From Square 1

Author's Note: Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto and all things in this story belong to their respective owners. With that disclaimer out of the way, this chapter is meant to fill in major plot holes and as reviewers requested, Naruto is getting more face time. The next chapter Naruto might finally get a peek into what happened at the chuniin exams. Someone gets good advice and it might take more than one person to stop a certain someone.

Chapter 6: Ramen Common Sense

Despite the oncoming terror of the looming morning, Naruto made a beeline to the one place he knew to be safe, quiet and nearly empty during that time between evening and Twilight. Ichiraku Ramen didn't have many customers when it was the dead of night. The stars just started to peek out upon the myriad of sunset amidst the shallow cityscape of village lights. Adult Jounins leaving for home were tall enough to swipe the hanging banner from their line of sight just to get a clear view of the village gates. Naruto's line of sight was barely the shortest out of all his teammates felt the banner barely brushing the top of his hair. He wondered when he'd be tall enough to literally be eye level with Ichiraku Ramen's welcome sign but then again that was the least of his thoughts.

"Ah Naruto, long time no see," Teuchi greeted, "You weren't here at your usual times today."

Naruto climbed to his seat only to flop his chest along the countertop. So lost as he was in his own thoughts that he didn't notice Teuchi's brunette daughter Ayame slip him his regular order with the usual drink. Ayame paused, noticing something was missing. The bouncing, the constant chatter and record long slurps were instead replaced by idle noodle nibbling, eyes glazed in thought, and the only sign of Naruto's overabundant energy was a low tremor shaking the cash register. Naruto was excited and his foot was doing eighty miles an hour fidgeting to make up for the lack of noise.

"Naruto," Teuchi playfully scolded, "Are you planning trouble?"

This was the only time Naruto put thought into something, his pranks were more dynamic when he actually put his brain to work.

"Actually, I was busy studying." Naruto interjected.

The crickets chirping couldn't be any louder. Naruto never studied.

"You're kidding," Teuchi remarked. Naruto's expression didn't break, "You're studying?"

"I never studied a day in my life!" Naruto yelled.

To which Teuchi and Ayame exchanged a glance before saying, "We know."

Naruto didn't speak up at first. After a brief retelling of everything he did. Teuchi praised him heartily for qualifying for the Jōnin exam complete with a slap on the back and a free bowl. Naruto hadn't finished the first one yet. Ayame peppered him with questions but Naruto only heard half the inquiry.

"So what are you going to do for the next test?" Ayame queried.

"I have this "Genin" team and . . ." Naruto rattled.

"Oh how exciting!" She gushed.

"You don't understand!" Naruto balked, "My "genin" are Kiba's Mom, Ebisu the Closet Perv and Hinata's Nanny! They're like Kakashi's age only their ancient! They're not actual Genin. Why didn't they use actual Genin!"

The two chefs pondered this a little. So far, as far as tests went, this year's Jōnin exam was more disorganized than usual. It didn't make sense how they did things for step one and step two. Yet the second test sounded familiar. Teuchi was once a fellow apprentice beside a ninja chef who went through his own special challenge. The results were not pretty all the time.

"You know Naruto, maybe the reason why you have Jōnin Adults for your genin team this year is because they already have all the skills needed for basic Genin training and then some in order to survive this test as well." Teuchi exclaimed. Naruto stared dumbfounded, chopsticks slipped from his fingers but Teuchi continued. "I know I'm not a ninja but even I had to have special training to make the Ramen that I do now. Teachers each give their students basic training before they give them the specialized training given for their special areas and the special areas of the student."

Naruto nodded, listening to Teuchi talk of it that way. The "Mock-genin squad" was finally making much better sense. Before their first C-rank mission Team 7 didn't work well together at all. Sasuke played lone wolf, Sakura was distracted (by Sasuke) and Naruto tried to do the work of three people. The lessons didn't hit home until after the battle at Naruto Bridge. A harsh reality Team 7 couldn't get out of their heads. Sakura still carried a single peace lily from time to time over the memorial stone since gravestones were not allotted for Missing Nin. Naruto was back to being deep in thought while nibbling the noodles. His foot dangled languidly off the bar stool.

