A/N: Thank you to Azaleatown for being an awesome beta. Anyway, onwards with the chapter and I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 2

"I promise… I will do my best to make you proud… Dad…" Kakashi knelt down in front of the KIA memorial and wiped off an invisible speck of dust with his sleeve. Gently, he traced his father's engraved name as he did every day. Kakashi's eyes slid out of focus and as the names that blurred his reflection came into focus.

"Rule number eight," Kakashi whispered, "A ninja must never question their leader." The words tasted horribly bitter to Kakashi, but that one rule was engrained into his brain.

For a moment he stared up at the sky and breathed in the sweet morning air. Even though it was past seven o'clock, Kakashi was in no hurry. The third training grounds were only a few minutes away. He sighed, straightened, and slowly descended the memorial steps. Kakashi had no idea what test Minato-sensei was going to set. No doubt it was something to test his new team mate's abilities, and also to see how he interacted within the group. Kakashi frowned as he walked.

Taking a shortcut through the woods, Kakashi emerged at the third training grounds to see Rin and Minato-sensei already there.

"G-good morning… Kakashi-kun," Rin smiled.

"Hello Kakashi," Minato said, cheerful as ever. Kakashi nodded at Rin and a knowing look passed between him and Minato. Minato knew exactly why Kakashi was ten minutes late.

Minutes rolled by, though Kakashi didn't particularly care if the idiot Uchiha was late. The extra time allowed him to analyse his surroundings.

Finally, at half past seven, the sound of heavy footsteps alerted the group. For a brief moment, Kakashi wondered how it was possible that someone with the surname Uchiha could be so loud.

"Sorry I'm late," Obito panted, "I had to help an old lady carry some groceries."

Rin nodded meekly, clearly not believing him, but as usual Minato-sensei smiled. Kakashi simply decided to ignore Obito. He hadn't forgiven him for gawking like everyone else yesterday. As soon as Obito had seen Kakashi, he had given him that look. And it was that look which Kakashi despised.

"So, now that we're all here," Minato said, "We can now start the test." Obito and Rin exchanged nervous looks, however Kakashi rolled his eyes. It was clear that Kushina was rubbing off on Minato-sensei.

"The test is simple," Minato explained and Kakashi looked up with interest as he heard the soft jingle of bells.

"By noon you must retrieve these two bells from me. The person who doesn't retrieve a bell, will be tied up to that post while the others get to eat lunch!" The three students turned to see the three wooden posts behind them. Obito groaned loudly.

"Good luck!" Minato grinned, and with that he vanished.

Screened by the undergrowth with one knee pressed to the earth, Obito stared through the leaves at Minato who was standing in clearing with his back exposed.

Hehe… Now's my chance! Obito thought. With a cry, he burst out from the bush and charged at Minato.

Obito aimed a punch at the back of Minato's head, but without even turning around the jonin blocked the attack with a forearm. Undeterred, Obito rolled to the side to send a kick upwards but Minato grabbed Obito's foot lazily with two hands and swung him to the ground.

Spluttering, Obito scrambled up as he spat out dirt from his mouth, feeling glad he was wearing goggles.

Huh… Maybe he's better than I thought… Well, how about this!

Obito flung a kunai in the direction of his sensei, but it merely whizzed past Minato's head as he tilted it slightly. Scowling, Obito ran at Minato again, but once more Minato easily parried Obito's right cross with a hand.

Suddenly, Obito vanished in poof of smoke and a lump of wood clattered to the ground. Minato raised an eyebrow and the real Obito, who was kneeling behind a tree, grinned.

"Ha, he fell for it," Obito said gleefully.

"Obito! Watch out! H-he's going to use a fire technique," Rin's voice punctured the air. But she was too late.

"A ninja should never leave their back unprotected," a soft voice said in his ear. "Konoha's secret finger technique: One thousand years of pain!"

Pure, undiluted agony flooded up Obito's rear and the momentum from Minato's rather dubious technique propelled Obito through the air until he landed face first into the dirt.

