Naruto looks around in curious awe as they walked, eyes looking into the forests around them. He had never really been outside the village before and while he knew it was just like the forests surrounding the inside of Konoha, it was still... Mystifying? Something like that anyway. It was just an odd feeling to Naruto in general.

He found he didn't really mind it.

He could feel the stares on him as he continued to look around in silence, face full of curiosity. He knew it was odd to stay silent but Naruto, for once, couldn't find the right words to spout nonsense about. So, he decided to just let it run its course.

"You're slipping brat."

Naruto ignores Kurama's growled voice as he internally frowns. He was well aware that he was slipping, that his guard was lowering without him wanting it to. He didn't really know how to fix it, in all honesty, causing his teammates to stare at him oddly at times.

"You've thought of it before, why not just do it?"

'I was being foolish then.' Naruto responded, 'There are just too many holes in that plan.' He finished. He had thought about letting his mask down, feeling oddly safe around Sasuke and Sakura but he had quickly discarded the terrible idea he had thought up in the moment. It was just too dangerous. Kurama let out a dark, guttural growl then.

"Really, kit? Every plan always has a few holes. If you don't take the risk now, you'll just end up hurt or worse." Kurama said, annoyance heavy in his tone. Naruto paused in his stride for a split second before continuing as if nothing happened.

'… I know… I just… can't. I can't Kurama… It's too dangerous and I'm not strong enough to protect myself yet.'

Naruto responded before the feeling of being watched doubled, catching his attention. Pulling himself away from Kurama and their thoughts, he slides his curious gaze over to his teammates. Crystal blue eyes meet vibrant green ones as Sakura stares openly at him with narrowed eyes. Before he could ask anything though, she beats him to it.

"Why are you so quiet, Naruto?" She asks suspiciously, if not curious as well. Naruto's eyes widen slightly before he lets out a small laugh, spotting Sasuke turn his head a bit to listen in. The feeling of Kakashi's eye on his intensifies as well. He gives her a small grin as, once again, his gaze drifts back to the woods surrounding them.

"Ahaha… Well… I've never really been out of the village before so the feeling of it all is kinda cool." He replied. Sakura's eyes just narrow further. "You've never been outside the village? What about those survival trips the Academy took us on?" She questions, somehow managing to sound accusing without actually being accusing. Naruto just glances away from the woods to look back at her. With his hands clasped behind his head, he responded.

"Don't have parents so I couldn't get permission to go."

That quickly made Sakura's face crumble with regret before she quickly covers it by huffing and turning away to stare back out in front of her. He could feel Kakashi's eye dart off of him, most likely to look at Sakura for a few moments before it fell back on him. Naruto just frowns and looks back out at the surrounding forest.

"… Why not ask your teammates, kit?" Kurama voices slowly, cautiously, as if weary of the implications this brings up. Naruto's frown deepens slightly before he shifts his face back into one of curiosity as time went by.

'They're powerless in this case, Kurama. They can't help and I don't want to drag them into my personal business.' Naruto said, glancing up at the sky above. He absently notes it was an hour past noon now.

"Do you really believe that, kit?" He questions but before Naruto could answer, he continues on. "That scarecrow is an elite Jounin, ex-Anbu captain. Being the last of his bloodline, the student of the Fourth, and strong enough to rival that old monkey, do you really think he can't help you? Even with all the connections he no doubt has? What about that Uchiha of yours? He practically holds the counsel in the palm of his hand because he's the last loyal Uchiha. Or what about Sakura? While she may not have connections, she does have what all humans need. The ability to be friends. Tell me, do you really believe they're powerless? If anything, you struck gold with this team, especially since it seems that they don't dislike you."

Naruto didn't respond right away, just opting to stare out around him, skillfully ignoring the heavy feeling of eyes on him. After around ten minutes of silence though, he finally speaks up. 'No… I don't believe that… I just… don't want them to get hurt because of me. Plus, I'm still iffy about Kakashi, don't know if he can be trusted. That and I don't even know where to start. It's been eight years since I've held this mask, almost nine. I don't even know how to remove it anymore, even if it is slipping… I don't really know me anymore.'

"For one," Kurama started softly, "you can start by opening up to them, even if it is in small steps. Look, right now your not acting like you usually do. Just continue to do that, Kit. Bit by bit, just continue to shift yourself out of the mask you wear. It will be hard, I know, but trust me, it'll be better after that. Along the way, you'll start finding yourself too." Kurama finished. Naruto sucked in a breath before letting it out as he remained silent, not knowing what to say to the beast inside him.

