping some Ryo to pay for the dango.

"Training ground 44. Meet me at the outskirts." she said simply, before walked outside and disappeared in a Shunshin, a trail of leaves left in her wake.

I sighed before I rose from my seat not looking forward to the conversation.

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

I arrived at the location Anko requested/demanded. I saw her waiting for me, her face showing nothing.

"You wanted privacy?" She asked rhetorically, "You've got it. Now, talk."

I prepped myself before answering, taking a deep breath to ready myself.

"I was there for Hinata when she killed the rabbit." I said quietly, "I was the one she went to when she thought she and her sister's relationship was going to be destroyed by her clan's elders. I chose to train her even when Kakashi didn't think I should have. I took time out of my day, delayed my own progress because I didn't want to see someone else hurting."

"And?" Anko asked, "this sounds like a start to one of those 'and they lived happily ever after' sappy romance novels that girly girls read when they want some Prince charming moron to sweep them off their feet. You get the girl and she loves you. I've seen the way Hinata looks at you," Anko continued, "The girl adores you because you're a good friend. She'd do anything for you."

"I know," I gritted out, "And that is precisely the issue I have."

"Really?" Anko asked sarcastically, "Oh yes, woe to you that you've got a girl that sees you as a good person and likes you because of it."

"Will you shut the up and let me finish?!" I shouted.

"Go ahead, idiot," She shot back, "answer me."

"She'll do anything for me," I said, "Anything." I stressed that word.

"She'd strip naked for me if I wanted her to. Even if she wasn't ready for that level of intimacy, even if it frightened her, she'd still do it for me." I said, barely more than a whisper, "And it terrifies me."

Anko eyes widened, realizing what my fear was.

"You're afraid that she'd only be with you because she feels like she owes you."

I nodded, not wanting to try and explain the other half.

Hinata was 12 years old. Both physically and mentally. I flat out refused to be that kind of creature, the kind that preys on others. Even if I was capable of getting through the disgust at the thought of physical intimacy of that nature, I would still feel terrible at the perceived sense of exploitation. It was bad of an employer decades older to have an affair with an assistant. The power dynamic was too exploitative. The same went for a teacher/student relationship at a university. It wasn't a partnership of equals. And any relationship of that nature was a haunting one to me.

Playful joking and "flirting" wasn't an issue in my mind, but actual dating was. A few years down the road wouldn't be an issue. But at my current age and the nature of Hinata's possible emotional reliance upon me, it frightened me far too much.

"I don't want to be the kind of person that takes advantage of the vulnerable." I said quietly, "I don't want to take advantage of a friend."

Anko was silent for a moment, before she did something that I never expected.

She punched me.

I felt my nose break, before I fell to the ground.

"Tha fuck?" I demanded, trying stop the flow of blood and see through the tears that started coming out from the nerves in my eyes deciding to play around with the ones in my nose.

"Do you have so little faith in Hinata, Rin, Kakashi, The Hokage, and my own judgment?" she demanded, standing over me while throwing what felt like nearly all of her Killing Intent at me.

"What are you on about?" I demanded, raising my own Killing Intent after a yanked my nose back into place.

"I wouldn't be training a little prick who'd take advantage of a girl, I'd kill you if I thought you were like that. Rin would tear your arm off and beat you to death with it, and Kakashi would cut you half with a Raikiri and call it a day before he'd let you take advantage of Hinata like that. Are we wrong?" She demanded, "Did we screw up when we thought you were a nice guy? Are you like Orochimaru?"

I felt my anger spike at that last part. "Don't fucking compare me to that cunt." I growled, the pain of my broken nose ignored at the comparison to that thing.

"I thought Orochimaru was a good Sensei," She sneered, "Until he branded me. Was I wrong again? Are you like him? Would you take advantage of a young girl like he did?"

"NO!" I shouted, "I'm not like him."

Anko then seemed to do a 180 and completely calmed down as if nothing happened. "Then why are you so worked up over it? What's it matter if Hinata does like you? You'd never exploit that. You're a good person. None of us would care for you if you were the kind of asshole that you think you could be."

I forced myself to calm down to try and think clearly.

Anko was right. I'd been so caught up in my own paranoia at whether Hinata liked me for who I was or if it was because she felt emotionally reliant upon me, that I never stopped and asked myself one question.

Would I exploit it?

