The new Team Seven/Kakashi/Yamato - er, Team Yakashi, as Tsunade began calling it - was ready to train, but Kakashi was still absent. His excessive tardiness was a notable thing on him. He'd never been on time during his blossom and hot-headed pupils' Genin days. He may have a new student, but that didn't mean he had to change his ways. He'll always be tardy. Another thing he's known for? The mask.

Sakura and Naruto have known him since they were children, but still had no idea what was underneath that mask of his. They recalled the time they, along with Sasuke, attempted to know the secret underneath.

"Another mask," Sakura groaned when Hana asked.

Naruto chuckled. "I swear I thought he was to have huge lips or something, like that actress Angelina-san? From Iwa?"

Hana tapped her bottom lip, a thinking habit. One that, for some reason, irked Naruto. She asked, "There wasn't another mask when I looked."

Both shinobi snapped their head in her direction. "Wha?! Hana-chan you've seen Kakashi-sensei without his mask?!" They remained incredulous even after she nodded.

"He had a little too much sake. After he passed out, I couldn't help myself and I peeked. I don't see the point in wearing it. It's not like he's ugly or anything - far from it, actually. I'd say he's hot. If you wore one, then I would understand."

Naruto's eyes narrowed, "Teme."

She rose an eyebrow, "Dobe."

At the last comment Kakashi showed up, "Ah, it's like old times. Dobe, Teme and the By-stander! Only this time Sakura isn't telling Naruto to quit."

"Sure can ruffle his feathers like Sasuke, huh," Sakura smiled.

"She calls him the exact same thing. You must really be a dobe huh, Naruto?"

Jiraiya made it to Tsunade's office as Shizune opened the window. He asked how she still looked so young, though, she was an old lady. She ignored the question to ask what happened at the dojo. He hesitated to tell her it was basically his fault.

"The kids were sparring and Iruka was too afraid to spar with Hana-chan again. Can't blame him; she's little but very spunky. A real firecracker." He returned to the subject when glared darkly at. "So Naruto volunteered to be her partner. Things got a little out of hand since they were allowed to use jutsu. Their attacks were somewhat surprising, though."

Shizune couldn't help but point out what seemed to be the obvious, "I told you not to allow her to stay in the village, Tsunade-sama. She was fighting with Naruto and look what happened - a new dojo was destroyed!"

"Shizune," Tsunade snapped. The apprentice kept quiet while they continued. "Sakura said you pushed him from the upper level, and he was forced to be her partner. Is my apprentice a liar?"

The Sage was overtaken by guilt. "No, I did do that...And you should've seen those two, Tsunade. A dojo may have been destroyed but those two have skills -"

"You need skills for Akatsuki," Shizune earned a glare from Tsunade.

He continued as if there wasn't an interruption, "- and he refused to hit her! Until, you know, she called him a coward. Know how he can get at the c-word. Plus, if she wanted to cause him damage, she could've. I think he caused her more damage than anything."

"Nani?" Tsunade was surprised.

Jiraiya grinned, "Yep. He used the One Thousand Years of Death Technique. She had a cow and started screaming, 'Ero! Ero!' Quite a sight ~"

Yamato stepped from the shadowed corner. Shizune was surprised and dropped Ton-Ton as a result.

He stood in front of the desk, "If I thought she would've tried something, I wouldn't have allowed it. But I think she really proved herself. The team has already taken a liking to her but…"

"But?" Tsunade asked.

"Naruto used Rasengan. She must really get under his skin."

"Nani?! There wasn't a need to use that if it was only a spar match."

The two men glanced at each other for help. "You know how hot-headed he can get. But hers...I've gotta admit that I was quite surprised myself. I didn't know she had that elem -"

Tsunade asked, "What attack was it?"

"…" Jiraiya waited for Yamato to jump in but was disappointed again. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you. Trust me, Tsunade. You would not."

There was a look of surprise on her face, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. "Which one?"

Not getting away with that!, she mentally screamed.

Once he told her, she knew she should've just taken his word. How could she possibly know how to use that so skillfully?! No way in hell, that's how, she blinked. Uchiha Sasuke still hasn't even mastered it. But…Akatsuki did have a lot of access to things. It's likely she learned it from those files.

Her brown eyes narrowed. "Apparently, she uses it well."

"That's not the only thing that's been on my mind, Tsunade." Jiraiya leaned against the desk. "Did anyone notice beside me how she catches everyone's eyes here? Not just the males either."

She smirked slyly, "I was wondering when we would get to this topic."

Shizune and Yamato became confused with their conversation. Suspect what, they both wondered. Obviously it dealt with Hana, but what were they suppose to be suspecting? Shizune pointed out multiple things from a various assortment of files. They looked at her with incredulous expressions. It was impossible that they were discussing such a thing from long ago.

The dojo incident allowed Hana to graduate early, thus earning the title of Genin. She waited for Iruka to tell her the catch that always came with his 'generosity'. She had to get Naruto to help her and only him. There wasn't any way in hell she would graduate early if that was the case. At least that's what she thought at first.

