I told myself I would update this thing tonight, thus why it's being posted so early in the morning. I am going to go sleep, but I hope that you enjoy this. The longest chapter so far and the last of the "explanatory" arc. Things should pick up from here on out! Note: Someone did bring up a concern that I myself have with this story: that Sakura is too "mature" for her mindset. That's a difficult thing for me to address as I wanted this story to be a more realistic take on the story, plugging the main lapses of judgement I see as a recurring theme in the manga. I tried to tone it down in this chapter and, if it doesn't come off as well as I hoped, I'll make further changes down the road to bust Sakura back down to believability.

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

What to do when one finds themselves spread-eagle in the middle of the forest with every bone in their body aching? That was what Sakura was asking herself as she rolled over to get the sun out of her eye; a stray beam was cutting through the canopy and hitting the girl's face.

Sakura groaned and dragged her arm up to cover her eyes. She didn't feel like moving at the moment. In fact, even after a night's rest she didn't think her body was capable of moving. Joints upon joints were protesting even the rise and fall of her chest and her spine felt like it had been wrapped around one of the large nearby trees.

"Five more minutes," she mumbled, rolling over onto her side. This turned out to be a bad decision as she fell right into the stream she had so desperately crawled over to the afternoon before. On the bright side, coughing out a few liters of water proved to be just the wake-up call Sakura needed.

The Genin jumped up onto wobbly legs, almost falling back down, as she emptied her lungs. Once the heaves were over with, she flopped down onto the bank like a freshly-caught fish, catching herself with both arms before she could fall back over. For a long moment she was bewildered and confused about just where she was. Her eyes darted around, expecting to see Kabuto or some other demon conjured up from her drowsy mind. Thankfully, it was only her and Sakura soon settled down and remembered what she had been doing.

Images flooded her mind. Mastering the Iwa chakra practices, being stumped on nature manipulation, finally overcoming it, being caught in the ground by herself and no way out. She had only just barely escaped without serious injury.

"Maybe that's not completely true," Sakura sighed. She looked down at her hands, still caked in dry blood that had come from her fingernails. She had clawed her way back from the grave, literally in this case, and had come away better for it. The feeling of being so helpless and trapped...well, she wouldn't be forgetting it anytime soon. Still, even the pain Sakura was feeling now made the girl feel better. It was a good tired.

By the looks of the sun, it was only around an hour after sunrise. Today were the team selections, but if Sakura turned up in the state she was now she was sure Iruka would send her off to the hospital. That certainly couldn't happen so the only alternative was heading home for a shower and change of clothes. Testing her feet, Sakura managed to get up without falling back over and gathered the Doton scroll she had left laying in the middle of the training ground. If someone had come across that then she'd probably be sitting in a prison cell at this very moment.

The walk back to the center of the village wasn't nearly as bad as Sakura thought it would be. Her muscles, once properly stretched, weren't as strained as she had first thought. If anything, they were just extremely sore after a long workout and not permanently damaged. That weight off her shoulders, combined with an excellent night's rest, kept Sakura in a good mood.

Sakura's house was quiet when she slipped inside. Her mother, it seemed, had gone shopping and had yet to come back. That suited the Genin just fine; not having to deal with the older Haruno's questions would cut down on how late Sakura was already going to be. There was some breakfast laid out, though, and the girl made a note to grab it before she left.

Running upstairs, her grimy, filthy dress was already halfway off before she nudged the door to her room open with her foot. She stopped by only long enough to toss the garment into her hamper and remove her weapon pouch and then it was on to the shower. The hot water, something she hadn't had in a forest stream, was the last bit to a perfect morning. It rolled over Sakura's back and she felt the muscles in her shoulders start to unwind. She had dirt everywhere, though, and a limited supply of said hot water which meant she had to rush. When she was done it looked like someone had tried to mix chocolate milk in the bathtub there was so much dirt. She would have to clean it later, though.

"I look like a drowned rat," Sakura huffed as she looked at herself in the mirror. She hadn't been able to pay the usual amount of attention to her hair and it showed in the tangled mess of pink. She grabbed one of her larger, heftier brushes and attacked her hair with it as she went back to her room for some clothes.

The red dress that Sakura loved so much was out. Given the shape it was in it would probably be easier to have a new one made. The girl rooted around her closet for something that wouldn't show so much skin; there were so many bruises and cuts that anyone would ask questions. A long-sleeve shirt and plain gray baggy pants did the trick well enough, though she wouldn't be winning any best-dressed contests.

"Haruno Sakura: The Street Urchin Ninja," Sakura lamented as she fully took in her appearance in her full-length mirror. If the circumstances were any different, she would spend at least another hour finding an outfit and fixing her hair. As it stood, the pink locks were just hanging there with no body or definition whatsoever, so Sakura used her forehead protector the correct way to keep her bangs out her eyes. "Well, I'm on Sasuke-kun's team from now on so I'll have plenty of chances to get his attention later."

After strapping back on her weapon pouch and checking that everything in it was in place, the Genin thundered down the stairs and grabbed her breakfast, which was an egg sandwich, on the way out the door. She had gotten a look at the kitchen clock and team selection was well over thirty minutes ago. Perhaps Iruka would still be milling around to tell her where she was meeting her Jounin instructor.

Thankfully there weren't many people out and about to get in Sakura's way as she ran through the streets. In a few hours the lunch crowd would be around, but right now it was just old ladies and housewives looking at roadside shops. A few gave the pink-haired girl nasty looks as they got jostled around in her hurry, but Sakura ignored them. They would forget it in a few moments and anyway, she could see the academy's top rising above the distant buildings.

The grounds were empty when Sakura finally ran through the gate. No students, no teachers, no nothing. Had everyone already been dismissed? She was only around forty minutes late; surely it took longer than that to pick teams. The hallways, which should have had people in them, were as bare as the grounds. The Jounin must have taken their charges somewhere else after being assigned. That would make Sakura's job of finding her team that much harder.

