It looks like i have a habit of giving my main characters animal companions. You'll probably think that Naruto's some kind of idiot in this story, but that's not how i intend for him to be. Try to picture it as Naruto's mask in the real story, but more so. Now that I think about it, Naruto's sounding a lot like Tobi.

Disclaimer: I think just about everyone knows that Masashi Kishimoto is the guy who created Naruto, so unless i'm him in disguise, i probably don't own it.


The kit and his pack

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were waiting in their class for their Jonin leader to arrive. They knew nothing of him and were discussing who he might be.

"I bet it's someone really old!" Sakura said, cringing at the thought of sleeping near an old man.

"Probably not, they would choose someone more familiar with modern ninja methods." Sasuke replied, bored, "An old person wouldn't be as up to date as a younger person."

"That's right! You're so smart Sasuke-kun!"

"No, I just have common sense."

Sakura's face fell at Sasuke's words. She fell silent and laid her head on the desktop. Naruto wasn't even taking part in the conversation, he was sitting in the corner, hidden behind one of the desks.

"He probably hates me." Sakura thought, "I was pretty mean to him, I should go say sorry."

She got up and walked over to Naruto, feeling nervous. When she reached the back of the class. She saw him facing the wall, crouching down, looking like he was moping.

"N-Naruto-san?" she said, warily. Naruto looked up, but didn't face her, "I… I wanted to apologize for yesterday, it was really mean of me to say those things. Maybe I am what you called me, I don't know. But I promise I wont say things like that anymore, ok Naruto…-kun?"

She hoped she hadn't crossed a line with calling him 'kun', but she hated it when people didn't like her. Naruto turned his head a little more, as if he was going to say something, but it was then that the door opened.

"Hey, sorry I'm late." said the person who came in. Naruto and Sakura both looked up and saw a man with large grey hair and a mask covering the lower half of his face. He was also wearing his headband loosely so it covered his left eye.

"Come with me." he said, "Let's go somewhere more comfortable."

He led them to a rooftop outside, where Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke sat down on a flight of stairs, their leader leaning against a railing.

"Ok, why don't you all tell me a little about yourselves?" the man asked, "So we can get to know each other a little better."

"What do you want us to tell you?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, you know." the man replied, "Your names, things you like, things you don't like, any hobbies you have, your dreams for the future, that sort of thing."

"Why don't you go first, to show us how it's done?" Sakura asked.

"Me?" the man said, pointing to himself, "My name is Hatake Kakashi. Things I like? I like a lot of things. Things I don't like? I don't feel like telling you that. Hobbies? I have lots of hobbies. Dreams for the future? Eh, I never really thought about it. Ok, now you go."

Sakura stared at Kakashi. All he'd really told them was his name.

"Well… my name's Haruno Sakura. Things I like…"

She glanced shyly at Sasuke, who wasn't paying her any attention.

"My dreams for the future…"

Again she looked at Sasuke. Kakashi frowned at her.

"I… I don't really have an answer for your other questions." she said, "I spend a lot of time studying. I'm the first person in my family to try become a ninja, so I want to do my best. There isn't really anything particular that I dislike either."

Kakashi nodded thoughtfully at her. Next he looked at Sasuke.

"What about you?" he asked.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke replied, darkly, "I don't particularly like anything and there's a lot of things I hate. I don't have any 'hobbies' or 'dreams'. All I have is the reality that I will restore my clan and kill a certain someone."

Kakashi kept his eye on Sasuke for a second longer before turning to Naruto.

"And you?" he asked.

"My name's Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto replied, happily, "I like ramen, being a ninja, animals, you, Sasuke, Sakura-"

"I get it." Kakashi interrupted, "You like a lot of things."

Sakura stared at Naruto, wonder in her eyes.

"He still likes me?" she thought, "I thought we'd just be ok at best but… he still likes me?"

"Things I don't like?" Naruto said, thoughtfully, "I guess I don't like it when there's nothing fun to do. My hobbies are anything that's fun! And my dream for the future…"

Naruto sat up to crouch with his hands supporting him. He was about to speak when he hesitated. He cocked his head, as if listening to something. Then he smiled widely.

"I wanna be the greatest Hokage!" he exclaimed. Sakura looked at him with surprise on her face.

"To be Hokage?" she thought, "That's a nice dream, why did he hesitate to say it?"

Kakashi nodded at Naruto, a distant look in his eye, like recognition.

