A/N: Guys, sorry for the late update, my schedule is hellish. But no matter, here's a fresh chapter. Enjoy, do a little bit of R & R, please! Cheers!

Chapter 03- Team 9

Time frame- Konohagakure, 13 years ago.

The sun shone down upon Konoha, its slender beams bathing the lush green forests. Another good day. Hiroki prodded the grass with a stick. His expression was that of mild annoyance. His brown hair was being whipped about with occasional bursts of gust. His hazel eyes traced the form of a minuscule insect, and he looked up at the approach of footsteps. Inazuma was facing the valley, and his head snapped up too. Yukiko opened her eyes, getting up from her sleeping position. Inazuma had known all along that they would be put in one team. He wasn't one to complain, though. All they were waiting for was their Jonin squad captain. Hiroki, as usual had a hunch. "Bet its Kakashi. He always shows up late, you mark my words…" And it seemed he wasn't wrong either. The Jonin was late, whoever it was. Sure enough, a man in Jonin fatigues walked up to them. His crown of silver hair was not his only distinguishing feature: he wore his headband all the way to the side, covering one of his eyes. He had this natural, lazy gait of walking- Inazuma wondered how a ninja could be so casual. He slouched toward them. Hiroki gave his team-mates a 'I told you so' look.

Kakashi Hatake. The son of the legendary white fang of Konoha, Sukamo Hatake. A ninja par excellence, if the stories could be believed. Current commander of Team 7, but due to shortage, assigned to their Genin team. One of his eyes held the Sharingan, the legendary Uchiha Kekkei Genkai. Inazuma's mind whirled with a million thoughts. He looked at the Jonin. He would teach them well, he hoped. Kakashi put his hands on his waist. He looked at each one carefully. Then, he suddenly broke eye contact. "Well! Let's begin… Why don't we make ourselves comfortable, then…?" he sat down. They mimicked him. "Hmm…it's rather interesting, you know…" "What?" Hiroki was quick to ask. "Well, almost every team I've had asks me the reason for my lateness…You haven't said anything…but." He shrugged. "Let's start with you, shall we?" He pointed at Yukiko. She hesitated. " I'm Yukiko Sayuki, from the Sayuki clan. I…I like…well, sweet foods, good books…Um…Yeah. Oh! And I love making trinkets…" she trilled off. Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "That was interesting, Yukiko…" he looked at Hiroki. "I'm Hiroki Miyahara, from the famous Wind using Miyahara clan! I plan to become an ANBU ninja very soon, and learn a ton of jutsu to beat our enemies! And- ""Well…heheh…we clearly know something now, Hiroki…" Kakashi cut in. He gestured towards Inazuma. "I'm Inazuma Akaike. My goal is to ascend the ninja hierarchy, and become a good and loyal Konoha Shinobi…I guess…something along my father's footsteps, maybe?" He smiled sheepishly. Kakashi was satisfied. "Well. The proctors told me that I was being given one of the strongest teams here! Now, let's see you defend your title, shall we?" He got up.

The Genin were pleased and determined to prove themselves. "You're gonna tell us to get some bells, right?" Kakashi was surprised. "Hmm…is it really that obvious? Anyway, knowing the task doesn't mean you can do it! So…" he gestured towards the bells. "You have to get these bells from me. That's all. If you fail, there will be no lunch. You will get a second chance after lunch time. Fail then and there will be no squad! You will all be disqualified as Genin!" Yukiko looked aghast. "But…" she protested."No buts! Your time starts now!" The air around the squad and the Jonin tensed. The test had started.

It took a moment for Inazuma to get his bearings. This was a one shot test to becoming a ninja! This had to be considered carefully. Kakashi had moved away, at a distance. Hiroki murmured, hardly able to contain his excitement. "Watch me! I'm gonna surprise him with my Wind release!" Inazuma frowned. A direct approach was foolhardy. This was a Jonin they were talking about, and Kakashi Hatake, for that point. Yukiko seemed undecided. She gestured towards the charging form of Hiroki. "I guess we should help him?" Inazuma said nothing. Yukiko sighed. "If you have any idea, tell me, okay? I'm going after him…" Inazuma wanted to stamp his foot with his frustration. What kind of a dumb strategy was this? So much of a messy plan…

Hiroki had reached Kakashi by then. He whipped out his Kunai, and stabbed upward, towards the dangling threads of the bells at Kakashi's waist. Kakashi made the barest of movements and his foot connected his Hiroki's crouching form, and he flew back. He stood. "Huh! I'm gonna get you now!" he yelled and tried again, this time creating some clones to distract him. Kakashi had a look of mild amusement as his form shimmered and appeared between the clones. He moved his hands at an impossible speed, dissipating the illusions. The real Hiroki was high above. "Gotcha!" he yelled. "Wind release: Buffeting Gust!" He opened his mouth and a gust of high velocity wind cascaded on Kakashi. His shadow clone disappeared, and he appeared in midair, catching Hiroki by the collar and throwing him to the ground. Hiroki landed in an unceremonious heap, groaning in pain. Kakashi landed with grace. Yukiko suddenly appeared out of nowhere, throwing a brace of shuriken at Kakashi. Kakashi deftly dodged them, again increasing his distance. He pulled out an Icha Icha book, and started reading, engrossed. Inazuma was flabbergasted. The man was reading perverted books in the middle of a serious test? Yukiko was helping Hiroki get up. Inazuma joined them. "We need a plan!" he hissed.

