Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Just my OCs.
"So, tell me. How bad is it, doctor?" a mask-less Kakashi asked from his place on the examination bed.
After returning to the village of being nearly a month away, the Hokage's first order was for him to go to the hospital for an examination. He brushed Hiruzen's orders to the side upon receiving them but made sure to stop by the hospital the very next morning.
Jai removed the stethoscope from his bare chest and placed it back around her neck. "Nothing bad. You are in perfect health," she said as she sat on the stool and started to update his medical file. "Will you be in the village long?"
He heard the hopefulness in her voice. It was clear that she had missed him. And when she looked at him, he saw the familiar joy in her eyes that he didn't realize he missed.
"Yeah, I'll be around." Hiruzen granted him a few days leave before requesting a meeting with him.
From his perched position on the bed, he swore he saw her eyes light up even more. She seemed skinnier since the last time he saw her; which made him realize just how long it had been since the two were together. What was even more unsettling was when he realized just how long it had been since they were last intimate with each other.
'Not since we lost it… when we lost the baby – our baby'
She brought up the small flashlight and checked his eyes. "How is your left eye?" The beautiful red-hued iris of the Sharingan illuminated when she flashed the light over it.
He lightly shrugged. "It's alright."
Stowing the pen flashlight away into the pocket of her white coat, she moved on to assessing the rest of him. "Your chakra pathways are strained. Are you keeping it uncovered?"
"Only when I'm on missions."
Jai simply nodded. Given his current position and the dangers that came with it, he couldn't afford to be blindsided by his handicap. Goosebumps appeared on her arms when she remembered her own experience with the beautiful, yet dangerous, eyes. Before she knew it, her mind wandered farther and farther the longer she continued to stare into it. It wasn't until she felt his hand rest over hers was when she realized that her hands still cradled the sides of his face.
"I'm sorry," he said with heavy sincerity as he met her gaze.
He was sorry for not being around, for letting his shinobi duties come between them. But more importantly, he was sorry for not being around more after the miscarriage. The two of them were no strangers to loss, but this was different, and neither were sure how to deal with it. They mourned together, then shortly after they gave each other space.
'Too much space'
When he showed up on the night of Takeru's birthday, he knew that she didn't hold his absence against him. She was always patient and understanding when it came to him, and he knew that. He was even guilty of exploiting that.
'I've been a terrible husband'
Looking back, he knew he could have done more, but he was grieving too. His baby died too. When he felt her arms fall around his head and neck into an embrace, he followed by wrapping his arms around her waist.
"It is alright."
He pulled her close and tightened his embrace. The light floral scent of cherry blossoms was comforting. But it also confirmed his suspicions regarding her weight. There was no denying that she was thinner now that he was holding her. Was it because of him? He shook his head. It wasn't alright.
"I'm sorry," he repeated, this time it was muffled. "I'm sorry that I haven't been around."
She always did that – always forgave him so easily. He pressed himself deeper against her body.
'I should've been here'
"Not a day goes by where I do not think about it – that day. I will never stop thinking about it; there are days where I do not even want to get out of bed. We handled our grief in what we thought would be best for us, and that is alright. It was as much yours as it was mine. We will get through this."
He tightened his embrace even more. She was too good to him – too good for him.
Her hand moved under his chin to tilt his head back. He was beautiful. His two-toned eyes were exposed when her thumb traced the long scar that ran down his face before ending at his lips.
"Come what may, Kakashi, I will always be by your side."
He brought his hands to rest on her cheeks before pulling her in for a deep kiss.
'Me too, Jai'
He hoped his kisses and caresses said it all: how sorry he was, how much he missed her, and, most importantly, how much he loved her. Nothing else would ever be more of a priority than her.
