The trip to Takigakure was as uneventful as it could be for team seven. They ran most of the way, not sprinting, but keeping to a good pace for Genin, going on Chuunin. Sasuke stayed relatively quiet, only drawn into conversations when Ami bugged him enough, Sakura pried enough and Naruto was cheeky enough. The two Kunoichi of the group traded banter and light barbs, Ami's newfound confidence clashing with Sakura's natural stubborn streak. It was amusing to watch them go at it and Naruto even saw a hint of a smile on Sasuke's carefully moulded features once or twice. However other than that, uneventful.
Or it was until they arrived at the rendezvous point they were supposed to meet at somewhere around the presumed location of Takigakure. The village hidden in the waterfalls was a hidden village in the truest meaning of the phrase. If you were not born there, or a Takigakure Shinobi, you didn't know where it was; period. It was why the relatively small and only moderately powerful village had managed to stave of invasion for so long and why it was a bad idea to declare war on them. Teams of Shinobi could spend weeks floundering around the valleys of Tani no Kuni, slowly being worn down by Taki's ambushes and guerrilla tactics.
Naturally people still needed to enter somehow, including visiting Shinobi and merchants, which raised the problem of how to keep the village hidden. The answer was to have everybody blindfolded, dragged underwater a fair way before being led around a dizzying number of turns that even somebody with an eidetic memory would have struggled to remember. The light sense of Genjutsu Naruto could distinctly feel didn't help, and no matter what he tried, for some reason he could not dispel it.
By the time they made it out of the confusing cave system and the blindfolds were removed they were wet, cold and disoriented. However Naruto was remarkably happy to see his Genin made no fuss over it, simply accepting it as a necessary precaution Taki had to take. He also noted with some amusement that the small squad of Taki chuunin that had escorted them seemed upset by their distinct lack of reaction. He assumed that many who made that journey, especially civilians, would have complained a great deal more. As it was, he could see the slight twitch to Sasuke's eye and he quickly hurried his team along.
The residents of Takigakure seemed friendly enough, at least until they caught sight of their headbands. Then, suddenly, it was all cold looks, nervousness and hints of distain; Naruto began to feel like this may have been how he'd be treated if his father wasn't who he was. He'd had a good life all things considered, Jinchuuriki status included, and he could imagine how much worse it could have been. Then again he had refrained from much contact with the beast inside him, just like his mother and Mito before him had done.
It did raise his respect for Fuu though, the only other well-adjusted(ish) Jinchuuriki he had met.
"Naruto?" A rough, but decidedly feminine voice called out from somewhere above the team. All of them, including Sasuke, looked over as one to see the mint-haired girl around Naruto's age that had called out to them. She was sitting atop a nearby rooftop, letting her legs dangle over the edge as she munched on some Takoyaki that was happily steaming away on a plate to her side. Naruto's eyebrows rose in surprise as he wondered, and not for the first time, whether he could summon people by thinking their name.
"Fuu?" The young woman beamed as she had her suspicion confirmed, quickly pouring the remaining octopus balls into a large tubular red container that was swiftly slung onto her back. She hopped down to street level, still grinning, and rushed over; her orange eyes seemed to light up as she got closer.
"I figured there weren't that many people with spiky hair that red; didn't expect to see you here though." She greeted merrily, her eyes swivelling down to the three younger teens eyeing her up in turn. "And with a group of Genin no less." She smirked deviously as her attention returned to the object of her notice. "Goin' soft on me Namikaze?" Naruto just chuckled at that, almost automatically reaching over to ruffle one of his Genin's hair; Sakura just happened to be the unlucky one that was closest.
"We'll see after they trash the Chuunin exams, won't we?" He replied back, a smirk of his own coming into play as the two Jinchuuriki stared each other down.
"Ooh, confident aren't we?" Fuu noted cheekily, hands going to her hips as she decided to take a second look at the three younglings. Behind Naruto, his Genin seemed to puff up at the praise and confidence Naruto was showing in them before Ami sobered and pointed out the obvious.
