"Aha~! I knew I'd find you here."

"Huh?" Naruto paused mid-stride, his hands fastened behind the back of his head in his typical fashion, but a curious look in his eyes. It was that girl - he hadn't really remembered her name... come to think of it, had he even asked her name? "Uhhh..." he drawled quietly, fumbling through his memory to try avoiding any trouble with awkward missteps, "you."

The brunette's brow twitched with irritation, eyes shutting tightly in one of many attempts at hiding her displeasure. "Kinomi," she huffed simply, near-grumbling in response. 'Oh come on... 'you'? Were you even trying to be convincing..?'

"Yeah! Right!" He slammed his hand into his opposite palm, "Kinomi! I knew that!"

An exasperated breath of air slid from her lips as she continued to mumble, "I'm not sure how, since you never got my name..."

Silence wafted around the area for a moment, Naruto not speaking up in response, and Kinomi not following up on her previous statement. Before the conversation had a chance to slide down the scold-and-response rabbit hole, Naruto derailed it from the impending train wreck. "So what are you looking for me for?"

"Oh, right!" Settling one hand on her hip and lifting the other one, she subtly shook around the carefully covered, picnic-style food basket she held to show it off. "If you aren't too busy, I'd like to steal a little of your time."

"Huh?!" The response left his lips before he even had the chance to really think about it. He knew what she said, but did he know what she meant? He was getting carried away; his mind was sending itself adrift in unsteady circles! 'Seriously!? A date? I just learned her name!' His ears burned with flattery, despite the dumbstruck look on his face. 'Konohamaru was right - she's practically in love with me! But...'

He took a moment as dictated by his thoughts running amuck, his light blue eyes took a hesitant, sneaky peek at her to complete his moment of appraisal. 'She's a year older than me, right..? Well she's got a pretty cute face, and if the other night's any proof, she can cook too!'

"Um..." Kinomi set her hand on her hip, lowering the basket in her hand and staring at the dazed Naruto with a confused and also slightly concerned look, "Naruto..?"

'I can't..!' He quickly shook his head in response, 'Just think of what Sakura would say!' He fumbled for a response, though whilst combing his fingers roughly through the hair at the back of his head, he finally sputtered, "I-I can't..."

"Aw, really?" The brunette quirked her hip to the side, lips twitching up into a thoughtful pout. It made sense - things were so busy for the exam participants, what with final rounds being announced... "Well-"

"I have a girlfriend!" He continued on - however false it may have been, the alternative would have send the conversation into a potentially embarrassing run-around. Besides, what were the chances that she knew who he was talking about. "It's pretty serious! Hehe."

"...Eh..?" Kinomi's lost caramel eyes stared blankly ahead, an awkward smile stuck on her face, "g...girlfriend..? but..." 'But what does that have to do with anything..?'

"Yeah," He quickly spoke up again, swiftly driving it home before he felt tempted to change his mind, "so I'm gonna have to turn down that date." He held firm and stayed strong, unfortunately paying no nevermind to the way she stared bemusedly at him. He'd never been so openly approached by a girl that held him in good graces before, let alone for something like a date. It was a little overwhelming in the moment, even.

After a little silence, Kinomi dryly spoke up again, "It's not a date." She spoke bluntly and blandly, an exasperated sigh escaping her next, "I heard that you'd made it to the exam finals, so I just made you a little something to celebrate." She kept her expression, looking down on the slightly shorter blond genin as he quickly changed his tune.

"Huh- well wait, why didn't you say so!?" He hadn't had a proper celebration for his numerous achievements since Iruka treated him!

"I dunno if I even want to share it with you after that..." Her mock contemplation dragged on, her head turning away whilst her knuckle brushed thoughtfully beneath her lip, "...maybe I'll see if that Sasuke boy wants it instead... he passed to the finals too, didn't he..?"

"What!?" He bristled immediately at the name, just as she thought he would. She didn't know his squad, and not even the fact that those two in particular had any sort of rivalry, but as far as she knew, every genin male she saw had some sort of complex with the guy, why would Naruto be any different? "Sasuke..!? No way! He got beaten up so bad, you would've thought he was the one that lost!"

"Hm?" Kinomi took interest in the little tidbit, but only enough to make her next words seem playfully genuine, "well, I guess when you put it that way, you might deserve it..." An amused smile curved up the corners of her lips, a mischievous little chuckle then escaping through it. "Come on, let's find a spot~."

Once veering away from the village's built up homes and populated streets, the two found a rather easy time navigating through the thickets of the forest's edge.

"So then Shikamaru told me you'd managed to handle yourself pretty well." Kinomi peered back slightly after pushing the branches affront her aside, trying to see how he was doing at keeping up. After seeing he was making his way, she stepped to the side, holding the leafy stem back to give him a clear path into the forest clearing.