As she rounded the hallway leading to her own classroom, raised voices hit her ears for the first time since entering the building. Well, really it was only one very loud, very obnoxious voice, but all the same it was good to hear.

"I can't believe I'm stuck here with you! Where the hell is our Jounin teacher?!"

The wonderfully colorful ranting of Uzumaki Naruto echoed off the walls as Sakura stalked up close to the classroom door. Their teacher hadn't gotten there yet? That was far too lucky! Now she could just go in there and pretend she was on time. Sasuke would think it was too much trouble to mention and Naruto wouldn't tattle on someone he liked.

"Excuse me," someone from behind called out, making Sakura let out a shriek. She jumped out of the way of the door, which she assumed she was blocking, and stuttered out an apology. The person that had snuck up on her wasn't angry, though, but seemingly confused. "Wait, you're one of mine, aren't you?"

Now that she had taken a step back, Sakura was able to see the owner of the voice. He was a tall, lanky man with a mask covering the bottom half of his head and silver hair. Even odder, though, was that his hitai-ate was covering his left eye.

"What do you mean, 'one of mine'?" the Genin asked.

"I mean that you should get into the classroom and find out." With that, he motioned for the small girl to go first. Dubious, but not willing to argue just yet, Sakura slid open the door and walked in.

She cringed when an eraser popped her on the head. "Alright, who did that?" she growled, dusting off her hair. She had just washed it!

Given that there were only two people in the room it was easy to spot the culprit. Naruto was stuck between looking terrified at pranking Sakura and ready to burst out laughing.

It took a lot of control for Sakura not to stomp up to the blond and slug him for messing up her hair. It was her standard operating practice when it came to Naruto doing something stupid, after all, and he was even already clutching his head in a vain attempt to protect himself. However, the Genin couldn't go by the book anymore. She didn't know how stable that seal on Naruto was or even if it was the boy in command of the body. No, there was such a vast veil of mystery concerning the Kyuubi that Sakura couldn't antagonize Naruto until she found out the exact nature of things. Given how long it took her to discover the fate of the demon fox in the first place, she would be in the dark for the foreseeable future.

Even Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Sakura not physically assaulting the prankster. She just shot Naruto a very dirty look and sat as far away from him, and as close to the antisocial Uchiha, as possible.

By now, everyone had turned their attention to the lanky man that had followed Sakura in. He was looking rather bored as his only visible eye swept over the trio, sizing them up like slabs of meat. "Follow me," he ordered.

The small group walked up the few flights of stairs towards the roof with Naruto still staying a wary distance away from Sakura. For once, the pink-haired girl wasn't walking beside her crush and was instead keeping up the rear, ignoring the two sets of eyes that were taking in her appearance whenever they could. Sakura could tell that Naruto wanted to say something about the visible cuts and bruises on her face and the only thing keeping him from doing so was the fear of some kind of reprisal for his botched prank. Even Sasuke looked mildly interested.

Funny, that. Sakura spent over an hour each morning on getting ready for academy, making sure every hair was in place and not a single wrinkle in her dress and here he was paying attention to her when her hair was still damp from the shower and showing no skin. It would have been funny if she wasn't happy with the attention.

Once at their destination, the older ninja lazily leaned up against the railing that bordered the rooftop of the academy. He was looking at them with something Sakura could almost imagine was a sneer, even though it was hard to be sure with that mask covering his face.

"I think we should start with some introductions," he ordered more than suggested. "You, the blond one. Start us off."

Naruto impatiently rocked back and forth on the step he had sat down on. "What do you want to know?"

"Likes, dislikes, dreams for the future...stuff like that, I suppose."

Sakura sized the Jounin up as Naruto demanded that he should go first before asking other people. Outwardly, the man seemed lazy and unkept, but that vest meant far more than just a rank's name. It signified that its wearer was one of the best the village had to offer and judging how old and battered the Jounin's was, he had been at his station a long time. Boisterous conversations by too-tipsy Chunin back at the restaurant Sakura liked to gather information gave her with a fairly good impression of what it took to become a Konoha Jounin. Given that the Chunin rank was the most common in the village, only a very select few even got to test to advance in rank.

Of course, the blond boy sitting beside Sakura didn't contemplate having any respect for the man. "What? Why should we go first? We don't know anything about you!"

Amazingly, the Jounin looked like he actually was considering the idea. "Me? Well, I'm Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you about my likes and dislikes. As to my dreams for the future..." he just trailed off, looking as bored as ever.

Even though Naruto started protesting immediately, Sakura didn't join in. Even just the name was enough to make her reconsider this man who would become their teacher. He was a well-known Jounin, after all. The "Copy Ninja Kakashi". Sakura was unaware of what that title denoted, but any ninja with a widely-recognized title had to be worthy of such things.

"Alright, your turn." Kakashi had apparently grown bored of the silence after his introduction. "Unless you have something else to gripe about."

"Yosh! I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I love ramen and my dream is to become the Hokage and have everyone recognize me!"

That declaration seemed to strike Kakashi as admirable as his expression became somewhat wistful under that mask of his. Although Sakura couldn't see much, there was definitely an upturned lip behind the disinterested expression. "Next." The look was gone before anyone could comment, though.

This time it was Sasuke's turn. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are lots of things I dislike and I don't really like anything." Typical for Sasuke-kun. That brooding, mysterious quality was what Sakura, and many other girls, really saw in him. "I really can't call it a dream, but I have an ambition. The resurrection of my clan and...to kill a certain man."

This time, Kakashi's eye narrowed. Sakura only saw his expression fall out the corner of her own eye as she, along with Naruto, stared unabashed at their teammate's declaration.

