I do not own Naruto

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A warm breeze caressed my face, my eyes remained closed as my hair blew in the wind softly. My cheeks were still red as I was still running a fever. However, even though I was sick, since I was living alone again I wasn't exactly under house arrest. At least until someone went to my new house and noticed I wasn't there. 

For now I sat at the top of the Hokage Monument, looking over at the village under construction. While we were away they had made much progress, but even now I found myself looking in the area that used to be the Okami clan. As I was the last one, there was no point in wasting space for the village to rebuild the clan bounds, just as the Uchiha clan. Even so, it saddened me to some degree, just thinking of the fact that all that my clan had worked for, all the history of them in the buildings, were destroyed. Along with most of my pictures of my family, only a few were found and salvaged.

I jumped slightly when a person dropped down to sit next to me. Glancing over I quickly noticed the childish look and black hair. Ichiru grinned at me, poking me in the check. "I found you, Yuki-chan."

I sighed, looking back at the village. "I guess you did, Ichiru."

"Not that it was hard or anything. SInce half the time you are up here, and your chakra is very easy to detect. Especially in this village." He grinned, resting his hand beind in to help support him as he let his legs dangle off the edge like me. "Not that I blame you for coming up here, the view is nice, and there is always a nice breeze."

I nodded slightly. "Yeah. I've been coming up here since I was seven."

That seemed to spark his interest. "Why?"

I paused, "That was when I was officially alone, since my clan had died then. After my day at school I would either train, or come up here and watch the village. Then, when I met Naruto, I would bring him up here too. I guess it just became a habit."

He smiled, not like his childish smiles, but more of a genuine gentle smile. "I can tell you really do care about Naruto."

I blinked, my head turning to look over at Ichiru, who was now no longer looking at me, but at the village. He continued, "I'm sorry for coming here and just thinking we could be together and all. Hell, I don't even know what it was that made me like you in the first place, other than you were really pretty." He paused, his eyes closing as he sighed. "I guess I'll just have to give up for now, but if that Uzumaki ever does something wrong, I'll be right there. Both to kick his ass, and to help you out."

I gave a small smirk, "So, you're done chasing after me, right?"

He gave a nod, "Yeah, but I think I'll think of you as a little sister. Since Zero is like my sister, and you're related to her."

"A brother...." I muttered, a grin forming on my face. "Yeah, I've always wanted a brother. The last person I thought of as a brother ended up betraying me, so just don't do that."

This time Ichiru blinked, puzzled about who I was talking about, but grinned. "Yosh! Don't worry, I won't!"

After a moment of silence, Ichiru, as if remembering something, gasped. "Oh yeah! Now I remember why I came looking for you!"

I looked over at him, expecting him to order me back home, but what came next was a pleasant surprise. "Lady Tsunade, the Hokage that you're so fond of, she's awake again. I heard she's doing well, considering."

As if a heavy weight had been lifted on my shoulders, a big smile formed on my face as I couldn't keep it off even if I tried. I soon found myself laughing. Ichiru looked at me in worry. "Should I make you go home now to rest?"

I shook my head, "No,  it's just... I was so worried she wasn't going to make it." I muttered. "You probably don't even know how happy this makes me."

This brought a smile to his face, "Believe me, I can imagine."

"Oh, I wish I could see Sakura's face! She'll probably be the happiest of us all." I muttered.

"Yuki-chan!" My laughing paused as I looked over towards the voice, already knowing who it was. A worried and slightly angry look covered his face as he spotted me. "What are you doing?! You're still sick!" Naruto scolded, marching over to me.

"You're lucky I don't tell Sakura! She'd have your head!" He continued, walking over to be before swinging me over his shoulder with ease.

I sighed, letting my body hang uselessly as he continued to march back to my house. Since I wasn't wearing a skirt, I didn't bother me as much in the position I was in. "Since when do you get to scold me?" I grumbled.

I could almost hear the smirk in his voice. "Since you're sick and doing stupid things. I'm feeling pretty smart these days. Not only did I get to scold Sakura and Sasuke, but you too!"