"Do you know her Sensei?" The violette asked curiously, at the same time snapping Sasuke and Sakura out of their momentary moment of pride. Naruto chuckled sheepishly and ran a hand through his hair, somehow managing to not disturb a single red spike as they all bounced back into place.
"Yeah, we actually met during our own Chuunin exams… so a while ago." Naruto admitted, causing his Genin's eyes to widen; after all Fuu only looked a few years their senior, definitely younger than Naruto at least.
"You were at the same Chuunin exams as Naruto-sensei?" Sakura asked incredulously; after all the redhead had told them he had been only ten at the time so Fuu must have been even younger. Picking up on the reason for their incredulity Fuu could only chuckle; only Naruto and Sasuke noted the slightly dark look that flashed across her eyes.
"Yeah well, let's just say my village was rather eager to see me gain power quickly." She grumbled with half-hearted venom covered up by a rather fake grin that forced her eyes to close just like Kakashi. The Genin blinked in confusion as Ami looked between the two older teens, her eyes slowly narrowing as she took in Naruto's awkward expression and Fuu's suddenly defensive posture.
"So… you're, you know, like Naruto-sensei?" She asked slowly, immediately taking the surprised looks that cross both their faces as a confirmation. Fuu's alarm was a rather amusing contrast compared with Naruto's raised eyebrow and her teammates' confused expressions.
"What does she mean by-" Sasuke started only to get cut off as Naruto waved his hand quickly, trying to mask his urgency. He had yet to tell his Genin of his tenant and now was certainly not the best time to have that conversation. Ami had only worked it out because she was around the house basically every day and Anko had problems keeping her mouth shut when in the comfort and 'privacy' of her own home. It wasn't that he thought they weren't mature enough, or that they would look at him differently; he just hadn't gotten around to it yet.
"It's not something to talk about right now; you guys have enough on your plate as it is with the exams." The redhead grinned suddenly, turning back to Sasuke before continuing. "But, if you all make it through the Chuunin exams and pass, I'd be happy to fill you in." He looked back up and adopted a faux-thoughtful expression before smirking. "That, or you could try and get it out of Ami; whatever works." He admitted, getting Ami to stare at him in horror, knowing just what hell he had thrown her into. However it served its purpose; the nonchalant way Naruto had gone about talking with it reduced Sasuke's interest enough for him to drop the subject.
"Yeah, it's not exactly friendly diner conversation after all." Fuu added in helpfully and all too cheerily, almost making Naruto want to face palm. His work was destroyed and Sasuke immediately looked interested again; now Naruto felt sorry for throwing Ami to the proverbial wolves.
"Not really helping." Naruto sighed, only eliciting a small and utterly carefree shrug from the grinning green-haired girl.
"Wasn't really trying to; but you know, it's been a long time since we last saw each other; wanna go somewhere and catch up?" Fuu diverted expertly, giving an all too cheerful smile as she brushed off Naruto's irritation like it was dust on her shoulder. However Naruto couldn't help but think that the smile looked a little too… practised.
"Sensei what about us?" Sakura cut in, still looking between the two older teens oddly. "We still need to get to the exams." Fuu looked down at the pinkette and for just a moment irritation flashed across her orange orbs but it wasn't noticed.
"Oh, in that case the exams are taking place in the academy; it's down this road, you turn left at the shop that smells like raw fish and down the main road. Big building with a tiled roof the most horrible shade of pale green; you'll know it." Fuu stated offhandedly, causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow at the almost dismissive tone as the verdette turned back to him.
"So about that conversation?" She asked, a hint of something more than just friendly questioning behind those orange eyes. She had to almost visibly bite back a small growl as Ami tugged on Naruto's sleeve, sending distrustful looks Fuu's way.
"Sensei come on, the exams start in a few minutes." She stated mutely, her tone questioning as she turned to the redhead. Naruto's glances passed between his waiting team and the equally anxious-looking Jinchuuriki across from him before sighing deeply.