"All right then." he said, "Now that we all know each other a little better, I have something to tell you. Tomorrow I am going to test you myself to decide if you're worth the rank of Genin."

"What?!" Sakura exclaimed, "But we already completed all our exams!"

"That was to test if you're eligible to become a Genin." Kakashi replied, "I'm testing you to see if you're worth training. If you any of you fail, then I'll send you all back to the academy."

Sasuke tensed at Kakashi's words and Sakura got a nervous sweat. Naruto watched a little bird flying around, oblivious to the seriousness of the situation. Kakashi stood up.

"Tomorrow, at six in the morning, come to the bridge at the stream on the west side." he said, "And I wouldn't advise eating breakfast, you'll puke."

He leapt off the rooftop, leaving them to worry about the next day.

"Another test?" Sakura said, "I wonder what it will be?"

"Whatever it is; don't fail." Sasuke replied, "I'm not going back to the academy."

"Don't worry Sasuke-kun, we'll do our best!" Sakura said, before turning to Naruto, "Won't we, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto, who was still watching the bird, looked over at Sakura.

"I wonder what our first mission will be?" he said, "I can't wait to find out!"

"That's the spirit!" Sakura replied, smiling, "See Sasuke-kun? We'll be on our first mission in no time!"

Sasuke frowned uncertainly at Naruto.

"Yeah, alright." he said, "Naruto-san, can I ask you something?"

Naruto blinked at Sasuke.

"Who's Naruto-san?" he asked, before smiling widely, "He sounds boring."

"Fine, Naruto-…kun."

"Yeah?"

"How can you be so peaceful all the time, when there's so much at stake?"

Naruto cocked his head, with a bemused grin.

"How can worrying be fun?" he asked. Sakura fought back a smile. Naruto was such a child, he was kind of cute! Sasuke sighed in an annoyed manner.

"Fine." he said, "Just don't mess up."

He got up and walked away. Sakura thought to get up and follow him, but decided it might be a little more fun to stay with Naruto. Sasuke was in a mood and Naruto was cheerful, it was easy to see who she'd enjoy spending her time with more.

"So you're not nervous about the test Kakashi-sensei is going to give us?" she asked.

"Nah, it'll be a breeze!" Naruto replied, leaning back and looking up at the clouds. Sakura leant back as well, smiling.

"I wish I was as confident as you, Naruto-kun." she said.

"If you wanna be confident, then be confident!" Naruto replied. Sakura blinked.

"How could I do that?" she asked him.

"It's easy! Watch this!"

Naruto got to his feet and stood in front of Sakura, who was watching him with her brow raised. Naruto smiled at her before his expression changed to one of determination. He pointed at Sakura, a hard look on his face.

"Don't underestimate me!" he yelled. He threw his arm to the side while saying, "I'll defeat you all if I have to, no-one will stand in my way!"

Sakura stared, awestruck. Was it really that easy? Naruto dropped his hard stare and smiled.

"Now you try!" he said, falling on his backside and watching her eagerly. Sakura blushed shyly.

"Oh, ok." she said standing up. She looked at Naruto, who was looking back at her expectantly.

"I- I," she stammered, "I am strong!"

Naruto cocked his head. Sakura's face fell.

"I'm not very good at being confident." she admitted.

"That's ok Sakura. If we get in trouble, I'll protect you!" Naruto said, smiling sweetly. Sakura smiled back.

"Thanks."

* * * * *

The next morning, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke waited for Kakashi to show up. They'd all arrived before six, and it was now past seven, they were growing impatient. Naruto was occupying himself by reaching down into the stream and trying to catch the cherry blossom petals floating atop the water. He found one he liked and carefully scooped it up in his hands, getting back up onto the bridge.

"Look Sakura!" he said, holding the flower out to her, "A sakura!"

Sakura smiled at him and picked up the cherry blossom.

"Thanks." she said, putting it in her hair. Naruto smiled back at her, glad she liked his gift. Sasuke smirked at the two of them, but dropped it as he saw Kakashi.

"Sorry I'm late you guys." he said, "This morning I woke up facing north, so I had to ward away dark spirits."

"Is he really that superstitious or is he just lazy?" Sakura wondered, suspiciously.

"What direction did I wake up in this morning?" Naruto thought, worriedly. But he quickly brightened up, "Evil spirits can't hurt me!"

"Anyway, because we're late, we'll have to move quickly." Kakashi said.

"You're the one that was late!" Sasuke replied, angrily.