Iruka went behind her back and told Naruto to either help her clean or he'd make him come back to the Academy. Jerk. Hana was now a graduate, but only with a dobe and a damn sensei's help.

Later that day, Iruka told her about the Chuunin Exam that was coming up. She'd never really participated in one before. Was it fun? Sure, she'd heard about it but that's all. While eating with Sakura, Hana brought it up.

"The Chuunin Exam."

Sakura froze at her words.

She noticed but continued anyways, "How do I get in?"

Sakura looked down as memories of her own Chuunin Exam began to swirl around. When they first entered, they thought it would be easy as cake except it was anything but. That exam was where they met Kabuto; Sasuke received his mark; Where she and Ino fought until they literally couldn't fight anymore.

"You want to fight a bunch of kids? You're a lot stronger than them; It wouldn't be much of a challenge. And your sensei has to nominate his team," Sakura faked laughed.

Hana sighed, "No, but I'd like to see how far I can make it in the Exam. I only did the academy because Tsunade-sama ordered me to. This, I'm able to do because I want to. People say it's really hard and some say it's not that bad. What was yours like?

"It made me realize what's important on a team and what's more trivial."

Both were summoned without knowing why. He was assuming it was because he was finally going to get punished for the graffiti again; she thought they were going to be given a mission but was confused as to why Hana wasn't there. Turned out it was only about what they talked about earlier. Neither were in trouble, as they had thought.

"I wanted to speak with the two of you first about this first," she said.

Hana sneezed while waiting to be allowed inside. There wasn't anything she could've done unless Tsunade had changed her mind and wanted to kick her out of the village. She should be training with Yamato for the Chuunin Exam but was hauled away by Kakashi. Both them and the team were probably in the office too, not to mention her shoulder was burning from the push-ups Yamato made her do.

She was starting to panic within a matter of minutes.

Wait.

Why was she worrying? Lately, she hadn't done anything wrong.

The door opened to reveal her anxious expression. Sakura smiled at her while Naruto kept facing forward, not acknowledging her presence. As usual, she rolled her eyes at him. Tsunade smiled for the first time at Hana since she appeared in the office weeks ago.

She was thinking of a way to escape incase of any danger when she heard Sakura give her a warm greeting. "Hey!"

"Have you heard of the Chuunin Exam?" Tsunade got down to business, which was what Hana liked about her. "It is an exam where the great villages come together and give difficult tasks to Genin who are ready to become Chuunin. These are sometimes deadly tasks and many adults are still at Genin level because of this Exam. Each Genin team consists of three men - no less, no more. You, Hana, will be entering this Exam with Team Yakashi.

Hana asked, "Haven't they already taken it?"

"Sakura took it twice already and is now a Chuunin. The other Kage's have agreed to allowing Sakura participate again. Naruto, however, failed it." The male grunted in annoyance while Tsunade carried on, "He's been absent these past three years and this is also his chance to prove himself as a Chuunin. The only thing is that Sakura's not allowed to participate in the final stage because she's already Chuunin. It would be unfair to the Genin."

"Final stage?"

"Don't worry," Naruto grinned to himself. "You'll enjoy it, promise."

Sakura said, "Final stage - major violence."

Lady Tsunade cleared her throat. "You three should get to training because it will be held within a month. Jiraiya, Kakashi and Yamato have all agreed to help you with this. Because of two certain morons that destroyed the dojo, you will have to train outside. You're dismissed." Before they fully opened the door, she added, "Hana, Naruto - don't destroy anymore of my village."

"Don't let the opponent have the upper hand!" Iruka shouted to Udon as he sniffed a droop of snot back up his nose.

Konohamaru was visibly unable to fight back against Udon. The names were randomly drawn together, as the names will be similarly chosen at the Chuunin Exam. Hana didn't like to watch the Twerp Team squirm at the thought of fighting a friend, or comrade. The feeling of guilt was all too familiar. Konohamaru had enough to the point where he chose to forfeit the match.

"I quit! I don't want to fight him. Sparring's different, Sensei."

Poor kid ran off into the trees.

She didn't know what came over her, but she found herself following him while Iruka told her not to lose sight of him.

Finally, she caught up to him at Hokage Mountain. He had his face planted into his hands and though she saw his shoulders shake, she was sure he wasn't crying. She hoped he wasn't; she wouldn't have the slightest clue how to comfort him.

She sat beside him. He looked at her but put his hands back over his face. At least she knew he wasn't crying. They sat there for a while looking down at the village until she spoke.

"It's hard to fight a friend, isn't it? Even if it's training like that."

Konohamaru turned his head away from her, "What do you know about it?"

"I know a thing or two about betrayal."

He looked back at her, "Ojii-san died too. He was the Third, the one you're sitting on…"

Hana looked down to see the face of his grandfather. He seemed pretty old to her, but she didn't tell him that. Instead, she said she chose the best seat, making him fork over a smile. Cautiously, she explained that he wasn't always going to be able to choose not to fight someone.