"Then you guys better make tracks or you'll be late." He finally managed to get out, dreading the look of betrayal briefly passing over Ami's features. It never came though, in fact she looked rather impassive about the whole affair as she let go of his sleeve and returned to her teammates. Naruto hazarded a small smile as he playfully ruffled the girl's hair, worried by her lack of reaction.
"Come on, I'm not always going to be around; especially if you guys make Chuunin. I'll be right here though when you get back from passing the first round." The confidence in his voice seemed to go a small way in reassuring the girl and his smile widened. "Now get going, being late is not a good trait for a Shinobi to develop… as much as Kakashi would disagree." He mumbled the last part as the three turned to go, only giving him one last look before disappearing off down the road.
"That looked hard; the kids really mean that much to you? Seems like a silly thing to get attatched to seeing as you're probably going to lose touch with them soon after they pass." Fuu mentioned casually as Naruto tore his gaze away from their retreating backs.
"They grow on you, as much as you try and distance yourself." His attention turned back to the verdette fully, his smile weakening slightly despite hers only growing. "You don't know? I'd assume you'd become a Jounin by now?" Fuu just gave him a cocky smirk, her hand going back to her hips as she looked up with over-exaggerated haughtiness.
"I'll have you know that I became a Jounin when I was thirteen." Naruto just gave her an equally fake, but playfully so, look as though he were impressed.
"Wow, so that would be a few years after I made ANBU captain then. Pretty good." He quipped, smirking as Fuu's shoulder's sagged slightly and a light glare was sent his way. However it cleared up in a flash, replaced by her usual exuberant smirk.
"Alright mister mister show-off; how about a quick spar eh? See who gets the last laugh?" She challenged with a smirk, bouncing from one foot to the other energetically. Naruto chuckled but waved his hands dismissively all the same.
"Thanks by no thanks; I'll try not to start any international incidents before I'm even made Hokage." Naruto cursed in his head almost as soon as he said it; it just slipped out as he was unused to having to conceal it. Sure enough Fuu's eyebrows nearly dissapeared into her hairline.
"Y-You're going to be made the Hokage?" She nearly shouted, thankfully the shock seemed to keep it down to a hoarse whisper and none of the surrounding passersby, of which there were notably few, seemed to hear.
"Ah… I wasn't really supposed to say that; not really a secret but well, I haven't exactly accepted the offer." The redhead admitted slowly, pre-empting Fuu's questions by smiling and rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Maybe we could go somewhere else to talk?" He suggested quickly, before Fuu found her voice again. The statement seemed to rouse Fuu from her surprise and she nodded dumbly before shaking her head as if to remove cobwebs.
"Ah… yeah; I was going to suggest that anyway." She stated, mute surprise still lacing her tone as she turned and started moving almost robotically. Five minutes later and they were sitting up in one of the lower branches of the enormous tree that overshadowed pretty much the entirety of Taki. It made Naruto wonder how the village could stay hidden so easily with such an enormous landmark that he distinctly did not remember seeing anywhere nearby the rendezvous point.
"This is an… interesting spot." Naruto ventured after a few too many long seconds of rather awkward silence. Fuu looked around, her shock having faded to be replaced by a half-lidded, content expression as her legs swung lazily beneath her.
"I always come up here to relax at the end of the day; it's one of the few places that you can see the sunset." Naruto blinked in confusion before looking up at the sky.
"What do you..?" He trailed off, noticing for the first time that there was no sun in the sky, nor were there any clouds, just a solid blue sky that just got lighter towards the horizon. He wondered how he could have missed something so glaringly obvious, he was usually more observant than that. However Fuu's gentle laughter gave him the idea that it wasn't just him being inattentive.
"Yeah, the Genjutsu trick a lot of people when they first come here; it's amusing every time. I swear some Merchants have panic attacks, thinking that we did something to the sun while their backs were turned." She snorted good naturedly, her smile becoming noticeably less forced.