The next day…
Kakashi slowly walked around the village with Hiruzen's words echoing and repeating in his mind. After ten years serving in the ANBU division he was relieved of his duties and given the title of Jōnin Leader. Since that day, all he could think about were his Genin days. More specifically, the day he was placed under Minato's tutelage. Back then, there was hardly any teamwork. Back then, all he cared about were the rules.
'And because of that…'
His hand rested over his hitai-ate, that covered his right eye.
Remembering his fallen teammates and his past mistakes, he vowed to himself that he would never repeat them. He didn't care how many teams had to fail. He refused to oversee any team if they had no sense of teamwork.
The smell of flowers stopped him in his tracks. Looking up, he found himself outside of the Yamanaka's floral shop. He hadn't visited Rin since he returned and decided to enter the small shop. He walked out a few minutes later with a small arrangement of lilies and a single dahlia before heading towards the cemetery.
He didn't plan to stay his usual amount of time and apologized for being away for so long. When he arrived, he noticed that the marker had been recently cleaned and that there were already fresh flowers arranged in the built-in vase.
"I'm sorry for my absence but I see that Jai has kept you company." He lightly smiled. "She's not very expressive, but she can be thoughtful."
Unfortunately, Rin's and Jai's paths almost never crossed.
'But there was that one year when they briefly met'
He often wondered if they would have ever been friends. Rin was sweet and friendly; always smiling and happy. He then started to think about Jai and how she was like as a child. Unlike his fallen teammate, Jai was quiet and demure, socially awkward and blunt to where it almost came off as rude.
'And dangerous…'
He was certain that they would have gotten along.
'Maybe not friends, but they would have been more than civil.'
"Sorry that I can't stay long today..."
He still needed to see Obito.
"… but I have some news. Starting today, I'm a Jōnin Leader. The next group of Genin graduate at the end of the week and I'll be assigned a team." He wiped away a stray leaf that blew onto the marker. "I promise to not make the same mistakes."
He bid her marker with a small 'see you later' before leaving the cemetery to visit Obito.
"You are late," Jai said in her usual deadpanned manner.
His wife sat on the faded blue blanket near the riverbank with a small book in her hands. The old whicker basket that held bentos and snacks was to her left and made his stomach growl when he thought about the items it contained.
"Sorry. I lost track of time at the cemetery and the Memorial Stone."
She finally looked up from the book she was reading to give him a small smile. "I know."
He lightly chuckled as he removed the wrappings around the flower before placing it behind her ear. "There, a beautiful flower for a beautiful woman."
"Thank you," she moved over to give him space to sit on the blanket. "Tell me about your day."
After removing his shoes, he grabbed one of her onigiris and laid on his back to look at the clouds. He quickly ate the onigiri and put his mask over his face before recounting his day's activities.
"It started early with a meeting with Hokage-sama. He formally dismissed me from the ANBU and has made me a Jōnin Leader."
'So, he decided to go through with it'
He was very fortunate to have comrades that worried about him. But was he even aware of it?
"Omedetō."
"Thanks."
"You do not sound enthusiastic. Are you upset?" she hoped he wasn't.
Her own meeting with Hiruzen made her feel as if she was plotting against him. She was his wife, but was it her place to interfere with his shinobi duties? The life of a shinobi would always hold the village above everything else.
'But it needed to be done'
The longer he stayed in the ANBU the more he would lose himself to the darkness that came with it. It was the division that had no place for doubt and questions; where dark deeds needed to be done so that the village and its people could continue to live and function in oblivious peace.
"No. I'm just shocked and confused about it all."
"You will be a great leader."
"You think so? I can't stop thinking about all the things I've done wrong."
She gently held his hand. "Our failures are what makes us who we presently are. The greater the failure, the greater the drive to make sure it is not repeated. Which is exactly why you will be great."
He turned his head to look at Jai and smiled through his mask. "Yeah." He tried to be more optimistic about it. "And I'll be around more." He could make up for lost time.
"When will you meet your first team?"
"Next week."
No longer wanting to talk about it, he quickly changed the subject.
