Sasuke crouched low on the branch he occupied, ears strained for even the faintest hints of a sound from any direction. His darkened clothing helped him bend somewhat into the shadows and he was counting on that to not immediately get caught. Higher up from his position Sakura stood in wait, back pressed up against the tree as she hoped her elevated position would make up for her dress' lack of camouflage. Below them on the ground Ami had taken up a strong and resolute stance, her sword firmly in hand as he eyes darted about swiftly. Her more vibrant red dress was much more noticeable in their woodland surroundings but then again, that was the point; she was bait.
Sasuke wasn't sure what to make of the startling turnabout Ami had made over the past few months, both in training and on missions. She was a lot more confident, although shameless would almost have been a better way to describe her. Similarly her skill with a sword had certainly picked up, enough that Sasuke was wary of going toe to toe with her without some kind of weapon of his own. He appreciated at least that the dead last of the year was no longer hindering the team even if he was disgruntled she was able to seemingly catch up so fast.
Then again he could say the same of Sakura; the girl had become highly proficient in Genjutsu, as far as genin could be at least. Naruto had obviously done a good job with whatever deal he bartered with Kakashi to get the insufferably lazy man to train them even a little. The fruits of that deal also sparkled in the virulently red eyes slowly spinning in Sasuke's sockets. A few months back, shortly after the invasion, Naruto had finally dug deep and decided that Sasuke needed his Sharingan. It was almost getting to the point of worry; most Uchiha had already displayed the trait by then if they were going to have it at all.
He had staged a small 'ambush' while on a fairly routine delivery mission that had pressed Sasuke right up to the very edge of his abilities and maybe even beyond. Apparently the redhead had simply given Kakashi, as the word on Sharingan in the village now, the go ahead to do whatever the tall and chronically tardy man thought necessary. 'Necessary' turned out to leave Sasuke badly scratched up with something short of psychological trauma. He didn't like to speak of it much but either way it was a good thing Sakura had begun to also get light training at the hospital or he would have been in a lot of pain the rest of that day.
All in all team seven was beginning to earn a reputation as a reliable and powerful group of young genin. Between the budding sword mistress, the useful support illusionist and the prodigal Uchiha there weren't many situations they couldn't handle. If there were, well, there was Naruto for those instances. However in general the young Namikaze tended to be fairly hands off in their missions, allowing his team to make decisions and choices for themselves. It may have been a bit cold, like throwing a child in the deep end of a pond to teach them to swim, but it showed in their development.
Right now Sasuke was glad for every ounce of training drilled into his body as the team faced off against their most wily and dangerous opponent to date.
"Aha Tag!" A joyous voice called out, followed by the sounds of Ami cursing as a greyish streak suddenly flashed across her position, slapping her on the back quickly before dashing off again. Sasuke smirked, seeing his plan coming together flawlessly as the silver streak rushed in exactly the direction he was counting on all the way up to…
"Aha double tag!" Suddenly the streak passed behind a tree and vanished; moments later and Sasuke was lightly tapped on the back. The surprise was nearly enough to cause him to fall off the branch but he caught himself at the last moment. He used his forward momentum and a light application of Chakra to his feet to spin himself beneath the thick bough before launching off in pursuit of the grey blur. As he hit the ground in a roll his arm flashed out toward Ami.
"Protect Sakura, if it gets her too we're all finished!" And without even breaking his momentum Sasuke pushed off the ground and pursued his target. Sharingan eyes span rapidly, darting about at every minute detail that told him where his fleeing target had gone. While it may have been fast, it certainly wasn't subtle and the small, normally innocuous clues it left in the form of bent grass or disturbed twigs were like glaring signs for his Doujutsu to pick up. Sure enough he managed to catch what was normally be nothing more than a barely visible streak of silver dash across his vision.
However under his Doujutsu's predictive and enhancing gaze it was slowed down and resolved to the point that he was able to view it.
