Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter Ten

Warai stared at the one-eyed jounin. "We choose…"

"…no one," Sakura finished. The boys gaped at each other and the girls. The green-eyed kunoichi pushed her hair behind her shoulder and glared at Kakashi. "Either we all pass or none of us pass!"

"Are you sure about that, Sakura?" Kakashi asked lazily. His arms folded in front of his chest and he struck a bored pose.

"Very sure," the girl answered.

"Sakura and I figured out the point of this survival test, Kakashi-sensei," Warai said. "The test is unfair on so many levels. First we genin have to go up against a jounin. And not just any jounin—the jounin who is supposed to be our teacher! The difference in our powers is too large."

"Second, we're each forced to retrieve a bell," Sakura continued. "But the catch is that there're aren't enough bells for everyone. We're forced to fight not only you, but each other."

"Third is the fact that you put us in a team," Warai gestured to the three genin next to her. "Teams are supposed to work as one, but you gave us a task that was designed to tear us apart."

"But the most unfair part of the test is that even if two of us managed to get bells, the moment we chose the person who was going back to the Academy, all of us would fail your test. This isn't about getting a bell—this about us working as a team. And we can't be a real team if we're willing to sacrifice one of our teammates for our own gain," Sakura finished.

Kakashi stood silent for a few moments. For the first time in his personal history of testing new genin, someone understood the true nature of his test before he explained it to them. But two out of four wasn't good enough odds for him to let them pass.

He wanted one hundred percent out of all of them.

"Naruto," he called out. "Choose the person who'll go back to the Academy. If you don't, you and Warai automatically fail and lose all rights to become ninja forever."

Naruto froze at the threat, but the steady look in Warai's eyes gave him the confidence to shake his head.

"No!" he said. "Wa-chan's right. It's all of us or none of us."

"Sasuke…" Kakashi growled.

Sasuke turned his head and scowled at him. The jounin's threat was real, but so was the logic behind Sakura and Warai's theory about the true meaning of Kakashi's test. He looked at his teammates and realized that if they failed, he probably never would get teamed up with a stronger group of genin ever again.

He was wrong before. These people were strong—even that annoying Sakura was strong in her own way. He couldn't do anything but improve if he stayed with them. He needed to get stronger if he was going to succeed in killing his brother.

"All or none," he stated.

Kakashi's eye narrowed. He charged the quartet and growled down at them.

"YOU PASS!"

"I can't believe you almost left me tied to that post!" Naruto complained to Warai.

The genin of the now official Team 7 walked away from the large field. Kakashi left after he declared them his team. Sakura and Warai exchanged grins. Sasuke remained silent.

"If you used Nawanuke no Jutsu (Rope Escape Technique) like Sasuke-kun did, then we wouldn't have needed to come back for you," Sakura pointed out.

"That's not the point!" he shouted. "You were willing to leave me behind! What about teamwork?"

"What about carrying your own weight, dobe?" Sasuke asked.

"What's this?" Warai joked. She and Naruto were holding hands again and she swung their loosely gripped fingers between them absently. "The Uchiha is actually participating in a conversation—willingly!"

"Quick, Sakura-chan," Naruto added. "Look up the time so that you can catalogue it in your journal."

"Gotcha! 1346 hours and 32 seconds," Sakura stated, only half joking. She was going to write this day in her journal for sure. "Thanks, for reminding me, Naruto!" Joking about her obsession for Sasuke was easier than fainting or jumping up and down in excitement now that she was a part of his team.

Besides, she'd do all of that once she got home.

The rosette-haired kunoichi felt good. Warai was with Naruto and she was on a team with Sasuke. She could go after the boy with no one to get in her way. An idea came to her and she turned around, walking backwards, and addressed the group.

"Why don't we celebrate with a meal?" she asked. Warai and Naruto looked intrigued. Sasuke looked…like he always did—annoyed. Before he could come up with an excuse, Naruto jumped in.

"Let's go to Ichiraku!" he said. He let go of Warai's hand to grab Sasuke's arm and started pulling him. "I won't take no for an answer, Sasuke-teme. I know you haven't eaten and what would you rather do? Go all the way home and cook for yourself or get your food cooked for you?"