"You know Shikamaru?" Naruto responded in inquiry. It would be too suspicious to ask what he told her, after all, Naruto was certain it would be embarrassing to let it slip about exactly 'how' he had beaten Kiba.

"Not exactly..." The brunette, upon seeing the younger genin pass her by, moved ahead to catch up, setting the basket down into the grass and easing down into a comfy spot to sit criss-cross. "Someone I know is pretty good friends with him, and since they've been catching up more lately, I've seen a lot more of him. Before that, though, I only knew him as a customer."

She began unloading the contents of the basket: a few plum-filled riceballs, that gyoza he seemed so fond of, and a couple of sweets set aside. Although it was a well-known staple of their little place, it would have been a bit inconvenient to try bringing a full tea set along.

"Wow!" Naruto exclaimed, clapping his hands together and rubbing his palms in excited preparation, "This looks great!" It was a pretty spread for a picnic, and he could tell some of it was still warm, because the bits of steam that escaped the sealed containers were sending out a crazy aroma. He licked his lips, a goofy chuckle slipping out from time to time.

"But of course! When eating with us, you should expect nothing less~!" She beamed pridefully and poked out her chest, "Dig in!"

"Don't need to tell me twice!" Within a second of getting the 'OK', he already set about stowing his face with a little of everything, causing Kinomi's smile to falter awkwardly as he indiscriminately stowed away the sweets with the meal as well. It was a good thing she never exactly intended to eat any of the things that she had packed. It was more so just a gift for his success.

"Slow down! This food is meant to be savored!" She scolded, crossing her arms, "you act like you haven't seen food before!"

He seemed not immediately bothered by her huffing, more so just made aware that she had done so. One of them dumpling ends stuck out from between his lips as his chewing momentarily halted, and he watched her. As he was sure it had come to an end, he mumbled his defense through his stuffed cheeks, "I ha-bnt ea-en ye to-heh."

"..." The brunette returned his stare, attempting to blink away her confusion but to no avail. She couldn't even begin to understand that mass of incoherence, "I'm sorry, what?"

He ungracefully slurped the edge into his mouth, gulping loudly before catching his breath and clarifying, "I haven't eaten today yet! I'm starving!" Not to mention the food was really hitting the spot for him at the moment. Slowing down wasn't really on his mind.

Kinomi shut her eyes, her cheek poking out from the amassed air before blowing out in a huffed pocket. Her hand flicked, waving him on to do what he pleased, though with one opening eye, she watched his reaction as she inquired further, "Either way, I'm sure you know how to handle food. Haven't you already been out to celebrate?"

"Hm?" He cleared his mouth with another big swallow, the dishes seeming to appear quickly barren each time. The young genin carelessly wiped his mouth with his own sleeve, clearing off all the rice grains persistently sticking around his mouth, "Well yeah I've done it before! But it wasn't for this - that was back when I graduated from the academy. Oh! And Iruka-sensei cooked me up some ramen after my last big mission!"

Her caramel hues seemed thoughtfully fixated up whilst she pondered that information. "That little? Really?" She couldn't honestly believe it, "Your parents didn't take you out, or make a special dinner to celebrate with you or anything?"

"..."

"Hm?" Her head tilted ever so slightly to the side. She took notice of the way he slowed his eating - not that there was too much left to eat to begin with-, and immediately finding she may have misspoken, she waved her hands dismissively affront her, "Hey now, it's fine if they don't! Not every parent's got time to, especially not if they're ninja and all."

"I..." Less reluctant and more contemplative, he let his word drag, fragmented. His uncertain expression began to transition into an easygoing one, playing off the falter as comedy, "I don't have 'em! No parents here! Nobody to worry about telling me what to do or anything like that! Hehe!"

The joking tone covered flawless with practice; it was if he had done this a million times, but to Kinomi it was clear. This kind of behavior stood out, especially to one that had seen it.

'It's not quite the same.' She thought to herself, recalling the look she could seen in Tama's eyes from time to time. 'Tama had her grandmother, and her brother. She was never completely alone.' This boy, however, she hadn't seen the same as that. She never saw him going on to take on any familial responsibilities for anyone younger than him, -save for tagging around with some of the local kids-, and as far as she had seen, the only adult figures he had tagging around were his sensei, and his mention of Iruka.

'Still... that look is unmistakable.' Her demeanor changed, her gift of charisma sliding in to guide her from her slight social fall, "Seriously?" She folded her arms and playfully grinned, "You can share mine then. They're so clingy it drives me insane, so maybe if they have someone else to worry about, they'll lay off!"

"Hah?" The blond male quickly shot his glance up, surprise on his face from the sudden remark, "You're joking, right?!"