"Can't catch me Sasuke!" Came the giggling and taunting voice, always haunting him as he sped after it. It was faster than him but only in short bursts of fifty meters at most; in the enclosed environment of the forest, with the trees blocking any straight paths more than a few meters any direction he held the advantage. His superior stamina and patience were his greatest assets and-
"Hah, tagged you again!" The flying silver streak called out as it landed on his back only to flip off a moment later as Sasuke whirled around to grab it. Why oh why had Naruto seen fit to teach the thing how to properly utilise its Chakra? A strangled noise that successfully conveyed his frustration ripped from his throat as he took off in dash again. This time though he took to the trees, thankful that it couldn't use the Chakra-clinging technique… kami save them all when it could. Just as he felt as though he were about to corner it though, Ami made her appearance causing both Sasuke and it to widen their eyes.
"No I said protect Sakura!" The dark-haired Uchiha called out in futility as his Sharingan eyes were able to capture in perfect detail as it suddenly diverted course. The impossibly fast streak practically bounced off tree trunks, using its momentum instead of any formal technique to ascend to the canopy. Sakura's eyes could only widen in surprise as she saw the grey blur suddenly go straight for her. It was only moments away from tagging her on the head when suddenly a second Ami seemed to appear from nowhere, clinging to the trunk above the pinkette's head as both girls smirked simultaneously.
"Gotcha!" Ami called out as Sasuke's previous frustration turned into pure satisfaction as he was able to watch its expression change, to one of surprise and then fear, in blissful slow-motion; his Sharingan saved every moment like a video to be played back. The silvery blur was tackled out of the air and everything was brought to a stop as Ami wrestled with it momentarily on the ground.
"Ah bad Neechan! Bad!" Haya's voice proclaimed amidst Ami's struggling grunts, the dust settling enough to reveal the little girl held firmly in Ami's grip, squirming and writhing with everything she had to be free. If Ami hadn't been holding her sword across the girl's chest, blunt side of course, she would likely had escaped by now; Sasuke knew from experience. A moment later though and Haya finally went still, the typical huffy expression of a child denied their fun on her pouting features as the young girl crossed her arms over her chest.
"Hey, how come Haya-chan calls Ami Neechan and not me?" Sakura asked as she descended from the tree-top, her own pout in place as both Ami and Haya looked up at the girl owlishly; nobody really expected the question.
"That Sakura…" Came Naruto's mirth-filled voice as the older teen suddenly flashed into the clearing "…is because Ami is around the house almost every day." The redhead sent an amused look the violette's way only to have Ami stare right back unashamedly. Naruto could only sigh at his waylayed pupil. "Yeah, Anko's got her claws in you deep; where did my bashful little student go that could only just lift her sword?" Naruto sighed wistfully in an exaggerated manner, at least until the melancholic effect was ruined by Haya suddenly dashing out of Ami's grip and scrabbling up his back to proudly sit on his shoulders. He chuckled as she grabbed two of his long red spikes, using them like handlebars to stay up and almost giving Naruto the appearance of having horns.
"Ah, in any case good job you guys; it only took you twenty two minutes to catch her this time; I think that's a new record." He nodded at each of them in turn, getting happy expressions from his two little Kunoichi and a huff from Sasuke.
"She's worse than Tora." The dark-haired Uchiha mumbled under his breath, only to be ignored by their Sensei.
"That was an excellent strategy; great Genjutsu work hiding Ami like that Sakura; I see you got over the little 'problem' you were having with Haya-chan then?" Naruto asked, looking toward his aspiring medic; the pinkette gave and excited nod in response. The problem she had been having with people like Haya was that some Genjutsu just didn't work on her. The little girl's mind just seemed to work faster than everybody else's which meant her perception of the world was different to others'. Only Naruto could really understand, but even his hyper-speed awareness wasn't permanent.
When Sakura tried to place the girl under an illusion, even as ill-developed as Haya's skills were which Naruto was rectifying, she could instantly tell the difference. It was because Sakura only had her own perception as reference; it was the same reason most Sharingan and Byakugan users were similarly immune; people just couldn't understand what they saw. However if Sakura were to place an illusion on an area instead of directly on an opponent then it didn't matter what they were seeing or how fast, it would affect everybody equally. Of course Doujutsu users could still see the Chakra in the illusion, but enough finesse could alleviate that over time.
