Chapter 3

Kakashi slid open the door, his eyes first landing on a blonde haired boy clad in a ridiculous orange jumpsuit. The next trouble maker was leaning up against the side of the desk, his arms crossed over his chest and his black hair blocking his eyes, but before he could correctly identify the Uchiha boy, the girl behind him caught his eye.

At this moment, Kira had two options. Number one: stay in sexy-jutsu form and remain slightly unrecognizable to her dumbstruck teacher or number two: she could change back to her thieving, evil self. Naruto had already changed back before their new sensei had time to notice. Now she was the only half-dressed female left in the room.

Damn those first impressions…

There were several things Kakashi had been suspecting when he had opened the door, and, being the possessor of a sharingan, he could usually foresee almost anything. But this was just completely uncalled for.

Behind the Uchiha kid stood one of the most attractive young women he had ever seen. Her silvery blonde hair was waste length, floating around her body like a burst of light. Her flawless, porcelain skin contrasted beautifully against her deep blue eyes and soft pink lips. Her outfit (or, lack there of) was dangerously low cut, enticing the great copy-nin to look further below her smooth neck, below her exquisite collar bone, until his eyes had focused on her-

"Hey mister, are you our Sensei?"

Kakashi snapped to attention, quickly recovering from the trance with his usual façade of nonchalance. He pried his eyes away from the beauty and forced them on orange-jumpsuit boy. He pulled the crumpled paper from his pocket and tried to match name with face.

"Depends," Answering to the title of 'sensei' was weird already, "Are you Uzumaki Naruto?"

"You got that right!"

Woah. Enthusiasm.

He nodded towards the dark-haired boy.

"Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Yeah."

But Kakashi wasn't really listening to the legendary clan member in front of him. Miss sexy-no-jutsu had transformed back, although he couldn't say he was entirely relieved to see the girl behind the mask.

"You must be…," The notorious blonde, no-folder, thief girl, who doesn't look a day over 18, "…Kira."

Kira nodded slightly, keeping her eyes locked on the floor and tried to let her hair fall around her face. Last night, the streets were pretty dark. He couldn't possibly recognize her. But just in case…

"So I guess I am your sensei after all," Kakashi stuffed the paper in his back pocket then moved to the front of the classroom. He picked up a piece of chalk from the desk and began scratching his name across the blackboard.

"Ha-tuh-key kaa-kuh-shee," Naruto twisted his brow, trying to pronounce the mysterious chalk phrase, "What's that? Some type of nin-jutsu?"

"Hatake Kakashi," He whipped the chalk off his hands, "It's my name."

He leaned against the edge of the teacher's desk, arms folded over his chest, "So, as your new sensei, it's only natural that I get to know you three," He eyed the Genin in front of him, "Introductions – who wants to go first?"

"What do we have to do?" Naruto looked eager, but slightly confused. Kakashi could already tell this was going to be a long year.

"Tell me what you like, what you hate, your hobbies, yours dreams - anything relevant."

The room was quiet for a moment. Then Naruto spoke up again.

"Why don't you go first, sensei?"

Kakashi sighed. That was the question he was hoping to avoid.

"There's not much to say. I like reading and I hate teaching," He glanced at Kira who had still failed to make eye contact with him, "I also believe the sexy-no-jutsu should be forbidden to all ninja under the age of 18 and I do not appreciate being mugged."

Kira flinched.

"Huh?" Naruto raised an eyebrow, "I thought you said only relevant stuff."

"I did," He continued to stare Kira down, letting the silence hang for a moment until he was satisfied with the ever-reddening hue of her face, then shifted his gaze toward orange-jumpsuit boy, "Your turn."

"My name's Naruto!" He jumped from the desk to strike a pose for his introduction, "I love ramen, all kinds of ramen, especially instant cup ramen! My favorite kind of ramen is the chicken flavored ramen at the noodle shop, but I hate the 3 minutes you have to wait after you pour the hot water in the ramen cup. My hobby is eating different kinds of ramen and comparing them and my future dream is to become the greatest Hokage Konoha has ever seen! "

Kakashi blinked, "Next."

Since Kira was still too stunned to answer, Sasuke took over.