The answer was an immediate no. I'd ask Hinata if she was comfortable with something before I'd even joke about something, let alone be serious. I'd been so worried about whether the closeness I'd created with Hinata had made me her entire purpose in the world that I stopped looking at things objectively.

"My" Hinata wasn't "Canon". Canon died a fiery death the moment I got shat out into this world. Even after saying "Fuck Canon" and making moves to prepare for a Shatterpoint event, I still saw some things as what would have been, like total damned idiot.

Hinata had gotten her strength from Naruto in "Canon". Hinata would have been much worse off if I hadn't taken the leap and helped her. She wasn't the stuttering, shy, mess of a person that she would have been. My actions already helped the other genin teams. Sasuke wasn't as likely to run to Orochimaru, Kakashi wasn't the sarcastic, perverted, lazy, and broken shell of potential that he was. He was still most of those things, but he wasn't broken any longer. Mine and Rin's presence helped heal what was broken in him. Hiruzen didn't have a hyperactive, nearly idiotic, blonde chibi for a potential replacement for him as Hokage, he had me, a "genius" of a Shinobi who wanted the position because I wanted to make the world a better place and saw the power a Kage wielded as a means to do that.

Rin, who I still had fears of her being the 'Child of Prophecy', was far better prepared for what lay ahead than what 'Naruto' was. She wasn't like him. She was smart and prepared for things because I was there for her.

So many things that were different about people, and I still fell for the thing that I'd been desperate to avoid.

What was will be, what will be was.

Canon's dead. I killed it. And I still angst over something that was stupid in the grand scheme of things.

I just looked at Anko. "God, I'm an idiot." I said simply, realizing how stupid I was being.

Anko just grinned, "You needed someone to talk you through it," She replied, "Kakashi would have been the only other one. For some reason, you two can get each other to stop being morons better than anyone else."

I just nodded at Anko. "I needed the talk," I said, "Thank you."

Anko just waved me off, "Don't mention it. You needed help to talk through it. Just, do me a favor will ya? If Hinata brings it up, don't freak out about it. Just say you're not ready for it. I can see you're worried about it. Just take your time and don't flip the hell out. You don't want Hinata blaming herself."

I just nodded to her. "Will do."

"Ok." Anko said, "Now go on home, I need to warm up and kill some shit here." She gestured towards the forest.

"I'll get you to take me in there." I said seriously.

"Truly beat Kakashi in a spar and I will."

With my thoughts finally relaxed from the rather harsh love from Anko, I waved slightly in farewell.

"Later, Anko, and thanks for talking with me ."

"Later, gaki. Don't be a dumbass."

I smiled before I Shunshined away, looking forward to a nice relaxing week before group training.

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

Once Naruto had left, Anko just sat down on the ground.

'He needs to stop over thinking stuff.'

Kakashi had nearly gotten himself killed multiple times from overthinking things. It always seemed to bother Shinobi who were prodigies as kids.

That was probably why Naruto and Kakashi were able to talk each other out of the circle jerk thoughts they had in their minds. It took a certain breed of lunatic to help another of its kind.

'Birds of the feather flock together, or some other idiotic bs like that.'

Naruto was over thinking his thoughts on Hinata. She still had no idea what prompted it, but she was in the position to stop Naruto from doing something really stupid like saying he wasn't interested. He'd probably think she understood what he was implying, only to realize too late that she thinks he meant he didn't care enough for her to even try.

Naruto was correct in his observation of Hinata. She did rely on him a little too much, but Kakashi had spoken with her about it.

Anko hadn't done any training with Hinata like she had with Rin or Naruto. She wasn't going to waste her time on a girl that would fold like a house of cards when she was exposed to what a real kunoichi was like. Anko's best friend Kurenai was the other type of kunoichi that a girl could emulate. But Anko was the warrior kind. Not just in body, but in spirit. She was a fighter, plain and simple.

And she had no time for fangirls and those scared of their own shadow. She adopted a wait and see approach to Hinata when Kakashi spoke of her. The silver haired Jonin had warned her about how Hinata was. The girl was a genuinely nice person. She had amazing potential as a kunoichi, but required a certain touch.

Anko had no idea what the hell he even meant by that until she found out the quiet Hyuga girl ended up kunoichi of the year.

A girl who looked like she could barely muster up the courage to look someone in the eye just a few years prior, became a kunoichi that gave credit to herself and the profession.

And Naruto was the one that pulled it off. Naruto was the one that saw potential when others saw weakness. He saw Hinata for what she could be, instead of what she had been.

