A/N: Hey guys! SteinMon here with another literary experiment. I have way too many idea roaming around in my head, so I thought I'd ease the burden with some Samples. So here's Chapter 2!

If ya have a problem with how the Character Labelling doesn't have a {NaruHina} tagging, then I apologize. Unfortunately, Fanfic only allows four Characters for narrowing the search tagging, and I chose the ones that I felt were most true to the story I wanted to write. However, I'm not changing it unless the story changes drastically enough to warrant such a change. But until then, this is just a Sample Story. Not a dick. So quit taking it so hard (to whom it may apply).

This Fic has no relations to the manga by the same name.

Please note, all things I have changed, added, or subtracted are within reason. There won't not be a reason for those changes, and in my mind, it will generally be a good one. But true to Naruto-canon explaining, most (emphasis on "most") of those changes will be through Flashbacks. Hopefully, they'll be tasteful.

That being read, I welcome your Reviews. If you have criticisms, I welcome those too. Please keep them constructive. I want to grow as an author, and I can't do that if people aren't willing to critique, or only want to tear me down. I'm not here to please everybody, but I am here to learn. There is a method to my madness. 90% of what I write, I don't write baselessly. There is a reason some things are changed, and others are the same.

Review Responses:

- "RastaTheShithead": For a alleged improper tagging of {NaruHina} ("alleged" since you and a few others have refused to clarify the issue at hand), you guys are pulling some Naruto: Shippuuden Episode #214 (Manga: Chapters #483 and #484) levels of Sasuke-ness (had to look it up, so feel free to do the same). Kudos.

- Olivia1308: Here is the update :)

*End of Responses

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Those rights belong exclusively to Kishimoto and Shonen Jump

Without further ado. *Que the dimming of the lights*

Chapter 2: The Bell Test

The butt-crack of dawn the next day…

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII–

Naruto groaned as his alarm went off, aimlessly swatting his hand. "Five more minutes," he whined, the droning bouncing around in his head before he finally felt a soft click. His eyes peered open, glancing drowsily outside the window next to his bed. The sky was a perfect mixture of dark blue and "too fucking early". Disgruntled, he turned over to his clock, the barest of light reflecting through his eyes allowing him to see just fine.

'Why did you go off at 4?' he wondered. He was halfway back to shuteye before his night-vision kicked in and everything was about as bright and clear as could be expected. There would be no sleeping now. "Fucking hell," he greeted the not-so morning, rolling off his bed, as he prowled to his kitchen. Before he could so much as open his fridge, he was met with a hand-scrawled note with abysmal penmanship hanging at face-height, early-morning slouch accounted for and everything.

"Oh yeah," he muttered as he read, a grin slowly forming on his lips. Luckily, he'd prepped the night before in case he forgot, because boy that would have sucked if he had. However… Grrrrrrr. His stomach was already protesting his next line of thought. "Sorry Stomach," he apologized sincerely as he moved away from the fridge, gently patting his gut, "but Kakashi-sensei said, "No breakfast"."

Grrrr-rrrr. So that's how it was gonna be? Well, he'd make it up to Stomach later with some Ichiraku.

He quickly moved back to his room, tossing his nightcap onto the bed as moved to the sliding door of his wall closet. Orange. His closet was filled with orange jumpsuits. He swiftly got dressed, making sure his headband was secure and his pouches and holsters were strapped before he double-checked the gear and supplies in his backpack. Since he didn't know what kind of test it was, best be prepared for anything and everything. It was a bit overkill, but then again, overkill was preferred to failure.

'As long as it isn't a written exam,' he hoped. 'Kami, I suck at those.'

Thoroughly prepped, he exited his apartment before locking the door. It may be a piece-of-shit apartment with little-to-nothing of value in it, cracked wall plaster, frequent piping issues, and iffy lighting; but it was his piece-of-shit apartment.

…

He'd arrived right on time at Training Ground Three. 5 AM on the dot. Hinata seemed to have been early, while Sasuke was also approaching on time.

"Mornin' Hinahaaaw," Naruto yawned a greeting, his body still protesting waking so early. "Hey Stupid-teme."

"Hn," Sasuke snorted back.

"G-good morning, Sasuke-san, N-Naruto-k-kun," Hinata replied, bowing slightly. "D-Did you s-sleep well?"

"No," he grumbled, trying to wipe the sleep from his eyes. "I even went to bed early and I'm still tired." He looked around hazily. "Is Kakashi-sensei not here?"

"No, n-not yet," Hinata replied.

"We sure this isn't like the classroom?" Sasuke asked, slightly annoyed at their sensei. He looked over at the Hyuga with a bored expression. "Hey Hinata, can you use your Clan's dōjutsu?"

Hinata nodded. "Y-Yes!" She made a couple quick seals before saying, "Byakugan!" The veins around her eyes bulged, her stare naturally becoming more intense.

"Gah! What's that?!" Naruto demanded, pointing a shaking finger at Hinata.

"The Byakugan," Hinata explained confidently. "It is a dōjutsu unique to my clan. With it, I can see in every direction and through solid objects." Her face suddenly became flustered as she realized how much she had said without stuttering. Unfortunately, it wasn't to last. "And w-when it gets s-stronger, I-I'm hoping it w-will let m-me see others ch-chakra networks mu-mu-much easier."