"I'm Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke," He crossed his arms over his chest, "There's not much I like, as for what I hate…" He paused, "I hate…a certain man. And my dream is to kill him one day."

So his team was made up of a ramen-aholic, a serial killer, and a…

"Kira?"

She had to speak. She was the last one left in line. There was no use hiding anymore, Kakashi had already recognized her. She opened her mouth to speak, all the while hoping that they could somehow start from new, or that he was at least done reprimanding her for the incident last night.

"I'm Kira," She stopped, unsure of what to say next. Naruto shifted uncomfortably in the silence, but Kakashi only continued to stare at her. She couldn't keep up this shy-girl attitude forever, this wasn't her. If she was going to be stuck with this guy for the next couple years, she might as well come clean now and get it over with.

"I'm Miyoko Kira," She repeated, with a stronger voice this time, "I like to do things on my own. I hate anyone who tries to infiltrate Konoha and my dream is to be a well respected and well paid ninja."

"Very well. You're quite an ambitious bunch," No surprise there. Kakashi stood up and strolled to the door, "Let's see if you really have what it takes to achieve those dreams of yours."

He slide open the door and beckoned the three fresh Genin to follow. They looked at him, slightly confused.

"Aren't we supposed to be tested inside the classrooms?" Naruto jabbed his thumb towards the front of the room, "That's where Iruka-sensei had us take the graduation exam."

"My test is bit different. This is more of a…" He stroked his masked chin, searching for a word that would be specific enough to convince them to leave, but vague enough to pique their interest, "This is a survival test."

And with that, he walked out the door.

"What's on your mind, Iruka? You haven't even touched your tea."

Iruka stared at the clear, dark brown liquid in the cup in front of him. In the invitation to Sandaime, the academy-teacher claimed that he just wanted to visit and chat, but it wasn't until now that he realized the unlikelihood of deceiving the Third Hokage.

"Sandaime, I asked you here because…I…" He stirred his tea nervously, "Well, to completely honest, I'm not comfortable with your decision to place Kira in a squad, or Kakashi's squad, for that matter."

The old Hokage chuckled, throwing Iruka off-guard.

"Sandaime, this is serious!" He stood up abruptly, his chair scratching against the wooden floor, "As far as I know, you and I are the only nin in Konoha who know about Kira's-

Iruka caught himself before it was too late, then glanced around the room to make sure no one was listening. Sighing, he sat back down in his chair.

"I'm sorry, sir, it's just that…well…I thought the plan was to maintain Kira's low profile, to keep her from advancing. Now that she's been accepted into a squad, there's a chance she might pass as a qualified Genin. The missions she'll be undertaking will give her publicity, the very thing we've been trying to avoid. Besides," He shook his head at the thought of the Copy-nin babysitting his academy students, "Kakashi isn't very good with kids."

"I understand where you're coming from, Iruka. I know this is a sensitive case, but you have no need to worry, I've taken everything into careful consideration," The great Hokage took a sip of his tea before continuing, "Miss Miyoko, like any ordinary human being, deserves a chance to pursue happiness. She deserves the chance to lead a normal life."

"I know, I know, and I wish more than anything that she could claim such a life. But I'm also concerned about her welfare, and the welfare of our entire village, for that matter. She isn't just any ordinary person."

"Which is exactly why I gave Kakashi the task of training her," Sandaime pulled a small, blue-green book out from his robes and placed it in front of the anxious academy-teacher.

Iruka eyed the title, "Kakashi's training records?"

"Yes," Sandaime leaned back in his chair, "Within those pages are all the trainees that have ever been assigned to Hatake Kakashi, including those who passed and failed his Genin qualifying test."

"May I?" With the Hokage's signal of approval, Iruka picked up the book and flipped through it, his eyes growing wider with each turn of the page.

"This is…impossible," He looked the words closely to make sure he was reading them correctly, "Kakashi has never passed a single student."

"We're gonna be ninja, we're gonna be ninja!"

Kakashi walked a few feet ahead of his students, hoping that the distance would soften the blow of Naruto's singing on his eardrums. His methods worked to no avail.

"Kira! Sasuke! Can you believe it? We're finally gonna be ninja!"