"Thanks for visiting them while I was away."
"Of course. I hope the flowers were adequate."
He nodded and sat up to grab another onigiri. "Tell me about your day, my ningyō."
She loved this: the two of them just enjoying each other's company on a quiet day. It made her think back to the days when they were kids.
"Well, I had two surgeries that went well, and removed two foreign objects from a child's nose."
He lightly laughed at the last part. "What were they?"
"A piece of crayon in one and a small rock in the other."
"Strange that it's two different objects."
"Agreed."
"I'm sure the parents were relieved."
She sighed. "After they left, they returned thirty minutes later…"
"Don't tell me…"
"He found another rock and stuffed it back into his nostril."
Kakashi couldn't help but laugh. "Not really bright, is he?" He moved forward and over before falling back to lay his head in her lap before pulling out his orange novel.
Jai lightly smiled, silently watching him from the corner of her eye. She hoped that with these changes the future will have many more days like today in store for them.
"What's for dinner tonight, my ningyō?"
"What would you like?"
He hummed to himself as he thought aloud. "I'm in the mood for fish… and miso…"
She nodded and went back to reading her own book. One hand firmly held the book while the other lightly ran through his hair, lazily massaging his scalp. She looked forward to more days like today.
Since he was appointed the title of Jōnin Leader, every team that was placed under his tutelage were failed and sent back to the Academy. From there, it wasn't long for him to build up a negative reputation amongst other Leaders and any new Genin.
But he didn't care. Taking Jai's words to heart, he promised himself that he wouldn't repeat his mistakes. After spending most of the day with Hiruzen and visiting the homes of his prospective Genin: Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Haruno Sakura, he gained personal insight to their private lives.
Currently sitting on a bench in one of the playgrounds, Kakashi held the canned beverage that was purchased by Hiruzen while the older man started to drink his.
"Why?" Kakashi asked.
"Why what?"
"Why did you put me in charge of those three?"
Hiruzen took another sip of his drink before answering. "Well, there's a hopeless fool, a skilled protégé, and a clever kunoichi. I'd say it's much like Minato's old team."
Kakashi was taken aback by Hiruzen's reason. "S-so you chose me on purpose?"
"Listen Kakashi, I am the Hokage. I would never base my personnel decisions on personal preference. It's all about the right man for the job. I carefully consider each of these assignments, separately from what the teachers at the Academy believe. These are times when a squad's composition greatly affects shinobi and their actions, and subsequently, their success rate. It is the duty of those who govern to maintain special teams that possess a variety of skills.
For example, Gai's team that was formed last year. It certainly doesn't have the kind of balance the instructors at the Academy recommend. It's a squad that largely specializes in Taijutsu. This year, they have really come into their own. I also intend to organize specialty military squads that utilize Hiden Ninjutsu."
"From that perspective, Naruto is the Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi and Sasuke has the potential to activate the Sharingan…"
"As I mentioned earlier, you are the only one who can advise Sasuke with his Sharingan."
"I understand that those two are special. But what about the girl Sakura?"
"Well, I believe she has the potential to be a good kunoichi. Right now, she's average. However, talent attracts people, men notice women, and rivalry matures both… so they say.
"So, you've even considered how the squad will develop?"
"That's right."
Looking back to his Genin days and the interactions between him and his teammates, Kakashi silently agreed with Hiruzen.
'Without a doubt. Obito was desperate for Rin to acknowledge him. But…'
"I understand your logic behind this, Sandaime, but I failed twice with squads that you organized. I don't think I'm cut out to be a Jōnin Leader.
"Did you fail them because of your own personal feelings?"
"No."
"It was unfortunate for them. But this is the strict world of shinobi. It's better that they learn this when they're young. Ultimately, this will prove to be a valuable lesson for them."
"But it wasn't planned. It just happened to work out."
"Perhaps. But I had faith that it would work out. I trusted you."
