A/N: This chapter's for PyrothTenka for reccing this in Minato's: The art of being dead XD

Quick notes:

1. Remember, characters' words may be incorrect.

2. To my knowledge, different Japanese characters can sound the same (like 'you're' and 'your'). Mikoto can be spelled with at least three different variations of characters. Each character carries its own separate meaning.

Chapter Fourteen.

Exploration

"What are you doing?"

Kabuto glanced back into the shadows briefly before resuming his work. Pushing up his glasses with the back of his gloved hand, he answered, "Testing Mikoto's Kiss."

His mentor chuckled, "I never asked, which 'Mikoto'? Heaven, life, beautiful harps?"

Carefully threading the cap's small tube through the vial's narrow opening, Kabuto inverted the small vial, which he then screwed into the lid of a cylindrical glass tank. Once that was done, he twisted the knob at the tank's base to the far right and faced Orochimaru. He smiled, "Life."

The sannin laughed outright. Finally stepping closer so that the overhead lamp illuminated his heavily bandaged face, he leaned down with interest as the vial was lowered into the tank. As soon as the vial touched the tank's floor, a fine mist sprayed out, "You aerosolized it?"

Kabuto nodded, eyes intent on the small white mouse that had emerged from the small burrow at the corner of the tank. Within seconds, the mouse froze.

Kabuto frowned. Still not fast enough. To his frustration, he still hadn't been able to determine exactly when Itachi had created the genjutsu – or how he escaped. With a sigh, he jotted down the time in his notebook, "Have you seen the report?"

Orochimaru tapped once on the glass. The mouse didn't so much as quiver a whisker. "Yes, what concentration is this?"

The scratching of the pen stopped as Kabuto flipped back in his notes and answered, "It's a dilution actually – twenty percent." He resumed writing for a moment before stopping and closing the journal. He glanced once more at the timer before walking to the sannin's side and joining him in watching the motionless mouse.

Suddenly, Orochimaru spoke, "Did you find the reason for our bird's discrepant behavior?"

Without looking away from the glass, Kabuto replied, "His neighbors mentioned that he went on a trip awhile back."

Orochimaru hummed and returned to the shadows, "A trip?"

Kabuto checked the dials that monitored the balance of gases inside the tank, "None of the gates held records for his passage though. I haven't had the chance to speak personally with the man, but it appears that at least his trip didn't go past the village gates."

"Oh?"

The teen paused in the midst of adjusting the equipment and turned to look over his shoulder, "It didn't help that he apparently didn't recognize me." He turned back and waved a hand in the air, "At least that was what he wanted it to look like."

"So Tori's been compromised."

"Apparently."

Kabuto paused as he saw a whisker quiver. Setting down the parts he held in his hands, he moved back in front of the glass tank.

"By Danzo?"

He checked the timer, "Who else would interfere in such a fashion?"

Ignoring the soft hiss of disapproval, he recorded the time.

Two minutes.

-0-

Age 11.

With a curse as he realized the time, Iruka darted over to the window. Sliding the window up, he leaned out and hollered, "Daikoku-san, it's been an hour!"

Shifting back as his colleague acknowledged his words, he slammed the window shut, cutting off the cries of excitement from the children training outside. Turning around, he leaned against the wall and watched as Mizuki wrote the lesson plan for the next day on the board.

Raising his brows in surprised, he commented, "Another review?"

He could almost hear the devil-may-care smile on his friend's face, "Getting the basics down never hurt anyone."

Iruka opened his mouth, ready to protest for perhaps a full second before he forced himself to shut it. Pensively, he stared at the back of Mizuki's jacket. This was becoming a disturbingly familiar pattern. He knew many of his peers considered him to be too soft-hearted, and while he shared some traits with his friend, he never would have thought soft-heartedness to be one of them. Mizuki had always been the more impatient one.

What was going on?

"Mizuki…"

Crouching down, his former teammate continued to write with the chalk, "What's up?"

"Everything ok?"

Setting down the chalk, Mizuki turned around too face Iruka with a tolerantly amused expression and clapped the chalk off his hands, "Yeah."

Suddenly embarrassed, Iruka scratched the back of his neck, "It's just… you've been rather… fixed on the basics."

Mizuki let out a short bark of dismissive laughter, "You think I'm too fixed on the basics?"

Iruka flushed, "It's their last year – last semester for some. We usually start emphasizing the more advanced forms and the practical applications of the more advanced theory that they've learned."

If it was up to Iruka, he would have started on such material the year before. But between tradition and guaranteeing safety (especially given the size of his class), he was forced to conduct rote drills and memorization that he knew bored most of the students (never mind himself). He had hoped that with Mizuki's arrival, he'd have the support needed to introduce some of his new ideas to the older, more experienced teachers.

However, much to his confusion and dismay, he had been…disappointed.

It was strange; Mizuki had always been the one encouraging him to test the limits of the rulebook.

However, between lesson plan adjustments, inventorying weapon stock, examining the state of protective gearing, and after class conferences with concerned civilian parents, he didn't really have time to dwell on his confusion or disappointment

Naruto had also been a pretty big distraction.

Mizuki tilted his head to the side, giving him an incredulous look, "We? Listen, I know you started before me, but I'm pretty sure you haven't been teaching for more than six years. This has to be your first graduating class."

Turning around, Mizuki bent down to retrieve his belongings, "Really, Iruka. I know you're my senior as a teacher, but I've had a few more field missions compared to you – some I can't even talk about." As he spoke, he walked up to Iruka and clasped a hand on his shoulder, "I'm pretty sure I know a little bit about what's important for the kiddies to know." With a parting wink, he sauntered off.

Iruka opened his mouth and rotated his jaw as he fought down his temper. When he heard the door slam shut, he closed his eyes and let out a slow breath. Mizuki was probably just eager to prove himself. He didn't mean it that way.

The condescension still grated on his nerves.

"Iruka-sensei?"

He opened his eyes and barely managed not to jump.

Large blue eyes stared up at him. Naruto tilted his head to the side, "Are you ok?"

He didn't even have to force a smile. The kid was getting sneakier by the day.

Mizuki must have angered him more than he thought for him not to notice the little prankster. With a rueful grin, he crouched down, "Did you need something?"

The small pout that Naruto had been sporting burst into a large grin, "Yea! Watch this!" With that, he leapt back and started to form seals with earnest concentration.

With bemusement and growing chagrin, Iruka watched as Naruto formed increasingly sloppy seals, "BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" Wincing at the loud volume, Iruka dug a finger into his ear and watched as the smoke dispersed to reveal a surprisingly passable copy of the boy.

He blinked in disbelief at the sight before turning his attention back to the child, "Naruto…"

"Didja see, didja see? Lookit – it's totally a clone, right?!"

At his words, the clone struck a pose, knees and elbows together, hands outstretched below puckered lips. It was just as shameless as the original.

