Gemini seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "You need to work on your taijutsu. Your fight with Lee proved that you can't always rely on the sand to protect you. Though it is unlikely that you'll meet another opponent as fast as Rock Lee, you still have to be prepared." She said, sounding concerned.

Naruto jumped up. "GREAT!! Let's go!!" He shouted, running off in the direction of the restaurant.

Gaara nodded, knowing that was exactly what he had to work on. While he could rely on his sand for pretty much anything, he still needed to have a few aces in his hole. Otherwise he would be acting like the Uchiha, if what he had seen was how he always acted.

Yugito laughed before rushing after him, both leaving Jiraiya in the dust for a few seconds. Once he came to, he quickly headed after the both of them. He had a feeling that he knew just which restaurant Naruto was talking about by description alone.

"What do you think I need to work on?" Gemini asked out of the blue. She knew there was plenty she needed to improve on, but sometimes it took a fresh perspective to know what those things were.

Sure enough, Naruto led them to his favorite restaurant. "I can't wait! I'm starving, dattebayo!" He said, heading into the ramen stand.

(hm...what could Gemini need help working on, good question.)

Jiraiya just chuckled lightly as he saw the ramen stand coming up into the distance. Shaking his head lightly since he was thinking about the other restaurant that he was told about, he mentally shrugged before opening the flap, already seeing Naruto and Yugito inside. "You lovebirds got settled quickly I see," he said teasingly.

((lol her temper for one thing. And...chakra control. We could say that she has really powerful chakra but doesn't know how to use it effectively because she's been trained as a human rather than part demon. So Gaara could help her with that...))

Naruto stuck his tongue out at the old man. It was only then that he realized they may have been expecting a different restaurant. He shrugged. Oh, well. They were here now. Unless..."Yugito-chan...did you want to go somewhere else?" He asked sheepishly.

(alright)

"Well there are a few things we can work on. Your anger for one thing, and your chakra control for another. You've probably been trained as a human for so long that you don't know how to process demonic chakra or youki, very well. I can help you with both if you want," Gaara replied after thinking for a little bit.

"I'm okay with ramen today, but next time perhaps something different?" Yugito asked.

Gemini looked up, slightly startled. A smile brightened her features, and she nodded. "Yeah, my temper is definitely a problem. As for my chakra...I never thought about it, but I do seem to run out more quickly than I should. It's probably because I'm not using it the right way. Thanks, Gaara-san!" She said. This could potentially change her fighting style drastically, and give her a huge advantage in the finals.

Naruto nodded, looking sheepish. "Okay. No problem, dattebayo." He said, thanking the old man as he gave them their chopsticks.

"Don't mention it Gem-chan," Gaara said as he followed her, assuming that she was taking them to a training ground that she knew.

"Thanks Foxy-kun," she said before leaning over to give him a light kiss on the cheek.

And she was. Gemini led Gaara to a training area with three wooden posts in the center. One post, the middle one, had rope around it. Gemini smiled and stifled a laugh. "This training ground holds a special place in my heart. This is where team 7 first trained together. I'll tell you that story sometime. It's actually pretty funny." She said, running a hand over the center post.

Naruto's face lit up red, and heated to the point where one could have boiled an egg on his forehead. Luckily for him, Ayame came at that moment to take their orders. Thankful for the distraction, Naruto ordered three bowls of pork ramen- just to start off. He was sure he'd need more than that later.

"And now I'm curious, though it would be bad if I had the two-tails inside of me, especially since she's a Nibi," he replied but knew that she would tell him eventually. Little did he know that he caused the jinchuuriki of the Nibi to sneeze at that moment since he was talking about her.

Jiraiya laughed as he saw the scene. He had to convert the scene to memory for now, and would write the scene in a notebook for later. It would be better if he did his research when he wasn't training the two. Though he was curious as to how far Yugito could summon. Seeing the beautiful waitress coming out to take their orders, he ordered a simple pork ramen.