"Sandaime…"
"It was the same with Minato too," Hiruzen lightly smiled.
"Minato-sensei?"
Hiruzen nodded and told him that Minato knew from the beginning of his strategy in using teammates in order to grab the bell during their bell test all those years ago.
"He believed that you would discover the importance and value of teamwork on your own. To believe in one's student and to watch over them is also part of being a teacher."
Next day…
Today was the day that he was supposed to meet his new Genin. But he made sure to stop by the Memorial Stone. When he arrived, he immediately noticed a small bouquet composed of familiar flowers.
"I'm supposed to meet my new team today. I've been assigned the Jinchūriki – Minato-sensei's son. He's got the reputation as the village troublemaker. Another member is a relative of yours, Uchiha Sasuke – one of the last remaining members of the Uchiha clan. He's this year's number one rookie shinobi."
With nothing more to say, he just stood before the large stone in silence. He wasn't sure how much had passed, but he was broken from his thoughts when he felt a familiar presence.
"Have you been waiting for me, Tenzō?"
He looked over his shoulder and saw his old ANBU teammate emerge from behind a tree.
"Stop calling me "Tenzō", Senpai," his former teammate lightly scolded.
Dressed in ANBU attire and armor, he removed his feline-styled mask. He was a tall man with short brown hair and almond-shaped eyes with dark irises. Instead of a hitai-ate protecting his forehead it was a happuri that both sides of his friendly face.
"Then drop the "senpai".
Tenzō sheepishly shrugged with a smile. "You'll always be my senpai. That will never change, even if you're no longer ANBU."
"So, what do you want? I've heard the rumors that it's been very difficult trying to find my replacement. Or did you come all this way to laugh at me, the "Genin babysitter"?
"Not at all! But that was such a long time ago. You haven't changed a bit, senpai."
"Sorry, but I'm busy today." Kakashi began to walk away from the stone to finally go and meet his new team. "I can't stand around and chat."
The ANBU laughed, causing Kakashi to stop as he just passed him. "It's way past the time you were supposed to meet your Genin."
Kakashi merely nodded after having been called out by his subordinate. "Well, see you later."
""See you later", huh? Maybe he did change a little…" the ANBU murmured as he watched Kakashi leave the grounds. "For someone who was fixated on the past and present, to hear him say, "see you later"."
Tenzō stared at the Memorial Stone until his eyes landed on the single name that Kakashi was always staring at. It was strange to see his former captain with such a different presence. But he wouldn't say it was unwelcomed. As he was about to leave, he saw a familiar face make her way towards the memorial stone. "Two senpais under five minutes..." he chuckled to himself before he waved. "Domo, Jai-senpai."
"Tenzō-san," she said greeted back with a mild surprise in her voice, and is he looked closely he could make a small friendly smile.
"You too, huh?"
"Me too what?"
He chuckled again. "Kakashi-senpai calls me that too, no matter how many times I tell him not to."
She walked up to the stone and placed the bouquet of flowers before it. "I am sorry. It is just what Kakashi calls you. Do you prefer Kino-"
"No," he stopped her from fully saying a name from his past. "It's alright. Speaking of Kakashi, you just missed him."
"He was just here?" her facial features turned into a look of mild annoyance. "He was supposed to meet his new team an hour ago."
He lightly shrugged. "Better late than never, I guess."
"I suppose… Are you done for the day?"
"Yeah."
"Kakashi told me that it has been difficult finding his replacement."
Tenzō sighed and nodded. "As I recall, it was difficult finding yours too."
"Yes, but it was necessary… for the greater good."
'Nobody wanted to work with me after the incident...'
"Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up the past."
She waved it off. It was a long time ago and she was in a better place now.
"If you're not busy, do you want to grab some lunch with me? We can catch up."
