Ohayo.
A sincere apology on my part for updating one day late. Nursing a sick child back to health is a full time job so I didn't get to do much writing.
I'm extremely thankful for the 5(!) reviews that I received since uploading the second chapter. You really made my day! I try to answer them via pm but unfortunately some of you weren't logged on to the site. Still, this one is for all of you.


Sakura had hardly set foot on the academy grounds since team seven was formed nearly a decade ago. The kunoichi felt a wave of nostalgia crashing in as she remembered how she had spent most of her days in the class room hiding her blush from Sasuke and ignoring Naruto to the best of her ability. She couldn't help but smile at how easy life had been back then when none of them had understood what it truly means to be a shinobi.

She was ashamed to have been so naive. All she had cared about was being better than Ino and securing a certain Uchiha's affections. Looking back, she didn't truly understand why she had been so obsessed with the raven-haired boy. He had been obsessed with revenge from the very day they met. And when she thought of all the despicable things he had done and all of the people he had hurt in the process, she felt a sudden surge of anger and disappointment.

She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply before following the copy-nin through the door and down the corridor to Iruka's office. She had always liked the man, he was as kind and as thoughtful as they come and he had always had a soft spot for Naruto. Kami knows how much Naruto needed his approval. To this day, Iruka was the first person Naruto would ask for advice.

Kakashi didn't bother knocking and entered the office, his hand raised in greeting.
"Yo!"
The pink haired kunoichi followed, ashamed of the silver-haired jounin's lack of manners.
Iruka greeted them with a smile.
"Hi there Kakashi-senpai, Sakura-chan!", he beamed at them from behind his desk. Taking three files from the top of a stack he rose from the simple wooden chair and approached the pair of them with a smile plastered to his face. Handing the papers to Kakashi, he turned to Sakura and looked all around pleased, leaving Kakashi to flip through the files.

"You must be excited to teach your first team of genin Sakura. You were top of the class back in the academy right. Affinity for Genjutsu if I remember right?"
She nodded.
"Yeah well I hope that I'll live up to the challenge."
"Your students aren't your average academy graduates though. Kakashi-senpai, what do you think?", he asked

Kakashi handed the files back to Iruka, and Sakura could tell that he was intrigued by what he had read. Sakura shot him a questioning glance which he answered with a masked smile.
"Triplets. Tsurugi, Akihiro and Yume Hara. 10 years old. Great nephews to the Sandaime Hokage. Each of them with a near perfect score on their written examinations. However, their strength lies within their family ties. They work as a unit, each one of them complimenting the others."

Her eyebrows shot up involuntarily at the last sentence. That did sound promising. Still, Sakura remained suspicious – it was unheard of to have two jounin in charge of a three man cell and siblings were almost never on the same team. Even if they were talented, usually one elite shinobi would suffice. As Tsunade had put it, co-training had it's merits but she remained unconvinced. She had a growing hunch that Tsunade-sama had kept something from her, at least she wouldn't put it beyond her shishou to have ulterior motives.

"Godaime-sama said we were to meet the candidates and begin training right away."
Iruka nodded.
"I'll go get them and then you can see for yourselves."
As soon as Iruka left the room, Sakura turned immediately crossed the room to stand next to the silver-haired jounin. Neither of them spoke, each contemplating the task ahead.
It wasn't set in stone after all, the triplets might still fail to pass the initial requirements. She knew that Kakashi had been a strict teacher in the past and that team seven had been the only one to pass his test. She looked at her colleague and found him leaning against the wooden wall panels, eyes shut and hands in his pockets.

He wasn't quite sure what to make of what he had read in the files. Some of the notes Iruka had him wondering if this might be too much for Sakura. Not that he believed her incapable of being in charge of genin, it just seemed harsh to throw her into a teaching role by giving her prodigies for students. After all, she was still young and fairly inexperienced.

Don't be ridiculous, she's an adult and she has more real battle experience than most of her peers. She fought Obito and Madara during the war. You forget what she's faced throughout the years, he mentally scolded himself. She'll be fine, besides, you'll be there to keep an eye on things. You're not made jounin
"Say, Sakura-chan...nervous?", he asked teasingly, "Your first real team after all."