"Genjutsu?" Naruto questioned, glancing back up to the sky and scrutinising it for a moment; sure enough he noticed a faint shimmer over the sky when he squinted hard enough.
"If you're not careful your face'll stick that way." Fuu commented cheekily, punching the redhead lightly in the arm. "But yeah, there's a Genjutsu set up over the entire village; it's what protects us from being found." She blinked before looking down with a smirk. "That and every Taki-nin is a paranoid nutter that'd rather bite their tongue off than divulge village secrets." Naruto raised an eyebrow in her direction, rubbing his arm lightly; she punched harder than Anko did, even playfully.
"Then I can only presume you're not of the same mind?" He hazarded a guess, eyebrow raised. Fuu simply shrugged, as if she didn't care one way or another; a worrisome attitude to take for a Jinchuuriki.
"So, you became a Jounin and got yourself a team?" She quickly interjected, obviously trying to change the subject; she seemed quite tense all of a sudden so Naruto acquiesced with a small nod.
"Yeah, not entirely my choice, but I can't say I regret it either. According to a certain someone it's apparently done me a world of good." Fuu snorted involuntarily at that again, unable to hide the smirk; not that she was remotely trying.
"Oh, so the big bad 'bloody flash' got himself tied down to some Gaki's and they managed to touch a soft spot in his heart? I could write a series of sappy novels with that premise." She chided playfully, amusement twinkling in her eyes, seemingly the first real emotion Naruto had seen on the girl yet.
"Stupid nickname." Naruto grumbled to himself before looking up, shoving away his mild irritation. "But that's me; what about you? You seem… well, better than the last time I saw you." Fuu's expression soured for only a fraction of a second before it returned to a more resigned look.
"Yeah; I soldiered through, got some resect when I became Chuunin, worked my ass off to become a Jounin and now here I am." She raised her arms out to either side and looked down at the village, her voice raised slightly "A half-way respectable member of society!" There was a touch or resentment in her voice that Naruto decided not to touch on, only to find there was no need as the verdette turned back to him with a tired kind of smile. "Hey, I'm even a proctor for this year's Chuunin exams; so how's that?" Her up-beat, if not slightly forced comment earned a small smile from the redhead.
"That's great." He turned his head down to look at the village as she had been doing. "I hear stories you know… about the others. They seem rather mixed, from outright scorn to village-wide praise and everywhere in between." He smiled softly as he turned back, surprising Fuu with the sincerity in his expression. "There's so few of us out there, we gotta look out for one another right? I'm glad to know you're at least doing okay, you were the first other Jinchuuriki I met." Fuu nodded at that.
"Yeah, you're the same for me." She chuckled humourlessly; however the turn in conversation seemed inevitable. "You know before that I really did think it was hopeless, that nothing was ever going to change." She sighed before forcing a smile onto her features. "But meeting you gave me a little hope; seeing how your teammates didn't flinch away from you or glare at you behind your back. It made me think that if I worked hard enough that I could have the same." Naruto frowned at seeing just how fake that smile really was; it didn't reach her eyes at all, not like before when genuine amusement sparkled in their orange dapths.
"And?" He asked cautiously, only to get another tired smile.
"Village-wide praise?" Fuu asked suddenly, her expression becoming curious as she blatantly moved the conversation onwards and away from the touchy subject. Naruto sighed internally before smirking.
"Kumo." The girl just looked up with her mouth forming a small 'O' before looking back down, both lapsing into silence again. It awkwardly continued for around a minute with Fuu shifting restlessly and Naruto tapping his fingers on the branch.
"So… you're a proctor for the exams?" Naruto finally ventured, getting anxious with the silence that was only broken by the rustling of leaves above them and little else. Fuu managed to look back up, apparently sorting out her emotions to the point where her forced smile looked almost genuine again.
"Yup; why? You worried about your kiddies?" She teased, easing back into the conversation without problem; Naruto didn't want to think about how much practise it would have taken her to make it seem that easy.