The girls watched in amazement as the Uchiha seemed to give in. They looked at each other again and shrugged.

"Naruto!" Warai called out. "Go and order for me. I want to change out of these clothes first. You know what I like to eat anyway."

"Same for me, please!" Sakura added. She brushed her hand through her tangled hair and leaves fell to the ground. "Could you order me some miso and shrimp ramen? Thanks!" Naruto waved his arm without looking back and they knew he got their message.

"Good," the blonde girl said. "By the time we get there our food will be done."

The green-eyed kunoichi smirked. "They'll have to wait and we'll be nice and clean. If you get there first, save me a seat next to Sasuke-kun, okay?"

"I still don't get what you see in him."

"It's not what I see in him. It's where I see him and what he's not wearing when I see him there."

"Naughty Sakura!" Warai gasped. "I didn't know you had that kind of personality."

"That's the weird thing about people. You don't really know them until you get to know them," she said, talking about both herself and her new friend.

"Ain't that the truth?"

The girls nodded at each other and then disappeared from the dusty street; each headed to their separate homes.

Naruto grinned and plopped down on his favorite stool at Ichiraku. He watched as Sasuke sat next to him and place his pack on the seat next to him to deter any of his fangirls from sitting there. The blonde did the same to the seat on his other side so that Warai had a seat when she came.

"Oji-san!" he called. "Two beef miso ramens and one shrimp miso ramen. All in large bowls please! Sasuke, what do you want?"

The Uchiha stared at the menu and said, "One seafood ramen, large, and a cola, please."

The old man nodded at the order and began cooking. Ayame, his daughter, placed the soda in front of the boy and a glass of water in front of their best customer.

"What's that taste like?" Naruto asked, gesturing to the soda.

"You've never had cola?" Sasuke asked, surprised. Although it was true that he hated sweets, he loved cola. Something about the energy it gave him. He didn't want to drink coffee or tea all of the time and cola gave him the same energy in a markedly cooler form.

"Never had the money to," the blonde admitted. "That and Warai said something about never letting me have any."

The Uchiha found himself drawn into the conversation. It was totally pointless since it didn't have to do with training or a mission, but at the same time it was intriguing.

"And you listen to her?"

"She said she'd smack me if she ever caught me drinking it," he said simply.

"Well she's not here now," Sasuke pointed out. He raised his hand to get Ayame's attention again. "One small cola for the dobe."

Ayame gave the boy an odd look. "Warai-chan told me never to serve Naruto carbonated beverages," she explained.

"She won't know," Naruto begged. He really wanted to know what the taste was like. Warai had a cola every now and then whenever she bumped into Asuma, Anko, Genma, or Raido, but Naruto was never around when that happened.

"I don't know…"

"Don't know what, Ayame?" the old man asked as he placed steaming bowls of ramen in front of the boys.

"Sasuke-san wants to order a cola for Naruto," she answered.

A frown settled over the ramen-maker's face. "Warai wouldn't like that, Naruto."

"Just a sip then," he pleaded. "I just want to know what it tastes like."

Sasuke took a sip of his own soda and frowned. Just what exactly did he start? Not only did Warai keep soda from the blonde, but she also told others not to give him any either? He'd heard of controlling females before, but this was strange.

"Here," he said, pushing his glass to Naruto. "Just take a sip."

"Yatta!"

"I hope you know what you're doing, Sasuke-san."

Sasuke pretended that he didn't hear the cook's worried mutter.

…

Warai panted as she ran over Konoha's rooftops. She landed on the street she and Sakura parted earlier to see the green-eyed kunoichi already there. The blonde pushed her hair out of her eyes and stared at the girl.

"You too?" she asked.

Sakura nodded and her pink hair bobbed up and down in the hasty bun she put it in. "My parents just left this morning for my uncle's wedding in Grass Country, so no one was home," she answered.

"We need to get to the boys and find out what's going on."

"I agree."

They were about to run to the ramen stand when a large explosion came from that very direction. Warai's eyes widened in fear as Sakura's heartbeat doubled. Each was scared for their respective loves and they ran full tilt for the source of the sound.