"Woah!" Naruto commented, unfazed by her switch in speech, "it can do that?!" She gave jerked nod that almost looked like a half-bow. "That's amazing Hinata!"

She blushed from his praise, her fingers finding comfort as they poked together.

"Now that show-and-tell is over," Sasuke bit, turning to Hinata, "is Sensei in the area?"

"N-No," she replied after returning her focus around her. "I can't extend my vision very far, but Kakashi-sensei doesn't appear to be in the area."

Naruto lifted his nose, glad for the clear outdoors as he sniffed in a couple directions. "She's right. I'd recognize that Perverted-Stalker's scent anywhere after yesterday."

Sasuke just glared at Naruto. "I would trust Hinata's eyes over your nose any day, Dobe. But since Kakashi-sensei might actually be late this time, we can spend our time preparing."

"G-Good idea," Hinata nodded.

Naruto let the Teme's insult drop as he plopped down, sliding his backpack off his shoulders and pulled it between his legs so he could rummage through it. He was already pulling stuff out, baffling his teammates.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke demanded as he dropped his own shoulder bag, glancing at the strewn-out materials suspiciously. A neat stack of blank chakra tags sat in front of him, along with bottles of ink, and a small set of multi-sized brushes.

"What does it look like I'm doing?! I'm preparing," Naruto declared, pointing his chosen brush at the Uchiha. "Besides, I'm working on a new tag."

"Um, Naruto-kun, what k-kind of tags are you m-making?" Hinata wondered, bending down to get a closer look. 'That's base-level Fūinjutsu,' she thought in wonder. From what she understood, it was supposed to be a very difficult style, so difficult, that only a handful of people ever progressed past Novice stage.

"Well, Explosive Tags mostly," he admitted, scratching the back his neck. "I also got Old Man Jiji to teach me how to make Flash and Smoke Tags."

"Why not just buy your equipment?" Sasuke reprimanded. "Why waste so much time and energy when they have bombs that do the exact same things?"

"For one," Naruto snapped, "do I look like I'm made of money?! Second, I have three shit-tons worth of energy and time to spare since I'm not pranking anyone right now! Besides, even if I wanted to buy all that stuff, the store clerks always charge me three times as much for my gear anyway! This is cost-efficient!

"So, I had to work really hard just so I could make it myself!" With that, his eyes narrowed in concentration as he began meticulously scrawling on one of the tags. "It's boring as hell, but the explosions at the end of it are sooo worth it!"

'Right,' Hinata thought sadly, 'they've always done that to Naruto.' Still, she couldn't help but admire how determined he was.

Sasuke however didn't look impressed, bending down to look at the supplies. "I thought making Tags was really hard and required great calligraphy. You're writing is atrocious."

Naruto barely spared him a glance, a furrow in his brow so intense, it looked painful… or constipated. "Yeah, yeah. My writing sucks," he admitted without a care. "But I don't need to know how to write pretty. Just how to repeatedly make the same pretty Tag. I can handle the old ones, easy! But this new one isn't properly calibrated yet, so if I mess up, it backfires. So unless you want us all to go "Boom", shut up!"

"Tch." Sasuke decided his time was better spent practicing than trying to get anything across the Dobe's thick skull. 'Not like he'll get anywhere with it.'

"Um, Naruto-kun," Hinata wondered, watching as Naruto's brush strokes flowed with surprising grace over the small paper, "what k-kind of tag are you m-making?"

"I call it, the "Flash-Boom"!" he stated proudly, clearly not caring that it sounded ridiculous. "It's supposed to take the bright light of a Flash Bomb or Flash Tag, and create a loud sound that hurts their ears. That way, it temporarily blinds and deafens people. The pranks with these would be awesome!" He frowned slightly though. "The problem is, I'm having a hard time getting the "Boom" part right."

"Where d-did you learn t-to make it?"

He looked up at her with a blinding smile. "I made it! Me! Naruto Uzumaki! Believe it!" He went back to work with more vigor, now that someone was listening to him. "I figure since I can't buy everything, I'd make up for it with the base stuff used in Exploding Tags. That way, I can make as many of the other bombs as I need without spending so much." He grinned at his own cleverness. It was a time-consuming process, but really, he had nothing but time on his hands. It wasn't like he was learning anything in the Academy! All that theory stuff blew right over his head anyway. Who was going to spend twenty minutes figuring out how they were supposed to throw a shuriken, and at what angle? He might as well just practice with the actual shuriken at that rate. No offense to Iruka-sensei, but his lectures just didn't click.

"That's really smart, Naruto-kun," she said, wondering just how long he'd practiced making his own equipment.

"Awww," he blushed at the compliment, scratching the back of his neck, unaware that he was brushing ink all over his neck. "It's nothin'! If ya like, I can make some for you after the test."

Hinata's eyes widened at the offer. 'Tags made by Naruto-kun?' She wasn't a person who liked to resort to violence, and her Clan wasn't one that condoned certain ninja tools. But that proud smile on his face was her undoing. "Y-Yes please."

"Alright!" he nodded, trying to reign in his visible excitement as he continued to scrawl. He didn't want to accidently blow either of them up. He gave her another smile. "And since your my first customer, I'll be sure to make it extra special, okay?"

'Extra? Special?' Those words caused cheeks to resume their resting blush of pink. "O-Okay."