'I think I'm understanding more why he's worried.'

Naruto was already extremely intelligent. The way he spoke, acted around people, and simply carried himself was more like that of an adult Shinobi instead of a prodigious, though still wet behind the ears, genin. Even those his age probably felt more than a couple years younger than him when he'd talk seriously to them.

He'd made Hinata strong. Judging by the little that she'd heard from Naruto, Rin, and Kakashi, the clan issues amongst the Hyuga was an absolute nightmare. No girl should be forced to fight the little sister that she loves dearly over who gets branded.

Anko's hand moved over the Curse Mark at the back of her neck, still remembering the despair she felt when she found out her former mentor had betrayed the village... betrayed her.

:I trusted him more than anyone else, and he did this. Hinata, from what I've heard about her from Rin and Naruto, would rather be marked than hurt her sister. Her Dad would probably do it himself.'

Anko knew how she felt when she still had the hope that Jiraiya knew how to remove the Curse Seal. She'd have given him everything she had do give from gratitude. And she was pretty sure Jiraiya would accept. The man was a pervert who liked pretty women, and a woman who'd feel gratitude was an amazing thing.

But Anko knew that wouldn't be her. She may like to have a fun time, but it was only fun when 2 were playing, not one feeling the need to owe the other.

'Damnit. I know why Naruto was freaking out completely.'

Naruto over thought things, as he usually did, accurately noticed how much Hinata cared for him, assumed the worst in how she'd want to 'thank him', and was overly paranoid that he'd need to second guess anytime the two would do something that made him feel like he was exploiting her.

"I got him to pull his own head out of his ass," She muttered to herself, "But Kakashi still would have been better."

"Better at what?" She heard a familiar voice.

Turning around sharply, she saw Kakashi standing not far from her, his posture relaxed.

"When the hell did you get hear?" She asked.

"When I started feeling Killing Intent from about a mile away." he deadpanned.

"Oh," she said a little sheepishly, "Yeah, I was just having a little heart to heart with a certain redhead gaki."

Kakashi just stared at her with an 'Are you kidding me?' look. "Your 'heart to heart' talks involve blood and broken bones."

"Funny you should say that." Anko said, snickering slightly.

"What happened?" Kakashi asked, a hint of exasperation in his tone.

"He was over thinking like you do," She started, "He got himself worked up over Hinata and I had to get him to chill out before he did something stupid."

Kakashi just looked at her with multiple questions dancing at the forefront of his mind. "What exactly was he freaking out over her for?", he asked, "It's not like him to panic over girls." he added quietly.

"He freaked out because he's worried that Hinata relies on him too much," she started, "I asked him about what happened today which you decided to leave out a key little detail when you said 'A girl touched his balls'." She finished with irritation.

Kakashi grinned at that. "Liked that, didn't you?"

"It was funny," she relented, "Until said freakout started happening. He thinks she'd willingly do things with him that she wasn't ready for."

Kakashi eyes widened at the realization. "Does he really think so little of her? She's not some fragile doll that'll break if he does anything. She has more self worth than to be quiet about something that she didn't agree with."

Anko gestured for him to elaborate, wanting to hear more.

"Hinata does care very deeply for Naruto, and part of that comes from what he has done for her. He helped train her even when I advised not to. He befriended her after he beat up multiple kids that were bullying her. It's no wonder she would like him. She offered nothing when he first helped her, and yet he still helped her. She likes him because he's a genuinely decent person that went out of his way to help her be the best she can be."

Anko looked at Kakashi with relief. She was glad that she was on point with her observation.

"What did you say that pissed him off?" Kakashi asked her.

"Oh nothing," She said in a sing song voice, "I just asked if he was like my bastard Sensei and liked to exploit a young girl's trust."

Kakashi sounded like he almost choked on air when he heard her reply.

"What?" he asked, shocked.

"He kept saying stupid crap like how he didn't want to take advantage of someone vulnerable and that he knew Hinata would do anything for him."

Kakashi just scoffed. "He should know better. We," he gestured to the both of them, "And Rin wouldn't care about him if was the kind of person that would do that. And he thinks too little of Hinata. Her entire world doesn't revolve around him, this isn't some romance novel, it's real life."

"That's what I said," Anko agreed, "He wasn't getting the damn message til I compared him to Orochimaru to piss him off."

