Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Kingdom Hearts

Ch 2: Team Seven

Uchiha Sasuke sat quietly at his usual seat. He stared blankly at the front of the class, waiting patiently for Iruka-Sensei to show up and inform them of the next step. He passed the graduation exam effortlessly, and now it was time for them to start their career. It was simply a stepping-stone towards his ultimate goal, and frankly he wanted to get this part over with. The sooner he was out of this place, the more time he had to continue his training.

He was vaguely aware that the usually loud blond knucklehead silently sat at the same desk as him. Sasuke was almost positive that the guy hadn't passed the graduation exam, but he couldn't dispute that he was wearing a Hitai-ate. Even if he stole it, that should be considered a feat of its own. Something must have happened, but he didn't care, or want to talk to the guy, enough to voice his curiosity.

"Eh? Naruto what are you doing here?" Sasuke heard a classmate, Nara Shikamaru, voice his interest. "This isn't for dropouts. Only those who passed are supposed to be here." The Nara heir said, a bored look on his face. The Uchiha knew he was skilled, but that didn't stop Shikamaru from sleeping in class. He was still just as lazy as his clan was known for, until something caught their attention that is. They were known for being very knowledgeable, it must have bothered him to be caught unaware.

Naruto chuckled and pointed his thumb at his forehead. "Oh right, can't you see my Hitai-ate? I'm official!"

"Hey, will you let me through?"

Great, now this was happening. He didn't need to look to know it was Sakura talking. Shikamaru quickly walked away. A smart move really, nobody was stupid enough to stand in her way when she wanted something. Except for Naruto of course. Sasuke could practically feel Naruto's dreamy smile and the blush that crossed his face. He was like an open book, and the Uchiha wandered how the Uzumaki could be so clueless. He's had a crush on the pinkette for a while now. She always seemed more interested in yelling at him and smacking him across the head for good measure. It still hadn't penetrated his thick skull that she hated his guts.

"Naruto! Move your ass! I want to sit next to Sasuke!" Sakura growled, pointing an accusing finger at the blond.

The Uzumaki swiveled his head, and apparently just noticed him sitting in the corner seat. Naruto was too easy to read, so very predictable, that Sasuke wasn't surprised at all when he glared. He considered saying something, maybe even telling him to stand up for himself against the girl obviously openly disrespecting him, but he knew that would fly right over his head. He was too blind the underlying tones of her voice. So instead Sasuke settled for pretending to just notice him. "What?" he said, irritation clear in his voice.

"What do you mean what?!" Naruto yelled. Before he could do anything else, Sakura literally shoved him out of his seat. She had a tendency for treating him rough, but even he wasn't expecting her to go that far.

"Sasuke-kun, can I sit next to you?!" Sakura asked excitedly, only to take the seat without an answer. She scooted in until she was right next to him, uncomfortably close.

Naruto glared at Sasuke again as he stood. With a grumble, he was about to sit again when Ino suddenly shoved passed him too. "What makes you think you get to sit next to him, Forehead?! I want to sit next to Sasuke-kun!" Ino growled, glaring daggers at her rival. Sasuke sighed quietly, closing his eyes. He tried very hard to tune them out, but their shrill voices were penetrating.

"Beat it Ino-Pig! I was here first!" Sakura growled back. A thud caught their attention, and Sasuke looked to the source. Naruto was crouched on his desk, staring right at him. Sasuke momentarily wandered what he was trying to accomplish, but that was overpower by the challenge he felt in Naruto's fiery glare. Sasuke returned it with equal fire, a crackle of electricity between their eyes. He never backed down from a challenge and if the blond wanted a fight, he would get one. Sakura's shrill voice broke through. "Naruto! Get out of Sasuke-kun's face!" She yelled, punching Naruto's cheek so hard he flew a few feet and crashed onto the ground in the front of the class. "Why are you even here?!" The pinkette continued ranting, "Nobody likes you! Everyone would be happier if you just drop dead!"

