Satsuki. Satsuki hated him. It was plain, simple, all that. After all, she had called him by his old name; forgotten name, if you will. The emotions in her eyes were painfully obvious... painfully... easy to read.

Too easy, if you may.

He shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Tears fell from his eyes at the memory against his efforts. He rubbed his eyes and composed himself, finally finishing dressing and stepping outside.

--------------------

Six Months Later - Team 7: 14/13

A few things have happened since Naruto left. It was December now, meaning that all of Team Seven had had their birthdays. Here are some of the highlights of their six-month separation:

Kakashi's Feelings:

Kakashi took the hardest toll when Naruto left the team. He knew that he had harboured feelings for the genin for a while.

Now, he had his chidori sticking out the other side of the raven's chest, just like how Zabuza's sword had been minutes before-

Kakashi's eyes snapped open, cold sweat running a shiver down his spine. That same dream again.

Slowly, he rose from his bed. According to the digital clock on his bedside table, it was just shy of 6:00 AM. He rubbed a hand down his face, deciding he should get dressed and go for a walk. He was feeling lazy, so he just slipped on a pair of sweats and his flak jacket (and of course, his mask). Quietly, he slipped out the window into the dark morning.

Before long, he was jumping the trees, letting the cold air brush his skin. His sweatpants were much less flexible than the average nin pants, but they made do. he didn't have his hitai-ate on, so his hair was falling into his face and obscuring his vision. Without a shirt on under his flak jacket, his anbu tattoo from when he was a commander was visible and glowing under the sunrise. He was bare-foot, embarrassingly, but he didn't seem to mind. He didn't even have his porno with him.

Soon, he could see a clearing. Landing on the next branch with his hands and flipping off onto the ground, he started on his katas. The grass felt nice on his feet, but without his sandals or gloves he couldn't destroy any of the trees without getting unnecessarily scratched up.

He kicked and punched the air, flipped off trees and killed his stamina by chidori-ing eight trees and finally dropping onto the grass. He was panting heavily and was tired as fuck, but couldn't seem to get his mind off of Naruto.

His cute lips, big and round eyes, soft and fluffy hair, tall but petite at the same time, overall adorable-

He sighed loudly, and started heading towards the only man he knew would have to know to deal with this.

Minato.

Menma's Confession:

Menma had been released from the hospital a while ago. His right side was reddish and wrinkled severely, leaving a huge scar. Recently he had started developing feelings for Satsuki, heart beating quickly whenever she talked to him or when she was around. After her hatred for Naruto was announced, she drifted from him and the redhead and raven became great friends. The best of friends.

Suddenly, she had seemed a lot more involved with him. Going with him where ever he went, talking to him all the time, appearing in his room and talking about her feelings with him. She never did that with anyone, not even Naruto.

It was a rainy day as it was in Konoha's winters. Training had been cancelled as Kakashi was sick, and so Menma decided to stay in his room and read a book. His eyes were trained on the words, fluffy grey wool sweater crawling over his palms and chin. His red hair was a mess like always, but instead of it being slicked back, it was naturally fluffed up and fell in his face cutely. It showed off the black roots that he had. A white blanket covered the lower half of his body.

Like always, a black flash settled in the middle of his room. "Satsuki-chan?" Menma said no more. Satsuki giggled, pushing her hair back from her eyes. The slightest blush crept onto Menma's face, but he hid it with his sweater and the book in his hands.

"Whatcha reading?"

"Nothing," Menma mumbled, pulling the book closer to his face.

"Hey," Satsuki climbed on the bed and pulled the book away from his eyes. Their noses brushed slightly, making them both blush.

Her eyes captured his, silence falling over them. They could hear their hearts beating quickly in their chests, passion bursting between them. And slowly, Satsuki pulled his sweater down slightly.

She captured his lips with her own, closing her eyes as his tongue slipped into her mouth.

They had a fun half-an-hour.

Naruko's Training:

Naruko was weak. She knew that well. So, she was specifically trained by Minato himself in order for her to catch up to her team.

She felt so weak as she kept seeing Menma get engulfed in flames over and over and over and over-

So, she trained the shit out of herself. She decided that she would protect her family, and with that she closed herself off o the world.

Sai's Promotion:

Sai was the first to be promoted to jonin out of team 7. After going on an infiltration mission, he was given the rank chunin. He then entered the jonin exams, passed, and was given his rank at the age of 13.

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i had no idea what to write soz here's a recap for next chapter (coming out as soon as I can get it). i'm being mobbed with a lot of schoolwork and didn't get to start on this thing until around 4:00PM. Sorry ^^'

I'm not sure how to make up for it but chapters will start getting longer and more intricate, but they will take a bit longer than a week. this is just all the recent stuff that's relevant to the story. next chappie is naruto returns home to find that...?

peace!