Chapter Twenty-Six

Kakashi massaged the bridge of his nose in a vain attempt to stop the yokai chipping away at the inside of his skull with a dull teaspoon. He paced behind his desk, stealing a glance at the pitiful pair of shinobi seated before him. Sakura had sobbed like a baby with a popped balloon when she arrived; now she was more lucid and, at least temporarily, calmed. Sasuke on the other hand, had looked the part of a stoic, hardened criminal. However, Kakashi knew it was only an act. The boy's foot tapped nervously on the floor, and his body languages was defensive – hugging himself. The boy was plenty nervous but not yet scared.

"I want you both to know," Kakashi said in a crisp, low simmer, "how goddamn disappointed I am in both of you!" He glared at both kids with a stare that could cut glass. "And I want you both to know how deep of shit you both are in!" This time Kakashi didn't restrain himself from yelling. Sakura began to cry again, but Sasuke remained generally unmoved. Time for him to learn that being from an important clan is meaningless when you do something stupid!

"Kakashi, spare me, you've got nothing on us, and nobody got hurt," Sasuke said flatly. Either the boy was completely apathetic, or he truly had no idea how bad of an idea it was to piss Kakashi off in the current situation.

"No one got hurt?" Kakashi dripped with condescension, "tell that to Naruto, Sasuke!" Kakashi's hand balled into a fist, a raging beast urging him to wipe the kid's arrogance off his face. "And you," he turned to Sakura, "What in the hell were you thinking playing games like this? You're supposed to be a healer goddammit! What is your first oath, 'do no harm'?" At least Sakura reacted to having the hypocrisy of her actions thrown back in her face.

"So, his date stood him up," Sasuke was unmoved, "It isn't the first time it's happened to someone, and I guarantee it won't be the last. It's no crime she decided to come my way! Are you sure it's not because he's the Hokage's son?"

The last statement truly irked Kakashi. The innocent love triangle he'd experienced between Rin and Obito had ended in death, heartbreak, attempted murder, and his own near suicide. It could have damn well ended with the entire village being slaughtered had Obito succeeded in getting his hands on Nine-Tails. The future is written in the present. Don't let this turn into a repeat of your story! "You know what your problem is, Sasuke?"

"I only have one," the boy quipped. Apparently being a jackass runs in his clan!

"Yeah, just one big one," Kakashi replied angrily, "Your father was either too busy or too apathetic to give you the ass-ripping you so deserve for your degenerate behavior!" He paused, looking for a reaction, spotting the slightest wince at the mention of Fugaku. "And your brother was too kind-hearted and too sympathetic to you to do what your father didn't!"

Finally, the boy showed true emotion – anger. "Look, Kakashi!" the boy howled as he rose from his chair indignantly, "Even if you had jurisdiction over me, and you don't, you've got nothing! You caught us making out in a closet, nothing more! At best you have me written up for disorderly conduct – a misdemeanor! They don't even book you for that. I get a bad right up that gets expunged when I turn sixteen; so, stop wasting my time and quit making her cry!"

Kakashi felt a thin smile form behind his mask. So, he actually does care about her beyond instant gratification, how touching. But it's time to disillusion him about his position. "Normally," Kakashi laughed slightly, "You'd be right. You're no longer a student here, and what you were doing with Sakura would normally be worthy of a misdemeanor." He let the words hang long enough for Sasuke to smile, thinking he'd won.

"However," Kakashi's voice simmered, "You are a shinobi, and so is she, and the Academy is shinobi property, not civilian," he grinned as Sasuke's eyes widened in terrified realization, "Meaning I have full jurisdiction over you… SO YOU WILL SIT DOWN AND BE QUIET!" Kakashi let loose the torrent of his anger he'd kept restrained since Jiraiya and Hinata told him what was happening days ago.

Sasuke did the first wise thing he'd done all day; he sat down and closed his mouth. The arrogant look was replaced with nervous fidgeting. Sakura was still a sniffling wreck. It was time to strike while the iron was hot. "You also are forgetting that you aren't the only one in trouble. Sakura is facing court-martial for a series of crimes, and by your participation, you are now an accessory to those crimes."

"What crimes!" Sakura whimpered through renewed tears.

"You were on shinobi time and on shinobi property, Sakura. You chose to blow off a group meeting to have fun in the closet with Sasuke, and you played fast and loose with Naruto's heart, without regard to what embarrassment he might suffer in the end! That's dereliction of duty for one, conduct unbecoming a shinobi for two, and conspiracy for three." Kakashi counted off firmly.

