Carapace. Because I have plot bunny issues. You don't want to know how long this was sitting around in my skull. . I promised to finish one story at a time though so Ghost and the Obviously Crazy Child is the main story I will be working on..Anyways I just realized that with the Aburame hair my Portugese side (I am a mutt but you'd never know) would fit right in because for a blonde pale girl I can get brown and my hair does this electrocuted poodle thing. And then I was like..huh. There's really a lack of tan or darker people in Naruto..and Aburame stories.. let us fix that. That's all this took. This will be an alternate Team 7 fic.

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Kucho was special.

Females in the aburame clan weren't common. Much like the insects they cultivated a partnership with there was usually a single queen to many drones and soldiers. Prospective children could be brought into the clan early enough and trained if one of the Kikaichu groups took a liking to them. It was the symbiosis that made it all possible after all. Kucho was born to an Aburame female who had gone outside of Konoha to expand their bloodline. She'd found a suitable male, coupled with him, and been done with it. She'd waited to be certain that she would carry and then eliminated the male. like a praying mantis or black widow.

He'd been a very powerful nuke-nin after all. Elimination had been the original goal. She'd given birth to Kucho, and no one in the clan did more then congratulate her mother on what fresh stock she'd brought in. The missing nin hadn't been particularly well known for anything other then stealth and sneak attacks but in those two areas he had been nigh untouchable, unless you were a beautiful willing woman in disguise. That had been traits that Mei had wished to pass on. Their tracker beetles had essentially won the previous two shinobi wars for them, and were almost wiped out partly into the third war. Such traits could only add to the human quality of the symbiosis. He'd not had any suspicious ideas either because he'd never seen the Aburame woman without her mountains of clothing and glasses, so he just had seen a pretty dark haired dark eyed traditional woman and didn't see the fact her Kikaichu were suppressing her chakra..just a civilian. Why worry?

Dead but he left a daughter behind, not that he or any existing relations he had would ever know as the hit had been called in from fairly far away. When the Hokage had been informed, very clinically, about the fact that the nuke-nin had provided the 'necessary material for the Aburame clan to continue to improve, why? Because though he had a lack of morals he had talent that was potentially genetic and highly useful.' It was Aburame humor to not react outwardly even as the clans still joked about how they could make their comrades groan and cringe. Getting the Hokage to face palm was something of a goal.

Kucho's skin had been a richer color than was normal. There were a few slightly tan individuals in Konoha but Kucho was a warm toasted mochi hue. It was why one look at her and her mother had dubbed her Kucho. Beetle. Like the carapace of her mother's favorite hive of flying Kikaichu. She had mismatched eyes, one black and one light brown. Not that anyone really noticed, hidden behind the glasses everyone in the clan wore most the time. Kucho wore a larger pair then most, preferring the look to hide her eyes even from the sides. Yet, when indoors she would leave them off as her eyes weren't as sensitive as a true Aburame's. Her hair was the typical Aburame unruly mess, but in fluffy curls that varied constantly. There were looser waves near her face, tight corkscrews and looser ringlets and some that just were frizzy messy and ridiculous with multiple colors of ribbons worked in to two pigtails with the upper half of her hair, the lower left to do whatever it wanted. Her hair was black and brown and she'd taken to bleaching a few parts of it with lemon juice so it would take a lighter brown hue, just a few stripes that made no sense, like the carapace to her favorite Kikaichu.

She was the same age as Shino and some of the others, but Kucho had little interest in being around him out in the field looking for new bugs when she had her current ones to improve. Kucho was a very hands on and curious child. When Aburame called their children 'snuggle bugs' or 'book worms' it was much more telling. She was both. Kucho avoided her peers because she was happiest curled in the lap or side of one of her elders, hearing stories or observing how they'd tend to their insects, and teach her the same. It also gave her a hefty issue with childish behavior. Whereas her peers picked up the nitpicking that was so common among them, for Aburame's hated to be questioned over things that they felt was obvious. Kucho tended to go for blunt and deal with it behavior that she learned from the oldest of her elders. They weren't a terribly formal clan after all.

