Grasping the monkey-tail

Dark.

The sky was dark.

Dark and depressing.

And from that dark sky the rain continued to fall.

Like tears the droplets of water descended down to the earth. Still the people on the ground did not waver. They stood, kneeled or simply sat on the ground and the rain continued to fall.
It did not matter for the sea of black, both on the ground and in the sky, grew even more as time went on. The cold was ignored, as was the silence. More and more people came, even as more black clouds gathered over them.

Konoha was showing its respect. They were showing their will. They were.

Mourning.

Civilians, shinobi, kunoichi, retired or active, it did not matter. They were there. All of them. All of Konoha had come for one final chance to mourn what had been lost. Just for the chance to once more grieve for someone important to them. Someone that had been lost. Lost to treachery. Lost to a betrayel most foul. Lost to one that had at one point in history been considered a child of Konoha.

And so Konoha mourned, so they grieved, so the cried and the heavens cried with them. For the pillar had been lost. The pillar of Konoha's strength, the will of fire that had once burned so brightly, was destroyed. Konoha's guardian was gone. Lost to them forever.

For their Hokage was dead. Gone, dead, by the god he himself had summoned upon this world to stop the ambition of the man he had once considered one of his children. In a battle for supremacy Sarutobi Sasuke had given his life, fighting the shadows of his predecessors and the man known to this world as Orochimaru.

In a battle of skill, tactics and at the end even sacrifice the Sandaime Hokage had treaded the path his successor had shown him 12 years ago. To forge a pact with death himself, to give away ones very soul for the chance of victory.

Coughing up blood the man known as the Professor had stared up at the faces he had come to know so well over the years and even while the blackness invaded his vision, even while the pain in his chest intensified, he had spoken to those near him.

"This will of fire, 'cough', I entrust it to you. Keep 'cough' keep it burning for me, no, for all of Konoha! Let it burn, 'cough', let it burn forever 'cough' and do me proud."

And with a smile on his face he had died.

Still the people gathered, the stream of people joining the others in their mourning did not cease.

And amongst them stood three.

Three shinobi.

Three killers born and bred to kill, to assassinate and to torture if necessary.

Three tools of war, as cold and dangerous as steel.

Three…children.

Two boys, one girl, two shinobi, one kunoichi.

Shinobi do not show emotions. That is their rule. That is their life.

The rain masked their tears. The mass of people masked the girl on her knees and the rigid posture of the boys. Not from their superiors, nor from their subordinates.

But from themselves.

For the life of a shinobi is a life of tears that must never fall, lest the weapon becomes brittle.

Only today they wept. They cried for the good times that were stolen from them. They wept for the guiding light that had been taken from them.

So while the girl kneeled and one of the boys clenched his fists while glaring at the ground only the third member of their team was inclined to speak.

One hand on his neck, as if gripping something on it, he looked forward, the hate shining brightly in his eyes.

"Never again!"

His voice was only a whisper, nothing more but a soft breeze, but to his companions, who had gotten used to his silent ways it was more like a scream. Seeing their questioning looks at his words, even through the rain, he released his neck and clenched his fist, drawing blood due to the brutality of his action.

"That's the second time I've lost those that are important to me!"

Realization set in. A quick glance between his comrades revealed their understanding of his words.

"I am sick of mourning. I am sick of being left behind!"

A nod and a glare were his answers, then, another nod from both, urging him to continue even as a drop of blood dropped down from his hand.

"It's not going to happen again. Never again!"

A flash of understanding in their eyes was all he could see then…

"Never again?"

The blonde boy seemed to taste the words even as he spoke them. His eyes hardened. Determination. Purpose. It was a startling transformation in the very way he held himself.

Slowly their pink-haired teammate rose from her knees, her eyes lingering upon the drop of blood on the wet floor, mingling with the water. Her eyes snapped upwards, meeting theirs and this time, there were no tears.

Only the rain and her voice, a mix of determination and grief, strangely fitting for their situation.

"Never again!"

They had lost their Hokage, they had lost their guardian.

Still they had lost more than others.

They had lost their teacher

"Never again!"

They wouldn't lose anything ever again.

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„Don't you dare and die on me Sempai!"

Coughing slightly the masked shinobi known to the world as the Copy Ninja Kakashi tried to smile in a hopeful encouraging fashion at the young Inuzuka girl.

It would have worked better if he didn't had to hold some of his guts back from spilling out of the wound on his stomach or if the red stains on his mask weren't quite as visibly as they were.

Sadly, such comforts were not available to them. All they could was run. Run and pray. Pray to whatever god would listen to their plea for them to reach their camp, for some medic-nin to perform a miracle or two.

Anything to save their comrade.