What they found was Sasuke trying to take the kunai Naruto held in his hands and the owner of Ichiraku and his daughter hiding behind their counter.

"Why don't you give me those kunai, Naruto?" Sasuke asked cautiously.

"Sasuke never calls Naruto by his name," Sakura whispered.

"Something's wrong," Warai said. She walked up to the boys and raised her eyebrows at them. "Naruto, what are you doing?"

The boy's blue eyes lit up at seeing his girlfriend and he jumped over Sasuke to stand by her side. He threw the kunai at Sakura, who thankfully disarmed the explosive notes attached to each one. The demon vessel then brought Warai into his arms and kissed the living daylights out of her.

Everyone on the street stared as the couple continued to kiss. A few thought that Naruto was forcing the girl, but that misconception was corrected when Warai's hands wove into the boy's hair and held on tight. Those closest to them heard the couple's purrs of contentment.

"What was that explosion, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, walking to stand next to her crush and teammate.

"The dobe was trying to prove that he could juggle six kunai that had explosives attached to them," he replied. "How did you disarm the notes so quickly?"

"I'll teach you the trick later," she said absently. Sakura was amazed at the time Warai was managing to go without air as she and Naruto made out. "After Warai and Naruto disengage."

Everyone was red-faced when Warai pulled away from the blonde boy. The girl's smile was brilliant as she looked up into her boyfriend's face. But the smile quickly became a frown as she licked her lips and identified the taste that came from them.

"Naruto-kun," she sweetly whispered. "Why do you taste like cola?"

"Sasuke-teme gave me a couple of sips from his soda," he answered. Naruto was blissfully unaware of the murderous intent coming from the girl in his arms. "It really tastes good, Wa-chan. Why did you say that I should never drink it?"

Sasuke stopped his conversation with Sakura when he heard the dobe say his name. He looked at Warai and froze. He didn't know for sure, but he thought that the girl's eyes were gray. Right now, the orbs were a pale, icy blue.

"There's a reason why I told every vendor in Konoha not to give Naru-kun soda, Uchiha," she growled.

Warai placed a heavy hand on Naruto's shoulder. The blonde was hopping up and down in place and had a maniacal grin on his face. He kept licking his lips and his eyes kept on darting down Warai's body. The girl slapped his hand before he could grab her ass and glared at the Uchiha.

The raven-haired boy felt a chill on his skin and shook his head. It seemed the colder he felt, the lighter blue Warai's eyes became. "I thought that maybe he could handle a sip or two."

"Well obviously, he can't," she shot back. "Next time, you might want to listen to orders."

"Orders?" Sasuke repeated. He was starting to get mad. "What kind of female are you? Are you so insecure about losing the dobe that you have to control his life like this?"

"Okay!" Sakura said, stepping in between the two. "Time out! We can fight about this later. Right now, something else is more important."

"What's more important than kicking the Uchiha's ass?" Warai growled.

"Yeah!" Naruto echoed from behind the girl. He propped his chin on her shoulder and stared at Sakura with glazed eyes. "What's more important than kicking Sasuke-teme's ass?"

"Warai, don't you remember what you saw when you got home?" Sakura asked in exasperation.

The reminder knocked the other girl out of her anger and her eyes darkened to their normal gray color. If Sasuke had any doubts, they were dismissed as he watched the transformation.

She has a kekkei genkai—a bloodline limit, he realized. Why didn't I know this before?

"Naru-kun," Warai began. She looked worriedly at her boyfriend. Naruto's eyes were basically spinning in his head. She frowned and smacked him upside the head. "Pay attention, baka!"

Naruto focused on the girl in front of him and smiled. "When'd you get here, Wa-chan?"

"I'm on his team?" Sakura yelled. She ignored Warai's pointed look. "Tell them already, Warai. We need to alert the authorities as soon as possible."

"Tell them what?" Sasuke asked, recovered from his earlier shock.

"What happened?" Naruto wondered. The sugar high the soda gave him was slowly receding and his wits—such as they were—began to return to him.

