Summary: Naruto didn't need 'em. Any of 'em. He had a friend, one who would stick by him, come thick or thin. And even though they're on different teams now, that will never change. Two-shot.

I.

Naruto had been in the orphanage for as long as he could remember. The Matron was cold, and brusque, but she made sure he got good food, warm clothes, a bed, and a bath, every day. She kept him safe when angry people came storming through the halls. She ushered him away from the cold eyes of people when they came to adopt the other children.

But he could never hate her for being a little rougher than she should have been, for being a little sharper than she was with the others, for just... for just not liking him as much as the other children. He couldn't hate her, or dislike her. Even when she got into the sake.

Because she brought his first ever friend.

He was tiny, wearing clothes that weren't his, were too big, and worn, and stained to be his. She pulled him by the hand, looking increasingly harried as she checked every room and found it full. Every room but his. And with a put-upon sigh, she gently pushed the smaller child forward.

"Uzumaki, this is Miura. He's your responsibility now. See that you take care of him. Miura, if you have any problems, just tell me. Kaoru will give you the full work up tomorrow morning.

"Welcome to Konoha Little Leaf Orphanage."

II.

His name was Hotaru. Miura Hotaru.

He had thick black hair just as spiky as Naruto's. He had big green eyes, like the sweet-grass that was outside the gates. His skin was white, like those flowers in the park, but pinker.

He had a kickass scar on his head too. Like a lightning bolt. But not cooler than whiskers.

III.

Hotaru had nightmares. Horrible nightmares.

But he never screamed. Just woke up with a sharp gasp, and a stifled sob.

It became routine before too long, that Naruto would stay up until he heard Hotaru escape whatever horrors he saw behind his eyelids. He would climb out of bed, dragging his ratty pillow along with him, and crawl into Hotaru's futon. The two of them would curl up, hugging their pillows.

They would always wake up hugging one another instead.

IV.

One of the other children was adopted. Matron was moving Hotaru into that room – away from Naruto.

And, as usual, Naruto stayed up, staring at the ceiling even though he couldn't hear Hotaru anywhere near him. Even though if he was caught out of bed he would be given the cane. He still stayed up, even though he didn't have to. He just couldn't sleep.

And then, like usual only reversed, Hotaru slipped into his room, shivering, cheeks wet, clutching his pillow, and crawled into his futon. The two of them falling asleep almost immediately.

V.

Matron didn't like it, but she seemed to accept the fact that Hotaru had become attached to Naruto, and moved him back to where he belonged. Naruto worked extra hard on his thank you picture for her.

She had the queerest look on her face when he presented it to her, along with Hotaru who quietly explained how Naruto had drawn the house, and the field, and the trees, while he had drawn the flowers, and the sun. They were good flowers. Really pretty. Orange and blue.

Matron put it on the picture wall.

It was the first time that anything he'd drawn managed to make it to the wall, and Naruto spent the rest of the week beaming proudly whenever he saw it.

VI.

Naruto hates school. He knows he would hate it more if he didn't have Hotaru though, so he keeps quiet and does his best. And while he falters in the classroom, while he bites his tongue, and tries not to cry as the Sensei cruelly mocks him, calling him stupid, and slow, and encouraging the other children to do the same, Hotaru watches with pained eyes from the otherside of the room (Sensei had separated them, claiming that Hotaru would be happier closer to the board, as he's clearly more intelligent).

Naruto is the only one who sees Hotaru surreptitiously pour superglue on the sensei's chair, his sweet-grass eyes glittering poisonously with protective anger.

VII.

Naruto gets blamed for the glue, and Hotaru is almost beside himself in tears, apologising as they walk home. It's enough for Naruto to dig into his pockets, and buy his friend an icecream from one of the out-of village vendors to calm him down (even at four he knows better than to try the Konoha shops).

It works, Hotaru sniffles and stops crying. Though his cheeks are puffy, and red, and cute like an upset chipmonk, as he eats the sweet potato flavoured treat.

And Naruto pats himself on the back for being a good big brother, never noticing a hard glint appearing in his friend's eye.

VIII.

Sensei falls down the stairs, and breaks his leg the next day.

IX.

Ine-sensei is much nicer. She cheerfully guides them through their numbers, and letters. She sings songs, and reads stories out to them. Naruto is thrilled when the main character of The Utterly Gutsy Shinobi has the same name as him.

He decides that he likes Ine-sensei best. She lets him sit next to Hotaru, and doesn't scowl and yank his arm really hard when its naptime, and Naruto sleeps with Hotaru on his futon to stop the nightmares. She doesn't spit in his milk before handing it out either, and when he comes in with a sore throat, she even adds a dollop of golden coloured sweet stuff she called honey, and a brownish powder that smells awesome, and tastes just as nice, called cinnamon, to help him feel better.

No one comments when Sensei doesn't come back after the month they were told he would be away for.

Everyone prefers Ine-sensei anyway.

X.

There's a huge uproar in the village.

Naruto clings tightly to Hotaru as the two of them wait in Jiji's office while the Masked Niichans, and Neechans rush around, going in and out, through the windows and doors. All talking quickly to Jiji, some of them only use sign language that neither of them have learned, while others use soft voices and confusing code.

All the while, the two orphans sit on the large sofa in their nondescript orphanage issue pyjamas, rubbing sleep out of their eyes.

No one tells them what's going on, or why Jiji is so angry. They just yawn, and allow Inu-niichan to scoop them both up and carry them back to the orphanage. They're both asleep before they get there, and Kakashi can't help but think they're ridiculously adorable as he tucks them into their Futons – both of which have been shoved beside one another.

He pauses a moment and watches as Naruto reaches out, latching onto his friend, and dragging him across the space dividing them in his sleep. Neither of them rouse at all when he chuckles quietly and leaves through the still open window.

It's a shame he can't tease them about it.

XI.

Matron is drinking again.

Naruto knows to hide when this happens. He bundles both himself, and Hotaru into one of the airing cupboards in the attic. They're wrapped up in a mountain of blankets and tucked snugly behind the water boiler. It's almost too warm. But it's dark, and it's safe. And Matron won't find them. Which is important.

She didn't do this often. But she did it often enough for Naruto to fear it, and take steps to avoid it.

In the dark, he rummaged for the packets of cup-ramen he had hidden in the blankets. He peeled back the lid and began to eat it raw, Hotaru following his example. They would have a bad tummy ache, but better a tummy ache on a full stomach, than bruises, an empty belly, and falling asleep in Ine-sensei's lessons. If they did, the nurse would find the bruises, and Matron would be even more upset.

XII.

Jiji is talking about the Ninja Academy. Naruto really, really wants to go. Hotaru isn't quite as certain. He's giving Jiji the stink eye, as if he didn't trust him, and he's speaking slowly, choosing his words like he does with the Vendors in the market.

Eventually, it's decided that they're both going. And Jiji is smiling really big and happy as he gives Naruto a hug goodbye, and bows his head respectfully at Hotaru, who's still giving him the stink-eye, but bows back because that's polite.

Inu-niichan's shoulders are shaking with silent laughter.

XIII.

It's the week before they're going to the Academy, Matron's got into the sake again, and Naruto and Hotaru have been bundled in the airing cupboard for two days now. They sneak out once a day in order to tip the jug of pee out of the window and into the guttering and drain pipes, but they've run out of ramen, and Hotaru's so thirsty his pee is brown, and he doesn't look good.

Naruto's scared.

The first day was nice. They were all bundled up, and they told each other stories about how they imagined their families, what kind of Ninja they were going to be, and what they would be when they grew up. They spent long stretches of time just curled up together, and Naruto decided he really liked Hotaru's hair. It smelt really nice and was all soft and fluffy and nice on his skin as he rubbed his cheek against it.

The second day started okay, but it got worse.

And now Hotaru was sleeping, his breath really hot and his lips dry and weird to the touch. That wasn't a good sign. That had happened to Naruto before. He knew it was real bad. He had to get Hotaru something to drink, quickly.

So he braved the outside.

He snuck into the bathroom and used one of the toothbrush cups to bring his friend some water.

No sooner had he managed to get it into him, than Matron appeared, smelling strongly of sake, her face red, and her teeth bared.

XIV.

Living outside was cold, and Naruto didn't like it.

Hotaru hadn't been thrown out with him. Matron had locked him up in the attic with an angry sneer saying that if he liked it up there so much, he could stay there until he rotted. Naruto however, wasn't welcome under her roof – so he wouldn't be under it anymore. She kicked him out of the door, sending him sprawling into the dirt, before slamming the door behind him.

The next morning, Hotaru found him, his little hands were bloody though, and there were glass shards between his fingers. Naruto felt guilty about the amount of relief coursing through him. Hotaru hadn't abandoned him!

XV.

Jiji gave them a flat. Between the two of them, they had it looking nice. Inu-niichan even bought them furniture and moved it where Hotaru directed after they'd finished painting. Naruto wanted everything in orange, but got firmly slapped upside the head. The kitchen was a pale sunshine yellow with blue curtains. The living room was terracotta red with a brown sofa, and three bookcases (Naruto looked at Hotaru like he was a crazy man when he demanded these items). The bedroom, which they were sharing, was a nice pale green with a blue ceiling. They had requested a double bed and got a really nice wooden one and a pair of desks to match. Several wicker baskets were tucked under it full of clothes. And a sliding cupboard as well. The bathroom was white.

At least Naruto won the argument about the bedroom curtains having cup-ramen printed on them. He didn't listen to a single word Hotaru told him about it being lame. Nothing with ramen on it could be lame!

XVI.

Ninja Academy was not better than Ine-sensei's class, but it wasn't as bad as Sensei's class either.

Umino-sensei was fair, and Naruto liked that. But his eyes were frosty when he looked at him. He didn't do anything, or treat him bad, or even punish him harder than the other students, he didn't even ignore him, or try to separate him from Hotaru. His eyes were just a little cold.

Naruto supposed that would be the best he got for now. But at least Hotaru was next to him. And luckily he was left-handed, otherwise they wouldn't be able to hold hands under the table.

XVII.

Morse code was awesome!

Naruto grinned broadly as Hotaru tapped out the answer to Umino-sensei's question while Naruto pretended to hem, and haw over it. Naruto's reading wasn't so good, and he was never one for sitting still and listening to lectures. He preferred it when at the end of the day Hotaru would tell him stories when they were in bed. It would be the same stuff that Naruto learned in class, but he would remember it better when he could connect to it easier.