So they ran, they ran, preferring the ground instead of taking to leaping from tree to tree, in fear of aggravating their commanders injuries.

It should have been easy.

A quick infiltration.

Sneak in.

Kill.

Sneak out.

No one had told them about their target having hired shinobi from Iwa. No one had told them that those bastards had been hired for only one reason.

Hunt and Kill Hatake Kakashi.

They had been fooled from the beginning. The mission parameters had been clear. This was an assassination. The only lie was the target.

They had been thrown around like ragdolls, barely able to stand up to the Iwa shinobi. They were infiltration specialists, not straight up combat shinobi, goddamnit.

Outnumbered, surprised, rattled by the ease in which they had swallowed the bait.

Kakashi had stopped smiling. In fact, his frown was visibly even through his mask.

The Iwa shinobi to his right had no chance scream as the ground below him liquefied into poison. Even as he sunk he began to scream as his skin was eaten away.

Lightning fell from the sky, hitting Kakashi seemingly head on and the Copy Ninja was gone.

And their enemies died. They died, some screaming as their bodies were torn apart, others silently, not even realizing what was happening to them.

Their enemy had nearly advantage one could hope for in a fight.

They only had Hatake.

And their enemies continued to die.

Rocks flew by, lightning came down, fire scorched the earth and torrents of water gushed loose.

And always the red eye blazing with a life of its own, turning every jutsu thrown at the silver-haired killer into a weapon against its user.

It lasted only for a few minutes. From on second to another, were once there had been dozens of would-be assassins, now there was a graveyard.

And in the middle of the carnage Kakashi looked as unruffled as ever. Still he did not lower his guard. Even now, with no visible enemy in sight, something in him screamed at him to keep his guard up.

"Commander!"

For a second he relaxed at the voice of his second-in-command.

The sound of stone grinding on stone told him he had messed up. They sound of a meaty thunk and muffled groan told him that his kunai had hit.

The feeling of his stomach being cut open told him that so had his enemy.

Falling to his knees he could feel his mind going black. Leaving only on thought before he could think no more.

"Tsuchiyaiba no Yutsu, have to 'cough' have to remember that when I wake up."

And so the group ran.

Hoping for a miracle.

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"How is his situation, Moru-san?"

Two men stood in front of a nondescript hospital room. That alone was nothing special.

Said room however was housing the Copy Ninja Kakashi and one of the two men, while old, was still one of the most powerful men in the elemental countries.

"He is healing nicely Hokage-sama. We should be able to discharge him in about 5 weeks."

The younger man, a medic-nin, was quite happy to deliver good news for once. Taking care of the sick and wounded wasn't as rewarding as people often thought.

Especially when they couldn't save their patients life.

"I see, good work Moru-san, how long will it take for Kakashi-kun to return to active duty?"

"Nothing less than six months, in fact, eight months might be recommended. Hatake-san was in a critical situation. It was a gamble that we operated when we did and it paid off. The gods must smile upon him."

"Thank you Moru-san, I will take my leave then, please send me a note when Kakashi-kun is discharged."

"Of course Hokage-sama."

Nodding at the young men, Sarutobi turned around to leave. He had much to think about.

Things like why one of his best shinobi was in the hospital in the first place.

Most importantly, just who was behind this. Who had the sheer gall to trick Konoha and try to assassinate someone like Kakashi. Of course the assault itself had been carried out by Iwa shinobi, but that rarely meant anything in the long run.

Ibiki would have to work overtime again.

Smirking slightly the old man chuckled slightly.

Who ever was the cause of this wouldn't come to enjoy the fruits of his labour.

Ibiki could be quite vicious if he had to work overtime after all.

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"So what exactly is the problem Iruka-kun?"

Smiling reassuringly at the young chuunin Sarutobi rested in his chair, happy for a chance to let the paperwork be forgotten for a while.

"Well, with Hatake-san in the hospital it seems we have a vacancy in jounin for the new genin teams."

Cringing at the surprised look on the Hokage's face Iruka tried to look as small as possible.

"And there is no one else who could take one a team of genin right now? Not even one jounin?"

"All the others are either already leading a team, on long-term missions or simply not on the needed level to actually take on a genin team Hokage-sama."

Sighing deeply the old man focused on his crystal ball, trying to think of anything.

Minutes ticked away.

"Send them to me, Iruka-kun."

"What? Forgive me Hokage-sama, who should I send to you?"

"The team without a teacher, when you assign the teams, tell them to report to the tower, I will see what I can do till then."

"Yes sir, thank you Hokage-sama."

Bowing low and silently thanking the gods for taking this problem out of his hands, the chuunin left, leaving the old man to his thoughts.

