I do not own Naruto or Pokémon. According to TvTropes, that disclaimer was utterly pointless. My life is a lie!

A couple of things before we start. First off, sorry for taking so long to update. Seriously, I promise I will have a regular update rate for my stories eventually. Secondly, as no one has guessed the reference from Ch. 1 yet, I will give you all a hint. No matter what, the answer will be revealed next chapter, seeing as how it has become an integral part of the story. I swear, I did not plan on this happening when I started the story. Anyway, the hint is: While the reference itself first appeared on the Gameboy Advance, the series it comes from first debuted on the NES.

Now that that's out of the way, let's go!

III

It was the day of team assignments, and as was customary, Kakashi had taken his sweet time walking to the Academy. The three o'clock bell that normally signaled the end of the school day went off shortly after he entered the building. He finally opened the sliding door roughly two and a half hours past the appointed meeting time only to find the classroom empty. At first he was actually some what impressed that the children had the gall to walk out on him; perhaps this year would be entertaining. Figuring he should still track his students down and give them the information about their test the next day, the Hatake left to go to each of their residences.

He first checked Naruto's apartment and received no response to his knocking. Deciding to enter anyway, Kakashi walked around back and up the side of the building to one of the apartment's cracked open windows. Upon entering, he found the place to be in about the condition that he expected. Dirty plates, glasses, and various cooking utensils were piled up in the sink, waiting for their owner to clean them. A few random articles of clothing were strewn about across the floor. The trash bin had just recently been taken out, judging from its empty contents. Looking about, Kakashi found neither hide nor tail of Naruto, so he simply found a pieced of paper and wrote down what the boy needed to know. He put it in an envelope and set it on the table before exiting the way he came.

Moving on, the jounin then went to the Uchiha district, and the area was the textbook definition of a ghost town. Abandoned and decrepit buildings sagged earthward as if under immense pressure from the weight of their memories. If one were to look closely enough at the structures, they would be able to make out the faint crimson stains of human blood still smeared on their walls. Broken windows littered the dirt roads with their glass, and once beautiful home gardens were now overgrown thickets of weeds and vines. Rats and other small vermin scurried randomly about the deserted streets in their hurry to hide themselves from the silver haired man.

He continued to walk until he came upon one home that still seemed relatively intact. The lawn was in fairly good condition along with the flower bed that ringed the outside of the house. Despite how well maintained the house was, Kakashi still had to frown at the sight.

There had been much debate over what to do with Sasuke after the massacre. The standard procedure for dealing with an orphaned child was for them to be taken in by their legal guardians, or, failing that, their closest living relative. If said persons were deemed unfit to care for him/her, the youth would be sent to one of Konoha's orphanages. However, in this case, none of those options were viable. Every other member of Sasuke's family had been killed, and none of the orphanages were equipped to deal with the kind of mental trauma the boy had suffered.

To complicate matters even further, everything the Uchiha clan had ever owned was now up for grabs. Since Sasuke was a still considered a child in the eyes of the law, he could not rightfully inherit his family's possessions and assets. This left all of it in the hands of the village government, which had no use for a vast majority of the items.

That, of course, did not include the hundreds of jutsu scrolls and other secrets the Uchiha had been keeping to themselves for centuries. The Uchiha library, by the very nature of the clan's Kekkai Genkai, was massive. Many of these techniques would be extremely dangerous if they fell into the wrong hands. Of course, every clan had contingency plans in case something were to compromise the integrity of their clan techniques, but none had ever expected anything as drastic as the Massacre.

In the end, it was decided that the boy would be emancipated, allowing Sasuke to take ownership of everything. His relative's assets would be enough to support the young man to until he could do so on his own, and a pair of chunin were tasked to watch over him from the shadows in case anything should happen.

Kakashi sighed at the thoughts. There were no real right answers in that kind of situation. One could only make a choice and hope everything worked out for the best.

