Hello everyone! Sorry for the long wait on this chapter, busy life and writers block really doesn't help with getting chapters out fast.

Now I've been asked by people if I'm going to show Naruko's rape, and I find it funny how they ask that when it's happening right at the start of this chapter, so just fair warning: IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE WITH THAT KIND OF THING, SKIP THE FIRST SECTION PLEASE!

Now I also received a curious review and I felt I needed to explain something really quick. Naruko IS a Tokubetsu Jōnin. The Hokage has already promoted her to the rank, she is currently doing an undercover mission, which is why she doesn't wear her vest. She doesn't need to be promoted since she already has the rank. Sorry if there was any confusion there.

Well onto the Chapter FOUR!

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WARNING RAPE SCENE, SKIP TO NEXT SECTION IF YOU THINK IT WILL UPSET YOU. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

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*BANG*

*BANG*

"OPEN UP DEMON! WE HAVE UNFINISHED BUSINESS WITH YOU!"

Naruko cowered in a corner of her small rundown apartment, her knees drawn up to her chin as she rocked herself.

"They'll go away if I'm quiet, they'll go away if I'm quiet…" Naruko continued to repeat to herself. However, as if to spite her exact words, her door kept being slammed into. The handle and latch seem to have finally broken as all of the things that she had used to barricade the door with moved a little.

"YOU CAN'T HIDE FOREVER YOU LITTLE BITCH!"

"Naruko…"

"GO AWAY! I HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING!" Naruko screamed at them as tears streamed down her face.

However whoever was at her door kept pushing and slamming against her door until all of the furniture was thrown away from the entrance. Naruko screamed out in horror as a mob of people seemed to stream into her apartment. The first person to get to her was a man she knew was a fruit vender; she had remembered him from when she would take walks down the main street.

As he got to her his foot kicked out and connected with the side of her head, effectively throwing her into the shabby wall.

"Naruko..!"

The noise level kept increasing, making Naruko unable to see straight and hurting her head, though that might be because she was just kicked. She started to feel multiple people begin to kick her so she reflexively curled into a ball in hopes of lessoning any damage.

"THIS IS FOR MY FAMILY BITCH!"

"YOU TOOK MY HUSBAND FROM ME YOU CUNT!"

More and more things were screamed at her as tears of pain and fear escaped her eyes. She hadn't done a thing to these people, but that didn't seem to matter to them.

Suddenly the painful kicks stopped and she thought maybe they had it out of their system and were going to leave now. That thought however was quickly dashed as someone grabbed her long hair and yanked her from the floor.

"Move that table over here! We're going to show this piece of shit what we do to demons in our village!"

Naruko started to struggle until she was rapidly punched in the face several times. She knew her nose was bleeding, and she hurt all over from their kicking. Suddenly she was slammed against a hard surface that she could only guess was her table from what the man said earlier. A few more punches in the back and she felt someone start to rip her clothes from her body.

Her fears kept increasing as she cried even more with the sound of her clothes being torn to shreds. She felt her legs and arms being pulled away from her body and held down as well.

"Naruko.!"

No sooner did her mind register that, did she suddenly felt a hot breath over her ear, the scent of alcohol permeating from the person.

"You took my wife from me," The voice sneered in her ear, "I loved my wife, and since you took her from me I'll use your body as compensation!"

Naruko didn't know what he meant by that, but she felt a hand touch in a place it shouldn't have. She felt something being roughly shoved into her only to be joined another thing. Naruko screamed in pain as whatever it was kept being pushed into her, only to end by what felt like a knuckle.

She heard someone get onto the table in front of her face and behind her. The person in front of her spoke in what was clearly a females voice, "Stupid trash! Hope you like the taste of this!" All of a sudden a warm liquid hit Naruko in the face. The tiny girl struggled and sputtered, as the smell of ammonia came to her nose but she was held down.

She felt the person move behind her before a large hot object thrust itself inside of her. Naruko screamed out in pain, only for whoever was in front of her grab her hair roughly and forced her face into something. Her nose quickly identified the source of the ammonia smell.

"Lick it clean, like the little whore you are!" the female voice spoke out as she slammed what Naruko could now identify as her groin into Naruko's face.