"Nah, I trained them well and trust them enough… but never hurts to be safe you know?" He shot back truthfully, feeling oddly open around the younger mint-haired girl.
"Well, you've got nothing to worry about in the first round I suppose." Fuu mused quietly, glancing across at the academy building not too far away that Naruto had to agree had the vilest shade of green adorning its roof. "The candidates all walk into a room, expecting a test; it's easy enough and even most academy graduates would be able to finish it." Naruto raised an eyebrow, wondering what the catch was; the first exam always had a catch. He knew he was right when Fuu smirked, obviously enjoying his inquisitive look. "Before the test starts they'll be told they're allowed to leave the room at any point if they feel they are unable to continue." Her smirk only grew.
"There's actually a Genjutsu on the room though; if the candidate manages to break it they'll see the paper is actually blank, with instructions on the back that asks them to leave the room to complete the test." Fuu continued, the smile now positively devious; however Naruto couldn't see the problem. Most Genin could break one illusion without too much trouble. However Fuu wasn't done it seemed. "The kicker is the fact that the Genjutsu is double-layered; anybody who leaves the room automatically fails. However if they manage to break both illusions they'll find a second set of instructions asking them to leave their test blank and wait until it's over." She turned to him with a bright grin.
"Pretty smart huh?" The verdette exclaimed, her legs freely swinging again; she frowned when Naruto shrugged. He knew Ibiki would call the method 'soft' or somesuch; likely not enough psychological torture for the man.
"Seems a bit weighted in favour of Genjutsu users…" He chuckled softly "…although I think my team has a rather unfair advantage what with Sasuke's Sharingan." That was, if the boy decided to activate them; he would instantly be able to see through both Genjutsu. Fuu shrugged at the criticism, obviously not too concerned.
"Well, Taki's rather proud of our Genjutsu; we have to get an edge in somewhere; plus it's a pretty important skill for a Chuunin to have. Doesn't matter how good you are at fighting if you're gonna have your throat slit by the first illusionist you come across." She shot back, earning an agreeing nod from the redhead; he couldn't exactly argue what with being a teammate of two Uchiha for so long. He knew just how dangerous Genjutsu could really be. "But, we leave enough clues that something's wrong for observational people to notice; like a few of the proctor's flak jackets are the wrong colour or the weather in the windows doesn't quite match up." She added in quickly. "Plus, only one member of the team needs to pass for the rest to, as long as one of the others doesn't get themselves disqualified."
"What if one of the candidates just doesn't write anything, even without noticing the Genjutsu?" Naruto asked curiously, causing Fuu to look at him rather strangely.
"What are the chances of that happening? You'd have to be some kind of damn lucky idiot to blindly get through that way." Fuu shot back, still staring at him oddly and wondering where that came from. Naruto just chuckled sheepishly; he wasn't even sure why the thought occurred to him either.
"Yeah, well… Seems like it would weed quite a few out to begin with." Naruto commented with an amused smile; the more he listened the more he thought the test was something Ibiki would actually approve of. It was devious, brutal and unforgiving, not to mention having a solid backing in the skills Chuunin would need and enough edge to give Taki the advantage. After all the minor villages couldn't afford to be quite as impartial as the larger villages' tests.
"Yeah, well, in the nicest terms… Taki doesn't really want people sticking around too long. Really they want the Chuunin exams over with as soon as possible. Did I mention they're paranoid-"
"-Nutters that'd bite their tongue off? Yeah, you might've mentioned it." Naruto interrupted with a smirk, getting Fuu to hit him 'lightly' on the arm again.
"Cheeky." She chided with a smile of her own as the two lapsed into a far more comfortable silence this time.
"So if you're a proctor, how come you're not down at the academy?" Naruto finally asked after a good thirty seconds of quiet thought. It seemed to catch Fuu off guard as she looked up quizzically for a moment.