I narrowed my eyes that were pointed on the ground at the moment. "You better watch it, unlike the other two, I'm your girlfriend."

"Ah, but you love me too much to really do anything about it." He practically sang.

I huffed, not saying another word. This only added to Naruto's victory, as he laughed. "I did bring some medicine from Sakura, and I brought some food too, dattebayo."

"How long have you been looking for me?" I asked.

"Huh? Oh, actually this was the first place I looked." My eyes widened a bit, but I relaxed again as a small smile formed on my face. "You're just lucky I got your favorite, so it dosen't really matter if it gets cold."

"You got sushi?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

I could hear him chuckle, "Yes, I got sushi."

By now the chatter of the village was surrounding us. It didn't take long for everyone's attention to turn to us, "What did Yuki do this time?" They laughed.

I pouted, crossing my arms as I kept my gaze on the ground. Naruto's only response was to laugh, not answering their questions. Soon after that, we ended up at my house, where Naruto made sure I stayed in bed as he made sure I took my medication from Sakura and ate something.

"Geeze, what's up with you?" I joked.

He paused before giving a small smile. "I just want to make sure you're okay." Taking my empty plate from me, he went to bring it to the sink in the kitchen then returned. "I'm going to head out again, but I'll be right back."

I smirked, "Did Ichiraku open again?"

He paused, his eyes going back to me in guilt. "Maybe..."

I rolled my eyes, "Go get some ramen! I'll just be taking a nap."

He nodded, moving to leave before turning back to look at me. "Don't leave. You're sick, and to get better you need to stay and-"

"Just go, Naruto-kun! I get it." I laughed, he paused then nodded and left. As soon as the door shut, I waited a couple of seconds before jumping out of the bed.

"Heh, like I'm really going to stay in bed and rest. There is tons of thing for me to do." I huffed, pulling back on a black sweater.

However, a knock sounded on my door, making me pause. Once I made no move to answer it, another knock sounded again. I sighed and walked over to the door, swinging it open.

My eyebrow raised at the sight of four genin. Konohamaru in the middle and the one who knocked, beside him was Akami who seemed to grin once she saw me. Behind those two was Moegi and Udon.

"Eh? What are you guys doing here?" I asked.

"Yuki-chan!" Akami threw herself at me.

I quickly caught her, my eyes wide. "Hey, Akami..."

I ruffled her pink hair, her feline ears twitching as I did so. "Anyway, why are you guys here?"

"Is Naruto here? We wanted to get an interview with him and you." Konohamaru said.

 I tilted my head, "An interview? Well, no you did just miss him, I think he's going to Ichiraku. Sorry."

Konohamaru sighed, "We just can't seem to catch him..."

 Akami looked up at me, "When do you think we can train again?"

 I looked down at her, setting her back on the ground as I ran my hand threw my hair. "Well, I don't think I can right now, because I'm a little sick and I did just come back from a mission. How about in a couple of weeks from now?"

She grinned, "Okay!-"

"Yuki!" My attention was turned from Akami to Shikamaru, who was running over to me.

"Hey, Shikamaru, what's wrong?" I asked.

He came to a stop when he was at my house. "We've been summoned. Tsunade-sama's woken up and she wishes us to go to the meeting she is ordering. You need to be dressed for it."

I blinked, having it all register in my mind before I nodded and walked back inside. "I'll be right back, Shikamaru."

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My Chunin vest was zipped up on my chest, and my civilian clothes had been changed out to my fighting clothing. Now I sat beside Shikamaru, us two being the only two chunin in the room full of jounin. The two village elders stood on either side of Tsunade, whom I was thrilled to see on her feet again.

Tsunade looked over everyone, her gaze pausing one me before she continued. "Is everyone here?" Taking note again she nodded slightly before talking again. "We shall start our war council to discuss strategy!"