"One day, there may be a day where you're going to have to fight someone you're close with because you're on opposite ends. It may be hard, but you have to do what's best for your important people - your village - right? Don't you have important people here?"

He thought only for a millisecond. "My team. The village."

"Don't you want to protect them," she asked. He nodded for her and she continued her scenario, "If the Shrimp - Udon, for some reason, chose to be on a different side than you, you may have to fight him if he was a danger to us all. Here's an example: he kidnaps Moegi and you're sent to rescue her and bring him in. Would you beg him to release her and come without a fight? Or fight to rescue your comrade and fight to bring him home?"

It actually took him a while to answer. Certainly, he didn't like the idea of fighting his best friend, but it seemed like the answer she was waiting for."Fight?"

She sweat-dropped. "You aren't sure?"

"What would you do if you were in that situation, Hana-sama?"

Ah, the question was flipped back to her. Smart cookie, this runt was. Hopefully, she'd never find Team Yakashi in that position. Still she was a little taken back by him flipping it. With more tinier sweat drops trailing down the back of her neck from both the sun's heat and the pressure of this runt, her heart sped up. Was he trying to trick her into giving away her true identity?

Shortly, Hana said, "That's something you should ask Naruto." The runt gave her an look of confusion. "He's always saving Sakura from Sasuke. He's been trying to find his best friend…Ask him about the situation. I don't exactly have experience in that department."

"Well..." he searched for an example himself just for her. "What would you do if you had to choose between your team when Sasuke comes back to the village and going to a different team? What if he left it up to you?"

"Dunno," she shrugged. "I suppose if they wish for me to stay on the team, I will. I guess. I'm pretty good at kicking that dobe out the way during missions. Who would protect him from hurting himself?"

Konohamaru laughed at the thought of Naruto walking and falling in the dirt face first. "Oyabun is an idiot but smart too. He gets mad easily though…"

"That's…not exactly his fault though, is it? When the Kyuubi is feeling what he is, there's sometimes a little bit of vulnerability of the body. It tries to take advantage of what Naruto's feeling. If he gets sad, it doesn't really effect it as much because it's not really a dark emotion. If he's angry, the emotion can be consumed by the kitsune, which probably makes him even more angry."

Konohamaru went wide-eyed. "I didn't know you knew about that. You're mean to him…I didn't think it was because of that."

"I know about the Kyuubi and because of that, I have to hate him? Is that what you're asking," Hana hoped that wasn't it. Thankfully he shook his head. "I won't hate someone because of something they barely understand their self, especially when they had no control of it. Naruto and I just don't get a long. It had nothing whatsoever to do with the Kyuubi, do you understand? He just...really annoys me."

The air blew around them in a relaxing manner. Something about the way it blew in her face made her feel as though she said exactly what Konohamaru needed to hear. Maybe she could socialize if she put her mind to it. Of course, that meant effort. Sometimes she could perform a task without a reason as to why she had to. Then, there were other days where she'd rather lie on her roof at night watching stars, like she did with Him when she was a child.

Before she sent him back to Iruka to resume his spar with Udon, she would make sure he understood what she wanted to say. "Get it, Runt? No matter who the person is, you have to remember who the bad guy really is."

He looked deep in thought. "Ebisu-sensei always says to trust your gut. How do you know if it's always right? What if it's wrong?"

The wind whipped around them again yet harsh this time. A familiar but new scent caught her nose. "You'll know. People do make mistakes sometimes except you can't always afford to make mistakes. When you know what to do, which I know you will, it'll have a certain feeling to back you up and you'll go with the flow. Sometimes it'll be like instincts."

"Oh." There wasn't anymore words spoken between them after he looked up at her again. The sun has shone brighter and he noticed her as a girl instead of a friend. His blush was clearly visible except she didn't point it out. "I would rescue her either way," he grinned.

Whoa.

He looked just like...that dobe when he did that. Add him scratching his neck - never mind. He already did it and she felt her breath catch. A miniature version. Why in the world she even had a perfect picture of Naruto in her mind - and smiling, no less? Her mind was going into its own realm when she heard Scarf Boy calling out to her.

"...Hana-sama?"

"Hn?"

"Arigatou." He'd crawled back over the rail when she looked back. "I-I see why Moegi likes you so much! You're...pretty cool."

A chuckle almost escaped. In the most stoic manner, she answered, "You aren't too bad either. Tell you what, train hard and become a Chuunin. I'll give you, I dunno - what food do you like?"

"Ramen?"

"I'll buy you ramen."

"I'll work extra hard!"

With pink cheeks he ran off, his scarf whipping in the air. She turned back to look out on the village. Kids ran up and down the trails, others playing pranks with shadow clones and then she saw Hinata talking with Kiba, her blush visible even up there. Ah, he's a flirt with every girl, she shook her head. That can't be good for her if she passes out every time she's nervous, either.

When she was sure that the runt was gone, Hana stood up on the Third's rock head.

She asked, "How long are you going to stand there before you make yourself known," she threw the kunai into a darkened tunnel.