Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 15

Kakashi tapped his fingers across the top of his thigh as he scanned the mixed expressions in the blue, lavender, and black eyes before him. He really shouldn't be this giddy, today was a somber day of discipline and instruction. But the honor of molding these easily corruptible—er, impressionable—young genin into shinobi had him feeling surprisingly excited.

"Alright I'll start," he drawled, trying to affect a lazy attitude of superiority. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. My likes are too sophisticated for you three children to comprehend—"

"Ahem-SMUT-ahem," Naruto not-so-subtly coughed into his fist. Hinata giggled. Sasuke scowled harder than ever.

Pretending not to have heard, Kakashi piously continued, "My dislikes are none of your business—"

"Two words: Green Spandex," the evil blond smugly stated. Hinata snorted and then furiously rubbed her eyes like she was trying to erase a mental image. Sasuke looked disturbed and confused.

Kakashi fought the involuntary shudder that always accompanied such horrific memories as were conjured up by those words, and fixed his new little genin with a gimlet eye.

"My hobbies are torturing naive genin and crushing their arrogant pranking asses into the ground with my fearsome indoctrination into the life of a shinobi. And my goal is to make them worship the ground I walk on." This got him a growl, an 'eep', and a face-palm. In that order. The Sensei tried to pause for dramatic effect, but this was ruined by the loud blond.

"Alright alright, you're scary we get it. Me next! I am Uzumaki Naruto! My likes are fuuinjutsu and ramen, my dislikes are sulky emo bastards and stuck up Main House Hyuga assholes—oof." Pouting while rubbing the spot on his ribs where Hinata had just elbowed him as she hissed "language, Naruto-kun", he continued. "My hobbies are training with my friends and spreading joy throughout the Leaf with harmless jokes." This sparked a choking sound from their new Sensei. "And my goal is to gain the village's respect and become the best Hokage ever, dattebayo!" Hinata beamed at him and Sasuke looked like he'd drunk sour milk. Ignoring this, Naruto returned her smile, "You're turn Hime!"

"My name is Hyuga Hinata," she said in a soft but steady voice. "My likes are cinnamon rolls and..." Kakashi almost missed the quick glance she shot at her grinning teammate that suspiciously coincided with a deepening of the pink on her cheeks, "...my dislikes are bullies and control freaks." That time she definitely shot a look at Sasuke. "My hobbies are cooking and training with my friends." Taking a deep breath, she straightened and made known the dream of her heart that she had never dared express to anyone except her best friend, "my goal is to become a strong kunoichi and unite the Hyuga." Kakashi's eye widened, sheesh, these kids don't mess around.

Sasuke had been listening to his teammates' aspirations of rainbows and sunshine with an annoyed scowl. It seemed to him that he had been saddled with useless daydreamers who would never understand the gravity of his burden and the depth of the sins he sought to punish. Lacing his fingers together he planted his elbows on his knees and forced himself to follow along with the pointless exercise.

Kakashi tried not to roll his eyes at the dramatically glowering genin at the end of the row. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't have any likes," he ignored Naruto's scoff. "I dislike fangirls and dobes," did Hinata just crack her knuckles? I thought she was the sweet one? "I don't have time for hobbies. And my goal is to kill a certain man and rebuild my clan." Well he should have seen that one coming a mile away.

Kakashi took in the irritated expression on Naruto's face, the scarily threatening glare that Hinata was aiming at the Uchiha, the way Sasuke stonily refused to acknowledge the existence of either of them, and wished he had Minato-sensei's talent for bringing conflicting personalities together. How the hell was he ever going to get these kids to cooperate? They really were not all that different, each seeking justice for the crimes committed against them while aspiring to build a foundation for a better tomorrow. If he could just get them to see each other, maybe, just maybe, he could help them create the futures they each strove to bring to fruition. Then 'Kakashi of the Sharingan Eye' could finally balance the scales of his own bloody deeds, serving Konoha by fostering the Will of Fire instead of being the executioner of her enemies. He adjusted the fit of his hitae-ate over his gifted eye, thinking about Obito and Rin and all of his own regrets wasn't going to help right now, he had to focus on the three unique characters in front of him.