The two of them still remembered when Naruto found out about the seal on Anko's neck. He said something about finding a way to remove it and "Help kill the snake that put it there." That was the day Anko stopped seeing Naruto as a child. She started to see him as a friend, one much younger, but still a friend.

"So," Kakashi started, "What did he respond with?"

Anko grinned. "He got pissed and demanded I not compare to 'that cunt.' She air quoted.

Kakashi nodded. "Sounds like something he'd say."

Kakashi face then shifted. "You pulled the same thing he did today." He said, as if he were realizing something important.

"Eh?" Anko asked, confused by what he meant.

"I passed my genin team today," He clarified, "I made Naruto do the test to punish him for something he pulled earlier. He offered to let Uchiha Sasuke pass if he attacked a teammate, Hinata specifically."

Anko's eyes shot wide open. "He'd only do that if he thought it was possible or was worried that could happen."

Even if he was nearly blind to his own hypocrisy at times or the blind spot he had with his own behavior, Naruto was disturbingly good at seeing things in people that others didn't see, things that people didn't want others to know.

If Naruto had any doubts about the Uchiha, they likely weren't baseless.

"What happened?" She requested.

"Sasuke hesitated and Naruto told him to 'Be like Itachi and kill a comrade', or something along that line."

"That would mess with most people."

"Sasuke froze up and Naruto retreated into the woods. Later, he went even further and goaded Sasuke into losing it and attacked him. Naruto said he'd do Sasuke the favour of killing him before he'd let him turn out like Itachi and take what was precious to him."

Anko was curious how that effected the last Uchiha.

"How did that go?"she asked.

"Evidently, Sasuke took it to heart. He, Rin, and Hinata worked together to beat Naruto. I used the bell test," he added, the bell test being a well known tradition for Team 7, "Sasuke got both bells and tossed them to Rin and Hinata." he finished.

Anko relaxed at that. She didn't want to think of how Rin would be on a team with an emotionally fragile person like what she was thinking Sasuke was from what she'd heard a minute prior. She saw Rin like a little sister and protege. She worried for her almost how her own brother did.

"Naruto's talk knocked some sense into him." She stated simply.

Kakashi nodded an affirmative. "Just like you did with Naruto."

"I still think you would have been better if you'd talked with him." she said.

"Why do you think that?" he asked.

"You dealt with girls crushing on you in the Academy," Anko elaborated, "You were head and shoulders above everyone else your age and most felt like little kids to you skill wise. You know how Naruto thinks, it would have taken less effort for you to do it."

She knew she wasn't wrong. Geniuses tended to be bored with most conversation. Kakashi, Naruto, and even Orochimaru were the more restrained kind of genius. The ones that didn't go out of their way to talk with others for the sake of company.

Kakashi was like that as a young teenager, before the terrible things went down in the war. Now, he was much more layed back and relaxed about things. He was actually fun to be around. The less said about Orochimaru, the better. Naruto was much like how Kakashi had acted before the thing that happened at a certain bridge. He worked himself up over something that he wasn't at fault for, or something that he'd never do.

Anko asked another question. "If it's not too personal, how did you get your teammate to stop crushing on you?"

Kakashi stiffened slightly at the question.

'Damnit. I shouldn't have asked.' Before she could apologize for overstepping, Kakashi relaxed his posture.

"I didn't," he answered simply, "She only cut back on it after Obito died." the last part much quieter, "I wouldn't exactly be an expert on talking to Naruto on how to deal with a girl that likes him, especially when it's someone he sees as one of his closest friends."

Anko exhaled at his answer.

Crisis averted.

"So... we just advise him to be careful and to not be hasty and accidentally break her heart cuz he isn't ready, and because he's certain she isn't ready?" She asked.

"That's the best we can do." he nodded, " I can understand how his mind gets him caught in a constant loop. He'll think of something that worries him, rationalize his way through it, and then he thinks of it all over again, requiring him to start over again."

"That sounds hellish," Anko said, not liking the idea of constantly fighting your own intellect.

Kakashi gestured towards where his left eye was covered. "This makes it infinitely worse."

Anko knew what the Sharingan did. Perfect recall of everything you saw when the eyes were activated was good when you needed to see a pattern in an opponents style or if you needed to know how a jutsu worked. But it was a curse if you held what was precious to you in your arms, the light leaving their eyes. It would never be something that Anko envied. She was content without a fancy dojutsu.

Anko stayed silent at that, not knowing what to say.