…

They waited. And waited. And to change things up, they waited some more.

After the first half-hour, Naruto had been able to finish a few of his "test" Tag's with no incident. After that, he had to stop when a hand cramp caused an explosion of light to temporarily blind him and Hinata to great effect; earning a smirk from the practicing Uchiha. After that, they just sorted and organized their gear… blinking through spotted vision as they did so.

After an hour, Hinata was able to convince Sasuke to join them for a discussion on strategy, especially since they didn't know what kind of test they were up against. Although they were confident it wasn't a written test given the nature of their surrounds – much to Naruto's relief – but they stayed prepared for it none-the-less given their first interaction with their prospective sensei.

After two hours, they still didn't have a good idea of what to expect. It could be a group test. It could be a personal test for each of them. There was very little narrowing it down. And Naruto's suggestions of "beat it till it stops twitching" didn't get very far.

After three hours, they were laying back-to-back, keeping a look-out for their sensei. Naruto passed out within minutes, his head laying on top of a slightly shorter Hinata's. To her credit, she'd somehow remained conscious, but her face was a lovely shade of warm pink that crawled all the way down her back, despite the minute smile she had on her lips. Sasuke didn't pay either of them any mind as he kept up his watch with as little distraction as possible; save for Naruto's occasional jerks, grunts, snores, and lip-smacks as he leaned against the Uchiha and Hyuga.

Shutter!

"Oh! Now isn't this just precious." Sasuke and Hinata were on their feet in an instant, Sasuke with kunai in hand. Naruto fell to the dirt with no one to support his back, still snoring indifferently.

Kakashi stared at his potential team as a he somehow pouched a large camera, a newly minted polaroid in hand as he fanned the developing photo. "And here I thought the entertainment wouldn't begin until the test did. Clearly, I was mistaken."

"Oh, K-Kakashi-sensei!" Hinata exclaimed with a bow, despite her embarrassment. "G-Good morning!"

"You're late," Sasuke stated, as if wasting his time was unforgivable.

"Yes, well, my Eternal Rival decided to challenge me to a game of "Ninja", so I had no choice but to compete," Kakashi stated with a dismissive wave. "I lost. Now we're 50–49 in his favor."

'Liar,' Sasuke thought, his deepening glare doing the talking for him. Who played "Ninja" when they were already a ninja?

Naruto sneezed, smacking his lips before rolling over and curling up.

"Well, now that we're all here…." He walked between the Uchiha and Hyuga, bending down for only a moment to flick Naruto on the nose.

The blonde bolted up with a snort. "Gnn? Wha?" he groaned, sleepily turning to notice the silver-haired Jōnin walking toward a stump, pocketing his photo and pulling a clock out of his pouch. "Hey! You're late Kakashi-sensei!"

"…Let's get started," Kakashi finished, ignoring him as he placed the clock on the stump. "It's about 8 o'clock. This clock is set for 10. That should give you three about two hours to do your test." Without further ceremony, he pulled up two bells, jiggling them slightly to catch all their attention. "You're assignment is simple. You just have to take these bells from me."

Naruto still looked half-asleep as he jumped to his feet. "That's it?"

"That's it," Kakashi confirmed with an eye-smile that bordered on sadism. "However, if you can't get 'em by the time the alarm goes off, you get tied to a post." He gestured to three of such posts sticking out of the ground. Slowly. He tilted his head slightly as his eye-smile deepened.

Growling stomachs answered him.

'So that's why,' Sasuke frowned, trying to keep the misery off his face. His teammates didn't look much better; Hinata looked a little less miserable than he did, and Naruto just looked outright horrified.

'I see,' Hinata thought. 'But that… that is torture!'

Naruto continued looking horrified, even as he held back a sweat-drop. 'I'm lucky I kept my emergency ramen packed. But he can't know that!'

"And Naruto, I'll be confiscating your emergency ramen pack. There's no cheating allowed." The one-eyed Jōnin wasn't about to mention that he'd been tipped off by rather informative snake-woman. 'Heheh.'

'FUCK!'

Hinata perked up in sudden realization. "B-But sensei, there are only t-two bells."

Kakashi nodded thoughtfully. "Well, that's so at least one of you ends up "stumped"."

'The puns!' the Genin thought in tandem deadpan.

"In that event, the one tied to the post will end up with a one-way ticket back to the Academy." 'Oh good, I really have their attention now.' "Then again, all three of you could get tied up and sent back. It's no hair off my head either way." He made it a point to turn toward the sort-of dead-last of his group. "Are you so sure you can pass my test now? What was all that grandeur about being Hokage?"

This prompted a low growl from Naruto.

He continued. "You can use any tools at your disposal to try and get the bells. Come at me with everything you have… or, better yet, with the intent to kill me. I doubt you'll even make me sweat otherwise."

He'd half-prepared for a hothead like Naruto to charge in kunai flashing. So far, there didn't appear to be any false-starts. So he could be taught. "Very well then. Get ready…."

He was pleased to see that all three Genin had half-decent forms, particularly Hinata. 'So training with her Clan has borne some fruit. I might be able to work with that.' However, Naruto's was the most rugged, his stance wide and full of openings. But he couldn't blame it solely on Naruto and his efforts. It didn't take a genius to deduce that the Academy had less-than optimal standards for him. Sasuke's form was surprisingly trained, easily surpassing the Academy's base style. 'Probably from his earlier training with Itachi. Hmm.'