"Oh, um, I'm the proctor for the second exam." She looked up at the sky for a moment and squinted before smirking. "I'm not up for another ten minutes." She answered easily, causing Naruto to blink and look up as well.
"You can tell the time from the sky? How?" It was all rather disorienting for him, not having the sun as a reference.
"Everyone in Taki can sooner or later; it's just one of those things you get used to. The sky gets lighter then darker over the day without changing all that much so you can estimate the time from it. I swear though, old man Shibaro can tell what time it is to the minute; it's freaky." She shuddered in an exaggerated manner at the thought. Naruto knew Shibaro was the current leader of Taki, seeing as the minor villages did not have leaders with Kage-status. The only one that had ever come close was Amegakure, with Sanshouo no Hanzo.
"So what do you do as proctor?" The redhead asked curiously; he knew Anko had also been a second-task proctor so he was interested in how the two villages differed in that regard. However Fuu simply gave him a sly look as she slid along the branch until she was a breath away from his face, a strange look in her eye.
"Why Namikaze-san, you wouldn't be trying to get hints out of poor little me just to pass along to your team would you?" She asked in a decidedly sultry voice, her eyes half-lidded to hide the playful sparkle that had taken up residence there. Naruto was unperturbed though, far too used to Anko's little 'pranks' to be affected by a girl he barely knew.
"And what if I am?" Naruto asked right back, his voice taking on a similar tone as he closed the distance between them even further to the point where their bodies could have held a magazine between them.
"A-Ah…" Fuu turned a rather amusing shade of red, made more impressive by her already dark skin tone, stuttering suddenly as she jerked back. She was obviously not expecting her little trick to be turned on her so easily and Naruto could almost see the steam coming from her ears. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish on dry land for a few moments before Naruto let up with his look and let out a soft chuckle.
"Sorry about that; I couldn't resist." He didn't look particularly sorry with his features twisted into an expression of visible amusement. Really, Fuu should have picked her target better than to go for someone like him. After all he had to deal with his 'fan-club' as a kid, Anko growing up and even Ami, as corrupt as his girlfriend was trying to make her lately. "But I am kind of interested in how the exams differ village-to-village." After all he had only ever had to participate in one and watched another; both were in Konoha.
"A-Ah yeah, right…" Fuu seemed to latch onto the shift in conversation like a lifeline, gratefully accepting the moment to reaffirm her features and collect herself. "W-Well, you know it wouldn't make much of a difference anyway as you can't see your students between the first and second task anyway." Fuu finally managed to get out, her face losing its rosy hue as her emotions were wrangled back under her control.
"Ah, this would be Taki trying to get them over with as soon as possible then?" Naruto offered helpfully to keep the conversation going. Fuu nodded quickly and gratefully, a smile returning to her face as she got over her previous shock.
"Y-Yeah, yeah that's right. The candidates all get led to the system of natural caves that run under the village. It's like a maze down there which is made even worse by the disorienting Genjutsu laced on the area." Fuu continued, confidence returning to her tone slowly but surely as she spoke about more familiar topics.
"I remember, I felt that when we were being led into the village." Naruto muttered to himself; Fuu heard and nodded quickly.
"Yeah; bet you also noticed you couldn't break it for some reason?" Fuu interjected, earning a quick nod which made her smirk. "The Genjutsu is constantly held by the Chakra coming from the tree, same as the one spanning the village." She patted the large branch they were sitting on as Naruto looked up into the soaring canopy high above them. He imagined without the Genjutsu taking away the sun, the tree alone would cast a shadow over half the village.
"So… what? You break the Genjutsu but it's instantly reapplied because it has an unlimited source of Chakra?" Naruto guessed with no small amount in incredulity in his tone; he had been wondering about the tree since he had first seen it. He knew that Taki was the main source of Chakra paper in the elemental nations and now he knew why; it all probably came from this tree if it was that Chakra-rich. However he had never heard of a plant being so full of energy before and as if recognising his expression Fuu chuckled softly.