That was a new level of cruel, even for her. Anger flooded through Sasuke's veins, and he silently watched for a reaction from Naruto. He watched the blond stand up, rubbing his bruised cheek. A pained look took over his whiskered face as he saw Sakura grin victoriously, then go right back to swooning by the Uchiha's side. It was sickening. Several of his classmate were trying to conceal their laughter, but many failed. The Uzumaki was overtaken by a look of utter despair. Sakura had gone too far, and this made it clear to even Naruto that she would never be interested in him. The hurt expression he held reminded Sasuke too much of the pain he felt on a regular basis after his clan had been massacred.

Sasuke was surprised to see a shy girl make her was to the front, while much of the class still lost in their fits of laughter. Honing his skills, he strained his ears, only just able to hear her shy voice. "N-naruto-kun… a-are you o-okay?"

He saw Naruto look up and finally notice the Hyuuga heiress, and she looked away with a small blush. It was painfully obvious that she liked him. Why he couldn't understand, but he was also relieved that she wasn't one of the many girls that fawned over him instead of growing their skill. "Uh, yeah. I'm fine, arigato." Naruto said with a grin. That seemed to only make her blush more as she started poking her fingers together. She was very shy, and the fact that she found the will to speak to him was a feat of its own. A thought crossed apparently came to Naruto's mind and his smile dropped. "Neh, Hinata. What made you want to check on me?"

Hinata remained silent for a moment, visibly gathering courage. "I-I… w-wanted to m-make sure y-you were o-okay." She said, glancing at him. She immediately looked away when she saw his confused expression. "A-ano, y-you see… Y-you're always so n-nice to e-everyone. Y-you didn't d-deserve that..." She said, looking at the ground.

"Oh, okay. I was kinda confused." Naruto said grinning. He was obviously pleased by what she said, and Sasuke could almost see the bonds that started to form between them.

It was honestly kind of entertaining in a wholesome way. Seeing the shy Hyuuga break through her norm and bravely step forward to comfort the Uzumaki only drove home what Sakura had attempted to do. She stared at him still, practically with hearts in her eyes. And it made his blood boil once more. "Sakura" Sasuke said evenly despite his anger.

Naruto, and everyone else apparently, turned their attention to him. "Yes, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said in a dreamy voice. It was clear by the look on her face that she was willing to do whatever he said, but most likely thought he was gonna ask her out.

"Move" Sasuke said, glaring at her over his folded hands.

"Eh?" A look of shock crossed her face. "B-but Sasuke-kun, I got rid of Naruto-baka for you! He was being annoying and…." She tried to plead with him, but he wouldn't let her finish.

"'Naruto may be annoying sometimes, but you are worse. You have no self-control. You're completely obnoxious. Now. Move." Sasuke said in an even tone, his glare intensifying. Feeling a bit of retribution was in order, and not wanting Ino to think it was her turn, he faced the pair in the front once more. "Naruto. Feel free to take back your seat." He said looking straight at the hyperactive blond.

Everyone was staring in shock now, but Sasuke didn't care. He preferred to keep his distance from others, that much was common knowledge, but he was tired of the fangirls that constantly pestered him for his attention. Not only that, but Hinata was actually right. Naruto didn't deserve the way he was being treated. Returning his gaze, the Uzumaki grinned and nodded his head, then turned to the shy girl. "Neh, Hinata. Want to sit with us?" He asked grinning.

Sasuke allowed himself to smirk seeing the amazed look on the blond when the shy girl smiled brightly at him. "H-hai, I-I would l-like that." As the walked up to the desk, the Uchiha briefly allowed himself to think that maybe, just maybe, those two would make good ally's one day. If the blond ever managed to actually learn something useful.

/ */

Haruna Sakura was having, by far, the worst day of her young life. She had apparently gone too far by striking Naruto and telling him off, and now Sasuke wanted nothing to do with her. She couldn't let it go on like this. She decided to push this to the back of her mind for now and listen to Iruka-Sensei. She desperately hoped he had good new that would change her mood.

"Beginning today, you are all real Shinobi." Iruka said proudly, looking over his new graduates. "But you are all still rookie Genin. What comes next will be far more difficult. Now… you will all be assigned missions by the village. So today, all of you will be grouped into three-man teams. Each team will have a Jonin sensei. You will follow that sensei's instructions as you complete the assigned missions."