She didn't have to pick up Takeru for another couple of hours, and she was already done for the day. She liked Tenzō. Because of their pasts and their upbringing, they could relate to each other. There were no secrets between Kakashi and her, but there was also no relation. There was sympathy and empathy with Kakashi, but Tenzō had relatability.
"Sure."
"Hmm… I remember Kakashi-senpai mentioning that you like dangos…"
Her entire demeanor perked up at the mention of her favorite treat and he noticed.
"Dango it is! Let me go home and change. I'll meet you there in about twenty minutes."
"Okay," she said with a small wave good-bye.
Academy
The graduating Genin had been divvied up into their teams and met their new Jōnin senseis – except for one team: Team 7.
An antsy blonde boy was pacing up and down the classroom. He walked back to the door of the classroom to poke his head out, looking for their new sensei.
"Naruto just sit down or something!" commanded the lone girl of Team 7.
Her pink hair ended just a couple of inches past her shoulders with her hitai-ate tied atop her head like a headband. Her turquoise colored eyes held annoyance that was mainly directed to the blonde.
"Why's it that only our squad sensei is so damn late?!" he whined over his shoulder to Sakura. He folded his arms across his chest and continued to huff. "All of the other teams have gone off with their senseis, and Iruka-sensei also left."
An idea suddenly popped into his mind. He hurried over to the black board and grabbed one of the erasers.
"What do you think you're doing, Naruto?!" Sakura yelled when she saw the boy drag an end table to the door of the classroom.
Naruto climbed onto the table and wedged the eraser between the door and its frame. Letting a mischievous chuckle slip from his lips, he jumped down and faced Sakura. "It'll be his fault because he's late!"
"Geez… I'm not involved." A look of annoyance could be seen on the outside, but inside, she was excited and hopeful that the eraser would fall on whoever walked into the room.
"Hmph… a Jōnin won't get caught in such a weak booby trap." The third teammate, Uchiha Sasuke, scoffed from his seat at the desks.
Their bickering came to a halt when they saw a hand slip between the classroom's cracked shoji door. All three of them waited with bated breath as they watched the door slide open. With the door no longer keeping the eraser wedged, gravity pulled it down to the ground. But, unbeknownst to the three Genin, Kakashi immediately noticed the juvenile prank the moment he crossed the threshold.
'A silly prank… still, if this prank was the result of teamwork…'
He looked to each individual Genin, while their eyes watched the eraser fall and bounce off a head of silver, gravity defying hair before landing on the ground. A small cloud of chalk erupted from the impact, leaving some chalk residue in his hair.
"WAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You fell for it, you fell for it!" Naruto pointed with one hand while the other clutched his stomach as he bellowed out in laughter.
'So, Naruto's the perp.'
"I-I'm sorry, sir. I tried to stop him, but Naruto did it on his own…" she said with feigned ignorance. Unknown to everyone else, she was quite pleased with the perfect execution of Naruto's prank.
'Sakura makes excuses and tries to protect herself...'
He finally looked to the lone Uchiha sitting in an empty row of seats.
'Sasuke minds his own business... there is not even a shred of teamwork.'
From his seated position at the desks, Sasuke had a look of disbelief on his face.
'Is he really a Jonin? He doesn't seem very reliable…'
Kakashi bent down to pick up the eraser and looked at it briefly. "Hmm… how can I put this…?" he mumbled to himself as he brought his right hand to his chin. "My first impression of you guys…? Well, I hate you."
The members of Team 7 left the Academy and found themselves atop a roof of a building that doubled as a public area. The three Genin sat on the steps while Kakashi sat on the low railing that surrounded the entire perimeter of the building. Arms folded across his chest with a lazy-eyed look on his face, Kakashi began to address his possible pupils.
"Well, let's begin with introducing yourselves."
"What do you want to know?" Sakura asked.
"Your likes, dislikes, your future dream, hobbies – things like that."
"Oi, oi! Why don't you introduce yourself first?" Naruto suggested.