So he learned all about how the Shodai Hokage went against his father's demands, and ideals to found the village. The very first Ninja village. How he gathered all the other clans, how he even accepted all the Uchiha as they slowly trickled in – having abandoned their Clan Head Uchiha Madara, who stubbornly refused to join Konoha after the Nidaime caused his younger brother's, Uchiha Izuna, death. How eventually, the Shodai managed to convince Madara to join. And they made Konoha great together. Until something changed in Madara, and he challenged the Shodai to an epic battle that altered the very maps of the Elemental Nations, creating the Valley of End – a deep canyon on the outskirts of Fire country leading into Rice.

He learned about how the Shodai tried to prevent the First Great Shinobi War by splitting up the Bijuu and distributing them throughout the Elemental nations. Keeping only the Kyuubi for Konoha. How his hopes for peace crumbled as the other, newly established Hidden Villages sought to wage war.

Hotaru told him epic tales about the Niidaime's tactical genius in the First Shinobi War. How he kept the village afloat even with Kumogakure's best breathing at their gates, how he pretty much wrote the Scroll on Ninja tactics. How he formed the Uchiha Police, and ordered the creation of ANBU to carry out Black Ops missions the village couldn't afford to have their names attached to. How he gave his life fighting Kumo's Kinkaku Team so his Shinobi, and Genin team could escape.

How Sarutobi Hiruzen, their Third Hokage, was named his successor that day.

Hotaru learned from Umino-sensei.

Naruto learned from Hotaru.

And Hotaru gave him answers during class, and tests, so that Umino-sensei wouldn't shout at him before he could learn the subject material that night.

It wasn't perfect.

But it was good enough.

XVIII.

Naruto found it very hard not to admire Sakura-chan.

She was very smart, and pretty. She had pale minty-green eyes, and hair the colour of flower petals. She smelt like lily, and wisteria and wore clean clothes without holes or patches. She had a pretty giggle, and he liked that she had a high hairline – it just showed that she had a big brain and was lots smarter than he was.

But, he'd seen the way she chased after Uchiha Sasuke along with Yamakana-chan, and how sad she got when he snapped at her. So he always made a big deal out of her, shouting her name, cooing over how awesome she was, asking her out on dates to Ichiraku. Just to get that sad look out of her eyes. Pretty green eyes shouldn't look like that.

And when she shouted, and screamed, and glared at him with that familiar fire in her gaze, Naruto grinned and patted himself on the back (being careful of the bruises she gave him). Because green eyes should never look sad. It made something cold and unpleasant fizzle in his stomach.

Hotaru just shook his head, an odd look on his face as he read his book.

XIX.

It didn't take Hotaru long to figure out that Mizuki-sensei was teaching them the wrong Taijutsu forms. Or that every incident that occurred in the classroom he pinned on Naruto, he didn't share those observations though. But it drove the blond nuts enough as it was, he didn't need to know that it was on purpose. Not that it didn't stop him from deciding to get his own back anyway – playing increasingly malicious pranks on the Chuunin sensei.

Hotaru had to reign him in more than once to stop some of those pranks from being outright cruel.

XX.

Sexy no Jutsu was awesome, he had only just finished developing it and Hotaru was the first person to see it.

His bestfriend went scarlet and started shouting, "Never put that Henge on again!" he screeched furiously leaping up and yanking on a pigtail. Naruto yelped and released the transformation out of reflex, whinging as his bestfriend tugged brutally on his hair.

"Taru! Knock it off!" he snapped, trying to shove his taller friend off.

"Not until you swear you'll never do that again!"

"Why?" Naruto demanded unhappily, "Oiroke no Jutsu is awesome!"

"Because there are perverts out there! And if you're running around in a naked girl Henge they'll target you!" the green eyed boy snarled, kicking Naruto's feet out from under him causing them both to tumble onto the floor, the taller of the pair sitting on top of the Jinchuuriki's stomach and continuing his merciless hair pulling. "Promise me, Naruto!"

"But it's SUPPOSED to get Perverts!" Naruto yelled, trying to throw his friend off. But Hotaru had always been better at Taijutsu, better at pretty much everything except the stamina and strength tests.

"What?" Uh oh, Hotaru was really mad!

"Its supposed to attracted perverts! They'll die from nosebleeds before they can lay a finger on me!" he exclaimed, trying to sooth his friend's temper. Hotaru was nowhere near as hotheaded as Naruto, but when he lost it, it was not pretty. Kiba learned that one the hard way when he ended up in the Hospital clinic after Hotaru pretty much ripped him apart during Taijutsu practice.

"And what if they don't! Huh! Did you think of that, Mr Smarty-pants?" Hotaru screamed in his face. "Just because you're a boy don't think they won't rape you just as easily as they would a girl!"

Naruto blanched at this, his stomach flipping uncomfortably as he remembered one of the few festivals gone past – they'd mastered the Henge technique in class barely a week earlier and thought that if they hid who they were, they could attend the Festival like normal kids. Hotaru nearly got dragged down an alleyway by a drunkard before Inu-niichan appeared and knocked him out. Naruto hadn't known about it at all until his bestfriend was returned to him later that night at bedtime, shaking violently and tearstained having just been at the Hospital as a precautionary check up. The full dangers and reality of that night were explained to him by the Medic Nin and for a month afterwards Hotaru with flinch when startled, and never strayed out of arms reach of Naruto save when they were in the toilets.

"I promise," he whispered. "I promise I won't use it around anyone I don't trust completely," he said. "It was... It was meant to be a prank Jutsu," he explained softly.

Hotaru just hugged him tightly.

XXI.

He failed.

How could he have...

Hotaru was squirming through the crowds of parents congratulating their children, his shiny Hitai-ate catching the sunlight, and something ugly and heavy flipped over in his stomach. Naruto didn't want to look at him. He ran, and Hotaru lost him over the rooftops, unable to get out of the crush fast enough.

His friend deserved to be a Genin. He had worked so hard, and even taught Naruto as well. He was only holding his friend back. If Hotaru hadn't been forced to pick up after him all the time he probably could have graduated years earlier and become an awesome Ninja by now. He sniffed dully as he plopped himself down on the roof, feeling very sorry for himself. He of course knew that Hotaru wouldn't see it that way, he was Naruto's bestfriend, his brother. Even if he had been as stupid as Dog-breath he would have done his best to help Naruto, because Hotaru was just... he was so much better than Naruto could ever hope to be. Smarter, and nicer.

He didn't know what he'd done to deserve such a friend.

He just... he just wished they could have been Ninja together...

"Hey, Naruto. You got a sec?" Mizuki called from down below.

XXII.

Kyuubi. That... that was the whole reason...

When he got back home that night, he found the apartment empty, the kitchen table had the remnants of dinner for two – one untouched, the other half eaten. Hotaru must have gone running out when he heard that Naruto had taken the scroll. Guilt stung him, along with terror. Would his friend leave, and turn his back if Naruto told him the truth? No, no Hotaru could never find out about the Kyuubi! He wasn't allowed! If he knew, Naruto would never see him again!

So when his bestfriend burst through the door, immediately rushing over and exclaiming over his injuries, he didn't say anything. Didn't try to explain or tell him the truth of what happened. And Hotaru let him. There was an understanding look on those green eyes as he sat Naruto down on the toilet and rummaged in their first aid box.

He never asked.

Naruto didn't ask about the bruise that discoloured the entire left side of his face in mottled green and purple, or the bandages around his wrist. He just took extra care when they crawled into bed not to jar it, and clung tightly to his bestfriend.

Terrified he would vanish if Naruto told him the truth.

XXIII.

Konohamaru was an utter pain in the ass. Hotaru thought he was hilarious and laughed until his stomach hurt at his hero-worship of Naruto. He gave passing thought to teaching the irritating Gaki the Oiroke no Jutsu in revenge, but knew that Hotaru would string him up by his ears in the women's bath if he even tried it. Konohamaru was just a kid, he had almost zero Shinobi training. He wasn't ready to be exposed to that level of adult-content, and nor would he be able to defend himself if someone took the Oiroke the wrong way.

Instead, they disguised a few lessons as games of Ninja and bought the kid a drink.

It seemed as though he had managed to collect himself another younger brother by the way the little brat reacted to his words. Rival, pfft, yeah right. Maybe in a few years. Until then, he was just his adorable kid-brother.

XXIV.

Genin Team selection!

Naruto decided that this was the day he would get serious and ask Sakura-chan to be his girlfriend. He even had a fool-proof plan to learn her opinion about him before he even asked. All he had to do was jump Sasuke, tie him up somewhere inconspicuous, and Henge into him so he could talk seriously with Sakura-chan without getting a knuckle sandwich.

He excitedly told all of his plans to Hotaru the night before. An odd expression crossed his face as he pointed out that deceiving their classmate wasn't very nice, and if either of them found out, they would be quite upset. And... "Are you really sure you want to know what Haruno-san thinks of you, Ruto? She... she can be quite cruel about others when trying to impress Uchiha-san. Maybe you should choose someone else to Henge into," he pointed out gently.

But Naruto wouldn't have any of it. He was going to beat that Uchiha bastard. And besides, Sakura-chan might even give him a kiss if she thought he was Sasuke. Hotaru merely huffed quietly and rolled over, facing the wall, muttering under his breath. Naruto grinned fondly at him, he knew his friend was trying to watch out for him, but it would be fine! Tomorrow was going to be the best day of his life!

Not a single word was said the following morning by the green eyed boy as the Jinchuuriki chugged the out of date milk as if it were going out of style, loudly proclaiming he needed his strength.

XXV.

"Next, Team Seven. Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke - " Iruka paused as the girl screamed in delight, shouting a crass 'In your face Ino-Pig!' at the Yamanaka Clan heir, "- And Uzumaki Naruto," he finished dryly. Naruto jumped up with a shout of equal glee that easily drowned out the soft sound that was remarkably like a mouse getting trodden on from Miura-kun. Iruka had to fight to keep the wince off his face when he spotted the other preteen's face. The Miura-Naruto pair had never been separated before unless by those who had a particular hatred of Naruto (Mizuki taking every chance to pull them apart should have been a clue! How could he have been so oblivious?).

But Naruto didn't notice his friend's distress, too busy cheering happily at getting onto the same team as his Crush.

Miura quickly pasted on a smile when the blond turned to him happily to point out he got on the same team as 'the awesome Sakura-chan'. It was almost painful to watch Naruto be completely oblivious to his bestfriend's upset, and how Miura never let him see how much his behaviour hurt.

Iruka sighed quietly wondering how on earth Naruto could be so oblivious before continuing with the Team assignments.

XXVI.

"Absolutely not!" Iruka paused, frowning at the violet haired girl. Inoue Azami, as prickly as her namesake (Thistle), and the daughter of the Merchant Guild's head. It gave her an advantage in her Kunoichi grades, seeing as she could already act like more of a lady than even some Geisha trained Kunoichi, it also made her maths, and Geography grades mightily impressive. But it did nothing for her attitude. Silver spoon didn't even come close.