"Thanks for talking with him," Kakashi said, breaking the silence, "I didn't realize he was ate up over it. He needs people there for him. He might be the strongest of his age, but he's still human."

"Yeah," Anko agreed, "He is."

"I'll let get back to what you were doing." Kakashi said, before turning to leave.

"Don't be a stranger." She called.

Kakashi just nodded before he Shunshined away.

Anko took a deep breath before she turned to the Forest of Death.

"Now," she cracked her knuckles, "Shall we begin?"

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

Suiton: Water Severing Wave.

I blasted a sharpened blade of water out of my mouth directly towards a tree, striking it dead on.

The Jutsu tore through the tree and it toppled over with a groan of snapping wood, a few birds flying away from the neighboring trees from the disturbance.

After weeks of dedicated training with shadow clones, I was able to tear through solid objects with water instead of just smashing them apart consistently instead of it being hit and miss like it had been for almost a year.

Given that my water affinity was stronger than my lightning, I needed some Suiton ninjutsu that could tear through or penetrate things.

My clones were patrolling the impromptu training ground I had in the woods to make sure a certain crippled bastard and his merry band of stiffs didn't try and spy on me.

That left me with less clones to train with, but I wasn't risking discovery.

I trained with Rin and helped her out, but I needed training time to myself. I was much better than she was, far more than she realized. I was wanting to keep it a secret for a little while longer, but I knew it would end badly when Rin learned I'd been secretive.

The Ninjutsu I was practicing was extremely dangerous. I'd already been working on the Water Dragon jutsu, managing to lower the number of seals some, and the current one I was working on wasn't something I could safely use in a spar against my little sister.

I took a break from Ninjutsu training and pulled out the localized gravity seals Rin made, these needing the deft touch she had in Fuinjutsu that I struggled to match.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very good with seals, but Rin was a natural prodigy with them.

I stripped almost naked and whistled for a clone to come to me, one of my storage scrolls that had my ink and brush sealed in it opened up.

The clone knew what to do and started painting seal patterns all over my body.

"Drawers." The clone said simply, looking at my boxers.

"It's weird standing naked in front of yourself." I muttered to myself, dropping them for a moment so the clone could connect the seals on my upper body to my legs.

After the clone finished, I put the actual tags on me and made a hand seal, the chakra burning the ink away as the symbols 'sunk' into my skin.

The markings were only temporary. They'd last a few hours before they'd need to be reapplied for another training session.

I shivered as the weight settled on my limbs in the same way that Rin and I had grown familiar with since last year.

I then tested my movements and felt the strain as usual, jumping up and down. I made several more clones and sent them out to replace the others, whistling for the older ones to return.

They did so and I resumed my usual taijutsu training, taking on several opponents and running to avoid jutsu and kunai that I left out for my clones to throw.

They came at me one at a time, initially, the strain in my limbs being felt more and more progressively as I blocked and evaded attacks, refraining from attacking.

After a couple hours, I was finished, my chakra running at about half from fighting the clones and I was drenched in sweat, my limbs aching from the strain of the exercise.

I staggered towards one of the trees and made a hand seal, spawning another clone.

I stripped down completely and popped open a storage scroll with water in it, nodding towards the clone.

The clone went through hand seals and held its hand out, water rising around me.

Suiton: Suiro no Jutsu.

A sphere of water formed around me and I held my breath, letting the sweat and smell wash away.

Was it stupid? Yes. But I didn't want to walk all the way back home to shower in sweaty clothes or dirty a clean set if I didn't want the old ones sticking to me.

After about sixty seconds, I gave the clone the thumbs up to stop. It did so and the water fell away.

A brisk opening of a storage scroll later and I had a towel to dry myself off.

Storage scrolls are awesome.

I finished getting dry and threw on some clean clothes from a separate storage seal and I was ready to go.

"North side, pop!" I shouted towards my clones, not wanting the massive feedback of them all.

They popped and I repeated the process a minute or so later, ordering another portion to.

After they all popped, I grabbed my stuff and walked back towards the village, a few thoughts going through my head.

I'd started freaking out about noticing how fit and attractive Anko was, now that I'd reached a certain age, and had been terrified of the prospect of Hinata.

Mainly because my name is Uzumaki Naruto. Who did Naruto end up with in Canon? Being the paranoid idiot I am, I worked myself up into a near panic attack over nothing.

I was Naruto, but I wasn't Naruto, if that makes any sense.