"Me?" the Jōnin asked while pointing to himself. "My name's Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes. Dreams for the future… hmm. As for my hobbies, I have many."
Sakura mumbled, "So… all he told us is his name?" to Naruto.
The blonde nodded and responded with an unenthused "yeah".
"Now it's your turn. Let's start on the right." Kakashi indicated to the blonde Genin.
"My name's Uzumaki Naruto!" he began as he fiddled with his headband. "I like instant ramen, but what I like even more is the ramen from Ichiraku that Iruka-sensei treats me to. What I dislike is waiting three minutes for the ramen to cook…"
Kakashi mentally groaned as he listened to Naruto's self-introduction.
'Is Ramen all he thinks about?'
"My hobby is eating and comparing ramen! And my future dream… is to surpass the Hokage and then have the people of this village acknowledge my existence."
'He's grown in an interesting way,' Kakashi mentally noted.
"Okay, next," he said as he moved onto the Uchiha.
Sasuke sat with his elbows resting on his knees and hands interlocked before his face. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I have lots of dislikes, but no likes in particular…"
Sakura's shoulders sagged at his last comment.
"… And… I can't really call it a dream… but I have an ambition: the resurrection of my clan and… to kill a certain man." His final words put each of them on edge is different ways.
Sakura looked at Sasuke with admiration; thinking that his cold-hearted attitude made him more attractive while Naruto's face became tense as fear enveloped his sense of wellbeing.
'He doesn't mean me, does he?' He gulped.
After hearing Sasuke's words, Kakashi's impassive demeanor quickly turned serious.
'Like I thought…'
Deciding not to let the ominous atmosphere linger, the Jonin moved on. "And lastly, the girl."
"My name is Haruno Sakura," she said in a cheerful tone. Her gaze drifted over to the Uchiha that paid her absolutely no mind. "The thing I like is… well, the person I like…" she twiddled her fingers. "… and my hobby is…" every topic she attempted to answer came in unfinished responses as she kept staring and ogling the boy next to her. "… my future dream is…" in the end she squealed loudly in embarrassment.
"And…?" Kakashi sighed. "What about your dislikes?"
She answered, without missing a beat, "Naruto!" her bashful demeanor having changed to instant disdain.
Kakashi's head rested in the palm of his right hand as he looked at the lone female.
'Girls of this age are more interested in love than the ninja arts'
"Good! The three of you are very distinctive and interesting! Tomorrow we'll start our duties as shinobi."
"Yeah! What kinds of duties?!" the eagerness and excitement were clear and evident in his words.
"First, we are going to do something with just the four of us."
Keeping his excitement contained was becoming more difficult for Naruto. "What is it, what is it?!"
"A survival exercise."
The three Genin's faces contorted into a look of confusion.
"Survival exercise?"
"We've had plenty of training at the Academy," Sakura stated.
Kakashi folded his arms across his chest. "This is no simple exercise," he told them with a look of boredom.
"Then… what kind of exercise is it?" Naruto hesitantly asked.
Kakashi's shoulders shook with mirth as he chuckled to himself.
"What's so funny, sensei?" Sakura warily asked.
Kakashi smiled at his pupils. "Uh, well if I tell you then you guys are totally going to freak out."
"What?" all three Genin questioned.
He ended his laughter abruptly, his attitude suddenly turning deadly serious. "Of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will be recognized as Genin. The remaining eighteen will be sent back to the Academy. In other words, this exercise is an extremely difficult test with a failure rate of over sixty-six percent." He watched their faces fall after he announced the news. "See, see? I told you you'd freak out!" he laughed.
"What?! No way! Then what was the point of graduating?!" the Jinchūriki yelled.
"Oh, that? It was just to select those who have the potential of becoming Genin. I'll be determining whether you pass or fail."
"WHAT?!" the blonde cried out again.
