Author's Note: I hope you liek.

Ready, Fire, Aim

Scene:

Kakashi Embraces his Fate

-or-

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.


Warily, Kakashi touches down amongst the rubble that is Training Ground 13, the explosive testing grounds his team seems to have adopted. And immediately flicks himself behind one of the enormous, reinforced, strategically placed boulders dotting the grounds.

KA-BOOM!

BOOMBOOMBOOM! The boulder shudders, Kakashi eyes it skeptically. He has half a mind to just turn around and go home, but—

"Kakashi-sensei! Kakashi-sensei! Kakashi-sensei!" three teenage voices chorus excitedly.

They've seen him already.

Kakashi sighs a deep, bone-weary sigh and straightens just as Naruto whips around the boulder, pigtails flying behind her like golden victory banners. Sakura and Sasuke, sweaty, dusty, equally as triumphat, follow hot on her heels, skidding to a stop just as Naruto shouts, "Kakashi-sensei! GUESS WHAT?!"

Kakashi doesn't want to. He really really doesn't want to.

"We've worked out how to make Shadow Clones explode when they disperse!" Sakura and Naruto, in their victory, are eerily in sync. Sasuke grins like a cat that caught the canary and doesn't at all act like Naruto and Sakura are rubbing off on each other in all the worst ways. All three of them are beaming at him, out of breath in their excitement, eyes gleaming.

Then, the implications of their declaration hit Kakashi like a sledgehammer, "You—"

"It took a lot of testing, knowledge of explosive tags and fire jutsu, and a butt-load of Shadow Clones…," Sakura, completely missing the horror in his voice, takes this as the signal to launch into a detailed, technical explanation of their creation process. Naruto and Sasuke are still grinning like the devils they are behind her.

When her explanation winds down, leaving her grinning with hopeful eyes up at him, Kakashi says faintly, "You—You're all genin. Rookie genin."

Sakura scuffs her foot across the ground, almost shyly, and looks up at him through her lashes, "Well, it didn't turn out to be that hard…" Kakashi can see her pleased grin she's not attempting to hide at all.

"Yeah! We're the best, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto pronounces happily.

Sasuke smugly contributes, "Think of all the uses in the field, Kakashi-sensei," a sly, evil smirk curling his lips. Kakashi twitches.

It's impressive, Kakashi thinks numbly. He can't decide if the person who put them on a team together was a genius or an utter moron, because, apart, these kids would grow up to be extremely competent shinobi who would be pillars of support for Konoha, together… Together, they are some sort of evil-genius demon of chaos and destruction and Kakashi has been on the fence about whether they will one day benevolently rule the world through fear or just break it. Nobody else in Konoha believes him, but he knows, he knows.

Bright laughter pulls him out of his thoughts. The three are facing each other now, smiling, basking in their triumph of creative destructive ability.

"I think your hair is a little singed," Sakura says as she leans over one of Naruto's pig-tails.

"Man! If this keeps happening I really might cut it short like you did, Sakura."

"It'd be practical," Sasuke grunts.

They are angled such that Kakashi is included in their victory powwow, though they are no longer demanding his attention. There's camaraderie there, friendship even, and they clearly consider him a part of their little pack. Watching them, laughing and talking (even Sasuke!), high on their victory, Kakashi feels a completely unexpected swell of pride. It's so unexpected that he has to take a moment to check and make sure it isn't actually the usual resignation, instead.

Because—because they've learned from him. They've taken his first lesson to heart. He realizes suddenly, that whatever their evil, destructive inclinations, they are a good team. Great, even. Kakashi observes them speculatively, eyes suddenly sharp, and makes a decision.

He understands with true clarity now, he's never going to be able to stop them from destroying the world. A new A-rank jutsu with massive destructive potential created only six months after becoming shinobi is nearly unheard of in this day and age, and they are only going to get better as they get older, with or without him.

"I think," Kakashi says slowly, and three heads swivel towards him in surprise, "that it's time we had another team tactics training session. We do, after all, have a new jutsu to test out." This time, Kakashi's mouth curls up along with his students', a gleam as evil as theirs shining in his eyes. "Meet me here tomorrow, 9am. Be warmed up." His eye sweeps over the three critically, and then curves up in a happy crescent, "But for now, let's go get Ramen to celebrate."

The world's always been kind of a dick to Kakashi anyway.

(The next day, Kakashi will shock all three of his cute, destructive little pups by arriving at 9am, on the dot.)


Author's Note:

This fic will be non-linear in nature, meaning that the posted order of chapters is not the chronological order in universe. It's femNaru because why not, and because I think Naruto and Sakura girl power friendships are appealing. Don't expect a whole lot of plot from this story. I'll probably write chapters whenever the fancy takes me. Also, the rating may go up. I'm writing in this community to practice, so let me know your thoughts if you have a moment. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it! ~TF

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.