'Thanks, Anko.' I thought to myself as I made my way to the flower shop owned by Yamanaka Inoichi.

The looks from the villagers weren't as bad, but I still noticed a few looks. My luck that my hair resembled a fox's fur colour more so than Rin's. Thanks, Mom.

I walked through the walkway and I heard a bell trip as a signal that a new customer was here.

A faint scurrying sound came from out of my sight and I saw Ino come out from the corner, the greeting smile on her face melting away when she saw me.

"Oh, hi Naruto." She said flatly, eying me speculatively, "What are you here for?"

Unlike her usual 'Genin outfit', she was wearing a regular t-shirt and an old set of pants that had dirt on the knees, probably from some type of gardening earlier. It didn't take a genius to notice that she was rather neutral towards me.

In hindsight, I probably should've tempered my ridicule when she and Sakura argued over Sasuke, but it seriously did annoy me. So I didn't exactly show any sympathy when I was rather cold and dismissive towards them.

"Hey, Ino," I said simply, "I'm looking for flowers."

"And," She crossed her arms, "What kind?"

'A bit short with me, aren't you?'

"Red carnations." I replied, pulling out the frog wallet I got over six years ago.

Ino didn't respond, simply walking towards the back to get what I requested. She came back a minute later with a bundle of the flowers I requested and rang me up at the register.

"Who are these even for?" Ino asked, "You do realize who these are usually for, yes?"

"Yes," I deadpanned, offering the necessary Ryo to her, "I'm not an idiot about flowers."

"Could've fooled me." Ino hummed, taking the money and handing me the flowers. "I'm pretty sure you're an orphan, so why flowers usually meant for mothers?"

I clenched the flowers in my hand slightly to stop from responding harshly, my chakra seeming to tingle under my skin.

'Calm down, Naruto. She didn't mean it like that. She's just curious.'

"Cemetery." I said, trying to not sound cold.

Her eyes widened in realization at how she had sounded.

"I'm sorry, Naruto," She buried her face in her hands, "I-I didn't mean it like that."

Before anything else could be said, a lady with brown hair and resembled Ino a great deal walked into the store.

Just by her faint chakra signature, she was a civilian.

"Ino," The said the girl's name softly, "Your father wanted me to check up on you and make sure everything is okay." Her gaze then turned towards me, "Uzumaki Naruto?"

Her tone of voice lacked any malice or guardedness in it, thankfully.

"Yes," I nodded politely, "Are you Ino's sister? You two look alike."

The lady I was certain was Ino's mother blushed lightly and laughed.

"That's very sweet of you, but no, I'm Ino's mother. My name is Kauri." She gave me her name, looking at her daughter. "I trust you were a good help for your friend, Ino-chan?"

Ino had a deer in the headlights look for a moment, but I decided to not have her mother upset with her.

"She's great," I said cheerfully, "She helped me pick out some flowers and was really patient with me."

Kauri looked at her daughter with pride as the blonde stared at me with a blank expression, before seeming to snap out of it.

"Be sure to not break the stems, Naruto," She smiled, "I know how clumsy you can be."

"Riiggght," I played along, finally calming down from the misunderstanding, "And you didn't tell me how well you did against Asuma-san. Everything go well?"

I could tell Kauri was smiling at the two of us talking and that made me think of something.

I might need to be a little more patient with Ino.

"Shikamaru was his usual lazy self," Ino huffed, her hands still clenching and unclenching next to the register from her mother being right there, "And Choji wasn't doing anything. So I had to force them along."

"And I'm sure you're proud of yourself." I laughed, clutching the flowers a little closer to me.

"It was nice talking with you, Ino," I turned to leave, "Thank you for being understanding with me and I'll see you at the group training."

I then turned and left, clutching ahold of the flowers as I made my way through the village.

A couple glares from the villagers and whispers of 'Demon' had me Henging as my father and miming getting impaled, followed by me flipping them off to tweak them further.

Petty? Yes, to the nth degree. But I didn't care. I actually saw it happened and he bled on me, so it was alright for me to make cruel jokes about it.

After walking across a few blocks, mindful of the suppressed, but familiar, signatures of the ANBU watching out for me, I reached the cemetery and made a clone to signal them with ANBU code signs.

Hi. Neko. Privacy. Please.

A few seconds later, the signatures moved away and vanished.

'Thanks.' I thought to myself, walking towards two specific gravestones.

October 10. October 10. I kept passing gravestones that had that date as the day of death. The gravestone, with a familiar surname on it was in front of me.