"Now now, if we are to be a team, then we must share the blame equally." Kakashi said, shaking his finger at Sasuke.

"Whatever."

Kakashi led them to a field with three large posts stuck in the ground. Not far from where they stood, there was a shrine of some sort with three black boxes.

"What are those?" Sakura asked.

"They would be your lunches." Kakashi replied, "That is, if you can complete my test."

"So that's why he told us not to eat breakfast, to make this harder!" Sakura thought, holding her empty stomach.

"What's the test?" Sasuke asked, staring hard at Kakashi, who pulled two bells from his pocket.

"Your task is to take these bells from me." he said, "Treat me like your enemy, don't hold back or you'll get hurt. You have until noon. The test begins now."

Sasuke and Sakura both leapt back, hiding in the bushes. They hadn't noticed that Naruto had already disappeared. Sasuke watched Kakashi carefully.

"Hey, Sasuke." Naruto whispered. Sasuke looked at Naruto, who had crawled beside him..

"What?" he asked. Naruto pointed to the bells strapped to Kakashi's pants.

"There's only two bells, right?" he asked. Sasuke nodded, "So one of us has to fail, right?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"You think we should leave Sakura behind?" he asked.

"Uh-uh. It's just… didn't he say if one of us fails, we all go back?"

Sasuke's eyes widened, "He tricked us! But then that must mean… he's trying to divide us, make us work against each other."

Naruto cocked his head, not really understanding.

"All right, here's the plan." Sasuke said, whispering something to Naruto.

"Pass it on to Sakura, but don't let him see you."

Naruto nodded and disappeared. He crawled next to Sakura, who jumped when she heard him.

"Sasuke says this test isn't real." he told her, "He said he's going to distract Kakashi while we go for the bells."

Sakura stared at Naruto, surprised.

"But doesn't that mean he won't get any lunch?" she asked.

"Huh, I hadn't thought of that. I'll go ask him."

But before he could disappear again, Sakura grabbed his wrist.

"Never mind that, Sasuke knows what he's doing." she said, "Let's just go along with his plan."

They waited for Sasuke to make his move, watching closely as Kakashi started reading a book.

"What's he reading?" Naruto said, wondering if it had nice pictures in it. Sakura squinted to read the title.

"Icha… icha… paradise." she said, before cringing, "It's a dirty book."

"A dirty book?" Naruto repeated, "How come he doesn't clean it?"

Sakura sighed, "Naruto-kun, maybe you're too innocent."

"Hey look, there's Sasuke!" Naruto said excitedly. Sakura looked up as Sasuke walked over to Kakashi.

"You should just hand over the bells." Sasuke warned, glaring at Kakashi, "It would be annoying if I had to kill you."

"Now why would I be threatened by you?" Kakashi asked, "You've only been a Genin for a couple of days."

"Your funeral." Sasuke replied, forming several hand signs, "Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu!"

Sasuke held his fingers up to his mouth and exhaled a giant fireball, to Kakashi's surprise.

"Now!" Sakura said, leaping out of the bushes and running at Kakashi. Naruto ran as well, but he was faster, soon overtaking Sakura. As Kakashi leapt away from the Jutsu, Naruto leapt as well, spinning in mid air so he was looking up at Kakashi. He reached out a hand to grab the bells, but at the last second Kakashi pivoted away and pushed Naruto off course with his leg. Before Naruto hit the ground, he formed a hand sign.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he cried, summoning two clones. One grabbed Kakashi's leg and pulled him to the ground, while the other grabbed Kakashi from behind, restricting his arms and pinning him down.

"Got him!" Naruto said, proudly. But as he reached down to grab the bells, Kakashi disappeared, a log taking his place.

"Damn, a replacement!" Sasuke cursed, looking around for Kakashi. Naruto stared at the spot Kakashi had been, his expression unreadable.

"The land of waves?" he thought, "Ok dad, I'll hurry up."

He looked back at Sakura and Sasuke seriously.

"Cover me." he said.

"You have a plan?" Sasuke asked, disbelievingly.

"Come on!" Naruto replied, running into the woods. Sasuke and Sakura glanced at each other before following. Naruto found a clearing in the woods and started digging at the ground, searching for something.

"Sakura, do you think you can distract him?" Naruto asked. Sakura stared worriedly.

"Me? I- uh." she stammered. Naruto looked up at her.

"Be confident." he said. Sakura blinked.

