Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it is owned by Masashi Kishimoto.

In the Future

Prologue

"Right, listen up you two." Mikoto Uchiha said as she and the rest of the new team seven – she wasn't sure how to feel about that considering how…rocky, the history of past teams with that designation had been (superstition it might be but you never knew about these things) – met up at a park not far from the academy after they'd been dismissed for lunch before meeting up with their jounin sensei afterwards. "We need to set something straight here and now, before we end up like the rest of the other teams. Well, maybe not Hitomi's but…she's an exception, just like we are."

The rest of team seven – Shinachiku Uzumaki and Mai – stared at their teammate before Shinachiku gave a groan. "Seriously, Mikoto?" he asked. "We just got assigned to a team and you're acting like this already?"

"This is serious, Shina." Mikoto said, arms crossed over her chest. "You might not have much success getting clues from your parents, but I managed to get something out of my old man."

"Clues about what?" Mai asked.

"About what happens today, like team assignments and (rumored) secret tests to see if we're really cut out for being ninjas…things like that." Shinachiku said. "And it's not like I was completely unsuccessful. I managed to get a hint from dad, you know, about how who works well with who in academy team exercises beinga factor when they assign genin to teams."

"…fair enough." Mikoto conceded. "I got more from my dad though, even if it took some persuasion to finally get him to start talking."

"And…what do you have?" Shinachiku asked.

"Once we meet with our jounin sensei, we'll be tested on our teamwork." Mikoto answered. "The how varies from one jounin to another, but it usually involves an impossible or near-impossible task – for genin – that's meant to see how well we work together in the face of, well, the impossible. If we don't work together, we get sent back to the academy. But if we do…then we pass."

"…seriously?" Shinachiku and Mai asked. "It's as simple as that?"

"…yeah, now that you mention it, it does sound rather simple and straightforward, doesn't it?" Mikoto suddenly found herself asking, and scratching at her head sheepishly. "Anyway…I trust this sets things straight? We're going to be working together both in whatever test Konohamaru-sensei will have for us later? And afterwards too?"

"Hey, you know how my parents are." Shinachiku said with a shrug. "No worries on any of those points."

"Considering how much teamwork was stressed throughout our time in the academy," Mai said with a nod. "It shouldn't be a problem. And it's not like this is the first time we've worked together either. We'll just be working together more now."

"What about you, though?" Shinachiku asked Mikoto. "You've got no problems working with us?"

Mikoto gave Shinachiku a blank look. "Really, Shina?" she asked, deadpan.

"…right, sorry, stupid question."

"Now that that's out of the way," Mai said with a cough. "What's next?"

"Hmm…" Mikoto hummed thoughtfully to herself. "Normally, I'd say we should plan out what to do for later, but since we don't know what Konohamaru-sensei will have for us, that's a non-starter, really."

"…well," Mai said after a moment and another cough. "If you've got nothing else in mind…"

Mikoto and Shinachiku stared at Mai as she pulled out a scroll and opening it, unsealed what looked like three bento boxes stacked on top of each other. "Mom made these earlier for me and whoever I get as teammates." Mai said with a shrug. "She said to share these for lunch between the three of us, as a teambuilding exercise…or something like that."

"…well, I was planning on buying lunch out," Shinachiku admitted before smiling at Mai. "But I wouldn't want to waste your mom's efforts either."

"It is bad luck to turn away food offered in good faith." Mikoto added.

"…really, Mikoto?"

"Shut it, Shina."

Mai laughed. "Looks like we're getting along quite well, already." She said, before unsealing drinks and chopsticks as well.


"Hey there, my cute little genin." Konohamaru Sarutobi greeted his new team as they met on top of the academy building after lunch. "How are you today?"

"…ripping off Uncle Kakashi, Konohamaru-sensei?" Shinachiku deadpanned. "I am so telling."

"…kid, you just have no sense of cool." Konohamaru said with a face-palm. "Anyway, let's start off by getting to know each other."

