Naruto blushed lightly as she approached her teammates. They were staring. She shifted uncomfortably, and coughed nervously.

"Uh, Hey." She said quietly. She kinda wished Shika had stayed, for support.

Sasuke was confused when he saw Nara Shikamaru and some girl walk onto the training field, and expected the girl to start fangirling the second she saw him. Instead, he just got a passing glance before she turned back to the Nara. She was quite beautiful, when he took the time to analyze her.

She had long, glossy blonde hair, in a shade reminiscent of the dobe, with crimson red streaks. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail, her spiky bangs framing her face. She wore a white tank top tucked into baggy tan Anbu style pants which were taped at the ends. She wore a matching sleeveless crop top jacket (Think a modified version of the crop top jackets from AoT), and wore standard Ninja sandals.

For a thirteen year old, she was doing good in the 'women' department. Sasuke found himself staring at her sheer beauty. 'When I am ready to restart my clan, I want her.'

When Sakura noticed the girl, she took a few moments to appreciate her beauty. 'She looks like a kickass kunoichi.' It made her more aware of her own attire, and how it rubbed uncomfortably against her skin. Then she noticed who she was with. Shikamaru Nara. She found the interaction between the two adorable, and fangirled internally.

They both got the shock of their lives when they heard Shikamaru shout goodbye to, Naru? Wasn't that his nickname for Naruto?

They stared in shock as the girl fidgeted and coughed. "Uh, Hey." She said quietly, looking down.

"Dobe?" She looked up.

"Yeah Sasuke?"

"Why are you a girl?"

Sakura watched Naruto fidget more. "I've always been one."

Sakura couldn't believe her ears. Naruto was always a girl? She watched Naruto's eyes flitter about, jaw clenching and unclenching. The red-blond was obviously scared of what they would say, and Sakura was overcome with guilt for cutting the now-a-girl's hair. Speaking of which, how did she grow it back?

Sakura stepped forward. It was obvious Naruto had a thing with Shikamaru, so she wouldn't be competition for Sasuke. Not to mention it would be nice to have a girl friend. She hadn't had a friend since she started going after Sasuke.

"Well, I'm sorry for cutting your hair yesterday, and it looks beautiful. Now, when do you think sensei will be here?"

Naruto gave her a grateful smile, and Sakura noticed how her posture straightened and she became more confident.

"Sensei will be here in around fifteen minutes. That's as early as he will be if it's not a life or death situation." Now that Sakura actually listened, she could tell Naruto's voice was kinda forced, like she was trying to sound like a boy.

"Naruto, if we know you're a girl, why are you trying to sound like a boy?'\" She asked.

Naruto chuckled nervously. "Sorry, habit." Her voice had changed, becoming smoother, even toned. It was full of genuine emotion.

She turned to Sasuke who just 'Hn'ed'. She smiled, long hair shifting in a nonexistent breeze. As predicted, Kakashi arrived right on the fifteen minute mark, smiling cheerfully. Or at least, he was based on the curve of his only visible eye.

That look soon turned to shock when he saw Naruto.

"Naruto, I thought you were trying to keep it secret?" 

Naruto just smiled. "There should be no secrets in a team. Telling your teammates your deepest secrets lets them know you trust them, so by me telling them half of my secrets, I'm giving them half of my trust. And Kakashi-nii, If you, Sasuke, and you Sakura, can prove to me that you trust me, I'll tell you the other. And for incentive, this is an S rank secret declared by the Third Hokage himself."

Sasuke looked mildly surprised, while Sakura was upright shocked. Kakashi sighed. There was no stopping a determined Uzumaki. He cleared his throat, and three pairs of eyes snapped towards him.

"Now, Today, you three have one, simple task. Take these." He pulled out a pair of silver bells attached to a frayed red thread. They jingled cheerfully in the sudden breeze. He pulled out an alarm clock. "You have until noon. Whoever doesn't get a bell goes back to the Academy."

"But-"

"Yeah, there are only two bells. But, Sakura-chan, what does it matter? He said we have to take them. He never said Keep them. We will get them and we will pass. Together. Sasuke-"

She groaned as she realized the raven had vanished, likely to go off on his own. "Dammit."

She turned to Sakura, who looked to be debating whether or not to leave and follow Sasuke. "Think about it. Sakura, you are more than an useless fan-girl. Why are you here? Why are you joining a profession known for death, and for kunoichi, rape? For a boy? Tell me you aren't that shallow?"

Sakura looked lost. She felt lost too. She knew of the risks, but dismissed them, caught up in Sasuke. Now that she thought about it, why did she want to be a kunoichi. She looked at Naruto, who looked everything like a kunoichi, sharp and deadly, a honed weapon. Then a suppressed memory floated to the forefront of her mind.

She had always admired her neighbor Anyo Torunami, a jounin that would babysit her while her parents were at work. And Sakura had loved listening to her terrifying missions, and how many people Anyo-san had saved, and wanted to be strong enough to protect her loved ones.

Naruto watched Sakura, as a fiery determination burned in her emerald eyes. "Let's do this." Sakura said.

Ten minutes later, Sakura was cursing her long hair. She was so close to just cutting it off. A hand landed on her shoulder. She looked questioningly into blue eyes.

"Let me fix your hair." Sakura nodded, and Naruto swiftly threaded her hair into a braid that went to mid-back, allowing Sakura to tie her hitai-ate around her forehead, pushing her bangs up slightly. Naruto's face scrunched up in thought before she twisted the braid into a bun, pulling Sakura's long bangs into it, leaving a few messy strands to fly free.

Sakura looked at her reflection in a kunai. She nodded her head in approval. "Thank you, Naruto."

Naruto just smiled. "We need a plan. We need to try to get Sasuke to cooperate. Try to push your feelings for him aside. Right now he is your teammate, not your idol."

Sakura nodded. They set to strategizing.

Sasuke growled from where he was stuck, buried underground. He touched the bell, so close to getting it! He pushed against the dirt, trying to get out. He heard giggling and glared at a bush. He then heard a slap and a 'Sorry!' before his two teammates stepped out of the treeline.

He stared in shock at Sakura. She looked different. Not a bad different, he noticed. Naruto was obviously trying not to laugh, and he glared at her. Finally she walked up to him and grabbed his head. He was about to snarl at her when suddenly he felt like heaving up his empty stomach.

Naruto watched Sasuke retch and turned to Sakura holding up the 'peace' sign while grinning.

"The nausea should pass in a moment. I don't think he realizes he's free."

Sasuke panted as he became aware that he was out of the ground. he stood up and brushed himself off, stumbling at the dizzy spell that hit him. He was caught by his pink haired teammate, who, other than blush slightly, didn't start screeching like he expected He straightened and stared at her coldly. He went to stalk off  and find Kakashi so he could take those bells.

"Sasuke." He didn't know why, but a shiver worked its way down his spine.

"I know you aren't about to try and fight sensei alone now are you?"

He would never had expected such a threatening tone to come from Sakura. He turned, trying to seem nonchalant. He felt a thrill of terror he hadn't felt since that night and slowly he shook his head. 

"Good, now, listen, here's the plan...."