AN: Has it really been a year? SAY WHAT? Apologies to come after the chapter.

For now... Read!

"Talking"

'Sign Language'

Writing

Apart from the World

Eight – Tenacious Teams

Naru awoke the next day to the lazy afternoon sunshine streaming through the curtained windows. She yawned a jaw-cracking deep breath and smiled to herself. Her fingers twitched underneath the thick padding of bandages, but she paid them little kind. Her gaze caught the shining silver leaf plaque and headband and her grin widened. A Genin at last – against all odds, she was finally a Genin!

The door to the bedroom creaked open slowly and Minami poked her head in, "Oh! You're awake!" She opened the door wider.

Naru grinned at her and winked, jumping from the bed. Minami laughed at her silliness and stepping in the room. In her hands she was holding a plain paper bag.

"Shino and I were getting worried when you slept well through the day, but I suppose you needed your rest after what you went through last night."

Naru nodded her head, looking out the window to the mid-afternoon sun perched in the sky. She turned back to Minami, tilting her head curiously and hoping she got the message she was trying to convey to the woman.

Minami wrinkled her brows in contemplation for a moment, but snapped her fingers as comprehension cleared her expression, "Oh! You're wondering where Shino is?"

Naru nodded, flexing her bandaged fingers and frowning at the dull stinging sensation that still resided there. Minami continued, "He is out with his father for a bit running an errand. I finally convinced him to go. I have never seen that boy so stubborn!" Minami smiled, giving Naru a fond look, "Though I suppose it's becoming more common when it concerns you, hmm?"

Naru blushed a bit, but grinned. She shrugged, but couldn't deny that lately Shino had been developing a stubbornness streak when concerning her. All logical to him, of course.

"Well, anyway, I have a gift for you, young lady!" Minami exclaimed, coming closer to sit on the side of the bed. She clutched the brown bag closer to her chest, watching in amusement as Naru perked up and looked ready to pounce on the bag.

"Shino has mentioned that you have been very anxious to get some 'proper' ninja clothing that would fit your stealth needs better. Well, I took it upon myself to get you some better clothes to use. It's not much, but it should last you for a wh-"

Naru could take the suspense no longer and really did pounce on the bag, but calmed enough to gently take the items of clothing out of it. Inside there was a sea of muted browns and splashes of pale lavender. Not nearly as bright as the orange dress she currently wore – but that was kind of the point. There were three pairs of soft, but tight-fitting dark brown pants, and another three equally tight and soft lavender shirts. There was one brown vest, filled with a multitude of pockets and pouches that she could hold all her traps and supplies in. At the bottom of the bag was a pair of ninja sandals. However, upon closer inspection, they were not quite ordinary sandals. Along with being more boot-like in design, they were incredibly smooth and soft on the bottoms. As Naru put them on, they made no click-clack noise like her other pair often did.

Naru beamed up at Minami. 'It's perfect!' she mouthed out to her. Minami's indulging smile grew and she laughed cheerfully.

"Well, go on! I want to see the whole thing on!"

Without giving much thought to modesty, after all, it was only Minami there, she changed out of her old neon dress and into the 'proper' ninja garb she was gifted with. She beamed at herself in the mirror. Minami came up behind her, beaming as well.

"Oh, Naru, look at you." Minami suddenly sniffed. Naru looked up at her in alarm, her eyes widening. Minami laughed again, waving a hand in the girl's direction. "Don't mind me, I'm just very proud of you."

Naru's heart swelled and she grinned all the wider. She spun around and clasped her hands around the taller woman in a crushing hug, trying to convey all her thanks. She was sure Minami got the idea by the way she squeezed tenderly back.

"Don't forget to put this on as well," Minami said after their brief embrace, "You earned it, after all."

She passed the Konoha headband to Naru, who once again stared down at it in awe. Then she looped it around her neck, tying it in a firm knot so it wouldn't make noise as she walked.

"Well, now, gifts aside-"

Naru gave a silent gasp, thunking herself on the forehead with the palm of her bandaged hand. Minami blinked and opened her mouth the question, but Naru dove for the pad of paper and pen on the night stand to scribble furiously (and a bit painfully due to her damaged hands).

I forgot Shino's graduation present at my house! I have to run and go get it before he gets back!

"But Naru, wait, I have to check your bandages before you-"

But Naru had already sped past her, completely silent in her new clothing. Minami raised a hand to stop her, but sighed and smiled as the slam of the front door sounded in response to her objections.

"That silly girl..."