"Naruko!"

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END OF RAPE SCENE

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"AHH!" Naruko screamed out, tears running down her face as she gasped for air. She could feel that she was covered in a cold sweat, but she didn't know where she was at all. She was too worked up to see properly. She felt arms around her body and she began struggling against the person.

"Shh, it's okay Naru-chan. I've got you, your safe. Come back to me baby…" a soothing voice cooed out softly next to her ear that her body seemed to relax to. However despite her body's reaction to calm, she felt herself tense until the memories of what happened and where she was came flooding back to her. As the memories of last night came back to her, her body stilled and she sobbed into the person's chest.

She was at her girlfriend's apartment. She had just come home from a quick ANBU mission despite her being just a recruit. She had saved those women from being raped. She also remembered falling asleep after a tense dinner with what she assumed where Yūgao's friends who also just happen to be the women she had saved on the mission.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" Naruko repeated softly as she tried to calm her heartbeat, and stop the flow of tears that continued to fall uninterrupted. It took several long minutes for Naruko to finally gain control over her emotions again.

The entire time Yūgao refused to let go of the blonde. This wasn't the first time this had happened, though it was becoming more and more infrequent over the years. Yūgao had been through this many times over the years, and though not since they've been together, she was still used to helping Naruko out with it.

When Naruko had been brought to the hospital after her rape, she had refused to have anyone touch her. Not the doctors, even the female ones, not the nurses or even the Hokage. Naruto grabbed anything she could and would throw it at anyone who tried to enter her room. It would have been almost comical had it not been the fear she radiated at the time or the scalpels she had gotten ahold of.

Yūgao had just started her ANBU training not even a month prior to that incident, but she somehow was able to get the frightened little girl to trust her. Of course during that course of time she had also been hit with a tray of thankfully gauze, but still the tray kind of hurt.

Ever since then she's tried to stick as close to her as possible, and thanks to her being so close to the Hokage she was generally able to. She felt somewhat responsible for the blonde and she was also one of two people Naruko truly interacted with emotionally. Everyone else she kept at an arms-length, and after she was trained that length became the length of her blade.

Yūgao and the Hokage were the only ones she ever allowed to get close to her, and it even took them a while for her to actually let them physically touch her. Yūgao to this day is the only one Naruko will allow near her during times of weakness like this; the blonde girl just refused to allow anyone in. The last person to try ended up with several kunai in them, and had it not been that she was too worked up to see correctly they would have died.

Yūgao just continued to rock the shaking blonde for a while longer, until she stopped shaking and the purple haired woman noticed she had fallen back into a light sleep. Heaving a sigh, Yūgao looked over to her alarm clock and took note of the time.

Four A.M.

Groaning as her body really didn't want her to get up and moving this early, she softly climbed over her girlfriend, being careful of Naruko so as not to disturb the blonde from her much needed rest. Quickly adjusting the clock's alarm to wake the blonde up for school, she walked over to her bathroom for a shower and to start her morning routine.

It was times like these that Yūgao wondered why she was still ANBU. She wasn't a morning person, you can just ask her squad; she got really grumpy whenever she had to wake up early. The higher ups tried to get her to stop that, but after the second captain went to the hospital for disturbing her slumber prematurely they quickly stopped and just made sure to send orders for her to get up early enough. Her squad had generally found it funny whenever an enemy woke her up.

They never lasted that long.

As Yūgao finished up her shower, she quickly towel dried and left the bathroom. Throwing the towel into the hamper by her bathroom door, she walked over to her dresser and pulled on her underwear and sports bra before moving silently to her the middle of the room. Yūgao dropped to the ground and started warming her body up. She had found that so long as she worked her body a little, she woke up just fine instead of continually being grumpy. Well mostly.

After a small set of a hundred pushups and sit-ups Yūgao went to her closet and dressed in her uniform. As she walked out she noticed Naruko sitting up, her hair a little wild from sleep.

"Another nightmare?" Yūgao asked, concern lacing her voice. She hadn't heard any screaming, but that didn't mean much when it came to Naruko's nightmares. At times she could hold in the screams and others she'd thrash around screaming bloody murder like earlier that night.