"Do you have any idea what your team can do?" Teuchi asked.

Naruto's eyes lit up on command. He blabbed, "Oh yeah! Kiba's Mom works with Kuromaru!"

"Hmm?" Teuchi wondered aloud.

"Kuromaru is a HUGE talking dog as in mega ginormous big!" Naruto rambled. His arms vaulted to demonstrate the dog's massive size.

"Anything else about your team?"said Ayame.

Naruto paused. A few eye blinks later the blonde plopped himself in his seat to pout.

"Naaahhh I got nothin'." Naruto smartly declared, "But you gotta admit that dog is cool!"

Teuchi shook his head. Naruto didn't seem to remember the names but of course he remembered the dog. He coaxed Naruto with a bit more direct approach.

"Naruto, how are you going to be able to work with your team when you don't even know what they can do?" Teuchi stated.

Somehow those words hit the right spot. Naruto went flying out the building. He backpedaled to pay for the meal and went tearing down the street with enough pent up energy to power up a city. He found what few ingredients he needed. He packed up his kunai, his shuriken; his messy notebook titled "Bell Test" but stopped short. The only photo on his bedside table needed a little spit shine.

"I wonder how Sasuke and Sakura are doing on the chuunin exam?" Naruto sighed, being in this test surrounded by so many adults. He wished he could hang out with Team 7 again.

"Heh, Knowing Sasuke, someone probably wants to kill him?" He chuckled than frowned, "On second thought I hope nobody kills him. Sakura's resourceful though, I know she'll be okay."

The gray bleary sky gave way to a morning nip of chill. Ko yawned tiredly. As Hinata's personal bodyguard, he didn't always get to sleep in late and rose whenever his young charge rose. His waking schedule was a habit. Tsume, on the dot, marched forward with purpose. She was driven to find out what the catch was that got Ko to get Naruto to act so well behaved. Ebisu was on time for the sake of leading by example but he still held contempt for the little snot. No one rats him out and gets away with it.

Ko hummed a happy tune. Ko was the new guy. He thought the Kyuubi Container wasn't so bad, for being a vicious demon fox. His colleague's, Hinata's academy teachers, often spoke bad things about the fox. He was the only one to politely greet Naruto upon his arrival.

. . . What he didn't know about the little prankster certainly wouldn't hurt him right?

"Hey fellas I wanted to do an old test my sensei liked to do," Naruto announced. The bells between his fingers jingled, bright and shining, catching the trio's attentions much like hungry wolves in front of a mooing steak.

"Tsume, I think there's some kind of catch," Kuromaru warned but Tsume cracked her knuckles with glee.

. . . Three against one . . . lovely odds . . .

Naruto dropped a bag at their feet full of square boxes but the Naruto that was there-poof-went up in smoke. Tsume cursed, Ebisu fumed, and Ko rubbed his eyes when he double checked a third time. Yes Naruto's footprints were actually there. No, Naruto wasn't there. Ko could've swore Naruto actually shook his hand a second ago.

"You've got to find me first~!" Naruto sang, his voice was everywhere yet nowhere at once. Tsume grabbed the bag and dumped its contents on the floor.

"Empty bento boxes," Tsume cursed, "That brat ate them."

The unanimous growls of empty stomachs protested mightily in outrage. Ebisu pushed his glasses up to hide his anger. He knew that fox was a good for nothing monster. Ko kept quiet, his face a hapless mask as he remembered the first time he saw Naruto.

The sparring ended in failure. Two tears following each other in their descent when little Hinata fell to her knees. Her little sister hit so fast and so hard. The wind jumped from her lungs. She wanted to make her daddy so proud but his face was set in stone. One shake of his head and Hinata bolted, too blinded by tears to notice her legs carried her out of the compound gates.

"Hinata-sama!" Ko yelled, dashing after her, not even noticing he bumped into the younger daughter and literally shoved his own boss away from him. He bee-lined after the girl.

'Where did she go?' Ko thought to himself. Hinata was very good at dissappearing quickly. A talent that made it hard for anyone to find her, her quiet nature and lack of confidence made it nearly impossible to track her without a jutsu. 'Byakugan.'

