"Naruko... Naruko..." Naruto looked at me through tired, half-lidded eyes. The wound on his abdomen made by Mizuki-sensei's shuriken was huge, possibly fatal, and I couldn't bear to look at it. My heart clenched as I held on tightly onto Naruto's trembling hands.

"No... No... Don't leave me, it's all my fault..."

"Naruko..."

"It was supposed to hit me!"

He gave a reassuring squeeze to my hand. "I love you."

I shook my head vigorously, telling him not to go.

"Remember that I love you... Always..."

"Don't... Don't leave me alone!"

"You're not alone... There'll always be people who love you..."

"Please..." My voice was shaky, and tears obscured my vision.

"You'll find happiness." He smiled.

"Make me proud."

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Waves after waves of D-ranked missions weren't what Naruko wanted. Damn, how could she even grow stronger if all they did was pulling out weeds in someone's garden or looking for a fat lady's ungrateful cat? Even people who aren't ninja could do those! So she screamed, yelled, pointed accusing fingers at the Sandaime until he finally let them take on a C-ranked mission.

Bingo, to the Waves they go!

Needless to say, the client Tazuna wasn't impressed when he arrived in the room to realise that his so-called bodyguards were three kids and an adult. Especially Naruko, who looked ridiculously short among her two other teammates, and Tazuna made no move to hide his opinion of them.

After much yelling again, mostly from Naruko, as well as sniggers from Sakura, Team Seven accepted the mission successfully and they're soon on their way to the Land of Waves.

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Kakashi's suspicion that Zabuza was still alive after the earlier ordeal sparked the immediate training session when the team had safely reached Tazuna's house. However, contrary to what Team Seven thought, Kakashi wasn't there to teach them any awesome techniques... It was to teach them how to climb a tree.

Naruko and Sasuke did not ever think that climbing a tree would help them in their training, but here they are, trying to climb trees which Sakura effortlessly just did a few hours ago. Both of them thought that to lose to the other was embarrassing enough, but to lose to Sakurawas... It made them shudder to even think about the kind of damage it will do to their pride, though they already lost to her on this tree climbing thing.

Naruko was heaving and panting after many attempts to climb that damned tree. Sasuke's progress was pretty much level with hers, and well, they were almost close to reaching the top. Both of them refused to give up because that would effectively mean admitting defeat to the other.

When they were finally successful in scaling the tree which they have cursed a million times over, Naruko laid on the warm patch of grass with a sigh, feeling rather accomplished. It wasn't much, but at least it was a step, she could get stronger... And she willget stronger. Gazing at the peaceful sky did make her a tad bit drowsy, and with the fatigue she has built up till now, her eyelids gradually fluttered close and her breathing evened out as she fell into a light nap.

Sasuke thought Naruko was intriguing, as he stared at her from a distance where he sat. He too, was panting heavily from the intense training they just had. Although he hated to admit it, he feels that Naruko has the potential to become strong... and to become a worthy rival, despite her idiotic behaviour. Inching closer, Sasuke studied her face and noticed that her features were soft and delicate, and with the peaceful face she's putting on while she's asleep, she looked like she could be a prettier boy that Sasuke is. Especially with the way her spiky blonde hair framed her face perfectly.

Sasuke scowled. What the hell was I thinking...?! Naruto is the class idiot! And well, not that Sasuke wanted to be good looking and have all those fan girls chasing after him, but the fact is that he issomewhat good looking, and he'll be damned if he thinks Naruko can win him in that department.

Again, Sasuke moved his face closer to Naruko's and reached out a hand to touch her face ever so lightly. Her skin felt soft to his touch, as he traced his fingers along Naruko's whisker markings. And as he moved closer again, he glanced at her lips, which looked rather delectable... Well he's a guy, but...

Suddenly, Sasuke found himself staring into Naruko's blue orbs as her eyes snapped open.

"...the heck!" Naruko's first instinct was to palm Sasuke's face away from hers. "Bastard, you were too close! What the hell were you trying to do!"