Naruko just shook her head, "Just can't sleep is all. I mean I feel tired, don't get me wrong, but after that nightmare my body just won't fully relax. I might as well get up now anyway." Naruko said in a tired tone. Yūgao couldn't help but worry for her young girlfriend.

"You don't have to. You have to make sure you get to the academy today anyway, so rest a little longer." Yūgao said with worry for her girlfriend.

"I'd just end up laying here doing nothing while my thoughts tried to drive me insane; best to keep my mind moving. I've got to pick up my report scrolls anyway and I'll probably go sit in the park for a bit. The cold air and quiet might do me some good." Naruko said as she pushed herself out of the bed.

Yūgao nodded in acceptance, though internally she wanted to protest at her needing rest. But with her current mission it wasn't like she needed to be able to fight.

"So they have your scrolls in then?" Yūgao asked as she double checked her armor, making sure all of the straps were properly done.

Naruko was given special scrolls that had slightly raised lines on them so she could write straight for her reports and not have the report a giant jumbled mess. And since she handwrote everything which left indents on the paper, she was able to actually give her reports like everyone else; was rather comical when she handed in her first one and it was neatly done. Everyone except the Hokage and Yūgao had questioned if she was really blind or not. The fact that she could see everything around her didn't help those assumptions either.

"Yeah, I was told just before we left that they were." Naruko said as she walked over to the dresser where she had left her clothes neatly folded and proceeded to dress.

"Good, I have to go see Ryū about something. I'll see you later tonight?" Yūgao asked as she moved to leave the room, stopping at the doorway to look at her girlfriend as she dressed.

"Aren't you drinking with your friends tonight?" Naruko asked as she finished getting dressed and grabbed a nearby brush to get her hair into a small manageable state. She was moving rather sluggishly, but getting only five hours of sleep after a hard day of work will do that to a person.

"Shit, thanks for reminding me, I almost forgot." Yūgao said as she left the room to quickly grab something to eat.

"When you get back from your shift sort your laundry and drop it off at my place, I'll do it tonight while you're out." Naruko called to Yūgao who was quickly digging through her refrigerator for food for the both of them.

"You don't have to do that." Yūgao called back as she placed a few things on the counter to make a quick breakfast.

"Eh, it'll be after training so it'll be a nice distraction. Besides my apartment has a washer and dryer, yours doesn't." Naruko said as she walked into the kitchen to see her girlfriend starting to cook breakfast. She walked over to the counter and grabbed the remaining bread that Yūgao normally bought from the nearby bakery every couple of days. Placing that on the table, she went to grab butter and jam.

"I know that, but you don't have to do the laundry. Why don't you try to make a few friends at the academy so you'll have people your own age to hang out with?" Yūgao questioned, cooking some eggs quickly for the two of them.

"Yeah, because everyone wants to be friends with the blind Kyūbi jinchūriki, who's the dead last of the class. Ugh you have no idea how much I hate this mission! Honestly! Did you know that Iruka wants me to take supplementary lessons?!" Naruko said as she grabbed a couple of glasses and filled them with milk for the both of them, as Yūgao was plating the food.

"You could give them a chance…" Yūgao said softly, ignoring the bit around Iruka, knowing that she would hear her, but at the same time hoping it would be ignored.

She knew Naruko didn't get along with others her own age, but she didn't want her to grow up and not have anyone who could possibly relate to what she was going through. In hindsight, no one her age was an ANBU level kunoichi, who was blind, held a monstrous fox of apocalyptic power inside them, and who had been raped; so of course there was almost no place for friendship bonding to take place in that sense.

Naruko was quiet for a moment as they both sat down to eat.

Naruko knew she needed to be a little more sociable, but she could barely stand being around anyone for too long. Anything someone said under their breath, or when they thought she was out of ear shot, she heard; and it was always hurtful. Add to the fact that Naruko had learned not to trust easily, and it was really hard for her to interact in society, let alone children whose whole opinion is based more on the parent's opinions than their own observations.

"I…I'll try…" Naruko mumbled. If there was one thing she hated more than anything, it was disappointing her girlfriend, and if she wanted her to try to give the 'children' a chance, then she'd at least make some effort.

