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Chapter 7:Origins Revealed

Naruto stirred uncomfortably. She felt like she had been sleeping with her head on small rock. Annoyed, she opened her eyes only to squeeze them shut immediately at the sunlight that streamed through the window.

"Arrghh," she groaned, and turned to face the wall, away from the sun. Groggily, she reached behind her head and patted around, only to find that she had forgotten to undo the bun her hair was in, which accounted for the 'rock' she felt. Groaning again, she clumsily pulled at the bun until it became loose. Sighing in relief, she brought her hand down and placed it under her cheek, and went back to sleep.

Rather, she tried to go back to sleep, but her internal clock always woke her up at seven in the mornings, and it was ringing itself crazy in her head right now. Growling with frustration, she flopped onto her back and rubbed at her eyes, then forced them open, and threw back her blanket. Yawning widely, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stretched luxuriously.

Naruto stood and stretched again. One hand scratched her hair, and the other her side as she stepped to her window and looked out. She could see the Hokage Monument, and the Hokage Tower beneath it. She smiled sleepily; glad that she could still see the Monument like she had been able to from her previous home. She realized that the apartment was on the third floor, and it was higher than the two-storey houses she could see across the street from her balcony. That was a benefit - she wouldn't have to worry about anyone peeping in.

The sun glinted off something on the fingers of her left hand and the wrist of her right hand. Blinking sleepily, she brought both hands to the front of her face to find the source of the reflections. On her right wrist was Gaara's bracelet, and she smiled fondly as she twisted her wrist round a little, letting the sun's rays dance off the clear glass beads and silver charms.

On the fourth finger of her left hand was an unfamiliar weight. Squinting, she suddenly realized what it was - her wedding ring. Naruto brought her hand closer to her eyes and observed the rather broad and flat band made of rose-gold. The sun, she realized, had been reflected by the tiny white diamonds and single ruby that were arranged in the Uchiha-Uzumaki symbol in the ring.

She stared at it for a while, but it was too early to start thinking. She cracked a yawn, enjoying the feel of the soft morning sun on her skin.

Another yawn, and she turned around, and left her room to go to the bathroom. She found that her toothbrush and toothpaste sat together with another set of toothbrush and toothpaste in a mug above the sink. The other toothbrush - Sasuke's, obviously - was a little wet, showing that it had been used not too long ago. Naruto blinked, realizing that he was already awake.

She went through her morning routine, then stepped back to her room to change out of the under-kimono she had slept in, and into a pair of feminine underclothes (since she wasn't on duty, otherwise she'd bind her chest. Bras tended to chafe when she used taijutsu), and a black t-shirt with a red, puffy cloud-like design on the front and a prominent (though not too large) Uchiha-Uzumaki symbol on the back (must have been Ayame-neechan's doing) and a pair of baggy shorts that reached below her knees. Her usual off-duty attire. She gave her hair a bit of a brush as she looked in the mirror. Her hair was a stiff, and stuck out at funny angles. On normal days her hair was always spiky and a little shaggy, but now it was stiff - probably due to the hairspray Ayame-neechan had generously sprayed on yesterday. She pursed her lips, and decided to wash her hair later.

Her jewelry - she never thought she'd see the day she actually wore jewelry, heck, she'd never imagined herself married, mission or not - caught her eye. Shaking her head lightly, she decided to pull on her usual black fingerless gloves, and gave a self-satisfied nod when the black material covered both the bracelet and the ring. The blonde left her room and wandered down the corridor and into the living room. In the daylight, she could better observe the living room, but her stomach gave a loud growl. Deciding to obey it, she left exploring the living room for later and slid open the remaining shoji door.