It should be familiar, given that it's mine and Rin's surname.

Uzumaki Kushina.

"Hi, kaasan." I whispered, smiling as I replaced the old flowers with the new ones, "I just finished training and wanted to say hello on my own."

Sometimes, I needed to have some alone time for myself. Rin and I normally came here together, but I sometimes visited on my own.

"I'm not sure I like my affinity all that much compared to Rin's." I sat down in front of the stone, popping open a storage seal to grab a bottle of water. "Wind is tousan's and it's definitely pretty effective."

I took a swig of water and sighed as I leaned back, pressing my palms against the grass lightly.

"I feel bad for being cold towards some of my classmates," I admitted, thinking about Ino, "They might've been obsessed with Mikoto's youngest, but I still could have had more tact."

Me being on my own made me feel a little introspective, but I still thought what I did was worth it because it forced them to improve to avoid my belittling.

Who am I kidding? I wouldn't be thinking about it if I really believed it.

They're twelve. I was an idiot and had stupid priorities when I was twelve. I might have handled it better now that I thought about it.

Deciding to stay for a little longer, I made a clone and had it go to mine and Rin's apartment to tell her I'd be a bit and ask if she wanted me to pick up some takeout.

After the clone Shunshined away, I started singing some, a song even Rin didn't know. I was careful how many songs I 'created'. It made it a little less suspicious.

I was so lost in how much I truly enjoyed being able to freely say whatever I wished without Rin present that I almost didn't feel Kakashi's presence come towards me.

I stopped singing as he got within earshot and I waited for him to say something.

"I don't understand a word or how you two came up with that language," Kakashi eventually said, "But it does sound interesting. What were you singing about?"

'I'll be vague.' I thought. I'm about thirteen and haven't truly fought in a war. I can't really explain the line about snowflakes covering fallen brothers.

"Remembering what has been lost." I replied quietly, gazing at my mother's gravestone.

At the silent presence of Kakashi, I spoke again.

"Why are you here?"

"Anko told me about your outburst," Kakashi said sympathetically, "I didn't realize that you worried about that."

I sighed at the reminder, turning around and gazing up at the silver haired man.

"It's not that I really think that," I explained, pressing my fingers against my brow, "I hate the idea of people exploiting trust in others and leaving them burned."

It was a holdover from what happened with Rin six years ago. She'd tried to watch out for me, and I truthfully would have done the same thing.

But that was a nightmare for me, that Rin or somebody close would betray my trust with bad intentions. It terrified me further because I personally was capable of it.

I did nothing about possibly changing the fate of the Uchiha clan because I didn't trust that I could cover my tracks and give a plausible chance to stop Danzo or Obito.

I was a hypocrite about it, and I knew it.

Kakashi's voice cut through my thoughts and caused me to focus.

"But why would you think you would even think of being like that?" Kakashi asked confusedly, "I've known you for years now and nothing has ever indicated that."

"I was just being overdramatic and I worked myself up into thinking the impossible was possible." I answered while looking away. It was embarrassing that I had freaked out over something so trivial.

That was right about when my clone popped, giving me its memories.

Rin wanted some takeout.

"Clone?" Kakashi asked, noticing my expression shift.

"Rin wants takeout." I nodded, uncrossing my legs and standing up, "I'll visit again." I turned to the tombstone, walking away as I picked up the scroll and water bottle.

I walked passed Kakashi and tilted my head.

"I could use the company." I said, welcome to having Kakashi to walk next to me to annoy the civis.

Kakashi stuck right next to me and the two of us exited the cemetery, heading towards Ichiraku's.

"Why ramen?" Kakashi asked, "You know you can't eat that every day, right?"

"Have you seen our freezer?" I raised a brow, "That has probably 30 pounds of meat in it from me hunting, and half the money I spend is on vegetables and fruit so we aren't practically sick."

The village merchants definitely pulled crap like it was mentioned in fanon, but I knew how to get around that. Hunting for my own meat, having our own small garden for a few fruits, and Henging when going to the open air markets on certain days.

"How did you get that much meat in there and still eat as much as you two do?" Kakashi asked suspiciously, realizing I didn't specify.

"A deer." I replied simply, smirking as the villagers now steered clear of me because of Kakashi.

I felt Kakashi's hand dig into my shoulder lightly and he held me still, causing me to stumble.