Iruka felt his eyelid twitch at the sight and quickly pressed his lips together. He refused to give Naruto the satisfaction of displaying a flabbergasted expression. But despite himself, he was impressed.

And confused.

The way Naruto had mangled those seals… it shouldn't have worked.

He was glad that the boy had finally appeared to master the technique that had troubled him for years. In fact, he had been meaning to address that problem for a while, but then Mizuki had made that disparaging remark in the teacher's lounge about the chances of class clowns who couldn't name Konoha's founding father ever amounting to anything and, sure, Mizuki probably hadn't meant it that way, but well, he couldn't help himself.

He'd made sure the little rascals could recite the history lessons better than if they had actually attended the class.

Of course, that had taken him quite a while to accomplish. To his embarrassment, he later realized that he could have saved much time and effort if he had analyzed the dynamics of Naruto's friend group earlier.

That said; his observations did come in handy when he'd next tried to shove down the basic tenets of chakra manipulation down their throats the following month.

Though, now that he thought about it, maybe he was only encouraging their truancy by attempting to teach them again after hours.

Narrowing his eyes, Iruka crossed his arms and leaned back on his heels, "Can you do it again?"

"AAaaahhh?" With a poof, the clone dispersed, leaving Naruto alone to scowl up at him in a hunched posture, "What'd I do wrrrrooonngg?"

Hurriedly, before Naruto could burst into a full out pout-fest, Iruka smiled, and waved his hands placating, "I just want to see it again. I'm pretty sure those weren't the seals we went over this past winter…"

Distracted, Naruto blinked and straightened, "Huh? Those are just the normal seals."

Iruka tried to hide his wince and opened his mouth to correct Naruto when the kid clapped a fist into an open palm, "Oooh, you mean the changes!"

"Changes?"

Naruto squinted his eyes and scratched his head, "Aaaah, what'd he say?"

Curious, Iruka questioned, "Did someone tell you to perform the seals like that?"

"Ah right!" Crossing both arms behind his head, Naruto grinned, "Yea! Kazuki suggested it." He frowned briefly with both eyes squinted closed in thought and tongue sticking out just the slightest bit, "He said it was like… My bladder was too full – so my pee kept on exploding on the fence."

Iruka blinked.

"Like I was letting it all go too fast, so it was just going like splat, but with the changes, it's like I only drank one bowl instead of six, so I can actually piss a pattern."

Happy that he'd been able to explain himself, Naruto looked up expectantly only to see Iruka pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Iruka-sensei?"

-0-

"Oh! And say that I was the best in … taijutsu!"

Sakura paused. The tip of her pen hovered over the paper. Looking up, she sent Kiba a look, "Are you sure you want me to write that?"

Kiba blinked in apparent confusion, "Why wouldn't I?"

Unabashedly, Sakura answered dryly, "You wanted this to be believable." She gestured at the report card with the back of the pen, "Isn't that why I'm the one forging these comments?"

Kiba sent her a glower, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Before she could reply, a faint hoot echoed down the hall, "Hooo-weeee."

Rolling her eyes, she shrugged and scribbled down the words Kiba had dictated to her. Meanwhile, Kiba gestured at his dog, who gave a soft bark toward the door.

After capping off the forgery of Mizuki's signature with one last flourish, she straightened and hopped off the chair that she had been using. Turning to face Kiba, she told him solemnly, "I'm blaming this all on you if we get caught."

Rolling his eyes, Kiba picked up the paper and tucked it back into the file, "We won't get caught. Mizuki-sensei's gone and Naruto's distracting Iruka-sensei. Besides Ino won't let Sasuke-kun get in trouble, and she has Kazuki and Chouji with her for lookout. We'll be fine. Now edit Kazuki's grades."

Huffing, Sakura stomped over to the table and crawled onto the chair. Bracing herself with one hand on the table, she reached for the pen and scrawled out Mizuki's signature just as Sasuke came into the room. Looking up with a smile, she laid the report aside and leapt down in front of Kiba, "Sasuke-kun! Did you change the averages?"

Sasuke nodded distractedly and glanced out the window as he answered, "Yea, did you two finish the comment section?"

Hurriedly, she grabbed the documents and shoved it into the corresponding folder before handing the folder off to Kiba. With a chirp, she answered, "Yup."

Behind her, she heard the sound of a drawer sliding opened as Kiba muttered, "Sure, now you're all happy for your – OW!"

As Sasuke snapped his head around at Kiba's yell, Sakura took her foot off of Kiba's foot.

"What's wrong?"

Flapping a hand, Sakura just widened her smile, "Ah, Kiba just got his hand caught in the drawer." Leaning back, she reached past Kiba to close the drawer while winking at Akamaru. The puppy, who had been giving her a disapproving look (she still had no idea how the dog could do that), shrank back, seemingly mollified.

The cookie treats she had baked earlier had probably helped.

Satisfied with her answer, Sasuke darted to the door and stood on tiptoes to look out the window.

With Sasuke's attention averted, Sakura turned around to see Kiba sitting cross legged on the floor, holding his foot and pouting at his canine. He looked up with a glare, "I liked you better when you were shy."

She smiled sweetly back at him just as Sasuke darted back. Making urgent shooing motions, he ushered them into the adjacent office. As they piled into the cupboard containing the racks for the Academy's training equipment, she retorted out of the side of her mouth, "You have only yourself to blame for that."

Turning, she missed the multiple faces Kiba made at her back.

-0-

"I saw that."

Naruto stared back at him, unabashed.

Crossing his arms, Iruka shifted his weight back to his other leg, "What's wrong?"

At that question, Naruto looked down and to the side, refusing to meet his eyes.

"Naruto?"

Grudging, the boy started, "It's just…"

Crouching down to eye-level, Iruka questioned, "Just what?"

"I thought you'd be happier."

Blue eyes flickered forward to meet his eyes before darting away again.

Startled, Iruka felt both brows lifting in surprise before coming back down in confusion, "Happier? What makes you think I'm not happy? I'm really impressed – "

Blue eyes swung back, "No, you're not!" Flushing red now, Naruto's lips trembled before parting for an onrush of words, "You keep on asking me to repeat it! Even after I showed you that I got it, you make me do it again – like you can't believe I can do it. When we're out, all you do is lecture me about history or theory or how my friends are doing. You never ask about me. It's like you're ashamed of me. You said you thought I could be the Hokage, but all you do is lecture me!"

Finishing that last word, Naruto panted.

Iruka stared. He realized he had been staring too long when Naruto seemed to realize what he'd said in his outburst and took a step back. Despite his apparent retreat, the boy still kept staring defiantly back at him.

He couldn't help it. He tried to disguise the giggle that was escaping as a cough, but he knew he hadn't fooled Naruto when the boy took another step back. The kid's eyes were starting to water.

Hurriedly, he reached out. Ignoring the boy's flinch, he yanked the boy into his arms and rested his chin on top of his head, "I wasn't laughing at you."

The boy was rigid with tension.

He sighed, "I was laughing at the thought of no one lecturing the Hokage."