"My arse…" Obito groaned and he clutched the said appendage, which felt like it was on fire, "He's… So… uncool…"

Suddenly a shiny glint caught Obito's eye, and he looked up to see one of the bells lying beneath a tree. No way! Obito thought in excitement. He must have dropped it when he was performing his stupid technique!

Glancing around, Obito staggered up and hobbled over.

"Easy," Obito laughed and he reached down to scoop up the bell. But his triumph was cut short when something fastened itself onto his ankle, and Obito's world suddenly blurred and was inverted.

"A ninja should never fall for such simple tricks," an upside down Minato sighed as he appeared in front of the dangling Obito. He smiled and re-attached the bell to his belt.

Obito turned bright red and scowled, swiping a fist at Minato who disappeared with a puff of smoke.

"Huh?" Obito said confused, "A shadow clone? I wonder where he really is…"

He reached up to his weapons pouch, only to realise with dismay that all his weapons had fallen to the ground. Obito groaned with frustration as he vainly attempted to reach one of his kunai lying on the grass below him.

Then, Obito heard something whistle through the air and suddenly he was sent crashing to the ground.

"Ahh!" Obito cried, rubbing his head as he blinked away tears. This test was turning out to be a complete disaster. He looked around with confusion, wondering who had cut the rope.

"You know… I thought it was against the laws of nature for an Uchiha to be this stupid," a voice drawled.

Obito gazed up to see Kakashi standing above him, not looking at all impressed. He opened his mouth then closed it again. Kakashi… cut him down? Obito's brain refused to comprehend this. He thought the White Fang's son hated him.

"Why?" Obito asked as he stumbled to his feet, "I… don't understand…"

Kakashi stared at Obito for a moment, and then answered in an impossibly cold voice, "Because, only scum would leave a team mate behind to their fate."

Obito gaped at Kakashi and started to wonder who the White Fang's son really was. Then, a shrill scream pierced the air.

"Rin!" Obito exclaimed, "We have to help her!"

Kakashi nodded in agreement, and the two boys ran into the woods following the source of noise.

"Lightning style: Beast running technique!" Kakashi shouted from behind Obito.

Obito yelped as a bright blue light streaked only nanometres past him.

"Watch it!" He snapped at Kakashi. But then his indignation soon died away, and was replaced with awe as he saw Kakashi's technique.

A wolf formed from snarling electricity raced towards Minato who was only standing metres away. Minato suddenly vanished and the wolf hit a tree instead, causing it to explode. Splinters rained down on Obito and he stared at the blackened remains in disbelief.

Then he heard the clash of metal to his left, and Obito raced toward the source. His eyes widened as he skidded into another clearing.

"The white light chakra sabre," Obito breathed, "So cool…"

He watched Kakashi swing the blade at Minato, who parried it with a kunai. With a flick of the wrist, Minato feinted to the right but Kakashi didn't fall for it. Instead, he reached into his weapons pouch and threw several shuriken at their sensei, who easily deflected them.

Inspired by this, Obito decided to aid Kakashi and he jumped in with a kunai. But at the same time Obito decided to help, Kakashi had jumped back and the two crashed into each other.

"Idiot!" Kakashi glared as they tumbled to the ground.

"I was trying to help!" Obito protested, "If you actually used your stupid big brain you would have known that."

Kakashi snorted, "You call that helping?"

"What did you say?" Obito shouted back.

Then, a shrill ringing cut through their argument. The test was over.

Rin sat uncomfortably on the grass with the lunch box in her lap as her two other team mates bickered. Suddenly she wasn't hungry anymore. She bit her lip as she looked from one boy to the other.

"It's your fault we're tied to the logs," Kakashi scowled at Obito.

"What? You're the one who bumped into me," Obito growled back as he strained against the bindings. Kakashi gave him a scathing reply and Obito began to yell at him once more.