"Is there a problem?" he asked frostily. She should know that by now he did not appreciate being ordered by someone of lower rank without good reason.

"I refuse to be in a team with that monster's pet abomination!" she declared, pointing at Miura-kun. "My father would hit the roof!"

Iruka scowled, "Well then, its a good thing he has absolutely no say in Shinobi affairs, Inoue-san," he pointed out sharply. "Now, sit down. Team placements are designed to create the most balanced team possible. Team Seven for example, Sasuke is the Rookie of the Year, he has the highest marks in all areas. Sakura may have failed on her physical marks, but her academics are exemplary. Naruto, though I know he is quite skilled, scored the lowest in the class because his areas of expertise are not tested field – something I have been trying to change for years." Everyone knew how much importance Iruka-sensei put into Stealth, Trap, and Infiltration. But unfortunately, they weren't tested subjects, which he, like every other Chuunin, and Jounin, thought was really bloody stupid. "Sasuke and Sakura are there to cover the bases that Naruto falls at. Sakura is there to cover the bases that Sasuke falls at. And even though it wasn't designed like that, Naruto will be better at guarding their backs than either of them."

Sasuke scoffed dismissively. "Don't sneer, Sasuke," Iruka reprimanded him mildly, "Not just anyone can give the village ANBU a run for their money.

"Now, before I was interrupted," he continued, shooting a Look at Inoue-san who thankfully subsided into silence. "Team Three, Inoue Azami, Miura Hotaru, Tanaka Minato. Your Sensei is Temarei Hisoka, he'll be by to pick you up after Lunch."

XXVII.

Hotaru didn't even get a chance to talk to Naruto before he was rushing off to implement his master plan to talk to Haruno. He tried to tell himself that it didn't matter, that he would catch him when they were at home. But even he knew he was lying, and his chest hurt. It seemed as though the moment Haruno became a more prominent fixture in Naruto's life, Hotaru was shunted out to make space for her.

"I'm not eating with him!" Inoue was sneering, roughly shaking Tanaka-san's hand away.

"But we're a team, Azami-san," Tanaka-san protested.

"Not for long!" the girl snapped, "My Father will remove the guild from Konoha if they don't change the team placements. I don't want anything to do with that thing." Thing huh... Not human... Maybe he wasn't. After all, it seemed as though not even Naruto wanted- … it seemed as though not even Uzumaki-san wanted to be his friend anymore, now that someone better had come along.

He went to one of the break-rooms to eat his lunch and paused in the doorway. Uchiha-san glared up at him from where he was hogtied on the ground. For a moment, Hotaru contemplated leaving him there. He didn't feel particularly charitable right now. But...

He sighed and set his lunch box down, kneeling beside the Uchiha and making short work of the ropes.

"I'm sorry about this Uchiha-san," he said as he removed the ropes locking his ankles together.

"What is that idiot doing?" the dark eyed boy snarled, pulling the tape from his mouth.

Hotaru sighed, "Reconnaissance. He wants to ask Haruno-san to be his girlfriend, properly. Not screaming for dates and making a big fuss so she'll cheer up like before. He's quite serious. He is asking her opinion of him while wearing a Henge. He knows she won't be honest about her feelings if she is speaking to his face. Unfortunately, he did not believe me when I said that she would be extra critical of everyone when speaking to you," he explained simply as he stepped back from the Uchiha and collected his bentou.

Sasuke watched as the Dobe's bestfriend quietly started to eat his lunch, there was something odd about the way he spoke, almost... "You're... jealous?" he asked in bewildered disgust.

Green eyed peered up at him before he shrugged dismissively. "Naruto has been my best, and only friend for years. It isn't unnatural to be jealous when you find yourself being completely thrown aside for a girl who won't even give him the time of day," he explained simply as he steadily worked his way through his rice, eyes shut.

The taller boy stared at him as if he'd grown another head, "And you're... not angry, about this?" he asked.

"Being angry won't do me a blind lick of good," the orphan pointed out bluntly. "If fact, it'll probably make things worse." He cracked open an eye, "If I get angry, I'll say, or do something, that'll make my friendship completely insalvageable. Not the outcome I want."

Sasuke hummed, frowning. He was tempted to go and confront the Dobe, he was angry. But Miura was also kind of right. Being angry wasn't going to help him here. And he was going to have to work with the Dobe for a long time until they reached Chuunin and he could get reassigned. So, instead of getting up and running to go and deal with him, Sasuke sat peaceably opposite his classmate and finished off the water and Onigiri he hadn't been able to before he got jumped.

There were worse ways to spend his lunch break, he decided. Miura was a surprisingly pleasant balm to his temper. He would have to do this again.

XXVIII.

"Team three, you're with me," their Jounin called, leaning against the door frame, arms folded.

Temarei Hisoka wasn't tall. He stood at an all together underwhelming 5'6" in height, wore the standard Jounin uniform, he had pale skin, high cheekbones, and dark eyes. The only unusual thing about him was that he had long hair, pulled back into a no-nonsense horse tail at the back of his head.

The three Genin tottered after their Sensei, Naruto pausing only briefly to give Naruto a wave – not that he noticed, too busy trying to talk to Haruno. Hotaru dropped his hand, and caught Uchiha-san's eye, he nodded politely and received one back before they left the classroom. Maybe he wasn't as much of an asshole now that he was a Genin than when he felt he had something to prove?

Temarei-sensei led them to the swing set outside and took a seat, gesturing for them to sit down on the grass.

"Right, well, introductions first I guess. You know my name, what you don't know is what my specialities and hobbies are, what I like and what I don't like. We'll cover those in a bit but I'd like to hear whom I'm working with. If you would please, Inoue-kun, your name, likes, dislikes, and what your future goal is. Not whom you'd like to marry, but your goal as a Ninja. Anything you want to add is fine," the dark haired Jounin allowed. He had a nice voice, smoky, not quite deep, nor very high, Hotaru got the impression he could pitch his voice any which way he pleased, which was undoubtedly useful on Infiltration, or Information Gathering missions. He would have to see if he couldn't cultivate the same vocal range.

The violet haired girl nodded, puffing her non-existent chest out. Hotaru didn't think she was trying to draw attention to her under-developed breasts, but that was the result of her action.

"My name is Inoue Azami, I'm named because of my hair colour which I got from my Okaasan. I like Traditional Fan Dances, making Kimono and Furisode in my spare time, butterflies, and katana. I dislike ruffians, delinquents," she said all this while glaring over at Hotaru, he didn't even flick and eyelid, knowing that was what she wanted, "Garlic, and Nattou, gross. My Ninja goal is to become ANBU Captain like my Aunt!" she boasted, thumping her chest arrogantly.

Temarei-sensei nodded idly, "Miura-kun, you next."

"Miura Hotaru. Training, friends, and reading. I hate wilfully ignorant morons, bigots, and hypocrites. My goal... I haven't thought about it. I don't know yet," he stated flatly, never one to really talk about himself. If his Teammates want to get to know him, then they could take the time to be his friend first. Besides, he never trusted anyone right off the bat. And while everything he said was true, they weren't personal.

It may have been his imagination, but a spark of approval glinted in their Sensei's dark eyes, before he turned to the last teammate. "Tanaka-kun, please enlighten us."

The aqua haired boy smiled brightly, "My name's Tanaka Minato, I was named after the Yondaime 'cause my Mum went to the Academy with him and had a huge ass crush on him. I like sweets, especially Anmitsu, and Peach Mochi. And my kid sister Yumiko, she's three months old now!" he laughed in delight, "I don't like bitter things, like coffee, and while Iruka-sensei tried, I never really liked History, or Geography because it was real hard paying attention. He lectures. It's super boring. My Ninja Goal is to be as awesome as Hatake Kakashi!" he exclaimed excitedly, not catching the way Sensei rolled his eyes at the last comment.

"Fascinating," Temarei-sensei drawled, "Well, you two just failed," he declared, making both Inoue and Tanaka gape and splutter.

"Fail what?" Inoue screeched.

Temarei-sensei eyed her in a deadpan, "Information is power, little girl. You just told me your Aunt was an ANBU. I can now use you as leverage against her. In fact, I now know exactly who she is based entirely on what you've just told me. I know how to get your attention, keep it, lead you off, and how to drug your food." He turned to Tanaka who had by this point become chalk white, his brown eyes wide and dominating his face, Temarei-sensei nodded, "I can see that you understand." Tanaka nodded, still shaking.

"Out of the three of you, only Miura-kun refrained from giving me personal information while still telling the truth. Though I suppose you've gotten used to keeping everything close to the chest," he added with a dismissive wave of his hand. He sighed and pushed himself to his feet, "Alright kiddies, last chance. I know that test wasn't fair and you're taught right from the off to trust your Superior Officers and fellow Konoha Ninja. So...

"The Genin test you took in the Academy was just to see if you had the capacity to become a Genin. It was for weeding out the weakest of the weak. This test, is whether or not you meet my standards of Genin. You pass the test, you become my team, and I will dedicate myself to making you the strongest little bastards this side of Suna." Hotaru's eyes widened. This side of Suna? That was a lot of ground to cover. And almost every named country. Talk about an exaggeration.

"Your mission is this: Find out about me. You have twenty four hours. Meet back here, at this time tomorrow with your findings, as well as a full report of how you went about learning what you have. Don't be late. If one of you fails, you all fail."

And he was gone.

XXIX.

Bars and bathhouses. The two best places to gather gossip.

Three minutes, some matt-effect acid on his shiny Hitai-ate, a few scratches with a kunai, pulling his hair under the bandana, touch of make-up, and Hotaru was stalking through the Susanoo as if he belonged there. With the make-up, he looked like a short Chuunin, so no one batted an eye when he sat at the bar and requested a jug of warm Ginjo sake.

A brief glance at his well-worn Hitai-ate convinced the barman to fetch the drink without comment.

He didn't sip the drink. He'd seen Matron enough to know that you poured a small mouthful into your dish and knocked it back like a shot. Especially with Ginjo. It wasn't nearly sweet enough for sipping. It tasted like how Nail varnish remover smelt. Unless he wanted to end up choking and coughing like a green horn, thus giving himself away, he had to act like it went down smooth.

It didn't, but thankfully the dark lighting hid his momentary shudder.

After that, he listened.

XXX.

Azami asked her mother, who then asked her aunt. Who told them it was none of their business and if she wanted to pass Temarei's test, she would have to do the work herself, not use her family connections.

Azami pouted and meandered off into the village market, hopefully Ino would know something about the man. She'd seen her storming off from the BBQ place on her way home.

XXXI.

Minato went into the Missions office and asked to take a peek at the public records.

XXXII.