With a sigh he rose from his seat.

Maybe a stroll through the village would enlighten him.

So he walked out of his office, telling his secretary to send a messenger if anything urgent came up he strolled out of the tower, letting his feet carry him somewhere.

Sometimes it was best to simply start walking.

Every road starts with the first step.

Even a road down the memory lane.

And as he walked the old man known as Sarutobi Sasuke remembered.

A time of war.

A time of constant strife.

A time with his team mates, creeping behind enemy lines, securing important documents for the Nidaime.

He remembered, fighting, laughing, yes even loving. He remembered.

The awe at seeing the Nidaime's prized water techniques.

The fear when faced with the might of the beast known as the 3-tails.

The exhilaration when he entered the hospital-room, seeing his wife and their son, both healthy and happy.

He remembered…his students.

Tsunade, always the tomboy, striving for greatness, proving her worth as she charged onwards, crushing everything in her way.

Orochimaru, the quiet genius, able to unnerve even grown man with his stare alone, daring his enemies to make a move while coldly calculation their demise.

Jiraiya, so quick to anger, so quick to fight, yet a sage all on his own, reaching greatness just like his team-mates by his own way.

How proud he had been.

Like a father, he had watched them grow.

Watched them break.

Watched them disappear.

Now they were gone, one plotting Konoha's downfall, another not caring if Konoha just disappeared from the surface of the world and only one of them still sending messages now and then.

A laugh pulled him out of his musings.

He was standing near the childrens playground and the young ones were certainly enjoying their chance to get dirty.

He couldn't help it.

A small smile stole itself on his face.

This was what he was fighting for. This was what he had sacrificed so much for.

Hearing the children play, seeing them safe and sound, ignorant of all the dangers in the world.

If only his children could smile again.

If only….

The thought came unbidden. From on moment to the other it was there and didn't leave again.

There were a thousand reasons why it wouldn't work. A thousand reasons why it couldn't be done, but the thought persisted.

He could take the chance.

As the Hokage it was his right.

It was his choice.

He wouldn't push his genin on a teacher unwilling to teach them.

He wouldn't, not after they had given their all for this chance to be a shinobi of Konohagakure.
They were children of Konoha, they were his children as far as he was concerned.

They would get every chance they could.

After all, this monkey still had some tricks to teach.

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"Nee, Iruka-sensei, where's our teacher?"

"NARUTO, will you shut up already!"

"But Sakura-chan, I want to know."

Sighing deeply Iruka wondered once again if had been a mass murder in his former life.

"As I already told you Naruto, Hokage-sama will tell you who your teacher is, because Hatake-san, the man that should been your teacher was injured."

"So old man Hokage is going to make sure I get the best teacher, isn't he?"

"Idiot, of course we will get a good teacher, Sasuke-kun is on this team after all."

Glancing at the silent boy next to the bickering two, Iruka didn't have it in this heart to tell them that no one he knew was available.

Seeing the entrance to the tower Iruka once more thanked the gods that the short trek had finally come to an end.

"Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, listen up, from this on, you're on your own, Hokage-sama already awaits you, so don't make him wait any longer, got it?"

"Yes, Sensei!"

"Will do Iruka-sensei, see you later."

"Idiot, don't be so loud."

Still bickering the two followed Sasuke who had decided to simply go in instead of waiting for his team mates to calm down.

A few minutes of unnatural silence followed, as for once Naruto didn't have anything to say, giving Sakura no reason, imagined or real to dress him down.

They walked on, in silence. Every once in a while a shinobi crossed their path and the silence continued on.

At least, the last door opened and the secretary motioned for them to enter.

"What followed was an orange blur and a loud:

"Yo, old man, how are you, still keeping my hat warm for me?"

"NARUTO, stop being so disrespectful to the Hokage."

Smiling at the three genin Sarutobi stood up.

"Well Team 7, I'm sure you were already briefed on your situation. You should know that as of now, there is no free jounin that would be able to teach your team effectively."

His answer was a loud protest from Naruto, as the blonde boy yelled as loudly as he could, proclaiming the unfairness of the world and that he didn't need a teacher.

Sakura and Sasuke only looked on, confused on why they were here if there was no teacher for them. Would they get send back to the academy?

"Naruto, calm down, as I said, there is no jounin to teach you right now, so I have decided for you to receive your training from another source."

The old man couldn't help himself as he saw their expectant faces. Smirking he picked up a stack of signed paper-work and promptly dropped it into Naruto's arms.

"As of today, Team 7 is assigned to the Hokage of Konohagakure. From this day onwards you will aid me in my daily duties, while you are being trained in the arts of the shinobi."

The first thing to set in was the shock.