He felt the boy push against his chest and loosened his hold so that the boy could look up at him. He smiled at the shock he saw in the child's face, "I'm not ashamed of you. I lecture you because there are many tests you'll have to pass to become a Hokage, and I ask about your friends because I don't want you to take those tests alone. And yes, I still plan on lecturing you even once you become my Hokage."

Feeling the boy start to relax in his arms, he released his hold and sat down cross-legged on the dusty classroom floor. He needed to wash that pair of pants he was wearing anyway, "I asked you to repeat what you did so many times, because I wanted to be sure that you had it right."

Naruto was pouting now, but the corners of his mouth were drawing up, as if the boy wanted to believe him but wasn't sure how.

Leaning forward so that he was looking up at Naruto, he made sure that he had the boy's full attention. Slowly, like a storyteller creeping up to the climax of a story, he continued, "Because, if what you said was right, what you did was amazing."

Silence reined for a moment as the boy blinked at him. The boy shifted, and dropped his gaze to the ground. Scuffing the floor with one toe, the boy looked back up from under long blond lashes, "Really?"

Iruka smiled, "Yes, really."

The boy twisted his mouth to one side and brought up one hand to rub the back of his neck, seemingly embarrassed, "Ah well, Kazuki was the one who showed me it." Like an afterthought, he tacked on almost grudgingly, "Sasuke helped too."

Iruka smiled, "But can they do what you just did?" He asked it mostly to make a point, but a part of him was curious at the answer as well.

Naruto tilted his head back in thought before swinging it back forward and shaking it from side to side, his whole body wriggling with the motion, "No-ooo."

Iruka rested his hands on his hips and shot Naruto a look, causing the boy grin to grow wider. Sitting back, he only managed to just shift his weight back in time to catch the Naruto as the boy launched himself into his arms.

As the child gave an admirable effort towards squeezing all the air out of his lungs, Iruka wheezed out a laugh. A part of him that he thought he'd long since buried was surfacing.

It wasn't right that Naruto had to struggle so hard to perform an elementary jutsu, and if the boy had to concentrate that hard every single time, then the technique was basically useless in a live combat situation. Moreover, if the explanation that Naruto had given was correct (and who would have ever considered too much chakra to be a problem for an elementary student – though in hindsight…), then the situation seemed even more unfair for the boy.

Unless, he taught the boy the Kage Bunshin. It was a clone technique after all, albeit an advanced one.

The large chakra demands of the technique would make it a perfect fit for the boy, but the kickback from the memories could be a little much. Not to mention, the clones often had self-agency, and Iruka almost wanted to cringe at the thought of more hyperactive blonds jumping around while he taught.

He patted Naruto on the back and made a face as the boy only hugged him tighter.

It also could end badly. If he was wrong, teaching such a technique could kill the boy – especially with the boy's impulsive personality. Additionally, if Naruto tried to teach the technique to his friends, he could inadvertently be causing the death of his other students.

Biting his lip, he stared down into the boy's hair with indecision. How did the Naruto manage to get so much chalk in his hair?

As he absently studied the specks of white in tufts of blond hair, the words that had so annoyed him from earlier drifted to the forefront of his mind.

"I'm pretty sure I know a little bit about what's important for the kiddies to know."

Then again, he could do a couple harmless tests to ensure that Naruto was ready for the jutsu. If the boy was ready, he was fairly certain that he remembered enough of his prankster days to impress the need of keeping the knowledge of the technique secret to the boy – at least until the kid graduated. Then it'd be the boy's jounin instructor's problem.

Gingerly, he started to pry Naruto's arms off, "Naruto."

"Hmm."

With a grin, he applied more force until he was holding Naruto in front of him like a recalcitrant puppy, "Naruto, are you paying attention?"

The boy whined, eyes conspicuously wet, "Whhaaatt?"

"How would you like to learn a super awesome technique?"

If the boy had a rabbit's ears, Iruka was fairly certain they would have been perked straight up, "What technique? I mean yes, YEsyeseyesyesyes-YES!"

As he attempted to quiet the boy, Iruka couldn't help but hope that he was right about the boy's chakra.

He'd prove Mizuki wrong. These kids were capable of so much more than his friend could imagine.

-0-

Kazuki frowned to himself. Slumped over with his arms hanging loosely at his sides, he rested his forehead against the wall and grumbled, "This is such a pain."

Ino didn't even spare him a glance, "No one said you had to be here."

Rolling his head to the side, Kazuki shot her his most unimpressed look, "… you said I had to be here."

Waving a hand idly at him, she muttered a distracted, "Uh-huh, that's nice."

Kazuki sighed and resumed his original position against the wall. He would have taken the opportunity to drowse, but Ino had been getting better and better at catching him. He heaved another sigh and ignored the annoyed glance Ino shot him. If this had been a year ago, if he thought that grades were the sole factor in the composition of genin teams, he might have been more interested. However, his talk with Shikaku that fall had long disabused him of that notion.

.

"Not Kakashi?"

He looked over his shoulder to meet Shikaku's gaze above a stack of varied colored scrolls.

Setting down his kunai, Kazuki turned around with a frown and rested both elbows on the table behind him, "No." Noting the man's apparent interest in his apparently unexpected answer, he probed, "Why?"

He waited patiently as Shikaku proceeded to yawn while waving a free hand at the sake bottle. With a disgruntled sigh, he came forward to pour the old man a cup. Setting down the bottle, he resumed his previous position against the back table.

Instead of answering, the man only took another look at the pile of scrolls sitting by his right elbow and heaved another sigh.

Scratching his head, Kazuki heaved a sigh before he found himself yawning into his elbow. He was reluctant to push, but at the same time, he didn't want to be seen leaving the Akimichi restaurant after sunset, which was in an hour.

Luckily, Shikaku spoke before he had to make a decision, "What do you know about how genin teams are formed?"

He barely managed to keep himself from straightening with interest. This was a topic he'd been meaning to broach for some time now. Still, he doubted Shikaku had missed his aborted twitch.

"Iruka-sensei said that it was based on our grades. Teams were supposed to have the same average score."

Shikaku raised his brows. Kazuki wasn't sure what to make of the man's increasingly open expressions – for a Nara anyway. The fact that the man had told him about the Hokage's probe into Danzo had been a huge surprise. But as much as he wanted to jump on that sign of trust, another part of him that noted every twitch and blink that was slower or missing, that differed from his dreams, as a sign that the trust was all for show.

It was ridiculous, he knew, for him to be stuck on the differences. But as much as these differences sparked a sense of hurt and disappointment, they also helped him maintain that distance.

He didn't want to betray anyone's memory. It was an annoying position to be in.

"You never became a jounin?" The scratching of the pen had resumed; Shikaku had returned to his report and had spoken without looking up.