Sasuke almost burned with embarrassment, and he felt his face getting warm. He was suddenly reminded of the time when they accidently kissed in the classroom. Calm down! Naruto's a guy for god's sake. What am I thinking! He frantically told himself to stop getting flustered, because Uchihas absolutely don't get flustered. And they don't blush. Nope, no chance. He has an image to uphold.

However, Sasuke noticed that Naruko wasn't faring much better. Her face was visibly red as she looked at Sasuke awkwardly, as if waiting for an answer but at the same time wanting to get out of this weird situation as soon as possible.

"I'm not gay."

Sasuke looked at Naruko incredulously. "What? Are you saying that I am?"

"I didn't say that." Naruko narrowed her eyes. "You said it yourself."

"You were implying it."

"I wasn't."

"..."

"... So are you?"

"... What?!"

"Are you gay?"

Sasuke was frustrated. "What makes you think that I am?!"

"Well... Just now you seemed that you wanted to... um... So are you or not?" Naruko looked at Sasuke suspiciously. Well, he did show absolutely no interest in any of his fan girls so...

"..."

"... Just in case."

"Just in case of what?" He's questioning my manliness?!

"You don't have to be so defensive, you know..." Naruko said. "If you're not, then you could just tell me you're not. You seem like you're refusing to answer my question and that makes it even more..."

"Well I'm not!" Sasuke snapped. The topic was getting embarrassing for him. "Stop with your weird ideas!"

Naruko looked at him skeptically.

"... I'm going back." Sasuke stood up and started to make his way back.

Naruko was left pondering about the mystery that was Sasuke.

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Naruko was sleeping peacefully in the woods after another day of intense training... ahem, tree climbing when Haku stealthily approached him. He contemplated just ending her life then and there, to save unnecessary trouble for Zabuza, but stopped himself at the last minute, and he wasn't sure of the reason himself too.

At that instant, Naruko awoke to see a beautiful face gazing down at him and was reminded of the time when she experienced the shock of seeing Sasuke's face there instead. She felt embarrassed to even think about it. But well, at least this pretty young lady wasn't Sasuke, and that's kind of a relief to her actually.

Naruko's train of thoughts were halted when the mysterious intruder suddenly spoke to her. "It's dangerous to leave yourself so defenseless, sleeping here, you know."

"Huh? Um... Well... What's a pretty girl like you doing here? It could be dangerous for you too."

Haku was looking at her curiously before continuing. "So... What are your dreams?"

"What's with that all of a sudden? And who are you anyway?" Naruko raised an eyebrow when Haku did not answer her question.

Haku shrugged. "Just curious."

My dream... Of course, it's..."It's to become the Hokage!" Naruko declared.

"Why?"

Why? Naruko was stunned. She couldn't possibly tell him the real reason why, could she? It wasn't like this was her own dream to begin with... And she couldn't ever understand why Naruto wanted to achieve such a thing. It was absurd to her. What did he actually want to achieve by becoming the Hokage? Yeah, sure, everyone would acknowledge him but... what actually isthe point here?

"..."

"Ah..." Haku continued. "Do you... have precious people in your life that you would want to protect?"

Naruko was silent again, her eyes glazing over as she seemed to look at something far away. Of course there are such precious people... but...

Naruto...

"I did, but I've already failed."

"I see... So what is your resolve then?"

Naruko had also come to realise this gradually by herself, that her actual dream is actually a last ditch attempt to protect the dream of the precious person, after failing to protect the person himself.

My resolve...

"There are still precious people in your life, aren't there? Would you, then, risk your life to protect them?" Haku smiled. "I, too, have precious people that I would like to protect."

Naruko contemplated Haku's words as he stood up, preparing to leave.

"And by the way... I'm a boy."

"..." Wait, what? A BOY is even prettier than me? Okay I'm not exactly suppose to look "pretty" now but this is still...

Naruko wanted to tear her hair out in frustration.