"…START!"

Two of the Genin jumped away, retreating into the surrounding forest. But just as he suspected, Naruto stood his ground, glaring cold blue daggers at him.

"A ninja should know how to conceal his or her movements and hide effectively," Kakashi chastised, rubbing the back of his neck as he glanced around, trying to subtly spy the other Genin. 'He's got a long way to go. At least the other two have it down.'

"What would be the point?" Naruto demanded seriously as he rolled his neck, "I'm in bright orange. Not like I can hide when I stand out like a traffic cone. At best, I'd make a great training log for your shuriken."

"That's… fair," Kakashi admitted, before giving him a half-lidded gaze. "If that's the case, why wear orange when a ninja needs to understand the art of concealment? Stealth should be one of your greatest tools."

Naruto grinned nervously while scratching his cheek-whiskers. "Well, ya see, I can't exactly afford any of the good stuff, especially when shops charge me extra for it. Turns out, orange is really popular on the discount rack. It was either that, or steal it and cause more paperwork for Old Man Jiji."

'I see.' Kakashi understood. He knew his Minato's son had it rough as the Kyuubi Jinchūriki, but he'd assumed it would fade with time. At least he had a few people who spoke light into his life. 'I apologize for my negligence, Sensei. It seems I may need to step-up regardless of whether or not you pass, Naruto.'

'What is he doing? The fool,' Sasuke thought from his hiding position, taking advantage of height from a tree branch.

'Naruto-kun,' Hinata thought worriedly, her Byakugan activated as she watched with her back to a tree.

"Besides," Naruto continued, unaware of his sensei's thoughts as he slipped easily out of his sandals, kicking them off to the side. "I get to go all-out without being yelled at by Academy instructors for my," he slipped into a mocking tone, ""improper form". Hell, at least you might actually give me some good pointers instead of just yelling like Onee-chan. She has her moments, but seriously, its always with the yelling."

'Yeeeah,' Kakashi groaned inwardly, mentally rubbing the back of his neck. 'You're not wrong.'

'What does Ayame-san know about being a ninja?' Hinata wondered. Naruto had referred to her with the 'big sister' honorific. Though, there was that one purple-haired woman she's seen around Naruto's apartment during the… um… times she followed him.

Kakashi was once again reminded that things were not so easy for the young Uzumaki. "Well then, as the Jōnin assigned to testing you, I'll do my best to assess your skills." 'And here I was going to read Icha Icha Paradise. The Special Edition just came out, complete with six chapters worth of bonus content. Hgh, priorities. Adulting really sucks.' "Alright then, show me what you can do. Just don't forget about your deadline."

Naruto smirked as his stance widened once more before he crouched down on fours. Despite the position, there was no hunch to his shoulders, balancing his toes and palms with a slender ease that was surprisingly fluid.

"Where did you learn that stance?" Kakashi asked curiously. "You didn't happen to borrow that from the Inuzuka Clan, did you?" 'It's too much like the Four Legged Technique to just be coincidence.'

"Huh? What are you talking about? This is just easier than those stupid stances they had do at the Academy." Naruto cocked his head in confusion, his stance and whiskers making the action look more animalistic than was probably comforting.

'Easier?' Kakashi didn't have much time to think before Naruto was bolting right at him, looking more like he was slinking or darting rather than the Inuzuka's bounding. "Ah. Shinobi Battle Techniques – Part One: Taijutsu."

Kakashi caught the punch thrown at his head, surprised when Naruto's hand opened to grab his hand back, using him as leverage to swing his leg around for a kick to his face. He ducked before noticing Naruto's free hand was already swiping toward him open-palmed.

Given little choice, he let go, crossing his arms to absorb the half-decent blow unmoved. 'Definitely not an Inuzuka technique. The stance is narrower. He's pivoting just as easily with his hands as with his feet. And he definitely moves faster than one at his skill level.' Then he sighed again when he realized who would have taught Naruto those things. 'It certainly makes sense why he's so fast. You would have to be to spar with Anko. Probably explains why there's a lot more flexibility in his stance; taking advantage of quick movements, and sly, underhanded attacks. It's a free-for-all on all fours.'

Case-in-Point, Naruto was already on him again, trying to go in at the blind spot created by his crossed arms. Kakashi however let his elbow drop, nailing the Genin right in the noggin, stopping him cold turkey as he stumbled back. 'But it still has openings.' "Good. Good," Kakashi complimented. "It's decent for a Genin. However, your attacks are wide and waste too much energy for the movements I assume you are trying to generate, and you left yourself open to simple counterattacks. It's an incomplete form and needs some ironing out before it can be effectively used in battle. But I may also recommend other styles. Your stance seems largely focused on one-on-one combat. Which is nice, but it may leave you at a disadvantage against multiple opponents." How long had it been since Minato-sensei had said near the same thing about the Chidori? "It's an interesting stance, I'll give it that. I look forward to seeing it completed."

Naruto just looked up with a grin, his sore forehead forgotten as he reassumed his four-legged stance. "I'm not a Genin yet, sensei. Or are you going to pass me already?"

'Eye on the prize I see.' Kakashi looked at him with an eye-smile. "Not a chance. But I do have other students to test."