"First, assemble reserves of ninja tools and foodstuffs. We must divide our shinobi into main battle units and support forces, and consider how we should build the platoons within the fighting forces! Bring me the complete list of all our shinobi!" The woman elder, Koharu, ordered.

The jounin siting beside me jumped up to bring the list. I glanced at Shinkamaru. "This is about the war, why am I here?"

Shikamaru looked at me, "Beats me, Tsunade-sama had told me to make sure you were here."

Our whispering was cut short as Shikamaru's dad looked over to us. "You two were invited to this meeting, even though you're both still young. Keep your ears open and don't miss a thing."

We nodded, "We know."

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Once the meeting was over, and everyone was filling out Tsunade called me over. I blinked but quickly ran over to her. The two elders, who I had never seen smile seemed to have a small smirk. Tsunade looked at me, a smile on her face. "There is something we need to discuss later. Meet me in my office in about an hour."

I blinked before slowly nodding, "Is there something I did?" I mumbled, worried.

Tsunade only shook her head, "Just be in my office in an hour." Then she, followed by the village elders, walked around me and out of the room.

I stood still in the room, my mind racing over the possible things she could have wanted to go over. Since I knew Tsunade, I knew it couldn't be that she was going to punish me for something Danzo ordered, as I had left the village when I wasn't suspect to. After all, if she did, then Naruto would be having the same treatment.

I blinked when a familiar chakra presence appeared, followed by the door being thrown open. I looked up at Sakura, noticing her being out of breath and looking frantic. I threw my hands up in surrender. "Hey, I was ordered to come to this meeting-"

"Have you seen Naruto?!" She ordered.

My eyes narrowed and my hands slowly dropped. "What do you mean? The last time I saw him, he was going to get some ramen. That was about two hours ago."

"He's missing." Sakura said.

Once again I blinked, letting what Sakura had just said sink in. Once I fully grasped what she just had said, I was moving before she could say anything else. I took off at my full speed, running out of the building, and jumping onto the roofs of the newly build homes.

Passing by villagers seemed to pause as they saw me running through, their bright smiles turning into ones of confusion. I found myself running to the newly build Ichiraku, as that was where Naruto must have been lastly seen.

Flipping off of the room, I ran into the ramen shop. This time, I blinked, coming to a complete stop. Beside two Konoha ninja's, who were eating ramen, sat a slightly dazed Naruto. Getting my breathing under control, I walked over to Naruto and grabbed his shoulders.

Ignoring the two ninjas, I turned Naruto to look at me. "Where the hell have you been?! I was told you had gone missing!"

 The two chunin quickly looked away at my raised voice, Naruto's eyes grew big as he looked at me. "A-Ah, Yuki-chan. Y-You see, I had been summoned by old man toad..." He trailed off, as if remembering something.

My grip loosened, as my gaze softened. "So, they just randomly summoned you?"

He nodded quickly, "Yeah!"

I sighed, my head flopping down to rest on his shoulder. "Thank god..."

"Are you okay, Yuki-chan?" Naruto asked, I could feel him tilting his head.

My lips turned up into a small smile, my face still buried in his shoulder. "Yeah, I'm just extremely glad that you're okay." However, my head jumped back up as I looked over at the time. "Shit! I have to go!"

"Go?" Naruto asked, "What do you mean?!"

I grinned, "I can be late! I'll tell you later! Bye, Naruto-kun!"

Quickly I took off out of the ramen shop, heading for Tsunade's new office. While Tsunade made exceptions for tardiness with Kakashi, I knew she didn't take kindly to people being late. And if I was already in trouble with her over something, then I wasn't going to get another bad mark with her.

Passing by Sakura, I quickly shouted Naruto's whereabouts, noticing her eye twitch as she changed her course of direction to run towards Naruto. I almost paused, as I realized Sakura was probably going to beat Naruto, as I had almost done the same; however, the thought of getting in trouble with Tsunade didn't sound too appealing, so I kept running.

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Taking a moment to try to calm my breathing, I sighed and knocked on the door. After a moment of shuffling, Tsunade told me to come in. Opening the door, I stepped inside the room.