"Don't even bother asking; the tree's been here long since before the founding of the village far as anyone can tell and'll probably outlast it too." Fuu explained with what seemed to be her trademark smirk.
"Huh, so what then?" Naruto prompted, getting them back on track.
"Well, the candidates are all thrown into the cave system, told they have to collect one of ten scrolls scattered throughout, except, there are only eight scrolls." Fuu explained, obviously rather proud of the system for the second test, lending Naruto to believe she had at least in part come up with it.
"Naturally." Naruto commented with a cheeky smile, ending up getting another punch to the arm for his sass.
"Right…" Fuu continued, eyeing Naruto as if daring him to interrupt again; Naruto just made a zipping motion across his lips and smiled innocently. "…well, they're told they have to get one of the scrolls and make it back out one of the ten exits." She caught Naruto looking at her out of the corner of her eye and sighed in exasperation. "Yes there are actually ten exits thank you very much; we're not that cruel." However as if by an afterthought she smirked. "However as each exit is used, they get sealed off." That part Naruto could tell was definitely her idea as she looked almost sadistically proud of it.
"So they have to navigate dark tunnels, under a disorienting Genjutsu they can't break, collect a scroll they don't know the location off and make it to an exit they also don't know the location of. All the while other teams are trying to do the same, they have no idea if any scrolls are left and with every passing minute more and more exits could be sealed off?" Naruto summed up questioningly, getting a happy nod from the Verdette.
"Oh, and they have one day to do it in!" She finished with a bright exclamation, grinning in a way Naruto had seen on Anko's face to many times not to recognise. It was her 'I just came up with something amusingly sadistic that you are not going to enjoy but I will' face.
"Huh, and the third task? Eight scrolls would leave you with a lot of candidates." Twenty four to be precise, barring injuries or less scrolls being collected.
"Team matches; it's so we don't have to have preliminaries and extend the exams even more because… you know." Fuu shrugged unhelpfully with a sheepish smile.
"Yeah yeah, Taki wants us out… I get it." Naruto accepted with a small chuckle and a playfully dismissive wave. Fuu pouted cutely at him, obviously not enjoying being so predictable. "Sounds like a pretty solid set of exams, but I still think my team are going to blast through it with ease; you'll see." He finished confidently, a cocky grin on his features that Anko had told him often enough only ever led him to problems.
"Shouldn't you be going then?" Naruto added with a glance up at the sky, causing Fuu to gape for a moment.
"You can already read the sky?" She questioned incredulously, only getting a smirk as the redhead put a finger to his nose conspiratorially. He leaned in, motioning for the girl to do the same with a subtle hand motion. Fuu did so, her eyes wide and skin reddening from the close proximity to the taller Jounin. Then, when they were almost as close as they had been that one time before, Nauto whispered softly.
"Nah, there's a clock in that ramen stand over there."
"Ah dammit don't do that!" Fuu shouted indignantly as she shot back, her face still glowing as she glanced in the direction of the shop Naruto gestured to. Sure enough there was a small clock on the back wall but it was too far away for Fuu to make out the time on. Naruto had good eyes to be able to spot and read it. However when she looked back around the redhead was standing up on the branch, a bright grin on his face that was slowly matched by Fuu, accepting her temporary defeat.
"Well, I guess I'll see you after the second test then; take care of my cute little Genin." He gave a farewell wave and turned to leave, only pausing at Fuu's voice.
"You're really so confident they'll pass?" She asked, a bit of hesitance to her tone as she wondered how a Jinchuuriki of all people could trust so completely. Naruto just turned and waved off all her concerns and doubts with just a glowing smile.
"I never had any doubts." And with that he allowed himself to simply fall backwards off the branch, vanishing in a vaguely red blur a moment later and leaving Fuu to stare after him. A moment later and she had to lean back against the trunk of the tree, a hand up to her forehead as she smiled genuinely.
"What a weird guy." She had to call him weird; how else was she supposed to explain that flutter in her chest?