"Then I'll make this quick!" Naruto shouted, charging in. Before he could move more than a couple feet, Kakashi disappeared. "Eh?"

…

Sasuke watched from his perch, keeping his eyes on the fight. Naruto was fast. He'd never seen those moves from the blonde before and it showed on his face. Then again, he willfully ignored any memory that surfaced of when Naruto had actually tried to use a different stance from the ones the teachers wanted while training at the Academy. Still, the "dead-last" was doing exceptionally well for someone who – at times – had gone above and beyond to earn that title.

The Uchiha prided themselves on having great eyes, and his eyes – Sharingan present or not – wouldn't let him lie to himself. No amount of pride in himself would allow his eyes to lie.

'Was he holding back this whole time?' That thought infuriated him, but he wasn't about to lose it just yet. 'No. He's doing what the instructors told him not to do. And he's actually doing better for it. Good. He might make for a half-decent meat shield yet.'

He allowed a slight smirk, before it vanished. 'You might not hold me back, Dobe, but it means nothing if I can't get a bell.' He immediately began trying to formulate a plan, just before he noticed Kakashi disappear, reappearing in a haze behind Naruto. His hand was–

'He's using the tiger sign?! He's not just going to beat Naruto! He's going to demolish him!' While that sounded pleasant, that mean it was a no-bars-held fight. 'Shit!' Those bells just got that much harder to grab.

…

Hinata watched her hero with bated breath, watching how he attacked with a fluidity that she could almost describe as beautiful. It was aggressive, beyond a doubt. But Naruto was putting his all into it, attacking with everything he had. He wasn't holding back.

Still, despite his efforts, Hinata was discouraged. There were only two bells, which meant only two of them would graduate. While she wanted to graduate as much as everyone else, she knew that both Naruto and Sasuke were better ninja. She was a disappointment, disowned by her family in all but officiality. It was already decided that her sister would succeed as clan head. One spar between them had been all her father and grandfather had needed to make that decision. She was merely kept in reserve in the event that something happened to Hanabi.

She could live with being a disappointment, as much as it hurt… and despite the consequences that would follow. But she still wanted to support Naruto's dream, even from a distance.

She was so distracted by her thoughts that she only just noticed the sign Kakashi-sensei was making.

"Naruto-kun! Look out!"

…

"Eh?" Naruto wondered where Kakashi-sensei disappeared to.

"Naruto-kun! Look out!" That was Hinata's voice. 'What's she yelling about? She never yells.'

"Special Rule: Never Let an Enemy Get Behind You. Secret Finger Jutsu…." Those words sent a chill up Naruto's spine like few he'd felt before. He could feel the Killing Intent projected by their Jōnin-sensei as he barely turned around. First came the realization of what was happening. Then came the terror. Then the confusion. And then the pain.

"… A Thousand Years of Death!" Kakashi finished, launching Naruto like a rocket.

"OOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW-HOOHOOHOOEEEEEEY!" he howled as he grabbed his backside before sticking the belly-flop landing on a nearby river with a SPLAT! As if just registering his presence, the water rose up to embrace him as he sank.

…

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as his entire face pursed. "Da faq?" His diaphragm unconsciously clenched. 'I didn't mean that kind of demolish.'

…

Hinata stared open-mouthed through the tree behind her, unable to deactivate her Byakugan from shock or horror. Her face flushed at seeing something so vulgar, especially that it was done to Naruto.

'Th-That w-was h-h-h-his–' she couldn't finish the thought as her blush deepened.

…

"Well, that gives me some time," Kakashi noted, turning his back on the river. He quickly scanned the forests, trying to find his next victim. "Now who next?"

"Fuck… a… duck." Naruto was climbing out of the water, gasping for air like it was going out of style. With a final push, he collapsed on the bank, muttering curses under his breath. "I'm not… done with you… yet, you… Perverted… Stalker."

Kakashi turned around, raising an eyebrow at Naruto. "You stay here, rest, and work on your strategy. I have two others that need my attention. I'm thinking Hinata. After all, she basically blurted out her location to try and save you. She'll probably be easier to take down."

Naruto frowned at that, growling as Kakashi disappeared in a Shunshin swirl of leaves. "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" He glared at the ground before his eyes sparked, biting back a growl. "Not yet. Not yet." He checked on the secured grey holsters on each hip, making sure they remained watertight. Seeing that they were still good, he made his new favorite sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu."

…

Hinata breathed a sigh of relief that Naruto was okay… or as okay as one would expect; already on the move. After her little outburst, she had no doubt that a Jōnin of her sensei's skill was capable of locating her. She moved as quickly and as quietly as possible, keeping her Byakugan active in the hopes of not being caught off guard.

She stopped as she knelt behind a bush, taking a moment to catch her breath. She shivered as a strong wind blew, the frames of her hair pushing into her eyes as leaves caught by the breeze swirled. Gently brushing them aside, she immediately noticed an off feeling she was getting. Her eyes scanned in every direction at once, not seeing anything different at all.

"H-Hina-ta."

She yelped, whipping around. Her eyes widened in alarm. Naruto stood a few feet away, his body littered with kunai and shuriken. She shook as she watched his blood frame every blade sticking from his jumpsuit, a small pool was already dripping at his feet. While none of the weapons appeared to strike a vital spot, the sheer number could cause him to bleed out.