To kill a certain man? Sakura didn't have the faintest idea who Sasuke would want to kill. True, he had never really gotten along with anyone at the academy, but then again he had never talked to anyone long enough to hate them like that. His body posture and expression, though, was dead serious and he never told jokes.

"And lastly, you. The girl."

That snapped Sakura out of her stupor. She tried not to, but a hint of a glare couldn't help but be cast Kakashi's way. She knew that many of the male shinobi in the village looked down on kunoichi, but to be so blatantly written-off like this was an insult. She quickly schooled her face into a smile, though, accepting that this would be a good chance to really throw her team leader for a loop.

"I'm Haruno Sakura! My dream is..." she glanced over at Sasuke, not even having to fake a blush. "My hobbies are..." Same as before, though she added a little embarrassed squeal at the end. "What I dislike is Na, er, ramen." The Genin managed to catch herself before she instinctively said "Naruto" so as to avoid antagonizing the boy even more. Of course, saying that she hated ramen, the first thing she thought of, had nearly the same effect. Naruto's face was ashen, his mouth hanging open like he were trying to swallow a watermelon whole.

Everyone else casually ignored his sputtering. Kakashi just nodded when Sakura finished, muttering something about how girls her age were more interested in love than ninjutsu. Now that she had put on that little show, combined with his obvious dislike of young girls in the first place, the pink-haired Genin was certain Kakashi wouldn't expect very much from her in the months to come. It would allow her to get away with things someone watched and cared for wouldn't as well as probably ask quite a few questions without suspicion.

Feeling quite pleased with herself for that little bit of acting, Sakura almost missed Kakashi's next bit of explanation.

"Tomorrow we'll be doing our first official duties as shinobi." Only interrupted long enough for Naruto to ask what it was they would be doing, he finished, "Survival training. You will meet me at training ground thirty seven and bring every tool you have."

Of course, Naruto instantly objected. Sakura felt much the same way and made a disgruntled face at their teacher. "We went through all of this in the academy," she grumbled.

"I hope you don't think this is normal training. I'm your opponent this time." Kakashi smirked under his mask at the defiant glare two of his students were giving him. "If you don't pass, you get sent back to the academy."

The gears inside Sakura's head began their winding-up as she analyzed what the Jounin was saying. "So, it's a test? If there's a test, that means that graduating had no real function." If passing didn't mean anything, though, why go through with it? The girl's eyes snapped wide when she grasped the answer. "That was just to weed out the people who weren't ready for the real test, wasn't it? Basic skills, right? If we couldn't understand them, we didn't deserve to have a real teacher."

It was so utterly insidious that Sakura was more impressed than upset. Six years of learning things that were only nominally practical. After all, regular Chunin and Jounin certainly didn't use universal skills like bunshin or henge very often; if someone flunked out the village wouldn't be risking anything should that person move on to another village.

Kakashi's expression was a mix between amusement and surprise. He apparently hadn't expected the girl to work it out. "Got it in one. Graduation was simply the bare basic level you had to be at to even get considered to be on an actual team."

"How many people will be chosen to be Genin?" Sasuke asked, having worked out a logical next step.

"You're going to freak out, I just know it." The Jounin's mocking laughter could just barely be heard on the rooftop. "Nine. Nine out of twenty-seven graduates. The rest get shipped back to the grinder."

A sixty-seven percent chance of failure, then. Sakura looked over at her two teammates with trepidation. Sasuke would be fine, she knew, but with Naruto there, someone who had failed three different times, it didn't look good. "How many people have you personally failed, Kakashi-sensei?" she asked.

"Every team I've had." His answer was immediate and he ignored the grunts of disappointment coming from Sakura and Sasuke.

Naruto's reaction was immediate. He scrambled to his feet, eyes blazing, and pointed a finger dramatically at the Jounin who was cool as ever. "You probably cheat to get out of the work!" he accused. "You couldn't even show up on time!"

"It's usually the ones with the least amount of talent that bark the most. I just don't want to waste my time with dead last idiots."

For a moment, it looked like Naruto was going to try and physically assault the Jounin. Sakura, knowing that if the blond was right and Kakashi was looking for any chance to get out of work, threw out her hand to stop him. "Stop, Naruto! He can't be that obvious or else the Hokage would never assign him to take on teams in the first place." She was walking on dangerous ground, she knew, but she had to take action. Hopefully Kakashi wouldn't reevaluate her because of a few pearls of wisdom.

Unfortunately, the Genin got the idea that Kakashi was doing just that as his eye drifted over to her. He regarded the girl for a long moment before looking back to Naruto. "I'm fair, but I won't go easy on you. If you impress me tomorrow...well, then, we'll see." That was as close to encouragement as the three Genin thought their teacher would get. "I wouldn't eat any breakfast, though. You'll probably just lose it when the exercise starts."

He passed out sheets of paper to them all, explaining that the technical details were explained on them. Where to meet, what time to meet, etcetera. Sasuke took one look at his and crumpled it up, coming to some decision by himself, and stalked off. Naruto gulped loudly and for once wandered off without asking for a date. At least he was taking this seriously.

Being the last to leave, Sakura neatly folded up her instructions and slipped them into her pants pocket. On her way back home, she stopped by the library to pick up a few books about musical notes, starting with the most basic concepts. If the scroll at home worked like Kabuto's reports, she had one month to fully decipher the code and be able to use it to write messages.

Her mother wasn't home yet and for that Sakura was very thankful. She wrote a quick note explaining how her meeting had went and apologized for coming in so late the night before. Studying late and losing track of time would once again be the excuse Sakura used to cover that she'd been gone the entire night before. Any guilt she felt about lying to her mother had long-since been whittled down. She had told much, much bigger lies over the last year, after all.

