Another Chapter for you beautiful gents and gals! Hope you all enjoy.

Kushina's hunch had been correct, and Naruto did find himself talking with his teacher Iruka. But it didn't go as he had thought it would, and now, somehow he found himself at a small ramen stand he hadn't been to since before he met...her.

He didn't even remember the little ramen stand besides a few bits and pieces if he were honest with himself, however the owners of said stand very obviously still remembered him. Especially considering the young waitress at the stand, a girl just a few years older than himself had immediately charged up to him and demanded to know where he had been all this time with her arms folded over her chest, and fists clenched.

"You don't remember me do you?" The girl with large black eyes and fair skin stated, as she stared into his eyes before her own eyes started to blink rapidly as tears attempting to stop the flow of tears escaping her.

"Uh...no?" Naruto responded, with a head scratch and slightly guilty look.

"But I do remember your amazing rammmmmrgh!"

That was all he managed to get out, before the surprisingly strong, girl leveled his lower jaw into the cold wood that was the small stands counter.

"You baka how could you forget!" she yelled

As he briefly registered the pan now spinning in front of him, the item he assumed he had just been hit with, he blearily watched the girl turn and run into the back of the restaurant with her white robe and blue skirt fluttering behind her as she ran.

Urghh...why are girls so weird? Naruto mumbled into the cold wood, his speech slurred as his mouth flooded with blood due to biting his own tongue.

The soft chuckling of a male beside him reminded Naruto just who he had come to this little stand with.

"That's a question men have been trying to find the answer to for centuries Naruto" Iruka chuckled out. Either not noticing that the question hadn't been directed to him, or not caring and answering either way.

Naruto glancing at him ignored him, he didn't necessarily want to talk to the man, but he had offered him a free meal, a meal he would be stupid to refuse.

Hearing the sounds of soft footsteps coming from the stand Naruto looked up to see an older man come into view from what was likely the kitchen.

The man in question had a white cooks hat on and what appeared to be a jovial smile set onto his aged and tanned face that held many of the same features of the girl that had just hit him on the head.

"Ahhh, what can i do for you Iruka, Naruto?" he spoke up, "and sorry about Ayame Naruto...she's been worried about you." the cook added "we both have, I haven't seen you in nearly a year if not longer my boy!"

"Ayame? I...remember that name" Naruto thought, he could catch glimpses of their interactions within his memory, but not much. Just a rare feeling of actual joy and even...content when in her presence.

"Why can't I remember anything else?"

Shaking his head slightly, he saw the old man snapping his fingers in front of his face, "ah sorry about that" Naruto spoke up, with a slightly embarrassed expression overcoming his face and the patented his patented head scratch. "

"So uhh...what did you want?."

"Huh you really don't remember us do you my boy?" The man asked, with a thoughtful expression and furrowed brows.

"No?"

"Hmm...that hurts a bit Naruto, but I was asking you what you wanted to order." The cook added with a smile.

"Ah, my bad." Was Naruto's ever so thoughtful response, before glancing at the menu over the older cooks head. "I would like a bowl of miso-ramen please."

"Alright one miso ramen and one shio ramen coming up!"

Watching the old man walk into the back, he turned his head to see Iruka giving him an inquisitive

Stare, with his right eyebrow arched as if silently questioning him…

After the short stare off and realizing that Naruto wouldn't answer the unasked question unless voiced Iruka started off their conversation "So...you don't remember Teuchi or his daughter Naruto?" Iruka asked.

"No...no I don't sensei, at least not much"

"But you have been here before? Do you remember much about being at the stand?"

"Some, but you didn't invite me here to talk about this ramen stand or its owners did you sensei?" Naruto asked, staring at the older man, wondering what he wanted. At first he had been fine with just playing it slowly, but not remembering them was grating on his nerves.

Iruka just hummed in response, seeing the chef coming in with their orders.

"Orders up boys!" Teuchi stated with a grand smile, before giving an expectant look to the two.

Naruto seeing, Iruka ignore his question to break his chopsticks in two and beginning to eat, stated a simple "Itadakimasu" before digging in himself.

His first bite, brought Naruto's senses to new heights, his taste buds exploding in flavor, and forcing his nose to inhale the orgasmic scents that was Ichiraku Ramen. His eyes widened in surprise at how truly amazing this piece of….art was.

"It's good isn't it? Iruka asked, only to be ignored by a shouting Naruto asking for a second and third bowl to be brought up before he had even finished the first.

A Half an hour later…

Nine bowls, nine empty bowls sat in front of the blonde child...he wanted to weep for his lost money. The child apparently was a glutton when it came to the food, or art as he called it under his breath.

"So do you remember me now Naruto?" Teuchi asked with glee in his tone, and a glint in his eyes as his eyes followed Iruka's hands as he pulled out the bills to pay for their meal.

"Nope." was Naruto's response

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Well then…"Teuchi paused, eyeing Naruto for a second before turning to Iruka. "Well, will that be all Iruka?" Teuchi asked.