At first, both Shinachiku and Mikoto stared in confusion at Konohamaru, as it wasn't exactly a secret that they might as well have grown up together. Then it hit them. While that was the case for them, it wasn't the case for Mikoto and Konohamaru, the latter being close to the Uzumaki Clan but not to the Uchiha Clan. And while Mai's mother was a good friend of the Hokage and his wife, that didn't mean Mai practically grew up with either or both Shinachiku and Mikoto, or that she was as familiar with Konohamaru as Shinachiku was. If anything, she probably knew him less than Mikoto or her clan did.

"Why don't you start, sensei?" Mikoto took the initiative. "Show us how it's done."

"Hmm…alright…" Konohamaru conceded with a nod. "Let's see…you already know my name's Konohamaru Sarutobi, my likes and dislikes are…none of your concern…"

Shinachiku opened his mouth to protest, though he shut up at a glare from Konohamaru. "Oh, and my future dream is to succeed the boss as Hokage." He finished with a small smile. "Now, your turn, Shina."

"…okay," Shinachiku said with a cough. "My name's Shinachiku Uzumaki, and I like gardening. As for dislikes…um…I guess I don't like unpleasant people and things. As for my future dream…that would be to become as good a medical ninja as my mom!"

Konohamaru and Mikoto smiled at that, both already knowing about Shinachiku's dream of following in his mother's footsteps. Mai looked surprised though. "You don't want to be Hokage like your dad, Shinachiku-kun?" she asked.

"You can just call me Shina." Shinachiku said. "As for being Hokage…well, I did want to be when I was younger, but then my little sister wanted to be Hokage too so…"

Shinachiku trailed off with a shrug. "Besides," he said. "Everyone says I take more after my mom than my dad, while my sister is the opposite. If so, then I guess I might as well take the path of least resistance."

Mai nodded in understanding. "Makes sense," she said. "My turn, I guess?"

Everyone else nodded, and Mai gave a cough. "My name is Mai." She said. "Don't ask about the surname, it's a sore topic with my mom. I like working with my mom in our weapons shop, and I dislike it when people make assumptions simply because of preconceptions. As for my future dream…simple. I want to make a respectable name for myself, nothing more and nothing less."

"Sounds like a solid dream with plenty of room for a number of options." Konohamaru observed. "And you, Mikoto?"

"I'm Mikoto Uchiha." Mikoto said with a casual run of a hand through her red hair. "I like swordsmanship and challenges, and like Mai I dislike it when people make assumptions based on preconceptions. My dream for the future is to finish what my father started, to clear the name of and to rebuild the Uchiha Clan."

"Okay!" Konohamaru said with a nod and clap of his hands. "Right! Now that that's out of the way…actually, I have other things to do for the day, so you're dismissed for now. But before you go, here's my first order to you as your jounin sensei: assemble at Training Ground Number Three tomorrow, at around ten in the morning, for your genin test."

"Test?" Mikoto echoed with narrowed eyes. "What test? Didn't we graduate already?"

Konohamaru laughed. "Oh that?" he asked. "That was just something to weed out the really incompetent ones, but even then you still have to prove yourselves worthy of those headbands you're wearing. Anyone can recite history and solve problems on paper, fight practice matches and do basic ninjutsu…but whether or not we can call you comrades of the Hidden Leaf is something that's yet to be seen."

"And?" Shinachiku asked, also with narrowed eyes. "What happens if we fail?"

Konohamaru shrugged. "You can either go back to the academy," he said. "Or you can flunk out as civilians."

"That's not…!" Mai angrily began, only to shut up at a glare from Konohamaru.

"Life isn't fair, kid." He said. "If you can't accept that fact, then I'll say here and now you don't deserve that headband you're wearing. You might as well just give it back already."

Mai grit her teeth but said nothing. Konohamaru nodded slowly before looking back at his other genin. Both Mikoto and Shinachiku met his gaze evenly and without flinching. "Right," he said. "If there's nothing else, I'll see you tomorrow."

On that parting note, Konohamaru vanished in a swirl of illusionary leaves.


"Nice work playing along, you two." Mikoto said with a smirk.

"Just as planned." Shinachiku said with a shrug.

"I'm not so sure about that." Mai said while scratching her head. "I think I might have overplayed it…I mean, I might not be part of a clan like you two are, but I'm also a ninja's daughter. I should be just as…I don't know, aware? Of what the job involves."