"Good teamwork in general too, Sasuke you seem to be taking to a leadership role rather well." Naruto continued to praise before smirking subtly. "However you guys still could have done better; your plan was a little too rigid as you were almost unable to adapt when Haya decided to change direction on a whim." The redhead looked up at the silver-haired girl on his shoulders who could only blush and giggle innocently. To Sasuke it was like watching the devil clothe itself in sheep-skin and all the cuteness wouldn't dissuade him; she was evil incarnate.
To be fair though Haya had come a long way from the ragged and frail little girl Naruto had pulled out of Orochimaru's base. She had filled out, gaining a much healthier weight while her inherent speed and predisposition towards energetic movement kept her from becoming chubby. Her hair had gained the natural lustre it had lost in captivity, becoming a shiny near-metallic silver that she had insisted on keeping short in a boyish pixie-cut despite Sakura's protests that she would look much cuter with long hair.
From what Naruto had managed to get out of her over the past months the hair colour was a common trait in the clan, so much so that she had nearly had a fit upon seeing Kakashi in the street. That was the part Naruto was happiest abut concerning the girl; she had really opened up to him and Anko, and by proximity Ami, and had pretty much accepted them as a second family. She didn't seem to have very clear memories of her parents, especially her father, and Naruto felt almost honoured to take up a similar role for the girl. Yet, at the same time, he felt a pang in his chest every time he was reminded it could only be temporary, until her real family was located.
He had set Jiraiya to the task of listening out for any signs of a silver-haired clan of speedsters. The man had seemed quite interested in the challenge and had said he'd do it as a 'favour'. It felt as though Naruto had been doing a lot of things for 'favours' lately as people were quick to gain the future support from their next possible Hokage. It was irritating and certainly not helping him make his decision regarding the matter. Anko on the other hand turned out to be rather blasé about it, not particularly caring one way or another. However he suspected she had an opinion and just wasn't sharing so as not to put pressure on him, which he appreciated. She seemed to grow increasingly nervous as the chuunin exams drew closer; speaking of which…
"Well, I can only really say I'm proud of you guys and how far you've come from the inexperienced brats I picked up almost a year ago now." It certainly didn't feel that long; really the time had flew by. "But I'm guessing you three have realised what I'm going to say already…" He gave a pointed look at Sasuke only for the Uchiha to finally take his half-hearted glare off of Haya and smirk at him.
"The Chuunin exams are in a week." Sasuke intoned as emotionlessly as he could but failed to completely suppress his excitement.
"Yes they are!" Naruto exclaimed as he clapped his hands together. "And you will all be most happy to know that…" He paused for dramatic effect as Haya suddenly started doing a drum-roll on his head "I have entered you all; we leave in two days for Takigakure!" He shouted happily, raising his arms to both sides as his Genin grinned or smirked to themselves. "I know you guys'll do yourselves proud and remember that I expect you all to make it to chuunin." He finished, placing his hands on his hips as Haya imitated the position from atop his shoulders.
"You really believe in us that much Sensei?" Ami asked with some trepidation, showing a lot more hesitancy than he had seen since Anko had somehow managed to 'corrupt' her. Naruto simply beamed at her, Haya once again somehow managing to copy the expression without even looking.
"Of course I do; you guys are my team after all." He started, only to quickly amend himself with a more sheepish expression. "Plus I have a rather large bet on you guys with the other Sensei to pretty much curb-stomp the other genin teams from Konoha." Just as his teams were ready to let out indignant noises at being used like that he gave a cocky grin and waved causally. "Teamtrainingtomorrownormaltime, knowyou'lldogreat, seeyouthen, bye!" And with that he disappeared in a flash of red leaving a silent training ground behind him.