Sakura flopped down on her bed the second she closed the door to her room. She blissfully sank into her soft goose-down pillow and tried to will away all the thoughts that were swimming through her head. A part of her wanted to go out and get some practice in while another told her to start reading the books she had picked up from the library. Instead of doing either, though, Sakura basked in idle indecisiveness and just watched the shadows of the trees outside her window dance on the ceiling as she went over the previous meeting.

Kakashi knew something. Of that Sakura was certain. What he knew was up to interpretation, but it was clear he thought Sakura was something more than she projected, even if it was just a tiny bit. It wouldn't be too much of a problem if he thought she was smart; her file probably said that about her anyway and she couldn't suddenly go brain dead when he asked her a question. The problem was with starting to analyze everything he said. Sakura couldn't dissect and categorize his words like she would do with a regular source of information. Kakashi, her potential teacher, was different from a random Chunin at a restaurant talking too loud. For one thing, the Chunin wouldn't be around her for extended periods of time asking her questions and observing her behavior.

The observation would be the main problem. Before now the only steady contact she had with a high-ranking ninja was Iruka. The man was sharp, but he had dozens of other students to look after so he couldn't focus in on just her. A Jounin instructor, though, would only have three people to get to know. Sakura honestly didn't know how she would pull it off, but the only thing she could do would be to play it by ear. Adapt her behavior when possible and hope that she could both control her mouth and slowly raise Kakashi's opinion of her.

"Sakura, are you home? Could you help me with dinner?" Sakura's mother's voice interrupted her daughter's musing.

Sakura looked out of the window and found that she had been laying around for a solid hour. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she forced herself up. "Sure! I'll be down in a second!"

Dinner sounded good. Her first instinct was to skip dinner and try to restart her diet for Sasuke, but she was too burnt-out for that. Her joints and muscles were still quite sore and a good dinner would probably be the best thing for that. She'd skip breakfast tomorrow, like Kakashi wanted, to make up for it.

***

The next morning proved to be more hectic than Sakura thought possible. Despite her better judgment, she had stayed up a bit longer after dinner to read the first book on music. "A few pages" had turned into several chapters and Sakura had fallen asleep without setting her alarm. The rush out of the house was hurried as she grabbed whatever clothes were on hand and bolted out the door. It turned out that shorts and a long-sleeve tee-shirt, neither of which matched, were the order of the day.

Even more stressful was the discovery that a rush wasn't necessary. Although an hour late, Sakura was only the third person to show up. Naruto and Sasuke were both there, but the Jounin was not. In fact, he wouldn't show up until another three hours had passed.

"Hey guys! Good morning!"

"You're late!"

The nerve of some people. Sakura had dozed off but Naruto's shrill cry woke her up. She was just gathering her stuff together when the Jounin was pulling something out of his pocket.

Kakashi strolled over to the clock he had set down earlier and wound it up. "See this? You have until noon to get a bell. If you don't, you get tied to the log and no lunch." The good-natured man that had walked into the training ground was gone, replaced by an all-business ninja. He glanced over at Sakura as if expecting her to already understand what he was getting at, but was disappointed: Sakura had held her tongue this time.

"Two bells and three of you, right? One of you gets shipped back to the academy. You better come at me to kill or you'll all go back."

Sakura didn't know which was worse: already being singled out to answer questions or face being shipped back to the academy. Either way it was a bad day.

"Ha, if all of us really try you'll be dead, Sensei!" Naruto laughed. To Sakura's horror, he wasn't the only one acting smug. Even Sasuke was looking at the Jounin condescendingly with that smug smirk of his.

What was with those two? This was a Jounin, not some surprised Chunin or idiot academy students! If he said they would have to fight to kill then they would have to kill. The way Kakashi was nonchalantly looking at them was not the way some self-sure shinobi looking to impress his students would!

The Jounin glanced over at Naruto with a look that clearly said the blond was worse than the dirt on the bottom of his sandal. "No one needs to listen to the dead-last. Just let the little dog yap all he wants."

Please don't do it, Naruto. Sakura knew what the Jounin was trying to do and she was praying that her teammate wasn't that stupid. Given the way the boy tensed, though, it didn't look like he was living up to expectations. Wasn't it painfully obvious Kakashi was just baiting him? Why else would the man suddenly start to single out him for insults?

Just as Kakashi wanted, Naruto let out a growl and pulled a kunai. He wound up his arm to send the weapon at the Jounin, fully intending to end the little test right now. Unfortunately, before he could release the kunai a strong arm was holding him in place. Amazingly, the Jounin had gotten behind Naruto in an instant.

"At least you have the right attitude now," Kakashi lazily stated. "I think I'm starting-"

He never got the chance to finish as Sakura had made a rash decision herself. Seeing her teacher's attention split, his right arm occupied, and Sasuke on his blind spot, she launched herself at the bells tied to Kakashi's waist, hoping that Sasuke got the same idea. Sadly, the Uchiha was still recovering from the Jounin's sudden appearance and only watched with a disbelieving gaze at his teammates' antics. Without Sasuke's help on the other side, and the limitations her injuries imposed, Kakashi quickly released Naruto and sidestepped the pink-haired girl's attempt. For good measure, he tripped her up with his foot.

Ignoring Sakura's grumblings, Kakashi calmly went on as if he hadn't been interrupted. "-to like you guys. You've got some spunk." He gave both Naruto and Sakura somewhat approving glances at this. "But, you know, I didn't say start yet. Since you're so ready to go...begin!"

Sasuke was gone before the words could fully leave Kakashi's mouth, darting off into the trees ringing the training area. Sakura couldn't help but feel a little annoyed that he left her so quickly, but there was nothing to be done about it right now. Ignoring her muscle's protests, the girl flexed her arms and shot up into the air, fully intending to follow suit once she landed back on her feet. However, Naruto not doing the same made her pause.