Kazuki shrugged, "Ranks didn't really matter by the end." He wasn't above dropping hints for the man to actually finish reading his report. To be fair, he knew that Shikaku was swamped between the Hokage's unofficial assignment, duties as a clan head and Jounin Commander, and cross-referencing the events mentioned early in his miniature report.

Though he was slightly anxious for Shikaku's insight on the matters, he had also placed the report in the man's lap for a reason. He was already slightly concerned that his actions might cause the man to miss details in other cases. There was no point in trying to solve problems early, only to create new ones in the process; changing one small event might have cascading effects – something he suspected had already started to happen.

He'd dumped the complicated mess on the other man. So as much as he hinted, he didn't push.

In response, Shikaku merely hummed noncommittally as he blew on the report to dry the ink, before setting the report on top of the pile to his left. Tucking his hand into his vest, he retrieved two scrolls, which he then flung at Kazuki with the order, "Mourning flower."

With a grimace at the sudden test, Kazuki formed a messy rat seal and hurriedly muttered, "Kuro Higanbana no jutsu!"

Clumsily, his shadows sprung up like waves to catch the two scrolls. Barely letting a second go by, Kazuki swiftly released the technique as he retrieved the two scrolls.

"Those are for you," Shikaku paused, and gave him a pointed, if amused, look, "to work on."

This time Kazuki didn't stop himself from rolling his eyes, "I know, I know."

"I never taught you the Black Spider Lily?"

Kazuki shrugged and kept his eyes on the two scrolls, "Never got around to it."

Shikaku stood up and began reordering the colored documents, "Out of curiosity, who did end up on Kakashi's team?"

Kazuki shot him a wry look, "Are you going to answer my question?"

Shikaku reached out for his cup, before answering with an affirmative hum; his attention was once again seemingly caught by the reports before him. With a flick of the wrist, the man unrolled another document.

Idly, Kazuki wondered if Yoshino was aware of this current sake stash that Shikaku had squirreled away. With a shrug, he tucked the scrolls into his shirt, "My twin, Naruto, and Haruno Sakura."

The scratching of Shikaku's pen stopped for a moment, "Haruno – a civilian?"

Curiosity rising, Kazuki answered, "Yes."

Shikaku raised both eyebrows for a moment before shrugging. He made a few underlines on the paper before setting his pen down and leaning back, "Grades do play a part in team formations, but do you really believe that is it?"

Kazuki shrugged and turned back to the table where he had been sharpening Chiharu's cleavers. Picking up the large blade and the whetstone, he turned around, "I'm guessing parents can make … suggestions to the Academy instructors?"

Shikaku nodded his head from side to side and took another sip from his cup, "To a certain extent, but consider why student scores are averaged." Leaning forward again, he picked up his pen and pointed it at Kazuki, who placed the blade and whetstone back down on the back table, "I assume you've heard the usual spiel about how the top and bottom ranked students are matched with the student that has the median score?"

At Kazuki's nod, Shikaku shifted back and made a few more marks on the scroll before rolling it up and placing it to the side, "If teams were just based on grade averages and requests from parents, why bother placing the top ranked student with the lowest ranked student?"

Kazuki blinked and set the blade back behind him. Running his fingers over the surface of the whetstone, he frowned, "As opposed to pairing the dead last with two above average students?"

Making an affirmative motion with his pen, Shikaku returned attention to the next scroll. Unrolling the document with a careless wave, Shikaku asked, "Think about your brother's team – I'm guessing there was some infighting?"

Kazuki startled, "How did you know-?"

"That Kakashi had the dead-last, first-ranked, plain average team assignment?"

"Yea."

Shikaku rolled his head around and hid a wince at the cracks that echoed in the small room, "Female Academy students, especially from civilian backgrounds, are almost guaranteed to be average – strong in theory, but horrendous in practicals. Orphans historically tend to do the worst through lack of guidance and discipline, and then we have your brother."

He looked at Kazuki, "You'd be an exception, but older clans are known to push their children. Not to mention, Inoichi's heard enough about your brother's achievements, so I know he's currently top-ranked. If I assume Sasuke also graduated first in the class, then everything follows." With a quick smile, he returned his gaze to the document before him and frowned. Grabbing one of the earlier scrolls, he unrolled it to make a small notation before commenting offhandedly, "Besides, you just confirmed it."

Preoccupied with reading the report, it took Shikaku a moment to realize that the boy hadn't responded. Biting his thumb, he smeared a line of blood through the circle on the top corner of the document, closed the scroll, and looked up in time to see Kazuki absent mindedly levitating the whetstone with shadows that trailed out over his hands from beneath his sleeves.

No matter how many times he saw that ease with hidden and indistinct shadows, he was still impressed.

As if sensing his gaze, Kazuki met his eyes with a troubled expression and released the technique, letting the whetstone drop back into his hand, "Were there many genin teams like that?"

Shikaku smiled. The boy had figured it out then.

The best student in the class was considered the 'best' by only the Academy standards, by their methods of measuring aptitude. It was an admirable achievement, but one that often didn't translate easily onto the field. Moreover, these students often defined themselves by the title of being the best, and while threats to their position were certainly good motivators, they could also be good blindfolds.

Realizing that they could not be the best at everything nor against everyone was often a rude wakeup call– a crisis of identity that they couldn't afford.

So of course, they were paired up with the one person who could potentially provide the rudest wake-up call of all, the dead last.

It didn't always work out that way. The student at the bottom of the class wasn't always at last place because of a lack of effort. Sometimes, they genuinely were just a late-bloomer.

It was a teacher's worst nightmare, having two students on opposite ends of the skill spectrum. While the dead last in the class might still learn something as the first in the class was taught, it was a much different case in the reverse. As much of a trial as it was for the teacher, it was also a test for the team.

Would they help one another? Arguably, the top rookie might have some insights that could help the bottom ranked student learn; and as any teacher knew, sometimes the best lessons were obtained by teaching.

Yet, social stigma and personal pride could be powerful demotivators.

The test of teamwork was perhaps the hardest and easiest test given to graduating Academy students. It was also the one most often given to teams with the broadest spectrum of grades, because if they could not even manage to listen to one another, then there was a good chance that they wouldn't listen to their jounin instructor when it would count the most.

Then there was the student caught in the middle.

Giving Kazuki a wry grin, Shikaku answered, "Not many. Most jounin instructors are reluctant to accept such a team."

Kakashi really had the worst luck.

He wondered what could have made the man change his mind, because as far as he was aware, the man had no intentions of taking on a genin team. The first thing that jumped to mind was the jinchuriki, but he was fairly certain that the Sandaime's 'request' to all of Minato's former acquaintances was still in place.

He pushed his thoughts to the side. Propping his elbows on the table, Shikaku folded his hands in front of his face and continued, "They're usually last in their age group to take the Chuunin Exams."

Kazuki nodded and looked down with furrowed brows.

Shikaku watched over the lip of his cup as he took another gulp of sake. From the way the boy was frowning, he was fairly certain he knew the conclusions that the boy had been drawing.