"Sometimes Naruto-sensei can be really annoying." Sakura sighed irritably; just as she had begun to feel a fluttering of pride in having a Sensei like the redhead that cared he had to go and ruin it with a statement like that. Ami just nervously chuckled to one side.
"I suppose it's a… form, of flattery?" She tried unconvincingly, only to have her two teammates look at her oddly, a sly smile appearing on Sakura's features.
"So you're around Naruto-Sensei's house everyday huh?" The pinkette pried, only for Ami's to school her features almost professionally.
"I have no idea what you're talking about; Anko-Shishou just likes to have me nearby so she can train me when she feels like it." She defended, only to have the stern outer-layer she had been working on to mimic her mercurial second Sensei ruined by the faint blush she sported. Sasuke simply grunted as the three began making their way out of the training ground together. It was a massive leap from how they had been almost a year ago; back then they would have all gone their separate ways without a thought.
"I still dislike how you get a second mentor." He admitted, containing his actual jealousy well. However the thought was shot down quickly enough as Ami scratched the back of her head bashfully.
"Well, it isn't really like that; Anko-Shishou doesn't really 'train' me as she even admitted to being less powerful than Naruto-Sensei. But she does teach me how to be, in her own words, more like a 'badass Kunoichi that can go out and kick it'." Her teammates snorted simultaneously; from their thankfully short and periodic experiences with Naruto's girlfriend they could have believed she'd say something like that.
"What does that even mean?" Sakura asked incredulously; she still had trouble connecting the image of her usually playful and cheeky Sensei with his crazier and shameless girlfriend.
"Um, there's a lot of training to make me more flexible, and she tries to make me at least act more confident by throwing me into these really weird situations." Ami admitted with a shrug, only to have both her teammates stare at her for a long few seconds until her cheeks were threatening to fill with blood again. She was not admitting that Anko had stripped her to her underwear and practically thrown her into the male changing area of the hot springs claiming to have misplaced her clothing.
"Oh!" Ami quickly continued, hoping to divert their minds from it. "She also has me learning to throw things other than Kunai and shuriken." She looked up thoughtfully. "Although for some reason she has to do it in the weirdest way; like teaching me how to throw senbon by making me practise with dango skewers." She sighed slightly as the memory; the sticks were often still wet when she was forced to use them. "And she always insists I make stupid pictures with them for some reason." She grumbled half-intelligibly; it was like the woman was trying to mould her in her own image.
"Sounds… interesting." Sakura tried hesitantly, unsure what to make of the strange training her female teammate had been getting on the side. Its usefulness was… questionable, at best; however that seemed to spark something in the violette as she suddenly looked up as if remembering something important.
"Oh right! She's also teaching me seduction techniques!" She exclaimed, only to realise five seconds later, after an equally long and awkward silence, that she had practically shouted that last part far too enthusiastically. Both her teammates were gawking at her, although Sasuke was doing his best to act nonplussed. "I-I mean, you know… general Kunoichi skills and such." She muttered with slightly more tact than before. However Sakura was gawking for a different reason, her eyes wide as the glance at Sasuke went missed by no one.
"I could have been learning how to seduce people this whole time?" She whispered to herself disbelievingly; if Sasuke heard he didn't react… no matter how disturbed he might have appeared. Ami just chuckled nervously as the team descended into awkward silence for a long minute.
"So uh, is it just me or is Haya getting faster?" Ami tried hesitantly, only to be blanked by her teammates as they were lost in their own, equally disturbing thoughts. She sighed uselessly; now Anko was even starting to affect her social life.
"I can't believe you could be gone for a whole month." Anko whined for what felt like the hundredth time as Naruto pulled on his boot-like sandals. The two days had passed without much fanfare and soon enough the day team seven and the other Konoha Genin would be making their way to Takigakure for the Chuunin exams had arrived. Obviously Anko was none too pleased about this and had even roped Haya into sitting on her shoulders to give the most adorable pout Naruto could imagine seeing.
"I've been gone longer on ANBU missions before." Naruto replied without much feeling; it felt as though they had been going back and forth on this point for hours now.