As she listened, Sakura stole a quick glance at Sasuke. She desperately hoped that somehow, someway, she would be lucky enough to be placed on his team. If she managed that, she would have time to make it up to him. As long as that damn Uzumaki didn't get in her way. He was annoying like that.

"We tried to balance all of your strengths and weaknesses. I will now announce the teams." Iruka listed several names, but the pinkette couldn't give it her full attention. She waited, to hear either Sasuke's name or her own. She heard the Baka's name first and could help her curiosity. "Team Seven. Uzumaki Naruto… Hyuuga Hinata…" She glanced at the two sitting with Sasuke and saw them smile at each other. She was well aware that Hinata was after Naruto, and while she was glad that she wasn't after Sasuke, only a weakling like her would care for a Baka like Naruto. She peeked in Sasuke again, and hope filled her heart. "And Uchiha Sasuke." Then in an instant her heart was crushed. She felt herself slump in disappointment. This couldn't possibly get worse.

"Yata! We're going to be the strongest team ever!" Naruto shouted. Sakura glared heatedly at him, but he didn't notice or seem to care one bit. He sat again with a bright smile now plastered on his face. She couldn't figure out how everything had been flipped on her like this. Him and Sasuke had an obvious rivalry until now, and suddenly they seemed happy to be on the same team? She wasn't buying it. It was too farfetched in her opinion. This just had to be some stupid prank.

"Team Eight. Haruno Sakura…. Inuzuka Kiba…" At this, the already sulking Sakura slumped down more. Great, dog breath. The only thing worse than that would be- "And Aburame Shino." She slammed her head on the desk. This was the worst possible outcome she could think of. The bug weirdo was on her team too. Her hopes and dreams seemed far out of her reach now, and she felt like screaming and crying. Absently, she felt her old friend Ino pat her back, and could almost feel the look of pity on her face. Sakura definitely felt like she deserved it.

When Iruka was done calling out teams, the pinkette stood up with fury in her eyes. "Iruka sensei! Why does an idiot like Naruto and a weakling like Hinata get to be with Sasuke-kun?! I should be on his team!" She yelled, unable to contain herself any longer.

Iruka went into lecture mode and stared her down. "Sakura. You were our best Kunoichi this year, so we couldn't put you with the Rookie of the year. We have to do this to balance the teams, understand? These teams were picked by the Hokage himself. You're not question his authority, right?" At his hard stare, all should do was except her fate and sit back down. Her head hung low as she sulked some more. This was the absolute worst. "Alright, that's all for now. After lunch you'll all meet your Jonin sensei. Until then, class is dismissed."

Sakura heard Naruto-Baka's voice. "Neh, to celebrate let's go get some ramen at Ichiraku's!" An idea struck her. No way Sasuke would agree to go with him. She saw this as a golden opportunity to swoop in and save him from those Baka's. She jumped to her feet and made her way to Sasuke's side. She paused just out of site to collect herself and fix her hair. She had to look good for him after all. A blush spread across her face as she steeled herself and tried to seem regretful. "What about you Sasuke?" Sasuke looked apprehensive, and Sakura stepped up to him seeing the perfect opportunity.

"Sasuke-kun, I know were not on the same team, but would you like to have lunch with me? I want to make up for what I did." She said bashfully. She had to do this just right, or else she would be denied again. Naruto stared at her forehead, and she cursed in her head, carefully making sure it didn't reach her face. She probably had a bruise on her head now, from where her head hit the desk. If she was lucky, it would add to the look she was going for and make her look cuter.

"Hn. I'll go."

"I know it's- wait really?" Sakura was shocked. She had expected a denial, and already had a backup in mind. This was going better than she thought it would. She blushed, holding her flaming cheeks in her hands. This just had to be the start of a great relationship. She leaned away shyly for effect. "Oh, Sasuke-kun, there's this really nice café I wanted to show you! I can't wait for the other girls to see us together! The look on their faces-" She was so wrapped up in what she was saying, she didn't notice that he was walking away until the Uchiha was about to walk out the door. "Sasuke-kun? Where are you going? You said we could go out!"