After all, the graduation rate at the Academy was already fairly low. Creating a team that was basically expected to fail hardly seemed like the best of use of anyone's time.

Had he seen what was so curious about Haruno Sakura's placement?

He considered the boy for another moment before shrugging. Why not? There wasn't really a point in dancing around the subject any more.

Shikaku tilted his head forward intently, "To be honest, I thought you would have been assigned to that team, with or without your grades."

Kazuki frowned, "Because of Naruto and the fact that we're orphans?" Because we have no parents to protest our placement with a jinchuriki?

Despite his own choice to be more direct, Shikaku was a little surprised that the boy had also responded directly in turn, "Partially. In a small part, your temperament would have also helped to balance the volatility of the team."

Shikaku could find no indication if the boy was surprised by his own candidness.

Kazuki prompted, "But?"

"There's also the fact that Kakashi is the only shinobi in the village who knows how to use a sharingan."

"And because he was the Yondaime's student, it would make sense for him to request Naruto?"

Shikaku licked his lips, stalling for that brief second to cover his surprise. He had to admit, the one advantage to the whole mess of dealing with Kazuki was that he was rarely bored.

He supposed that despite the Hokage's request to Minato's closest acquaintances and the change of surname, it would be hard to disguise the familial connection to anyone who had eyes and knew the basics of Konoha's history.

"Yes, in part." Knowing that his pause had not gone unnoticed, he continued with an explanation that he'd been meaning to give the boy so that it'd seem like he had used the pause to determine the explanation's wording, "As you may know, few shinobi have the all-round skillset to become a jounin – fewer still are ready and willing to become an instructor. Getting attached to a team is a huge responsibility and vulnerability."

At those words, Kazuki let out a short breath and his eyes flitted to the side for a brief moment.

Abruptly, Asuma's bloodied face flashed through Shikaku's mind, and he tightened his hands against one another. He really needed to finish the boy's report.

He still had a hard time seeing Asuma as a jounin instructor. He'd had his suspicions based on the pattern of names that had been listed in the outline that Kazuki had given him.

Still, next month did mark the third year of the man's return. He supposed that it had been awhile since the guy had joined the Twelve Guardians.

Continuing, as if he hadn't noticed Kazuki's brief lapse in focus, Shikaku elaborated, "Hence, to protect not only the lives of the students but also the time that's been invested in them, teams are constructed to increase their odds of surviving their first combat."

Shikaku lowered his hands, "They should still be operating by that principle. It's the only reason I can see that you weren't placed on a team with Kakashi. Tell me, who graduated with you?"

Kazuki frowned, "Akimichi Chouji, Yamanaka Ino, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and Hyuuga Hinata."

Shikaku raised an eyebrow pointedly.

Kazuki swallowed, "They're all from major clans."

If they had all taken the graduation exam at the same time, as they had undoubtedly been encouraged to do, then the chances for becoming genin were close to none for the rest of the students. It wasn't fair, but it was effective. Keeping students with valuable clan techniques together raised the chances of success for everyone involved.

It was through that logic, that Shikaku had already suspected which students had graduated with Kazuki, before the boy had even spoken their names.

Shikaku nodded, "And you still have those gendered classes?"

Kazuki narrowed his eyes and nodded.

"And you've heard a little about what the girls learn?"

The boy nodded again with the same furrowed brow expression.

Unable to resist, Shikaku continued dangling out one fact after another, curious to see when the boy would put everything together, "Now, the specialists at the mission desk do their best to ensure that skillsets are matched appropriately to the mission assigned. However, no one can prepare for every eventuality. Now, what's a genin team's first reaction to danger when their instructor is absent?"

Placing the whetstone behind him, Kazuki hopped backwards to sit on the desk, "An unknown danger?"

"Unknown or known to be too dangerous," Shikaku confirmed.

"To run or hide until they can rendezvous with –"

"-the instructor," Shikaku finished, "But what happens if they do not sense the danger in time? What if they do not hide themselves in time?"

Kazuki blinked. As the boy's frown faded, Shikaku grinned, the kid got it.

Through popular stories and traditional values, girls were often interested in different matters than boys, sensitive to topics that their male counterparts would normally dismiss. Inevitably, that would often change with age. But before then, the Academy curriculum took advantage of the general difference in interests- at least the public expectation of that difference. Whereas it might look out of place for a young boy to take notice of a floral arrangement, it was much more innocuous for a girl to do the same.

"So every team has a girl assigned to it?"

Shikaku nodded, "When the numbers allow." He shifted his weight to one side, and rested his head on one hand. As he spoke, he raised a finger for every point, all the while, keeping his eyes fixed on Kazuki, "So we have class standings, gender, parent-guardian feedback, and bloodlines. Can you think of anything else that would be a factor?"

Even as Kazuki answered, Shikaku could see that the boy was drawing out other conclusions by his short answer, "Temperament."

Shikaku waited.

Kazuki lowered his head, hiding his expression as he scratched the top of his head, before looking back up, "And the jounin instructor."

Shikaku tilted his head to the side, but the boy was already speaking, "The ability to adapt would be essential, which means that having a wide diversity of talents and personalities would be the most desirable. At the same time, it would be ideal for Konoha's military strength, if some of these teams could start to specialize early. If teams were to effectively specialize early, the jounin instructors have to have the final say into team formations."

There was an indecipherable emotion on Kazuki's face. The boy pushed himself further onto the desk and asked, "Who did you think the genin teams were?"

Shikaku scratched his neck, "From the initial missions that you've mentioned, I take it that Asuma, Kurenai, and Kakashi were the three instructors with passing teams?"

The boy nodded.

If there were only two girls, then Ino and the Hyuuga were most likely on separate teams. As a female firstborn, the Hyuuga girl had most likely been brought up to have a quiet demeanor, which meant a more excitable character probably paired with the girl. From the list of clans the boy had mentioned, the Inuzaka boy seemed the most probable candidate.

The combination of a Hyuuga and an Inuzaka had the potential to become a powerful tracker team. Considering both were fairly close-ranged fighters, the ideal candidate to finish the team would have to be the Aburame.

If that was the case, then Kazuki had most likely been on a team with Ino and Chouji. Considering the fact that the boy was an Uchiha, the trio had most likely been built for quick infiltration missions.

"You wanted to know the odds of ending on the same team with Ino and Chouji?"

Kazuki's gaze flickered. His guesses had been correct then.

Before the boy could answer, Shikaku ducked his head and sighed, "I'll see what I can do." As he raised his head to meet the child's startled gaze, he stated flatly, "I'll have to bring their parents into the fold."

Without missing a beat, Kazuki replied, "Of course."

Shikaku blinked for a moment before groaning. Rubbing his face with one hand, he grumbled, "This is going to be such a pain." Letting his fingers split open, he peered at the boy, "Which you knew…"

The Uchiha only returned a lazy grin.

Letting his hands drop to the table, he rested his chin on an open palm, "Alright, I'll put in a word." Shooting the boy a look, he continued, "We'll tell them after you pass your sensei's test."