Hiroki's voice was obviously out of breath. "Any ideas, genius?" Inazuma shot him a scathing look. "You fool, if you didn't rush in like a bull, I guess you'd be in better shape!" "Huh. At least I wasn't holding back like a coward!" Hiroki shot back. "Holding back like a sane person should, idiot!" Inazuma was incensed. "Inazuma! Hiroki! Just calm down, will you?" "This isn't getting us anywhere near those bells!" This sobered them up. Inazuma looked at Kakashi. The man seemed so…unperturbed. His blood shot up. "Well, the best approach would be a simple distraction, with a combination of high powered attacks…Yukiko; we need to hit him with your Ice release. Think you can keep him frozen in some way?" Yukiko nodded. "But, this has to be quick. I cannot hold his entire form frozen. I will be out of chakra like that…" Inazuma nodded. "I'll be the decoy and attack him head on. Hiroki, attack him at my signal with a wind jutsu, one which will temporarily immobilize him. Then, if Yukiko lands a hit on him, we can cut the bells!" Hiroki nodded, mild annoyance filling his thoughts. He shook it away. He needed to pass too. The three got up. Yukiko was much more optimistic after this speech. "Let's get him!"

Inazuma directed some chakra in his legs, like Shinra had taught him to. He was moving fast. Hiroki and Yukiko fell behind, and circled around the Jonin. Kakashi looked up from his book. Inazuma threw three Kunai at him during his rush. Kakashi sidestepped, and noticed with a mild surprise that Inazuma was moving much faster than normal genin. He then noticed the chakra around Inazuma's feet. Interesting, thought Kakashi. But not enough. He tucked in his book, moving for offence, surprising the boy. Inazuma fell back as Kakashi materialized behind him. He smiled. At least Kakashi has kept the book away. He formed a shadow clone. This cost him quite a bit of chakra, but he needed the clone for now. Clone and Genin identically raised their Kunai and rushed Kakashi again. Kakashi moved in too. "Earth style: Mud entrapment." He said. One of the two stopped just short of Kakashi, as a sudden burst of Mud grabbed the boy. The shadow clone dissipated with a light puff, and Inazuma was flying back, his hands forming seals. "NOW!" he yelled. "Wind release: Buffeting gust!" Hiroki yelled. Kakashi looked back in shock. He twisted at a critical angle, avoiding the gust at the last moment. He still felt the wind push him back a little. What happened next was unavoidable. He looked below him and saw Yukiko form some hand signs. "Ice release: Frozen prison." She gasped, and touched his foot. Kakashi felt his feet become numb, as a steady stream of Ice flowed from her hand. He threw a smoke Kunai at the last moment. The rest was highly blurred. The smoke cleared to reveal Hiroki down on the ground once again, and Yukiko fell to her knees with exhaustion from her previous technique. Kakashi stood up again, but with two differences: one of his legs had Ice dripping into water, and the headband around his other eye was raised: a red eye with three tomoe was clearly visible. Kakashi was very surprised indeed. He spoke. "Well, it's been a LONG time since I saw that kind of teamwork…So-"He didn't complete his sentence, and a Grand Fireball streaked towards him.

Kakashi dodged the fireball at the last moment, and caught Inazuma's hand as it streaked towards his bells. Kakashi had to admire the boy's resolve and cunning to get the bells. He had been focusing on the real mission- getting the bells, rather than trying to fight the Jonin. He threw him away, and motioned for everybody to stop. The Genin tensed once more. Kakashi let out a hearty chuckle. "Now that was definitely unexpected. I had no intention of commandeering another team…Team 7 is hard enough to manage, as it is, what with its troublesome members…" He looked at them and he was presumably smiling. "But, I guess I'll have to make an exception this time around…Congratulations to you all…Welcome to Team 9."

Inazuma gave up the pretense of being unscathed as he fell to the ground, gasping for breath. That fireball has taken it out of him. His mind screamed with joy, though. They had passed, against all odds! Yukiko managed a small smile before collapsing with fatigue. Hiroki, who had taken a greater battering than the other two, was already out. Kakashi stared at his new team with pride. His mind however was nagging him- how to carry them back…?

The next day, Kakashi regarded the members of Team 9 as they wore their brand new Leaf headbands. Kakashi decided to go straight to the point. "Well, as your team has passed with flying colors, I will officially be your commander. However; currently, Team 7 needs my help as they have successfully cleared their Chunin exams. So, I will not be able to give you my undivided attention for the time being. If Team 9 happens to be assigned to missions higher than C ranked ones, I will accompany you, but it is rare for a genin team to be assigned like that. So, to continue your Genin training without any gaps, I have found a temporary Jonin for you. He is every bit as skilled as I am, if not more. Allow me to introduce, Inoichi Yamanaka, from the famed Yamanaka clan. They looked at a man who had mysteriously appeared behind them. His startling green eyes gazed at them, boring into their flesh. They shivered momentarily. The tall blond ninja broke into a smile, and he replied, "As always, it is an honor, Kakashi…" "Don't mention it…" Kakashi replied. "Well, I'll leave you guys to get acquainted. "So long!" Kakashi disappeared.

Team 9 looked at their new sensei with some anticipation. "Let's start, shall we?" he said, and they trudged off towards the Konoha training grounds. The past two days had been eventful for Team 9, and they looked forward to more.