Sasuke was too busy pretending he wasn't affiliated with the loud nin bounding around in a orange-jumpsuit, but Kira managed an uneasy smile. Any other day, she would've been as ecstatic (or perhaps neurotic) as him, but this time her chance of failure greatly outweighed her chance of success. This test was Kira's only opportunity to free herself from the dregs of life. One mistake and her ninja career was over.

One mistake…

"What's the matter, Kira-chan?" Naruto put a stop to his torturous chanting, "You nervous?"

"Me? Nervous?" Kira took a moment to consider the wide array of factors working against her.

Let's see…No sleep, no food, no energy, and a teacher that sees me as the paradigm of all evil.

Perhaps she wasn't in the best condition to take what could easily be the most important test of her life, but she had to try.

"Well, are you?"

Kira grinned, "You wish."

Naruto slapped her on the back, "There's the Kira I know! Now all you have to do is learn the song!"

The blonde Genin opened his mouth, preparing to spill out that horrendous voice of his. Sasuke and Kakashi simultaneously turned to shoot Kira with a 'Stop him now and I'll spare both your lives' glare, but she was too concerned with the safety of her own sense of hearing to notice their warning. Naruto's mouth opened wider. Kira's eyes went wide with horror.

No…No…Please, no…

Suddenly, a strong hand seized her wrist, pulling her away from her squad. Kira tried to shake off her captor, but he held her firmly.

"Missy, how many times have I told you? You ain't permitted to go behind this here point."

The young nin didn't even have to turn, a mere look at her surroundings and she knew who it was. She had been so immersed in worrying that she hadn't realized her new sensei had led them right through the gates of Konoha village. Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi had passed by the guards without a problem, but karma wasn't through with Kira yet.

"Excuse me, sir, is there a problem?" The guard released Kira immediately at the sound of Kakashi's voice, but he still refused to give up without a fight.

"Actually, there is," The guard straightened himself and puffed out his chest, but it was difficult to appear eminent next to the Great copy-nin, "This young lady ain't allowed outta Konoha village. Never has been and never will be. And she knows it."

Kira opened her mouth to protest, but Kakashi placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Go ahead. I'll take care of this."

"So you gave him the task of testing Kira because you knew it would be impossible for her to pass?" Iruka felt bad for plotting against one of his favorite former students, but he knew it was for her own good, "That's why you're so at ease with this whole situation."

"Yes," The wise Hokage folded the book back within his robes, "If we had removed her from the training program early on, she would've noticed we were treating her differently than the other students. But now that she has been given the same opportunities as other students, she'll have no reason to believe she's different from them," He grinned, "Right now, she thinks her life is normal. Luckless, but still normal."

Iruka shrank back into his chair with relief, finally feeling comfortable enough to enjoy his first sip of tea.

It was cold.

"What about Kakashi? Did you tell him about Kira's…unique trait?"

The old man shook his head, "If I told him ahead of time, he would've filed for a student change, so I thought it was better if he found out on his own. He'll be reviewing his students' records today, I'm sure he'll understand once he views her file."

After much deliberating, negotiating, and the occasional threat or two, Kakashi was finally able to convince the stubborn guard to let Kira pass through. He hadn't used all that energy for nothing, though, and he was determined to find out why this girl was three times the trouble he had anticipated.

Kakashi saw the perfect opportunity halfway through their journey. They had just made it few miles away from the village gates and Naruto and Sasuke had become fully engaged in what might've been the fifth 'You're a loser!' fight today, leaving little miss sexy-no-jutsu alone and open for questioning.

"What did you call me?!"

"A loser! Now shut up so we can get on with the mission!"

"I am NOT a loser! I'm going to be the Hokage someday!"

"Oh yeah?"

"YEAH!"

Kira stared at the ground passing under her feet, completely oblivious to the insults echoing from either side of her. She still couldn't believe she was finally outside, free of the dirty Konoha streets and out in nature's open air. She had never been allowed to go this far outside of the city before and she needed to savor the moment. But it was a bit hard to sit back, relax, and appreciate the surrounding beauty when every step she took was a step closer to her imminent doom.

"Have you neglected to tell me something about yourself, Miss Miyoko?"