"He-Help… me," he begged weakly, already falling forward.

Hinata didn't think as she jumped forward, catching him in her arms. She angled him downward so he wouldn't fall on the kunai in his gut.

"Naruto-kun?" she whimpered, feeling the how slick his blood was on her hands as she cradled his head. "W-What happened?"

His breath was already ragged, and he sounded so weak. "H-Hit by m-my own t-trap," he shook out with ragged chuckle, his skin feeling cool and clammy. "I-I'm s-sorry to d-drag you d-down."

"You'll be okay," she whispered, tears pooling in her lavender eyes as she gently pet his hair to offer him some ounce of comfort. "P-Please be okay."

Meanwhile, in a tree a few feet away, Kakashi watched the Hyuga hold and pet air. "Shinobi Battle Tactics – Part Two: Genjutsu," he commented, more to himself than anyone else. With that just about wrapped up, he turned to leave, slightly disappointed that she fell for it so easily.

"Kakashi-sensei," he heard, prompting him to stop in curiosity.

He turned, seeing Hinata was still in the same position as she had been, cradling the imaginary head of her crush. "Oh, so you did see through it?" he asked. 'When did she notice? Was it the Byakugan? Or was it just that obvious?'

She nodded, gently brushing over the blonde hair only she could see before she looked up, glaring at her sensei with her activated Byakugan. "KAI!" she shouted, dispelling the illusion he had trapped her in.

'No hand signs,' he noted. 'Impressive chakra control. Probably part of her training under the Hyuga.'

She didn't respond to his compliment, her eyes narrowing. "That was a cruel trick!"

Kakashi didn't look fazed at all. "That is the Shinobi world. It comes with the possibility that you may lose your teammates." His eyes narrowed on her as well. "Or even, those we admire.

"But good job realizing it was a trick," he complimented again. "Though I'm curious when you realized it was an illusion."

She shakily adopted a stance that Kakashi recognized as Jūken, the Gentle Fist Style, used by all members of the Hyuga Clan. "He apologized," she stated clearly, looking more distressed than Kakashi thought possible. This was Hinata Hyuga, a girl as timid and as shy as a flower. "He apologized for dragging me down. The Naruto I know… would never apologize for that. He'd work his hardest to change himself. That is something… only I would apologize for."

'That's fair,' Kakashi thought, still looking down at the near one-eighty he was seeing. Her speech was clear, but even then, he could see the effort it was costing her to hold herself together. Her hands and legs were shaking, the slightest tremble tone of her voice. The Genjutsu had clearly shaken her to her core. And yet, it seemed it also seemed to spur her further. 'I may have overdone it just a bit.'

"Besides," she said with a soft not-quite-a-smirk. "Your first mistake was thinking Naruto would ever get caught in his own trap. Your second, was using a Genjutsu with Naruto so soon after I left." She wasn't going to mention that it would have been much more believable if it had been Sasuke instead. Not that it mattered with her Byakugan activated. The illusion was broken.

She leapt at him, forcing him to block or dodge her seemingly harmless strikes. "I can forgive being caught in your illusion," she cried, countering one of his blocks with bare palm aimed at his forearm.

'Her movements are coordinated,' he kept track, letting his solely visible eye follow. 'But they're slow, and lack any real threat behind them. And they're too ridged.' He grabbed her wrist, twisting her around and pushing her away. 'That isn't to say it still wouldn't be dangerous to get hit.'

She regained her balance on the tree limb, using the momentum of her swinging around to move in swiftly. "But…," she shuddered, striking down at his leg, forcing him to step back. "…I cannot forgive my own weakness… projecting it onto Naruto like that."

Kakashi had to admit, he was far more impressed that she had actually initiated combat. From what he had observed about Hinata, she was among the least likely to out of her entire class. But this… this was progress he wasn't expecting. 'It goes to show how quickly your world can change when confronted with the possibility of someone you care for dying,' he thought sadly. How different was that for him? 'Rin. Obito.'

She struck again. And again. And again. Unable to willfully land a blow as Kakashi dodged and slapped away her attacks with ease. There was no real intent, but she kept striking.

'I…,' she thought, trying to push harder. The thought of losing Naruto. The thought of her own weakness reflecting in the illusion. The thought of how the real Naruto would act in her situation. '…I won't give up!'

"I think that's long enough," Kakashi stated, moving to grab her wrist again. His eye widened when she shot down under his grasp, her leg pushing off after him, two-fingers extending toward the left-side of his abdomen. He just barely had time to jump backwards, feeling the barest trickle of her chakra touching him. Kakashi leapt to another tree, grasping his side at the strange and painful sensation of being invaded by foreign chakra. "That was a close one," he commented easily. However… 'I really am amazed at how far you've pushed yourself, Hinata. Even if your Byakugan isn't mature enough to aim accurately for my Tenketsu. However, you lost sight of the objective.'

"I apologize, sensei," she huffed, clearly running out of steam, but he could clearly see she was at her mental limit as well. She'd pushed herself too hard too quickly. And this feeling… this feeling was… pride in his potential student. It felt… wow! He'd have to be a teacher more often. "But if I can make it just a little easier for Sasuke-san or Naruto-kun to get the bells from you, then I have no choice but to face you here and now."