On that note, the jounin continued on. His knocking was once again ignored at the front door of the house. This time, though, he somewhat prepared for that to happen and once again slipped in through an unlocked window. He could understand if the boy wanted to spend as little time as possible in the deserted district.

Inside, Kakashi found a home that was very clean and organized. It appeared that Sasuke, while not bad at maintaining the exterior, was much better at keeping the interior nice and tidy. There was not a single thing out of place in the entire house; even the boy's bed was made up perfectly. He quickly wrote another note, but this time he gave it to one of the chunin outside. Their mission had long since been deemed as complete, but the two guards continued to faithfully safeguard the scarred boy whenever they were able to.

It was at the last house Kakashi visited that the door was finally answered. Sakura's home was located near the center of Konoha like most civilian houses were. Such a set up helped prevent noncombatants from being endangered should an invading force ever breach the walls. It also made it easier to evacuate civilians into the protected cloisters underneath the Hokage Mountain. The house itself was a rather small split-level with practically no lawn. The outside was a homely beige color, and the two upper windows were bordered in a darker brown.

Answering his light raps was a woman who was roughly in her mid-thirties. She wore a sky blue sundress underneath a white apron that complimented her cream colored skin. Her hair was the same bright pink as her daughter's, though not as long, only falling down slightly past her shoulders. The bubblegum locks were pulled back behind her head in a high ponytails. Her eyes were a deep, dark hazel. As the air from inside the house slowly drifted out, Kakashi smelled the distinct scent of desserts being baked.

"Hello, can I help you?" Sakura's mother asked the jounin. Her confused tone made sense as the two had never met before.

"Yes, my name is Kakashi Hatake, and I am your daughter's new sensei. Is she here?" The woman shook her head.

"No, she left early this morning to go to team assignments, and I haven't seen her since. Why? Is something wrong? She told us she would be back between one and two, but we haven't heard from her at all." A note of worry was starting to worm its way into the woman's voice. That was exactly the answer Kakashi did not want to hear.

While he could pass off Naruto's and Sasuke's absences as him simply not visiting at the right time, Sakura's file had stated she was a very well mannered girl who was very close to her family. More likely than not, she would have stopped by to at least tell her parents if she were going somewhere else. The fact that she had not and her mother's growing anxiety over that fact caused warning bells to begin going off in his head.

"Mrs. Haruno, would it be ok if I waited here for her? Certain events caused me to be late for the team meeting today, and I information your daughter needs to know concerning the next few days." The elder pinkette stood aside, ushering the jounin in.

"Yes, of course. Do come in." Kakashi nodded his head graciously. Before entering, he quickly created three shadow clones. Two were ordered to go and wait at Naruto's and Sasuke's houses in case either of them showed up there while the final clone would search around the village for his absent team. The woman was startled by his actions but did not say anything.

He stepped through the doorway, slipping his sandals off on the mat, and Mrs. Haruno led him through the house to a small dining area. On the right side, a waist high counter acted as a partial divider between the kitchen and the dining room. Said counter was covered in an assortment of baked goods having been set out to cool. The silver haired jounin took his place in a corner of the dining area while Sakura's mother returned to her cooking. Even without years of experience in reading people, Kakashi could tell she was growing more anxious by the second.

Soon, the sun began to set, casting out its final golden rays. Mrs. Haruno had retired from baking to finish sowing a dress she had been making for her daughter as a graduation present. Kakashi still stood motionless in the corner he had claimed earlier in the day.

Suddenly, the front door to the house creaked open, and both of their heads snapped towards it. In walked a man just over six feet tall. He was wearing a dark, pale blue kimono shirt that hung loosely about his torso and a fern green under robe. His simple, brown shorts stopped slightly above his knees. Short, brunette hair covered the man's head.

The man froze at the sight of Kakashi but quickly took it in stride. He gave his wife a quick peck on the cheek when he passed by that she half-heartedly returned. Turning his attention back on the jounin, Kakashi answered the about to be asked question.

