I promise I'm working on the The Nature of Interrogation! I am! And Exploit His Weakness!

Anyway, this is another in the long line of little ideas that popped into my head, and I'm making it the first in a series of drabbles. I'll probably end up moving my stories "Her First Time" and "Wounded" into this collection, since they fit with this one. I don't know that there will be any particular order I write stuff in, so the timeline may jump around.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Without further ado...enjoy!

An Exercise in Trust

"Why the hell are you just standing here!? He's gonna get hurt!" Sakura shouted with her eyes glued on Naruto in the valley below them. She struggled against Kakashi-sensei's tight hold that had her securely pinned against him.

"Looks that way."

Kakashi didn't look away from Naruto as he ran through the obstacle course. Naruto hadn't noticed the trap he'd sprung a moment ago sending kunai hurtling toward his back, and Sasuke was nowhere to be seen.

Panic filled Sakura's heart. Naruto was about to be seriously injured, or maybe even killed, and Kakashi was just standing there watching calmly and holding her too tightly so she couldn't run to the rescue either! She squeezed her eyes shut, unable to watch her teammate take three kunai in the back.

Then Kakashi let her go. Her eyes snapped open just in time to see him disappear down the slope toward Naruto, and she followed on his heels. When they reached the spot, Sakura finally saw what had happened. At the last possible second, it seemed, Sasuke had used shiruken to knock the kunai out of their path. One had been off by a fraction of an inch, though, and Naruto's arm had been grazed by the half-neutralized kunai.

Sasuke strode over from his position in the trees, scowling more intently than usual, and Sakura went over to inspect Naruto's injury. Surprisingly, Sasuke spoke first.

"What the hell was that about?"

"That was about teamwork. That's why I partnered you for this obstacle course."

Sakura looked up at Kakashi and her eyes flashed. "You were going to let Naruto get killed!"

"No. I was going to let him get hurt. There's a difference."

"No there isn't! If he had been even a little bit slow, those would have been aimed right at his heart instead of his legs!"

Kakashi pinned her with a cold glare. "Sakura."

His sharp tone instantly had her standing at attention. "H-hai?"

"I know how to set a trap."

"H-hai."

He looked between his three students, frowning. "I'm the jonin assigned to the three of you, and I don't take that lightly." He paused again, then continued in his firm tone. "That's why I'm not going to use kid gloves with you. If you never face danger while you're under my protection, you'll never be ready to face it when I'm not around. Keep that in mind when -not 'if', but when- I let you get hurt."

He paused to study each of their faces. Sasuke was scowling indifferently, Naruto was pouting, and Sakura was silently fuming.

"I don't expect you to like me. But you do need to understand that I'm not going to let any of you get seriously injured or killed. Clear?"

"Yes sir."

"You also need to understand that if I do put you in harm's way, it's for your own good." Sasuke snorted, and Kakashi's stare shifted to him. "And if you let each other get injured, it's going to earn you an extra ten laps around all of the training grounds."

"I got caught in a trip wire and he ran ahead. I was doing damn good to even deflect those kunai as much as I did."

"I don't care! Your teammate got hurt because you weren't there in time. Excuses don't change that!"

He paused again, and not even the wind dared to stir. After a moment, he spoke again.

"Have I made myself clear?"

"Hai."

"Good. Naruto, head to the infirmary. Have them look at that cut and see if you need stitches. Sasuke, you have ten extra laps in addition to the normal five. You two get going, and meet back here at eight tomorrow morning."

Each of the boys cast a glance at Sakura as they headed off. Naruto's was sympathetic, and Sasuke's conveyed that she shouldn't have mouthed off. Once they were gone, Kakashi turned his attention back to Sakura. He didn't soften his tone.

"Now, you're going to run the obstacle course." She finally looked at him, and apprehension and disbelief joined the anger in her eyes.

"Sensei?"

"You saw Naruto run it, so you should know where most of the traps are."

Her eyes widened. "But-"

"But what?"

She flinched at his sharpness. "But…Naruto had a partner."

"That was an exercise in being careful for Naruto, and in teamwork for Sasuke. Neither of those are your weaknesses. You don't need a partner."

She started to say something else, then thought better of it. Kakashi noticed anyway and sighed.

"Sakura, I just explained to you that I'm not going to let you get seriously hurt. Do you doubt that?"

She swallowed and was silent for a second, then shook her head. He noticed her hesitation, and it was all the confirmation he needed that she was lying. He suppressed a sigh.

"Your weakness is in speed and strength, and fear."

"I'm not scared!"

He raised one eyebrow.

"Maybe not. But you hesitate too much, and that makes you weak. You have to learn to balance caution with nerve. I want you to run the course in under seven minutes."

"Seven minutes?! But it's a mile long, with all those traps!"

"Then I guess you're going to have to take some calculated risks and trust me to have your back."

"Like you had Naruto's back?"

"Then I guess you'd better not screw up."

Her only response was a more intense glare.

"Sakura, look at me."

She grudgingly obeyed.

"I won't let you get hurt. This time. Because I need for you to trust me. Understand?"

"Hai."

"Good. I'm going to go reset the course. Head to the starting line, and in ten minutes I'll give the signal to start. From there, you'll have seven minutes. And since you're so worried, I'll be your partner."

She scowled. "Hai."

Kakashi watched as she sprinted off toward the beginning of the course. Tomorrow he'd let her get hurt by her own foolishness, but not today. He'd shaken her trust by letting Naruto get hurt, and regaining that trust was more important to their future teamwork than her ability to take risks. Tomorrow, he'd make her run the course without a partner, since by then she would understand that everything he did was for his team's benefit in the long run whether she liked it or not.

But today, he was her partner, and he was going to make damned sure that she understood the difference between 'teammate' and 'sensei'. Even if it meant staying all night and making her run the course sixty times, and having to block every single trap he'd set.

So this may get revised, or it may not. I haven't decided whether I'm happy with it. Leave a review and let me know what you think? :) Pretty please?