His grin might have been a touch too delighted at the boy's responding slouch of disappointment.

-0-

Blinking at the flooded classroom, Iruka sighed. There was no question about it. The boy definitely could handle the jutsu.

"Ahh…. Sorry!" Naruto squeaked out.

Iruka watched with some bemusement as Naruto lunged for the floating bucket before wading and splashing his way over to the window. With a grunt the boy, slid the window open as high as his short stature would allow, and started to empty buckets of water out the window.

With a laugh, Iruka hopped onto the surface of the water and jogged over, "Naruto, it's ok. I should have anticipated this."

The boy shook his head quickly, reminding Iruka of the way puppies would shake themselves dry, "I got this!"

Iruka laughed again, and this time, leaned down to pull Naruto out of the water and positioned the boy on his back, "Just hold on ok?"

This time Naruto finally noticed that his teacher was standing on water, "Whoa, how are you doing that?"

Iruka winced at the boy's loud volume and turned his head so that his ears were no longer positioned right next to the boy's mouth. With a pained smile, he reached for the boy's wrists to emphasize his next words, "Are you holding on tight?"

Naruto nodded; his prickly hair managed to brush against Iruka's neck, making the man remind himself of the need to bug the boy into getting a haircut.

Reaching to his sides, he lifted the boy's legs so that the boy's hold on him felt tighter, "And to answer your question, I'm using chakra control to stand on the water – which you would know if you'd stop skipping class."

Predictably, as he slid the window up higher, Naruto whined, "Aww, but Mizuki's so boring."

Mildly, as he formed the seals, Iruka answered, "I teach the class sometimes."

Shamelessly, Naruto broadened his complaint, "But lectures are so boring."

Torn between amusement and exasperation, Iruka twisted his mouth upwards momentarily before gesturing his arms out the window. With a gush, a thin tendril rose up before thickening and taking the form of a long serpent that then dove out the window.

"Whoaaa."

Iruka smiled to himself at the boy's impressed murmur, before he hurriedly looked out the window as he realized that he might be reprimanded for flooding the Academy's back lawn.

Seeing no one around, he breathed a sigh of relief just as the last of the serpent disappeared.

With his feet back on the ground, Iruka carefully set Naruto down before climbing the raised platforms in the classroom to reach the windows that were higher up at the back of the classroom, "Well, that concludes that test."

Curious, Naruto had followed Iruka on his heels, "Did I pass?"

Opening the last window so that the classroom could dry overnight, Iruka smiled, "Yup – though I thought I asked you to just fill the pail?"

Naruto looked down and scuffed his foot, "I said I was sorry, I didn't mean to flood the classroom."

Iruka blinked, "You were holding back?"

Naruto pouted, "I did my best!"

Iruka laughed, and started to make his way down, picking up sodden sheets of paper here and there as he went, "I never thought you weren't – you just did much better than I expected."

With a dubious voice, Naruto hopped onto a desk and swung his legs, "I did?"

Straightening up, Iruka looked up to see the boy holding out another clump of sodden sheets. Taking the sodden mess in hand, Iruka grinned, "You did."

Making one last survey of the classroom, Iruka jumped down to the front of the classroom and tossed the wet crumpled paper into the trash, "In fact, I'd say this calls for ramen?"

"RAMEEEEN!"

Laughing at the boy's exuberant cheer, Iruka gathered his things that were thankfully not soaked through, and headed to the door at the back of the classroom, "Yup. We can go right now if you want."

At Naruto's loud cheer, Iruka laughed, "Just let me put some things away in my office, okay?"

Naruto's cheer cut off abruptly and the boy paused the midst of one of his celebratory hops. With one foot still in the air and both arms still raised over his head, the boy questioned, "Your office?"

Iruka narrowed his eyes briefly before closing them as he smiled and chirped, "Yup, my office." Opening his eyes, he gave Naruto an innocent glance, "Why? Is there something else you need?"

The boy flushed and looked off to the side, scratching his head, "Uhh, no?"

It was almost adorable how transparent the kid was. Truth be told, after the stories he'd heard from Daikoku and Suzume, he'd been expecting some sort of attempt on the gradebooks, especially since quarter reports were due to be sent out soon. He just hadn't expected an attempt to be made while he was still in the building.

With a shrug, he turned back.

"Waitwaitwaitwaiiiiit!"

Iruka paused, hand on the door handle, and looked over his shoulder, "What is it?"

"Uhh," the boy looked at the ceiling, his whole body angled backwards. It was times like this that made Iruka wonder how people still thought the boy was a demon, because the child sucked at duplicity.

"I know!"

Iruka waited, "Yes?"

"Ehehe, what's the name of the jutsu?"

Iruka blinked, "Jutsu?"

Naruto fussed, stamping one foot impatiently, "Yeah! The jutsu that you said you'd teach me? Also, why can't you show me something now?" The boy inched closer and clasped both hands together in a supplicatory pose, "Pleeeaase? If you show me something now, I could work on it tonight!"

Iruka rubbed his nose as he thought.

On one hand, he was kind of curious what havoc was being wrecked in his office.

Naruto shuffled closer, eyes wide and lower lip jutting out as he bounced his whole body up and down.

On the other hand, it was Mizuki's turn to write and send out the reports.

Feeling a little guilty, he turned around from the floor and squatted down, "Alright."

Pretending that he hadn't seen the way the boy's shoulders momentarily dropped with relief before springing back up, he cut off the boy's cheer, "But-"

Naruto's eyes were riveted on his raised finger, "But, you have to do what I say."

"Ok!"

He really was a vindictive bastard. With a mental shrug (because it'd really been too long since the last time he'd pulled something like this), he gave Naruto a smile. By the suddenly nervous look that the boy sent him, he suspected that he might have looked a little too excited.

"The technique I'm going to show you is called the Kage Bunshin."

-0-

Blowing on his hands before folding them both into his sleeves, Jiraiya gingerly made his way over onto the windowsill. Winter had arrived much too early in his opinion, but at least it wasn't that cold this year.

Sensing an approaching chakra signal, he turned and spotted one of the Hokage's guard in the shadows. Giving the startled shinobi a nod and grin, he settled back into the little corner he had found and sat down. He ignored the ANBU operative who had followed him over the side of the rooftop and blatantly pressed his ear against the cold glass with a slight wince.

Hearing a cough, he peeled his cheek away from the window to shoot the ANBU a glare and a signal to quiet down. The shinobi coughed again in a way that sounded suspiciously like a badly disguised snicker before disappearing in a gust of leaves.

Fussy busybodies.

Rolling his eyes, he returned his attention to the Hokage's office in time to hear a diminutive woman in a traditional kimono with a bowl-cut huff, "Fine. Just until they graduate."

"I appreciate it Noa."

Noa shifted her weight, "I wasn't kidding though; they haven't really needed supervision from me for a while."