Naruto waited up as late as he dared for Hotaru to get home. He even bought celebratory Ichiraku ramen home for them to share, but... he never showed up. He wanted to ask him what his Sensei was like and if they had to have some bullshit test as well. He'd seen Sasuke nod at his bestfriend as he left and realised he must have not noticed Hotaru saying goodbye – he always did. But it was too late to say his own goodbye, Hotaru was already outside the door and if he yelled, Sakura-chan would hit him because he was right next to her, and she had delicate ears.

So, even though it was almost a cardinal sin, Naruto put Hotaru's portion of ramen in the fridge. He took a shower, got into some fresh pyjamas, and crawled into bed. He spent an hour tossing and turning uncomfortably and unhappily. It was too big and cold without his friend. The room was quiet and the shadows uncomfortably deep.

He ended up having to curl up around one of the pillows just to get some rest.

The next morning when his alarm went off, Naruto found his friend right where he belonged, curled up against him, scowling blearily at the alarm which read the revolting number of 4.30AM. Naruto promptly glomped his bestfriend, squishing him into a tight hug, snickering at the sleepy 'gek' sound he made.

"Why are we up so early, Ruto?" he asked sleepily, burying his face into the shorter boy's neck, fingers hooking into his pyjamas. Naruto grinned and squeezed him even tighter, prompting that same 'Gek' sound, only longer, more of a 'Guoof' instead.

"I got my test with Kakashi-sensei at six," the Jinchuuriki boasted, "So I gotta get ready!"

Hotaru made a sound of frustration in the back of his throat and Naruto couldn't help but grin and squeeze him again. Hotaru really hated mornings. He was barely functioning in time for the Academy, Naruto had to lead him through the streets on some mornings because he was literally sleep walking.

They stayed quiet for a bit, and Naruto was fairly certain Hotaru had fallen asleep on him. Idly Naruto wondered if Kakashi-sensei would get upset if he showed up late, after all, he would just be returning the favour. But then his friend sat up and untangled himself with a mutinous glower, Naruto had to grin as he stumbled off towards the bathroom where he would stick his head under the cold tap. It was pretty much the only way to wake him up some mornings.

After that, Hotaru forced him to eat a decent breakfast, telling him that if he didn't eat, then he was going to sit on him and cram it down his throat – whether he choked on it or not was up to him. Remembering the last time Naruto had refused to eat (vegetables! Why would Hotaru do something like buy vegetables?!), he had followed through on that threat and Naruto ended up needing the Heinrich manoeuvre after he gagged on a bit of carrot. He never took Hotaru's threats idly ever since.

"Taru..." Naruto muttered, grabbing his friend's attention from whatever it was he was writing in his notebook. "You know... you're still my best friend. Just because we're in different teams now... it doesn't mean I'm going to stop caring," he explained, looking up anxiously at his friend.

Hotaru smiled at him, "I know, Ruto. Even if we can't be teammates, we're still roommates, and friends."

"I know. It's just... I know what you're like... You're such a pessimist that you'll end up thinking I don't want to be your friend anymore. And You'll get all worked up and sad and do something drastic like run away."

Hotaru studiously avoided eye contact, face steadily turning red because he had been thinking that yesterday. Until he found a portion of Ichiraku ramen in the fridge. He knew better almost immediately upon seeing that. If Naruto hadn't have cared, he would have eaten it himself.

XXXIII.

"Inoue-kun, go." Team Three were back at the Academy swing, giving the results of their Information gathering.

"Uhm, I went to the market place and poked around a bit. You like sweet-fruits, like apples, tangerines, peaches, and melon. Shopping day is Thursday, its the only day you come to the Market. Uhm, you love lamb, and chicken and you know all the elderly by name. Your mother used to own a Cafe until she passed away. She wasn't from Konoha. That's all I got," the Merchant's Daughter explained hesitantly, not sure if it was enough information to pass the test. And Sensei may as well have been a sphinx because his face gave nothing away.

"Tanaka-kun?" he asked, turning to the next child in the group, Temarei-sensei had made a point of observing each of his students, and he knew that Hotaru had more information than both of them. Heck, he had seen what the boy had done to get it and found himself thoroughly impressed. So very few people thought to scuff their Hitai-ate up, and most Genin were positively fastidious in keeping them shiny and clean – not realising it pinpointed them as greenhorns immediately, and the shine made them a liability in the field. Even now, Inoue-kun's headband was catching the light and in half an hour that shine was likely to be directly in his eyes.

"Name: Temarei Hisoka. Birthdate: April 23. Gender: Male. Age: Twenty six. Height: 170.6cm. Weight: 56kg. Bloodtype: AB-. Kekkei Genkai: None registered. Total Missions: 1142, 31 of which are S-ranked. Rank five in Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Intelligence, and Speed. Four-point-five in Taijutsu, and Handseal speed. And Rank three in Strength and Stamina. I checked the public records in the Hokage Tower," the aqua haired boy explained with a proud smile.

Sensei nodded approvingly. "Miura-kun, you now."

Hotaru straightened, trying not to show his nervousness. "I went to various bars throughout Konoha, listened to the gossip at the bathhouses, asked around at the records room, and... and at the Nara compound," he finished, eyeing his teacher warily. Temarei-sensei merely nodded and gestured at him to continue. There was no disapproval on his face.

Swallowing, he continued. "Your father was a member of the Nara clan. You were born out of wedlock to a civilian woman he slept with while on a mission. She came to Konoha in the hopes that he would recognise you but was turned away by the then Clan head, Nara Shikaru, as he had died during a mission not long before your arrival. He never knew. Your mother still settled in Konoha to raise you during the Third Great Shinobi War. You could have graduated early, but you held back on the understanding that your mentality wasn't yet mature enough for the front lines. You lost all your teammates in the war, including your sensei. Nara Shikaru-san passed away during the conflict and his son, Shikaku-san, allowed you to learn the Nara Shadow Jutsus as your birth right. But the clan elders refused to allow you use of the name.

"You're known as the Living Forge because your Fuuinjutsu skills are so highly ranked that you could be considered Konoha's last Fuuinjutsu Master. You had to blackmail the Council to remain an active Ninja instead of being squirrelled away in the Research and Development department. Also, because your skill with Ninjutsu rivals that of Hatake Kakashi with a major difference – he has copied every Jutsu he's ever seen, you've mastered every Jutsu you've ever seen, and developed many more derivatives from them. Along with your own Taijutsu style."

Inoue and Tanaka were staring at him, and Temarei-sensei allowed a smile to crack his lips.

"Well. I'd say that's definitely a pass." He climbed to his feet, dusting himself off. "All three of you have gathered key information pieces. While what In- Azami-kun has gathered may be considered useless to a non-infiltrator, they're quite important. You not only discovered what foods I am most likely to take, but also what day I go shopping, along with the fact that I am a well known figure to various people who don't have the training to realise when they're being pumped for information. Just by impersonating one of those people, and offering my drugged food, you could perform quite the neat assassination.

"Minato-kun, general records are usually considered a pointless sheet of paper, but it does give some valuable information. You know from that information that I'm frighteningly fast, and good with both Genjutsu, and Ninjutsu. Things that you know you'll be looking out for during any future confrontation. Right? Not to mention, my Mission record speaks for itself. Just knowing these basics, you know to be wary of me.

"As for Hotaru-kun. I'm impressed. A lot of people overlook things as simple as gossip, and yes, the best places to go for it are the Baths, and Bars. Well done."

XXXIV.

D-ranks were an utter pain in the ass.

Both he and Naruto would often end up complaining bitterly about them over the breakfast table before heading out to meet their respective teams. For Naruto, this meant a further two hours of waiting. For Hotaru, it was warm-ups, immediately.

Hisoka-sensei was a harsh, but fair taskmaster. He explained why he was giving them each exercise and why it was important, he explained his reasoning, and would help them without prejudice when asked – no matter what it was. After they had been registered as his team proper, he took each of them aside for a chat. Hotaru didn't know what was said to the other two, but given how Azami was actually nice to him when she returned, he could only assume it was absolutely life-changing to the violet haired girl.

For him, it was a general talk and some advice. He knew he was the only one on the team without a family, and Hisoka-sensei pretty much gave him carte-Blanche to come to him if there was anything he needed help on. And given how he'd seen Azami scarlet faced, stuttering and admitting she needed some feminine hygiene products as she had, ahem, blossomed earlier than expected, all he'd done was nod hand her a packet of tissues and vanish. He was back within five minutes and carrying a paper bag. He took her aside elsewhere and Hotaru had no idea what happened next, just that Azami came back utterly crimson faced and mortified. Sensei looked the same as always, completely non-plussed.

He did wonder what had been said.

XXXV.

"Goddamnit, Ruto! If you hate him so much, then just ignore him, and keep training," Hotaru finally snapped, glaring at his blond friend. "Don't just complain about him. Get better than him! If you want, you can join my team for morning training. Hatake takes an age and a half to show up, right? Well I'm sure my sensei won't give a crap if he starts bitching like a toddler," the dark haired boy stated primly as he finished the last of his ramen.

Naruto snickered, "Kakashi-sensei, vs, Hisoka-sensei. That's be a fight worth seeing."

"Not really," Hotaru muttered rummaging in his pockets for the money to cover his meal. "Hatake is known for copying every Jutsu he's ever seen. But Hisoka-sensei is known for mastering every Jutsu he's ever seen. There's a difference. The fight'd last the whole day, and they'd be heavily injured in the process, but if neither of them held back, Hisoka-sensei would win. There's no arguing about that."

Loyalty to his Sensei made Naruto want to argue, but he'd seen Hisoka-sensei when he got angry. It happened a few weeks ago when he met up with Hotaru in the market place after Kakashi-sensei let them off for the day. Hisoka-sensei had caught a civilian giving Naruto the stink eye and spitting at him. The killing intent that bathed the Market had ANBU from all over the village descending upon them like rain. Anyone under Chuunin rank was on the ground gagging for air, unable to breathe with their paralysed lungs.

That Jounin was a scary, scary guy.

XXXVI.

So Naruto joined them for morning training.

Azami was frosty in the beginning, but eventually warmed up to Naruto. It didn't hurt that he flattered her outrageously when she looked upset about a mess up during her Taijutsu training. Minato came out of his shell a little more and seemed to find amusement in poking a little good-natured fun at Naruto's shortcomings, poking that helped him improve at that.

Hisoka-sensei had no problem with the extra Genin, he pretty much admitted that it was sheer stupidity to separate Naruto from Hotaru as they were a well known duo and it had been confirmed that Hotaru was the only one able to reign the Jinchuuriki in aside from Iruka-sensei. But it didn't take long before Hatake-sensei was appearing in the middle of their training.

"Naruto, your punch is sloppy! Just because Azami is a girl, don't go easy on her!" the half-Nara Jounin called.

"OSSU!"

