Of cloud and foxes

Summery: Naru has always been alone hated by everyone that is till she met her first friend a boy who told her "It's too troublesome to worry what others think" he was her first friend and would eventually become her first love.

A/N: this was a request from one of my awesome readers: gmilena1525 I hope you'll enjoy the story everyone.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto that honor belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. Now enjoy or ill shoot you out a cannon

Chapter 3

The genin had been waiting on they're sensei for the last 2 hours and the only other team that was still on sight was team six who where stuck with the Uchiha heir Naru would have felt bad for them had it not been Sai and the banshee. Although Sai wasn't that bad on his own but she knew not to trust the teen as she knew he was the adopted son of Danzo Shimura the man that was responsible for making her an outcast sure if he had not revealed her jinchuriki status then she could have had a happy childhood.

"okay now I'm starting to get annoyed by our sensei's tardiness" said Shikamaru snapping the blond out of her darker thoughts

"I know right!" shouted the Inuzuka before the door swung open and something shot into the room tackling Kiba to the floor causing the two teens to watch in curiosity as they're fellow teen as now pins to the floor via a armor kunoichi sandal on top of his head

"okay Kiba you serious need to shut up and learn manners your asses are mine now" said the woman with a playful smirk with a canine popping out of her mouth "the name is Mai Inuzuka and as of today I'm your sensei got it?" asked the elder shinobi

"oh yeah we got a bad ass kunoichi" Naru celebrated in her seat

"you know it foxy" said the fellow female and Naru took immediate notice of the nickname but unlike what others there was only kindness in it

"well Naru sure is a fox" commented Kiba earning a pair of cold glares from the two kunoichi. And for the sack of the audience lets just say Kiba's screams of pain and agony made every male in the village cringe and reach for the nearest sports cup.

"okay then now that Kiba has recovered it's time to get to know each other" said Mai as the jounin and trio of genin sat in a roof top garden. "I'll get us started my name is Mai Inuzuka previously I was a tracker with my partner Tsuki but she is now on maternal leave and has pups due in a few months. You three will be my first genin I'm in my late twenties, my likes include teasing my friends for they're weird habits, sneaking into the Akimichi restaurant and stealing a roast every now. My dislikes include bigots, fan girls, and false accusations. And my dream is to clear the name of someone that I hold near and dear to me" explained Mai as she finished placed a hand over her chest as she thought back to the good days before that happened.

"you have a boyfriend Mai-sensei?" asked Naru seeing the look in her sensei's eyes.

"what n-no we're nothing like that!" shouted the older female as her face turned crimson in embarrassment. "and for that your next Uzumaki" said Mai.

"gladly I'm Narumi Uzumaki heiress to the Uzumaki clan. I'm thirteen years old and currently live in an old shack in the west district of the village though I spend a lot of time with Kakashi-nii and Shikamaru here. My likes include raman, training, and tending to my small garden. My dislikes are bigots, and the Uchiha and Hyuga clans. And my dream is to become a splendid Kunoichi and surpass my mother's reputation and if I can become the first female Hokage" said the blond with a big grin in place

"interesting, determined and dreams big I like her" thought Mai as she observed the Uzumaki heir "okay Kiba your next"

"I'm Kiba Inuzuka heir to the Inuzuka clan and this little guy is Akamaru my ninken partner. I'm about thirteen and my likes include Akamaru and the other ninken in the Inuzuka kennels, training and hanging with everyone from the academy. My dislikes are pompous asses and those that belittle those of lesser standing and also disloyal bastards. And my future goal is to become the villages top tracker nin along with Akamaru just like my dad and his partner were" said Kiba

"as expected Zen-sama was a powerful tracker and was a great protector, but while I'll support Kiba in this I'll see if this is what he really wants or is just trying to be like his father" thought Mai as her eyes shifted to the last of her genin it was no secret that in actuality that Naru was rookie of the year and kunoichi of the year but her written scores and academics where also a factor. Ensuring he got onto the team as the Inuzuka and Uzumaki heirs was no small feat to do on purpose and rather tactful as it ensured a strong fighter and someone with a natural talent for fuinjutsu.

"okay your turn Pineapple head" said Mai and noticed a tick mark on the Nara's head a small giggle from the blond

"My name is Shikamaru Nara heir to the Nara clan. I'm thirteen and on paper it says I'm a genius. My likes are cloud watching, playing shogi, and sleeping, my dislikes are troublesome women, ignorant morons, and lastly liars" said Shikamaru crossing his arms

"dreams?" asked Mai

"to become a chunin and then take it easy and have a normal life" sighed the Nara earning a tick mark on Mai's forehead

"okay he's smart but that basically a given as he's a Nara but damn he's even lazier then Shikaku-sama meaning I'll need to find a woman to kick his ass in gear" thought Mai as she rubbed her temple and gave her genin a once over "my first impressions are... Daddy's boy, Lazy SOB, and lastly reckless" said Mai giving them her first impression of the genin trio. "now for the next part of your genin exam!" exclaimed the jounin catching the attention for the teens.