Unlike many she kept to the hakama bottoms that billowed out so she could feel as if she was wearing a pretty skirt, while still being able to spar and give her insects plenty of room to deploy. She didn't care if it looked silly with her white and gray turtleneck and baggy sweat shirt that she left open, or that she happily wore peach and blues rather then grays and greens. Her bugs liked how easy she was to spot when they were flying and she liked how they looked crawling against the colorful background. She loved how they felt tickling along her, her hives were shared with her and since the constant loss and replacement of them was so difficult, one of her favorite elders showed her his own clan and how he'd bred them to live much longer. It allowed them less adaptability in battle as they wouldn't learn as swift, but when they did hatch new ones it created an incredibly hardy and intelligent bug.

They relied on her as their main hive mind of course, and she was used to thousands of little lives constantly in tune with her. Kucho's symbiosis was astounding even to her clan, as she and her insects would just interact together easily. Her queens were her little sisters to her, and her adoration for them reflected back. Kucho was not as impartial as Shino, but they could work very well together.

Kucho was unashamed of her love for the prettier aspects of her insects, and started to mimic them herself as she got older. She didn't hide the lower part of her face, much more open and expressive than many in her clan. She had several bee hives she kept by her house that were her 'little friends' and raised butterflies. She was working on creating a strain of Kikaichu that would have gorgeous multicolored wings and deliver devastating poison's and powders from their wings but hadn't figured it out yet. Kucho's kikaichu tended to be beautiful colors and as so many insects communicated through sound and motion, Kucho begged to learn traditional dances. Indeed the elders were delighted someone wanted to learn their older styles, as even her parent's generation had been uninterested in them. Kucho was often to be found twirling about, long fluttering furisode sleeves trailing along with hair ribbons, and playing swarms of kikaichu about her with tiny bejeweled bodies winking.

Her clan would just shake their heads and chuckle, amused at such a happy beetle.

The academy and Konoha as a whole seemed unsure what to make of her. It wasn't unusual to see the laughing little bug of her clan racing around town trailed by her hair ribbons, with kikaichu clinging to them that couldn't fly so that they could enjoy the feeling of flight or so she'd claim. Kucho spent time in the library, she'd trail after Kunoichi that she admired, not at all upset that her clan's affiliation with insects, and her own often being worn like jewelry, perturbed people.

After the Uchiha massacre she'd approached Sasuke in the hospital and left him several glowworms to keep him company at night. When he'd then found her in the academy training yard a few days later, so quiet and severe and stand offish by comparison to the boy he'd been, she'd just waited silently. Kucho had tilted her head, eyes perusing him even as Sasuke glared at her with his own dark gaze before he relaxed, slightly. Whatever he'd been looking for in her he hadn't seen and it made him at ease. "What do they eat?"

Kucho had smiled behind her glasses, as they were outside. "Slugs. When they become fireflies they'll seek out food on their own."

"They're bugs." Unsaid, they aren't that smart. Still, it was more out of him than anyone else had gotten she was certain. It didn't bother her that he thought so little of insects as most did, her Kikaichu hummed in her chakra coils, highly amused.

"They will know to find you come night."

Sasuke had made a soft hn sound and nodded, walking off. He didn't offer thanks, she didn't look for it. She just didn't want anyone to be alone, as it was a concept she didn't have. Not when she had a few thousand of her 'friends' carried around and inside her. The Kikaichu were adamant about one thing though..they did not like Naruto. So while she wasn't mean, she didn't give him more then a head nod at times and walk off. It was a pity, he seemed to be able to make her laugh with his pranks. The fact she didn't hide her giggles though seemed to make Naruto's day so even if her Kikaichu didn't want to be near him, she'd not hide that she thought he was funny. He'd give a huge fox grin in her direction and she'd wink back.