Sasuke barely spared her a glance. "No, I didn't. I agreed to go eat with my new teammates. You're too annoying." He said coldly as the new team seven walked out.

Sakura felt her hopes and dreams crashing down around her again, only this time they shattered completely. She saw Naruto glance at her sad face, and he looked like he wanted to say something. With how crushed she was in this moment, she doubted she could even scold him when he asked her out again, let alone muster the strength to hit him. Then he turned and walked away too. That definitely stung. Sakura stared longingly at the empty doorway, now completely alone in the classroom as it sank in. She had made a grave mistake.

/*/

Hyuuga Hinata was on cloud nine. If this was a dream, she never wanted to wake up. She had wanted to talk to Naruto for years. No matter how hard she tried, she either lost her nerve or he didn't seem to notice. When she heard Sakura say those awful things to Naruto today, and the sad look on his handsome face, it was enough to drive her into action. She was there for him when he had needed her the most, and she could tell he appreciated it. She finally did something right.

Even better, they were assigned to the same team. She practically floated down the street on their way to get food. Nothing could have been better than this. Well, if he had actually asked her to go on a date… But no, she couldn't be greedy. This was Naruto. Just the fact that she was able to spend any time at all with him would be worth it. And now she was able to see him every day. She was so lost in her thoughts she barely noticed when they entered the humble ramen stand.

The blond quickly took his seat, and her heart warmed seeing Naruto's happy smile as she sat beside him. The owner greeted them with a smile, clearly happy to see the Uzumaki. "Konnichiwa Naruto. Who are your friends?" He asked, passing a couple of paper menus to her and Sasuke. She had seen Naruto here before, and she knew he never needed a menu.

"Konnichiwa Jii-san! These are my new teammates, Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Hinata." Naruto said, gesturing to each of them. "Were gonna be the best Konoha has ever seen, dattebayo!" He said proudly. The sheer confidence in his words made her feel like she could take on any challenge. She was sure that he was right, they would be strong. If for no other reason, then because he was there with them. She felt more confident of her own ability with every passing moment in his presence. He practically determination, and it was infectious.

The owner bowed deeply in respect to her and Sasuke. "It's a pleasure to meet both you!" He said, "My name is Teuchi. For coming to my humble restaurant, arigato!" He stood straight again, pulling a notepad and pen from his apron. "Now, does everyone know what they would like today?" Teuchi asked.

"I'll have Miso ramen!" Naruto answered immediately.

"Hn. Beef ramen." Sasuke said only glancing at the menu.

It was her turn now, and she hadn't even looked once at the menu. The eyes on her made her nervous, so she decided to have the same as her crush. "A-ano… M-miso ramen p-please." Hinata mumbled, blushing. Naruto turned and smiled at her, causing her heart to flutter more.

"Coming right up!" Teuchi said, disappearing into the back.

"Nice choice Hinata, Miso ramen is the best!" Naruto stated happily.

While they waited, Naruto did most of the talking. She was able to force out a few words, with some effort. She hoped to get over her shyness soon. Sasuke stayed silent, only giving an occasional grunt as a reply. When their food arrived, Naruto made quick work of his first bowl. He finished his third bowl as they were finishing their first. They paid for their meal and began walking back to the Academy to meet their Jonin Sensei.

Simple moments like this almost made her feel normal. If she was from a different clan, or if the world was safer, maybe she wouldn't have to fear what the future entail. She desperately wanted to forget about the danger involved with their career, but she could not. She glanced at Naruto and those thoughts seemed ridiculous to her suddenly. They would be alright; she knew it without a doubt. After all, Naruto would be by their side. And she would be strong, for him.

/*/

Naruto was ecstatic as he walked with his teammates down a cobblestone backroad. He chatted happily about how they were gonna learn a bunch of awesome Jutsu. "Pretty soon, we'll be breathing fire and sending tsunamis at our enemies! This is gonna be so…" He trailed off, something catching his attention out of the corner of his eye. He stopped, turning to stare into the tree line off to his left. He though he saw…. No, it can't be. He must have imagined it.