"You can stop lurking back there, Kakashi. What do you need?" the Jounin asked in an undertone, not moving from where he was leaning against a tree, observing the ickle Genin.

"I was wondering where my Cute little Genin is going in the mornings. I should have expected this. Those two are really close, aren't they?" the silver haired Jounin mused.

"Yes. The Administration are idiots for trying to separate them. Their dynamic is better than yours and Gai's in combat. They'll be quite the devastating pair in the future, if they get the right training now," the Fuuinjutsu master pointed out, tipping his head back against the wood.

"And you don't think I'm training him correctly?" There was a barely perceptible edge to the Jounin's voice.

Hisoka took no note. "No I don't. You're an outstanding Jounin, Kakashi. One of the best Konoha has ever seen. But you're not a normal Ninja, and you're an utterly terrible teacher. If you need time to yourself in the mornings, I'm happy to take all of Team Seven and add them to my training schedule. But you need to start putting the porn away and take a real hard look at your team. I know you plan on ditching them after they hit Chuunin, but by then, the damage will be done.

"Uzumaki-kun is not Obito. Haruno is not Rin. And the Uchiha is nothing like you. This isn't your second chance with Team Minato. This is Team Seven, Team Kakashi. Stop trying to make them into people they aren't, and start paying attention to who they are."

"Sensei! Sensei, Azami broke her finger!"

Hisoka pushed himself away from the tree, not saying another word as he felt Kakashi linger and watch the rest of the training session. He would figure it out later. Kakashi was a smart guy, he just needed a kick in the right direction every now and again.

XXXVII.

Hotaru was fairly certain his eyebrows were somewhere far above his hairline as Naruto relayed the tail of his first C-rank, and just how badly it had gone. The Demon Brothers, Zabuza of the Mist, a member of the lost Yuki Clan? The fight on the bridge, how Inari-kun showed up in the nick of time with the rest of the Wave inhabitants to drive off Gatou's mercenaries, how Zabuza and his protégée had died and the lesson that Haku had taught him.

Naruto, sad, but still blushing, admitted that had things been different, he likely would have had a crush on the crossdressing Ninja – he was a lot prettier than Sakura-chan, and really nice, and loyal too.

Hotaru blinked, "Crossdressing? I didn't know you were into that." Though it would explain why he liked Haruno. She did look like a man trying to crossdress.

Of course Naruto immediately started to loudly deny it, his face vivid red while Hotaru grinned mischeviously. "So you don't think I would look pretty in a girl's furisode, Ruto?" he teased, watching as, if it were even possible, the blond's face went an even deeper shade of red. He mouthed wordlessly and turned his attention back to his ramen, deciding that not answering was his safest option right now.

Hotaru laughed at him for the next hour until they went to bed. Naruto drew on him after he fell asleep. Let's see how he liked having marker lipstick and eyeliner.

It was his bad luck that it actually did make him realise that Hotaru was quite pretty.

XXXVIII.

"I, Hatake Kakashi, nominate Team Seven, consisting of Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto, for the Chuunin exams," the silver haired Jounin announced. Watching idly as all the other Jounin did the same save for...

"Not nominating your team, Temarei-kun?" the Sandaime asked kindly. Being a first time instructor it was clear that he was being more careful with his students than Kurenai was.

The half-Nara blinked at him in mild surprise, "Of course I am, Hokage-sama. They've already filled in the paperwork and handed it in," he stated.

"B-but the Chuunin exams haven't even been announced yet!" Kurenai spluttered.

Hisoka shrugged, "They're Infiltration, and Information Gathering specialists. They found out about the Chuunin preparations before I did," he stated calmly. And suddenly, none of the other Rookie Jounin felt quite as confident in their Genin as before.

XXXIX.

The first Chuunin exam was the very beginning, the Genjutsu on the doorway. Hotaru lead his team past it without even stopping, though he did have to grit his teeth and scowl when he heard the Uchiha brag for all to hear that it was a Genjutsu – didn't that idiot know anything of subtly?

The exam afterwards, heh, that was right up their alley. So easy it wasn't even funny.

Hotaru even went so far as to cast a Genjutsu on Naruto.

Behind him, Naruto stiffened ever so slighly when he saw writing appear on his paper.

Don't panic, and don't react. I've put a Genjutsu on you so you'll be able to copy my answers. Just trace over the writing and you'll get full marks. Good luck, I'll see you in the next one. -Hotaru

Naruto smiled softly, even now, when everyone was fighting for themselves, his friend came through for him. Naruto started writing, startling Hinata who had been watching him from the corner of her eye and spotted the Genjutsu gently settle over him.

XL.

In all honesty, he hadn't been looking for them but he was glad he had when he interrupted at just the right moment to save Haruno some serious bruises. But the fact that these scum buckets were making their way to Naruto and the prone Uchiha hidden under the roots made his blood boil.

"Take one more step, and not even the Inuzuka will be able to find all of your pieces," he promised darkly, roughly kicking the unconscious Kunoichi aside. Haruno shuddered, her pink hair scattered around her like a halo.

Zaku, the mouthy one with the Death shirt, scoffed. "And who's going to stop me, a little bitch like you? Feh, maybe if you get on your knees I'll let 'em live a littl- heek!"

Sakura squeaked in horror as the Genin's head separated from his body, landing with a deafening thud on the forest floor.

Hotaru inhaled deeply through his nose, turning in the suddenly silent clearing as the body slumped forward, hitting the ground with a heavy thud. "I do not make idle threats," he assured them, the tanto in his hand slowly dripping blood onto the forest floor.

Sakura swallowed tightly, she had barely seen him move. And those bandages around his forearms... there were Storage Seals inscribed along the whole length of it – that must have been where he had the tanto hidden. But... what else did he have in there? She didn't remember him using a Tanto at all during morning training with Temarei-sensei.

Hotaru smiled, polite, and utterly chilling, because Sakura had never known him to be anything even approaching cruel. "If you threaten my Nakama any further, Genin-san. I will not hold back. And that, is a promise," he assured them softly. And Sakura felt her blood run cold.

XLI.

When he woke up, the first thing he saw was Sakura-chan, her hair shorn off, her face bloody. Then just as he was jumping to his feet, he spotted Hotaru to the left of her, throwing up in the bushes, splattered with blood.

He rushed past her and to his friend.

XLII.

The whole Sound Team.

He killed the whole Sound Team.

Hotaru tightened his grip on his legs and stared silently at the floor. True, he had been protecting Naruto at the time, but he hadn't even needed to kill the last one, with the bandages around his face, Dosu. He wanted to leave, Hotaru could see it in his eyes. But... if what Haruno said was true... he was working with the Missing Nin Orochimaru, whatever information he had gleaned from Naruto and his team could not be allowed to reach it's destination, because that was undoubtedly a test of some kind.

So he'd brutally and immediately taken him out. Multiple layered Genjutsu. Three different sound based Jutsu, one visual. And an introduction between Dosu's ear and the blade of his Tanto.

Thankfully, the Chuunin who escorted them into the tower was understanding when he requested a visit from a psyche nin, or his sensei. First kills were serious business, and given the nature of what he'd done... it was all the more important that he got at least something of the Little Ninja Talk.

XLIII.

Minato frowned, watching as the grey haired guy walked away. He wasn't... He leaned forward to Azami and Hotaru, "That guy... his Chakra is bigger than ours by a huge degree. He's lying," he whispered softly, causing the two to frown ever so slightly.

There was a pause as Azami made a sense enhancement Jutsu, "He reeks of chemicles and snake oil. Same as the Sound Jounin we passed earlier," she whispered. "He's definitely not tired, I'm not getting a single whiff of exhaustion off him."

There was a pause, "It's going to be impossible to follow him, huh..." Minato observed, watching as the grey haired teenager easily fended off the overly concerned members of Team Seven and stalked out of the hall. "We still need to warn someone, it could be nothing but if Orochimaru's been spotted in the village, and suddenly someone smelling of Snake Oil is lying to the Hokage's face..."

"He said he'd failed the exam seven times now. Do you think he's been waiting for specific orders? Genin aren't nearly as closely watched as Jounin, or Chuunin," Hotaru mused, leaning back a tad.

"We need to be careful about what we're accusing him of, Hotaru. Treason is a huge deal. We could lose our headbands if it's thought we're wasting time," Azami warned softly.

Hotaru's green-green eyes glinted strangely. She always knew that her teammate was protective, but to be protective to the point where he would kill in cold blood to save someone he cared about... it was both scary, and reassuring. "He's too interested in Team Seve," the orphan finally decided.

"I'll step out," Minato muttered, "I'll tell ANBU-san when I can."

"Look for Neko-san. She'll listen," Azami advised, even as Minato put his hand up and called attention to himself.

It was a dangerous game they were playing. If Yakushi-san really were a spy... then Minato may be in trouble.

All of them may be in trouble.

XLIV.

– VS –

The first match, right off the bat!

"This'll be over quickly," muttered Kiba dismissively.

Hotaru watched as the Uchiha approached him, the two stared at one another in the eye. Undoubtedly they both remembered the idle lunchtime they spent together, but it seemed that a momentary peace wasn't enough to effect anything between them. But still, manners were manners.

He bowed, not taking his eyes off his opponent, "May the best Ninja win," he intoned.

"Oh I will!" Sasuke grunted, kicking at his face.

He hadn't been expecting Hotaru to flip backwards, his foot kicking sand into his eyes. The cheering and screaming from the stands was drowned out as the two clashed in a brutal Taijutsu exchange, Sasuke's temper often getting the better of him as he lunged in for an attack and left himself open in some way. A way that Hotaru never failed to take advantage of.

Chakra was a funny thing. It could be used to walk on water, to stick to solid surfaces... even to people.

Sasuke could barely keep up – being prohibited from using the Sharingan, he couldn't even strip the minor Genjutsus that Hotaru employed during the match, he didn't even notice them. It was brutal to watch. Using Chakra to stick his hand to Sasuke's arm or leg, he would drag the other Genin close and batter him with knees, feet, elbows, and fists. When Sasuke went to counter, he would forcefully expel that Chakra and throw him away.

He wasn't above kneeing him in the groin either. Or grabbing him by the pressure points on his wrist and folding him over like a cheap picnic table.

It was over in under three minutes.

"Winner: Miura Hotaru," the Proctor announced with a rattling cough as the unconscious Uchiha was carried out of the arena.

XLV.

– VS –

It was almost too easy.

One Kirigakure mist Jutsu and a stab with one of her sedative laced senbon, he was down, out, and no one had the slightest idea of how it happened.

Azami smirked as she rejoined Hotaru back in the spectator's seats.

Information was power.