The chakra paths illuminated a small trio half a head taller than Hinata and a year older. The bullies pushed her head to the ground and threatened her. His opalescent eyes saw a shade of red.

"Oh no," Ko cursed under his breathe, "Those fools."

Ko jumped to the nearest pine and with nary a pivot the tree bended beneath his weight. Chakra pooled into his legs. He used the pine to slingshot skyward. He sailed gracefully undulating not a single ripple as he disappeared into the canopy below. He jumped from to branch and swiveled his way down. He dashed the rest of the way to the sight.

"Quit it!" yelled a voice.

"Huh? And who might you be?"

Ko's ears only caught snippets of information. The Bunshin Naruto performed was terrible. He responded to the bullies teasing by attacking their leader. Only problem is two others pinned him down. He thought they were beating Hinata to a pulp.

"Hinata-sama!" Ko yelled

"Oh ****!" One of the bullies cussed. They bolted.

"Hinata-sama are you well?" Ko stated. He glanced, he saw Naruto. His heart leapt to punch his adam's apple, the rumored demon lay before him. "That child's . . . come Hinata let's go."

He picked up Hinata's hand and left.

"Wait, he helped me," Hinata squeaked. She lagged behind to defend him. Ko gently yet firmly led her away by the hand.

"Don't concern yourself with him." Ko commanded softly the big secret as to WHY was on the tip of his tongue. Hinata would've been treated just as badly for associating with him, "Let's go."

He left in a hurry. His lengthening strides making the tiny girl run so as to not be dragged by him. She looked back as Naruto's limp form shrank with the growing distance inside the forest.

Ko didn't even think to check Naruto for injuries. His duty was to take Hinata to safety. Real danger or not he simply was doing his job. Yet the one part that boggled his mind was that pained smile he wore whenever bullies laughed at him. The unnaturally lightening bruises, above all else. He looked so small and breakable even when he left him there on the ground. The same fox demon currently holed up inside would see to the boy's injuries. Surely this demon couldn't accomplish much as a ninja.

At least that's what he thought when he examined the bentos. Each box felt and looked amazingly clean in addition to quite empty. Naruto didn't even cook anything to begin with.

"Naruto didn't eat the bentos." Ko explained, "And besides these not even being Bentos to begin with, I do not know how he was able to create real shadow clones."

Naruto hid in the bushes watching the trio. He had two plans thought up. (A) study and think up something strategically genious, or (B)wing it come hell or high water. Option B sounded more affordable. This was only just the beginning of a slew of pranks up his sleeve to test the waters before he really let loose on his team. Ko saw through the trick but the other two easily jumped to conclusions. He almost let loose an appreciative whistle. Ko "Fancy Pants" Hyuuga was pretty good.

Ko activated his byakugan and glared in Naruto's direction.

"Ah crud!" Naruto hissed.

Ko found him. The adorably unassuming Ninja had duty driven into him. He shunshined out of sight, Naruto's feet scrabbled for purchase. The onslaught slammed into him. Ko's index fingers shot forward. Naruto rolled, as Ko barely touched the little bells. A sharp jingle echoed. Tornadoes torpedoed overhead. Naruto fell to his knees and rocketed into the tree tops. The tornadoes rebounded back, Naruto barely ducked.

The hiss of a fuse and the smell of gun powder. Naruto yelped, eyes wide upon sight of paper bombs. Explosions blossomed through the canopy in hot pursuit of the little orange runt. Naruto cursed under his breath spotting a silent shadow. Ko pounced, time slowed. A slight flare of chakra missed its target. Ko's face slackened in horror at the approaching bomb jamboree. Slight twist and the paperbombs charred the back of his vest.

"Whoops! Gomen Hyuuga-san," Ebisu gulped.

"You IDIOT!" Tsume grouched, "You're supposed to capture the Jounin not KILL the Jounin you BLOCKHEAD!"

"He's Kyuubi!" Ebisu snapped back, "What else can we do?"

The two arguing didn't notice Naruto. Dingle-dingle went the bells. Heads snapped to the sight of an orange clad blonde running for downtown Konoha.