Yūgao beamed with happiness, "Good! Now, I'll see you later tonight, I have to go speak with Ryū." Yūgao said as she stood up, leaving her plate for Naruko to clean up. Walking by Naruko she gave her a quick peck and moved for the door.

"You're drinking with your friends tonight!" Naruko called after the purple haired woman as she had already left. Naruko for a moment thought she had forgot again, only to hear a far off curse which brought a chuckle out of her, "What would she do without me?" Naruko asked herself as she quickly cleaned up their breakfast so she herself could head out.

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Yūgao arrived quickly at ANBU HQ, and made her way inside and to the lower levels where she knew the commander's office was. She hated coming down this low, it was always so depressing, and reminded her that the HQ was really just a big bunker. The top levels, though still dull in her opinion, were at least a little livelier and had some form of human elements. Down here, you'd be lucky if you actually saw anyone since so few people were allowed down on the lower levels.

As she approached Ryū's office, she stopped and knocked on the door. She went inside after hearing a gruff "Enter".

Yūgao opens the door and walks in, making sure to close the door firmly behind her.

"Ryū-sama, I have something I need to report." Yūgao said in a very formal manner, using the tone she normally reserves for when she's commanding her squad. The ANBU commander looked at her for a moment before motioning for her to take a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk he was currently situated in.

"And what about this report has you so flustered?" Ryū asked, his voice distorted by the mask that he never took off. No one had seen the ANBU Commander's face except the Hokage, and with the balaclava he wore, you couldn't even tell what his hair color was.

"Sir, it's about Hyō. I thought you should know that he openly ordered one of those under his command to use a jutsu that wasn't fully ready for use. In fact I've been informed that it was still in the experimental stage." Yūgao said, waiting for her commander's judgment. She knew this was a serious accusation, as it could very well end an ANBU's career as a captain as it calls into question their ability to make the correct choice on the battlefield, regardless of whether or not the gamble paid off. ANBU were based on skill, not luck, and if you didn't have it then it normally only granted people the loss of their lives.

Ryū didn't move, he just stared at the woman for a moment. Or at least she through he was staring at her, was really hard to tell with the mask he never too off.

"I'm going to guess this has to do with the mission where he ordered Kitsune to use a jutsu that hasn't gotten the pass to be field ready, am I correct?" The masked-nin asked, gaining a nod from the purple haired woman he sighed, "Yes, I was informed of that last night as well by Anaguma. He was concerned, as you seemed to be as well, about Hyō's orders. I will tell you what I told him; Hyō will undergo review before anything else. I know he doesn't have the best reputation on the force, but he is good at what he does. Now however he has put someone's life deliberately at risk, as no one would have known what would have happen had the jutsu backfired. From what Kitsune's squad-mates tell me is that she did use a lot more chakra than she ever had so it was a possibility of it completely draining her, possibly even costing her more. I will make sure that I get to the bottom of why he ordered to do so, even after being told that it wasn't ready for field use, but I will also not drag someone, who possibly just didn't have any other choice, through the mud on a simple hunch. I do appreciate you informing of this though. How was Kitsune? I'm assuming she went to your place last night?" Ryū asked at the end, effectively putting the Hyō topic to bed and switching up the topic.

Yūgao knew that Ryū knew of her relationship with Naruko, it's almost impossible to get anything by the man. He seemed to know everything going on in Konoha in almost frightening detail, "Yes she did. The mission had taken a lot out of her; she was running on empty when she arrived at my apartment. On top of that, the mission ended up bringing back her nightmares, though I think it was mainly due to how close to home the mission had come." Yūgao said, referring to Naruko's own rape.

"Damn," Ryū muttered the curse in his distorted voice, "I was hoping she had healed from that by now, but I also suspected that it might not. She's one of the best, even if she hasn't finished the ANBU training yet everyone is able to see it, and I hate to see her suffer. Do inform me if it gets worse, as I may have to employ a Yamanaka to help ease her mental state, or I may just have to completely keep her off the force as it is likely she'll come across a similar situation and I can't have one of my men falling apart." Ryū said. Yūgao understood completely; if she couldn't perform during certain situations or lost control during those same situations, she wouldn't be effective in ANBU.