"Fascinating," he said, gaining the three's attention once more. "Tomorrow I will put you through a test of my own to see if you have what it takes to accomplish your goals. Meet me at Training Ground Three at 0700, and don't eat breakfast unless you want to barf. Ja ne!"

It was cloudy but warm, and a breeze blew steadily through the short grass of Training Ground Three. Naruto and Hinata settled themselves side by side on the cool ground, and he took her hands in his own as he began to wrap the bandages around her fingers. The tail of his red scarf danced up into his face with a gust of wind and she reached over with her free hand to flick it over his shoulder.

"Do you think he'll be on time?" Hinata asks, eyeing the rising sun that just crested the treetops. While Kakashi had a bit of a reputation for taking his sweet time, it had improved considerably since he had moved in with Naruto. The prankster had taken the habit of tardiness as a personal challenge, saying that if Dog felt the need to nit pick his personal hygiene habits, then he had the same prerogative when it came to his roommate's tardiness.

"You betcha," Naruto grinned evilly. "I left a little love note for him that said there was a seal hidden somewhere on his person that would explode at exactly 0700 and could only be deactivated by my chakra. Either he'll be here or he'll be soaring over the Hokage monument."

"Nice," she giggled, and seeing a dark figure enter the training ground, quickly activated her bloodline. Immediately recognizing their third teammate, she relaxed but continued to stare in his direction as Naruto remained focused on his task. Hinata was not especially thrilled to have the cheerless Uchiha on her team. Ever since that day when he had nearly barbecued Naruto-kun in that schoolyard spar, she had been more than a little sensitive when it came to his demeaning comments toward her best friend. But she really wanted to be a successful kunoichi, and that meant ensuring her team was successful as well. She felt her hands squeezed in Naruto's large grasp, signaling that she was done, so in the spirit of compromise, Hinata grabbed her scroll and unsealed the three bento boxes she had brought for breakfast.

"Thanks Hime! Looks delicious as always!" Naruto crowed, and with a rushed "itadakimasu!" dove into his meal. She smiled and turned to hand the second box to Sasuke as he walked up where they sat by three wooden posts.

"Dobe, the day has hardly started and you've already forgotten the directions," the dark haired boy looked down disdainfully at the feasting genin.

"We'll see who's laughing when you faint like a damsel in distress and I gotta save your hangry ass, Teme," Naruto taunted, taking a massive bite and chewing emphatically, making sure to punctuate his smacking with hums of delight.

Sasuke looked away in mild disgust at the rough manners and clicked his teeth in annoyance. Completely ignoring Hinata he stalked toward the other side of the clearing to begin his own warm ups.

"Excuse me Sasuke," came a soft voice from behind him. He turned fractionally to see Hinata approaching him with a bento extended in her hand. "I made one for you too. You really should eat, Kakashi-sensei will not go easy on us, from what I have heard."

Not even bothering to break his stride, Sasuke simply grunted "Bakas. I don't want any of your food." Hinata's pearly eyes narrowed upon his stiff shoulders as he continued to walk away, struggling to keep her anger in check as she went back to her friend.

"So how far up his ass do you think that stick goes?" Naruto mused around another mouthful of food. Hinata huffed as she plunked to the ground next to the teenager who was doing an amazing impersonation of a garbage disposal. Handing him the extra bento she exhaled forcefully through flared nostrils and sharply snapped her chopsticks apart.

"Far enough to fill his stomach apparently," she muttered under her breath, causing her companion to choke out a surprised laugh, nearly inhaling his half chewed breakfast.

Kakashi was not in the most pleasant of moods as he finished explaining the rules of the bell test. The foreboding message his obnoxious roommate had left smeared on the bathroom mirror in toothpaste was not only gross, but frustratingly effective. Especially when he had heard an ominous sizzling sound coming from his pack where he kept his precious orange book. So he now stood in the rigid pose of a military commander ready to force his troops through a gauntlet of torture. What better way was there to cheer himself up at this early hour?