Then a strange giddiness. They were going to be trained by the Hokage himself.

They were going to train under the strongest shinobi of Konoha.

Then…

"Wait up old man, what am I supposed to do with this stuff?"

Waiving around the paperwork in his arms Naruto tried to face the old man, only to realize that the stack of paperwork was just too tall.

"Why isn't it obvious Naruto-kun? You will also assist me with my paperwork and the faster we finish the faster we can go and have a look at this scroll of jutsu's I have here."

It was confirmed, the old man was definitely smirking now.

The moment Naruto had heard finish, paperwork and jutsu he was already gone, together with his stack.

Chuckling Sarutobi looked at the two remaining genin as the both took a stack of paperwork.

"Well then, I expect this shouldn't take to long, you only need to return them to the offices written on the front for now."

Seeing them nod and disappear he mustered the remaining papers on his desk.
The enthusiasm of youth was a beautiful thing wasn't it?

Well time to start, it wouldn't do for this old man to be bested by those youngsters.

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"Well done you three, you were even faster than I expected."

Seeing their tired grins, even Sasuke lips seemed to twitch slightly, at his praise Sarutobi motioned for them to sit down on the floor in his study.

"Now for this scroll, I want each one of you to write down one jutsu from this scroll. Decide on which one you will take and write it down."

Giving them a blank scroll and a pencil he watched them huddle over the scroll.

A nostalgic smile grew on his face as he saw how quiet they were. Truly, if even Naruto didn't have the energy to be loud, Sasuke and Sakura must have been dead on their feet.

Sloppily they copied down their chosen jutsu, as they had been told.

Finally they were done and the Sarutobi put the scroll away.

"Well, it seems you three are rather tired, so we will call it a day for now, however, I do expect all three of you to learn the jutsu you just wrote down and after you're done you will switch your scrolls."

Neither Sakura nor Sasuke could quite fight the frown that bloomed on their face as they remembered Naruto's handwriting. Learning anything from that would be a miracle. Still they were too tired to complain.

Before Sarutobi could dismiss them a growl interrupted him, leaving a sheepish Naruto touching his belly and whining about hunger.

"Hmmm well, seeing as how Naruto is so close to starvation, I think I can afford to invite you three for a quick meal before we end this day."

Seeing Sakura's hesistant nod and Sasuke's blank stare he added.

"For today, how about a bowl of ramen, I imagine something fast and warm might just be the right thing for you three."

This time Naruto did shout out in glee, not even death could stop his enthusiasm for Ramen, so what if he was a little tired.

This time their little walk wasn't as quiet as before, as Naruto suddenly found hidden reserves and explained the thousands of reasons why Ramen was the food of the gods.

It was only after they had ordered and the first bowl of Ramen had appeared in front of Naruto that he decided that eating Ramen was more important than praising Ramen.

And so the ate.

Their first time as a team.

Not that the cared any way. Sakura just wanted to sleep, somewhere, anywhere, far away from all the evil paperwork.

Sasuke was already thinking about his new jutsu while eating his Ramen, expressionless as always.

The thought of learning something written down by Naruto was giving him a headache already, damn that dobe.

Naruto, well, Naruto was busy stuffing Ramen into his throat to think about anything else.

The whole scene made the old man smile. It was just a meal, yes, but maybe, it was the beginning of something more.

Understanding?

Unlikely, but it could happen.

He would make it happen.

"Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, tell, what is it that you see there!"

Getting their attention he pointed at a market stall in the distance, people milling about it, minding their own business as they went by.

"It's a market stall Hokage-sama."

Sakura's answer was the first, spoken timidly as she watched the stall.

Sasukes grunt was noted down as agreement.

"Ne, old man, that's the stall of that mean old lady that threw a bucket after me when I painted her cat pink."

This answer brought forth a chuckle even as Sakura, as tired as she was, managed to get up and slap Naruto on the back of his head.

"You are right of course, but there is something else. For a shinobi must look underneath the underneath. This is important for all shinobi, but this is something only a shinobi of Konoha can possible see."

Seeing the confusion he smiled sadly and shook his head.

"It does not matter for now, you three however did great today, go get some rest. Tomorrow will be even harder I'd say. Do not forget to learn the jutsu you wrote down and think about what I told you, my students."

Saluting sloppily Naruto jumped to attention.

"Yeah, I'll learn it faster than Sasuke-teme, just you watch old man."

"What are you saying you idiot, there is no way you could learn your jutsu before Sasuke learn his."

"We'll see about this dobe."

"Are you mocking me, Teme?"

Again the old man chuckled as he left his students to their bickering.

This time, he would do things right.

Even monkey's can learn from their mistakes after all.