"Come on," she hissed, not daring to get any closer. Naruto was between her and Kakashi and she wasn't going to cut the amount of warning she would get if the Jounin moved. "Why aren't you hiding?"

"I'm gonna fight him, of course! None of this cowardly sneaking shit!" Naruto declared.

Thankfully for Sakura's sanity, Kakashi seemed just as dumbfounded by this as she was. "You do realize that we're ninja, right? This isn't a playground game."

Sakura tuned out the rest. It was clear that Naruto wasn't going to be able to help at all and when she thought about it...that was a good thing. If the Kyuubi container got sent back to the academy then she would be left alone on a team with Sasuke. Today was a very lucky day indeed.

Running through a few seals, the girl summoned as many clones as she dared. Kakashi's gaze flicked over to her and looked curious at all the Sakura's splitting up and running to all corners of the training ground, darting into the trees. The real Sakura, however, picked the only tree in the clearing to hop up into. She was certain that the clones wouldn't fool the Jounin, but at the very least they should give him the impression that she wasn't going to be stupid like Naruto. It apparently worked as the man didn't make any moves to stop her. Instead, he was leafing through a book of some kind while embarrassing Naruto in taijutsu.

This was the first time Sakura had ever seen a Jounin in action and she couldn't help but be impressed. Of course Kakashi wasn't even trying, but it was easy to guess what he could be capable if he were to get serious. If she were being honest, Sakura knew they would have all been dead in the first few seconds if the "aim to kill" rule applied to both sides.

"Thousand years of pain!"

And then there was the luxury of just being odd. If there were any indications of how good a ninja was, it was how crazy they acted and how many quirks they had developed. You had to be alive for a very long time if you could act silly when three people were trying to kill you, even if they were fresh Genin.

Sakura's hand drifted down to her weapon pouch when Naruto hit the water. Slowly, though, it slid back up to the branch it had been grasping. No, Kakashi was still very much aware of her position. His body posture was such that he could turn around in an instant and catch anything she threw at him. Honestly, Sakura didn't think he even needed to do that; his reaction time, from what he had demonstrated before the training even began, was far higher than anyone else's. She didn't even see him move last time. When the man caught two shuriken without even taking his eye off his book, it was even more apparent just how far above the Genin this Jounin was.

Naruto finally broke the water a few seconds later, gasping for air and cursing up a storm. Amazingly, in Sakura's opinion, he wasn't giving up. Even after that thrashing from Kakashi the boy was crawling back to his feet and assuming a stance. What a mistake the man made, though, by turning his back to Naruto. Several solid clones broke the surface of the river and swarmed him. The blond called it Kage Bunshin, but Sakura had never heard of the skill.

Unfortunately, Naruto used no skill in their application. Sure, he surprised Kakashi by catching him from behind, but the goal wasn't to defeat Kakashi. Instead of grabbing a bell, he went for physical revenge. The boy could have probably grabbed a bell if he had tried. As it was, Kakashi had used Kawarmi no Jutsu and replaced himself with one of Naruto's clones. Naruto had then spent the better part of a minute literally beating himself up before realizing his mistake.

For a good, long moment, Naruto looked mightily pathetic. Standing in the middle of the clearing sporting bruises all over his body...Sakura almost felt sorry for him. That Kage Bunshin technique really was impressive and it was something that the brilliant girl couldn't even begin to figure out. Still, she could have used it better.

"Ah! A bell!" Naruto's stunned exclamation caught Sakura's attention and she followed Naruto's gaze to the base of her tree. There, sitting only a few feet down, was one of the little bells. The Kyuubi container seemed to think that Kakashi had dropped it in some rush to escape, but Sakura knew that a Jounin wouldn't lose anything accidently. However, Naruto was getting closer and closer and Kakashi wasn't showing up to attack him.

Was Naruto really going to get a bell? Just like that? Sakura had admitted that the Shadow Clone skill was impressive, but would Kakashi really just hand the boy a bell? Even now the blond was running over to the little metal trinket, grinning up a storm. Why had Kakashi put the bell so close to her tree, though? Was it some kind of test? Did he expect her to get to it first? Was it a trap?

Screw it, Sakura thought as she pulled out a kunai. If Naruto got that bell then it would eliminate one of the open spots. That would mean that either Sakura got stuck, alone, on a team with the walking time bomb or sent back to the academy and get separated from Sasuke. Either way it would make for a bleak future. Even if it was a trap she couldn't just ignore it.

Naruto had just stooped down to pick up the bell when a kunai flashed down from the tree. He leapt back with an angry yelp which turned to surprise when Sakura landed a few feet away. The weapon, which had not been aimed at Naruto, had hit its target: the bell was knocked away and it came to rest a few feet from the tree.

"Sakura-chan! I almost had it!" the boy complained. He was more annoyed and confused than angry now that he knew it wasn't Sasuke or Kakashi screwing with him. He didn't even seem to care that the pink-haired Genin had pulled another kunai. "Why did you do that?

Even though this was completely legitimate, it was a competition between the three of them after all, Sakura felt a bit like a heel. The fact that Naruto didn't seem to recognize this yet wasn't helping. "Idiot! Haven't you realized it yet?" Of course, the boy only blinked in utter confusion. "This is a-"

The jingle of a bell cut Sakura off. Both kids looked over at where Kakashi's bell had came to rest and the hand which was now holding it. "You know, Sakura, I was wrong about you," Kakashi said as he rolled the little trinket between his fingers.

Wrong? Sakura's blood started to run cold at the calculating gaze she was getting. Had the Jounin worked out she was a spy? That she was trying to get rid of Naruto? How long had he been listening? Had he been able to watch her body language even while he was fighting Naruto? More importantly, what was the Jounin going to do now?