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Naru sprinted down the road to her home, marveling at the way her new clothes made being silent that much easier. Or perhaps it had some to do with the leaps and bounds she had been making in her training with the help of Shino.

She settled into a comfortable pace, still trying to subconsciously keep quiet and buckle down on her chakra. She allowed her mind to wander for just a moment, straying to thoughts of a certain fire fox demon.

Naru frowned, pondering the Kyuubi and all she had learned the night before. It was strange that she had been housing such a beast and had no idea of it. Well... not quite no idea of it. Suddenly the fiery chakra she had found in her meditation made more sense, now that she knew were it came from. And her spontaneous healing powers were also put into a little bit more perspective.

But... She pondered, why doesn't it work on these dumb chakra burns? The blonde looked down at her sore hands, wincing at the thought of the burns underneath them. She'd have to figure it out later...

She hopped into the window of her home, neglecting to use the booby-trap rigged door. Not to say the window wasn't protected, it's just the window traps were easier to reset.

She skipped around the apartment, collecting various things she would need for the next day. If she knew Shino and Minami as well as she thought she did, they would both insist she stay at the Aburame's another night. So, she gathered her things, and made sure to pick up her special graduation gift for Shino. She hoped he liked it... Though she was fairly sure he would. It was a practical gift – just Shino's style.

Necessities collected, Naru swooped back out the window and reset her traps with a few flicks of her wrists and pokes in all the right spots.

"Those look fancy!"

Naru jumped and spun around, glaring up at the tall silver haired man. Kakashi stood there with his nose in a book, but lifted a lazy eye to observe her work. He smiled at her, raising a hand in greeting.

'You startled me!' she signed angrily, but was secretly pleased to see the man and at his compliment.

He gave a little laugh "That is one of the jobs of a shinobi. Though it looks like you are getting there fast, hmm?"

Naru puffed up proudly. Kakashi gave another chuckle, snapping his book closed. He gave her a searching look, then his eye curved happily upward in a cheerful look.

"Looks like yo have been making progress in your chakra suppression too! Man, did I sure miss out."

Naru tilted her head at his last comment, to which he filled her in, "I was late to the team selection for the new graduates. So, I didn't get my first picks. I wanted to come see what I was missing out on."

Naru frowned and wilted a bit. So Kakashi wouldn't be her new sensei... She had hoped, but...

"Maa, maa," Kakashi rubbed the back of his head, "The teacher you got will probably be better on getting your skills rounded out anyway. I'm just a bit jealous of his team. I'll probably fail my team anyway, so it doesn't really matter."

Naru perked up, 'Wait, you know who my sensei is? Who are they? Who else is on my team? What-'

"Ehh..." Kakashi sighed, "See ya, kid!"

And he disappeared into a poof of smoke. Naru stomped her foot in frustration, but was resigned to wait until the next day to hear her team assignment. With another silent sigh, she hopped off to return to the Aburame compound.

(())**~~

Naru skipped through the doors of the only Aburame home she had ever really gone into. There was the sound of soft voices talking from the kitchen. She could pick out Minami's soothing alto and Shino's quiet tenor and assumed that the elder Aburame man had gone to do shinobi-council-type-things. She entered the kitchen with a grin, causing the two other occupants to halt their conversation.

"Naru, there you are. Come here so I can check your hands before you do more damage to yourself." Minami said wearily, but with her ever-present kind smile.

Naru stuck out her tongue, but obeyed, dropping the bag she had packed and skipping to sit at the counter beside Shino. Shino turned to look at her, glancing over her arms with a frown. Naru gave him a reassuring smile as Minami unwrapped the bandages.

The woman tutted softly as the burns were revealed, looking ghastly, but better than it had been the night before. She smeared more balm on them and re wrapped up to Naru's elbows. Naru sighed as some of the sting that had been building up all morning began to recede.

"Well, I'd like to stay and chat with you both," Minami winked at the duo, "But I have some errands of my own to get done."

"Goodbye, mother." Shino replied, watching his mother retreat from the room. As soon as she left the doorway he turned back to Naru. From the creases in his forehead Naru could tell he was examining her behind his black tinted shades. "How are you feeling?"

'Fine now!' Naru signed to him cheerfully, swinging her legs from the chair she sat in. Shino looked at her for a moment longer, then looked away with a nod. Naru's smile drooped as she observed the tension he still held in his shoulders and expression that she could see. His bugs buzzed loudly – louder than Naru had ever remembered them being.

She frowned and leaned closer to him, touching his shoulder gingerly to gain his attention. 'Shino? Is something wrong?'