"what you mean next part! We are genin!" shouted Kiba angrily

"ah but that is where you are gravely mistaken the academy's exam is just to root out genin potentials only about 9 or 12 of all of you will actually pass to become true genin the rest will either be sent back to the academy or... Will be kicked out entirely!" explained Mai with her own sick satisfaction and the horror upon the genin's faces. "now then we'll meet up in training field twenty tomorrow morning be there at...five AM and if your late you fail automatically the specifics will be explained then" said Mai before vanishing in a shunshin.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: um guys I apologize in advance I'm not that good at writing fight scenes so if they seem awkward I'm sorry

[training ground twenty - 4:30 AM]

The training ground was empty except for the genin of squad seven but all where ready for what ever they're sensei would throw at them Naru refused to be separated from her best friends and comrades regardless of the test they would all pass. This was Naru's thoughts as she examined the fuinjutsu scroll within her hands as she hung upside down from a lone tree in the field. Her eyes would occasionally dart over to her two male companions first to the sleeping Nara boy as he laid in the grass enjoying the warming day. then to the active Inuzuka and his ninken and shook her heads trying to shake the thoughts her adoptive siblings put into her head last night 'damn you Yugao-onee and Anko-onee' thought Naru as she remembered them bugging about witch boy she'd end up with Anko saying she should go for the Inuzuka since he's a lot like her and has lots of energy that she could aim towards the more intimate areas of life, while Yugao was pushing towards the Nara as she needed someone to even her out and that the Nara was the only one who could. By the end of the night the Uzumaki was beat red and vowed to avoid a girls night with them for the next few months.

"OKAY MAGOTS WAKE UP!" shouted Mai as she suddenly appeared in the center of the genin making them all jump out of surprise. Mai had a wolfy grin as the genin all got ready for what they had to do "okay here is what ya got to do..." began the senior kunoichi as she pulls out several kunai with a red, blue, green, black, and lastly a white cloth tied with in the kunai's ring.

"I contracted some assistance from some chunin and a few genin and each has a kunai with one of these cloths tied on it your goal is to capture one of each from the chunin but the trick is the genin will attempt to take these kunai from you once you have one each you have to find me while keeping a hand of these kunai you get one taken you got to capture a new one" explained Mai 'they got the makings of a great tracking or strike team and this will determine witch' thought Mai

"there's more to this isn't there?" asked Naru trusting her gut.

"clever Naru your right each Kunai holder will be testing you on your skill the skill depending on the color." stated the Jounin "red is Ninjutsu, blue is taijutsu, green is genjutsu, black is stealth, and lastly is fuinjutsu get one each and find me before you lose one... Good luck" explained Mai before dispelling revealing they where speaking to a shadow clone.

'Kiba excels in taijutsu and Ninjutsu but is at a disadvantage in stealth, and genjutsu and can only do basic explosion tags. Naru excels in fuinjutsu, taijutsu, and Ninjutsu is at a disadvantage in stealth and no skill in genjutsu. Then there's me I excel in Ninjutsu, stealth and genjutsu but at a disadvantage in taijutsu, and no better then Kiba in fuinjutsu' thought Shikamaru as he strategized the situation.

"she wants us to work together" stated Naru walking over and she moved her hatie-ate from her neck to her forehead showing she was being serious "Kiba you can track, Shikamaru you can prevent these other genin from getting close to us and you'll both need me for the fuinjutsu." Naru rationalized as she looked between the two boys

Shikamaru nodded as Kiba gave a grin with Akamaru yapping in agreement. With that the teens run off into the wood with Kiba taking the lead with Naru and Shikamaru taking his flanks.

Within an hour the trio of teens had been able to retrieve three out of five of the kunai having the blue, green, and black kunai they now had only two targets left the red Ninjutsu kunai and the white fuinjutsu kunai.

"Kiba where are they?" asked Naru as the teens stopped on a branch to grab a quick breather.

"I smell kibble a click to the north and then I smell a great deal of ink three clicks to the west" explained the Inuzuka as he began to sniff the air to locate the targets they where seeking unaware of a they're sensei watching them from a good distance away.

"I can handle the fuinjutsu on my own" said Naru as the two boys looked at each other then over at her.

"I'm not so sure about that Naru" said Shikamaru with concern for the girl in question.

"I can handle it Shika you know it and I know it" said the blond with a knowing smirk

"she um does have a point Shikamaru" said the Inuzuka scratching at his cheek

"alright alright but just don't screw up alright?" said Shikamaru submitting the kunoichi's wishes

"hey it's me I'll be fine" said Naru with a light chuckle

"that's why I am worried" said Shikamaru as he and Kiba ran off to the north

"...HEY!" shouted the Uzumaki shooting a glare in the direction the boys ran off "what ever I'll just show them" huffed the blond as she began tree hopping towards the west. In no time the Uzumaki arrived at the location that was in the center of a even clearing with a moderately sized lake... With no visible point connecting the lake to the river that was a good distance away. "Something is off" thought the blond as she scanned the clearing with her eyes

"Kit, the scroll is out in the center of the clearing" announced the Kyubi

"yeah with nothing else around it..." Naru replied in thought "gotta be a trap but I can't see one" she stated.