Kira jumped, her head snapping immediately to the sound of the voice. Somehow, Kakashi had moved from the front of the line to her side without her even noticing.

"It seems to me you've been causing a lot of trouble lately," Kakashi adjusted the backpack on his shoulders as he walked, "I have no desire to intrude on your personal life, but as your new sensei, I believe I have a right to know what I'm dealing with."

The young blonde was completely silent.

Kakashi sighed, "Could you just tell me why that guard wouldn't let you through?"

Kira shrugged, "To be completely honest, I have absolutely no idea."

She already knew how he was going to respond, but it was the best answer she could give. It was the truth.

Now all she had to do was wait for what she was asking for.

1…2…

"I'm sorry, but that's hard to believe coming from the person who just tried to mug me the other day."

…3

That was it. He was never going to let her live it down. But Kira, of course, being the nimble-minded fiend that she was, knew exactly how to fight back.

"It's also hard to believe that the Great Copy-nin is an easier target than a five-year-old when he's reading Ichi Ichi Paradise."

"Touché, Miss Miyoko, touché," Kakashi's visible eye creased at the corners, indicating there was some sort of grin under the mask, "I guess I'll just have to accept that you're completely clueless, then."

"I guess so," Kira raised her chin triumphantly, then suddenly caught the pun, "Hey! Wait a sec-

"Ah! Here we are!" Kakashi slipped off his backpack and let it fall to the ground, cutting Kira off with a loud 'thud.' Naruto and Sasuke stopped their fighting momentarily to look around.

They had stopped in a small clearing surrounded by what must have been the Northern Konoha forest. It was late noon already, and the sun was shining brightly on the dusty ground. Perhaps survival training wouldn't be so tough after all…

"Hey sensei! Where's all the equipment?" Naruto scratched his head, looking behind trees and rocks for some sort of indication of a training area, "Isn't there s'posed to be an obstacle course or something?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Idiot. He obviously brought us here for a mission."

Naruto stuck out his tongue, "Oh yeah? Well, if you're so smart, Sasuke, then what's our mission?"

"Your mission," Kakashi interrupted, "should you choose to accept it, will be one of pure agony. It will effectively judge your intelligence and strength in the most extreme situations and it will put the endurance of your body and soul to the ultimate test."

Kakashi tried to hide a smirk as the three wide-eyed, Genin leaned in closer, their jaws dropping in awe. He slowly reached into his pocket.

"This test will determine if you are truly prepared to accept the duties and responsibilities of a Genin. You have until the end of the day to complete this incredible task. Succeed, and you take a step closer to achieving your dream of becoming a true ninja. Fail, and you will be sent back to The Academy, never to be seen in the ninja world again."

"Your mission…" He whipped his hand out of his pocket and held the object in front of them, letting it dangle from his fist, "Is to take these from me."

Naruto, Sasuke, and Kira shrank back in disappointment.

"Bells?" Naruto raised an eyebrow, staring at the two silver bells dangling from the sensei's fist.

"You may use any weapon, nin-jutsu, taijitsu, or any form of attack to get these from me," He shook the bells slightly, letting the students hear the sound of their ring, "But the only way to succeed in this mission is to come at me with the intention of killing me."

Kira cocked her head, "Isn't that a bit dangerous, sensei?"

"For you? Yes. As for me…" He reached into his other pocket and pulled out a bright orange book with a large red slashed circle on the cover. He grinned beneath the mask, "I think I'll be alright."

"Aren't you forgetting one?" Naruto counted the bells on his fingers, "There're only two."

"No, this should be about enough," He eyed the three amateur ninja, "This way at least one of you is guaranteed a seat back at The Academy."

Almost simultaneously, Naruto, Sasuke, and Kira all looked at each other with a glare that, had it been backed by some powerful chakra, could've killed everyone on the spot. Any form of friendship that had been kindled between the students was completely extinguished at that very moment. It was every man for himself, just as the Great copy-nin had hoped for.

"Well, if you're all ready, then let's begin," He tied the bells to his waist then flipped to the page he had left off on. Kira glued her eyes to the silver bells. She wasn't going to let a ridiculous test like this keep her from fulfilling her dream. This was going to be a piece of cake.