Choosing to ignore his outburst, Kakashi continued with his explanation. "Anyways, we meet at five in the morning. Bring all the shinobi tools you have. Oh…" he suddenly remembered. "… and skip breakfast, you might throw up." Pulling out three sheets of paper from his pouch, he passed them out to the Genin. "The details are on this paper and don't be late tomorrow. Okay! You're dismissed."
Jai passed Takeru a bottle of water while they took a break from their sparring session.
"You are improving."
He was becoming faster and stronger with every session they had. His accuracy was near perfect and he was already ahead of his class in Taijutsu.
"Next, we will move onto some basic Ninjutsu. Let us work on the transformation Jutsu."
"It hasn't even been five minutes, ba-chan!" the young Minami complained.
She ignored his outburst and took no pity. "Then think of this as building up your endurance."
"Transform into me, 'Keru-kun!" a familiar voice interrupted.
Takeru looked over and saw Kakashi standing atop one of the wooden posts. "I'd rather do one hundred push-ups using my fingers than transform into you," he hissed with disdain.
Kakashi jumped from the training post and landed next to Jai. "What's wrong with transforming into me? Am I not good looking, 'Keru-kun?"
"How the heck should I know? I've never seen your face! You're always wearing that stupid mask! And why are you here? You're interrupting my training!"
When the two men in her life bickered, Jai usually paid little attention.
"Your five minutes are now up."
She reached into her leg pouch and pulled out a scroll. A few hand seals were formed before she dropped it. When the smoke cleared, a pile of shurikens and a pile of kunai were now on the ground.
"Instead of Ninjutsu, how about we focus on your accuracy. I want 100 bulls-eyes of both shurikens and kunai and…" she formed a few more hand seals. Three puffs of smoke appeared, then dissipated, to reveal three clones of herself. "… you have to do it while trying to fend off my clones."
Takeru's face fell. "That's not fair!"
Her eyes narrowed. "There is no fairness in the shinobi world, and there is no mercy. If you continue to pursue the shinobi's way of life, then you will eventually find yourself in these types of situations."
"Yes, ma'am," he complied.
He and his ba-chan's clones dispersed; leaving Kakashi and Jai to themselves.
"A bit excessive, don't you think?"
"I am holding back."
The two of them stood and watched Takeru dodging and ducking Jai's clones while trying to maintain his aim.
"Those are corporeal, my ningyō…"
"There is no challenge if they are just illusions."
Kakashi sighed.
'Can't disagree with that…'
"How did it go with the Genin?" she asked as she kept count. So far, kunais were at twenty-five and shurikens were at thirty-two.
"The Hokage placed me in charge of Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke."
Jai broke her attention away from Takeru. "The Jinchūriki; your sensei's son and the last remaining Uchiha…" she whispered. "… and the third member?"
"Haruno Sakura – who seems to be more interested in failing in love than learning the ninja arts. Sasuke graduated top of the class, while Naruto was dead last. Sakura is average, but Hokage-sama sees real potential in her." He sighed. "If they pass, I'll have my hands full."
"Naruto alone is enough to keep you on alert."
Her husband nodded and sighed. "It was obvious from the moment I walked into the classroom that they have no sense of teamwork between them."
"You cannot place all the blame on them."
"I know. On a lighter note, Naruto pulled a prank on me – wedged an eraser between the door and the frame."
A quiet and brief chuckle came from her. "You were late again."
"Perhaps…"
"Despite his quirks, he is a good boy with potential. He is the son of the Yondaime."
"Yeah. Enough about me and my day, tell me about yours, my ningyō."
"After I left the hospital, I stopped by the Memorial Stone not long after you left and saw Tenzō. He invited me to lunch where we caught up with each other before I picked up Takeru from the Academy."
"Sounds like you had a nice day."
"It was. You will certainly have an eventful day tomorrow."
Kakashi let out a dramatic sigh. "Hai, hai…" He rubbed the top of her head as he made to leave. "I'll see you later tonight."