"Our stuff's gone," Warai explained. "Naruto, everything's gone; our clothes, my books, the ramen."

"Someone took the ramen?" Naruto echoed.

"My things are gone too," Sakura added. "My entire room was cleaned out."

"My ramen?"

"Who would take your things?" Sasuke asked.

"We don't know," the green-eyed girl answered.

"The ramen's gone?"

"The scrolls are gone too, Naruto. All of them," Warai snapped.

The mention of scrolls knocked the blue-eyed boy out of his daze. Sasuke and Sakura looked on in wonder as Naruto stood up taller and saw determination enter his eyes.

"We need to get those scrolls back."

"We need to report this," Sasuke said.

"Look! There's Iruka-sensei and he's with two other chuunin," Warai pointed the teacher out to the others. "We can report this to them."

"IRUKA-SENSEI!" Naruto yelled as he ran to the man. The other three sighed and jogged to catch up to their teammate.

"Hello, everyone," the brown-haired man said. He looked at Team 7 and grinned. "Congratulations on passing. Kakashi-sensei is well-known for never passing a team. You guys made history today."

The other two chuunin with their ex-sensei exchanged looks and smiled at the new genin. One had a head of black hair that spiked every which way like a hedgehog, a black patch on his chin, and a bandage over the bridge of his nose. The second one wore his hitai-ate on a bandana he wrapped over his head and had a lock of brown hair that covered one eye.

"You don't look surprised to see us," Sakura noticed.

"And you look very satisfied with yourself," Warai added.

"Those are my things," Sasuke pointed out coldly.

Iruka looked down at the pieces of luggage he held and laughed nervously. The other chuunin with him were similarly burdened with boxes filled with items. The Uchiha emblem was on almost everything the trio held.

"What are you doing with my things?" Sasuke demanded.

"You didn't happen to take my and Naruto's stuff as well, did you?" Warai questioned.

"Or mine?" Sakura added.

Iruka stared at the four genin in front of him and sighed. "Report to the Hokage," he said. "He has special orders for you."

"But what about our things?" Naruto said. "Someone took our stuff. We need to find them fast!"

"Tell the Hokage when you see him," Iruka repeated. "Kotetsu, Izumo, and I have a mission to complete right now."

"Give me my stuff first."

"I'm sorry, Sasuke. I can't," Iruka apologized. "Ask the Hokage." The trio of chuunin disappeared before they could ask anymore questions.

"What do you think?" Naruto asked Warai.

"I think we need to pay the old man a visit."

"WE HAVE TO WHAT?"

The Third Hokage of Konoha hid his wince at the volume that came from the four genin in front of him and calmly wiped the spit from his face. He felt like laughing and wringing their necks at the same time. Frankly, he didn't know that the last remaining Uchiha could shout like that when not in a combat situation.

"You've been told repeatedly that a four-man genin team is unusual," he said. "We usually have the three-man cells because it helps balance the individual genin's talents. Also, when the jounin sensei is included, the teams equal to four people—which is the normal number for a shinobi squad. To have more than three genin in a team makes it difficult to learn teamwork."

"Then why didn't you just split us up or something?" Warai asked.

"Because if we did, none of you would be able to reach your full potiential."

The answer was short, curt, and to the point. The four ninja couldn't argue with that way of thinking—not even Naruto could find a way to complain.

"Teamwork is a large part of genin training and it's been established that a four-man team like yours is a special exception. I've decided that, in order to promote the growth of team unity, you four will live together until your team is disbanded."

"Where are we going to live?" Sakura asked.

"Iruka will lead you to your new home," the Hokage said. "Congratulations on passing."

"Yeah, sure," the genin answered.

"There better be more than one bathroom," Warai murmured. "Or there'll be hell to pay."

A/N:

Oji-san: (Japanese) Literally "Old Man" it can mean anything from "father" or "uncle" to "male stranger who is older than me"

Okay, so I'm not going to update for about two weeks. My family's going to the "Old Country" and I have to go with them.

That means no updating because they don't have computers where we're going. Just internet cafes that have really long loading times and I don't wanna deal with that.