"Mr. Haruno, I presume?" He nodded in affirmation. "I am your daughter's jounin sensei. Have you had any contact with her after she left for team assignments earlier today?"

"No, I havent. I thought she'd be back by now." Mr. Haruno said in a surprisingly deep voice.

"She isn't. Mr. Hatake has been searching for her and her teammates since he found them gone from the academy." Mrs. Haruno explained. Her husband's face became stern at that news. He grabbed a chair and sat down next to his wife, taking her hands in his. His large hands dwarfed hers by a fair amount, but he used that to his advantage, gently stroking the back of his love's palms with his thumbs.

Hours passed. Darkness now covered the village with no sign of the missing Haruno. By now the vast majority of Konoha was asleep comfortably in their beds, and still the three were waiting. None of the shadow clones Kakashi created had dispelled yet, so they had not found any hard evidence of where the children had gone. Finally, Kakashi had to admit he could not wait any longer and canceled the jutsu.

Memories from the three doppelgangers came rushing back into his mind. The clone out searching the village had run into a group of chunin who were also looking for his three genin after they apparently tried to booby trap one of the western guards towers with itching powder. Kakashi's uneasiness grew just as his clone's had a few hours ago. If that was what the three had been up to after leaving the Academy, then surely they would have returned back to their homes by now. Sakura might have gone to a friend's house until the situation cooled of, but sadly for Naruto and Sasuke, that was an unlikely possibility. All of these facts meant there was only one thing left to do.

"Mr. and Mrs. Haruno," Kakashi tried said as calmly as possible; it was to no avail as the two still jumped at the sound. Mr. Haruno was as stone faced as ever while Mrs. Haruno was struggling to maintain her composure. "I must ask that you to come with me to the Hokage Tower. We need to report that your daughter and her teammates have gone missing."

That was the final straw. The frightened mother broke down sobbing, her tears staining the fabric in on the table. Her husband pulled her in close, and she continued to cry onto his shoulder. Kakashi remained standing in the spot feeling uncomfortable. He had never been good at consoling others, but luckily Mr. Haruno was here to do that job for him.

For over ten minutes Mrs. Haruno bawled until her husband gently helped her to her feet. She clung to his side as he guided her out of the house behind Kakashi, locking the door behind them. Kakashi guided the two down the dimly lit streets towards the Hokage Tower. Their pace slow but steady.

Fortunately, Kakashi's status as not only an elite jounin, but also a close friend of the Hokage allowed the group to head straight through to his office after only a basic security check. Of course, the Hatake knew there was more to the process than just that, but there was no need to inform the Haruno's of the four ANBU carefully observing them from the shadows.

The fact that the aged leader was still here, burning the midnight oil was no surprise to Kakashi. Hiruzen could have easily been done with what all was needed of him by this time of night, but always made sure to have at least an hour free every night. The reason for this was that the old man would use that time to visit every one of Konoha's hospitals and talk with the sick and injured there. It was one of the many reasons why the Third was so beloved by the Leaf's citizens.

When the three entered the Hokage's office, they found the elderly man already staring intently into his crystal ball, having been immediately briefed on the situation. Mrs. Haruno opened her mouth to address her leader, but Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. Minutes passed. The frown on Sarutobi's face grew ever more pronounced. After what seemed like an eternity, he looked up from his work with a forlorn look in his eyes.

"Kakashi, go to the Inuzuka compound. I have sent a message for all off-duty clansmen to join you in a search effort. Any available Hyuuga will also be joining you as soon as they can. I want these children found immediately." He commanded, his voice like hardened steel. The jounin nodded once in understanding and disappeared into a cloud of smoke. The Hokage then turned his gaze to the two civilians left before him.

"Mr. and Mrs. Haruno, do not worry. We will find your daughter and her teammates, but right now I need your help. Kakashi sent a message ahead of you, informing us of what he had learned, but we need more information. I need you to tell me everything you can about what your daughter said, where she might have gone, and anyone else who may know something."