Once when they were seven though she noticed a lot of the kids picking on Naruto for something, a lost ball or the like when they were at the park. She'd looked over at Shino, head tilted making her upper pigtails flop like dog ears. He'd just sighed heavily from within his high turtleneck. "He is an outcast, why? Because they have been emulating their parents as it is expected. The young copy the elders as we do, however it appears that our peers rarely think rationally."

"My Kikaichu do not wish to be near him." She did not have the common verbal tick of "why" often, but she would wait a long time deciding her next words Especially among clan. "Yet they feed on chakra. That he has a good deal of chakra is highly evident to both of us. Leaves me to surmise that it has to do with his particular form of chakra which may be an inherited trait that my Kikaichu find distasteful. Perhaps experimentation to see if there are other forms of chakra they are hesitant to sample to save us surprises when we are of age to go into the field?"

"Hm. Valid hypothesis. Agreed."

No, they didn't have normal conversations, but it wasn't really two children that moment but rater two empires composed of several queens and many thousands of soldiers and drones. Kucho paused the and then slipped her hand into Shino's. She was a touchy member of the clan but the little trickle of her chakra she fed into him, and his kikaichu, was habit when Aburame touched. It was no small thing.

He squeezed her hand back. They weren't close friends, but they understood each other.

"I wish to play." Shino said softly, shyly. It was something that could be rationalized, they should socialize for later, get to know the strengths and weaknesses of their allies. But they were also children.

"Perhaps a game of tag could be suggested where we could attempt using your trackers?" She said with a soft smile, knowing Shino hated to showcase his friendliness. Aburame were meant to be in control at all times. Kucho had much leeway due to her symbiosis being unusually potent, but Shino was clan heir. She could help him find ways to justify 'immature' behavior to his parents.

"They are indeed, no where near to where they should though the infusion from your own tracker beetles is highly helpful.." Shino nodded, another hand squeeze and they went forward in synch. After all he was clan heir, but she was a female among insect users. Queen's always outranked soldiers. Tugging Shino along with her they approached their year mates. Ino, as one of her more recent memories supplied, shivered upon seeing them. Or perhaps it was the pretty beetle riding on her jacket?

"What do you two want?" Ino sneered, not at all decently for her age either. Shino's fingers gave the ever so faint twitch that was his repressing a flinch and as was her right protecting Shino as clan heir..a fellow queen's host, she lifted her chin and answered.

"We wish to join, and suggest a game of tag?" She gave a wide smile then, having observed that despite the baring of teeth being hostile to most mammals it seemed to always set other humans at ease. Strange.

"Yeah! Tag!" Choji looked over, munching his food as always and beamed. "Long as I don't have to be it first!...maybe hide and seek?" He mumbled the last, clearly his bulk hindered him in speed and yet hide and seek was met even more enthusiastically by the others.

A few brief pulses of her chakra into Shino's fingers, used like a clumsy (at their skill level) morse code between Aburame confirmed that it would be challenge enough still for Shino to track them all. He verbally offered, without bringing up their hives. "I shall seek. You all may hide. I will count to one hundred to provide ample timing. No leaving the park." With that he turned, visibly held his hands over his glasses so they could believe he wasn't peeking, and began. "One. Two. Three." It was a slow steady count that went in time with his heart. The children scattered.

Somehow Choji was left behind, looking around worried as apparently the Nara who usually played with him, and the Yamanaka, had bolted off. Well, more like Ino had dragged Shikamaru. Taking pity Kucho stepped up and held out a hand to Choji. After a moment, and Shino's counting being louder, he took her hand.

They scampered.

Choji limited her hiding options as going up was certainly not an option, nor was hiding in a hollow log or anywhere her slim build would have been an advantage. Instead she tucked him with her by a bush they ducked into and blinked before looking over the top of her rose hued glasses so he could see her eyes, people seemed to like that. "Are you um..scared of bugs? Because I could hide us very well but they would need to be on us. I do not wish to trouble you.."

Choji blinked, shoved the last chip in his mouth and pulled out some jerky instead that he could chew a bit quieter. "If they leave my food alone..I think I'll be good.."