He shook those thoughts off and started walking again. His teammates were ahead waiting for him. He saw it again. One of those… things from his dream appeared from the ground right in front of him. Its yellow eyes seemed to peer into his very soul. He quickly pulled out a kunai and slashed at it. It barely seemed to notice and lunged at him. Naruto jumped to the side and stood, watching it stare right back at him.

"What is that thing?" Sasuke said now at his side. Hinata was on Naruto's other side, a look of fear on her face as she stared at the odd creature.

"I don't know for sure, but I saw those things in my dream last night. It's bad news." Naruto said, throwing his kunai. It tore through the dark creature, and it popped into a black mist… only for the mist to reform into the creature again. More appeared now, a group of five, and all six of them lunged at the same time. Sasuke and Hinata jumped clear. Naruto tried to jump out of the way too, but his foot got caught on a rock and he fell. Those dark things were about to land on him, all he could do was close his eye and hold his kunai in front of him in a defending manner. Before they could touch him, there was a flash of light and they were thrown backwards.

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and saw he was now holding an oddly shaped sword with a chain attached to its base. That's…. the same sword the Yondaime held in his dream! The young blond shook his head and stood up. He would think about that later. His new weapon was light, similar to the sword he dreamt about, so he charged swinging it one-handed like he had then. With a few slashes, the dark creatures again turned into a black mist. This time, however, they did not return. Naruto stood in the middle of the path, looking for more of them. When nothing happened, he sighed in relief.

"What was that all about?" Sasuke said as he walked to Naruto. Hinata rejoined them as well, her eyes darting around to look for more.

Naruto stared at the strange blade. A moment later it disappeared from his hand, and Naruto stared at the kunai he was holding once more. He put it away and started walking with his teammates again. "I'm not sure, but those same things were in this strange dream I had last night. It was pretty normal at first…" Naruto described his dream to them as they walked back to the Academy. None of them noticed a purple haired Anbu dart off to the Hokage's office.

/*/

Hatake Kakashi was running several hours later. It was a habit now, but as the sole remaining member of his team, it was hard to break. He didn't even realize were the time went, as he stood staring mournfully at the memorial stone each day. Of course, he made a point of being on time for important missions. The Sandaime seemed to understand thankfully, but for years he's been trying to give him a Genin team in hopes that they would give him a reason to move on.

The latest batch would be interesting. For the first time, he hoped they would pass his test. His deceased Sensei's son was someone he wanted to train for quite a while now. His scores were definitely lacking in the Academy, something Kakashi blamed himself for. By the time the thought occurred to him, however, the day was already gone. It was kinda funny to hear about his pranks too. Naruto was a lot like his parents, and Kakashi wanted to tell him all about them some day. It was the least he could do.

The Uchiha had suffered from the loss of his family, and he most likely was bent on revenge. Kakashi heard the boy was a prodigy, excelling in every subject pushed his way. He wasn't the Rookie of the year for nothing. He hoped spending time with comrades would give the Uchiha a new focus, perhaps a healthy rivalry with the Uzumaki would do him some good. He knew the boy had not activated his Sharingan yet, but he would train him to utilize it to the best of his ability when the time came.

The Hyuuga girl was someone he was not expecting, but he welcomed the idea none the less. She was timid, and her scores were average. That being said, she had a lot of potential. He had heard from Iruka that her Taijutsu was good, but she seemed to hold back for fear of hurting her fellow classmates. She was talented, but gentle in nature. He could definitely work with that. He also was interested to learn about her having a crush on the Uzumaki.

It was almost poetic how perfect this team was set up. He nearly wanted to skip the final exam and just make them official. Nearly.

He was sure they were still sitting in their classroom waiting for him. Good little Genin tended to wait patiently like that, usually for fear of enraging their potential Sensei. That and they probably knew they would throw away their career if they left. Walking down the hallway at a leisurely pace, he mentally prepared himself for the fresh Genin. This was gonna be entertaining.