"I… right!" she replied, running off. Sasuke turned to him.

"Why did you ask her to do that?" he asked, "I would be better at distracting him."

Naruto grinned, "Got it!"

Sakura nervously searched the forest, looking for Kakashi. She found him standing against a tree, waiting for her.

"You don't look like you're willing to kill me." he said, "So I can only assume you're either here as bait, or a distraction."

Sakura flinched at his guess, she was finding out that she didn't cope well with high-stress situations.

"I see." Kakashi said, "Then I'll also assume this plan is Sasuke's, seeing as Naruto doesn't really seem as the plan type."

Sakura could feel sweat forming on her brow, now that she thought about it, Naruto wasn't especially bright. Was she endangering herself for nothing?

"Sakura-san."

Sakura whipped her head around. Sasuke was standing behind her, frowning.

"How did you get here so fast?" she asked, looking to her front again. The scenery had completely changed, she was right where she'd left Naruto.

"I have to admit, that is pretty impressive speed." Kakashi said, staring at Naruto, "To be able to perform a replacement so fast."

"Thanks!" Naruto replied, grinning, "Hey, follow me!"

He turned around and started running to the others. Kakashi frowned, before following carefully. They reached Sasuke and Sakura, who were standing back. Naruto stood a little away from them, turning to face Kakashi.

"So what is this?" Kakashi asked, "You plan to face me all at once?"

Naruto shook his head.

"Then what?"

Naruto walked close to Kakashi, not too close, but enough so they were face to face. He raised his foot in the air and stamped on the ground.

"What are you-" Kakashi started, but stopped as a clone grabbed him from behind. Naruto pounded the ground again and the earth collapsed beneath their feet, causing them to fall far underground. Kakashi got to his feet, brushing dust off his jacket. He looked around the dark tunnel they were in, brow raised.

"Who would've thought such a place existed under here?" he said, glancing down to Naruto, who was sitting down, smiling.

"My dad told me!" Naruto replied, happily. Kakashi stared at him, frowning.

"What did you say?" he asked.

"You know why it's a bad idea to wear a face mask?" Naruto asked.

"No, why?" Kakashi asked. Naruto cocked his head.

"You can't smell gas!" he replied, looking up, "Now Sasuke!"

"Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu!" Sasuke cried, exhaling a giant fireball. The entire cavern exploded. Kakashi reacted quickly and flew through a series of hand signs.

"Doton: Dochū Eigyo no Jutsu!" he cried, disappearing beneath the ground. Fire erupted from the hole, spewing out into the sky. Sasuke and Sakura took cover behind a tree, sweating from the heat of the fire.

"Naruto-kun!" Sakura cried, "Kakashi-sensei! Are they ok?"

"I don't know, Naruto didn't tell me about the gas." Sasuke replied, "There wasn't a lot of the stuff in there, it burned fast."

"I hope they're not hurt!" Sakura said, worriedly.

"I'm fine!"

Sakura and Sasuke whipped their heads around to see Naruto standing behind them, a little dirty but otherwise unhurt.

"Naruto-kun!" Sakura exclaimed, "Don't scare me like that!"

"I'm sorry!" Naruto smiled.

"But where's Kaka-sensei?" Sasuke asked, eying the smoking hole warily.

"I'm fine as well." Kakashi said, climbing out of it, "It'll take more than that to take me out."

"Hey, Kaka-sensei!" Naruto called.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked. With a cheeky grin, Naruto held up the two bells. Kakashi blinked and checked his belt. sure enough, the bells were missing.

"I see, you must have taken them while I was forming the hand signs for my Jutsu." he said, "Although your method was incredibly risky, you succeeded in taking the bells. But as you know, you only need one, so who will you give the other to?"

Sakura and Sasuke glanced at each other. They knew what Kakashi was doing. He was making Naruto pick one of them over the other. But Naruto just smiled.

"Here ya go!" he said, tossing both the bells to Sasuke and Sakura, who caught them, surprised. Kakashi shared in their feeling as he raised his brow to Naruto.

"You do realize this means you will go without lunch?" he asked. Naruto just smiled.

"That's ok!" he replied, "I wouldn't want someone to suffer in my place. Besides, I forgot you said not to eat breakfast."

Kakashi sighed.

"You went against the rules, you endangered yourself and your comrades and made yourself incapable of completing your mission." he said, "The purpose of your test was to assess your abilities as a team, which you did very well…"

Kakashi fell silent, considering carefully.