He surveyed the three teenagers fidgeting in front of him, lined up similar to yesterday. Naruto looked like he had ants in his pants and a scheme on his mind. Hinata was doing a much better job of trying to appear innocently angelic but there was a gleam in her eye that made him feel supremely uneasy. If he didn't already know that Sasuke was an Uchiha, the arrogant way he crossed his arms and the dark expression that screamed "Fugaku" would have sealed the deal. This should be an A ranked mission based on mental distress alone, he thought as he pulled out the two small bells and held them up for the three to see.

"So come at me with all you've got and the two who get the bells will stay on my team. Alright? Now, when I say go—"

"Hime! Catch!" Kakashi and Sasuke both gawked with surprise as suddenly Naruto launched himself into Hinata's arms. To her credit the girl reacted instantly, and didn't even seem phased by the abrupt attack. Before the laughing boy could complete his leap, Kakashi unexpectedly slammed into the ground with a lanky orange genin sprawled across his chest, and Hinata had neatly snatched the shining pair of bells from the air. Smiling innocently at Sasuke, she gave him a sarcastically cute wave, making sure to jingle the bells merrily in his face.

Sasuke was gaping at her and the Dobe, who was flopping like a sack of potatoes on his Sensei while the man tried to suck air. The top ranked genin had already been channelling chakra while running through several complex attack scenarios in his head when those two fools had simply outsmarted the seasoned jonin with an E-ranked kawarimi? He had heard that the Copy Nin used an impossibly difficult test to screen his genin, and had been up nearly half the night trying to guess what it was and formulate a plan. His anger that they had beaten him so easily made him despise their little trick even more.

"Penalty!" Kakashi hollered as he roughly chucked Naruto off his chest. "False start! And you know that's not how this works, Pup." Kakashi tried to save some of his dignity by not flat out wheezing as he stood up and willed oxygen into his lungs. He should've known that kid would have some sort of plan to make his test look ridiculously easy.

Naruto shrugged without remorse. "What? You said 'go'!" he chuckled and slyly fist bumped Hinata as he walked to her side. Kakashi grunted and held out his hand to the Hyuga, impatiently gesturing for her to return the prize. She pouted before walking over and slapping the pair of bells into his extended palm, looking up at his masked face with no regret in her eyes.

"I expected this from him, but you...if I wasn't so annoyed I'd be proud," the sensei mumbled. Hinata gave him what appeared to be a scarily sweet smile, in his now highly suspicious opinion, and returned to stand between her two teammates.

"Assholes," he muttered beneath his mask. "I heard that Kaka-sensei!" Hinata chirped, and did that knuckle cracking thing again. Since when did she get so mean?

Tired of being on the receiving end of all the Pup's jokes, Kakashi gave up trying to be a respectable Sensei and decided to play dirty. "Y'know what, to hell with it," briskly he tied the two bells to his hip and with a mock salute yelled, "OnyourmarkgetsetGO!" With a pop of smoke the Copy Nin disappeared and there was nothing but falling leaves where he had stood.

"Ok, here's the plan," Naruto clapped his hands together and wasted no time turning to face the other two genin. "Hime, keep your eyes activated for as long as possible, I will—"

"I'm going alone," Sasuke stated flatly, reaching into his pouch to pull out a kunai and three shuriken.

Naruto irritatedly pointed at the Last Uchiha while giving Hinata a look that said I told you so! She sighed, already tired of constantly having to placate the two headstrong males while at the same time trying to not get pissed about Sasuke's complete dismissal of her. Once again deciding that she would be the mature one, she called out to Sasuke's retreating back, which was already becoming a familiar sight. "Sasuke the point of the whole exercise is teamwork. You have to look underneath the underneath of the bell test," she tried to explain with as little condescension as possible.

"I'm sure whatever childish strategy that idiot has cooked up will just get us disqualified, again," Sasuke snapped over his shoulder. "Maybe when I claim both of the bells for myself they will let me pick two new teammates, preferably one who isn't an usuratonkachi, and another who can actually intimidate an enemy."