"A deer?" He asked quietly, his tone flat, "You killed one of the Nara's deer and didn't think it important enough to tell anyone?"

"It stumbled near the Forest of Death," I looked up at Kakashi, eyes narrowed, "It was already missing a leg when I killed the tiger thing, or whatever the hell it was, with a water jutsu."

Kakashi let go of my shoulder and sighed. "Try leading with that next time. The Nara don't take kindly to people poaching deer."

"Noted." I replied, never even humouring the thought of going onto their property.

We reached Ichiraku's after a few minutes and I waved at Ayame when she spotted me.

"Hello, Naruto-kun," She smiled, glancing at Kakashi, "Hello, Kakashi-san." I didn't miss the light dusting of pink on her cheeks when she looked at the less handsome of the two of us.

"Hi, Ayame-chan," I returned the smile, "I need two orders of takeout."

"Your usual?" She raised a brow.

I dipped my head in a nod.

Ayame hummed to herself, walking towards the kitchen to fix the order. While she did that, Kakashi and I sat down underneath the awning to have some shade.

"Were you training?" Kakashi tilted his head towards me.

"What makes you ask that?" I looked up at him, his one visible eye fixed on mine.

"Slight scent of sweat, stiff posture, and your shirt looks recently put on."

Leave to him to notice all that.

"I sometimes forget under the mask of laziness and boredom lies an apex predator." I muttered, scratching at the top of my head, "Yeah, I was training. Mostly conditioning and a few Suiton jutsu to split trees."

"Your Raiton not coming along well?" He asked curiously, turning around to face the people walking through the street.

My eyes tracked a mother pushing a stroller, a five or six year old right next to her.

"Slower than Suiton, but still coming along pretty well. My bunshin tend to explode when lightning is unbalanced, so that kind of slows down clone delegation."

Until I improved my conversion of my chakra into lightning, I couldn't instinctively cast Raiton jutsu like I could water. The main hurdle was done, I just needed to improve it.

Kakashi adjusted his jacket and pulled out his copy of Icha Icha, opening it at a specific point. I waited for about 15 seconds before I spoke.

"That won't work on me, Inu." I scoffed, causing him to twitch.

"Kindly don't call me that," Kakashi gave me a side-eye glance, but still kept the book in his hand, "And I don't know what you're talking about."

"Your eye hasn't moved at all," I stared at the dark iris, "So you're only doing it to irritate me. I'm not Rin."

Letting out a sigh, Kakashi closed the book with an audible thunk and put it back in his jacket, uncovering his Sharingan by lifting up his hitai-ate.

"Uh." I voiced, not knowing why he did that.

"To be accustomed to the perfect recall and processing of images," Kakashi answered my unasked question, "A slight hesitation in reaction would kill me."

Fair enough.

I watched as Kakashi had both eyes open as he watched people pass by, occasionally closing his right one every now and then.

Ayame eventually came out with the takeout order and handed it to me.

I thanked her and paid her with the needed Ryo, making two clones to carry the containers.

"Feeding an army?" Kakashi couldn't seem to help himself.

I snorted at the comment about my appetite.

"You'll eat those words in training in a few days." I started walking towards home, waving at Kakashi as he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

End Chapter:

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This chapter was mostly to expand more on how other people see the MC and the concerns they have about some of his behavior. It was also to give Anko some more screen time. When Anko talked about 'Orochimaru exploiting a young girl', she meant how he had taken advantage of her complete trust in him and marked her without her realizing he was capable of something like that. It wasn't exploitation in the other sense.

Naruto is paranoid about how he's reaching the age where his body is basically telling him to notice women and he sees himself as the Naruto and he remembers what the 'Canon' pairing was. It's basically a perfect storm of him being an idiot and panicking about something that isn't an issue outside of his own freakout.

Anko and Kakashi have no idea why the MC is straight up refusing to humour certain comments. They just assume it's just a peculiarity on his part, not that he's lived about 20 more years than they realize.

This'll probably be the only chapter where he's angsting over girls this in depth. It serves an SI/OC insert story well for character development, but it can get stifling if it is overdone in a story every other chapter. I'll probably only put it in later for comedy purposes, one serious event is good enough to show where the MC's thoughts are.

To clarify, the MC won't be pursuing a relationship with any of the girls his physical age at this point. They are mentally younger than him to the point where he's not going to do anything until the time skip at the earliest.

Anyway, here's a new chapter and enjoy. Comments are welcomed, and good luck.

Raging.