Kucho smiled at him, thrilled that someone would give her tiny companions a try and nodded. "they won't be interested in that..but thank you." She held out her hands in front of them and cupped them, her Kikaichu slipping out from the loose sleeves they liked to cuddle in were her lovely brown striped winged ones, they spread out over the leaves and under them, fanning their wings until they were in a nice half dome, supporting the natural camouflage of the bushes around them to look like fuller plants from a distance. Choji blinked as one of them landed on his finger, but as it wasn't the hand with the jerky he seemed content to just stare at it, though he lowered his voice. "That's..that's really kinda creepy and cool..where'd they all come from? Surely you didn't have them all in your sleeves, they'd get squished!"

Kucho scratched at her ear slightly. "Aburame swarms are held within either our clothing, carried in something with us, or at times in our hair. We also carry them inside of us, most notably in our chakra coils. Seeing as Chakra is energy and not something we can hold or touch without utilizing chakra on ourselves or another, I suppose you could call it a bloodline trait that is unique to our chakra. My Kikaichu exist both inside me and in a place not unlike that which summons come from. There is no end to how many I can store that way as long as they are able to coexist and my body is compatible.." She looked up at Choji then, a tiny blush on her face. "My Kikaichu are considered a little weird by our clan though because we're so close..they're very special to me..I've named my queens and I know their favorite drones. Mine aren't so much attack oriented..so they live a lot longer then the few hours most do. They also react to my emotions, we're very closely bonded.."

Choji grinned at her. "You're kinda cool for a girl.."

Kucho beamed wildly. "And you're nice. I bet you'll be as dangerous as any of your clan when you're older.."

Choji nodded with a fierce expression on his tiny chubby face. "Someday I'll be super powerful and I can get back at everyone who made fun of me about my weight!"

Though Aburame typically didn't touch outsiders much, Kucho reached out to pat Choji's arm. "Any civilians who say such can be ignored, they do not understand your clan. Any ninja child who does probably is projecting their insecurities or fears onto you. You are sitting in my swarm with me, and you aren't being mean to me Choji. I think you're special for that."

Choji blinked and then realized what she meant, though it took a while. You didn't have a Nara as a best friend without picking up on a lot of things. "I promise to never pick on you for your bugs on purpose but..you know..they um..if they startle me.."

Kucho just nodded.

It took Shikamaru and Shino both to locate the two later, they were the last ones to be found so they were considered the winners. It was the first time Choji had won a game and he was ecstatic.

After that, it wasn't unusual in the academy for Kucho to sit by Choji as well as Shino. Once she had permission, Choji even carried a tiny tracking beetle on him though he never could find it, just in case. The Akimichi clan often invited Kucho over to spend time playing with Choji, and eating. When they found out she raised bees they even started a trade agreement for some of her honey when they were in excess. All in all, the years passed easily. She was casual friends with Shikamaru through Choji, mostly because she was entirely capable of sitting there quietly. Shino and Kucho spent most the time sparring and training together, and while Ino and Sakura had given Kucho run for her money in the written and theory portion of exams in the fight for top Kunoichi, Kucho was a Queen. Shino was content to rank middling, studying but not excelling and spending his extra time training or working on his hives. Kucho refused to settle for anything less than her absolute due.

It was expected of an Aburame female.

Kucho was one of only a handful that were born Aburame, most the clan were women the men had brought into the clan by marriage. All of the women were kind and none were looked down on but thy were soldiers and drones to the clan as a whole, queen's only to their family units (hives to them). Kucho, her mother, and two other females that were of age to have families still. There was two more but they were elders, and thus retired queens.

Being a Queen had meant from the moment of birth that Kucho had a head start, Shino was her equal only because he was clan heir and his bloodline was notorious for having the most adaptable Kikaichu. It was this being at odds with Kucho's developing longer lived and specialized Kikaichu that had made the clan decide against betrothing the two.

Shino and Kucho agreed it made things far less awkward that way.