"Hai, I will." Yūgao said with a nod, although she was rather reluctant. It felt as if she was spying on her own girlfriend, and that didn't sit well with her.

Ryū nodded, "Your dismissed, don't forget about your patrol as well as your squad is covering the Hokage during the afternoon shift."

"Hai." Yūgao said as she stood up and gave her commander a bow and then left the office.

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Naruko was walking down one of the side streets, heading to her destination and just enjoying the peace and quiet. The cool morning air was also nice as it helped keep her mind at peace by adding another layer of serenity.

She had taken as much time as she could for her procrastination. She had run back to her place, taken a long shower and put on new clothes. She even spent twenty minutes brushing her hair out before putting it in a braid down her back.

That was one of the many things she was happy that her girlfriend had taught her, though Yūgao wasn't her girlfriend at the time when she had learned it. Naruko whenever she wasn't training with the Hokage, she ended up playing with her hair at some point. She liked how it felt so silky all the time, though she's not sure how it always ends up that way. Naruko just chalked it up to either genetics or the Kyūbi.

Heaving a sigh of contentment, she stopped in front of a small shinobi shop; The Rusty Kunai.

Walking forward, Naruko knocked lightly on the door and took a step back. It took a moment before a large burly man peeked his head out.

"Eh? Who is it?" The man said in a gruff voice, "We're not open just yet, it's only 5:45 for all that is holy!"

"My apologies Higarashi-san, I just needed to get my order." Naruko said in her usual neutral monotone.

The man before Naruko was Higarashi Kenichi. He's an ex-shinobi of Konoha's who retired close to fourteen years ago when his daughter was born and his wife passed away due to complications with the childbirth. The Sandaime Hokage was the person who had shown Naruko this place, as Kenichi apparently was an old friend of his.

The man treated Naruko fairly, which was saying a lot considering how everyone else treated her; and since he sold just about everything one could need, she ended up shopping here quite often for the past five years.

"Ah! Naruko-san! Come in, come in! I'll go grab your order from the back." Kenichi said, holding the door open for her. Naruko had a loyal customer, and one that paid very well, so he wasn't going to make a big fuss about it being a little too early for her. He quickly hurried off into the back.

Naruko stood by the counter waiting as she paid more attention to the smell of the steel and cleaner than what Kenichi was doing. She loved this smell, not only because it reminded her of what Yūgao had first smelled like when Naruko first met the woman, but also because her apartment smelled a lot like it as well.

She had been so absorbed in the smell and the happy memory lane she was on, that she had almost not noticed someone creeping up on her.

"INTRUDER!" the person yelled out as they swung a large sword at Naruko. Naruko responded by quickly stepping forward and completely out of harms' way. This however didn't stop her assailant as they continued to keep slashing at her.

During this time Naruko quickly was able to notice it was a girl, and from her facial features, probably Kenichi's daughter. This was also further concluded when the girl started to use chakra in an attempt to swing faster. Not that it really help as Naruko just kept moving out of the swords line of attack without any effort at all. Naruko wasn't going to retaliate simply because she didn't want to hurt the girl; and from the girls breathing she wasn't fully awake and was going to run out of steam soon.

After a few minutes of just dodging lazily from the swings, Naruko noticed Kenichi was just standing there with her order, watching with an amused expression, making Naruko's eye twitch in annoyance; which apparently didn't go unnoticed by the retired shinobi.

"Alright Tenten-chan, that's enough." Kenichi's booming voice called out, laughter clearly evident in the sound of his speech.

The girl stopped upon hearing her father and looked at him with confusion.

"Toa-san, what's going on? Do you know this girl?" The now identified Tenten asked, breathing heavier than normal.

"Haha Hai I do. Now stop attacking a customer and go get ready since you're up already. I'm sure your sensei will be by soon to get your morning workout, maybe you can actually join them this time." Kenichi said with clear humor in his voice and openly showing on his face.

Tenten looked horrified at the prospect of having to do that. Naruko tried to think of who could possibly cause such fear into someone who just openly attacked her; who anyone should have been able to see that she was far superior in her skills.