"…possibly," Mikoto conceded after a moment's thought. "That said, it doesn't look as though Konohamaru-sensei caught it."

"So what do we do now?" Shinachiku asked.

"We prepare." Mikoto answered. "We might not know what Konohamaru-sensei has planned for us, but even if that's the case, it only means we have to be ready for anything that might happen. Make sure we all have the weapons, tools, and supplies we might need tomorrow, and then some. Get plenty of rest tonight, and a good breakfast tomorrow, so we'll have plenty of energy for whatever trial Konohamaru-sensei has in store for us."

"Sounds good." Shinachiku said with a nod. "We can't do any better than that given how little we know. Though just in case, maybe we should try finding out more from our parents or anyone else who might know what's waiting for us?"

"Worth a try, I suppose." Mikoto agreed. "If that's the case though, we should meet early, maybe at nine or eight-thirty, to pool what we already know and come up with a plan for tomorrow."

"It would also give us time to see what the place is like." Mai added. "Not a bad thing to know, all things considered. We might even be able to use it to our advantage."

"Also a good idea." Mikoto agreed. "Anything else?"

Mai and Shinachiku looked at each other and then back to Mikoto before shaking their heads. "Right then," Mikoto said with a nod. "Let's go and do what we can to prepare for tomorrow."

Both Mai and Shinachiku nodded back, and at that team seven walked off. None of them noticed the eavesdropping Konohamaru standing along the academy's exterior wall, out of sight but not hearing, and smirking to himself thoughtfully.

Clever kids, but still kids for all that.

Not bad, though.

I should probably report this to the boss. I'm sure he'd be very interested to hear it.

At that thought, Konohamaru used a body flicker to travel to in front of the Hokage's office in an instant.


"Someone's been talking, boss." Konohamaru reported to Seventh Hokage Naruto Uzumaki. "I'm not sure who, but going by what Shinachiku said about things going as planned, and Mikoto implying they were just playing along when I told them about the genin test…they knew."

Naruto busied himself with filling out a form, and then signing it, stamped it before placing it in a marked receptacle. "Is that really a problem?" he asked.

"Boss!" Konohamaru protested. "It defeats the whole purpose of the genin test if they know about it beforehand."

"Does it?" Naruto asked. "The question is if they can work together as a team. And from what you've told me, it seems they can if they pulled that plan off, not that we can just let them off the hook that is the genin test tomorrow. As for knowing in advance…"

Naruto paused and laughed. "So that's why he was prying at me and Sakura for the whole past week." He said. "Trying to find out more of what's in store…like a real ninja, eh?"

"…you told them, boss?" Konohamaru asked in disbelief.

"Not me," Naruto said with a shake of his head. "Anyway, there's a huge difference between working together on a straightforward, playing along plan like what you said they had earlier, and working together on a battlefield – even a mock one – like what's waiting for them tomorrow. Then there's D and C-ranks after that…"

Naruto trailed off and gave a cough. "My point is," he said. "Even if they somehow…get around, or something, the genin test tomorrow, you'll have plenty of time to test and hone their teamwork afterwards if you think tomorrow isn't enough to prove they have what it takes. You are their jounin sensei, after all."

"That's true, boss." Konohamaru agreed. "Alright boss, I'll put them through the wringer tomorrow, and see what they've got."

Naruto nodded. "Just try not to rough them up too much." He said.

"Got it, boss." Konohamaru said with a nod, before turning to leave. "See you around."

Naruto nodded, and then Konohamaru left, closing the door behind him. Alone now, Naruto secured the privacy seals, and pulling out a folder marked as 'top secret' narrowed his eyes at a recent report about disturbing developments across the continent.

A peaceful world, huh?

Not quite there yet…

we've tamed the dragon…

but in so doing, we just might have unchained the hydra.


A/N

And so we begin on our post-NaruSaku fic, starring Shinachiku Uzumaki and Mikoto Uchiha.

Those of you who've read my other work, Facets of the Future, should know who Mai is (even if she was only mentioned in passing there) and who her mother is as well. Ditto for Mikoto's mother (it should go without saying who her father is), and of course Shinachiku is Naruto and Sakura's son.

If you haven't read it yet, then don't worry. We'll explore the background as the story progresses.