(A/N) I hope you don't hate me too much for that cliffhanger....

Secilia gasped. There was blood everywhere. And large amounts of it too, more then anyone could lose and survive. She knew her cousin was staying at the Uchiha compound for the night, as it was slightly closer to the village, but she really didn't want to stay at the creepy ghost town. A body was facedown in the middle of the room, blond hair spread out around it. Her mother. Her mother was dead, clearly murdered, and she had no time for this, she was in the freaking Chunin exams!

She knew it probably couldn't be good, but she closed her tear-filled eyes and shoved all memories of it into a box, shoving it away. She'd deal with it later. An ANBU needed to be found, and she knew right where she could find one, there were always some stationed around Naruto, a protection guard of some sort. She grabbed her backpack, racing out the door and into the streets.

People watched her run by, probably quite confused as to why she was running through the streets like that when it was getting closer to dinner.

She raced up the stairs to Naruto's apartment, catching him as he was about to enter.

"Secilia? What are you doing here?" He asked as the immediate smile he'd plastered on dropped away quickly as he spotted the tear stains. "What happened?"

"ANBU. I need one now," Secilia said, her voice cracking slightly. "My mom," she paused, unsure if she could continue.

"What about her?" Naruto prompted.

"Dead," Secilia managed, biting down hard on her lip to stop herself from bursting into tears. "Murder."

Three ANBU materialized. "Did you see the murder?" One asked, a weasel mask securely on their face.

"No, just the aftermath, blood everywhere." Secilia managed, fingernails (or lack thereof) digging into her palms. "No chance of survival, the blood's slightly dried, and certainly isn't dripping."

Naruto pulled her into a hug, and Secilia didn't protest.

"Can you tell us where it happened, and lead us there?" Weasel asked gently.

Secilia nodded slightly, detaching herself from Naruto. "I'll lead you there."

"I'm coming with you," Naruto said firmly.

Secilia smiled softly at him. "Of course. Wouldn't expect anything different from you." She turned and led the three ANBU, with Naruto practically glued to her side, through the streets and to the home she had previously shared with her mom and Sasuke. She remained outside as they searched the house quickly, not wanting the flood of tears that would come with seeing her mother. She could grieve later, after the Chunin exams.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked again. "You aren't crying anymore."

"Wouldn't that be a good thing?" Secilia asked, a slight tone of amusement evident.

"Well, maybe," Naruto said doubtfully.

"Either way, we're in the middle of the Chunin exams, I don't really have time for mourning. It'll have to wait until afterward," Secilia's voice cracked, and Naruto glanced at her, concerned.

"And Sasuke? How's he going to take it?" Naruto probed.

"Oh, worried for my cousin, are you?" Secilia joked, smiling slightly.

"NO!" Naruto immediately denied. "I just don't want a crippled teammate for the exams."

"I'm telling him when the exams are over, or when he's disqualified. I worry he'll blame Itachi and get even worse than before." Secilia sighed heavily. "He's gonna hate me for it, but it's necessary." She looked up as the ANBU exited the house.

"There is nothing we can do, I'm sorry," Weasel said.

"It's fine. We have that other exam tomorrow anyway," Secilia said, looking away.

"Tomorrow," Naruto pointed out. "Until then, you can stay with me!"

"Oh, thanks Naruto," Secilia said gratefully. "I'll grab some clothes for after the exam, I'll be right back."

"Don't take too long," Naruto said after her.

Secilia raced into the house, pulling out one more sealing scroll, sealing several clothing rolls in. All the clothes she needed for a day, in one simple roll. Easy. She raced back out, figuring anything else could be transferred somewhere after the Chunin exams. She was a genin, therefore, she was an adult. If she made Chunin, it'd be easier to keep an apartment of her own.

"Come on, let's go home," Naruto grinned widely, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I have ramen!"

Secilia smiled. "You and your ramen. Any vegetables?"

"There are vegetables in ramen," Naruto argued. "And vegetables are gross."

"Not when they're cooked correctly," Secilia argued.

"Can you cook?" Naruto shot back. When she didn't reply immediately, he laughed. "Ha! Gotcha!"

"Naruto, just because I can't cook, doesn't mean vegetables are gross!" Secilia said, hands on her hips.

"It means you can't prove it though!"

"Argh! Strangulation sounds really good right now..." Secilia left the sentence hanging, smirking at Naruto and walking away from the stunned boy.

"You wouldn't!" Naruto shouted, running to catch up to her. "You don't want to stop your cousin from the second stage!"

"You've got me there," Secilia sighed. "Maybe in the exam."

"Really?!" Naruto asked, aghast.

"Naruto, I'm joking. I'd rather work with your team, then against. Whaddya say we meet up and cooperate with each other. We'll have a higher survival rate," Secilia offered. "And my team can keep yours out of trouble."

"Sometimes, trouble finds us," Naruto defended himself.

"Mhmm. Turn here, we're going to your apartment, not the academy."

"How'd you know?"

"To turn? Naruto, I got to your house, remember? I have an eidetic memory. I remember everything."

"Everything?"

"Everything. Down to inflection when someone speaks. I can't reproduce the sounds, but I have a civilian friend who can. She's really good at that. Never wanted to be a ninja though."

"Cool!" Naruto practically shouted, bringing even more attention to the pair. The ANBU had disappeared, of course, but were probably following closely.

"Sorry about the mess," a sheepish Naruto said, opening the door to his apartment.

Secilia blinked, taking in the mess. "Yeah, I'm helping you clean this up after the exams. For now, dinner is in order."

(A/N) I have to chop it there, or it's gonna get even longer. See you next week! Hope you aren't burned out from the number of Naruto fics I'm updating! I'm calling it my 'Naruto' week. All Naruto fics, all week, except for Tuesday. BYE!