"sometimes one has no choice but to trigger the trap laid out before them" stated the fox making the Jinchuriki sigh and scratch her head. Before leaping out into the clearing a few feet from the scroll and placed a hand on on of the scrolls on her hip as she began to near the scroll even though a very annoying voice was nagging at her to get away from it and just wait for Kiba and Shikamaru.

"it's not everyday you see someone foolish enough to walk into a potential trap" stated a new voice that made the Uzumaki freeze and look behind her where a man with a short Mohawk stood wearing a black wife beater with a pair of anbu style cargo pants and armored shinobi sandals his hatie-ate tied around his right arm and an armored gauntlet on his left arm.

"someone once told me sometimes you have no choice but to trigger a trap" said Naru as she narrowed her eyes seeing no scrolls or anything on the shinobi making her wonder why Mai-sensei would assign him to test Fuinjutsu.

"believe I can guarantee... You fail genin" said the shinobi as he makes the tiger seal making a crimson red fuinjutsu array to suddenly appear with the scroll and Naru being in the center making the genin's eyes to widen and leap away as the seal array burst into an inferno. Naru was panting with wide eyes unable to believe she almost died.

"you wouldn't die Kit" said the Kyubi matter-of-factly making the girl growl at him in annoyance

"what the hell! You almost roasted me!" shouted Naru jumping up and narrowing her eyes at the man

"maybe but I didn't did I Jinchuriki?" asked the man but despite knowing Naru took note he didn't have no hate or disdain aimed at her instead a bored curiosity.

"how much?" asked the Uzumaki narrowing her eyes

"more then even Hatake knows like for instance I can detect that you and the Kyubi were just communicating" said the man "the name is Hanta Arisaka"

"Kit, be careful this one has no hate towards us but he won't go as easy on you" warned the Kyubi

"got it Kurama" said Naru as she received one of her scrolls "seal release!" announced the kunoichi releasing an excessive amount of smoke covering the clearing

"if you think something like this will help you I'm disappointed doton: earth dome wall" stated Hanta and as the smoke evaporated he raised a brow as he saw the 5 shadow clones before him and all of them charged in and began to throw sloppy kicks and punches at him making him sigh "Uzumaki your ancestors would be ashamed to see they're clan entrusted to this a girl who is this foolish" he thought become more and more disappointed by the second.

"okay that enough!" called out a voice as the clones vanished making the man's eyes widen as he saw 8 Naru's surrounding him each with a fuinjutsu tag before them "this this on for size ninja art Fuinjutsu: 8 pillar trap seal" announced the blond as ink shot out of the tags and began making a sealing array stopping half an inch from him and then suddenly chakra erupted from the array until it met making a triangular shape around Hanta "and that my good sir is a C-rank fuinjutsu barrier!" said Naru proud she was able to catch the elder fuinjutsu artist by surprised

"looks like I underestimated the girl based on her academy grades" thought Hanta as he sat down cross legged as Naru strolled over to the earth barrier leaving three clones to maintain the barrier. "I'm honestly impressed but this is far from over" said the man as a seal array a near the water formed "ninja art of summoning: delayed summoning jutsu" announced the man as a large toad in armor and what looked like a paint brush on his back.

"damn!" shouted the blond but before she can react the toad is on her but suddenly comes to a halt with the stem of the brush a mere inch from Naru.

"that was to close" sighed a lazy voice making the blond to turn and look at where Shikamaru, Kiba, and Akamaru where making the blond let out a sigh of relief and let Kiba use his fang over fang technique to break through the doton jutsu and retrieve the scroll.

"Uzumaki" called out Hanta with a smirk as the genin stopped and looked at the shinobi "if you ever need help with your fuinjutsu drop by the research division in the Hokage's tower" said the man with a lazy smirk

"um yeah" said Naru with a nod as the trio disappeared into the tree line

"heh Minato your daughter is just to much like you" sighed Hanta once the clones and barrier vanished.

The trio of genin arrived in the clearing where they had first began they're exam and began to look around till they're eyes landed on they're sensei who was leaning against the tree with one eye open(that was on them) and a proud smirk on her lips

"we did it Mai-sensei!" announced Kiba with a fist pump making his team mate sweat drop

"that you did but now I got a question for ya" said Mai as she faced the genin her face void of emotion

"yes sensei!" shouted the trio in unison

"what did this test teach you" she asked

"it taught us that team work is key" said Shikamaru

"and while we can achieve much on our own" continued Kiba with a yip from Akamaru

"we can our limits are boundless together" said Naru with with grin

"good good" said Mai as the pride returned to Mai "with that I can now make it official as of this moment team 7 is now genin and will receive it's first mission tomorrow congrats I'm very proud of you all" says Mai with a grin.

Chapter end

Sorry that this took so long everyone I has busy with my finals and then was having to watch my little sister for my mom but here it is. Also what do you think of Hanta Arisaka if you can guess his connection to Minato I might give you a sneak peak at a potential new story I'm thinking about. R&R