From the display earlier, people would assume that Hotaru's speciality was Taijutsu, and that he had some mild skill with Genjutsu. They couldn't have been further from the truth. Yes, Hotaru was a Taijutsu devil, but he didn't specialise in it. He was following their Sensei's footsteps. His true talent lay in Fuuinjutsu. No one could beat her teammate when it came to seals. And no one, apart from their Team, had the faintest idea that there was both a walking bomb, and a walking weapons arsenal sat beside them. She refrained from giggling.

She was a poison and Ninjutsu specialist, her weapon of choice wasn't, as many would expect, a senbon – that was a ruse for the prelims, just in case someone saw through the mist jutsu. No, her weapon of choice was both loaded darts, and heavy weapons, the bigger, the better. People may think it odd, but no one would expect a mace, or a war-hammer, or even a Zanbatou being loaded.

Minato... Now wasn't he a fun little thing in a fight. A shadow at the best of times, you'd think someone so airheaded and bright and cheerful would be as boisterous and brash as Naruto-kun. But he... he was a stealthy little bastard. All of them learned how to move with the shadows from the best, they were the most accomplished infiltrators of their generation. But Minato... he took it to new highs.

Anyone who thought they were ready for them come the next turn over were in for a rude surprise.

XLVI.

Hinata-chan lost to her cousin in a horrible duel. Honestly, Hotaru would have been right down there beside Naruto if Hisoka-sensei hadn't explained clan politics in detail to him. Naruto was exempt from them, being what he was. But if an orphan started trash talking even a member of the branch family, threatening them on behalf of their heiress, it would be a shame on Hinata. Her already poor reputation would fall even further if word reached home that an ill-bred ruffian weakling had to defend her.

Naruto won against Kiba, as if there was any kind of doubt.

The Kazekage's oldest son, the puppet specialist Kankurou, won against Misumi-san of Yakushi's Genin team.

Ino lost quite horribly to Haruno during their match up. It looked as though Hisoka-sensei's training more than paid off in that conflict. Even her teammates looked flabberghasted at her defeat. And it was very nicely done.

Then came what, he felt, was one of the more interesting matches. A girl from last year's graduating class, Tenten, facing off against the Kazekage's daughter, wind-ninjutsu specialist Temari. Tenten-san lost, of course, but the fact she used storage seals and combined them with her weapon work, excellent Chakra control, and a rudimentary puppet technique using ninja wire was what had Hotaru's eyes glued to the match. Ahh, he would have to talk to her outside of the tournament. Those seals looked home-made.

The last of the Kazekage's children, sand wielding Gaara... That was a boy who made Hotaru's blood run cold. Because he had a very sinking feeling about just what he was. The way he fought Rock Lee-san...

Hotaru wasn't the only one scowling by the end of the conflict.

After that bloody exchange, the fight between Akimichi-kun and Aburame-kun seemed rather anti-climatic. Especially when it ended before it really began with a single Bug-clone and Akimichi-kun getting careless and having his Chakra sucked out.

Then came the match ups for the turn over next month.

Hyuuga Neji vs. Uzumaki Naruto

Sabaku no Kankurou vs. Aburame Shino

Haruno Sakura vs. Inoue Azami

Sabaku no Temari vs. Nara Shikamaru

And...

Sabaku no Gaara vs. Miura Hotaru.

Hotaru was fighting against that psychopath in a month. His blood wasn't the only one that turned to ice with that realisation.

XLVII.

Hisoka-sensei took all three of them aside, he made Shadow Clones and sent all of them off for individual training – just because Minato wasn't take part that didn't mean he wasn't getting training, likewise with Azami. Hotaru may have the more dangerous opponent, but no one in Team Three was getting left behind. Hotaru couldn't describe how relieved he felt when he heard this. And how guilty he felt when he realised that Kakashi had done exactly that. Abandoned his two students in favour of the third, in favour of Sasuke who hadn't even madeit into the Finals.

Naruto was spitting nails.

But never the less. Hotaru and Hisoka-sensei went on a massive Information Gathering binge, observing their target for the first five days, questioning the other Genin who may have crossed him in the Forest of Death, even the Medic Nin seeing to Rock Lee-san to see about his injuries.

Then came the training. The endless training. Hotaru had impressive Chakra reserves for a Genin, heck, they were impressive for a Chuunin. It was enough for him to manage two Kage Bunshin – they would spend their time practising Fuuinjutsu and studying up on Wind release techniques that Gaara was likely to use, as well as other Sand users. In particular, the Kazekage who used Gold-dust release, and the Third Kazekage who used iron sand. Any information was useful.

Meanwhile, Hisoka-sensei drilled him in using Chakra techniques – techniques like Senju Tsunade's earth shattering fist, and the third Raikage's Raiton piercing technique. Even Sarutobi Asuma-sensei's wind knives were studied and explored and taught. Hisoka-sensei proved his Nara roots in this instance, he dissected, deducted, and figured out all of the techniques and slowly walked Hotaru through them, even though he couldn't perform them – not having the Chakra control or capacity – it may provide inspiration for him to develop something that would help him in the fight.

Hotaru could only be thankful that Naruto was home by the time he managed to stagger back, flagging from Chakra exhaustion, covered in bruises and aching muscles, sweat-streaked and starving. Whomever was training Naruto was a lot more lax than Hisoka-sensei and as much as Naruto envied Hotaru for having a more dedicated Sensei, Hotaru currently envied him a little for his easy going sensei. Still, Naruto always had a hot bath running, some decent food waiting to be heated up, and some bruise ointment from the village pharmacy – a special salve for sore muscles and bruises, a Konoha special made by Tsunade-sama in the Second Shinobi War. He went through half a tub of the stuff almost every day, rubbing it into arms, legs, stomach, neck, and lower back. He had to ask Naruto nicely if he would please do the rest of his back and made a mental note to get him to do it more often because it was glorious as he dug his fingers and thumbs into the tense knotted muscle of his back, rubbing the pain away. So what if he left bruises, the salve would handle those.

Either way, Hotaru was quite certain he would have broken before the month was over if Naruto hadn't been there to handle the little things when he was too exhausted to. The three days he wasn't there weren't pleasant, Hotaru resolved to treat him to as much Ichiraku ramen as he could afford in thanks.

XLVIII.

This had to be some kind of bad joke.

The match ups were still the same, but the order was different!

Naruto and Neji were still fighting first (Hotaru had no doubt that Naruto would win. He was a tricky bastard and Neji was so up himself it was a wonder he could see through all the shit around him), but then it was Sakura and Azami, THEN him and Gaara!

Well... He glanced over at Aburame-san and received a subtle nod. When everything kicked off at least one of them would be at full Chakra capacity and able to neutralise the Suna Genin while he and Naruto dealt with their monstrous little brother. Really, Shikamaru was smart, how had he missed the signs? Distantly, he could sense Hatake and Uchiha watching from the shadows of the second floor spectator stands. Minato was close to the Kage box, likely channelling his sense-enhancement very carefully.

Watching Naruto beat some sense into the Hyuuga was very cathartic.

Azami vs Sakura was... different, and a little embarrassing on Haruno's behalf. They were both skilled, yes, but it was easy to see which of them was the better Chuunin candidate. Sakura didn't even realise she was in a Genjutsu until Azami had her buried up to her neck in hard packed earth.

Then... Gaara stepped into the arena, and Hotaru was fairly certain he was about to vomit. There was fresh blood on his clothing. Not much, just a fine arterial mist on the white sash, too fine for anyone to notice if they hadn't been looking for it.

"Just remember your training. You're the best prepared to deal with him, even amidst the Chuunin. You'll be fine. Stay safe, and use your head," Hisoka-sensei advised.

Hotaru nodded, swallowing against his dry throat. "I... My Will... It's in the wooden box in the sock-draw back at home. If the worst happens..."

"I'll see to it, I promise."

Hotaru nodded and jumped over the railings, his heart hammering like a hummingbird's wings. He wished Naruto had been there so he could have said his goodbyes properly, but after Sakura and Azami's match he'd gone to the toilet so he wouldn't be hopping in Hotaru's, he still hadn't come back. He swallowed as he approached the Suna Nin. Watered down jade met vivid grass-green and the glint of barely there sanity gleamed like a cat's eye in the dark. And... calm. Calm washed over Hotaru's senses. His heart slowed, and his breathing evened. His muscles loosened and then...

Genma could hardly believe his eyes, the Genin went from a nervous wreck to a zen monk in the time it took to blink an eye.

"Begin!"

XIL.

Immediate survival instinct warred with Long Term survival instinct.

Two distinct paths that screamed at him for attention in the split seconds of reprieve he had when dancing between the deadly sand-whips. He was oblivious to the wild cheering of the spectators, of Azami threatening him if he lost, of the worry that lined his fellow Rookies faces as he spun, ducked, weaved, and leapt over the attacks.

On the one hand, he could neutralise the threat immediately. But in doing so, he would tip his hand. Revealing his skill in Fuuinjutsu to the general populace, as well as visiting Nobility and the spies of other nations. If he revealed too much, he would be a kidnap/assassination target for other nations, or, considered a village resource too valuable to lose by putting on the front lines – he would be packed away into R&D, only he couldn't blackmail his way out like Sensei could. He was just a Genin. Tipping his hand went against his long term survival instincts.

Short term was currently telling him that someone had to take the mad Jinchuuriki down immediately because Sand were planning something, there was going to be something big kicking off, and bringing an unstable Jinchuuriki – hell, ANY Jinchuuriki into allied territory, was asking for trouble. They were walking weapons that chose when to go off, and where.

So.

His options were to Seal him now. Save a lot of lives in whatever confrontation that was going to kick off as soon as he did so, and end up never seeing the light of day in his own village – or end up abducted and having his brain turned to jelly by a foreign nation trying to steal Village secrets. Or leave it and try and find another way using everything else he'd learned. This was a lot riskier and...

He sighed and swayed out of the way of an attack.

Well. He never did have a choice, did he?

Hotaru tore the bandages from his forearms, revealing the long sealing scriptures inscribed upon the inside with a malicious grin – the expression on the mad Jinchuuriki's face was very sweet. He wondered if R&D would let him still live with Naruto?

L.

"Kakashi-sensei! Hisoka-sensei!" Naruto called, rushing up the stairs towards them. "Senseis, please! Stop the fight right now!" he begged. He'd gone to the bathroom, run into Shikamaru and on their way back... those bodies... "Gaara... he's not right. He's – he's not normal!"

"What do you mean?" Ino asked shakily. Naruto was generally too thick to get scared, whatever he'd seen had shaken him, bad.

"He lives to kill others! At this rate... Taru will die!" he exclaimed in terror, grabbing at Kakashi-sensei's flak jacket.