However, because she was a Queen Kucho fought for the top kunoichi spot in the academy with a single devotion that others wouldn't understand. The girls were giggling through their flower arranging and makeup lessons. Kucho understood because she went and asked her teacher, and then her elders and the other females even that had married into the clan why these lessons were necessary. It was her mother though who sat her down, glasses off one evening and in only the formal kimono and over coat that she wore when at home as she explained to her daughter exactly how she'd snared her sire.

Kucho had requested her mother tutor her.

One of the elder grandmother's who had taught her the first of the dances then took her under her wings, buzzing kikaichu keeping time for them as she started to teach her in the other dances. The Queens explained that when she came of age they'd instruct her in other dances as well, that she'd learn to be a black widow, a mantis. She would be the delicate butterfly but hiding her sting. This was a Queen's art. She focused on learning the senbon and curved arm blades when at home. Other learning was kept at the academy.

"She's going to be a man eater.." the elder Queen's would say, approvingly. Her love of beautiful insects was encouraged since it seemed Kucho had the knack for it. The academy only knew her as the friendly, slightly bossy Aburame who would bluntly inform people that they were fools to pick on Choji as he obviously came from a clan predisposed to needing more calories in order to build up the forms for their devastating jutsu's. Kucho was serious some of the time, she'd laugh at Naruto's pranks and jokes, she'd steal top rank for the girls every time it was done, by a large margin. Her performance in Kunoichi class was flawless and yet so very far behind what she was learning at home. Her kunoichi classes were teaching the veneer of sensuality and decorum. Her ones at home were teaching her to be lethal and to be the honey and the web both, until she struck.

Shino knew. Sometimes when she'd down play her strikes because it was just the academy and she didn't need to go all out here, his kikaichu would buzz in his amusement. Her's would do the same when he didn't outclass everyone in the written and theoretical works. Shino was brilliant, he just was a focused brilliant, and it was all on his insects.

Kucho ignored Ino and Sakura because they were petty and childish and didn't seem to realize she was better because they did not strive. Innate talent counted for much, but determination was more. She would still drop off glow worms to Sasuke every so often, when the fireflies would return to her garden near the clan meadows and green houses to procreate before the end of their lives. When she would show up at the clan compound that was so eerily silent, he'd just accept the jar and nod at her once before she'd leave.

Naruto's pranks got more amusing over the years, and her trailing after her kunoichi idols continued.

One day she saw Anko at a dango shop and Konoha shuddered, even as all the Queens in her Aburame Ancestry would have looked down and been proud.

Kucho knew all about Anko. She knew what the woman had been through, her kikaichu had brought her so much in the way of gossip that she should not know. She liked the look of Anko, liked her sassy confidence, liked her loyalty, liked the feel of her. Her Kikaichu did too.

So one day when Anko was at the dango shop, Kucho approached her and waited to be noticed. Her glasses were up so her eyes could actually meet her and she had a sassy grin on her face. "I want to be like you."

"Shut up brat"

Kucho had tilted her head. "I admire you, Anko-san. Who you are now, who you were. I just wanted to tell you."

This repeated several times going up to Kucho's twelfth birthday. Anko had gotten used to her, the little butterflies and moths that would show up on her door sometimes, or the boxes of dango with a butterfly symbol on them.

One day Anko was finishing off a box of the dango and glanced over where she sensed the little baby wannabe ninja hiding..impressively well actually considering and snorted. "What's with the butterflies? I thought your name was beetle?"

Nicely silent, Kucho hopped down and approached with a chuckle. "Okaa-san named me for my skin. But I want to be a butterfly, beautiful..though if I can I want to develop one with a stinger. Preferably a lethal and paralytic.."

Anko blinked then chuckled. "A little hell butterfly?"

Kucho beamed at her and Anko reached out, ruffling her hair, mindful of the ribbons she could see and sense the kikaichu on. "you're weird brat. And you wear wayyy too much."