"Yea, that will be all." Iruka nodded to the man, before turning around on the stool to see that dusk was fast approaching.

Turning to the boy he had just fed, Iruka pondered how he should restart their talk.

"So, Naruto…" Iruka started, before trailing off, waiting for the boy to respond, to show he was listening.

"Yes, sensei?

"I was wondering if you would want to go to…" He started, before being interrupted by a soft sigh from the boy.

"Please, sensei can you please just ask your questions? Whatever they are? Here and now" Asked the clearly tiring child.

"Very well then, what is a ninja Naruto?"

Naruto simply blinked rapidly in response, not expecting that question before responding with a resounding "huh?"

"On your last test, not the one today but before, there was a question asking what a ninja is." Iruka began. "You said a Ninja is someone who is strong, and well...that was it" He stated, glancing at the boy in front of him.

Tilting his head to the right, Naruto just rubbed the back of his head in response to give himself a few seconds to think over his response. "Well I guess...I will stand by my first response" Naruto responded with an awkward laugh.

Looking away from the boy as they stood in front of the ramen stand, hearing the clattering of dishes showcasing Teuchi cleaning up his shop before closing, Iruka stared off at the sunset that was beginning.

"Well, it isn't exactly an incorrect answer Naruto, but i hope you understand there is a lot more to that." Iruka stated.

"Well sure, but I don't need any of the other stuff dattebayo!" Naruto responded, before turning to the man, after glancing towards the moon. "Anyway, it was fun sense, but It's getting late." he said before turning to go home.

"Wait!, What do you mean you don't need any of that other stuff Naruto? Without it, you can and likely will die in the field if you ever are made a ninja".

An image of her face appeared in his mind's eye, but he couldn't tell him about her so he decided the most simple answer. "Because that's what the Hokage is, the strongest person, the strongest ninja, a person that is strong, in mind and body."

"True...but it requires a lot more than just that Naruto, it's not just flashy jutsus and straight up taijutsu fights, the ninja world isn't that black and white. Do you understand that Naruto?"

"Sure sensei...can I go home now?"

Sighing, Iruka just looked at him before looking at the Hokage's monument. "yea, just keep in mind what I said okay Naruto?", Not hearing a response he turned around to look at Naruto before seeing him gone.

"Well that could have gone better" Iruka thought, staring intently at the fourth's head, before shaking his head…"Or it could have gone worse."

Snapping shut his oh so beautiful, masterful piece of art that was his precious, Kakashi's lone eye moved away from its pages to follow the small blonde running the opposite way from him.

Currently he was sitting upon the rooftop opposite the ramen stand, and had been simply observing Naruto. It was something that had become somewhat of a past time for him besides his usual reading habits in the past weeks, as he found out quickly that a life outside of Anbu was far less time consuming then had had at first remembered.

Getting up slowly, he observed the lone Anbu assigned to follow the boy for the time being. Crow, if he remembered correctly, was the most likely culprit, as she appeared to request the mission the most whenever it was available.

Seeing the long brunette colored hair flowing as what appeared to be a females body moving from shadow to shadow atop the rooftops to follow the boy somewhat confirmed his suspicions on who would be following him.

Crow was an interesting mystery for him when he was Anbu, being someone that was handpicked by Hiruzen Sarutobi was an honor few held, yet her appearance had come out of the blue...plus her...assets interested him. Maybe that was actually why he took an interest in the female Anbu member he pondered…

Such assets were hard to come by, and rare to not notice, to see them and not correlate them with a member of the shinobi corps was an oddity...It was how he usually identified the new female Anbu members.

Shaking his head to put those thoughts on the backburner he jumped down before the Chunin instructor could walk away himself...maybe he could help him find something of interest for his brother.

Kushina you awake? Naruto asked, as he nudged her apparently sleeping form ever so slightly.

A cute moan was his reply, before she turned away from him, digging further into the white sheets that covered her form and burrowing further into her pillow.

"Kushina, come on and wake up it's time to train." Naruto tried again, before trying to pull the pillow away from her apparent iron tight grip.

"Just give me a little more time to sleep Tsunade…"

"Tsunade? Who's that Nee-san?" Naruto thought, before looking back down at his sister hearing a soft groan and felt a slight gust of wind hit him from…"nowhere?"

"The hell was that?"

He gave a thoughtful frown, looking at his sister, before tugging on the pillow again, before a bright red pulse of what he assumed to be her chakra emitted from her, and another soft breath of wind rattled through the room, moving the curtains the kept what little light from the outside from entering the room.

Looking at her curiously, he was going to try again before a second and third pulse emitted.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaugh!"

Pain throttled through his skull as Naruto rolled around, "ow, ow, ow, ow" he moaned as he held his throbbing head.

"Ah, for fucks sakes, why does this keep happening dattebane!?"