"Shannaro!"
A twitch of her hand and before he could blink, he was forced to duck out of the way to avoid her fist, sending her crashing into the wall. The force of her chakra-punch's impact left an impressive crater in the wall.
"You hypocrite! Do you think I'm incapable of handling a few kids? I'm not weak!", she yelled at him, her face contorted into a grimace.

He searched her face and was shocked at what he saw. He hadn't meant it that way. He was simply trying to tease her a little. What was that look in her eyes, so full of disgust? He was almost sure it wasn't directed at him, she had never reacted so strongly towards him. His eyes narrowed as he studied her face. This wasn't the Sakura he had known for so long. What on earth had happened while she was gone? Then, as though nothing had ever happened her features softened. Then she turned away, smiling.
"Sorry, Kakashi-san.", her voice was soft as ever. No sign of the anger or resentment he had seen in her gaze just a second ago. She brushed the rubble off her hand and acted as though everything was perfectly within the norm.

The silver-haired jounin however was not about to let this slide. She had behaved strangely the night before, and now she had gone berserk at a benign comment. He was determined to discover what was going on with her, there was no way he would just ignore this.
"Sakura, what...", he began but was rudely interrupted by the door.
"Kakashi-san, Sakura-chan, would you mind following me to the class room? The triplets are eager to meet you."

Sakura turned to follow but stopped dead in her tracks as Kakashi spoke.
"Sure! Go ahead, we'll join you in an instant.", he answered authoritatively. Iruka nodded and left, deeming it better to let the jounin have his way.

Once he was certain that the chuunin instructor had left, he dropped his gaze to look his former student in the eye, finding only confusion in her gaze.
"What in the name of Kami was that?", he asked.
She shook her head in annoyance, as though there was nothing to talk about.

"Nothing, really, I just let my temper take hold of me."
"I can tell, but that's not what I meant."
"It's nothing!", she said loudly, clearly trying to end the conversation.
However she forgot whom she was talking to. He was many things, but not anywhere stupid enough to buy it. And she knew it.

Then, in a motion too swift for the human eye, he pushed her against the wall, one hand next to her face. Her eyes widened and her heart rate increased in surprise.
"Kakash-senpai..."
He lowered his face to her ear and whispered insistently:
"I'm your friend, not your enemy. I don't know what happened to you but I'm determined to find out, for your own sake. If you won't tell me, I will simply have to find out by myself. And I can be very persistent, Sakura."
Before she could utter a response, he retreated to the doorway.
"Now let's go take a look at these supposed prodigies, shall we?"

With her heart still rapidly pounding against the walls of her chest, she tried to shake the impact his words had had off. He had hit home, and she was certain that he was well aware.
Why did he make her mask slip so easily? She had lived in Sunagakure for a year and never displayed any thing that might give her away.

It's just harder because he knows you so well. You know how perceptive he is, she told herself.
Determined not to let him bully her into spilling the beans she took a deep breath and followed him down the hall. He didn't look at her as they reached the classroom and simply pushed the door open.

The moment he stepped through the door, Sakura could observe how his entire demeanour instantly changed. Gone were his authoritative posture along with his determined gaze. They were immediately exchanged for his signature raised hand and friendly face as he stepped over the doorstep. She stepped in to the room after him and made a mental note of watching her behavior around him to prevent any future slips.

"Yo.", he said cheerily and went to stand in front of the blackboard. Sakura silently placed herself beside him, smiling politely at the three youngsters seated in the front row.
Iruka smiled encouragingly at his three students.
"Tsurugi, Akihiro, Yume – meet your teachers."

"Teachers? As in both of them?", a nosy voice belonging to the boy who seemed to be the first born immediately asked.
Iruka nodded and gestured towards the jounin who stood casually at his side.
"Hai. Hokage-sama thought you should be supervised by two jounin instead of the regular single sensei."

Kakashi held up his right hand to silence the academy teacher.
"Don't think too much of it, it's just to experiment with a different tutoring method."
Sakura couldn't help but smirk at his immediate attempt to keep the genin from thinking too highly of themselves. Arrogance mostly meant death in the world of shinobi. Confidence was a huge asset to a ninja, over-estimation however was a great liability to the team.