"Ah dang, here comes the catch," Kuromaru sniffed, unimpressed.

"He wouldn't" they gasped.

"Um . . . excuse me . . . Ebisu-sempai, Inuzuka-san," Ko piped up with a little bow, "Something tells me . . . yes he would."

The unwitting battleground had just been extended in congratulations to no plan at all. The new battleground for the Uzumaki bell test involved downtown Konoha and every civilian in the crossfire. Naruto landed behind the Hokage Tower. His heart palpitating in a long vigorous hum revved up to super speed. This was not a part of the plan but he learned tons of information about his team.

They were already working together to pass the test so basically they got the gist of the test.

Ko was quiet yet scary. He couldn't feel his heart beating, just this numb, thrum-thrum of the old heart having a heart attack. His left side shaking not from fear but because parts of his body simply shut down.

"What the heck . . . my body!" Naruto growled, he took a step but his body fell limp. Nicks and cuts from his exploding tree run made pain zing through his muscles. Ko's gentle fist attack missed his stomach but barely grazed that cluster of nerves in his thigh. Naruto was down for the count. "My leg's on fire!"

While Ko hung back to actually assess the situation. Kuromaru and Tsume were both on all fours getting a good whiff of the ground. Ebisu whipped out his little opera glasses. A pleased grin when he spot Naruto fall BAM to the street. People glanced sideways and sidestepped the orange clad kid who was dragging himself away by one arm. Face set in a malicious grimace of determination.

"I've narrowed the searching range," Ko declared, "Naruto is in the alley behind the missions desk. It's impossible. I-inconcievable! He shouldn't move!"

Tsume clapped the young Hyuuga on the back. Her fierce grin and maniacal gruff laughter reverberated through the trees.

"Excellent work Ko," Tsume cheered, "He's wounded! Kuromaru and I will be able to track his scent from here, ne Kuromaru?"

Kuromaru barked in agreement.

"I didn't wound him, I used a disabling blast. He'll die if he jumpstarts his chakra!" Ko panicked.

"Now Hyuuga-san, kids aren't that stupid, even Kiba doesn't try to-" She tried to reassure her teammate but Ko scooted away. He retained his calm but inside he shook so much, nothing was holding together.

"Ebisu-san! What's happening to Naruto!" He yelled, momentarily heartfelt concern overrode the sensible ninjas common sense to check with his Byakugan.

Meanwhile Naruto dragged himself to a sitting position. He searched around his jacket pocket for the energy drink he stashed away. He tried to open the can with his teeth. Numb fingers had no grip. The can rolled into the street.

"Stupid fingers," He mumbled, "Loser does the dishes after all this."

Ebisu frowned, if Ko was right. Naruto shouldn't feel the left side of his body. He thumbed the instant ramen cup. No microwave, no time to wait. He bit into the cup and slurped the contents dry.

Tsume bit back a curse. Kuromaru's ears pricked forward. He could smell the ramen cup all the way from his perch. The trio bolted to the treetops but Ko stopped midway and dropped to the ground.

"Ko!" Ebisu sniped, "You said to hustle."

Ko doublebacked to put away a box. He ran forward and bolted back. The bentos properly packed and orderly he ran to join them.

"What took you!" Ebisu fumed.

"I was cleaning," Ko stated, bag slung over his shoulder, "I'm not letting that boy track us just because I underestimated him once."

Naruto felt the pins and needles sensation lessoning as he ran into the nearest crowd and disappeared. The temporary chakra boost from the ramen broth wasn't going to last. Naruto bolted down the empty backstreets a maze of corridors within the stinking slums. Tsume wrinkled her nose to nearly hurl.

"Who lives like this," she said, Tsume had an advanced since of smell but she was still only human. She could stand the stench but poor Kuromaru was rolling in a futile effort to use both paws to plug his nose. "Yuck!"

Ko's byakugan awake. He headed to the roofs while tracking the young ninja and WHACK! With so many walls and such perfect 360° supersight. Ko didn't see that wall coming among the kaleidoscope of reflective bricks. Ko was rubbing the sun from his eyes.