Kakashi was warily watching the girl as he walked over. He looked like he wanted to get closer, but seeing the kunai she was holding decided against it. Instead, he said, "Catch," and tossed her the bell. "You pass."

There was stunned silence until Naruto erupted in loud complaining, demanding to know why he didn't get a bell. "Naruto," Kakashi began, "Sakura just saved your chance at making it through this at all. She could have let you walk right into that trap and then snatch the bell for herself, but she didn't. That's what she was trying to explain to you." The man walked over to where Sakura's kunai had stuck into the ground and moved away some of the leaves. There, hidden, was a rope that snaked its way up into the branches of the tree.

Sakura let out the breath she had been holding. Stunned to be sure, but she felt much better. Of course she hadn't noticed the trap, but she would play the part like she had.

"I knew that I needed help to get a bell, so I couldn't let Naruto get caught. I'd rather it have been Sasuke-kun, though," she added. A bit of truth mixed with a lie would make the tonic go down better. It seemed to work as Kakashi chuckled a bit.

"Regardless, you've passed. I'm sure you'll figure out why you passed, but don't tell the other two idiots. They have to get it by themselves." He turned to Naruto. "And you, why are you just standing there? Don't you want this last bell?"

Needless to say, the ensuing fracas was something that Sakura did not want to entangle herself in. Naruto went back to attacking their teacher with renewed rage and vigor and only managed to get another ass poke for his trouble. Sakura, not really knowing what to do now, walked over to the shade of the tree she had been sitting in and leaned up against its trunk, looking down at the little silver bell in her hands. Now that she had passed, it was Sasuke-kun's test to fail; Naruto certainly wouldn't be getting a bell acting like that. Sakura started scanning the tree line, wondering where Sasuke had hidden himself.

That question was soon answered by a hail of steel raining down upon Kakashi. The Jounin had been showing Naruto how pathetic his taijutsu was by fending the boy off with one foot until he found his head full of kunai and shuriken.

Not enough, Sakura thought. Kakashi hadn't been completely open yet, that much was obvious even to her. Why, then, had Sasuke attacked? The Genin didn't even have to look over at the Jounin to know that he had Kawarmi'd out of harm's way.

"Kakashi-sensei is too tough!" Sakura glanced back at Naruto. The boy wasn't pouting like she had expected, but instead had a, dare she say it, truly annoyed look on his face. "I couldn't even touch him with my best idea!"

Sakura tensed as Naruto got more and more angry. Could anger break whatever seal was holding back the Nine Tails? She certainly didn't want to find out, especially with Kakashi who knows how far away. "C-Calm down, Naruto. It's not that hard to figure out."

Instantly Naruto was over by her with a wide grin. "You know what to do, right? Right? Come on, Sakura-chan, tell me the secret!"

Although she did know, or at least thought she did, Sakura wasn't sure she wanted to share it. If she were correct then it meant that they would probably all pass and her dream of getting Naruto off of her team was dead. Then again, the more she thought about it the less likely that outcome was. It probably wasn't even an option from the start. Damn that Kakashi! He was devious.

"Alright, alright! Fine! Just stop grinning like that!" It reminded Sakura far too much of a fox. "You should be able to figure it out, Naruto. Don't you remember something about Genin teams? Something important about how they are made-up?"

"Of course! They...uh..." Naruto nervously chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "They have, um, people in them?"

How had this idiot made it through the academy? Sakura honestly had no idea, but suddenly she felt a lot less proud of her good grades. "Think! They have three people and a teacher! Don't you remember that day a year ago when we had to work on construction? There was a team there. Three Genin in it. I've never seen even one with less or more than that."

Naruto looked at Sakura with something akin to wonder in his eyes. "You remembered that? That's amazing, Sakura-chan! But...what does it mean?"

"It means that either we all pass or none of us pass. I don't think Kakashi-sensei would have the power to change how many people there are to a team." Sakura ignored the compliment Naruto gave her; how could she forget Kabuto and his team after all that had happened? "That's why Kakashi gave me one: I helped you when I didn't have to. We have to find Sasuke-kun and work together to get the last bell."

"We have to help that bastard get a bell?" Naruto asked, clearly annoyed with that prospect. "Sakura-chan! Can't we just pass together? It'll be a lot more fun!"

Sakura felt the need to cradle her wide forehead in her hands. So. Very. Stupid. "Weren't you listening?! We have to do this as a team or else we won't pass at all!" When Naruto kept dragging his feet and making up excuses, it proved to be too much to take; Sakura gathered up her kunai, slipped the bell into her weapon pouch, and ran off into the trees, ignoring any shouts from Naruto to come back.

That idiot! Wasn't it enough that he was the weakest link in the team? Did he have to be so bullheaded as well? Sakura scrambled to the top of one of the biggest trees she could find and tried to spot Sasuke or Kakashi. As expected, they were nowhere to be seen. There was only some lingering dust further in and a flock of birds going the opposite way. That was hardly what simple taijutsu would cause, but it was the only thing that stood out.

Getting down was, oddly, much harder than going up. Sakura had to watch her footing and resist the urge to simply jump down when she was almost on the ground. Although her arms and legs hadn't been bothering her, she didn't want to push her luck. All things considered, though, she felt pretty good. Those clones earlier hadn't even taxed her system and the Genin didn't feel very tired. She chalked it up to adrenaline pumping and it probably wouldn't last much longer.

The run over to where she had seen the dust took a bit longer than expected. Seeing something from so far up and navigating your way there on foot were two very different things. Thus, all the action, whatever it was, was over. Sakura walked softly out into the little clearing and noted the mass of knives and singed soil dotting the grounds. There had been a fight here and it was fairly recent. She didn't see Kakashi using jutsu like that on a Genin, though.

"...Sakura?"

Said girl spun around, looking for Sasuke. However, no matter where she looked she couldn't see the Uchiha. "Sasuke-kun? Where...?"