Blinking back to awareness and crawling up to his arms to stand on slightly wobbling legs, Naruto coughed slightly as he saw the dust cloud formed by his sisters apparent transformation back into her nine-tails form.

Said transformation also happened to have destroyed the half of the building that they had been residing in as well as the room he had just been trying to awake her in.

Looking behind him, he found a peculiar indent within the wall that looked far too similar to his own body to be simple coincidence. Seeing a small smear of blood where the indent of what he could only assume had been the cause of the throbbing that was his head,he reached back behind him to feel a sticky and wet substance upon his hand.

Pulling his hand in front of him, to see the red stain of blood, he shook his head slightly before breathing out slowly, and letting the wall reform back to what it once was.

Hearing the clattering of wood and stone ending, signifying that the building had seemed to settle down, Naruto decided to jump outside towards the form of the nine-tailed fox.

"You okay Nee-san?" Naruto called out before stepping back slightly.

What he saw frightened him, seeing cold, dark blood red eyes filled with hate glaring at him. They weren't his sister's eyes...they didn't shine like hers usual did. She looked to be about to swipe at him, before Kushina shook her head and a purple edge came back to her eyes.

Shaking it off as him seeing things, he looked up at her to see her shrinking ever so slowly back into her human form.

Humming softly, as she shook out her limbs, and feeling herself in the far more comfortable body, Kushina looked at Naruto, then to the building that she had just been soundly sleeping in.

"I told you not to wake me up if i'm asleep Naruto-kun, you should learn from this" With a nod at him and another hum as she seemed to drift off into thought.

Naruto could only balk at her, with his jaw hanging open, "but….wha, how is this my….?" stuttering he couldn't come to a response, before shaking his head again, trying to get rid of the still slightly ringing in his inner ear.

"Forget it" he said, rubbing his aching head just a bit, before finally feeling the ringing leaving, head injuries even in his own mindscape appeared to be a bit debilitating.

"Soooooooo" he drawled, looking at her intently now, regaining her attention, "Who's….Tsunade?"

"Tsunade?"

Nodding, "Tsunade", he replied, only to gain a blank gaze from her in response…

"I don't know?"

"Oh..."

"Yup"

"Time to train?" Naruto asked, coming back to why he had come to the mindscape in the first place.

"Sure!" Kushina chirped, before rushing him and punching the boy in the face, sending him flying back into the wall he had just fixed, putting another indent into…

"Why?"

Turning, around with an arm thrusting out, she head one, two, three, four and five soft thuds all hitting home.

Before turning around in a whirlwind of raven haired locks and deep-sea blue cloths to do the same with the other arm thrusting out, and having five very similar soft thuds showcasing her hitting her targets.

Opening her onyx eyes with small beads of sweat rolling down her porcelain skin, she stared at the five targets in front of her, counting five bulls eye, before glancing at the others behind her and counting the same.

It wasn't enough!

Itachi would, could do hundreds at once.

She was the best Kunoichi in the class, the academy even! But it wasn't enough. She had applied for early graduation already, and yet had been denied.

"Nine-year olds for as long as I continue to reign as Hokage, will never see the field of battle again, children will not see the field of battle" The Sandaime had told her.

Her mother had even told her to just "wait".

"WAIT!? For what?" She seethed, "for him to come finish the job?" she had replied.

Satsuki Uchiha had expected a hurt look, anything but her response. "You aren't ready to be a Genin".

"How?"

"How! HOW AM I NOT READY?" She roared, splintering the dummy in front of her with a kick, before reverse kicking it out of the ground to explode onto a tree nearby.

Something along the line of mental stability and blah blah, blah had been both of their responses, her mother...the Hokage they all just didn't understand...

All she knew was that she needed to grow stronger, and the academy wouldn't give her that. It was a waste of time.

Her mother had gone as far as refusing to continue her training, not until she had completed a "promise" that she had given to her.

A 'promise' to befriend some lazy blonde boy that no one even talked to! Not that she talked to anyone either, but that was besides the point! No one was worthy, strong enough for her to waste her time on in the academy.

Shaking her head about to rid herself of thoughts on the academy, she scowled slightly, before gathering her hair and putting it back into the spiky ponytail it had been in before her training had begun after diner.

She dived back into her training, before eventually falling asleep, under the moonlight in the grassy meadow that was the old Uchiha training ground.

Satsuki would awake, as normal in her bedroom, once more not realizing that she had never returned to it the night before.

A/N

So good? bad? meh?

As always please review if you would be so kind, what can i improve on if anything? (there's always something...)

Sorry if I didn't respond to any reviews/questions specifically...Pretty sure I got most of the questions answered but was away in the middle of no where were I could only respond on my phone to any reviews, which was...painful.

Also for Naruto's "pairings" and or relationships. I'm mostly just winging those if i'm honest. If he gets together with someone, it isn't exactly planned. Plus he's still a bit young so nothing going on there for a little while.

Till next time!