Tearing his eyes away from the sky, he glances at his teammates. Sasuke was right in front of them a couple of feet away, looking to be on high alert with how stiff he was. Sakura seeming deep in thought close by on Sasuke's right, her eyes darting to Sasuke every now and then as she lagged back a bit. Kakashi was beside Naruto, keeping his distance from him but still watching him discreetly like before. Looking away when his eyes catch on Kakashi's, he shakes his head slightly and bounds forward to stand in between Sasuke and Sakura.

'What of the civilians Kurama? Or of the ninja who hate me? What of Danzo? You know that he doesn't rest in Sasuke's hand, nor do his men.'

"You fall under that Monkeys command, not them. With Scarecrow's help and the Uchiha's influence, it's possible to hold them at bay. You're a ninja now anyway. Soon, you'll be strong enough to scare them off. First, though, you have to let loose. If you don't, that luxury will be years away." Kurama growled out. Naruto just let out a small, inaudible sigh.

Naruto grins curiously at Sakura, said girl looking over at him with narrowed eyes. "Ne, ne, what was the trip like? What'd you do on it?" He questions. Out of the corner of his eye, he catches Sasuke turning slightly to look over of them, most likely curious since he too doesn't have parents. Sakura's eyes widen slightly before she glances at Sasuke. She then smiles a bit.

"Well, they didn't take us too far from the village, about a mile or so. There, they taught us how to survive in the wilderness, how to hunt, what foods to eat and not eat. It was really cool! Did you know there's this small red berry that can kill you if you eat too many of them? Some even have paralyzing effects!" Sakura said, her small smile gradually turning into a big one, full of excitement as she spoke.

Naruto looks at her in interest as Sasuke frowns slightly. Sakura just continues on. "They also trained us as usual, as well as how to find streams and rivers. Oh! When we get back to the village, I can show you two a book on survival and stuff! I went to the library immediately after to look up that stuff and I still have the books." She finished, looking at them with bright eyes and a wide smile. Naruto just grins at her as Sasuke lets out a grunt and turns away.

"Really?! That'd be awesome!" Naruto cheered as Sasuke let out a small 'Hn' with a slight nod of his head. Naruto spotted his ears a shade darker than usual but said nothing as his grin widened.

"Maa… The teachers didn't sign your slips?" Kakashi finally cuts in. Naruto and his teammates look back at him with confusion before Sasuke speaks up. "Isn't that against the rules?" He questions. Kakashi's eye narrowed slightly before he eye-smiled at them, lowering his book. "Who knows?" He asks airily, causing Sasuke's eyebrow to twitch before the boy whips around and glares ahead of him with a scowl. Naruto frowns and shifts his way before turning, now walking backward to stare at Kakashi. He could see Sakura frowning as well but more confused than anything. He pushes his annoyed expression away then, to look more curious.

"Ne, Sensei?" He questions. Kakashi lets out a hum and glances at him as he once again lowers his book. "When can we learn chakra adhesion? It'd be really cool to jump through the trees and stuff, probably faster too!" Naruto says curiously. Kakashi just lets out another hum as Sasuke and Sakura turned to look back at him again.

"Hmm… How about right now then?" Kakashi asks cheerily, making Naruto raise an eyebrow as both Sasuke and Sakura's eyes narrow at their Sensei. Kakashi just chuckles. "Now, now, kids, no need for those looks. We'll still be walking there as we do them. On the road training, as I like to call it. Now, focus chakra into your feet and try to get them to stick to the ground. Make sure to get it as small as you can. Too much will make you go flying but too little will make you slip. Focus on the ram sign as well."

Naruto looks at Kakashi with narrowed eyes and then at Sasuke and Sakura before he shrugged and turned around to walk forward. He then tries to get the smallest amount to his feet halfheartedly. He already knows the jutsu but the others didn't. Making the ram seal, he pushes the chakra through before jolting and was sent up into the air. Letting out a startled yell, he flails for a moment as he descended back to the ground. Suddenly, there were arms wrapped around him, making him freeze as his heartbeat quickened and he held his breath. Looking up with wide eyes, he sees Kakashi eye-smiling down at him as he held him bridal style. He was then carefully set down onto his feet.

"Maa, that is what happens when you use too much chakra." He explains to the two dumbfounded Genin as he carefully steps away from Naruto's tense form. Naruto does his best to relax as he takes in a deep breath before letting it out with a shaky grin. He slowly starts to chuckle, causing the others to look at him. Sasuke took a small step back.