And so the search began. For three days, the shinobi of the Leaf were in a suppressed uproar. Search parties combed every inch of the village and the surrounding area. The intelligence division was hard at work not only trying to find any and all possible leads but also working to prevent the spread of the news to other countries. Security was tightened all across the Land of Fire. Even the ninja Sarutobi had placed to monitor Danzo reported that Root was conducting its own investigation into the matter, though the Third Hokage was sure it was not for the same reasons.

By the third day, Kakashi was weary from lack of sleep and nourishment. His chakra reserves were running dangerously close to empty. The only thing keeping him going were the soldier pills he taken the day before, and yet he could already feel the temporary boost fading, along with his hope.

It seemed to Kakashi that no matter what he did, he was doomed for failure. He failed his father by renouncing the man after his suicide. He failed Obito and was forced to watch him die at Kannabi Bridge. He failed to protect Rin like he had promised to and was forced to kill her. He failed to help Minato-sensei that fateful night the Kyuubi attacked.

These thoughts plagued Kakashi's mind as he did anything he could think of to try and find the missing children, but with each passing day the chances of finding them dwindled. It became more likely that he would have to add even more people to his list.

It was shortly past noon on the fourth day of searching that Kakashi received the news he had been longing for. He was in the process of making another round outside the perimeter of the village when, high above, a messenger hawk screeched. The jounin stopped running and held out his left arm. The bird landed with hardly sound and waited while Kakashi undid the message. As he read the news, he had to fight to keep his emotions under control, and the Hatake made a silent prayer of thanks to whatever deity had decided to give him a second chance.

III

Kakashi mentally sighed as he looked at his newest genin team. The late afternoon sun was halfway through its decent to the treeline, causing deep, lengthy shadows across the forest. All four were gathered at the center of Training Ground Seven the three days after the three had reappeared. No other genin team had ever caused the gray haired jounin as much stress as these three had, yet this was the first time he was meeting them in person.

After getting word that his students had been found, Kakashi had gone straight to the hospital where the note said his students had been sent. He checked in on each of them and introduced himself. The conversations were brief but long enough for him to be sure they would be ok. He then when straight to the Hokage's Tower to find out what exactly had happened.

While attempting to hide from their pursuers, the three had been trapped underground by a cave-in in a cave that they found in the forest. However, it was not any old cave that they had stumbled upon. No, apparently his students had managed to find one Orochimaru's old, hidden laboratories.

Kakashi had shaken his head at that fact. Fifteen years after he abandoned the Leaf and they were still picking up the pieces of his inhuman experiments. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how one looked at it, this lab's contents had been deemed important enough by Orochimaru to be either removed or destroyed before he fled. This tidbit of information meant that Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were confined even longer to the hospital as the doctors made absolutely sure that everything was fine with their bodies. The Snake Sannin always had a knack for leaving behind unwanted surprises.

Kakashi forced himself to cut off that line of thought and refocus his mind on the matter at hand. The job of examining what was left in the cavern was left to ANBU and Intelligence department. His was to test these three and find out if they are ready for life as a shinobi.

"Seeing as how we've already been introduced, let's jump right into it, shall we? You three will have until noon to steal these bells from me." He said, holding said the pair of chimes up for them to see then hanging them back onto his right side. "Anyone who does not get a bell will tied to one of those stumps and be forced to watch as the rest of us eat lunch. They will then be sent back for another year at the Academy. Since there are only two bells, at least one of you will not be passing. Do you understand?" The genin nodded."Alright then, one final thing. Come at me with everything you have, or you will never be able to get a bell. Begin!"

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura took off the second he gave the signal. Curiously though, Kakashi's honed senses told him they were moving away as a group rather than scattering like a typical team of genin would. Interesting. The silver-haired jounin pulled out his favorite copy of Icha Icha and began his nonchalant pursuit. After all, why should he stress himself when they were the ones that would eventually have to come after him?