"Ready…"

Kira moved her foot back slightly and wrapped her fingers around a kunai from the pouch at her waist.

"Set…"

She pushed off from the ground at full speed, arm outstretched, kunai heading straight for his jugular.

Perhaps it was a lack of sleep or a lack of food, but for some reason, those few seconds before she had collided with the copy-nin had all been a blur. Now she found herself trapped, facing her astonished peers, her back pressed firmly against Kakashi's chest and a kunai, the one that had once been within her own grasp only moments ago, now pressing against skin of her neck.

The situation was all too familiar.

"Patience, Miss Miyoko, I didn't say 'go'," He released her, flipping back to the page of his book, "That was a decent attempt, though. You came at me with a desire to kill." His eye creased, signifying one of those signature grins again, "Maybe I'll end up liking you guys after all."

The three continued to stare at him in silence.

"Oh, right," Kakashi watched as three hands simultaneously reached for a kunai, "Go!"

"Now, master?"

"No, you fool," The man scowled beneath the shadow of his hood, "Hatake Kakashi is an elite Jounin. We must wait until he is distracted and the girl is alone. The opportunity may only come once. Keep a watchful eye."

The other ninja nodded and moved farther into the shadows. He couldn't risk making a mistake now that they were this close. He observed the battle from his tree, keeping his focus on the girl who was running at Kakashi from all directions. She was so weak, the copy-nin could stop her without lifting an eye from the page of his book.

The hidden ninja grinned. This was going to be easy.

Too easy.

"Never let your opponent get behind you," Kakashi repeated as he removed his kunai from Kira's neck for about the third time. As soon as she was out of the way, Naruto's fist and several shurikens came flying at his face. He sighed, dodging them easily. Half an hour had gone by and no one had inflicted a scratch on the silver-haired sensei, but the mission wasn't in vain – Kakashi had made some great progress on his reading.

"Your current tactics are futile – stop wasting time," Kakashi sighed, casually sidestepping Sasuke's roundhouse kick, "If I may make a suggestion, one of the best ways to succeed in an assassination is to make yourself hidden to the target."

The three Genin were gone within moments, heading for the cover of the foliage. He grinned, "Much better. Now, use this time to formulate a different plan," He raised his voice so they could hear, "One that will actually work."

Of course, he could still sense the presence of the three little ninja and he knew exactly where they were, but he decided he might as well let them feel some form of accomplishment. That, and he had just started a new chapter in Ichi Ichi Paradise - he wouldn't want to risk missing any important details.

Think, Kira, think!

The little blonde ninja lay hidden in the shadows, hunched behind a large and exceptionally prickly bush. Kakashi wouldn't make this test impossible on purpose - he couldn't. It was against the rules.

Or was it?

Kira tried to shake the thought out of her head. She needed to focus.

A jutsu? No, I already tried that.

The only nin-jutsu she had really mastered was the sexy-no-jutsu. Another one of those obviously wasn't going to help.

Physical combat?

She winced at the idea of being at the mercy of her own kunai again. Who was she kidding? This was an elite Jounin verses some girl who had barely passed The Academy. This was impossible.

Just when she was about to give up all hope, she noticed a bright flash out of the corner of her eye.

No way!

Sitting alone in the world, free from Kakashi's grip and just begging to be picked up was the most beautiful silver bell Kira had ever seen. The long past spirits of Hokage really were smiling upon her! This was her chance! She bounded out of the bushes and bolted towards the bell. Every step was a step away from her filthy past and a step closer to the future. As soon as that bell was in her hands, life would be in her hands.

The target was even closer. She reached her hand out to grab it.

Official Genin, here I come!

Suddenly, Kira felt something wrap around her leg. She tried to keep moving forward, but her feet were pulled out from under her. She stretched her arm towards the bell, but it was getting farther away. No, wait, she was getting farther away. In fact, she had completely left the ground.

"Good afternoon, Miss Miyoko," Kakashi appeared from the nearby foliage, grinning at the little blonde ninja now hanging upside down from a tree. If he had known this trap was so effective in catching young blonde females, he would've used it much more frequently in the past.