"To an Aburame I am 'horribly indecently showing my skin.' as the elders say." Kucho ducked into the touch, enjoying it and Anko snorted, taking in the exposed face and top of her neck, even her hands hidden by the long sleeves of the sweat shirt.

"I suppose. We'll work on you once you're a genin.."

Kucho caught the promise and looked up over her glasses, smiling sweetly. "Anything you suggest studying until then?"

"Clever brat!" Anko vaished in a body flicker, but the next night there was a selection of books with a butterfly badly drawn on a piece of paper, pierced through like it was a bug on display at her door. Kucho shuddered at the idea of one of her darling insects being so skewered but could accept that it was the twisted mentality of her newest (hopefully!) mentor and took the books inside.

She tacked the image up on her wall and after having her mother test the senbon for poison, added the very finely crafted weapon to her arsenal. It was far better then any others she already had, after all. Much to her surprise, it was on a subject that was only briefly mentioned in her kunoichi classes and that her elders had no interest in..Tea ceremonies.

The obvious hint pleased Kucho and she started to study them. When she thought she understood, it was clear that only then would she seek out the special jounin. Apparently, tea ceremonies were important to Anko. What was also obvious was the series of information and sheer detail overload that went into them. They'd be a fantastic training method.

'Once I'm genin, indeed..' Kucho sighed as there was no way she'd learn this before graduation.

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"I surmise we shall not be on the same team. This Is understandable because it would make no sense to have two Aburame on a team, however it is disappointing." Shino stated as they walked towards the academy the day after graduating. They had both passed very easily, and Shino was content to walk with his clan member, both occasionally brushing their hands together, the only sign they were nervous of the people they'd be paired up with. After all, the average person was truly unkind about their use of their kikaichu companions.

"It is, I also cannot see it feasible I shall be on a team with Choji, neither of us with Shikamaru which lessens the pool of those we can tolerate. As I have never heard of a multiple kunoichi team I shall not be placed with Hinata, who is the only tolerable female class mate we have since Ten-ten graduating the prior year.."

"She is..accepting." Which was high praise from Shino, Kucho pretended she didn't hear. After all, only she knew from their class that he found the petite Hyuuga heiress to be adorable. Even if she was senselessly fixated on Naruto yet didn't talk to him. The entire idea of dating at their age, outside of clan arrangement simply did not make sense to the two.

"her name suits her."

"You will take one of my Kikaichu with you, why? Because I will also take one of yours. We shall be able to integrate much more easily with fewer so called 'social faux pas' in such a way. We shall also be able to stave off feeling.." He trailed off, Kucho slipped her hand into his and smiled up at Shino, dark black round glasses met wider rose hued.

"We are Aburame. We are clan. I am Queen with queens and you are Soldier with Queens, and you are heir. Our new teams may be our new hives but we never will be anything but a part of the same hive, Shino."

Shino paused and squeezed her hand strongly. Aburame did not speak of their emotions, they were beings of action. It was still nice to hear sometimes. With that they're hands parted, leaving behind kikaichu with each other as they found their seats.

"There is an odd number of students, though it is peculiar Naruto is here.." Kucho paused, she did not need to vocalize her pleasure that somehow the prankster had passed. She had seen his expression when she left yesterday and had felt bad for him, but did not know him well enough to approach. "It would be impossible even if he were not, to divide into the traditional three person cells.."

"It is feasible some will not be set into teams, but going directly into apprenticeships."

"Ah."

Such a thing had been offered to them both, both had declined on the advice of their clans. Working on a team was the fastest way to grow and test your hives which was Shino's goal, Kucho had always been meant to be a tracker and use stealth. She was not meant for Anbu so the team was truly the only way to go.

The kissing incident with Sasuke had caused a great uproar amongst the Sasuke fans but before they could lay a hand on Naruto, the muffled giggles and humming had penetrated the angry mob's ears. Stunned, the class turned to see Kucho, her glasses off as she was indoors, covering her mouth with her hands in a desperate attempt to hide her laughter. Her shaking shoulders gave it away and at the purely startled expressions of her classmates, and the humming of amusement from Shino, she couldn't help it.