"Conspiracy?" Sasuke finally started to look panicked, "For what?"

"So, she never told you, did she?" Kakashi asked, amused, "Why am I not surprised?"

"Told me what?" Sasuke's eyes bulged in their sockets. He turned to stare accusingly at Sakura. "What aren't you telling me!"

"Tell him, Sakura," Kakashi said, "about what you said to Hinata when you kicked-started this mess. Tell him how you told Hinata that you'd ask Naruto on a date with the sole purpose of getting Sasuke's attention. Why don't you tell me, were you planning on dumping him immediately, or were you planning on stringing him along for a while!"

"Oh god!" Sakura sobbed again, burying her face in her hands. Kakashi recognized the look. It was the look of someone who realized how screwed she was. Sakura's entire future was in Kakashi's hands – her career as a medical-nin and her standing as a shinobi. If he truly wanted to, he could feed her to the sharks. Kakashi turned his eye back to Sasuke. The boy also now realized how bad of a situation he'd be facing – revoked security clearance, harsh judicial punishment, and the real possibility that his dad might disown him over this level of embarrassment.

"Sakura," Kakashi needed to know, "what in the hell were you thinking?"

"I wasn't," she sobbed.

"You're damn right you weren't," Kakashi said without affect. At least she admits that; maybe she can be salvaged. He turned back to Sasuke, "And you're damn lucky I didn't catch you doing anything more than sucking face in the closet, Sasuke," Kakashi's voice turned back into a low growl. "Otherwise, I'd registering you as a sex-offender right now! Goddammit, Sasuke, you know you're both underage! Do you have any idea how screwed that would make you for the rest of your life?"

Sasuke became truly crestfallen, seeming to deflate before Kakashi's eyes. "Kakashi, we didn't!"

"No," Kakashi said flatly, "but I want you both to consider right now what could have happened if you had stepped over that line you can't return from." For a moment, Kakashi sighed, "Sasuke, aside from facing jail time, do you think you'd ever outlive that stain?" He turned to Sakura, "And do you think for a minute there wouldn't be a circus of angry kunoichi lining up to malign you as a homewrecker and every other foul term out there?"

By now, Kakashi was done trying to scare them. They both knew the stakes, and it was time to put the cards down on the table. "That said," Kakashi softened his tone, "The Hokage is willing to drop the charges and spare you both the embarrassment of court-martial if you agree to certain conditions. Mind you, your parents have already been called and are on the way. Whatever punishment they have in mind is between you and them."

"What conditions?" Sakura whimpered.

"First option: you both admit you lack the sound judgement to be a shinobi. You both turn in your headbands and your ID cards right now and are dishonorably discharged from the shinobi forces. You both have to start over in civilian life."

"My old man would kill me!" Sasuke looked stark terrified.

"I'd never be a medical-nin!"

"Second option," Kakashi ticked off on his fingers, "You admit you lack sound judgement and feel you could succeed with a second chance. You both are pulled from your teams and must repeat the entire seven years of the Academy, making no allowance for academic progress. Afterwards, you'd have to pass your genin-test again." Kakashi paused to calculate in his head, "By that time, you'll be the oldest genin in your group, and Naruto or Hinata could possibly be your jonin-sensei."

Neither of them looked particularly assuaged by the offer. Kakashi knew Sakura had applied for a special medical-nin apprenticeship with Tsunade that she would surely lose, and Sasuke's father would probably disown him still. "Option number three, and this is the one with the most conditions attached," Kakashi extended another finger, "You both admit you've made a horrible lapse in judgement, and you are willing to prove you're worthy of a second chance and have truly learned something from this." He paused, eyeing both of them. They eyed him back intently. "You both have from now until Monday at noon to apologize in person to Naruto, Hinata, their parents, your parents, Kurenai, Shino, and Kiba…"

Both the kids' mouths dropped at the monumental challenge. "Why Shino and Kiba?" Sasuke interrupted.

"Because, unless you do this, you just blew their chance to compete in the chunin-exam as well, Sasuke. They can't compete with a two-man team," he continued. "And you must bring written acceptance of your apology, notarized with the Hokage's seal to me no later than noon on this coming Monday," he paused sizing them up. "Oh, and just a few more things."

Sasuke looked ready to open his mouth to complain but decided to close his mouth against the words. He's already learning! "You both also need to convince Naruto and Hinata to re-enter Team Seven in the Chunin exam as well."

"He-he withdrew from the exam?!" Sakura's face morphed from sadness to disbelief.