"My name is Kakashi Hatake, I'll be your sensei from today on.", the silver-haired copy-nin introduced himself. "Provided that you pass my test."
Iruka gave him an astonished look and leaned closer.
"Even with the direct orders from Tsunade-sama, you plan to have them take your test before accepting them?"
Kakashi nodded.
"The test shows me if they are capable of learning from their mistakes to form a new plan. If they fail to do so, there is no point in me even trying to teach them to throw a kunai.", he added, his eyes never leaving his would-be students. They seemed surprised at the mention of the test but didn't voice any concerns.

Sakura felt as though she had been thrown back in time. The legendary copy-nin had acted precisely like this back when he'd first introduced himself to team seven almost ten years ago. Still, she felt a slight twinge of anger rise up in her. She hated to be overlooked even though she was used to it. Until she became novice to the Hokage, she had been of little consequence to her peers. And even after that, she stayed in the shadows, hardly ever noticed by anyone but her shishou and the occasional stupid comment from Naruto. Being on a team with an orphaned prodigy from a prestigious clan and the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi would make anyone seem superfluous. She cleared her throat and took a step forward.

"And I'm Sakura Haruno. I'll be mentoring you alongside Kakashi-san. I'm looking forward to see what you can do."
She was about to ask about their general interests when Kakashi suddenly spoke.
"We should get going, after all we have a test prepared for you. We can talk on our way to the training grounds."

The three genin practically jumped out of their seats, eager to show off their abilities to someone new. Still they behaved very differently from one another. If she hadn't known, she would have thought them strangers.

The tallest of the boys was of a much rougher nature than his brother with his short raven hair and toned frame. The second boy who seemed more the introvert type the way he didn't look anyone in the eye, had long strands of sandy blonde hair and was a tad shorter and of scrawny build. The girl seemed like a bundle of joy, the smile never leaving her face. She was a brunette and her chestnut curls bounced around her heart shaped face. Sakura could easily see how she could come to like the girl, provided that she was as adorable as she looked. However being adorable didn't make you a good shinobi. She would have to see if those looks were acompanied by skill.

After leaving a happy Iruka behind, the triplets followed behind their newly gained sensei in silence. When they reached the outskirts of the village, Yume was the first to break the silence.
"Sakura-nee-...I mean Sakura-sensei, where are we going?"
Smiling at the almost-endearment, she answered:
"Training ground 7, it's not far from here. It's just around the corner from the Memorial."
Satisfied with the answer, the girl fell silent once again.

Walking a couple of meters behind the genin, she turned her head to Kakashi.
"Despite your dislike for plans and schedules, I suggest we talk this over after today's training."
He nodded in agreement.
"Hai. Might be best. I just want to see what they can before I bother. Most teams placed under my wing failed on their first day of training. Team 7 was the first to ever make it."
"So you agree that we ought to talk?"
"Mhm. We have a lot of talking to do and we should get it done before we take the team on for real."

She couldn't help but notice the double-entendre in his statement. He really wasn't going to let it go was he? She sighed inwardly and looked ahead to the three kids silently walking in front of her.
"Did you mean it when you said that I should be nervous?"
He looked surprised for a second but quickly regained control of his facial expression.

"I never said that."
"But back in the office..."
"I asked if you were nervous, I didn't say that you should be. I know that you're a capable kunoichi. Despite what some might think, you're not my student anymore. You've long since become a shinobi that I consider an equal."
Her features softened at the hidden praise.

"Thank you Kakashi-senpai..."
Again he interrupted her, though this time his face was friendly and his voice but a soft whisper.
"Drop the honorifics Sakura. Like I said before you left, you're not my student anymore, nor should you appear to be any less in charge than me to those three dunderheads." He motioned to the genin. "My name is Kakashi, use it."

She shook her head, unable to do what he asked.
"Can't do it Kakashi-senpai. You might have caught me off guard when you last asked me to call you by your given name. But I can't do that."
"And why would that be?"

She sighed.
"Because I've looked up to you for my entire career as a shinobi of Konoha. You taught me most of what I needed to learn in order to become the ninja I wanted to be. Even though Naruto and Sasuke-kun kept you busy, you still had a great impact on me. You've saved my life a more often than I care to remember. Besides, no one ever calls you plain Kakashi. Everyone respects you too much. You were supposed to become Rokudaime after all."

"Maybe I just want to be Kakashi for a change. Less 'Legendary copy-nin Kakashi of the Sharingan', less 'Kakashi Hatake, son of Konoha's white Fang'."
At that last sentence she stopped dead in her tracks for the second time that day.
"Huh? You're a hero, people look up to you."