Yugito sneezed soon after she kissed Naruto, a blush adorning her cheeks lightly thereafter since her tenant was teasing her about it. Once the waitress came, she ordered two bowls of shrimp ramen, though would get more if she was still hungry. Plus, Jiraiya said he was paying so he could probably spot the check even if they ate fifty or so bowls.

Gemini laughed. "Well at least she has nine lives." She said. "All right, if you're curious, I'll tell you. After we were assigned to our teams, Kakashi-sensei told us to meet him here. He said not to eat breakfast, made it sound like we'd throw up if we did. So of course we all skipped breakfast and came straight here. Well, little did we know..." She started to tell the story, a faraway look in her eyes. She started laughing as she went, and by the time she finished she was nearly breathless. "You should have seen our faces when Kakashi-sensei burst out of nowhere, looking all scary, and said "you pass!" like it was nothing. I think Naruto-kun almost wet himself, and Sakura-chan was so confused! Looking back, we've all grown so much since that day..."

Naruto noticed her sneeze and chuckled. "Someone's talking about you, Kitty-chan." He said, making sure to swallow first. He knew it would probably bother her if he talked with his mouth full. Suddenly, he sneezed as well, not knowing that at that moment, Gemini was talking about him.

"True," he said before listening to the tale. After she was done talking, he laughed lightly. "It sounds like you had a good time with your first 'exam'," he replied, though it sounded like she enjoyed her time with her team.

"Looks like someone is talking about you now Foxy-kun," she said with a light giggle. Of course this was after she had finished swallowing.

Gemini nodded. "We're a good team. Tight like family. Even Sasuke-baka. He's a jerk most of the time, but he always stands up for his team. Sakura-chan can't do much, but she tries hard, and Naruto-kun...well, he's pretty awesome. Anyway, why don't we get started? Keeping in mind that I won't use my Nightmare Syndrome, of course."

Naruto snorted. "Well obviously we're just so awesome that people have to talk about us." He replied proudly. Of course he was joking around, but he managed to look completely serious for about five seconds before his expression broke out into his signature grin.

"I would appreciate that. One application of that technique is enough thank you," he admitted after hearing her talk about her team with a great amount of love and respect for them. They really were a family...just like what he was trying to make with his actual siblings. If there was any jutsu that he didn't want to get hit by again, it was the Nightmare Syndrome. That was one scary genjutsu..."So...what should we do first? he asked.

Yugito just shook her head after the actions of her friend, though there was a light smile on the female's face. "You're probably right. Though I bet I'm more awesome than you are," she said.

Gemini smiled. "We'll start with hand-to-hand sparring, so I can see exactly where you stand with taijutsu. Once I've gauged your skill level, I'll teach you from there. While we spar, try to get me angry. I'll see if I can keep my temper." She said.

Naruto gaped at the woman for a moment. "What? No way! I'm the most awesome, dattebayo! No one's more awesome than me!" He declared loudly, momentarily forgetting his ramen.

"Alright. Though I'll give you fair warning, I'm going to be doing whatever I can to make you angry," Gaara warned. He had a feeling that doing so would be the right thing to do, knowing that he would probably go all out when it came to angering Gemini. He just hoped that if her true father heard about this...well, he just hoped that the Kyuubi would understand.

"Oh really? Last I recall someone was still struggling with their tenant's power..."Yugito said with a grin as she finished her first bowl of ramen.

Gemini nodded as she stepped back into a fighting stance. "That's the idea." She said, her demeanor turning serious. Gemini always took her training seriously. "First thing's first, Gaara-san...you have to take a stance. Standing there withy our arms crossed will just get you punched."

Naruto was stunned into silence- perhaps for the first time in his life. "I...you...oh yeah? Well at least I don't rely on the stupid demon for everything! I can fight just fine by myself, without needing Kyuubi's power, dattebayo! How many other jinchuurichi do you know that went their whole lives without ever using their tenant's power?"

"Understood," he replied before a light tint of red came to his cheeks in embarrassment before he got into a stance. However, before doing so, he loosened the strap that held his gourd to his back. If she wanted him to try and get her angry then that was what she was going to get. "Let me prove my existence!" he shouted as he slipped into a stance that Baki had taught him as well as the mask that he wore to fool people.