'I wasn't expecting to go flying like that…'

"Too much too fast. Cipher it out more slowly so that doesn't happen like that again."

With bright eyes, he laughs his usual cheerful laugh. "Oh, man! That was fun! It's a great way to get out of a pinch I bet! Ooh, all the pranks I can pull with this…" He trails off into snickers before stiffening up again and looking back at Kakashi. Said man was glaring at him with a dose of KI surrounding him. Both Sasuke and Sakura stiffen as well before turning around and starts up walking, having stopped when Naruto went flying. Naruto flashes Kakashi a grin, even as he gulps, and turns around to continue after his former classmates.

Looks like Kakashi was still mad about the pranks. Glancing back at the still dyed man, he looks at his colorful flask jacket and stifles a laugh. Feeling the KI intensify a bit, Naruto knew he wasn't being as sneaky as he would have liked. Oh well. Focusing back on his training, he snickered when Sasuke was the next to go flying as Sakura slipped and fell on her butt.

For the next seven hours, it continued like this with small breaks in between every hour. Sakura made a lot of progress on her training, as well as both Sasuke and himself but Naruto made sure to stick close to Sasuke's level, just to make it more fun with their rivalry. Soon, it was time to set up camp since the sky was getting darker by the minute. Finding a good area to sleep off a little ways away from where they were previously, seeing as there was no dirt road to guide them, they set up camp.

Kakashi set up the traps around them while they worked on setting up their tents. Once that was done, Naruto and Sakura were tasked with collecting firewood. Soon, the sun set and the fire was lit, lighting up their surroundings by a bit. They set in silence then, resting and sipping water from their canteens, occasionally taking a bite out of their ration bars. Once Naruto was finished with his, he packed his canteen back into his backpack and sat underneath a tree, leaning against it.

"Who's taking the first watch?" Sasuke asks, breaking the comfortable silence around them. Kakashi lets out a hum as he clasps his canteen closed and stores it away in his pouch. Naruto suspected there might be a storage seal in there as there was no way he could fit all the stuff he saw Kakashi take out of it into it.

"Naruto and I will. While at camp, two of us will be on shift while the other two sleep. Tonight, it will be Naruto and I. We'll wake you two in four hours. Get some rest." Kakashi said, stuffing the empty wrapper of his now eaten ration bar inside his pouch. He then poked at the flames with a stick before getting up and walking the perimeter. Naruto watches as Sasuke and Sakura finish up their ration bars in silence before going into their separate tents. The only sound around them now was the crackling of the fire and the rustling of leaves with the occasional animal sound.

As always, the forest was peaceful to Naruto, even with the fire and company. Relaxing against the tree behind him, he roams his eyes about periodically, watching as Kakashi came back and jumped up into the trees for a higher vantage point. He settled into his position as a comfortable silence enveloped them. Occasionally, Naruto found himself gazing up at the moon above, well, what he could see of it through the thick thicket anyway.

Neither of them moved when the flames of the fire died out, surrounding them in darkness with the moon the only source of light. It was only in the second hour of watch duty when one of them broke the silence.

"Sensei?" Naruto voiced out, questioningly. Naruto could hear the slight shuffling of the man's clothes then, making out Kakashi shifting through the light of the moon.

"Hum?" Kakashi hummed. Naruto ignored the pleased rumble of Kurama's growl. There was a long pause as Naruto fumbled over his words in his mind for a second before he spoke.

"What was your team like?" He finally asks. Naruto had been curious about them for a while. Having found no record of them though, only bits of info through reading Kakashi's file had just made him all the more curious. Since Naruto never really got to be alone with the man, he had never been able to ask.

There was a long silence after that as Naruto looked around him. He thought Kakashi wasn't going to answer when suddenly, the man did.

"My team… They were a lot like this team, in a sense. Uchiha Obito, as I've told you about before, was a lot like you Naruto. He was always cheerful and kind. He was often late for training though." Kakashi said, chuckling at the end. Naruto frowned but said nothing as Kakashi continued. "Then there was Nohara Rin. She was aspiring to be an Iryō-nin but she never made it. She was, in some ways, like Sakura but less violent and more prone to battle smarts instead of book smarts. Of course, that was probably the influence of the war on her."

Naruto smiled slightly then, imagining them together before asking, "What about you?" Kakashi let out hum then. "Maa… Me? Well, quite frankly, I was a prick. I stuck to the Shinobi rules as if my life depended on it. It was only because of Obito that I'm not still like that." He admitted. Without meaning too, Naruto lets out a snort.