"And then there was that thing you said down there, Naruto-san, about your dad…. What did you mean?"

Naruto cocked his head, "You know… my dad. He told me!"

Kakashi's frown deepened.

"I will have to postpone my decision for now." he said, turning away, "While you passed the test, I can't be sure if you are fit to be Genin. Sasuke-san, your anger could get the better of you and cost the mission. Sakura-san, you were to afraid to face your opponent and gave your plan away to the enemy. Naruto-san… I need to speak with the Hokage about your situation."

Naruto cocked his head again, "Who's Naruto-san?"

But Kakashi ignored him, walking away. Sasuke and Sakura looked to each other uncertainly.

"This is bad." Sakura said, Sasuke nodding in agreement.

* * * * *

Three days had passed since then, with no word from Kakashi regarding his decision. Naruto sat in his apartment, trying to make funny faces in his instant ramen when someone knocked on the door.

"Hm?"

Naruto got up and answered, surprised to find Sakura on the other side.

"Morning Sakura!" he said, brightly. Sakura smiled at him.

"Good morning." she said, "Sasuke wants us to meet up with him, are you busy?"

"Nope!" Naruto replied, "Let me just get my jacket!"

He turned around and went into his room to search.

"Come in if you want." he said, "I might be a little while, I forget what my jacket looks like."

Sakura raised her brow, surprised.

"Uh, ok, thanks." she said, coming in. she stepped into his kitchen, preparing for the worst, but she was surprised. She hadn't expected Naruto to keep his home so clean. She jumped as she felt something wet touch her toe.

"Yip!"

A red fox cub sat on the floor of the kitchen, looking up at Sakura, his bushy tail wagging.

"Hey Naruto-kun?" Sakura called, "Did you know there's a baby fox in your kitchen?"

Naruto poked his head through the door, smiling at the little guy.

"Yeah, that's Zenko." he said, before looking around "Careful, I don't see Yako anywhere."

He disappeared back into his room. Sakura crouched down and petted Zenko, smiling.

"Hey little guy." she said, "Aren't you cute?"

"Yip!"

Sakura laughed, it almost sounded like he was agreeing with her. Then for some reason, Zenko whined.

"Huh, what is- AAH!" she cried, as something hit her from behind. She fell on the floor, Zenko running out of the way.

"Sakura, are you ok?" Naruto called from his room. Sakura groaned and turned on her back. Something jumped onto her chest… another fox?

"Uh, I think I just met Yako." she said, eying the little fox warily. Yako looked down at her, a mischievous glint in his eyes, while Zenko padded over to her, licking her cheek in an apologetic manner. Yako laid down on Sakura's chest, watching her closely. Naruto came in the room with his jacket on and picked up Yako by the scruff of his neck.

"Come on Yako, leave Sakura alone!" he said. Yako barked at him, "Yeah I know she's very pretty, but you scared her!"

Sakura blushed slightly, getting to her feet. It was kind of embarrassing for someone to talk about her this way. She nearly jumped back as Naruto held Yako close to her face.

"Now what do you say?" Naruto asked. Yako panted happily at Sakura before licking her on the nose. Sakura giggled.

"He's real mischievous, but he won't hurt you." Naruto said, putting Yako down next to Zenko.

"So are these your pets?" Sakura asked. She jumped slightly as Zenko and Yako barked at her reproachfully.

"No, they're my brothers!" Naruto said, crouching down and petting them, "No one understand us like we do!"

Sakura smiled at him. Every day she spent with Naruto made her feel more guilty about the things she said. She really did like having him around.

"Well, I'm ready, you want to go now?" Naruto asked.

"Hm? Oh, right, yeah let's go." Sakura replied, remembering why she was here. Naruto held the door open for her as they left, locking it behind him.

"Will those two be ok by themselves?" Sakura asked.

"Sure, Zenko knows where the food and stuff is and he'll put Yako in his place if he causes trouble."

Sakura stared at Naruto, a bemused look on her face. It was like common sense didn't apply to him, or those around him.

"Are they really that well trained?" she asked.

"What are you talking about? It's Zenko who keeps reminding me to brush my teeth at night!" Naruto replied, smiling. Sakura smiled back, but Inner Sakura had a headache.

"So where are we meeting Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"Same place Kakashi told us to meet." Sakura replied. Naruto cocked his head, an uneasy look on his face.

"Uh…"

Sakura smiled, "It's ok, I remember."