After All

Chapter Eleven: Teammates

Mitsuko growled in annoyance as she threw a pebble into the stream that sat underneath them. She had arrived at the bridge at 4:45 only to find that four hours later her father still had not arrived at the designated destination. "Is your dad always this late?" Kyo asked, if anyone was more annoyed then herself it was diffidently Kyo. Shiro hadn't said a word since he arrived.

"Look yeah my dad's always late but chill would ya?" Mitsuko glared at him before moving to sit next to Shiro. "God I can't stand that guy…" she mumbled to the Hyuga.

"I know what you mean. Too bad we couldn't have had a better teammate," Mitsuko nodded in agreement.

"He is… odd," she said. The two turned and looked at the Inuzuka who was scratching his hair almost as if he was searching for ticks. Mitsuko sighed before a loud pop sounded around them. The group looked up to find Kakashi standing on top of the overhang. He waved.

"You're late!" Kyo and Mitsuko yelled. Kakashi laughed.

"Well you see… I had to stop for breakfast and this little old lady—"

"Liar," the three said.

XXX

Sakura clenched her teeth as her kunai connected with the opponent's sword. Sakura pushed forward causing the rough to fall backwards. If it was one thing these criminals didn't know it was who they were messing with. She looked around the clearing to find her two teammates fighting diligently. She looked back in time to jump out of the way of the man.

He grinned before running at her. She dropped down before placing her hand firmly on the ground lifting her feet up she kicked the man across the clearing. She smiled triumphantly when her chakra enhanced kick sent the man through three trees. She turned around in time to see Naruto and Sai finish off their opponents.

"Grab Kamiko," Sakura said, she moved to Sai who had a good cut on his stomach. Nauto pulled the woman they were protecting onto his back. Sakura brought up her hand to heal Sai's wound but let out a scream as something grabbed her and pulled her away from the group.

"Give me the girl or the girls dead,"

XXX

Mitsuko hid under the nearest bush she could find her. Her green eyes watched her father with keen interest. He stood firm in the middle of the clearing unmoving. In his hand was the 'adult literature' that her mom would kill her if she ever found her reading it.

Green eyes widened when a hand wrapped around her head covering her mouth. She turned around to meet the soft lavender eyes that belonged to Shiro. She instantly relaxed. "You scared the shit out of me," Mitsuko whispered/yelled at him.

"Please forgive me, I didn't want you to scream and give away our position," he said. She nodded understanding why he did what he did. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

Mistuko sighed rolling her eyes. "Don't you think it can wait? I mean we're in a test right now. And I know he's my dad but I don't think he's just going to pass me because of that."

"It has to do with the test. If you and I pair up we can get the two bells for ourselves and we won't have to go back to the academy. Then we won't have to deal with Kyo anymore," Mistuko's face instantly lit up and bright as a Christmas tree.

"That's a brilliant idea!" she hugged him, his face turned a bright red.

XXX

Blue eyes widened in shock as he watched the pinkette fall to the ground. Her already red shirt was slowly turning to crimson. Naruto growled in anger. "How could you…" he clenched his fist. "You bastard!" his once blue eyes turned blood red as he ran forward. The man stood there shocked. Naruto's fist collided with the man sending him flying across the already destroyed clearing.

Kamiko shook with fear as she watched the man bend down to Sakura and pulled out the sword that sat through her mid-section. He turned to Sai. "Finish the mission," he growled. "I'm taking Sakura back to the village," Sai nodded and before any words could be spoken the blonde was gone in a flash of yellow and pink.

XXX

"Now!" Mitsuko yelled she ran forward. She threw a few punches and kicks at Kakashi trying to keep him busy. She smirked. Kakashi looked down just in time as Shiro ripped the two bells off of his pants. The Hyuga boy smiled triumphantly.

"We did it Mistuko-chan," the boy smiled. Mistuko cheered loudly before taking her bell.

"Awesome team work Shiro-kun," the silver haired girl blushed. Kakashi stared shocked. He had never thought that only two of the team would work together. He smiled. He couldn't lie he was proud that his daughter had chosen team work over selfishness to pass.

He watched as the two younger of the group cheered loudly. He watched from the other side of the clearing as Kyo walked out of the brush an annoyed expression on his face. He sighed. He couldn't fail them since two of the three had shown what it meant to be a true teammate.

"You three follow me," he said. Mitsuko's smile instantly fell at the seriousness of her father's voice. She looked to Shiro who now looked just as nervous as she. Kakashi came to stop in front of the memorial stone.

"Do you know what this stone signifies?" he asked not turning to face the three genin.

"It's a place that where we can remember those who have died protecting our village," Shiro said.

"I have more than a few names on this stone that were important to me…" the silver haired man said. "Uchiha Obito. Namikaze Minato. Jiraya," he clenched his fist. He turned and faced them. "Do you know what they all have in common?" The three stared at him unsure of what to say. "They are all my teammates, just as you three are. I'm very proud of you Shiro Mitsuko for using teamwork." The two smiled at his acknowledgment. "But, Kyo is also your teammate," they looked down slightly ashamed.

"But Kakashi-sensei! There only two bells if Kyo would have worked with us one of us wouldn't have passed!" Kakashi sighed.

"That's the point. As ninja you need to see underneath the underneath," the three stared at him wide eyed. "I'm going to pass you," they all smiled. "But, you three have to promise me that you'll work on your teamwork. That mean including Kyo. Whether you like it or not the three of you are stuck together,"

"Kakashi! KAKASHI!" The silver haired man turned quickly seeing Yamanaka, her white medical coat was covered in blonde and she looked a wreak.

"Aunt Ino?" Mitsuko asked. Kakashi moved past the group and to the panting blonde who was breathing heavily.

"Ino?" he asked. "What is it," Mitsuko and the rest of the team moved to stand behind the older man.

Ino looked up at him tears in her eyes. "It's Sakura,"

A/N

I know… I'm awful for leaving it there. Don't hate me! I promise I'll updated soon! Also I want everyone to know in advanced that from the dates of December 20 to January 4th I'm going to be visiting family for the holidays… so I won't be able to updated during those two weeks. I'll remind you guys the closer it gets and all that good stuff. Also a quick thing I have a new continuous fic filled with one shots you guys should all go and read it ;) there are KakaSaku in the mix Thanks for all the awesome reviews! We're getting closer and closer to 300 with every updated!