"A-ano… m-maybe something i-important happened?" Kakashi heard the girl, probably Hinata, say. There was some shuffling, and he saw a chalk board eraser poke out of the dup of the open sliding door. "N-naruto-kun… I-I don't k-know if that a g-good idea." Hinata said. This must be the boy's idea of a prank. Honestly, it was unimpressive compared to the stories he had heard from other Jonin.

"Nah, it'll be fine. That's what he gets for being late." That was definitely Naruto.

"Hn. Like a Jonin would fall something as simple as that?" That meant this on belonged to Sasuke.

He figured it would serve him well to play along, so he put his gloved hand on the door. The room fell silent, so he pushed the door opened and poked his head inside, allowing the eraser to hit his head. Sure, he could have grabbed it out of the air. But what fun would that be? He managed to look unimpressed, despite his desire to smile. It wasn't hard, most of his face was covered after all.

"Ha! Got him! He totally fell for it!" Naruto declared happily, pointing at the masked Jonin.

"G-gomen sensei…" Hinata said, hanging her head in shame.

Sasuke simply looked disappointed. Now to drive it home. "Hmm… How do I put this?" Kakashi said, lifting a hand to his masked face. "My first impression is…" pause for affect, "I don't like you guys!" It worked perfectly. Everyone's face fell, his words seemingly weighed heavy on them.

/*/

"Okay, let's begin with introductions." Kakashi said. He brought his Genin to the roof of a building with trees lining the top. It seemed like a relaxed environment, so it set the mood he was going for just right. His plan to catch them by surprise was falling into place nicely. Across from his place leaning against the railing, Naruto sat in the middle with Sasuke and Hinata on either side of him.

"Introduction? What do you want us to say?" Naruto said, tilting his head inquisitively.

"How about things you like, dislike. Dreams for the future, hobbies, stuff like that." Kakashi said with a shrug. They were making this too easy. It was always funny to see the reactions of fresh Genin once they learned the truth. The slow build up made it all the more worth it.

"A-ano… Sensei, can y-you introduce y-yourself first? To s-show us h-how it w-works?" Hinata said, poking her fingers together. Her stuttering was going to be a problem eventually, Kakashi noted, but he figured spending time with the object of her affection would break her from it in time. If they passed that is. This would be fun.

"Me? My name is Hatake Kakashi. Things I like and dislike… Hmm… I don't feel like telling you about that. Dreams for the future…? Hmm…Well I have lots of hobbies." Kakashi said in an even tone, keeping his face unreadable. He greatly enjoyed the confused look they gave him. Mask we're great.

"All we learned… was his name." Naruto mumbled, just loud enough for the other Genin to hear. Then again, Kakashi had some great hearing. He suppressed the urge to laugh. They were so easy to mess with.

"Okay, your turn. You first, on the right" Kakashi said, looking at Hinata.

"A-ano… My n-name is H-hyuuga Hinata." She said poking her fingers together. "I like c-cinnamon r-rolls, and…" She trailed off, glancing in Naruto's direction and blushing. "I d-dislike people w-who make j-judgments b-before they k-know y-you. My d-dream is to h-have a h-happy f-family one day. My hobby…" She glanced at Naruto and blushed some more. Kakashi mentally sighed. Girls of this age are more interested in love than growing as Shinobi. He already expected this to some extent, but her infatuation was so obvious, and Naruto was so clueless. He hoped this wouldn't get in the way of her training.

"Next" He said turning to the Jinchuriki.

Naruto sat up a bit straighter. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo!" He said adjusting his Hitai-ate. "I like instant ramen, and I really like the ramen at Ichiraku's! What I dislike is the three minutes you have to wait for the ramen to cook." Kakashi was beginning to wander if the Uzumaki thought about anything besides ramen. He did take after his parent's, very closely it seemed. "My dream is to be the greatest Hokage! Then the whole village will acknowledge me!" He said proudly. Kakashi had a faraway look at that. He's certainly grown in an interesting way. "My hobbies… gardening and pranks I guess."

"Gardening?" Kakashi asked, mildly surprised.

"Yeah! I only have a potted plant right now, but when I'm Hokage I'll have a mansion with a huge garden!" Naruto said, throwing his arms out to emphasize how large it would be. Kakashi let himself chuckle at that one. This kid was entertaining if nothing else.