Precious people, huh... Besides you, Brother, who else do I have...?

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It's that Hunter-nin again, Naruko thought as she approached the scene of the battle that was currently taking place now. Sasuke was trapped in the ice mirrors that Haku conjured and he looked like he was fighting a losing battle. Sakura was left guarding Tazuna while Kakashi took on Zabuza.

Naruko smirked. This was her show, now! Without thinking, she slipped into the ice mirrors that Sasuke was trapped in, fully intending to help him but unexpectedly, she received a severe dressing down from Sasuke. She closed her eyes instinctively as she felt a gush of hot breath and bits of saliva flew onto her face.

"What the HELL were you thinking you MORON!"

To say that Sasuke was agitated was an understatement when he realised that Naruko had entered the dome of ice mirrors alongside him. That idiot could have just stayed outside so the both of them could destroy the mirrors on both sides, but Naruko had just ruined it all. And now its highly possible that she'll give him more trouble than actually be of help to him.

The barrage of needles that were continuing to be fired at Sasuke and Naruko seemed to be never ending as they desperately tried to dodge them all. Sasuke could feel his vision seemingly getting better... He could actually see those needles clearly, close to the point where he could say that he was close to predictingtheir movements even.

Alas, the almighty Uchiha Sasuke has activated his Sharingan, which will only serve to inflate his ego even more in the future.

Naruko, on the other hand, was having a much more difficult time. She was frantically trying to step out of the way, with no particular strategy in mind and solely relying on her instincts to move. It was inevitable that she would eventually overlook an oncoming set of needles that were aiming for somewhere vital when she wasn't looking...

But it didn't hit her. Naruko watched in horror as Sasuke took the hit, with needles etched in the side of his neck. It looked like a fatal blow to her, and Sasuke collapsed right before her eyes.

This is... all my fault...

Sasuke seemed to catch what she was thinking, as he said in a raspy voice, "Hn, don't be so full of yourself, idiot... My body... it moved on its own..."

Sasuke's vision started to fade, as he slowly lost consciousness and his world turned to darkness.

Naruko's eyes were brimming with tears, as she clenched her fists in anger. How dare he...! Her chest heaved up and down as she struggled to catch her breath. If only... If only I could be stronger!

"Is he one of your precious people?" Haku inquired, with a deadpanned expression.

"You told me you have failed... Could you stand to fail, once again?"

Naruko snapped.

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Kakashi sensed something amiss again as he felt a strong wave of malicious chakra coming from the area where Sasuke and Naruko's battle with Haku was taking place. It was just like that time, during the bell test he had given them, only that this time it was much more intense.

Sakura, too, could feel something different from Naruko, and that feeling wasn't a pleasant one. The feel of the chakra was oppressing, and it made her nauseous.

And just as Kakashi expected, he could see swirls of red chakra seeping out from within the dome of ice mirrors, kicking up wind around that area while trees nearby danced in response. Kakashi narrowed his eyes. Was the seal that unstable? This could be a big problem to come.

Indeed, Naruko was furious when she saw Sasuke laying there, motionless. And it was all to protect her, too! Just like Naruto did.In the back of her mind, she could not shake off the images of Naruto's last moments that were surfacing in her mind rapidly, relieving her horrid memories from that night.

It made Naruko feel the pain and anguish all over again.

Haku was surprised when the force of Naruko's red chakra started to make cracks in his mirrors. She was breaking his defense down, bit by bit. Naruko was starting to change too, as her eyes grew slitted, with teeth turning into fangs and nails turning into claws.

The mirrors shattered, and Naruko took no time in rushing at Haku with a raised fist, fully intending to kill him after what he did to Sasuke. Haku could feel sharp slices of air surrounding him, forming a deadly atmosphere as Naruko charged at him.

It was at this instant when Haku realised that Zabuza needed him. He sidestepped Naruko's oncoming fist and grabbed her arm, ignoring the searing pain in his hand and the side of his cheek, which started bleeding even though there was no contact. It felt like there were millions of tiny knives cutting into his skin, and it hurt like hell. Haku's mask shattered, revealing his face.