"Yeah but, you know… they're really important and-" Anko paused as she saw Naruto turning to give her a raised-brow look, instantly fumbling over her words as her hands clenched and unclenched. "You know that's not what I mean; your squad is important, I know." Naruto maintained the look for a few moments longer before nodding in satisfaction and turning to finish strapping his sandal on.
"You know I'm only a flash away." He casually retorted, absently throwing one of his tri-pronged kunai over his shoulder for her to catch. However Anko just looked at it disdainfully for a while before setting it on a nearby surface.
"Great, I get the mail-order boyfriend package." She sighed to herself as Haya looked confusedly between the two young adults; the small girl didn't really understand what was going on beyond that Naruto would be gone for a while. The violette sighed more irritably after a moment though. "Nah, I know those kids'll get through to the third round so they'll need all the training with you they can; I won't take that away from them just to be selfish." She looked up pointedly at the redhead for a few moments.
"You know I really want to be selfish, right?" She stressed only for Naruto to nod absently again, irritating Anko further. It passed though, as her moods were want to do, and suddenly she was bashful, pawing at the hem of her shirt as she struggled with her words. "It's just, you know, I finally got you back from ANBU, then this last year, all we got to do, now they might go and…" She was forced to trail of as her chin was nudged up gently so her eyes could lock with Naruto's. She could practically see the mirth glittering in his violet irises.
"Anko…" He started softly, getting her to nod almost robotically "…you're rambling." That seemed to snap her out of it at least; however Naruto didn't let her get a word in as he leaned back out, looking over her appraisingly. "You know, you've been acting strange for a while now; want to talk about it while I'm still here?" Anko's mouth opened for a moment, words failing to escape her, before a blush of indignation marred her cheeks.
"Fine, you know what I want to talk about? That 'while I'm still here' thing you've got going on!" She mocked in a bad rendition of Naruto's lower voice. "How long will you be here? Huh? It feels like I only just got you back from ANBU, all those dangerous missions where I had no idea whether or not you would come back alive. This last year has been so great! I haven't had to worry about you or your team, we've spent so much more time together; we even found a member of your actual family even if she's an annoying brat that won't admit it and swears like a sailor!" Anko had to take a few calming breaths after her short rant but that didn't mean she was finished.
"Now your Genin are going to be promoted 'cause you had to train them so damn well…" She fumed, getting an incredulous look from Naruto. "They'll go off and be Chuunin, you'll be unsaddled and then you'll go off too, doing your dangerous Jounin missions. Don't think I don't listen when the Hokage and you talk! You're S-rank, I accepted that a while ago, but what am I supposed to do when you're out there facing missions that would normally take entire squads of ANBU?" Surprisingly her voice hadn't raised all that much, mostly for Haya's benefit who still looked confused, but with Anko she didn't need to; she simply put more intent behind her words.
"Anko, we're Shinobi, it's in the job description to put ourselves in danger. We both made this choice when we were young; now we have to own it." Naruto finally replied with a sigh.
"You wouldn't have to if you were Hokage!" Anko blurted out, only to widen her eyes and immediately clasp her mouth shut as though she could somehow force the words back in. Naruto's eyes immediately narrowed as they came to crux of the matter, finally.
"So that's what this is about." He said slowly, weighing up the way Anko's eyes nervously dropped down and the way her finger wound the fabric of her shirt. Finally though the teen seemed to accept the fact that she had said what she'd said and it was out in the open now. Her eyes regained the fire that made her so attractive to Naruto in the first place and she reasserted herself, losing the nervous ticks as she puffed her chest out.
"Damn right it is!" She shot at him, making sure their eyes stayed connected like there was an invisible wire between them.
"So you do have an opinion." Naruto half-asked, already knowing the answer; aside from the fact that Anko always had an opinion, even if it was only facetious.