"Yes, Sakura," Kakashi replied with mild annoyance, "If you fail, your failure will have held back not one, but four of your comrades' future because they won't be able to compete with their peers." Kakashi smirked slightly behind his mask – it was only a half-truth. Kurenai and Minato had agreed to try talking Team Eight and Team Seven into merging if Sakura and/or Sasuke weren't up to the challenge or failed in some way. It would still be easier if we could convince the teams to reform on their own.

"And I forgot to mention what happens if you shoulder succeed," Kakashi added. Both young shinobi gave him a hard stare but said nothing. "Assuming you're good enough to accomplish all of the above by the deadline, you are both on the strictest of probation for six months. The slightest write up by either of you means both of you get dishonorably discharged immediately." Kakashi paused for effect; they didn't respond. He continued, "Half of any mission pay you earn will be deducted and donated to the Konoha Orphanage, and no matter your level of performance in the Chunin Exams, you both are ineligible for promotion to Chunin until the next exam in two years. If you're good enough to get through your probation in good standing, you both get by with nothing but a letter of reprimand that gets expunged from your file at age sixteen – assuming you do nothing else stupid."

Sakura swallowed hard. Behind her green eyes, Kakashi could see her hopes and dreams, some actually quite noble, teetering on the edge. She turned to Sasuke, and he turned to face her. His eyes were black as a doll's eyes, but Kakashi could see something at work. Sasuke, for all his faults, was a fighter. He didn't give up on anything, and he didn't back down from a challenge, especially when Naruto was involved. The boy nodded to Sakura, and she nodded in return. If I didn't know better, I'd say they were having a moment.

Without taking his eyes of Sakura, Sasuke spoke, "We'll make our apologies," he turned to Kakashi. The boy's determined fire was back, "and we'll attain forgiveness."

"Sasuke, before I let both of your parents in, a reminder, your behavior is now tied to her future," Kakashi said grimly. "This means changing a lot of what you've been lately." Kakashi turned back to Sakura, "And don't forget that it was only the good grace of the Hokage that you were offered a second chance, Sakura. It will be a long time before your teammates trust you with anything more important than a paperclip."


Minato stared out the panoramic window of his office as he sipped his tea. The first few weeks of being Hokage had nearly broken him with sunup to sundown demands. He'd come home every night exhausted, hungry, and doubting himself. Lord Sarutobi had sat down with the impossibly young Hokage and reminded him of the importance of self-care and family-care. The paperwork would still be there if he took a lunch or not. If he left something on his desk to go home to his wife, it would still be there when he came back in the morning. The work was always there, but the responsibility to family and self was not outweighed by the responsibility to the village. It was the second hardest lesson he'd learned as a shinobi.

The intercom on his desk buzzed, "Lord Hokage, your son is here with two of his friends." He walked back to his desk and pressed the reply button, "Send them in."

Naruto entered first, his arms crossed defensively. He was soon followed by the indifferent-looking Sasuke and a nervous-looking Sakura. As Minato scanned the scene, he imagined Sasuke and Sakura a less mature version of his son and Hinata. One was the product of apathy, the other the product of desperation for something better. "Good afternoon," he greeted the group warmly, "Why don't you all take a seat."

He sipped his tea as the kids sat down. For all the important conferences he'd ever held in this room, this was unique. The very future of Konoha was sitting here. A future Hokage, the future medical-nin, and a future high-ranking member of the Uchiha clan – brings back memories. He thought back fondly to the stories of Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru. Fondness morphed to sadness as memory of the legendary Sannin splitting up – Orochimaru becoming a criminal. He thought back to Rin, Obito, and Kakashi – his greatest failures. A sharp kunai twisted in his guts as he thought about how things had gone so wrong. Are we doomed to repeat our mistakes? "So, I'm guessing we aren't here for a social call," he tried for levity, but got little response.

"Dad, I need your help," Naruto said, clearly angered. He jerked a thumb towards Sasuke and Sakura past him. "It seems they not only want my forgiveness, but they also want me to put it in writing, and they want me to re-enter the Chunin-Exams!"

Minato nodded, "Yes, that was a condition of their restitution." Minato was no idiot. He knew where this was going, and he didn't like it.

"They just told me if I don't forgive them, they're out of the shinobi corps," Naruto looked defiant, "Dad, why shouldn't I make them suffer for what they did?"