"Nope! Consider it a little payback for forgetting my name~!"

"But you didn't even give it to m-"

"As I was saying!" She quickly interrupted to follow through, "You may get the perks of occasional free food, and a place to crash or shower for the night, but you've also got to worry about them smothering you, y'know." She stood up, placing her hands on her hips as she continued to push her bout of teasing, "Not to mention the fact that they aren't ninja or anything, so they can't teach you any cool tricks, or jutsu, or anything."

"You can't just give me your parents!" He bolted up, following suit, eyes growing wide and white as he pointed an accusing finger, "Are you crazy or something!?"

In response to the sudden outburst, the brunette raised her finger to her lip thoughtfully, though settled for passing him an impish wink, "I didn't say give, I said share~. That means you're obligated to all our family things too. That means sometimes I'll have them focus on you to take a break for a while! I'll fill you in on that when I gotta~."

'I can't follow any of this! What's gotten into her or... no... what's wrong with her?!' His outer countenance shattered, jaw agape and swamped in a bewildered manner, "This was all some... trick!?"

"Huh?" Kinomi shifted to him fully, arms folded at the small of her back as she learned forward and innocently tipped her head, "No, not at all. It was just a spur of the moment thing, you know? I like to be spontaneous." She stood back to her full height. "That being said, it's totally unfair I have to suffer this way, while you get all the freedom you want, I say."

"I don't get it!" He ruffled his hands into his hair out of frustration, "What's wrong with you? What do you mean by 'obligated to family things' or whatever that was!"

"Simple!" She flicked her hand nonchalantly, "It means you have to be a part of the stuff we do. First and foremost, that means we'll be watching for your match in the finals!" A more blissful smile came across her face this time, holding less mischief and more sincerity, "You know. Family stuff."

For a reason he couldn't quite understand, that look solidified something at that moment. While Naruto didn't previously understand this sudden springing, the pieces seemed to somewhat connect in that moment; her look was familiar, like the look he had seen from Iruka times before. This family thing that she suddenly brought on... 'What is... Is she trying to make me feel better..?' He was slow to the uptake to these things, so there was no guarantee he was correct, 'Or... she might be trying to force me into her family, to try stealing me away from Sakura!' Even he had to admit that last one was starting to sound outlandish... all things considered.

"Are you sure you won't start getting jealous?" He suddenly inquired.

"Hm..?" Taken aback by the sudden and peculiar question, her brows knit, "Jealous? What for?"

"You're a year older than me!" The way he boasted his beginning portion left Kinomi looking blandly, but he disregarded it, haughtily riding right into his next boasting words, "It'll be really embarrassing when I become chunin before you! Your parents will like me way better after that, believe it!"

The return of his quirky pride sent an amused look coming into play on her face, though the hints of competition and even a twinge of lighthearted agitation came to light behind it, "Yeah, right! I'd like to see you try being some big accomplished ninja in that bright orange thing! The way I see it, you've already failed stealth 101!" It may have irked her a little, by her slightly competitive nature, but she had to admit, she was happy to see he was all fired up. The little down moment he had before had managed to catch her off guard - within all those rumors, it's as if she had forgotten the boy was human, and such a fragile one at that.

"What!?" The apparent 'fragile' boy bellowed through ruffled feathers.

The bickering went onward, and no doubt if the training grounds in that area were actually in use, they probably would have been quite the annoyance. Regardless, as far as Kinomi was concerned, the outing was an overwhelming success, and given the progression from that little prod on her part, she had another she was going to be specifically looking out for.

As the day came upon them, stadium crowded with all sorts of foreign nobility come to spectate, the ninja that were participating, and other curious members of the crowd, Kinomi took her seat between Tama and another friend of hers, Chie.

The brunette leaned back, crossing one leg over the other, and likewise folding her arms as she watched the field expectantly and appraisingly.

"Going up against Neji in the first go around?" Tama questioned, mainly to herself, "It sounds like an unlucky draw to me."

"Don't count him out so early," Chie interjected, "apparently everyone underestimating him lately has been a pretty crazy calling card of his when the odds are stacked."

"Hmmm..." Kinomi hummed, musing quietly with the commentary of her friends in her mind. If he could talk so high and mighty about being chunin, he should have been able to handle any challenge - Hyuga or not, rookie or not.

"Alright, Naruto Uzumaki. Let's see what you're capable of then."

A/N: I'm back from a crazy Christmas Holiday! Now I can start posting the holiday fics! I sure hope you all enjoyed your Christmas season as much as I did~.

Thank you for all the amazing support on this story, and I hope to be able to push out chapters in a more timely manner again within the next couple of weeks.

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and thank you so much for reading~!