She looked away, as if she had just admitted some great weakness or failing. Hiruzen stood up with a smile and nodded, "So you've said. Still, it would ease many minds, including mine, if you could stay until they've graduated."

To her credit, the girl didn't give up and offered, "I could just drop in on them from time to time. I know a few people who did that for those emancipated students from the orphanage."

The Hokage came around his desk and shook his head, "And while I have no doubt that you and them would be happier, – "

Noa flushed.

Sarutobi continued, " – It would greatly complicate certain matters."

Jiraiya let out a short breath of amusement. Was his old teacher referring to complications such as the clamor of clans to 'adopt' one of those boys?

The whole situation reminded him slightly of the hurdles that Minato had to overcome with his efforts to keep Kakashi from being adopted into the Uchiha clan.

"For their safety and continued well-being, I'd appreciate it if you could continue as you have." With that, the Hokage ducked his head, causing Noa to hurriedly bow back, dipping her head so low that her forehead was almost touching her legs.

Jiraiya hummed appreciatively, as he watched the Sandaime then take the chance to urge her to straighten, "Please, just take it as a request of a sentimental old man?"

Flustered, the girl stammered her assent as Sarutobi guided her to the door. With a smile, he thanked her and closed the door, "Get in here, Jiraiya."

With a shrug and a laugh, Jiraiya slid open the glass door and tumbled in, flipping in mid-air so that he landed with his butt already in a chair that was placed just under the window.

He watched as his old teacher moved to his side to close the window above him, before backing away to lean against the side of the desk.

The old man crossed his arms and stared at Jiraiya, "Well?"

Jiraiya broke out in a wide open mouthed smile. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out his latest novel and tossed over his latest novel, "Just published, hot off the presses. Reserved one just for you."

His old teacher had already opened the cover and flipping through the pages.

"I had a draft that I wanted to get your opinion on, but Hatake's brat wanted revenge on the both of us – something about you assigning Gai to him?"

Hiruzen nodded distractedly.

"In any case, I hope you like this one, cuz I finally got around to having Fuko fight with Anki, and-" He was cut off as his old instructor suddenly shook his head in a jump and closed the book with a snap.

Jiraiya grinned wider as he noted the Hiruzen's slight blush. It was good to know that his ability to distract hadn't waned.

Clearing his throat, Hiruzen stated, "Thank you for the book, but that wasn't why I wanted to see you."

Unable to resist, Jiraiya pouted and spread out his arms, "Awww, you didn't miss me?"

"How much have you heard about Danzo?"

Jiraiya blinked and rapidly sobered. Letting his hands fall to his sides, he tilted his head, "What's this about?"

Hiruzen looked down for a moment, before crossing the room to take a seat behind his desk, "I assume you heard about the massacre."

Jiraiya arched a brow, "Of the Uchiha? Who hasn't?" Suddenly, Jiraiya frowned and narrowed his eyes, "What happened?"

Hiruzen let out a heavy sigh before meeting Jiraiya's eyes, "You were gone for a long time."

Unfazed, Jiraiya returned, "I'm back now, aren't I?" Some of his apprehension must have shown on his face, because Hiruzen broke his gaze and reached out for his pipe.

Uneasy now, Jiraiya crossed his arms and leaned back, against the wall, "What's he done?"

The Hokage sucked in a breath, before blowing out a thin plume of smoke. Closing his eyes, he answered, "He never liked the idea of Minato captaining our little ship. How do you think he'd feel about reports of others wishing to be the head?"

A coup?

Jiraiya swallowed, "You're certain."

Sarutobi leveled a steady look back at him.

For a brief moment, he was reminded of the look he'd get after telling one too many fibs.

Right, he'd never been able to fool the old geezer. As much as he'd grown to enjoy playing the fool over the years, his own reputation as a Sannin had pulled a damper on his ability to convince others of his ineptitude.

He still managed, though, about like half of the time – now that took talent.

Still, he'd never been able to fool himself, and when he'd first heard about the massacre, he'd had his own suspicions. He broke Sarutobi's gaze and looked away.

There was a soft clatter as Hiruzen set the pipe down, "I asked Shikaku to look into Danzo."

Jiraiya snapped his head around, "The man agreed?!"

Hiruzen gave him a somber smile, "I told him that I wanted to start preparing a successor."

At that, Jiraiya swung around to face the window.

Because everyone had expected that said successor to Danzo, if not a successor to Hiruzen, would be Orochimaru. The man had the genius and touch for the underhanded dealings that was an integral part of the war.

However, he doubted anyone could have predicted the sheer talent and charisma of Minato, especially with respect to the war.

Orochimaru had a flair for the dramatics; he could make a room silent just by speaking and an audience sweat just by smiling.

Minato, on the other hand, wasn't so conspicuous – until he was, until he removed over a thousand Iwa-nin by his lonesome. (The kid then had the gall to confess to him that the whole thing had been an accident. Sadly, he had no trouble imagining that.)

But as much as everyone, including (grudgingly) himself, recognized Orochimaru for his intelligence, Jiraiya sometimes wondered if the man had understood their sensei's intentions when he'd chosen Minato over Orochimaru.

Beneath the underneath.

Had his old teammate only heard the criticism? (Because as 'secret' as those meetings was, he had no doubt that Danzo had related the news that Hiruzen had not only chosen another person over his own student, but also criticized Danzo's decision as well.)

Orochimaru had never been a dreamer, and was a realist at best – an attitude which had saved their team a number of times. But for all of his accomplishments, the man's ego was also surprisingly sensitive.

That was the problem with young prodigies. They were too accustomed to success, too susceptible to insecurity, that when they fell, they didn't just fall – they dove.

Speaking out the window, Jiraiya asked, "What'd he find?"

He didn't look away from the view as he sensed his former teacher join him at his side, "He never stopped. His reach might be even farther than during the war."

"Shikaku said that?"

There was a slow exhale as Hiruzen huffed out another cloud of smoke, "He's found discrepancies in departmental budget requests and mining reports. The evidence is only suggestive at this point, but the timing of the records happens to be coincidental with dropping silver and diatomaceous earth prices."

Jiraiya furrowed his brow and glanced to his side, "And rising prices in water?"

Hiruzen nodded.

Jiraiya frowned, "He suspects Danzo is targeting Suna with the help of Ame?"

The Hokage shook his head, "It's all circumstantial. You should see the file he handed me. There's nothing concrete in anything, nothing that jumps out until you overlap events on top of one another, and even then…"

"So the budget discrepancies…?"

"Could be a simple accounting error. It's always less than a percent of the total budgets and never from the same department – or at the same time– "

"But it's too random," Jiraiya finished.

"Exactly."

Jiraiya turned back to look at the bustling rooftops and streets below, "Danzo may not have agreed with how the war was finished, but he's always acted in the interest of the village. Why would he want to risk our treaty with Suna?"

Hiruzen turned to face him completely. Leaning an elbow on the window sill, he answered, "That's where I was hoping you'd come in."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow in question.

