"What's it to you?"

Inos contemplative look vanished when Naruto asked her that question. She turned to him with a blank expression and looked at him for a few moments. Then, she seemingly got angry. "What's it to you?", she asked, her eyebrows furrowed and her cheeks slightly tinged with red in anger.

Wow, that was a quick change of temper, even for Ino. Maybe he had hit a nerve there? Or she was just getting defensive for some reason. He figured that she still didn't trust him at all.

"Oh, I, you see.... You looked kinda down, again.", he said, remembering yesterday, before he had talked her into kissing-training. She had said that the thought of not being in Sasuke's team as well as being stuck with Naruto and Sakura was the reason for that. But if she was still hung up on that...

"If it's about being in a team with me, Ino-chan, I'll try my best not to make you angry, I promise.", he swore. Needless to say, he really did not want to make any of his teammates angry, Ino and Sakura were known to become rather violent if ticked off too badly.

The look of sincerity in Narutos face took Ino off guard. The blush in her face deepened, this time from embarrassment. "Again this! When did I allow you to call me 'Ino-chan'?", she asked. Her anger had been replaced by exasperation about how familiar Naruto had gotten with her.

"Does it bother you? What would you rather have me call you?", Naruto asked carefully, not trying to piss Ino off even further.

Inos eyes widened for a short moment. Then, she humphed. "Tsk, do what you want!", she snipped, crossed her arms over her chest and looked in the other direction. And that was the end of that conversation.

Seeing as how Ino was apparently even more annoyed (but at least not sulky) anymore, Naruto figured that even so she wouldn't talk to him now. "I don't get you at all...", Naruto muttered under his breath.

"Oi, Ino-pig, Naruto-baka!", called out the voice of the last teammate that was missing. The two blondes turned around and saw that the pinkette Sakura was running towards them, waving happily despite the insults she had just hurled at them.

As she got closer to the two, she too halted for a moment and sniffed in Narutos direction. "What's that smell on you, Naruto?", she asked him straight on.

Naruto sweatdropped at that sudden question. "Ahaha, that? Oh well, that is...", he tried to explain, but ended up stumbling over his words.

"It's his cologne.", Ino answered in his stead.

'Saved!', Naruto thought. Just in time, but he really had not expected that Ino would come to his aid here.

"You're wearing a cologne, Naruto? That's new...", Sakura wondered and narrowed her eyes sharply at him.

'Crapcrapcrap, I'm in trouble... if Sakura finds out, Ino will find out, Kurenai will find out and I'm toast!', Naruto panicked mentally. He started to sweat profusely. If not for a miracle, Sakura would...

"Good morning, team seven!", came the greeting from Kurenai-sensei that had just appeared in front of them in a swirl of leaves.

"Good morning, Kurenai-sensei."
"Good morning, Kurenai-sensei."

Two simultaneous replies from the girls were returned at their teacher.

Naruto shook his head, trying to clear his head of the pictures of the naked Kurenai that had been riding him yesterday, that had knelt between his legs and sucked on him, that had... alright, that was enough, anymore and Naruto would sport an erection right there in front of the three females. That would be his **** sentence. "G-Good morning, Kurenai-sensei.", Naruto finally stuttered out.

A slight blush passed Kurenais face, but it faded quickly as she adressed her young and first team. "I have talked with Iruka-sensei over your specialties and also with your father, Ino."

"Sakura and Ino, I will primarily teach you Genjutsu and Ninjutsu once you reach the appropriate level. Naruto, I think you will excel in Ninjutsu as well as Taijutsu, however, I can only teach you the very basics of that. So, I will keep an eye open for any potential teacher for you. But until we've all gotten to that level, I will teach you the basic uses of chakra manipulation.", Kurenai explained.

The three genin nodded. For all of them, it was good to see that Kurenai had ideas for their future. They would just have to see how they could keep up with her expectations.

"So, I want to see just how well you can control your chakra. You have to understand that without chakra, a ninja is basically not a ninja. The better your control over it, the better you can learn and perform ninjutsu. Sit down and focus your chakra for as long as you can, try to let it flow through your entire body.", she instructed them.

What followed was essentially the three genins sitting on the grass, focusing their chakra and trying to direct it into every corner of their body while Kurenai watched over them. Drawing out the chakra was a task that was easier for Sakura and Ino, but a little harder for Naruto. Still, at the end after nearly an hour, they all were somewhat exhausted.

Their concentration ended when Kurenai clapped her hands. "Very well, that was really good. I will let you have free time for an hour, then I want to meet you at Ichiraku-Ramen. There, we will have lunch and then we will have our very first mission as Team seven.", she told them.

"Yeah! A mission!", Naruto cheered. Finally. That was the reason why he wanted to be a ninja. To go on missions, to see adventures and save girls from peril. Well, that last point had only been recently added to his reasons for becoming a ninja.

"Alright, see you then.", Kurenai said and vanished again in a whirl of smoke.

"Right, I'm off too. Gotta help my mom with the household. See ya in an hour.", Sakura said and ran off as well. Only Ino and Naruto remained sitting in the grass. Ino was silent again and she had that blank, pondering expression on her face again.

"What's with you, Ino-chan? You got that weird look on your face again. Doesn't really suit you.", he commented, before remembering her initial reaction to that statement. Hopefully she wouldn't react badly...