Watching him leap off into the trees, Hinata could feel her blood boiling. No one was allowed to insult her efforts and question her dedication like that, especially stuck up little emo punks who acted like the whole damn world owed them a favor. She angrily activated her bloodline, but not in search of her new Sensei. "Looks like someone needs to be taught a lesson," she growled, and in a flash she was also gone.

"My ideas are not childish," Naruto muttered as he watched Sasuke's death take flight through the trees. It was super tempting to let her mete out retribution upon the stuck up genin, but they really needed to get their act together at some point. Maybe he would allow her to just slightly maim the guy, before stepping in to prevent him from being totally paralyzed by 64 palm strikes? Decided, Naruto bent his legs to jump after the justifiably irate female and try to talk her down enough to hopefully forge at least a small degree of cooperation that would vaguely resemble something appearing to be teamwork with enough conviction to get Dog to pass the three adversaries, when the devil himself appeared behind him.

"This is for the seal," Kakashi hissed, and with the lightning speed for which he was feared the world over yelled, "Sennen Goroshi!" as he executed the diabolical jutsu upon Naruto's ass.

"THIS MEANS WAR!" An orange figure screamed as he streaked through the sky.

Things had rapidly digressed after that, and at noon Sasuke and Hinata found themselves tied to two of the training posts, as Naruto stood by them still glaring at Kakashi while grumpily rubbing his backside.

"You fail!" The silver haired jonin declared, sweeping the three chagrined genin with his stern gaze. "That was abysmal. Hinata, you were supposed to get a bell not obliterate your teammate. Sasuke, hell hath no fury as a woman scorned, seriously, that's a life lesson. Naruto, the only reason I'm not tying you up is because you were the only one who actually tried to attack me."

"I was trying to burn your damn book," Naruto rolled his eyes.

"I consider all attempts on my literature a threat to my person," Kakashi snapped as he unsealed three bentos from a scroll. He held one out to Naruto and tucked the other two under his arm. "However, in all my infinite wisdom I have decided to magnanimously allow you three disappointments a second chance. But only Naruto gets to eat," he declared. Naruto tried to pull it away only to be met with resistance, and the blond raised a suspicious look to his new sensei and old friend. "Untie them, or feed them, and you all fail," Kakashi threatened. Then once again he poofed away.

Naruto stood blinking in bewilderment for a few seconds, then relaxed as he realized the point of the little test. Don't worry Dog, he thought to himself as he set the bento on the ground. I won't leave my teammates behind. Any of them. Pulling a kunai from his hip pouch he smiled and first went to Hime, who was blushing a little in shame at having been reprimanded.

"It's ok Hime," Naruto cajoled and reached out to grab a strand of her silky hair, giving it a playful tug. "We can still pass this thing, we just gotta convince the lone vigilante over there that we have to work together." She looked up at his whiskered smile and her eyes brightened, much to his pleasure, as he started to free her from the loops of ninja wire.

Sasuke stared incredulously at the way his teammates were so casually going against a direct order, willingly risking being sent back to the academy. In fact, ever since he had set foot on the training ground this morning these two had done nothing but shatter his apparently shallow impressions of their tactics and capabilities.

He had sparred with Hinata only once or twice in the academy, having considered her to be a less than challenging partner. Those controlled rounds of fighting had not prepared him for the overwhelming venture of open combat against a well trained Byakugan. He vaguely remembered his father complaining that the Hyuga were overly arrogant with claiming that their bloodline was just as powerful as the Sharingan. After the way that girl had mercilessly hunted him down through the training grounds like a lioness, attacking with astonishing ferocity and speed, he had never wished to awaken his Sharingan more.

In between fighting off Hinata's very misleadingly named Gentle Fist attacks and unsuccessfully trying to hide in the trees, Sasuke had been amazed to catch glimpses of the Dobe brazenly attacking the Copy Nin, and at times actually giving the genius a challenge. The clones the boy was spawning were not normal at all, and he had sworn at one point he had seen Naruto knock the jonin down with a single touch of the hand before a kawarimi had replaced his prone body with a log.

