Well. It's that time of year again. My final projects and the holiday season are looming over me, and I just have no time. So I know this chapter is both short and late. And I apologize for that. But it might be a little while before I can work out a consistent updating schedule again.

Thank you for reviewing since the last update: a guy1013, Momochan77, RedVelvetPanPan, Silvanon of the Orchard, LeePacefan, , klo, Unlink098, PepeHandsEmoji, Sylvana Star, As It Stands, Sharkboy, Lina03 Lilian, lizyeh2000, LordKirkleton, FanGirl, Viviene001, Evilshallprevail, AnimaQueen, Kayumeee, Happy-Momma-Of-Toby, BOSS02109, SylarFan, SeaInkBlot and Junior VB, thank you for all your reviews and for translating them. It saved me a lot of time, as I do not speak Spanish.

Mabidisco, I wanted to touch on your review specifically, because it brought up something I hadn't even considered. The Sasuke in the library in the last chapter was, in fact, the real Sasuke. That one line about Sakura being surprised she didn't recognize him right away was more aimed at her own growth. Like, she's surprising herself by realizing she has room in her head for more than Sasuke. Your idea of it being Kakashi undercover was really interesting, though! I try not to spend too much time giving detailed answers to specific reviews, but some of you have brought up some truly interesting points and analyses, and I love reading them!

Chapter Thirty-Five

Kakashi sighed. "All right, Naruto. Let's get started. The shadow clone jutsu is a very advanced technique, so we may be here for a while…"

His most hyperactive student stood before him, eyes wide and sparkling with excitement. "You mean it, Kakashi sensei?! You're really going to teach me to make shadow clones?!"

The jonin looked exhausted already. "Yeah. I think we both know you wouldn't have stopped until you'd accomplished what you set out to do. And I can't have you distracted during our missions. So here we are."

Kakashi had invited his student back to the training field where they'd had their survival test for some one-on-one instruction. He was hoping he'd be able to harness that energy and excitement into something more tangible. "So you already know how to make regular clones—illusory ones."

Thankfully, Naruto already seemed to be focusing his jitters. "Yeah. Well, I mean, mostly. Sasuke kept talkin' about combination attacks and see-through-ness or whatever… Once I could focus my chakra, I just kept adding more until they looked solid."

Kakashi nodded. This was about what he'd expected. Naruto's usual reaction to a problem seemed to be to throw more brute force—or in this case, chakra—at it until it was gone. If he had to guess, he'd say Naruto's clones probably ran through their allotted chakra and burned out pretty quickly. Luckily, illusion clones were meant to only be short distractions.

"Well, shadow clones function a bit differently. They don't just look solid. But in order to be solid, their composition has to mimic your original self, from the inside out. They need to be balanced like a real person."

Naruto cocked his head to the side, a look of consternation on his face. Kakashi could tell he was already starting to lose him.

"I'll make this nice and simple," he cut his speech short. "Every shadow clone you make needs to have an equal amount of chakra. And it takes a lot of chakra to make them solid to start with."

Naruto nodded sagely, looking like he was seriously absorbing and contemplating this. "Okay, cool. So can we start?"

Kakashi was torn between laughing softly and sighing again. He supposed he should know better by now. It didn't take a genius to realize Naruto was the type who learned by doing. "Yes. We can start."

…

I kept my head ducked low as I made my way through the general store. It was the only other true jack-of-all-trades stores in the village, the closest thing to real competition for my own. I did not get the impression that the owner—a bubbly woman standing behind the counter—even recognized me, but it was still… awkward.

Go figure, though, the maps of the Land of Fire were kept at the front counter. I didn't have any in stock at my own shop, and I was too impatient to wait for another shipment. The idea had been planted, and I didn't know when exactly Team Seven would be setting off. I wanted to be ready.

So I bought my map, made polite small talk with the woman who I was now certain did not recognize me, and headed home.

…

As much as she hated to say it, at risk of sounding arrogant, Sakura really hadn't expected it to be this hard. After all, she'd always been better at theory, and genjutsu wasn't a physical art. But no matter how much she focused her chakra, she could only get her surroundings to shimmer a little. Like the effects of heat rising on a summer day. Not enough to fool anyone. Not enough for even the most minor of distractions.