The boy pushed up his glasses and sighed, seeming to be searching for words. The blonde girl worried her lower lip between her teeth in anxiousness. After a few moments he looked up at her again, seriousness in every line of his face.

"Do you trust me?"

Naru paused a moment, shocked by the question. She had thought it was obvious.

'Yes! Of course! Why would you think I don't?'

"It is only..." Shino paused, "It bothers me that you felt you could not come to me after you failed your exam. You said last night that you were afraid, but knew I would not abandon you. What were you afraid of?"

Naru hurried to reassure and correct the boy, 'I was afraid of letting you down, not that you would leave me on my own. I didn't want to tell you that I had failed, because you believed so much in me...'

Naru wilted, her shoulders and head drooping as she was reminded of the intense shame she had felt. A hand landed on her shoulder and she looked up.

"I would not have been disappointed in you," Shino explained softly, "We would have figured it out together."

Naru nodded, 'I know that now. I'm sorry.'

The tension drained from his spine as he relaxed. He nodded and his cheeks raised from behind his collar. "No apology needed. I understand. I am simply glad you trust me."

Naru hesitated, then signed, 'You trust me too, right?'

Shino didn't hesitate to give a firm nod, "Yes."

Naru sighed in relief, smiling brightly. Shino smiled back, pushing up his glasses. Watching the motion, Naru jumped up and grabbed the bag she packed, pulling out a small, plain wrapped gift. She grinned widely as she resumed her seat.

'You just reminded me that I have a graduation present for you!'

She thrust the package into his hands. Shino hesitated, then pulled open the tie and opened the flaps of the box.

'I thought you would need something that wouldn't fall off as easily for missions,' Naru began nervously, 'Plus I think they look kinda cool!'

Shino pulled out of the box a pair of dark tinted goggles. They were built sturdily and had a no-shine finish, perfect for keeping glare out of his eyes. Naru watched anxiously for his reaction, wringing her hands. After a moment she saw his cheeks rise from behind his collar as he looked up at her.

"Thank you. These are perfect."

Naru smiled in relief. Shino stood up and picked up the box on the table, handing it to the girl, "I have gotten a graduation present for you as well."

Naru wasted no time in tearing off the paper and opening the long, flat box. Inside, underneath some tissue paper, were a pair of ninja gloves the same brown shade as her pants. She slipped them on quickly over her bandages, marveling at the soft texture. They reached her elbows and fit snugly around her forearms. On the back of her hands sat a metal plate, just like the one on her headband. However, unlike her headband, there was no leaf engraving – but instead a white rose.

"I did some research," Shino explained as he saw her looking at the plates, "The white rose is a symbol of a new beginning – a new chapter. I thought it appropriate – Oof."

Naru had attacked him in a hug, beaming her thanks. He smiled and nodded his head to her unspoken words.

After a moment they parted and Shino spoke, "Well, let us go test out how stealthy you can now be with some proper clothing to hide in, hmm?"

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The next day found both Naru (wearing her new gloves) and Shino (new goggles firmly in place) sitting in their old classroom, anxiously awaiting their team assignments. Naru could hear Shino's bugs making more noise than usual, but that could partly be caused by the doubling in size of his colony. Shino had told Naru that with his graduation he had been awarded his full colony of bugs, which Naru thought was rather awesome.

Naru told Shino about her interaction with Kakashi the previous day, to which he 'hmm'ed and nodded. "Perhaps it is best if he is not your sensei." he had said after a few moments, "It is better to have someone new that could bring other things to your skills."

When put that way, Naru fully agreed, but was still wary of who she did end up with. But more than that, on whether she would end up on Shino's team or not.

Before she could ponder more about it, Iruka entered the room alone. She heard some of her classmates whispering about the whereabouts of Myzuki. She grimaced at the thought of the trickster, and she could tell Shino was just as perturbed by the sound of his bugs growing louder for a moment.

"Alright!" Iruka said, commanding the room into silence, "I have here your team selections! I just wanted to say congratulations for making it to Genin, and good luck!"

The kind teacher started down the list, Naru growing more anxious by the second. He cycled through the first teams, filled with names Naru didn't really know all that well.

"Team 7 – Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Inuzuka Kiba with Hatake Kakashi."

Sasuke scoffed to himself and Sakura cheered loudly. Kiba gave a groan and pouted, and Naru pitied him slightly.

"Team 8 – Nara Shikamaru, Hyuuga Hinata and Yamanaka Ino with Yuhi Kurenai."