Minato hardened his gaze at the three. As much as he wanted to fault his son, he knew if their roles were reversed, he'd have a hard time not feeling the same way. Sakura had asked him on a date so she could catch Sasuke's eye, and Sasuke went along with it. If Kushina had done something like that to you, could you forgive her? He banished the horrific thought. Minato had been popular, but he had never had another girlfriend or lover other than his wife. In a way, that made all the harder trying to convince Naruto to be merciful. "Naruto, you have already discussed with them?" he asked

"I have," Naruto turned to Sasuke, not even seeing Sakura, "And they haven't given me a good reason at all!"

"Naruto, I said I'm sorry!" Sakura wept. As she cried, Naruto only seemed to get angrier and angrier. Two roosters in a henhouse. Even if one isn't interested, it's bound to cause problems.

"Sakura," Minato paused, eying his son's negative reaction to her name, "please wait in the main hallway. I'd like to talk to these two men to man. If you don't mind, that is."

Sakura nodded tearfully. Minato knew she had faced a harsh punishment by her parents – she was forbidden to hang out with her friends or participate in any activities other than official shinobi business for a whole month. Sasuke's father punished him similarly. For a soon to be teenager, that was a lifetime to be isolated from your normal social group, especially when your family was busy like Sakura's or largely apathetic like Sasuke's. "Gentlemen," Minato stood up and came around the front of his desk, "I think we all need a heart to heart here. The two of you have been friends since you were in diapers, and I somehow get the feeling we are acting out of blind anger, both of you."

Neither boy said a thing initially. Sasuske looked impassively with his black doll's eyes, and Naruto stared down at the ground, words hanging in his mouth. Finally, Naruto spoke, voice taut on the brink of tears, "How could you do that, Sasuke?"

"I was jealous," the other boy replied flatly. "You had the girl, the looks, and I wanted so badly not to come in second again!" Sasuke's voice raised, a strange mix of anger and regret.

"You've had how many girls since we were at the Academy?" Naruto replied indignantly. "I get an offer from one girl, and you decide you have to wreck it!" Naruto stared accusingly at first, but soon dipped his head, "not that it mattered. Had you waited a damn half-hour, I wouldn't have been any wiser. I was going to call off the date!"

Jealousy will drive you mad. "Boys," Minato interrupted, "I get that you both were jealous of something the other had. But we are crying over spilled milk here!" He turned to Naruto, "Son, I get that you're hurt, but is it worth ruining your friendship with Sasuke over a girl you planned on breaking up with anyhow?" Naruto shook his head faintly. "And Sasuke," Minato turned to the other boy, "I get that your old man doesn't pay you enough attention, but do you think this is healthy? You've dated half the girls in your class and made your father embarrassed. Do you think that will get him to pay you more attention?"

The boy bit his lip for a moment before turning to Naruto, "I don't care what happens to me – I'm a screw up and a mistake in my father's eyes." The boys black eyes went from passive to pleading, a single tear tracing down his cheek, "But don't ruin her future!" Naruto winced in anger but did not speak. "Dammit, she has a real gift!" Sasuke shouted, "How many lives could she save as a medical-nin?! Do you have any idea how hard that training is, how hard she's already worked for this? She has nothing, LITERALLY NOTHING, if you take this from her!"

Even Minato was moved by the normally stoic Uchiha boy's sudden display of emotion. Naruto gave the boy an initially skeptical look, followed by confusion. "You," he paused, sizing the boy up, "you actually like her!" Naruto was astounded, "And not just as some prize or conquest; you actually have real feelings for her! Why her?"

Sasuke sighed and shrugged, "She has nothing. She'll never have better than me," Sasuke allowed himself a thin smile. "All the others, they could replace me in a heartbeat with another guy in a heartbeat. Ino wants to possess me, keep me on a shelf as a trophy. But Sakura," he paused, "She makes me feel wanted, makes me feel whole."

"Sasuke," Minato cut the boy off, "could you excuse us please, for just a moment?" Sasuke looked at Naruto. Even Minato was having a hard time reading his son. The boy's eyes scanned the ground, not meeting Minato's or Sasuke's. The other boy left without a sound. "So," Minato crossed his arms, "here we sit."

"Yeah," Naruto mumbled.

"You can't decide, can you?"

"Dad, I want to forgive them, but…" Naruto paused, but did not cry, "I… I can't! It feels like I'm letting them get away with murder!"

Minato let the words roll around in his head. The irony of the situation was not lost on him. Sitting in this very office about fourteen years earlier, he'd had a very similar conversation with Lord Sarutobi. "Son, I want you to do me a favor."