"As for you Naruko-san, here's your order. Fifty special scrolls, and your custom Ninjatō that you requested, and a standard one as well; both blades are made of chakra metal like you wanted." Kenichi said, as he handed her a single storage scroll that contained her purchases.

Naruko nodded and took the scroll before handing him the second half of the money that she had been carrying with her. After the transaction was complete she walked out of the shop, stopping only to give a small bow to the store owner.

"Umm, Toa-san, who the hell was that?" Tenten asked, having been completely forgotten, as she stood there in her night clothes still holding a sword, and completely confused.

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Naruko found her way to one of the parks and quickly made her way into a tree with heavy cover. After finding a good branch to sit on and so she could lean her back onto the trunk without being seen, Naruko let out a sigh of contentment. The beginning sounds of Nature waking up, the birds chirping, the few shop owners walking out and opening up their shops, and the few shinobi patrolling by, helped Naruko lull into a peaceful state.

Not sleep mind you, but a nice meditative state.

Naruko used to come to parks like this all the time, as it was always peaceful to her. It also helped remind her why she chose to become a kunoichi to defend the village.

Those that came to these parks, those that she could hear without them hearing her, always seemed so innocent, so untouched by the ravages of war and conflict. It was for this reason that she continued on with being a kunoichi. She wanted to keep this peace, even if they refused to allow her to enjoy most of it herself.

As Naruko listened more and more as children were starting to get up, she took out one of her scrolls and started quickly writing up her report.

Naruko was halfway through when a presence appeared right above her, a presence that was most unwelcome at the moment.

"Hello, Naruko-san." Iruka said as he stood on the branch just behind her, "Finally working on your homework?"

Naruko internally gritted her teeth, not wanting to deal with the pushy chūnin instructor right now. Externally, she just smiled, "Hi Iruka-sensei! What are you doing here?" Naruko asked in her fake overly excited voice.

"I was just passing on through; Instructors have to be there earlier than you students do." Iruka said in a kind manner, "Ready for class?"

"Yeah, perfectly ready." Naruko said, quickly rolling up her scroll as Iruka tried to lean in and take a look.

"What do you have there Naruko-san?" Iruka asked, being a little inquisitive about his student.

"Oh, nothing really. Say didn't you had to get to the academy early?" Naruko asked with a tilt of her head. There was no way in HELL she was going to let him see an operation report an ANBU op. Not only would the ANBU Commander have her hide, but so would the Hokage, and Yūgao just might make a big deal about it as well.

"I've got time, I'm normally a little early even by Instructor standards." Iruka said with a small wave of his hand, "So what are you up to? I didn't think you'd be up this early."

Naruko just turned towards where she could hear come early rising parents showing up with their young kids. The small genuine small that appeared on her face caught Iruka by surprise and he turned to see what she was seeing.

"I get up early every so often and come here just to listen to the sounds. It's rather soothing hearing everyone milling about and there being a true peace among everyone." Naruko said, her voice slipping into her actual soft tone she normally reserved for Yūgao and the Sandaime.

Iruka looked at her with a surprised expression before a small smile of his own broke out, "It's why we train and do what we do, Naruko-san. It's also why your grades are so important." Iruka said, and when she looked at him he continued, "You are incredibly gifted Naruko-san. Your ability to constantly strive forward, despite your disability shows how committed you are. I know you can be an impressive kunoichi if you just put your mind to it."

Naruko just sighed and looked up into the sky for a moment before heaving a second sigh and standing up. "Iruka," Naruko said in her normal emotionless tone, "This is just something that you don't have to worry about. You just need to focus on everyone else. Trust me on this." Naruko finished in her usual emotionless tone.

Iruka was not able to believe what he had just heard. Naruko Uzumaki, a girl who he'd known to have mass amounts of energy and smiles, was acting different; more like that of a kunoichi that had years of experience and known a great deal.

"Naruko-san…" Iruka started to say before Naruko's face turned back into her wide smile.

"Sorry, Iruka-sensei. I'll see you in class I just need to go speak with Sandaime-sama about something. Later!" Naruko said, seemingly back to her hyperactive self as she jumped from the tree and took off towards the Hokage's tower.

Iruka stood there for a moment, worried about the sudden mood swing of Naruko but then just shrugged it off and chalked it up to puberty.