'Scratch that,' he amended. 'She has the objective in mind, but with no regard to her own passing. Hinata… you may be the only one I want to pass right now, but this is, unfortunately, also a group effort.'

"Apology accepted," Kakashi stated with an eye-smile, disappearing in a blur and a rush of leaves.

'Behind me!' Hinata swung around, only to see nothing. "Wha?"

Kakashi appeared right in front of where she'd been facing, faster than her Byakugan could follow, knowing that she'd been watching his fight with Naruto, and expecting he would appear behind her. He aimed a small jab toward the nerve in her neck; it would knock her out, rendering her immobile while he dealt his hand with Sasuke. This is what he'd been looking for in a student. The kind of dedication to her team that was selfless. But then… if this reflected a real mission, she could end up the sacrificial lamb. While he didn't think less of the other two, Kakashi was dedicated to preventing any scenarios that reflected his former team. So far, there was no such luck… yet.

Time immediately slowed down when he felt his instincts prickle, watching as a kunai flew between him and the Hyuga girl. And tied to the end of it, was a tag.

'Oh shit!'

An explosion of white light shattered his eyesight, forcing the one-eyed Jōnin to cover his vision. He half expected to run straight into Hinata, but was surprised to find he met only an empty tree limb. Half-blinded, Kakashi immediately expanded his other senses, fully prepared for another surprise. None came.

'Holy shit! I thought that was an exploding tag!' he breathed in a panic. He'd rushed forward, hoping to at least shield Hinata from the blast, only to be met with the flash instead. His fear was immediately countered with a spike of Killing Intent, an uncharacteristic anger prickled through the Jōnin's neck. If that had been an Exploding Tag, someone would have been willing to sacrifice their teammate for advancement. Even the thought of that happening didn't sit well with him. At. All. Right now, that went double for his little selfless Hyuga. 'Those aren't Genin level tags. Who has them, and why?!'

"Sorry, Kakashi-sensei! But I can't have a Perverted-Stalker like you putting Hinata out of commission!" Naruto. He took a deep breath, letting his anger fade as he let reason catch up with his emotions. Of course it was Naruto. The boy wouldn't stand idly by and watch as he a teammate went down. He could hear multiple rustlings, each of them bolting off in different directions.

"Hmm?" he wondered, finally blinking back some vision into his eye. He was left alone on his tree. "Clever. You used a Flash Tag to blind me. I don't even know what you did, or how you did it." 'He concealed himself until the last moment, using my focus on Hinata as a distraction to plan a successful surprise attack. And he only intervened when it became apparent that his teammate was in trouble.' He looked down at his waist, noticing that both bells were still intact. 'And you had a near perfect opportunity to grab a bell, but you didn't. Then again, you're so easy to distract that you probably forgot about them.'

Noting that he was in-fact alone, Kakashi smiled a little. "You prioritized your comrade over the mission. Well done, Naruto." However, his little warm-up wasn't over yet. He still had one more to go.

…

A few minutes earlier…

Sasuke had watched Kakashi deal a swift and brutal end to Naruto, still utterly disgusted by the technique used. However, he was glad once their sensei disappeared… and didn't appear behind him.

'He must have gone after Hinata,' he reasoned, given that she was the one who blew her cover for the Dobe.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" he heard coming from the riverbank, taking pleasure from Naruto's frustration. He didn't have time for such musings. He needed a plan. He knew that the Jōnin was more skilled, and more experienced. He needed a way to bridge the gap. "Shadow Clone Jutsu."

'Wha?' he turned back toward the Dobe, surprised to see multiple Naruto's appear in clouds of smoke.

"Alright ya bastards, I got a feel for him," who he assumed was the real Naruto, "you know what ta do."

"HAI!" the small army of Naruto's shouted in mock salute. They all dispersed, most of them bolting in one direction.

Sasuke was more surprised to hear the rustle of leaves as they disappeared. 'They're not just illusions! They're solid?'

The… original? Sasuke assumed it was… pushed open the grey holsters on his hips, revealing a series of assorted tags. 'A tag holster? That's strange. I haven't heard of anyone using those in the Village.'

Sasuke shook his head. 'No. Gotta focus. I still need to get a bell. Whatever the Dobe is planning, it doesn't matter. I need to come up with a plan.' He quickly moved off through the trees, looking to set up a trap of his own. His sensei would come for him, and when he did, he needed to be ready.

…

The one-eyed ninja was happy as could be as he jumped from tree to tree, hunting down his final potential student, wondering what became of the other two. 'That went better than expected. Hinata was especially surprising. And Naruto had a moment or two as well, though I can't be sure if he was assessing the situation, or just popped out of nowhere.'

His eye widened in surprise as several shuriken curved in air, striking him vitally. The precision of each strike was grouped to his head, neck, and upper chest; blasting him to the side. His forward momentum plus the attack sent him careening into a tree with a limp thud.

"Well shit," Sasuke stated as he jumped down to a nearby tree branch. "You said to go after you with the intent to kill." He looked at the mangled Jōnin and the blood splatters caused by his shuriken before scoffing slightly. "I'm not like Naruto or Hinata. I won't fall for that trick so easily."