"Lastly, the Uchiha." Kakashi said, turning to Sasuke.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are a lot of things I dislike, and I don't really like anything. What I have isn't a dream because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan and kill a certain man." Sasuke said in an even tone. Everyone was silently staring at Sasuke. Hinata had a sad but understanding look on her face. Naruto looked hesitant at that, an uneasy scowl on his face. Kakashi had expected this, and he desperately hoped being on this team would be enough to push Sasuke in the right direction before something bad happened.

"Okay! You're each unique and have your own ideas. We'll have our first mission tomorrow." Kakashi said, feeling the need to change the subject before questions were asked. It worked perfectly.

"Hai! What kind of mission?" Naruto said happily saluting Kakashi.

"First we are going to do something together, just the four of us." Kakashi said. This was it, he would beat around the bush a bit first to add to the affect.

"What, what?!" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Survival training." Kakashi said evenly.

"Huh? Survival training? We did plenty of that at the Academy!" Naruto wined.

"This is not like your previous training. I will be your opponent."

"So, uh… what kind of training is it?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi chuckled to himself. "You're not gonna like this." But he was going to enjoy it. Time to let them have it. He gave them a serious look. "Of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will actually be chosen as Genin. The other eighteen will be sent back to the Academy. The training is a super difficult exam, and the chances you'll fail are about sixty-six percent." He was very pleased by their shocked faces. It was hard fighting the urge to a laugh, a small chuckled escaped his lips. "See, I told you that you wouldn't like it."

"What the hell?! We worked so hard to get here, dattebayo! What was the point of the graduation test anyway?!" Naruto asked, completely astonished by this news.

"Oh, that? That was just to select candidates to have a chance to become Genin." Kakashi said in a dismissive tone. "Anyway, tomorrow I will decide if you pass or fail. Bring all of your Shinobi tools. Oh, and skip breakfast, you'll throw up." Kakashi said simply. Naruto began to shake. It was quite obvious he was nervous, and he should be if he actually thought going through the Academy was hard.

Kakashi was happily surprised when Naruto's face shifted to a determined one. He saw Hinata fidget some more, and glance at the blond. Her eyes also hardened with determination. Sasuke looked like he could care less. Those three had so much potential, he could feel it. "Here, the details are all on this print-out. Don't be late tomorrow." Kakashi said, handing each of them a paper. "Alright, that's all for today. You're dismissed." Kakashi said, leaving via shunshin.

/*/

"A-ano… N-naruto-kun, a-are you o-okay?" Hinata asked fidgeting with her fingers.

Naruto looked up at her, now noticing that Sasuke had already left as well. It was just the two of them, so he figured he could be honest. Hinata had never been one to put him down, that he could remember from their brief interactions at least. He smiled sheepishly, and his right hand unconsciously went up to rub the back of his head. "Y-yeah, I'm alright. There's just… a lot of kanji on here." He said, giving her a lopsided grin.

She poked her fingers together and took a step closer. "D-do you… W-want some h-help?" She asked timidly. Naruto looked at her and smiled, causing her to blush heavily. She was so nice, and he was now very grateful to have someone like her as a teammate. Upon his nod, she sat next to him and explained it in detail until he seemed to understand.

Naruto nodded his head, glad that he had the help. "That makes sense, arigato Hinata-chan! You're the best!" He said grinning. Then she smiled at him, and he felt that odd feeling in his stomach again. She looks really pretty now for some reason. He considered asking if she wants to hang out. Before he could act on it, they were interrupted.

"Naruto-san" Naruto looked up and saw it was an Anbu with long purple hair. He had seen her a few times before, and she was always nice to him. "Come with me."

Figuring the Hokage wanted to talk to him or something, he hopped to his feet. "Arigato, I'll see you tomorrow Hinata-chan!" He said, as he walked to the Anbu's side. Hinata smiled again and simply waved to him. Her smile was really pretty. He had a strong desire to make her smile more often. The Anbu then put a hand on his shoulder and with a shunshin they were gone.