"Hmm, clever very clever," Ebisu drawled, "But any trick you can pull. I can pull off better."

He casually walked around the outside, whistling a classic tune. Naruto had to come out of the slums some time. All he had to do was walk around to the other end of the maze and wait. What barreled him over was three hundred pounds of yelping fur.

"Kuromaru!" Ebisu barely bit out when the dog ran him over. Paw prints on his forehead. Gravel down his back.

"You mention me?" the real Kuromaru rumbled. Everyone followed Ebisu around the maze. The dog that ran over Ebisu-poof- turned into the Little Orange Runt.

Ebisu gnashed his teeth as the kid headed to the rooftops. Naruto was exhausted. He didn't have much keeping his knees stable. He performed a few hand signs-poof-that kid vanished. Ebisu snorted and stalked gracefully across the roof. All grace was lost however when the sight of a certain billboard had him cackling with glee.

"AHHH!" Ebisu cheered, "Icha Icha Paradise the Movie!"

Upon spotting his teammates. He coughed to hide his moment of weakness. Tsume eyes rolled in their sockets.

"You little pervert," Tsume snorted.

"Naruto is actually quite dead on," Ko stated, "You . . . really are a closet pervert."

"DON'T-CALL-ME-THAT." Ebisu barked.

Kuromaru had something to say but he kept his thoughts to himself. Upon closer inspection, a piece of the billboard collapsed. Naruto Uzumaki with his last breath wheezed out the last of his chakra for the bell test.

"BRAT!" Tsume yelled.

"NARUTO!" Ko cried.

Naruto remembered being lifted onto a thin back before his world whited out. His breath rattled out of his lungs. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't talk. The view that welcomed him when he awoke was a pair of curtains and Kuromaru's muzzle suddenly in his face.

"About time you woke up," Kuromaru stated. "Where's the bells."

Naruto scrunched up his face in thought. Last he remembered, the shadow clones he had transform into bells dissipated when his Chakra shut down. It was hard to think through the heavy fog of fatigue. That numb thrum-thrum of his chest and the memories rattled in. He did his big test. Ko was the Silent Assassin. Tsume fought like a wild animal. Ebisu was a swiss army ninja knife on top of being a snobby closet pervert. He couldn't feel his ribs. His legs were on fire.

"Kuromaru," Tsume scolded, "But it's just as he says. Welcome to the world of the living Naruto."

"I DIED!" Naruto squeaked, his voice reaching such loudness on such little air, "OH NO!"

"On no~, of course you died," Tsume mocked, "Of course Ebisu did not piggy back you to the vet's clinic. Of course Ko did not fix your Chakra and nerve endings. YES, you are alive."

The vet's clinic was closer than the hospital. To Tsume if it breathes and scarfs food down its gullet, animals and humans were pretty much no different anyway,

"Then why am I freezing and lit on fire?" Naruto rasped. His thoughts still clearing once the pins and needles sensation lessoned in the upper half of the body. He gingerly sat up on the metal table.

"That's usually the feeling from jumpstarting over chakra exhaustion with caffeine." Tsume stated. "Which is DANGEROUS! Why did you almost get yourself killed?"

The unabashed concern was something Naruto wasn't used to as he shuffled to a sitting position and hoisted himself off. He crumpled to the floor. Ko rushed to his aid but Naruto waved him aside. The orange clad ninja was used to doing things alone. He wasn't used to doting parents or over concerned bodyguards. He was used to Ebisu's thin lipped frown and hateful gaze. Ko noticed he wasn't checking for any bells in fact Naruto wasn't even acting worried about the stunt he pulled. Naruto wrung his fingers nervously, what could he carefully say?

"Okay that was . . . that was awesome but could anyone take a guess at what the test was about?" Naruto stated, "It's just a part of the test. Two bells . . . three genin."

"Only two out of three would pass and the last sent back to the academy." Ko intoned.

"Only those of high breeding are meant to become eligible," Ebisu smugly answered.

Naruto shook his head at those two. Ebisu was a tutor for pete's seek. He didn't impress Naruto much with his attitude.