"Team 10 – Uzumaki Naru," Naru gave a silent gasp, leaning forward in her seat, "Aburame Shino," both gave a sigh of relief, smiling to each other, "and Akimichi Choji with Sarotobi Asuma."

Choji, from the row behind them, stopped chomping on his chips for a moment to give them a curious look, offering a tentative smile when the duo looked back at him. Naru beamed at the Akimichi boy, while Shino offered a polite nod.

"Now!" Iruka clapped his hands, setting his clip board down, "Your senseis should be by to pick you up soon."

At once, a couple of Jounin walked through the door, calling out their respective team numbers. A man with a goatee and spiked black hair scanned the crowd of students, settling on where Shino and Naru were, and Choji behind them.

"Team 10."

Naru hopped up at once, skipping to the bottom of the stairs. Shino followed behind her at a slower pace, hands in his pockets. Naru could hear the crinkling of Choji's chip bag as he stood, and the quiet "See ya, Shikamaru." he gave to his friend.

The tall Jounin, presumably Asuma, gave the three a small smile as they stood before him. "Let's go talk for a bit. How about training ground 10?"

All three genin nodded, following the man in silence as he turned out the door. Naru turned backwards to wave at Iruka in a parting gesture, to which he smiled and waved back.

As they trekked towards Konoha's training grounds, Asuma and Shino seemed content to stay in silence, while Choji was quietly chomping on his snack. Naru, however, was practically vibrating in excitement. She had trouble keeping her steps quiet enough when all she wanted to do was stomp and skip to get some of her energy out.

"Naru?"

Naru turned to look at the boy walking beside her. Choji blushed a bit, but continued in what he wanted to say, "Shikamaru told me one time that he thought that you can't talk... Is that true?"

Naru hesitated for a moment, but gave a nod in the affirmative. Choji simply blinked, then shrugged and said "Oh, okay. I was just wondering." Naru noticed Asuma looking at them from the corner of his eye before he turned to look ahead again.

Soon enough they arrived at the training ground. Asuma took a seat in the grass, his new students following suit. He looked around at them, a lazy smile on his face.

"And here I was worried I would get a loud group." He joked.

The three genin said nothing to this, simply blinking at the Jounin. Asuma chuckled a bit nervously, rubbing the back of his head. He pulled a cigarette from his hip pouch and lit it.

"Well, I'm sure you all – er, well most of you, sorry - will be talking soon enough. For now, how about some introductions? Ill go first!"

"I am Sarotobi Asuma. I am a Jounin level ninja. I enjoy smoking and playing games like Shogi and Go. As far as strengths, I like using my chakra blades and various jutsu. Weaknesses... ehhh, Genjutsu? Your turn."

The three looked around at eachother. Shino gave a sigh and started talking, "My name is Aburame Shino. I enjoy training with my bugs and Naru. My strengths are my bug techniques and tracking. My weakness is taijutsu."

Choji went next: "I am Akimichi Choji. I like food. My strength is my clan techniques and strength. My weakness is genjutsu, I guess."

Naru jumped up to sign her introduction, which Shino translated automatically for Choji's sake. 'I am Uzumaki Naru! I like training with Shino and making trap designs. My strenth is stealth and traps, and my weakness is jutsu – because I literally can not do any."

Asuma frowned a bit at this and raised a surprised eyebrow, but shook it off a moment later.

"Well! That wasn't exactly a lot of information, but I suppose we'll learn more about each other soon enough...

"So, tomorrow morning we will meet here at nine AM sharp. There is a traditional Konoha test that you must pass in order to stay a genin. So, that means come ready!"

Asuma gave them a last smile before shouting "Bye!" and disappearing in a poof of smoke.

The three sat there stunned for a moment before Choji commented, "When do we get to learn that?"

Shino shrugged, standing up and dusting himself off. Choji and Naru followed his example. Choji folded up his empty chip bag and put it in his pocket, "Well, I'll see you two tomorrow, I guess."

"Be seeing you..." Shino replied, while Naru gave an enthusiastic wave at Choji's retreating figure.

"Come on, Naru," Shino said after Choji had disappeared into the trees, "Let us go see what Mother and Father know about this Asuma..."

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A.N.: So! I am thoroughly sorry for how long it has taken me to write this chapter! School and work and everything else imaginable took up all of my time.

That aside, What do you think about the team assignments? Interesting, no? I thought the combo of Naru, Shino and Choji would work very well.

Next chapter we will get to know this team a bit better and get some training done!

Until then, STAY YOUTHFUL! :)