"Of course I do you idiot!" Anko shouted finally, putting her hands up on her head to pull on her head like it was the most obvious thing in the world, only to realise Haya was still there. "Ah, aha, Haya-chan, could you do me a favour real quick?" The little girl looked down, comically drooping over Anko's head like a limp hat to look into her Oneechan's eyes. She still seemed rather confused by what was going on but she was eager to help out the people she now saw as family.
"Okay Neechan." She answered hesitantly; all the raised voices had been making her a little uncomfortable anyway.
"Okay good, run to Ami and play with her for a while would you?" Anko asked with the best fake smile she could strain onto her face… which for a seven year old was indistinguishable from the real thing. Haya quickly nodded before scrabbling down off her shoulders and flashing from the house, leaving the arguing couple alone gratefully. There was a moment of awkward silence before Naruto finally spoke up.
"So you think I should take the position." Again, he only half-asked it, already knowing Anko's answer but wanting to get the ball rolling.
"Well… I know; you… that is to say…" Anko struggled before reaffirming her features and glaring at the redhead. "Yes, yes I do!" She finally admitted, letting out a relieved sigh afterwards as a small weight was lifted from her shoulders. "I mean, you'd be safer right? The Hokage just runs the village, no need for dangerous missions or life-threatening situations." Anko said hopefully; at least Naruto could see she was coming from a good place with this.
"Anko…" Naruto ground out in frustration, running a hand through his hair; he needed to be with his team in a few minutes. "One out of four isn't exactly a great track record for living to a ripe old age you know?" Upon Anko's look of confusion he sighed again and elaborated. "The Sandaime was made Hokage when he was twenty one, admittedly not that much older than me and actually younger than Tou-san was. He's now sixty eight; do you really think he's just been sitting around doing paperwork for forty seven years?" Anko looked ready to answer but he cut her off with a quick shake of his head; he didn't have time.
"No, he's fought through two more Shinobi wars, survived multiple assassination attempts and from what I heard was on the front lines during the Kyuubi attack. Just because the old man is content to let the younger generations do the strenuous work now, doesn't mean it wasn't once his job too." Naruto explained quickly, not quite believing he was having to explain this to Anko now of all times. "Anko, the Hokage job is dangerous, and not just for the Hokage." He gave a pointed look at his girlfriend only to get a bank one in return; she obviously didn't understand still.
"Look…" He started, his eyes glancing towards a nearby picture of him and his parents when he was four. "…I told you that when I was just a toddler, there was an attempt on my life from Kumo that Tou-san stopped right?" Anko nodded slowly, the first sparks of realisation beginning to enter her eyes. "If I became Hokage then it wouldn't just be me in danger okay? How long would it be before people began coming after you, or Haya, or even the children we might have some day." Anko's cheeks flared a cherry red at the thought but she at least seemed to understand his point.
"I-I just thought…" She tried, only to lose her steam and let her arms droop defeatedly by her sides. Naruto's features softened at the sight and he managed a gentle, if not slightly strained smile, moving forward to draw his girlfriend into a hug.
"I know, but you have to remember that the Hokage isn't just the village's leader, they're also supposed to be the village's strongest Shinobi." Anko leaned into the embrace, managing a bemused smile as she rested her head in the crook of his neck.
"You're so humble." She muttered in a poor attempt at humour; it still got Naruto to chuckle softly though.
"I'm just saying." He relied quietly, rather enjoying the peaceful moment.
"I get it now; sorry for bringing it up." Anko managed awkwardly as she moved off of Naruto; she was never the best at apologies. The redhead just shrugged as he tried to regain his usual flippant grin.
"I'm not discounting the possibility, I'm just saying there's a lot for me to think about and asking you to be a little patient." He explained; by now Anko seemed to have recovered from her brief sentimental mood and bounced back.
"Well, can't say patience is my strong suit; but I'll try." She offered up with a compromising shrug.
"Don't worry; even if I do take the position, you won't be rid of me that easily." Naruto started as he grabbed the kunai from the nearby surface and flipped it up into the air. "I'm just a flash away after all." And he was gone before the small weapon landed in Anko's hands, making her grin lopsidedly.
"Show off."