However, I quickly came to a stop when I realized who was all in the room. Along with Tsunade, there was also Kakashi, among other jounin. I swallowed, my hands slowly forming fist as I crossed the room to stand in front of Tsunade.

"You wanted me..." I trailed off, glancing at Kakashi.

Kakashi gave me a closed eye smile, which helped calm my nerves as I turned to face Tsunade, who was now standing. "Yes. I am aware that you were given the opportunity to become a ANBU by Danzo." Tsunade said.

I gave a quick nod, "Yes, ma'am."

"While you aren't yet a jounin, I can't give the same opportunity." I nodded at Tsunade, she continued. "However, being given the possible promotion of ANBU, it more than enough for me to consider you becoming a jounin."

My eyes widened slightly, getting at where Tsunade was going. She continued, "After some consideration, you are being promoted to jounin. Congratulations, Yuki Okami, you are officially a jounin of Konoha."

I stared at Tsunade, watching her lips turn into a smile as the jounins behind me seemed to clap. Just like when I had been promoted to chunin, I was almost sure they were the same people too. Although, this time I wasn't receiving a jacket, but rather just the rank.

A smile formed on my face as I bowed. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama." I knew better than to call her by the nickname I had given her, especially at this moment.

Behind me, I felt Kakashi's hand on my shoulder. "Great job, Yuki."

I turned to look at Kakashi, my smile still on my face. "Thanks, Kakshi sensei!"

He chuckled, "Technically, you don't have to call me sensei, as we are equals now."

I shook my head, "You're always going to be my teacher, I don't think I'll stop calling you sensei, for now at least."

This caused him to ruffle my hair, much to my protest. "Yuki," I turned to look back at Tsunade. "I just wanted to make sure you know, since you were also invited to the meeting earlier, that since you are now a jounin you are going to be required to go to all of the war meetings. Even more so as you are the only tie to the Kessho village. All the villages are going to be working together, and we're going to be needing them as well. You understand, right?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I completely understand."

She gave a smile, "Good, then you're all dismissed."

All the jounin started to walk out of the room, Kakashi and I were the last to leave. My grin had yet to leave my face as we exited the building. Kakashi seemed amused, "I'll be honest, I really didn't think you would be the one to become jounin first."

This caused me to raise an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

He laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "I mean out of the team. When I first met you all, I did my own evaluation. I had assumed Sasuke would have been the one to move up the ranks quickly, then it was between Sakura and Naruto. I guess, since at the time you were sick it just made me think you would move slower than the rest. Yet, you were the first one in the team to become a chunin, and now the first to become a jounin." He paused, before giving me a closed eye smile again. "I'm proud of you, Yuki."

My anger from his earlier expectation quickly disappeared, a smile now replacing the frown that had formed. "Thanks, Kakashi sensei."

"How's your fever?" He asked, making me sigh.

"Still there, I haven't really had any rest today. But, it's partially my fault..." I trailed off before grinning again. "Oh, wait until Naruto and Sakura hear about my promotion! I can technically boss them both around now!"

"You could technically do that to Naruto before you became a jounin..." Kakashi pointed out.

I nodded, shrugging my shoulders, "Yeah, but now I'm the same rank as you, I can do it to Sakura as well. It will have more effect this way."

All Kakashi did was shake his head, a small laugh escaping him. "Well, why don't you go home and rest. And I really do mean it to!"

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End of Chapter 73! I hope you guys liked it. What do you all think of Yuki becoming a jounin? I did look it up, and a ninja dosen't have to take the jounin test to be promoted, just in case you were wondering about that. I wanted to ask you all, do you prefer shorter chapters, with possible less time to wait, or longer chapters and a little more time to wait for updates? I've been trying to make the chapters a little longer, but I've also been busy so it has been hard to update. Oh, and since I haven't been goo at updating lately, I'll make an offer for everyone! If I get 15 comments, from different people, I'll post another chapter by Tuesday or Wednesday.

This chapter is not edited.