"I don't use Mata-chan for everything, especially when it makes me sound like a neko," Yugito replied, muttering the last part, hoping that Naruto hadn't heard that. "But I suppose you're right. You're the only Jinchuuriki that hasn't used their Biju for 12 years. Then again, it sounds as if you haven't been trained to use it either..." she added on with a grin.

Gemini raised an eyebrow, then smirked and rushed forward. "Are you trying already, or just talking?" She mocked lightly as she made her first punch.

Naruto snorted. "Well of course not. For the first 12 years of my life, I didn't even know I was one. Now, what was that about sounding like a neko?" He asked.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that chibi-chan?" he asked as he dodged her punch. He had to admit that training with his sister had done some good for the tanuki jinchuuriki, all he had to do now was try to piss her off. He had a feeling he already knew one trigger when it came to Gemini...her human mother.

"N-nothing! Nothing at all!" she said quickly before ordering another bowl of shrimp ramen. Though she couldn't hide the blush that was coloring her cheeks. Yugito also had a feeling that he wouldn't drop it, just like how she wouldn't drop him using the Oiruke no Jutsu.

Gemini felt her face heat up as she recovered from his dodge and swung around in a kick. "Chibi? You're gonna have to do better than short jokes. They don't work- especially coming from you, pipsqueak." She said with another smirk.

Naruto started to chuckle. "It doesn't sound like nothing. In fact, it sounds like something pretty good, to make you blush like that. C'mon, Kitty-chan. Tell me all about it." He said mischievously.

Gaara felt his sand come up to automatically block her kick, but only just. "If you say so Gemmi-chan," he replied before an evil idea came to him. "I wonder what Kankuro would think if I told him about that nickname of yours..." he suggested.

"...This is revenge for earlier, isn't it?" she asked as her second bowl was placed in front of her.

Gemini jumped away and recovered her stance. "No sand. Taijutsu only, cheater." She said, coming at him again. "Kankuro-san can call me whatever he wants, as long as he doesn't mind using a woman's voice. I hear a guy's voice goes up permanently when you castrate them." She suggested evilly, faking a punch to the left, only to feint to the right at the last second.

Naruto whistled innocently. "Gee, I don't know what you're talking about, Kitty-chan." He said, ordering another bowl of ramen. In truth, he was rather enjoying himself. Lucky for me I have good hearing, or I never wwould have known. He thought.

"Automatic defense, there is no off switch," Gaara deadpanned. It was a mixed curse and blessing, but that's all it was as he dodged to the left, only for his sand to come in order to block the punch from her left hand. A smirk made it's way to his face as he thought of something that would definitely irk her. "You know...you can take the kiddie gloves off at any time. Anything minus that genjutsu," he said in a nonchalant type of voice. He figured that would at least get some reaction.

"Liar," Yugito said before she ate some of her ramen once the second bowl came. "You know exactly what I'm talking about Foxy-kun Nya~" at this, her eyes widened as she put her hands over her mouth. 'Oh god...Mata-chan, what did you do?!' she mentally asked her tenant. Yugito knew that he wouldn't let her live this down...

Gemini huffed, starting to get frustrated. "Seriously? You have no control over it?" She asked, jumping back to reexamine her options. At his next remark, her ears layed down against her head and her eyes narrowed. "Very well then. You asked." She said, and kicked it up. Suddenly, she was a blur as she rained punches and kicks down on him, and he would find himself incredibly lucky that the sand did protect him.

Naruto nearly choked on his ramen. After a minute or so regaining his breath, the whiskered boy turned and grinned devilishly at her. "Why, Yugito-chan, I had no idea. A vocal tic, huh? And this happens when you use the Nibi's power?" He chuckled, trying to stop himself but failing. "Aw, how cute, Kitty-chan! You sound just like a little kitty! Go on, do it again, 'tebayo!" He urged, feeling for once that his own vocal tic could be put aside- who was she to judge, after all?