"You mean it's because of Obito you're a lazy pervert with no sense of time?" Naruto says, laughing to himself, making sure not to get too loud so the others don't wake. Soft chuckling could be heard joining his. "Maa, Maa, so cruel," Kakashi complained, not at all sounding hurt. Naruto rolled his eyes and let out another snort.

The forest soon descended into silence once more as Naruto smiled softly, positive that the darkness around them would cover it up. He felt light as he scanned the woods again, a warm feeling in his belly. His ears felt hot but he paid them no mind as he glances back up at the moon above.

'It… won't hurt to try right?'

"Of course not, kit."

Three days passed by quickly as they made their way to the campsite. Along the way, Naruto and his team practiced chakra adhesion. Sakura had gotten it down pretty quickly while Naruto and Sasuke still struggled. On the third night of being out in the woods, Kakashi decided to test them by giving them a kunai to try and mark their progress up the trees. Sakura only had a few mishaps before she cleared the tree. It took an hour but both Naruto and Sasuke managed the same, Naruto having allowed Sasuke to win, if only by a margin.

They had managed it though and by the next day, they saved time by jumping through the trees instead. They still stumbled and slipped every now and then but Kakashi had just said it was good for training so they didn't argue. In all honesty, it was fun. Naruto could see Sakura smiling widely with a blush as she soared through the air, her long bubblegum pink hair flying behind her. Sasuke was just as happy, from the small tilt of his lips he could see, as well as how bright his black eyes were. It would seem they loved the feeling of being airborne. Naruto couldn't fault them.

It was a nice feeling.

By noon of the fourth day, Kakashi was ahead of them as they slowed down. Being instructed on how to avoid the surrounding traps, they soon made it to the campsite. Hidden away by bushes and trees was a small building, looking more like a cottage than anything. If Naruto didn't know any better, he would just bypass it as someone's house instead of the base it was.

Jumping to the ground, they walked behind Kakashi as two Jounin stepped out of the building and over to them. Kakashi nodded to them and grabbed two scrolls from his pouch, one lined blue and the other black, handing them it. Naruto looked over the two unknowns while this happened. One was a female with long dark purple hair that fell at her waist and a light shade of brown eyes. She also wore pale red lipstick that made her lips pop out against her pasty pink skin. With wearing the Jounin standard attire and a katana strapped on her back, Naruto could honestly say she was gorgeous.

Then there was the man next to her. He had short dark brown hair that was mostly covered by the bandana hitai-ate he wore with turfs of hair fluffing out. His black eyes were sharp with dark bags underneath them. He also wore the standard Jounin attire with a katana strapped to his back like the woman. He looked a bit sickly too. When the man coughed into his hand, it all but reaffirmed his suspicion.

"Yugao, Hayate, it's been a while. How's the border been treating you?" Kakashi asks as he hands over the scrolls. The woman, who Naruto suspected was Yugao, smiled and took them from him. Cracking open the blue-lined one, she reads it quickly before nodding and pocketing it and the black lined one.

"Oh, just the usual. It's a nice getaway from the usual missions I take and Hayate needed a break as well. Besides a few bandits and low-class missing-nin, it's been peaceful." Yugao said, making Hayate smile as well and nods his head. He lets out another few coughs into his hand before speaking.

"It has been oddly silent here for a while now. Hopefully, it isn't anything bad." He said, kind of sounding like a warning to Naruto before he sees the man's eyes drift over to him and his teammates who were standing behind Kakashi at a distance, silent and watching. He quirks an eyebrow at Kakashi, prompting the man to snort and Yugao to smile wider as she too looks over at them. Sakura and Sasuke shifted at their gazes.

"Maa, these three are my students. I thought it would be a good experience to get them out of the village." Kakashi said, sending them an eye smile that still somehow looked threatening. Hayate chuckled as he looked over Kakashi's form. With a raised eyebrow he hummed. "So soon?" Yugao snorted and elbowed Hayate, causing the man to chuckle before he burst out into a coughing fit. Naruto frowns as he watches on, Sakura taking a small step forward with worried curiosity.

"Ja… they seem ready," Kakashi said with amusement shone in his eye, shadowing his worry that lined his stiff shoulders. Suddenly, Naruto stiffened slightly and glances to their right as two more ninjas appear in the small clearing. Both were men wearing Jounin standard attire as well. One man had light brown hair that was straight and fell to the middle of his back. His eyes were of an off purple that had no pupils in them. He was lean as well, compared to the man standing beside him.