Yet now as he watched the blond calmly slicing away the wires around Hinata with a quick flick of his kunai, he wasn't so sure those two weren't idiots after all. As Naruto turned to him, twirling the blade around his finger, Sasuke's building hunger and frustrations caused him to lose his temper and he angrily lashed out at his teammates. "Are you deaf? Sensei is going to fail us all! You may not care if your little fairy tale endings ever come true, but I have an actual purpose in my life, and I cannot afford setbacks because my teammates are idiots!"

Naruto glared at the seething Uchiha, but remembered the conviction behind his words about hatred and power that day in the classroom. Something was wrong with this asshole, and it was obviously eating him up from the inside out. He was tempted to retaliate and tear this guy a new one for constantly being a prick. But he was a shinobi now, a shinobi who wanted to be Hokage. And what kind of Hokage would he be if he got butt hurt over every little insult? If he was ever going to live up to his own words and end the hatred that reigned in the ranks of the village, this guy was a good place to start.

Naruto looked at Hinata, who met his hard blue gaze and seemed to read his thoughts as only she could, and gently she placed her hand on his shoulder to show her support. He felt his agitation steady under her gentle touch and instantly his confidence grew.

"Let's try this again," he said slowly, making sure he had the full attention of his now captive audience. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, at least that's what I've been told. My parents were killed the day of the Kyuubi attack and I grew up bouncing from one orphanage to another because the adults seemed set on either murdering me or making my life a living hell, simply because I represent something that they hate. I have so much chakra my shits could probably make more kage bunshin than you. That gravity seal you saw me slap onto Dog was of my own personal design, I finished it last night just for this fight. When I concentrate, I can sense every chakra signature in an entire building. I can tell you right now, yours feels like the buzzing static of ozone before a lightning strike, and you need to reel that shit in before you kill someone. I AM going to be Hokage, not because I want to wander around executing people left and right whenever they hurt my precious feelings, but because I will prove to them that I am worthy, and I am not overrun by the hatred sealed within me. I am bigger than my destiny. My power will not be hoarded selfishly but spread through my bonds to strengthen others. I will be respected for becoming the greatest Hokage of all time, who crawled out of the pit they tried to bury me in not by stepping on their backs to gain ground, but by building up everyone around me until we are all higher. I will never give up, it is my nindo." The peaking sun burst from behind a cloud as Naruto had passionately delivered his speech, lighting up his yellow hair with a brilliance that almost made him seem to glow with the fervor of his words. Sasuke was silent, processing this information and considering the sincerity of his promises. His gaze was pulled away by the steady voice next to him.

"My name is Hyuga Hinata," she said every word clearly and precisely, as though each one was a carefully delivered choice. "I was born the heiress of the Hyuga, until Hiashi sent my mother to her death in recompense for a botched kidnapping attempt on myself. I was branded with a Cage Bird Seal and sent to the Branch House, where I am expected to serve that man and his wife in any way they deem necessary or else risk punishment by having my seal activated to the point of permanent brain injury. But I will defy this fate that they think they have cursed me with. I will become a stronger kunoichi than Konoha has ever seen, and find a way to abolish the atrocities of the Hyuga, uniting them into a powerful clan that is bound by the bonds of family, not fear. Right now, I am the only female in the entire Hyuga to have activated my Byakugan, and my range allows me to see from here to the Hokage Tower with absolute clarity. So don't even try to escape me." The threatening way Hinata ended her reintroduction, combined with a sudden gust of wind that had her dark midnight hair swirling around her ominously, suddenly made Sasuke realize that even petite girls could absolutely be terrifying. Recalling her nasty attacks earlier, he could say that he perhaps agreed with his Sensei's warnings about the wrath of a woman.

Looking back and forth between the two genuine expressions, Sasuke realized what they were doing. They were trying to show him that they grasped what it meant to have that drive, that indelible need to accomplish a goal as fervently as one needs to draw breath. He needed a team if he was ever going to successfully advance in this system of shinobi. And failure was not an option. So maybe for once, he could dare to trust another? He had never revealed his true motives to anyone, never trusted another to comprehend the soul eating desire that burned within him. Yet, these two were different, they knew what it was like to endure. He chewed the inside of his cheek in thought, dark bangs hovering over his face as he searched for the strength to say the words out loud.