Kakashi's walk soon brought him to a small clearing in middle of the thick forest. The soft sound of stirring leaves drew the man's attention away from his book as five Sasuke's and Sakura's along with a horde of Naruto's leaped out of the tree line. He quickly noted that the first two groups of doppelgangers were moving far to fluidly through the air to be real; Naruto's clones, on the other hand, were all to real and ready to prove it.

The Hatake dodged to the left to start the tedious work of dispelling each of the chakra constructs one by one. Whenever one would move in to attack, he would easily maneuver around the clumsy strike, giving the clone a sharp rap on the head with his book to destroy it. One clone came at him with his arm reared back for a haymaker, but when Kakashi turned his back after dispersing it, he was suddenly tackled to the ground. It appeared that the real Naruto had been amongst the fray as well.

Sadly for the boy, Kakashi had already replaced himself with one of Naruto's own clones before the blonde ensnared him. The jounin reappeared on a nearby branch looking down upon the skirmish. Below him, Sasuke and Sakura were l in wait for the opportune moment to strike.

"You know, it's not nice to make your teammate do all the work." Kakashi said in his indifferent drawl. The two genin paled at his voice, and Sasuke quickly turned and threw a handful of shuriken at the teacher. Kakashi calmly lessened the flow of chakra to his feet and fell backwards to avoid the deadly stars. The boy and girl were surprised to see their teacher now hanging effortlessly upside down from the bottom of the tree limb. A loud crashing from the undergrowth signaled that Naruto had arrived on scene.

"You're not getting away this time, Sensei. Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Instantly, the whole area around the base of the tree was filled with a sea of orange-clad blondes. Kakashi had to quirk an impressed eyebrow at the feat but did not have long to contemplate it, for the next second he was fending of a huge en masse attack. As one, the clones charged the tree, scrambling to get up to him.

Normally, Kakashi would have just escaped to another nearby canopy, but he decided to humor the young genin and stand his ground. The jounin settled into one of his preferred taijutsu stances and began to beat back the waves of attackers. Every punch and kick thrown was fended of with only partial effort, and one after another the clones were dispelled, all while Kakashi remained hanging on the underside of his branch.

One of the Naruto's pulled out a pair of kunai in frustration. He lunged at Kakashi, making broad, sweeping swings with the knives. The sloppiness of the attacks allowed the jounin to dodge them with little difficulty, and when the one of Naruto's slashes left his guard wide open, his teacher countered. Kakashi grabbed Naruto by the wrists, twisting them slightly so that he was forced to drop the blades. He then gave the boy a light kick to the solar plexus.

Naruto was sent tumbling away until he came to a stop next to a nearby tree. The jounin was not yet finished, though, as he plucked the boy's own kunai out of the air and sent them sailing after him. The blond had just managed to stand up when the kunai hit him. They cut through the sleeves of his orange jumpsuit and pinned his arms to the tree trunk. Kakashi had to smile at his handiwork; while the knives would not hold Naruto for long, it would put him out of commission long enough for him to deal with the rest of the clones the boy had made.

It was then that the man saw two darker figures weaving their way through the throng of orange. Kakashi had grabbed one kage bunshin by the collar and dispersed it when he had to abruptly contort his head out of the way of the razor sharp kunai that had suddenly appeared from the smoke. He was able to catch a glimpse of red and pink in the direction the kunai had come from before his attention was brought back closer to home.

While Kakashi had been dodging ninja tool, Sasuke reached the base of the tree and used the numerous Naruto clones as jumping points to quickly ascend up to the jounin's level. The Uchiha extended his left leg out into a round house kick with the intent of nailing his sensei square in the back while his focus was elsewhere, but the jounin was still able to turn his torso around enough to block the shin with his left forearm. Sasuke then hooked the top of his foot on the bent elbow which allowed him to swing his body around the jounin's back towards the now unprotected bells.