She slumped to the ground, breathing heavily. The book she'd checked out from the library lay a few feet away. She considered picking it back up… but it hadn't been of much use to her up until now anyway.

Sakura sighed and tilted her head back to look up at the sky through the trees. She'd retreated to one of the training grounds just off the academy property. It was familiar and secluded. Training wasn't exactly her specialty. She liked not having to worry about anyone walking in and witnessing her struggles.

The bushes behind her rustled suddenly, and she jerked up a little straighter. Perhaps she spoke too soon. She looked up with wide eyes… as Sasuke poked his head into her clearing. She blinked at him in silence, though he did not seem nearly as surprised to see her. In fact, now that the leaves had been pulled back, she could see that the bushes only provided a thin separation between where she sat and the adjacent training field. (And even from this distance she could see a handful of scattered training targets, each with a kunai sticking out of his bullseye.)

"Oh, Sasuke!" she chirped, putting on her brightest voice. But then she hesitated, unsure how to follow this up. She wanted to ask after his own training, sound casual, like this was a place he might find her, working diligently, on a regular basis… But she also knew he wouldn't by that for a second. "Are you… Are you done for the day?"

He made a soft noise of confirmation, moving forward to pick up the book she'd discarded. He flipped to the page she had bookmarked, a section on understanding—and eventually performing—genjutsu.

"Any luck?" he asked mildly without looking up from the page.

She laughed awkwardly, trying to hide her disappointment. "Uh, not yet."

"Well," he said dryly, flipping through a few more pages. (She held back a protest as he carelessly lost her place.) "You're not going to get very far with this."

Her heart fell, but she had to admit she was a little peeved that she'd apparently wasted all the time she'd spent out here. "Oh…"

He closed the book and handed it back but hesitated before walking away. She knew he was probably just taking pity on her, but she appreciated it all the same. "It focuses too much on visualization. It's a rookie mistake. A successful genjutsu plays on all the senses." And this time he walked away without looking back.

…

Perhaps it was my way of mentally preparing for my upcoming journey, but I'd begun taking longer lunch breaks each day out in the village. Today I was seated on a bench in the middle of town, poring over my map, trying to visualize the best route to the temple.

"Planning a trip?"

I jumped, reflexively folding my map a little. I'd been so absorbed, I hadn't heard the Hokage walk up behind me. I tried to relax my posture, not really succeeding. I knew my answer sounded like I was hedging. "Not outside the Land of Fire… unless you're about to tell me I'm restricted to the village?"

He eyed me thoughtfully but didn't seem the least bit tense. "Not at all. But are you planning to take Naruto and Sasuke with you? I just ask that you consult with Kakashi about their mission schedule."

"I'm sure they could take care of themselves for a day or two. I wasn't going to go far… It's just… I've been here for more than twelve years and I've never been outside the village walls. I think it's about time."

He nodded. "It's good to get out every once in a while. There's a lot to see in this land even outside the village. Safe travels."

The Hokage moved on, looking serene as ever. But I was sure that wasn't the end of it. It wouldn't surprise me to know there would be someone following me from the shadows. Maybe Hiruzen had already known I was planning a trip and decided to investigate himself, seen it through that creepy crystal ball?

I sighed and stood up to move on as well. There wasn't much I could do, if that was the case. It wasn't like I stood a chance of outmaneuvering my shinobi stalkers. And maybe there would be no reason to. This trip to the temple really was a shot in the dark. A sudden spiritual awakening, as far as anyone else was concerned. I had already decided to put my worries aside. The future would happen, whether I tried to plan for it or not. So I folded up my map, picked up a few things for dinner at the local market, and headed home.

My day continued on as usual. I reopened the shop, made nice with the customers, mentally planned out my to-do list for the evening. But in a few hours, I could tell no one else's day had been quite as relaxed as mine.

Sasuke arrived home first. He was most certainly the subtlest person in this house, but I'd learned to read him by now, and I could tell he was… unsettled. Impatient maybe. If I had to guess, I'd say the monotony of their D-rank missions had started to chafe at him. In any case, he disappeared into his room to go over his training regimen or polish his kunai or whatever he did up there, and I got ready to close the store for the day.

When Naruto got home, just as the sun was setting, he was more obviously frustrated—and looked like he'd just spent a hard day training. Clearly, day one under Kakashi's guidance hadn't yielded satisfactory results. Funny that he'd managed, in another timeline, to teach himself in a single night.