The taller man, who was muscular, was wearing a black lab coat over his vest. Naruto thinks it was an IT coat as he's seen many ninjas from there wear that. He had black curly neck length hair and dull blue eyes. He was also hearing two short swords across his back and multiple daggers were littered all over his body.

Kakashi and the two other Jounin turn to greet them. "Anything amiss?" Yugao asks, eyes sharp. The two men come to a stop beside them as the Hyuga, no way they couldn't be one with those eyes, shook his head. "No. It was uneventful." He said softly. The larger man nodded in confirmation. Hayate relaxed slightly.

"Good. Why don't you go start packing up after covering the report? We leave within the hour. If we hurry, we'll make it home by noon tomorrow." Yugao said. Both men nodded, glancing at him and his team, before going into the house behind them. She then turns back around the smiles at Kakashi. "Alright, we'll be packing up. The reports are in the basement as usual." She said. Kakashi nodded before Yugao turned and followed her fellow ninja inside the house. Hayate nodded and followed after her.

In the hour it took them to get everything packed up and ready to go, Kakashi showed them around the house and what traps to look out for. He also showed them how to evade them in case they ever did get trapped. Soon, they were saying goodbye to Yugao and her team before they went inside and settling in. There were only two rooms in the place so Sakura and Sasuke took one while Kakashi and Naruto took the other. When asked about the arrangements, Kakashi said that it was better to sleep in pairs in case anything happened. While Sakura was blushing like mad and Sasuke was glaring, neither of them said anything. Naruto did whine but that was about it.

A few hours later, they were all sitting in the living room. Kakashi currently had a stack of papers surrounding him as he read through them. Sakura was laying across one couch while Sasuke took the armchair for himself, leaving Naruto to sit beside Kakashi. Luckily, it was a three-seater couch and Kakashi was on one end so Naruto took up the other end. Relaxing into the couch, he closes his eyes and lets out a sigh. He was tired, more so than usual. Maybe it had something to do with not being able to relax as he does in Konoha?

Possibly.

"Hey Sensei? Aren't we suppose to be on watch duty or something?" Sakura voices out, sounding tired and muffled as her face was pushed against the couch with her laying on her stomach. Naruto opens his eyes a crack to look at Kakashi out of the corner of them. Kakashi just hums though, not even looking up at them from his paperwork. Naruto thinks those are the reports Yugao was talking about.

"Ah, I made some Kage Bunshin so tonight we can relax a bit before we start," Kakashi said. Sakura lets out a small 'oh' before shifting and closing her eyes. Naruto could tell instantly that she was falling asleep then as her shoulders relaxed from their tense state. It would seem that Naruto wasn't the only one tense about the whole thing. Letting out a yawn, Naruto stretches before pushing himself up and off the couch. He flashes Sasuke and Kakashi a grin at seeing them glance at him.

"Whelp! I'm going to go see if there's anything to cook. I'm sick of ration bars." Naruto says, his cheer turning into a grumble at the end as he makes his way to the open kitchen. He hears shuffling before Sasuke was soon at his side. Glancing to him, he raises an eyebrow. Sasuke just smirks a bit. Naruto just rolls his eyes as they both bypass the bar separating the kitchen and living room. Together, they went searching for food they could use to cook, all the while not really noticing Kakashi watching them make dinner.

That night, they went to bed on full stomachs. Sakura ended up sleeping on the couch though so Sasuke took over the other couch, taking Kakashi's words to heart about not being alone in case something happened. Because of that, Naruto joined them in the living room, taking over the armchair and sleeping in that. Kakashi just sighed and set up his sleeping bag on the floor in the corner, allowing him to oversee everything. He then set to work on the reports and watching over his team.

All in all, it wasn't a bad start to their first C-Rank.

Notes:

Well... Hello. Merry belated Christmas everyone and happy early new years. I am so sorry I couldn't get out a Christmas special. I was planning it but... It fell through. It would seem that doing six chapters instead of the normal three was a bad idea. I learned my lesson... The next holiday that isn't new years will be made months in advance so I should be ready by then. Now, just to go and see what's coming up.

Anyway, I hoped you liked this chapter, I have a bit of trouble with it. This month has been terrible on my drive to write. Oh well. I'll see you next month, please do tell me what you think though.

"Next Chapter: Naruto is a bit confused about something as Sasuke and Sakura... bicker? What the hell? And what's with Kakashi? Now, a week after staying here, it would seem things were spicing up. But... Things are never really that easy are they?"