"Ebisu-san, please be serious. Naruto is trying his best. At least give a straight answer instead of a cocky one." Ko insisted.

Tsume snorted indignantly, "The answer is obvious isn't it? Teamwork! It takes more than one person to give and receive after all."

"THAT'S IT!" Naruto stated, "THAT'S IT! THAT'S IT! You passed the test! Though my sensei said it as Ninjas who disobey the rules are scum but . . . Ninjas who abandon their comrades are worse than scum. Meh, he's more poetic than me! And if he were the one giving the test, Ko-san, Tsume-san, you guys would get lunch."

"Hey!" Kuromaru barked.

"And you too Kuromaru," Naruto added, "And you, Ebisu, would be tied to a tree."

"Why you!" Ebisu growled grabbing Naruto by the front of his shirt. Naruto glared back just as hard.

"Ebisu-san that's enough!" Ko growled.

"Brat has a point," Tsume stated, "Your actions didn't help much in fact you nearly blew him to bits and almost had him killed."

"And since I'm deciding the test I get to decide the results." Naruto declared, and on a sheepish note added, "I never made the lunches to begin with."

"WHAT!" Tsume and Ebisu yowled, Ko twiddled his thumbs and let out a short whistle. He figured this out from the beginning. His stomach protested otherwise.

"I don't even have a kitchen and no one likes being tied to a tree so I thought this might be fairer. Since Tsume got the answer right, she decides what lunch is. Ko gets to decide where since he was the closest to touching a bell and everyone helps cook."

The trio nodded in slight agreement. That sounded fair. Naruto pointed to Ebisu.

"Loser does the dishes!" Naruto warned. Ebisu was swallowing quite a few choice words and none of them were nice.

"Very well," Ebisu bit out, angered at the outcome.

Even still Naruto was actually drying what dishes Ebisu scrubbed. Astonished at Naruto's somber mood, the eyes behind that goofy grin were cold and hard. Once the face actually matched the eyes, Naruto was quite tight lipped around all the adults especially Ebisu.

"Taichou you didn't have to," Ebisu began, but Naruto had a more pressing matter on his mind.

"Is the rookie nine okay?" Naruto asked. Ebisu choked on his spit. "Yeah, yeah I know Jounins shouldn't pry but you've been close to Konohamaru and The Old Man. You've gotta have some kind of intel. Are they alright? Are they hurt?"

Ebisu didn't know how to answer that question. Jounins were already with a high enough clearance to know this stuff but Naruto was twelve. He was not a battle hardened soldier.

"The Medical shinobi would know but . . . you'll have to train much harder if you want to see them again." Ebisu confided, "The ones who qualify for the Jounin exam are either prodigies or more experienced ninjas much like myself. You will not survive long if you can't block a strike and lead a team while finishing your mission."

"And what mission is that?" he asked.

"The missions assigned to you by Konoha! Konoha makes a promise to the client that the missions will be completed. As a jounin you will hold the trust of your teams and the clients in the palm of your hand if you have to go back on your word to protect a comrade how will you explain that to the Hokage?!" Ebisu demanded

"No duh buddy! I'll just not go back on my word!" Naruto demanded, "I never take shortcuts and I never go back on my word because that is my nindo! My Ninja Way."

He finished putting the last dish away. He jumped down and walked calmly. But he turned to say one last thing.

"Arigato Ebisu-sensei, Tell Konohamaru I said hi." Naruto stated this time with a true smile that reached his eyes and with that he left. He almost forgot to thank Ko, Kuromaru and Tsume before he said good bye.

Author's note: I had fun writing this. It was kind of a struggle muddling through the drama scenes but once I got to the action scenes the ideas just kept coming. I won't be able to update for a while since Art School has my full attention. This part of college is actually fun though. I get to finger paint and call it the fancy name "color theory" If you need me I'll be making sculptures out of Tan Grams and Foam Board. I find Teuchi's line of work had to have something that coincided. I had to pull the Ko flashback scene from Episode 166 of shippuden. It's really hard to pull up Information on Ko Hyuuga. He's only appeared three or four times in the whole series and most of its cameo. He's like the guy with the one liners who makes little to no appearances in the movies.