There was a quiet grunt, then a resigned sigh. "Look down."

Sakura's gaze followed orders and soon her eyes locked onto what looked to be Sasuke's severed head. After one or two deep, calming breaths, Sakura realized that severed heads did not talk. "Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura guessed. She sighed when her teammate gave an affirmative grunt. "Hold still, I'll get you out, Sasuke-kun."

Although she had said she would do so, digging someone out of that much dirt was a tough job. To Sasuke's annoyance, Sakura had yanked on his head a few times as if he were an ill-tempered turnip, but to no success. The dirt was expertly packed and it would take at least an hour of conventional digging to get Sasuke out. By then it would be too late to try and get another bell.

However, Sakura wasn't going dig conventionally. The girl moved around behind Sasuke's head so that he couldn't see her and focused her chakra into her hands. Faint wisps of blue-colored energy were dancing between her fingertips like electricity on a live wire. Focusing even more, she mixed the nature she had drawn out the day before and put it to her chakra which took on a clay-colored tone.

"What are you doing back there?" Sasuke tersely asked, breaking his stoic silence for information.

The girl didn't answer. Instead, she jammed her fingers into the dirt surrounding the young boy and cut through it as easily as rice paper. Some of it turned to sand, most was being packed to the side, but slowly Sasuke was beginning to have room to move and wiggle about. Sakura stopped when Sasuke had enough space to get his arms out and the boy pulled himself free from there. Although it looked like he would like to do nothing but question his teammate how she had freed him so quickly, pride kicked in and he just grunted and walked off.

Sakura's lips sank into a small frown. "You're welcome," she muttered. It was like Sasuke was annoyed at her for some reason, but the girl couldn't understand what could be the cause. Although she wanted nothing more than to run after him, Sakura refrained. If he was mad at her, for whatever reason, she'd be risking herself and her bell by following.

Once again Sakura pulled out the little metal bell and stared at it. Although she had figured out what Kakashi was looking for in the exorcize, it didn't mean anything if Sasuke didn't pass.

"He certainly is ungrateful, isn't he?" Kakashi asked, suddenly appearing behind the Genin. He grinned a bit when Sakura leapt straight up into the air like a frightened cat. "You'll die young if you're that tense all the time."

"I'll die young only if you give me a heart attack!" Sakura rasped. She hadn't meant to snap, though, and quickly went back to a more respectful tone of voice. "Sorry, Kakashi-sensei. I didn't hear you...arrive."

With a slight upward curve of his eyebrow, Kakashi snapped his Icha-Icha Paradise book closed. "That's because I snuck up on you. I have a few questions before the timer runs out."

Questions? That wasn't good. Sakura racked her brain, trying to find some instance of her screwing up her act today. Sure, there was the early attempt at getting a bell and the not-so-honest story of helping Naruto avoid a trap, but Kakashi hadn't seemed suspicious about either event. "Of course, Kakashi-sensei," she answered after a slight pause.

The Jounin suddenly became a little more serious and walked over to the hole Sasuke had just been buried in. "That was pretty quick digging, wasn't it? I buried Sasuke with a Doton; it wasn't a regular pit trap. Any idea how you got him out so fast?"

Under her breath, Sakura cursed. Kakashi had seen her use nature manipulation on the ground and was now seeing how honest she would be about it. There would only be so much Sakura could admit, though. Questions could arise that would jeopardize everything. Then again, if she told an obvious lie it would only serve to make Kakashi more suspicious.

"...I used earth nature manipulation." A plan was starting to form, but it would require a bit of acting. "Was that cheating? You didn't say not to use any jutsu." Sakura put on a face of shock and dismay, seemingly getting upset by getting caught in some obscure rule she had missed.

Kakashi nudged a lump of sand with his foot, looking at it with a very calculating gaze. Finally, his head rose back up until he was looking at his student. "...no, nothing like that. I was just surprised that all three of my potential Genin could use ninjutsu. That's an Iwa-developed technique; it's different than the earth manipulation we teach here. I don't think the academy would teach you something like that."

Oh damn it. Kakashi had recognized it right off the bat. Sakura tried her best to look bashful and embarrassed, going so far as to force a blush and play with a lock of hair. "They don't. I, um, kinda cheated. I found the scroll in some of my dad's old stuff. You know, from the war with Iwa." Now, putting on a sheepish, scorned expression, Sakura grimaced and looked away. "I know I should have reported the scroll and asked an actual ninja to help me with it, but it all seemed pretty easy. I'm sorry."

"Is that how you got injured?" Kakashi asked, not giving any indication of buying Sakura's excuse just yet. He was watching her face intently now.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei. I overdid it trying to learn how to dig yesterday and I hurt myself." She pulled up the sleeves on her shirt and showed him the cuts and bruises there. "I guess I messed up."

The reason she was being so forthcoming with information was soon apparent. Kakashi eyed the marks and shook his head. "I didn't think you'd be the type to train like that, Sakura." Of course, that meant he hadn't expected anything at all from the girl. "I shouldn't have to tell you not to practice strange scrolls without supervision. If you try it again, ask someone at the academy for help."

Sakura was spared any further grilling by the sound of the little egg timer going off a short ways away. She looked over to her teacher, hoping that he'd let her off the hook, but Kakashi was already gone. At least there would be no more questions.

It was almost like a walk of shame, Sakura mused, as she made her way back over to the clearing. She had failed completely: not only had she not passed, Kakashi was probably going to be sniffing around for awhile. She wasn't naive enough to think that the Jounin would just forget that she had admitted to having enemy scrolls at her house. There would probably be an inquiry, the scroll would be confiscated or something, and she'd get into serious trouble.