Kira crossed her hands over her chest, her face twisting into a deadly glare. Her cheeks were bright red with embarrassment, and all the blood rushing to her head didn't help.

"Remember," Kakashi bent down to pick up the untouched bell, "If the bait is obvious, don't take it."

As soon as he safely returned the bell to his belt loop, a foreign presence touched his senses. Someone was here – someone who shouldn't be here. He knew Kira would panic if she recognized his fear, so he remained casual. There were two people – no, three, four. He slowly slipped out a kunai and gradually turned around.

"GOTCHA!"

Aimed straight for him, equipped with shuriken and kunai of all sorts, was an army of twenty ramen-loving, jumpsuit-clad Narutos all screaming at the top of their lungs. Kakashi's eyes went wide with horror, not especially because of the impending attack, but rather because of the fact that the most annoying member of the team knew how to make shadow clones.

He dodged the trick with ease, using a simple body-swap jutsu. But the new students had taken his advice to heart, and as soon as he had recovered from the transformation, he found himself right in the path of one of Sasuke's fairly advanced fire jutsus. He moved out of the way in the nick of time, only to be met by another Naruto clone. Kakashi sighed. He was never going to get any reading done.

"Now, master?" The sly nin moved closer to the target, reaching for a kunai.

His master grinned, "Now."

"Go get him, Naruto!" Kira cheered at the top of her lungs, although the battle had moved so far into the forest she was sure they couldn't hear her by now. The whole 'hanging-upside-down' thing was really starting to get to her, especially since it felt like all the blood in her body had settled in her head. She fished around for some sort of sharp tool in the pocket of her shorts, only to find that all her weapons had fallen to the ground during her upward flight. Grunting, Kira curled her body, trying to stretch her hand up towards the knot around her foot.

"Stupid Kakashi," She hissed between clenched teeth, tugging at the bounds furiously.

"Yes, it was a bit foolish of him to leave you here unattended."

Kira froze. Someone was behind her. His voice was deep and raspy and she could sense his powerful chakra.

"Sasuke, is that you?" She knew it couldn't be him, but at the same time, she wished more than anything that the answer would be 'yes.'

The dark voice chuckled, sending a shiver down Kira's spine.

"Who are you?!" She shouted, trying to sound brave. She was almost glad she wasn't facing her attacker so he couldn't see the look of pure horror on her face.

"My name is Sadakata, but that is of no importance," He spoke calmly, with an edge of entertainment in his voice, "The better question is, do you know who you are, Miyoko Kira?"

Kira gulped. She was sure no one knew her full name except Naruto and Kakashi. Well, at least no one from Konoha. The little blonde ninja had no idea what was going on, but she was sure it wasn't good. She was faced with a powerful, unknown adversary, hanging upside down from a tree, tied by her foot, and weaponless. There was only one thing she could do.

"KAKASHI! NARUTO! SASUKE!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping with all her heart that they hadn't moved out of hearing range, "HELP!"

"That's quite enough," Sadakata slipped out a kunai and cut her down from the tree in one swift motion. Almost immediately, his gloved hand clamped over her mouth, muffling her screams and curses.

"Mfftt!" Kira grunted and bit his hand, using what remaining power had left to try and wriggle out of his grip.

"You're going to have to do better than that," He took off his glove and stuffed it in her mouth then threw her to the ground. Using the rope from the trap, he bound her flailing arms and legs then slung her over his back like a sack of rice.

Without giving the copy-nin another second to return, Sadakata signaled to his master in the trees, then together they bolted into the forest with their loud, squirming prize.

Sadakata grinned.

Too easy.

Thanks so much to the people who are still reading! It means so much to me! I'm really sorry this chapter took so long to publish, I should probably begin to cut my chapters down a bit. If you have any feeback, please share! I'll be using your suggestions to improve the next chapter.

-To: Ivory-Wings-Stained-Red: Thanks so much for your comments - they're a HUGE help! Kira may have been kidnapped in this chapter, but I will try my best to make sure she doesn't turn into that dreaded 'Mary-Sue.' Thanks for catching that 'justu' spelling, I'll be sure to fix that. .

Thanks again for reading, everybody! Remember, all Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto! ;)