Inhaling deeply through his nose, Sasuke closed his eyes. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I was the second son of the Clan Head, until my bro-" he choked on the word, his throat dry from the efforts of the day and the intense hatred That Man always stirred within him. "...the clan heir killed them all in a single night. All of my family was murdered and he escaped, intentionally leaving me alone to suffer. I hate him for what he has done to me, to my family, to the Uchiha name. One day I will find him and kill him, and revive the honor of the Uchiha Clan, and I will do anything to ensure they are protected." He kept his eyes lowered for a second, preparing himself for the disgusting looks of pity that he knew would be plastered across their faces.

Looking up though, he was relieved to see not pity, but understanding. Authentic, true, comprehension glittered in the pair of lavender and blue eyes that did not flinch away from his hard gaze. For the first time in years, he felt that someone was seeing not just the Last Uchiha, a victim of a tragic tale, or a prodigy to be worshipped, but Sasuke. They saw him.

The poignant moment was interrupted by the grumbling of his stomach, much to Sasuke's embarrassment. Naruto snorted as Hinata smiled, and bending to grab the single bento she cracked open the lid. "You must be starving," she chided in a motherly way, using the chopsticks to scoop up a large bit of steaming rice. Sasuke hesitated in mild mortification at the childish treatment, but his stomach was growling even louder and his mouth was starting to water.

"If you don't let her feed you I get to try next, Teme," the blond was chuckling as he twirled his red scarf around lazily. "And I will not be playing airplane, that's for sure."

"Shut up Dobe—hmff!" Hinata neatly crammed the rice into his mouth before he could finish his insult. As he sulkily chewed the delicious bite, trying not to act as ravenous as he felt, she gave him that creepy small smile that made him want to say 'yes ma'am', 'thank-you ma'am', before she started cracking her knuckles again. Scooping up another pile of rice she lifted it to his face and hissed in a harsh whisper, "do not insult Naruto-kun, understand?" This was punctuated by the angry throbbing of the veins around her eyes as she pinned him with a terrifying white glare. His mouth dropped open in reflexive horror and she once again shoved food into his gaping maw. Chewing tentatively as he tried to tamp down the irrational fear her eyes seemed to stir within him, he vaguely heard the idiot snickering behind her.

Suddenly there was a loud bang and Kakashi was standing in the middle of their little circle, nearly crackling with anger as he bellowed, "You all broke the rules! You helped your teammates against direct orders! Therefore as your jonin sensei I hereby declare that you have...PASSED!"

The instant shift in the demeanor from fury to grinning fool once again left Sasuke too shocked to maintain his stoic facade and his jaw fell open, only for another bite of rice to be forcefully jammed down his throat.

As the newly formed Team 7 staggered home that night after being put through one of the most exhausting training sessions of their lives, some were more beat up than others, but each craved the embrace of their beds and the reward sleep offered to a dedicated genin.

Hizashi had chuckled watching Hinata nearly nod off into her food like a toddler before carrying her to bed.

Kakashi smugly enjoyed his tea as Pakkun snored on Naruto's sprawled out form, both out cold on the couch. It was debatable who was drooling more.

Sasuke barely managed to lock his front door before stumbling onto the sweet oblivion of his futon, asleep before his head hit the pillow. As he lay unconscious, a figure melted from the shadows.

They slid over to the door and set the traps, adjusting one's timing to spring with the sensitivity of a hair trigger. They silently checked the stock of the cupboards, the state of the dwelling, and then paused to stare at the shoes on the floor. A size bigger than last time, he is growing well. Satisfied with his inspection he stole to the window and crawled out without so much as a creak to announce his departure. Ensuring that the traps were once again set to max effect, he scaled the side of the building and crouched on the roof.

The full moon briefly illuminated the silhouette of a lean man with long hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail, before he morphed into a large black crow that flared its wings to catch the warm night wind. As he glided towards the edge of Konoha, he whispered in his mind, Not yet Otouto, but soon.