A hand landed on his head and he stiffened, turning and spotting Hisoka-sensei crouched beside him, hand on his head. "Calm down Naruto-kun. Hotaru is a lot wilier than you're giving him credit. I'm glad you care, and I'm sure he'll be happy to know you were worried for him. But we know exactly what Gaara is." There was a knowing glint in his eye and Naruto felt his stomach flip over. Hotaru knew what a Jinchuuriki was, and he knew that Gaara was one. "Steps have been taken. Watch."

LI.

Gaara screamed.

"WHERE IS SHE? MOTHER! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! WHY WON'T SHE SPEAK?! MOTHER! MOTHER!" he wailed as all the sand around him fell to the ground, limp and lifeless.

Hotaru puffed out a breath, watching him warily as he desperately tried to get the sand to answer his command.

"Just a little something to keep her out of our fight," he explained. "After all, I don't have a mother to hide behind. It's not fair that you get to bring her into a fight when I can't do the same."

Gaara writhed on the ground, screeching, even as the air around them filled with feathers. Soft and warm, and sweet. Kind of like a pillow. Hmm, that's a point. He's done a lot today. Surely no one would mind if he took a quick nap. He did just neutralise the biggest threat in the r-

"KAI!" he snarled, snapping his Chakra like a belt within himself.

Let the war begin.

LII.

The Kage box exploded, Minato had maybe a split second chance in the chaos. He charged his Chakra into the wire and threw it, watching as the Hokage was pulled up towards the roof by the Impostor-Kazekage, the glint of Ninja wire around his ankle that was pulling Minato up along with them. Damn. He didn't think Hotaru would be right about this but he was somewhat glad he did.

They burst out onto the roof, the plaster dust and falling tiles providing the perfect cover for him to release the wire, roll away from the confrontation and Henge himself into a stray Fuuinjutsu tag, a flash-bang tag.

He hadn't been spotted because a split second later, both he, four other Sound Ninja, the Hokage, and the Kazekage were encased in a glowing purple box. Trapped. And the ANBU who attempted to get in were vaporised – likely as not, anyone who touched the purple field would be as well.

Standing opposite his wayward student, Hiruzen couldn't help but be both highly concerned, and impressed by the little Genin who managed to follow them into the dome and hide so effectively. Even a Sensor as skilled as Orochimaru would discard the faint discharge he was giving out as simply the Fuuinjutsu he had Sealed himself into. He turned his attention away from the child, lest he give him away to his student who was busily monologuing. He could have sworn he'd beaten that habit out of the Serpent Summoner.

It looked like he was in need of remedial lessons.

LIII.

The Suna Genin had escaped with their Sensei while Hotaru was busy trying to defend civilians in the stadium, he had barely a moment to realise that Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru had gone haring off after him while he tried to dodge under the lashing strikes of a Sound Chuunin who seemed quite determined to take his head off.

All around him was chaos. Jounin and Chuunin flitted here and there and Hotaru maintained his position as best he could, protecting his section of civilians with everything he could manage. He would hold the line!

"Miura! Follow Naruto and the others!" It was Hatake-san, suddenly he was there, punting the Sound Chuunin across the stadium like a cheap kickball. "The Sand Jounin, Baki, managed to unravel the seals! Hisoka is dealing with him now but you need to get that Bijuu back under control!" he ordered.

Shit! Hotaru cursed, giving the Jounin a hasty salute before darting off. He had miscalculated! Given the state of Gaara-san's Seal, he assumed that Suna's Fuuinjutsu users were on par with low Chuunins. Able to copy and duplicate low level seals, but anything bigger and it twists and screws up. Konoha had benefited from the Shodai's wife a lot more than anyone could imagine when it came to Fuuinjutsu.

LIV.

Minato would have been sweating like a pig, if he could while pretending to be a piece of paper. The fight between the Kages had really kicked off, and holy shit those were fucking zombies!

Still, old man Hokage was losing. He wasn't as young as he used to be and against three S-ranked opponents, one of which being their former Founder, the other his Jounin Sensei, and the last his very own student... the odds were not in old Sarutobi's favour. Two of them knew his techniques and fighting style inside out, the other was a Chakra monster to the degree he was known for altering maps of the country during his conflicts!

Hokage-sama needed help.

But a Genin wasn't going to be helpful at all in a conflict like this.

His non-existent eyes canted to the side, to the girl crouched at the corner, her hands held in a sealing stance, her chin dripping sweat from exertion. A Genin wouldn't be any help in a fight between Kages. But... even a mouse could turn the tide of a battle by befouling one of the smallest portions of a trap.

He broke the Henge and lunged – ramming the pink haired girl into the purple barrier even as he slammed a kunai into the base of her skull, point first. Even if the barrier didn't kill her, the blade would.

There was a roar of outrage as the purple shield sputtered and shattered like a pane of glass.

LV.

Naruto frowned sadly when he woke up, staring at the empty space in the bed.

The Suna-Sound invasion had caused a lot of trouble, but thankfully had been resolved quite nicely, all things considered. Hokage-jiji survived and managed to deal with the two Zombie Kage with help from Kakashi-sensei and Fuzzybrows-sensei, plus ANBU. But...

He got out of bed and made his way into the bathroom, not bothering to knock because he knew what he would see. And just like every morning since the invasion a week ago, he found Hotaru sat in the shower, knees hugged against his chest, eyes blank and unseeing as he stared at the cold water that swirled down the drain. Naruto sighed softly through his nose as he turned the shower off and grabbed a large towel.

But no one had noticed the single Genin on that rooftop as they summoned Medic Nin to the injured Hokage's side. It was as they returned, Team Seven, Shikamaru, and Hotaru, that the exhausted and bloodsplattered Fuuinjutsu prodigy peeled away from them and, ignoring all ANBU attempts to stop him, immediately by-passed the Hokage and his fussing medics and straight to his Teammate.

Tanaka Minato couldn't even moan by the time the green eyed boy reached him. He couldn't do anything. His body twisted and broken on the bloody tiles of the rooftop – a victim of Orochimaru's rage when his plan was thwarted. Thwarted by a Genin with no Kekkei Genkai, no great clan, and no flashy Jutsu.

Common sense, stealth, sneakiness, and a blade had brought his master plan tumbling down like a cheap house of cards.

Something kind of broke in Hotaru that day. Azami's heartbroken scream when she saw their teammate certainly hadn't helped. And Naruto felt something in his chest twist as he looked on the scene, as Hisoka-sensei gathered them up in his arms, Azami clinging to his bloody vest wailing her heart out, Hotaru unseeing and limp, and Minato, broken and gone.

Backs were turned, heads were bowed, the small team were given their space and their respect. It was a given that Minato's name would end up on the Memorial Stone, and in the Konoha History books as a shining example of how everyone is important to the village, no matter who they were. As Hotaru once said, propaganda bullshit to bewitch the civvies.

Bundling the dark haired boy in the towel, Naruto easily lifted him from the shower and brought him back into the bedroom, sitting him on the bed and beginning the laborious, but normal by now, routine and rubbing some warmth back into Hotaru's arms and legs which were by this time practically blue with cold. He told himself to stop worrying, to not shake and slap his friend and just do anything to get that dead look out of his eye, because he knew that when Minato's funeral was held, he would be alright afterwards. It was the time inbetween that was slowly killing him.

So in the mean time, he made sure Hotaru didn't die of cold. And if he hugged him extra tight, well, no one was there to call him on it.

LVI.

Something hot, and sick flipped over in Hotaru's stomach as he stood beside Azami and Shikamaru, the elderly bandaged Hokage handing over their newly received flak-jackets. His face tired, but proud as he gave them the same propaganda bullshit he used back when he and Naruto were brats in the Orphanage. Still, he didn't call the lying old monkey out on it like he had in his youth.

What was adorable, promising, and capricious back then, was not appreciated from a soldier right now.

It was enough that the Hokage's gaze dimmed ever so slightly when he caught the knowing scowl on his face. As long as the old man knew his crap wasn't swallowed, they had an understanding. Naruto was the only reason he was a Shinobi right now. For however long Naruto was loyal to this shithole, he would be as well. Because almost every quarrel he had with the place he had taken up in his best friend's defence. And Sarutobi could respect that. He could use that. And he could trust that.

Hotaru tried not to feel bitter when he was handed an extra missive from R&D telling him to report to the Intelligence Department at eight am the next day.

LVII.

"Hmph, I should have known," Hisoka-sensei grunted unhappily as he glared at Jiraiya. "You're the only one stupid enough to teach Naruto-kun to access techniques of that nature," he sneered, making the assorted Genin blink in surprise at the open hostility in the Jounin's voice and posture. He looked a hairsbreadth away from ripping into the Sannin.

Jiraiya just laughed awkwardly, not even trying to defend himself when Naruto knew full well he wasn't above dropping a toad on anyone who questioned his training techniques. So why was Hisoka-sensei getting away with it? He knew the Jounin was a scary strong Ninja, but Ero-Sennin had trained the Yondaime and claimed he could beat anyone. Was that just more baseless bragging?

"How on earth did you nab Jiraiya-sama as your teacher, Ruto?" Hotaru whispered in his ear. He, Azami, and Hinata-chan were all present to wish him goodbye and goodluck as he and the pervert went out looking for the Godaime-to-be. Some old lady who used to be on the same Genin team as Ero-Sennin and the Snake Freak.

Naruto coughed and turned his eyes away, "He knocked my last teacher unconscious, so I forced him to take his place." There was absolutely no way that Naruto was going to tell him that he'd broken his word and used the Oiroke no Jutsu on the creep – only to have Hotaru proven right and nearly get molested. And Naruto knew that if Ero-Sennin wanted to take it further, there was nothing Naruto could have done to stop him. It was an eye opening experience, and a terrifying one.

LVIII.

"Ne, ne, Ero-Sennin? Why does Hisoka-sensei hate you so much? And why'd you let him get away with bad mouthing you? Usually you'd drop a toad on 'im and walk off cackling after you'd drawn on his face or something," Naruto observed suspiciously.

Jiraiya laughed that odd embarrassed and awkward laugh he had back when the Jounin was glaring daggers at him. "Funny story that," he mused hesitantly. "See, he's just real angry at me, picking a fight for the sake of it. Nothing personal in the professional sense of the word but... Well, have you ever seen Temarei-san out of uniform? He's quite the beauty, and a ladies man I may be, even I appreciate beautiful things. Problem is... he was out on an infiltration mission. I kinda mistook him as one of the luscious young ladies of my acquaintance so while he was... occupied with his information retrieval. I used him as a research subject. In fact..." Jiraiya flushed, looking both pleased and a little mortified. "He became the model for the main heroine in my second Icha Icha book, almost everything done in that book is something I witnessed him perform during that Infiltration mission. It was a best seller and word got back to him. He recognised the events and... he wasn't pleased."

Naruto stared at him.