Kakashi realized this and shot his own footout behind him at the genin. Sasuke was forced to twist his body out of the way, foiling his attempt, but the Uchiha was not finished, instead implementing his contingency plan. He pulled back the arm he had extended out towards the bell and snapped the other one forward, releasing the shuriken hidden in its grasp. The spinning blade cut through the air, easily severing the string tying the bells to the jounin.

Kakashi was the first to react, immediately severing his chakra connection to the tree branch. Sasuke was still trying to recover from his midair maneuver and would not be able to land in time to make another attempt for the freed bells. Sakura was a null factor, for her support position near the edge of the kage bunshin mass meant she would have to fight through the throng to even get close to the chimes, and the real Naruto had only now managed to free himself from where Kakashi had pinned him.

The jounin took all of this in as he dropped down. Below him, every Shadow Clone in the area was scrambling towards the falling chimes, desperate to reach them before their brief existences were ended. One made a heroic dive forward to grab the bells, and even managed to get ahold of them before Kakashi planted his feet on the clones back. However, this time it was the teacher that was tricked.

Kakashi's expert eye saw the slight wavering of the clone's outline right before he landed, but it was to late to divert his fall. Instead of landing on a shadow clone and dispersing it, the real Naruto substituted with the clone and toke the blow himself. The bunshin with the bells was now where the real one had been and proceeded to hightail it as fast and as far away as possible.

Underneath the jounin, Naruto grunted out in pain. Kakashi swiftly stepped off of his student, allowing two nearby clones to drag the blond away. Sasuke and Sakura saw this and followed along while the remaining Shadow Clones launched a final assault to prevent Kakashi from pursuing them. One by one, they disappeared, and whether by design or happy accident, the smoke of their dispelling only helped to further conceal the genin's retreat.

Once every clone was gone, Kakashi took a moment to ponder. For the first time since he had started taking on teams, a squad had managed to get the bells from him, and based on what he had scene during the exam the had also passed the second portion. Now, all that was left was to see what they did now that the test was over. Naruto had already shown he was willing to take a hit for the sake of the mission, but would he be willing to sabotage his own career for the sake of his teammates? Would they be do the same for him? There was one way to find out.

III

Kakashi swiftly found his students near the western edge of the training ground. All three were sitting on the ground panting in exhaustion, though both Sasuke and Naruto were trying to hide their tiredness. The blond of the group still held the bells clenched tightly in his hand. The jounin found a comfortable spot on a thick limb and waited to see what happened. He did not have to wait long.

"Heh, what's the matter Sasuke? That little run tire you out?" Naruto said, trying to goad the Uchiha. Sasuke simply ignored the mocking question, but Kakashi noticed that he tried to school his expression even more.

"Shut up, Naruto! Sasuke's probably just acting so that we don't feel bad for slowing him down. He probably could have gotten those bells all by himself." Sakura shouted, but she did have to admit they all looked worse for wear. It was strange; she felt more tired now than almost any other time she could remember. Naruto and Sasuke did not look much better. Her chastisement halted any further teasing, and the forest went silent, save for the soft wind rustling through the branches.

"So...what do we do now?" Naruto finally asked. Sakura bit the tip of her thumb out of nervous habit while Sasuke only grunted.

"I'm not going back to the Academy." The Uchiha finally stated after a few minutes, his tone adamant. Naruto whipped his head around to glare at the other boy.

"I'm not either; I barely made it out this time."

"Then you need more schooling, idiot." Sasuke said without turning to meet Naruto's gaze. The blond growled, but Sakura spoke up before he could say anything in response.

"Umm, Sasuke, Naruto, there's something else we have to think about."

"What's that Sakura?" Naruto questioned.

"Well, whoever gets a bell will become a full-fledged shinobi, so they will probably be busy doing missions a lot of the time. That means whoever doesn't will have more free time." The two only stared at her blankly, not understanding the point she was trying to make. "Whoever goes back to the academy can go visit Mewtwo-sensei sooner and more often."