I briefly entertained the thought of lording that over Kakashi's head… but my amusement was quickly swept away by reality. Kakashi and I weren't exactly on teasing terms anymore. And even if we were, how to explain that alternate timeline? Without getting myself locked up—either in interrogation or psychiatric care? It had become my personal age-old question. And, much as I'd told myself that it would be a bit safer now—now that the boys were older and more capable of taking care of themselves—it was still not exactly ideal.

"Why are you looking so glum?" I almost hadn't noticed Naruto plop down at the table behind me, stewing over his own struggles.

"Oh, you know…" I brushed off casually. "Just business stuff."

"Hm," he grunted but didn't question. More alert now, I caught sight of Sasuke slinking silently into the kitchen as well. He took his own seat at the table.

"How was training?" he directed at Naruto, sounding surprisingly relaxed and conversational.

Naruto huffed. "How does it look? This was worse than training for regular clones! I mean, how do you make something out of nothing?"

Sasuke hummed in (what I thought to be) disinterested agreement. "Give me a day or two. I'll read up on the specifics and get back to you."

Naruto seemed a little more appeased. "Yeah, okay. Sure."

"You're feeling awful helpful today," I commented, turning away from the stove completely to face them both.

He shrugged, past the point of feeling the need to defend himself to us. "It isn't like I have anything better to do right now. So far, it's looking like I became a shinobi just to walk dogs and clean gutters."

Naruto grumbled in agreement. And I couldn't exactly argue. After all, my own trip was dependent on their upcoming prolonged mission away from the village. For a moment, we were all silent.

It started with a smell. Just something a little off at first. But by the time I turned back to the curry simmering on the stove—something I'd never really had a taste for before traveling to this world—thick black flames were billowing around the room.

I leapt back, and Naruto jumped up from his seat. "Whoa! Sis, watch what you're doing!"

But Sasuke remained calm. He formed a single hand sign. "Release!" And the smoke immediately faded away, the burning smell gone.

"Uh, what?" Naruto asked, frozen. Sasuke simply pointed to the window. And perched on the branch outside, peering in with a shit-eating grin, was Sakura. Now that she'd been noticed, their team mate eased open the window and let herself in, eyes on Sasuke the whole time.

"Better," he replied to her expectant gaze. "Starting out with the smell was a nice touch. But you're still missing a physical element. The smoke only fooled our sight. That much smoke in such a small space? There should have been coughing, eyes watering. Even a civilian wouldn't have been fooled for long."

But still, Sakura looked pleased. "It's a huge improvement over what I had this afternoon, though. And I'll keep practicing. Thank you so much for your help earlier."

Simultaneously, Naruto and I sent sly looks Sasuke's way.

"I guess you are feeling helpful," Naruto said with a shit-eating grin of his own.

I turned my overenthusiastic smile on Sakura. "Well, as long as you're here… Pull up a seat. Might as well stay for dinner."

Sasuke's sigh was not subtle, but Sakura didn't seem to see it around the glow from her own beam. She was all too happy to take the seat next to Sasuke and join us for our dinner. (Which had not even burned in our distraction, thank you very much.)

It was… nice. Sasuke took to glaring at us all whenever her fawning got excessive. And his annoyance seemed to cheer Naruto greatly. He kept glancing at me too, like we were in on this game together. (And I guess we were.) But perhaps what I noticed most was the lack of any fawning Naruto did over Sakura. In fact, I wasn't sure I'd ever heard him mention her. Perhaps his relationship with Sasuke in this timeline made the idea of being a romantic rival as well seem a little… uncomfortable. I would have to keep a better eye out for that in the future.

But. It was a fun night. Sasuke stalked off once the meal was done, but I knew this wouldn't result in any lasting animosity. And Sakura apologized for her little joke with the genjutsu earlier when I saw her out. I hadn't seen much of her… But she also seemed to have chilled out a little from the Sakura I was familiar with. The changes in the boys already seemed to be having an impact on the people around them.

I kind of hated that my mind went there so immediately, but as she was walking away, I couldn't help wishing that Kakashi had been here to see his team like this.

Review please!

I don't own Naruto.

Well, there was your little training montage chapter. You can expect the story to move along in the next one.