The tip of Sakura's sandal caught a rock and she kicked it clear across the field, hitting the trunk of the tree she had first hid in. Today was turning out to be a real wash; it was already noon and only she had gotten a bell. She didn't know how long Kakashi was going to keep the exorcize going, but since there were two bells left he would probably give them a few more chances.

That left the young girl to wonder just what would happen if she was the only one with a bell at the end of the day. Kakashi didn't have the power to alter the fundamental team structure, but he could probably get her put with someone else. Perhaps one of the other teams would have a spare slot on it and she'd get stuck in with them? Sakura didn't want to be separated from Sasuke, though, so she hoped that wasn't the case.

Of course, there was always the chance that Kakashi would simply fail them all. If no one else could pass his stupid test then that would be the best option. They would all get put back in the academy and left to try again later in the year. It was early spring and there would be a few new graduates in the fall. With some luck she wouldn't catch Kakashi as a Jounin again, but there was always the chance that Sasuke would get sorted elsewhere. Thinking about it, though, was giving her a headache that probably also stemmed from not having any lunch or breakfast.

"And there she is. Too bad you missed the explanation about our memorial stone." Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke were by the training logs by the time Sakura finally showed up, though the latter was in a rather embarrassing position. He was completely bound to the middle log and his glare was positively murderous.

Kakashi didn't seem to mind. "Sakura, good work. You actually managed to get a bell so you get lunch." He tossed the little bento box he was holding at the stunned girl before turning to Naruto. "You didn't get a bell, but you did prove that you were willing to work with someone else. That's good enough to not get stuck in Sasuke's shoes." The second box went to the very happy blond Genin and he eyed it hungrily.

The final member of the team sneered. He struggled in vain against the ropes, but the action only tired him out. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the display and strolled up to him. "I don't know what your problem is, Sasuke. Instead of helping Naruto or Sakura at the start, you ran off and did everything yourself. Even Sakura managed to get a bell."

"Anyway, you two eat. I'll let Naruto and Sasuke try again after lunch, but because he lost, Sasuke doesn't get any." Kakashi looked directly at Sakura when he said that, daring her to say anything. "If either of you give him anything, everyone goes home."

Sakura let out the breath she was holding when Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke. He had gotten frightening at the end there. Even though she was sure he was still lurking around, not having the Jounin hovering overhead was a good thing.

Slowly, she pulled the top off her lunch. It was fairly simple, but to someone that hadn't eaten since dinner the night before it was heavenly. Sakura felt bad for Sasuke, she honestly did, but she'd need food in her stomach if she was going to get through the next few hours. She quietly sent a sorrowful look to the Uchiha before turning her full attention on that delicious rice.

Oddly, though, Naruto wasn't joining her. Sakura only noticed in between mouthfuls, but the blond wasn't doing much of anything except staring at the food in his hand and that memorial stone. Sakura was about to comment on it when his hand, and chopsticks holding a piece of fish, slowly rose in front of Sasuke's face.

"Go on, bastard. Eat it."

Sakura whipped her head around to look for Kakashi. "Naruto, don't!" she hissed, still scanning the trees. "If Kakashi-sensei hears you-"

"If he hears me so what!" Naruto defiantly shot back. "I'm going to be the next Hokage so if he fails me now I'll fire him later." When Sasuke just glared, Naruto explained, "Kakashi-sensei talked about it before you got back, Sakura-chan. He said we all had to work like a team to make up for the losers. Since Sasuke sucks so much now, he'll suck even more without any food."

"I don't need your charity, idiot. And I'm not the damn loser!"

The pink-haired girl felt a migraine coming on. She knew what Naruto was trying to do, as surprising as it was, but the way he had phrased it left much to be desired. Besides, if Kakashi wasn't going to bust in on them now, he was probably too far away to hear them for whatever reason.

And then it hit her. Naruto had said something about Kakashi talking about teamwork. It was clear that he wanted them to help each other, but even more he wanted them to help each other when it could potentially hurt their own individual chances. He had given Sakura a bell for supposedly trying to help Naruto earlier when she could have just grabbed the bell herself. Sacrifice for the team was what he wanted!

"Sasuke-kun, take some of mine too," Sakura whispered, holding out a bit of her own food. If she were right, this was what she had to do to pass. Sasuke had to accept their kindness right now! "Please, Sasuke-kun. Naruto's an idiot, but he's right this time. You're hungry and none of us can actually physically take a bell from Kakashi-sensei without your help."

Naruto was about to voice his disagreement with that assessment, but Sakura overcame her fear of the Kyuubi and cuffed him hard on the top of his head. If Sasuke wouldn't let them help him, Kakashi would bounce them all back to the academy.

Several tense moments passed before the young Uchiha reluctantly, grudgingly, opened his mouth and took a bite of Sakura's rice. He tried not to show any emotion when the girl's face lit up like a thousand watt bulb.

"You guys!"

Kakashi's booming voice literally knocked Naruto over. The Jounin had suddenly appeared right behind the blond and was now looming over both Sakura and Sasuke, seemingly have grown several feet.

"Pass."

And just like that, it was over. Sakura slumped down into the grass as Naruto found his second wind and started to cheer. Kakashi was explaining something to the three of them, but the girl couldn't be bothered to listen. She had finally gotten on a real team, without being discovered, and had beaten Ino and the others to Sasuke. She had time to properly get him now without all those other girls lurking around every corner.

Sakura looked up with a blissful smile when she was poked by someone's foot. It was Kakashi and he was looking both amused and perplexed at her expression. He stooped down to offer her a hand up and she took it, jumping to her feet with a bit of a flourish.

"Are you coming? Naruto wants to have what he calls a 'proper' lunch as Team Seven."

Team Seven...that sounded good. It felt good. Sakura had a feeling that things were going to change for the better now, that nothing could possibly go wrong.

Back inside the city, though, a small scroll stuffed inside Sakura's dresser was starting to make a very distinct humming sound...