"Either Danzo sees Suna as a threat or he wants to leverage something from Suna. I want to know which one it is."

Jiraiya nodded, "I'll talk to my informants."

"There's one other thing."

Jiraiya looked back at the Hokage, darting a quick glance at the clock as he did. He'd figured the kid would be late; in fact, he'd prepared for that by telling the kid to come an hour early. Next time, he'd be sure to tell the kid to come even earlier.

"Have you heard anything about a poison that freezes a person's system?"

Drawing his thoughts back to the conversation, Jiraiya sent Hiruzen a concerned look, "A new poison?"

Removing his pipe from his mouth, Sarutobi sighed, "A paralytic – a strange one at that."

A thought niggled at the back of Jiraiya's mind, "Are you sure it's a poison?"

Sarutobi frowned, "Not entirely, why?"

Jiraiya scratched his nose, "One of the kids near Kanroku mentioned medicine that could stop the effects of blood loss and general toxins. But he said that it wasn't very effective since the patient couldn't respond to the doctor either."

"Kanroku?"

Jiraiya shrugged, "Heard it from a friend of a friend."

Hiruzen sighed, "Could you put out feelers for Tsunade?"

Jiraiya spun around, "Tsunade?"

His old mentor gave him a small grin, "I just have a bad feeling about this. I'd feel better if we could get her input on the subject."

When had he last seen her? He returned the smile and nodded.

"How was it by the way?"

Jiraiya blinked, "It?"

A sudden smile broke across the Hokage's face, "The trip back of course. What'd you think of Kakashi and Gai? Do you think they're ready for their own teams?"

-0-

Kakashi sank down into the hot spring waters with a sigh of content that transitioned into bubbles as he submerged his whole face.

While he wasn't as fastidious about his cleanliness as some men that he knew, he did have a sensitive nose. He had his own limits – and spending another year near the swamps was one of them. He didn't know if he had ever been as relieved to see a shower. Part of him was a little surprised that he hadn't grown accustomed to the sulfuric smell of the marshland.

The day that Gai had dunked him head first into the black mud was the day that he'd shaved off the man's eyebrow – only one, since the man had claimed that he thought he was saving Kakashi from some sort of snake.

Surfacing quietly, he padded over to the bench and wrapped a towel around his waist. One of the good things about returning in the middle of the week during the day was the fact that he had most of the bathhouse to himself.

Slipping his mask on, he made his way into the changing rooms, where he quickly changed and headed out the door. Ducking under the banner at the entrance of the onsen, he straightened and paused as he found himself standing face to face with the Jounin Commander.

Had the man been waiting for him?

"Kakashi-san."

He blinked. Slipping a hand out from his pocket, he gave the man an idle wave in greeting, "Yo."

"Did you just return?"

Tucking his hand back in, he shrugged, "A few hours ago."

Shikaku nodded, "I'm sorry to bother you so soon then."

Reading between the lines, Kakashi fought the urge to deepen his customary slouch. He shrugged off the apology with one shoulder and moved away from the entrance of the onsen and walked off the trail. Jumping onto a nearby branch, he waited.

The moment Shikaku joined him, they took off towards an old jounin training ground.

Landing in a crouch, he lifted his head to look at the Nara, who raised an eyebrow.

With a sigh, he raised his headband and opened his sharingan. He surveyed the area silently before covering his eye and giving Shikaku a quick nod, "We're clear. What's this about?"

Shikaku regarded him silently for a moment before sitting down, "Have you become more comfortable using that eye?"

Kakashi shrugged and leaned against a nearby tree. At some point, it had actually become less exhausting to use the sharingan then to listen to Gai's challenges to use it. He suspected Jiraiya had a hand in his companion's sudden interest in helping him "improve" his training.

Shikaku looked away, "I need access to the autopsy records for the Uchiha."

Kakashi frowned, "You want me to request copies as a sharingan-holder myself?"

The Nara met his gaze unflinchingly, "Yes."

"Just the autopsy records?"

"For now."

Kakashi turned his head, his mind racing through the implications of what was being asked. He twisted his head back, "Why?"

"Do you really want to be involved?"

At those words, Kakashi took a closer look. The man's wrinkles had deepened, and the skin under his eyes was slightly darker than he remembered. Still, his gaze was steady.

Unsettled, Kakashi stared for another moment before pushing away from the tree, "I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks." With a grunt, the Nara stood up and turned.

As he watched the man disappear into the underbrush, Kakashi thought over his decision. He'd made a promise to himself that past year, to try again. Convincing Jiraiya hadn't been too difficult either; he suspected that the old man had been making plans of his own.

He looked up at the pieces of the sky that were peeking back at him through the leaves. They were a shade lighter than his sensei's eyes.

He was certain that he'd developed enough social skills to divert suspicions by any party about his sensei's son. Now, all that was left was convincing the Hokage of that fact. He paused and looked down, scratching his head.

Come to think of it, he probably should join Jiraiya soon.

A/N Cont: :pulls face: Ok, crazy thanks to Bonnie for betaing during a weekday – again. XD (and for being awesome in general. Cuz a lot of this chapter was from our ramblings when she first volunteered herself for this insanity :cackles: :P)

Conception Notes.
Sakura on Team 7. She was so screwed I mean, she was placed with a jinchuriki and the last heir to a legendary doujutsu. What parent, aware of the dangers, would allow their kid to be placed on such a team?
Kage Bunshin & Iruka. Based on one of my earlier chapter questions, it seemed like the consensus from my readers and additional research online is that the 'Tajuu Kage Bunshin' was the actual forbidden jutsu. (To be fair, I don't think the anime or manga was consistent on this point.) By numerical stats alone, Iruka's total at the start of the series was the same as Shikamaru's total at the end of the series and considering that the best teachers have a really deep understanding of the subject, I figured it wouldn't be too farfetched for Iruka to know the Kage Bunshin.

Oh, and happy Valentine's Day or whatever XD

Anyway, my sincere thanks to you guys for your continued encouragement. Many thanks to: tyog56, Ryu Kitsune Bard84, sindbad7771, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, Guest #42, urs-v, candyish12345, Sithmor, Hektols, Darkness and Snow, Cute Kirby, pseudotothenym, Almost Ninja, Bobboky, Slytherson, The One Who Reads Too Much, TenchiSaWaDa, animagirl, skewedchoice, laelruin, flakeshake07, phoebe turner, Anaphore, kazers, hentai18ancilla, herondalefan, ITACHIROCKS , #1 Guest, AnonymousFern, Uzushiogakure9, Bonnie Mizuhara, exo, tiffycoop, PyrothTenka, ellesra, lesbianmagari, Lock on Lockon, Sethera, Cadel, chompmomp, Loner Kid, TheBladesEnd, narutopsykoz, TheBladesEnd, Silvanon of the Orchard, Emeraldpichu, Viridian, Me, Frostfire613, flevantein, serialkeller, Avidreader212