"What is it, Dad?" Naruto finally looked up to join eyes with him.

"Take a seat in my chair."

"Dad?" Naruto cocked up an eyebrow in confusion.

"Humor me," Minato replied. Naruto did as requested. Before Naruto could say anything, Minato snatched the Hokage's headdress from the desk and planted in on his son's head.

"Dad!" Naruto exclaimed in surprise.

"What!" Minato laughed as he held it on his son's head, "You've wanted to wear this since you were a toddler." Minato cracked a smile, "Or did you forget that photo your mom has of you running around wearing this and little else!"

"Dad! You promised you wouldn't ever bring that up again!"

"Hehe," Minato laughed, "So I lied! My time as a village leader has taught me the strategic importance of knowing when to tell an untruth!" Minato grinned like a shark, "In fact, I'm thinking of showing that little gem at your wedding someday!" Minato chuckled, "But that is neither here nor there, Lord Naruto!"

"Lord Naruto? Dad?" Naruto looked at him skeptically.

"That's right, I'm a lowly genin for the moment, and you're the Hokage.

"Dad, seriously?"

"Believe it!" Minato imitated his son, "Now then, should I forgive them, Lord Hokage, or should I make them suffer a lifetime because they did something stupid?"

"Dad, is there some kind of lesson you're trying to teach, because this is getting annoying!" Naruto exclaimed.

Minato sat back in the chair in front of his desk, "Yeah, I'm trying to teach you the important lesson Lord Sarutobi taught me when he was sitting where you are – the most important lesson he taught me."

"Do tell," Naruto crossed his arms as he pivoted in the Hokage's chair. His boy's feet barely touched the floor. You'll grow into it, son!

"When I was merely a frontline warrior, Lord Sarutobi recalled me to be part of the team that negotiated the end of the Third Shinobi War." Minato sighed as he stared at the desk from the same angle he had when he was barely twenty-three – barely a man, himself. His young, fiery blood called for more blood to quench his thirst. Being asked to step back from fighting was almost painful after how easy fighting had become, but Minato considered the negotiations as the defining moment that earned him his seat in the Hokage's chair. Now it was time to teach the same lesson he had been taught.

"I remember, I learned it in history class," Naruto nodded thoughtfully. "Lord Sarutobi came to our class to speak during his Memorial Day lecture."

"I had to sit at a table with men I had orders to kill on sight only a few weeks earlier," Minato felt his hand shake at the memory, "Some of them had killed friends of mine, and I had killed their friends, sons, and brothers." Minato shook his head, "We who survived had to put aside our differences to end the carnage, we who would have rather slaughtered one another. Negotiations almost failed on day one."

"So, what happened?" Naruto ask, clearly having not heard this part in the sterilized version taught in school.

"I got in a rather heated shouting match with a man who was present when Obito was thought to be killed." He rested in chin on his folded hands, "We both stormed out of the negotiating room. The man was too invested in continuing the war, and I couldn't forgive anyone who had possibly caused the death of one of my students. Eventually," he sighed, "Lord Sarutobi called me in here; he sat where you are right now. He reminded me that I could very easily let the negotiations fail, and just go back the front line, back to killing. Or, I could learn to forgive what happened during the war, not forget it, mind you!" He placed special emphasis on not forgetting what happened, "And possibly make a more peaceful world for the future. It was in my hand."

"So, you're saying the future is in my hands?" Naruto asked.

"If you want to be Hokage someday, you'll have to learn it, whether now or years from now if you end up opposite Sasuke or Sakura in some future conflict." Minato paused, reflecting on how much growth his son had endured in a short time, "I know it smarts, kiddo, but is it really worth turning two friends into permanent enemies? Is it a lesson you want to put off learning until more than two lives are on the line?"

Naruto slid off the Hokage's headdress, setting it gently on the desk, and slid out of the chair. "I can forgive them, but only on one condition, Dad."

"What's that?"

"I'll write the acceptance letter and sign it, but you don't notarize it unless Hinata and her parents agree to do the same." Naruto gave a short nod, "She's the one that got hurt the worst by this whole thing, and she's the only reason I'm holding out."

Interesting, we may make him into something more than just a fighter before long. "Okay son, you have a deal!"


Author's note: Hey everyone, Happy Valentine's Day to anyone reading this at time of publication. Apologies if this chapter is a bit short compared to the others, but my work scheduled has been insane lately. Don't worry, no content has been cut, I'll just be moving it to the next update. Appreciate you all for reading, and hope you're enjoying!

-Adam