Iruka just watched, fully aware as his young no longer students were not, just how rare it was to see an Aburame laughing fully. Her hands finally dropped to wrap around her stomach as her mismatched eyes closed up, Kucho laughing full out at the drama between the boys and the utter insanity that was Sasuke's fan club.

Despite their heavy blushes, Sasuke and Naruto snickered under their breath as Kucho finally got out "Heee hee..now none of you fan girls can stalk Sasuke to steal his first kiss.."

It was with a bit of horror Naruto turned to look at Sasuke, realizing that maybe he had a smile tiny near smidgen almost not at all there reason to be grumpy all the time.

Sasuke just groaned, not that any one would hear it. Kucho was right though, it would cut down on the stalking and attempts to catch him by a good amount. There was a reason he'd gotten so good at escaping traps after all..

"Well now..settle down.." Iruka started, still highly entertained even as Kucho seemed to flip a switch and go right back to serious. The occasional shake of her shoulder gave it away though, and Shino thrummed with amusement. Her Kikaichu did love it when she was happy after all.

"Team Three is.."

Shino was quite pleased that indeed while he would be paired with Kiba, who was loud and brash at least had canine instincts and could understand much of his own interactions with his insect compaions..there was also Hinata.

That Kucho did not tease him earned his gratitude.

Of course she was still blinking, stupefied as Shino recognized, at her own team assignment. Naruto was exclaiming over how he shouldn't be stuck with the bastard, despite Iruka's explanation to the contrary.

"Look Naruto, Sasuke had the highest scores of the boys, and Kucho of the girls..you had the worst. This is traditional.."

"And what about the worst of the girls? Why isn't she paired up ?" Naruto posing an intelligent question startled a lot of people.

"Because Mei is apprenticed already, as are most of the middle and average scoring students who show promise here. Really Naruto.." Before Iruka could groan more he dismissed them to lunch. This, Kucho was ready for. She had a rare moment of affection displayed openly when she kissed Shino's cheek, who did not visibly blush but his fluttering Kikaichu on her collar told her he was flustered. She was nervous going to see Naruto though since her own hives still were wary of him.

"I will see you back at the compound, Shino-san." She said softly, getting a gentle 'Hai, Kucho-chan.' out of him as she went to join Naruto. She paused first and smiled sweetly at Hinata. "I am glad you are with Shino, Hinata-chan..I know I can trust you to be a wonderful teammate for him, unlike the group that was causing a scene earlier." With that she stepped away, and only Shino got to see the startled and pleased expression on the pretty little Hyuuga. It seemed she needed to be told things that were compliments more often, and he made a note of that.

"Naruto-san..?" She was fully aware Sasuke had made his escape already but smiled anyways. "Shall we go have lunch together?"

"I..ah.." Naruto looked surprised and glanced longingly at Sakura, but Kucho was determined to make this work. She did notice his lack of lunch and clicked her tongue once. She wouldn't be able to stay polite forever.

"I brought enough for all three of us, let's go eat and eventually Sasuke can find his way to us or we can allow our Jounin instructor to collect him should he be so intent on staring into the nothingness with a scowl on his face, ne?"

Naruto stared at her and blinked a good long while before what she said made sense, at which point he laughed. "And here I thought you were usually all serious and stuck up! But you were funny earlier and that was good...okay! Let's go eat..um..you brought extra? Is it Ramen?"

"Ramen?"

"Yeah! The food of the gods!"

"Ah, no. I cannot cook Ramen yet, but if it's your favorite I'll try to learn?" Kucho was surprised when suddenly she had a pair of arms around her and they were squeezing as Naruto cried about how wonderful she is.

"Er..Lunch?..."

"Right Right! And then I'm gonna find that Teme and beat him up and.." Kucho tuned the rest out, but didn't hide her smile as she slipped her glasses back on.

They were going to be one screwed up team..their sensei was doomed.