"Arghhh!" I let out a loud scream as I charged at Guy.

I hadn't been released from the hospital for very long, but I was already going stir crazy. Team Kakashi hadn't returned from their mission, and we hadn't received any updates.

I begged Guy to train with me until he finally agreed. He was nervous about me making a full recovery, but I needed to keep busy.

I knew my hand-to-hand combat was lacking in comparison to everything else but going against a taijutsu master was really highlighting my many weaknesses.

As I attacked Guy, he landed a kick to my left side. I flew backwards nearly 10 feet with the blow, but immediately jumped back up.

"What the hell!? Why are you holding back!!?!" I screamed at him.

"Let's call it a day, huh?" he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"No!! Fucking fight me!!!" I yelled as I ran towards him again.

He quickly dodged my attacks, and as I swung a punch, he stepped to the side, causing me to lose my footing. He grabbed the back of my shirt and threw me to the ground.

"Ugh!" I screamed out again as I slammed my fist against the earth. I was extremely pissed now that he had make me look like such a fool.

Why can't I keep up with him?

"Shouldn't you be taking it easy?" Asuma laughed as he walked towards me with Kakashi and a woman I had never met.

"That's the problem," I huffed as I stood up. "Guy is taking it easy on me. He won't fight me for real!!"

"You're lucky he's holding back," Kakashi mumbled. "That kick he landed would've broken all your ribs had he not pulled back his strength at the last moment. You didn't have any type of defense ready."

"I only take advice from people who can actually beat me," I glared at him. I was heated and his comment sent me over the edge, but it didn't look like he took it very seriously. We both knew he could beat me if he wanted to.

"Alright you two, let's all calm down," Guy laughed loudly. "Y/n, Kakashi is my rival after all, you ought to listen to him. He's a much more experienced fighter than you."

"Whatever," I rolled my eyes as Kakashi continued you give me a blank stare.

"I do remember Y/n beating Kakashi in a sparring match a couple years ago," Asuma smirked.

"Well, I tend to hold back against children," he said coldly.

"Oh, is that right Kakashi? Am I just a child to you?" I said with a devious grin, knowing very well that there were some form of feelings growing between us, even if neither of us had said so yet.

His face remained unchanged, "Yes."

"Hmm, that's funny. But good to know. I'll keep that in mind," I shot him a wink before I turned to the woman next to Asuma.

"I don't believe we've meet before, I'm Y/n," I smiled at her.

"I've heard of you," she responded in a somewhat icy tone. "I'm Kurenai."

I didn't understand why it seemed she didn't like me, but I shrugged it off, "You have very beautiful eyes. Almost as red as the Sharingan. Where do you serve?"

She looked caught off guard by my compliment, "O-oh, uh, thank you. And I'm the leader of Team 8."

"Really?" I asked as I fixed the bandages on my wrists. "I'm surprised we haven't met before. I'm part of Team Kakashi. Formerly Team 7."

I looked at Kakashi with a smile, "I still think Team Y/n would've sounded better."

Asuma and Guy both laughed loudly while Kakashi didn't even bother to look up from his book. I loved to tease him when we were around everyone else because he was always so stoic.

It seemed that he was only open and cheerful when it was just me and him. It was strange, but I had to admit, it definitely made me feel special.

"Guy, will you spar with me some more?"

"Look at you, you look like you should be back in the hospital with how beat up and bruised you are," Kakashi mumbled.

"Looks are deceiving. I feel fine," I shrugged.

He glanced up at me, "Your forehead is literally bleeding."

I brought my hand up and touched the thick, metallic substance that was beginning to dry above my eyebrow.

"Hmm, look at that," I muttered as I looked at the blood on my fingers.

"I'll spar with you," Kurenai offered with a smile.

"Really?" I asked in surprise. It seemed her dislike of me had changed so quickly.

"You really shouldn't," Asuma interjected. "She should be resting. She barely got out of the hospital yesterday."

"This morning actually," Kakashi corrected.

"This morning!?!" Guy cried out. "Y/n, you told me you've been better for days now!!"

I laughed nervously, "I have been better for days!! I just wasn't released right away."

"You look young," Kurenai spoke up again. "Are you a new jonin training with Kakashi or something? Is that how you met everyone?"

"She's been a jonin for like, what, 7 years now?" Kakashi looked over at me.

"Mm, I guess so... I'm 21 now so that sounds about right."

"You became a jonin at 13?" Asuma asked with wide eyes.

"Y-yea, that's when I became a Captain for the Anbu," I spoke up nervously. I wasn't very comfortable telling people my background, so it's not surprising they didn't know.

Plus, when I left, the village did try to keep it as hidden as possible given my clan status and Uchiha affiliation. The only exceptions were for people who were directly involved or knew me previously.

I left and then I was back. That was the most people knew if they even knew anything at all, and I was completely fine with it.

Guy laughed loudly as he slapped my back, "No wonder you could almost keep up! You're a true Nara!"

"It makes me excited to think what Shikamaru will be like when he reaches your age," Asuma smirked. "He'll probably have taken over as clan leader by then."

"Y/n's the next Clan Leader," Kakashi blurted out, and I shot him a look of annoyance.

"Wait, what? You are?" Asuma looked at me with wide eyes.

"Geez Kakashi, do you have to expose all my secrets right now?" I huffed as I crossed my arms. "Remind me never to tell you anything again..."

Kurenai laughed, "You two must be pretty close. It seems like he knows everything about you."

"Yea, when the fuck did that happen?" Asuma grumbled out, earning a look from Kurenai.

Were they together now? Is that why she didn't seem to like me at first? Did she know about us?

I sighed, "A byproduct of working on the same team I guess."

Kakashi's eyes fixated on me, and he seemed pretty upset that I had minimized whatever this was between us. But I couldn't quite handle the awkward tension starting to form between the current, almost, and past lovers standing around me.

"Actually, I think I'm going to head out now... I guess I'm feeling a little sore after all." I smiled at Guy, "Thanks for working out with me. I'll need you to train with me some more soon."

"Now that I know you're a future clan leader, I'll have to help you with your taijutsu skills!" he shot me a thumbs up, "Because you're nowhere near where you should be!"

I laughed and shook my head, "Thanks, Guy. Always a charmer." I waved as I walked off, "Bye everyone!"

"Hey, Y/n! Wait!" Kurenai called.

"What's up?"

"We're all going to dinner tonight. You should come! It'll be fun! Gives us an excuse to go out, wear some normal clothes for once! What do you say?" she asked.

"Oh, uh, maybe. What time?"

"8!"

I looked at Asuma and Kakashi who were both eyeing my intensely. Seeing them like that, I definitely didn't want to go.

"If you come, I'll train with you tomorrow morning!" Guy smiled.

I couldn't help as my eyes lit up, "Deal! I'll see you all then!"