"You...! You're that girly boy from before!"

Haku couldn't respond to Naruko's statement... There was something urgent he had to do. He had to protect Zabuza, his precious person, if it was the last thing he did. He couldn't die here yet.

"Hey...!"

Haku performed a Shunshin technique and appeared in front of Zabuza in the nick of time, and Kakashi's Raikiri, originally intended for Zabuza, pierced right through Haku's chest.

Naruko didn't understand. What was with all these people and their heroic acts? Don't they ever realise that their actions will only cause anguish for those they intended to protect? Naruko watched the scene in front of her as a tear rolled down her face. Protecting your precious people, huh? And then you conveniently die on them as a result, is that what you want? If you're dead, you can't feel anything, but for those alive... You won't understand!

"Why?" Naruko choked.

"Haven't I told you before? My dream... is to protect the precious people in my life."

"...It's only your dream that you care about. You're just being selfish."

Haku smiled. "Is that so...? You... probably don't understand it yet... but you will, next time."

"The one who doesn't understand anything is you." Naruko's eyes were cold as she stared at Haku in his last moments.

But Haku didn't seem to hear Naruko, as his eyes gradually became lifeless and his breathing slowed, until it all stopped completely.

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Naruko sighed as they made their way back to the village after the grueling C-turned-A-ranked mission. It was dangerous, and it brought out a lot of emotions in her... but in the end, it all turned out well. She could still remember the look on Sakura's face when they thought that Sasuke was dead. Naruko was grateful that Sasuke was alive after all, she could not stand the thought of yet another person dying just to protect her.

She agreed that one should protect their precious people. But at the cost of their own life? Naruko wasn't so sure anymore. And no, it wasn't due to the selfishness of wanting to live on.

If Naruko could go back to that dreaded night... She would rather be the one who died instead. And that was her being selfish.

Haku was selfish, Sasuke was selfish, Naruto was selfish, and Naruko would be, too. It was the selfishness of not wanting to feel the pain of losing a loved one.

And Naruko was sure that Zabuza would agree with her, if he was still alive.

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"Iruka-sensei!" Naruko exclaimed excitedly when the team bumped into him as they returned from their mission. "You won't believe what happened in our last mission! I was totally awesome then!"

"And it was a C-turned-A-ranked mission! How cool was it!" Naruko waved her arms around fervently. "They even named a bridge after me!" She was excited to see her favourite teacher from the academy after so long, and she couldn't contain herself when she saw him.

Sasuke watched as Naruko seemed genuinely happy talking to Iruka.

Sasuke has been thinking about it ever since Naruko blushed and appeared so flustered when all he did was to place his face hear Naruko's. The fact his actions weren't exactly considered normal behaviour in the first place did not cross his mind. His suspicions were further supported by the fact that Naruko's first statement to him when she woke up was to declare vehemently that she wasn't gay. Sasuke didn't even suggest anything, so why would she declare something like that so suddenly unless...

… Sasuke finally understood. From the way she looked at Iruka adoringly to her blushing face from the incident when they were training during their mission...

As for "Naruto"'s attraction to Sakura... That could be a ruse, Sasuke contemplated. After all, Naruko didn't seem all that excited when she was in close proximity to Sakura recently. Okay, she did seem a tiny little bit excited, but it all looked like an act anyway. And usually people who would want to put on such an act to show others around him would be...

So Naruto is actually...!

Sasuke conveniently forgot that he was the one who made advances that time in the woods.

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"I know why you asked me that question back then." Sasuke said calmly as he approached Naruko.

"Huh?"

"I won't judge you."

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"... You like men." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

Naruko choked on her saliva. "WHAT?!"

Well, that is technically true since she is a girl in the first place... but she was supposed to be Naruto, and Naruto sure as hell didn't swing that way.

Naruko then realised that her time in Team Seven wasn't going to be an easy one.