Rin's gaze returned to the box and she anxiously twisted the hem of her shirt. She couldn't stand arguments, shouting, or any kind of conflict. As soon as someone began yelling, it instantly made her shrivel inside.

"P-please…" She whispered with her shoulders hunched. The two boys didn't hear her and continue.

"Please," she said a little louder. Still no luck. "Just… Just stop it!" The two boys fell silent and looked at her.

"Sorry Rin," Obito said. Rin managed a smile.

"You're probably hungry… Right?" she asked.

Obito grinned, which sent a boost of confidence in her. Then his face fell as he remembered Minato's words earlier.

"But sensei said me and Kakashi couldn't eat," he reminded her.

"Just give him the food, Rin," Kakashi said, "It'll shut him up." Inwardly, Rin smiled. It was the first time Kakashi had spoken directly to her. Shifting over, Rin opened the box and with her chopsticks she lifted a ball of rice to Obito's mouth.

"Woah, what do you think you're doing there, Rin?" Minato suddenly appeared behind Obito and Kakashi, and he leaned on their posts. Rin jumped in surprise and dropped her chopsticks.

"S-sorry sensei," she apologized, staring at her knees, "I was just… Obito was hungry… and…"

"Why were you giving him food?" Minato asked, now glaring at her.

"B-because…" Rin's voice died away.

"Because we're team mates!" Obito said staring up at Minato with a determined look, "Team mates look out for each other."

For a moment, the three students quailed slightly under Minato's scrutiny, then his face broke out into a grin.

"Correct," he beamed.

Rin smiled, relieved, and Obito laughed. But then as Minato's face turned serious, they fell silent.

"This test was designed to test your teamwork skills," he told them, "And although all three of you did shows signs of watching out for each other, there is a lot- no, a huge room for improvement."

The three students stared at the ground, and Rin felt Minato's gaze fall upon her.

"Rin," Minato started, "You did warn Obito, but you're far too sensitive and you lack the necessary confidence in battle, which is why you fell for such a simple illusion technique." He then looked down at Obito and sighed.

"Obito. You don't think. To rush out at your opponent like that in a real battle situation is suicide. Though you did have good intentions in helping Kakashi, you must learn timing and planning." Then Minato gazed down at Kakashi with a disappointed look.

"Kakashi… you did help Obito… but you must learn how to respect and especially trust your team mates. They're there to help you, Kakashi. Build a strong friendship with your team, and they'll never leave you behind." Kakashi looked away.

I wonder what sensei meant by that, Rin thought.

"But anyway," Minato smiled down at them, "I look forward to being your sensei, and we'll have great fun doing our first D-rank mission tomorrow!" With that, he vanished.

"Cool, a mission!" Obito said excitedly as Rin began to cut through their bindings.

"Don't get too excited," Kakashi warned.

Rin didn't say a word as she hacked away at the rope. Sensei was right. She needed to be more confident. Though she had got top grades in the academy, Rin hated violence, which was why she wanted to be a medical ninja.

She had always sat in the corner of the class, not interacting with the other students. Her words were always jumbled up, and whenever she tried to talk to the other girls they just dried away completely. In a way, Rin had always admired Obito's confidence from a distance. Though it was Kakashi who had always entranced her with his tragic past and sad eyes. She had always seen him walking around Konoha with his father, and when the White Fang had died, Rin never had seized the courage to comfort him. Instead, she had simply watched Kakashi walk by on his own, or with Minato or the other woman she sometimes saw him with. But he was never with anyone their age, and Rin had always wondered if he was like her. If he too was lonely, and had no friends.

Under the warm sunlight, Rin smiled. If she worked hard enough, she could be confident and strong like Tsunade-sama. Maybe then Kakashi would think of her as more than just a team mate. Obito too seemed fun and nice. Rin hoped they could be friends.

Filled with new-found confidence, she smiled at the now free boys, "I… I can't wait for our first mission together."

Kakashi and Obito exchanged looks. Then, Obito grinned at her and even Kakashi smiled a little. Tomorrow would be the first mission of Team 7.