The eyes of both boys widened dramatically at what she said. Ever since the three had left the hidden vault, they had all missed their newly found companions, even if one of them would deny it. The worst part was that they could not even sense them through their bond. Mewtwo had warned them that such a thing would happen and that such a thing was natural when partners were separated, but it did not help. It was somewhat maddening, like one of their limbs had gone numb overnight. They knew it was there, but they just could not feel anything.

Sakura's revelation left the genin in silent deliberation for even longer before. All three were trying to decide which was more important, their career as shinobi or reuniting with their friends. In the end, each one reached the same conclusion though none were willing to say it. Eventually, Naruto broke the silence.

"I think Sakura should get to go back. I mean, you were the top ranking kunoichi at the Academy, so you'll get to spend more time with Mewtwo-sensei than I would." His kind words shocked Sakura. "Besides, you're a lot better at using this Power thing than either of us. You would get more out of it than us." Sakura was almost tempted to accept Naruto's generous offer. She really wanted to see Chikorita again, but that would not be fair to Naruto and Sasuke.

"No way, Sasuke should go back. He's way more talented than I am." The fact that she could use this situation to compliment her crush was an added bonus. "My parents are watching me like hawks anyway. I will probably be able to slip away easier if I take a bell."

With both of their opinions voiced, Naruto and Sakura looked at Sasuke for his. His pale hands were folded in front of his face as he contemplated everything that had just been said. His thoughts inevitably turned back to his brother. Every moment of that night flashed through his mind's eye, and he knew what he had to do.

"Naruto, go back to the Academy." The blond's jaw almost dropped. He never thought he would hear the Uchiha say such a thing. "Face it, loser, you need all the help you can get." Well, the sentiment had been nice while it lasted, Naruto thought.

From within his leafy vantage, Kakashi listened to the entire debate, and two things immediately popped out to him. The first was that the three seemed oddly attached to this "Mewtwo-sensei". The jounin had never heard someone by that name, but then again, he was not that familiar with the Academy staff these days. He did make a mental note to check up on it later though.

The second thing he noticed was their tones. It was almost as if they all wanted to go back to the Academy. All he could do was shake his head and reveal the truth to them. They had passed the final test after all, no matter how strangely. The masked man dropped down to the ground and waved a hand at his students.

"Yo." The genin scrambled to their feet at his appearance, readying themselves as best they could. Kakashi noticed how ragged each of them seemed. Disfunctional personalities, the want to fail and go back for further schooling, and apparently extremely low stamina: he certainly had his work cut out for him, the Hatake thought.

"Seeing as how the timer has yet to go off, I could take those bells back from you," Kakashi said while getting to his feet. "But that would take away from my reading time. I guess I'll just pass you all instead."

Kakashi let out an audible chuckle at seeing his students falter. He certainly knew how to pull a fast one. All laughter quickly died in his throat, however. While he was mentally congratulating himself, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura collapsed to the ground.

The children's bodies began jerking around in short, violent spasms, their eyes rolled back in their heads. Limbs thrashed about wildly. Clear, runny vomit was choked up from their mouths as their stomachs tried to force every last drop of liquid. The acidic stench of bile clogged the air as any remnants of color was drained from their faces.

In the blink of an eye, Kakashi was moving. His fastest ninken, Ūhei, was already running as fast as possible to the nearest hospital by the time the dog's master had created five shadow clone. As gently as possible, the six jounin used their vastly superior strength to restrain the young ones' arms and legs. The clones near the kids' used their knees for this, so their hands were free to hold shaking children's heads to the side.

Fear gripped the very core of Kakashi's heart in a tight fist as he pressed Naruto's ankles firmly against the earth. A week ago, it had been his own failings that caused these children to suffer. This time was different. A week ago, he had been helpless. This time he was here.

He could not lose them again.