And then prodded him, "How are you still alive? I didn't think people this stupid could exist," he muttered under his breath.

Jiraiya couldn't even defend himself from the accusation, he'd asked himself this many times.

LIX.

Hotaru was rapidly losing patience with the insipid Chuunin philistines that kept bragging about their Fuuinjutsu skills – skills they earned through copying books and being stupid and useless and- and – He stood up and stalked to the chalk board, snatching up a blue stick he made several harsh lines and arcs across the blackboard.

"You're all morons," he snapped as he made his sharp movements, feeling the tight throb of rage in his chest. "See this here? THIS line here! What you lost are gibbering over as though it were the holy grail of arrays is nothing more than a power bleed. Remove it and you destabilise the entire Seal, but slap on a white Rhino," He snatched up a stick of red and made the requisite jagged arcs. "or a Mushroom Cloud," a white stick of chalk swirled over the array, "or even a motherfucking Elephant Seal!" A yellow chalk stick did the rounds. "And you've got a multi-faceted eight pronged Seal that could work at Sealing anything from a building, to a Bijuu, to a Jutsu, or even a motherfucking person in complete suspended animation until such a time as you deem it necessary to release!" he ranted, jabbing the chalkboard sharply as he glared at the assembled gaping Chuunins.

He whipped back around and swiped the chalk away and redrew the original array, "This seal is the basic bones. Don't think that it's impossible to alter. That's a fucking lie. Fuuinjutsu isn't maths, or equations. Its art. And I dare any brainless retard to tell me wrong and I will grind his face into these arrays until he's better than me – THEN he can tell me I'm wrong!" the clanless Orphan snarled as he snatched up a different coloured chalk and removed another segment from the original seal and sketched out a two element seal above it, a two element that swirled into a hydra seal with a core root array of vines.

"You are limited only by your imagination and your guts. If you haven't got the balls to play God, then get the fuck out of this room. Fuuinjutsu isn't for you," he barked, tapping the Seal he had literally just invented on the board.

Not a single soul moved.

LX.

Naruto could have spat lava, he was positively seething as he stomped back to Konoha. But he was less angry than afraid. That Snake Freak... the things he insinuated. Fucking Kabuto. If he laid one finger on either Sasuke of Hotaru not even Dog breath's mother would be able to find all the pieces Naruto ripped him into.

The first thing he did when he got through the gates was ditch Granny and Ero-Sennin to go talk to the old bastards and rush right to the R&D department where Hotaru was likely working himself into a fine temper listening to the idiots he had to work with. Naruto only felt himself relax ever so slightly as he heard the sound of his friend's voice, snappish and positively rude as he sneered at a man three times his age.

Hotaru was an amazing teacher, but, he didn't suffer fools lightly. And while he had an infinite well of patience for Naruto, that well could be shallow enough to give a butterfly a foot-bath when it came to other people. Braggarts who thought they had a single clue about Fuuinjutsu was one of his biggest pet peeves. Something his Sensei had managed to successfully pass on along with a love of the art.

Naruto couldn't make heads or tails of it when Hotaru tried to explain but resolved to just stick with the fact that his bestfriend loved it so he'd better get used to grunting at the right intervals when he started waxing poetical about them during lunch, or excitedly telling him about some breakthrough or other.

LXI.

It was Granny Tsunade's inauguration. All the Shinobi were gathered in front of the Hokage tower to hear her acceptance speech. Naruto grinned at Hotaru who was chalk-covered and scowling. He may have hated the R&D department but there was no denying that he was getting the mental stimulation he needed, and advancing in ridiculous leaps and bounds in his Fuuinjutsu. Even Hisoka-sensei was a little startled, and achingly proud, of his student's progress. Naruto even remembered him getting as close to bragging as Hisoka-sensei ever would when telling Kurenai-sensei about it the last time he'd run into Team Eight.

Thankfully, Hisoka-sensei had yet to arrive. It gave Naruto a chance to get that book out of sight!

"Kakashi-sensei! Please! Put it away!" he hissed desparately to his teacher. The sooner Icha Icha volume 2, Make Out All Over Again, was hidden from sight, the less likely they were to die a messy death when Hisoka-sensei finally caught up with them.

"Oh?" Kakashi hummed in amusement, "It's never bothered you before, Naruto," he observed idly.

"Yeah! Because I didn't know Ero-Sennin based the main character off Hisoka-sensei before now! Put it away or you'll get us all killed!" Naruto moaned in distress trying to pull the book out of his teacher's hand.

Kakashi's visible eye bugged out, "Wait, what? Hisoka?" he spluttered.

"Yes! Ero-Sennin told me how he mistook Hisoka-sensei for a girl when he was on an infiltration mission and based the female lead off him! Hisoka-sensei recognised it because everything that happened in the book happened in his mission! Seriously, Kakashi-sensei, put it away! I'm too young to die! I haven't made Hokage yet!" Naruto knew full well upsetting Hisoka-sensei on this matter would be like getting caught peeping ala Ero-Sennin style on Granny-Tsunade, Sakura-chan, that Suna girl, bun-headed Weapon Freak, Ino, AND Azami, all at once!

Kakashi thankfully put the book away, and not a moment too soon because Hisoka-sensei finally appeared, Azami in hand. No one caught the considering look the Hatake gave his colleague.

LXII.

"What do you mean, 'no'?" Hotaru flared, glaring at the blonde Kage.

Tsunade scowled, truthfully, she was sympathetic to him, she knew how stir-crazy he was getting in the R&D department, she had witnessed his snarling rants on Fuuinjutsu himself. He was the thundercloud darling of the Development department. They loved him as much as he terrified them. He was clearly a combatant, someone trained for the front lines and damn good at it, but... ah, he was facing the same problem she had in the beginning. The Stigma of a backline fighter and 'national resource'. The difference between their circumstances being only too simple: Medics are time consuming to train, but they could be trained. Fuuinjutsu prodigies akin to Miura were a once in a decade, no, once in a generation thing. She was utterly useless with the things unless they tied directly to Ijutsu, then it became only too clear to her eyes what she was doing – that Uzumaki blood proving true. But apart from the all but dead Uzumaki Clan, only Jiraiya and a few odd personnel here and there had anything even approaching skill with Fuuinjutsu. And none of them could use it in combat the way that Temarei and Miura could.

They were the only combat Fuuinjutsu specialists in the village.

Even Jiraiya was a Ninjutsu specialist at heart.

"You know why, Miura," she grit out. Sensei had warned her about this one. He was smart. Too smart. And entirely too jaded from growing up as Naruto's only support in a village that hated him. And now he was being forced into a backline position that clearly ill-suited him because no one else could equal him in Fuuinjutsu, something he hadn't wanted to reveal but been forced to do so in order to protect the village.

A fine way of repaying him.

He swallowed her personal feelings, "Return to R&D, develop a Sealing method to either extract, destroy, or inert the Heaven Seal. I'm ordering you to work with Miterashi Anko on this," she ordered.

And like that, with one last mutinous glower, Miura Hotaru left her office.

Christ, it was like looking at herself that day before she met Dan. The bitter disappointment and betrayal of knowing you were right, but having no support, making her mouth taste bitter.

LXIII.

They failed. Naruto could only stare at the ceiling of his Hospital room, his left arm warm from where Hotaru was asleep next to him. Undoubtedly his bestfriend had come running the moment he heard and hadn't left since. They should have taken him with them. If he and Hotaru had tag-teamed the bastard they could have dragged him back to Granny-Tsunade who would give him the slap down he needed. But they hadn't been allowed. Hotaru was too important as a Fuuinjutsu specialist to risk on missions.

He put a brave face on for Sakura-chan but...

Jealousy was an ugly thing, he decided. And it hurt.

LXIV.

"I'm... I've got... I've got the Kyuubi sealed inside of me. B-But I'm not him! And I'd never hurt you!" Naruto blurted out, anxiously reaching for his bestfriend. Hotaru had woken up some time ago and immediately set to fussing over him until the odd bubbly feeling in Naruto's stomach got too much and he had to tell him the truth.

Hotaru rolled his eyes and allowed the blond to grab his hands, before tugging him forwards so that he could properly wrap the shorter boy in a tight hug, bandages, bruises, and all. "I already knew all about that, Ruto-baka," he scolded softly, digging his fingers into the twelve-year-old's thick hair. "The adults aren't exactly very good at keeping secrets. I figured it out years ago. I didn't care then, and I don't care now. You're still mine," he stated firmly. And when he got his hands on that filthy Uchiha traitor, he was going to take great pleasure in ripping him into bloody chunks to feed to the Tigers in the Forest of Death.

"F-for years?" Naruto spluttered, trying to ignore the burning sting at the corners of his eyes. He had known for years? His voice wobbled but thankfully Hotaru didn't comment.

"I figured you would tell me when you felt up to it. I'm glad you finally did though. I was getting a little worried that you didn't trust me," he muttered, burying his face into his friend's neck to hide his shaky, relieved grin. He had been worried, so very worried, that Naruto didn't trust him, didn't care for him enough to tell.

He then did something he would come to regret in the following years, he kissed his bestfriend full on the mouth. Because... Naruto had never really been JUST his bestfriend.

LXV.

He had left Konoha in a fine, high temper. Ero-Sennin had thankfully not even asked what had upset him so much and after a few days on the road... Naruto wasn't too sure himself, and guilt began to churn his insides when he remembered the look on Hotaru's face when he shoved him away and shouted at him. Telling him off, and loudly proclaiming that he loved Sakura-chan and Hotaru knew he did and how he couldn't believe that the other boy would try to ruin that.

And... And he just took it. He stood there and let Naruto vent at him, his anger, fear, frustration, confusion, and sadness. Everything that had built up from the Chuunin exams coming bursting out with one target whom he couldn't hate even if he tried, but still lashed out and hurt because... because at the time he didn't care.

It didn't occur to him until Ero-Sennin was cooking breakfast at his little hide-away house, until a week after they'd left Konoha, that maybe Hotaru's feelings had been genuine.

LXVI.

Years passed.

Guilt mixed with fear prevented Naruto from writing an apology to send back to his bestfriend, telling himself that it wasn't the sort of thing you could do on paper, it had to be face to face for it to mean anything. He knew what it really was, simple cowardice. The same cowardice that prevented him from telling Sakura-chan and Sasuke about his tenant. Stopped him from telling the rest of the Rookies, even though he was quite certain Shikamaru and Shino had figured it out already. And if Hinata-chan had those freaky eyes, maybe she could even see it.

He was a bundle of nerves when Jiraiya told him to pack.

000

First half done!

I should have been doing uni work... NEVER UNDERESTIMATE WHAT YOU CAN DO!

When you're supposed to be doing something else. 8Y;;

Don't follow my example kids. Work hard.