"Hero huh? I don't think so. And I'd rather be just Kakashi to you, than Rokudaime Hokage."
And with that he called out to the three genin ahead.
"Yo, you three. We're there, you can stop walking."

Sakura watched him as he approached the three kids. She had never thought that he disliked his role in the world of shinobi so much. She'd make sure to hear more about it when she got the chance. She followed her colleague and listened as he explained his idea of an entry test to the genin. Little did she know how soon her view of the silver-haired shinobi would change.

Three hours, twenty-two minutes and sixteen seconds later, she fell onto the grass. Kakashi had taken his revenge on her for stealing his precious Icha Icha novel by changing the target of his famous bell-test. Instead of stealing set of bells from Kakashi himself, he had ordered the Genin to get the book back from her. She'd managed to fend them off with ease for ages, while the silver-haired jounin watched from the shadows. She'd held back as to avoid injuring any of them seriously. They had only started using their true potential when she'd sent Tsurugi flying with a chakra punch to the gut.

She had felt sorry for him but unless they felt like it was a real fight, they wouldn't have used their entire arsenal of jutsu. At the end Yume had acted as a distraction while Akihiro fired a Katon-style jutsu at her. She had managed to evade the fireball without much effort but had then felt a kunai pressing against her shoulder letting a light trickle of blood run down her back. Before she could react, the raven-haired kid had snatched the paperback from her waist pouch and jumped backwards, out of her reach.
Kakashi had grinned and dismissed the students after complimenting them on their excellent teamwork.

Sakura placed her palm above the place on her shoulder where the boy had drawn blood and focused her chakra and her hand began to glow green. Within a matter of seconds, the wound closed with no scar to be seen. Then, she got up and gathered the few shuriken and kunai scattered around what had become the battlefield.

She hadn't used many but she was adverse to wasting perfectly good tools when she could easily pick them up after a sparring match. Then she returned to find Kakashi waiting at the Monument raised in honour of their fallen comrades. New names had been added over the course of time, the fourth great shinobi war had taken it's tolls. But losing comrades was just as much a part of shinobi life as taking lives themselves. That didn't make it any less of a troubling experience. He turned to face her, his face never betraying what he might feel.

"I would say they managed fairly well.", he said, waving his rewly
regained book in the air.
She nodded. They had much to learn but their abilities were remarkable for their age and training level.

"Yeah, I was surprised that Yume tried to bind me in a genjutsu. I dispelled it right away but it was still rare."
It was true, Sakura had a natural talent for dispelling genjutsu. A simple "kai!" was usually all it took. Her precise chakra control allowed her to disrupt the flow to her brain with ease, shattering the illusion.
"We should start talking about how to approach their training."
The copy-nin nodded.

"Mhm. Your place or mine?", he asked with the silkiest voice he could manage. There was no harm in teasing her a little, as long as he kept her temper in mind.
"Yours. How about i cook us dinner while we talk? I haven't eaten all day, I'm starving."
She really was hungry. She reminded herself to bring a packed lunch next time. She probably ought to make one for Kakashi in future as well, the man hardly ever ate. Not that he was underweight, not at all, he was perfectly toned.

Snapping back to the actual conversation she studied his face. He actually seemed to be contemplating the pro's and con's of having her in his apartment. She had known him for years and yet she had no idea where he lived. After another few moments he answered her as though he hadn't put any thought into it at all.
"Sure, that would be nice. My cooking is far from adequate so it would be nice to have something different from prepacked ramen for a change."
"Fine, just give me your address, then I'll stop by after I've freshened up."
"Just meet me down the market and we'll do the grocery shopping together."

What was with the gentlemanly attitude all of a sudden? She shrugged. The man was a mystery. Always had been, always would be.
She had no idea how soon she would come to know the utmost secrets of the man behind the legend.


So that's the end of the line for this chapter, I hope you enjoyed reading it! The next one might even be up later as it's already half-written and pre-edited. As always I'm happy to receive critique be it good or bad (or even better, constructive!).
I try to accentuate these two completely underrated characters. I feel like Sakura is being left out by everyone in the series so I try to make up for that. And where Kakashi is concerned, he gets plenty of screen time but it's never more than skin deep. I strive to change that!
So until next chapter my dears.

SomeShades.