In answer to his prompt, "Kakashi" vanished in a Poof! of smoke, revealing his shuriken had peppered a replacement log with a piece of paper stuck to it by his own weapons; a one-eyed ninja smiley face drawn on the parchment. 'A dual Henge and Kawarimi,' he noted, unsurprised that a Jōnin could demonstrate both simultaneously, keeping his eyes peeled for the real Kakashi-sensei.

"It would have been better to play along and formulate a trap." Sasuke swung around to see the Jōnin deadpanning at him, crouching with his arms splayed on his knees like he was absolutely bored. "But it's nice to know you understand what a real dead body looks like."

"Hm," Sasuke replied with a scowl, tossing a handful of shuriken and kunai.

Kakashi crab-stepped out of the way from his crouch, looking even more bored. "A frontal assault won't–" His instincts stopped him, forcing him to step off the branch and onto its underside as multiple kunai shot at him from behind, forcing him to hang upside-down by his feet. "Ah, a trap. Clever."

He blocked the kick that flew at his head, grabbing the offending appendage as Sasuke followed up with a punch. He grabbed that with his other free hand, before using his arm to block a rather flexible follow-up kick with his arm. 'This kid is fierce, and he anticipates and plans for his opponent's movements.'

Sasuke openly smirked, causing Kakashi to note his last limb moving for the flop-sided bells. 'So that was your plan.'

Kakashi simply pushed all his limbs away at once, disbalancing the Uchiha's reach without moving from his hanging position. Sasuke landed down on the ground several feet below, snarling as he brought his hands together, going through several signs before ending with the tiger seal.

'So your taijutsu style wasn't the only thing you learned,' Kakashi thought disappointedly. He'd never been a fan of the unnecessary expectations placed on Clan heirs who were barely old enough to enter the academy, particularly in the wake of a quote-unquote "genius" in their midst. Itachi was one such case of "genius" for the Uchiha. 'And it seems your clan… no, your father… raised the bar before his demise.'

'Katon: Fireball Jutsu!' Sasuke projected, gathering his chakra in his throat before putting a narrow hand to his mouth, as though he were blowing glass. He exhaled a stream of orange flame, Kakashi's position wreathed in an instant.

He waited a couple moments before his chakra began to tense from exertion, allowing him to stem off the flow. After a couple moments, the larger flames dissipated without raw chakra as fuel, leaving behind nothing but a smoldering tree branch.

'Shit!' Sasuke thought, turning in place, 'Where is he? Above? No. Behind? No! Where–?'

"Peek-a-boo." A hand grabbed him by the leg, pulling him up to his chin underground. "Doton: Headhunter Jutsu."

Sasuke blinked in shock before he looked around, struggling to escape his bonds to no avail. He grunted and struggled, but the earth held him tight.

"And that is Shinobi Battle Tactics – Part Three: Ninjutsu," Kakashi stated, looking down at the entrenched Uchiha. "Well, I do have some props to give your trap-making skills and shurikenjutsu. But like I said with Naruto, your form was incomplete. I've seen a real Fireball Jutsu. But I must admit, you're fairly ahead for a potential Genin. But still, easily handled."

'You do have talent, and you were right: You aren't like the others,' Kakashi contemplated. 'Your drive is on subpar with Naruto's, but much more realistic. However, that drive is out of anger, and that anger will only allow you to accel so far.' He glanced around, wondering if Naruto was going to pop out of nowhere. So far, there was no sign of the blonde. 'And unfortunately, your initial isolative stance has put you at odds with your team, even with Hinata acting as mediator. Or maybe he just assumed that you could handle yourself.

'Unfortunately, your "different" isn't always better.' He looked back down at the wrath in Sasuke's eyes, unused to as the boy was to being on the receiving end of a lesson. "They say, "Anger is a power that burns twice as bright, but lasts a quarter as long". I do wonder how you're going to compensate with that acting as your motivation?" With that he began walking away, reaching into his pouch to pull out Icha Icha Paradise for the first time.

'You're already molding your Chakra Nature, Sasuke. That is a good thing, but it means you've let that knowledge of "advancement" go to your head. Had you been taken in by a Shinobi family instead of put under the patronage of the Civilian Council, you might have grown further, and with proper support; much the same as Naruto. Unfortunately, bullshit political balance ruled that both of you be treated as separate entities from the clan system, so no one clan could treat you as an amass of power to bolster their status. While this may have kept the Shinobi Council balanced and the civilians happy, you both suffered for it individually in your own ways.

'But you have potential, just like Hinata, and just like Naruto. But that's all pointless if you don't have someone to stand next to you. Not as a rival, or as someone who looks at you like a King, but as a friend and fellow shinobi.' He looked down and away, almost forgetting about his book for a moment as he continued walking. 'It took a short lifetime of loss for me to learn that.' He carefully pulled out a watch, noting the time. "Well, you all have a little over an hour. We'll see what they can come up with in that time.

"In the meantime…." He let out a little giggle as he went back to reading his book, walking with barely a care in the world.

…

"-nata. Hinata?!" Something called distantly, almost as though it was muddled through water.

'Hnn?' Hinata wondered. 'Who's there?'

"Hinata! Hinata! -Hinata!"

Her eyes bolted open, instantly homing in on eyes of azure sky blue amidst a golden wheat field of blonde ha-

'Ah! What am I thinking?!' She shook her head back and forth to dislodge any more errant thoughts.

"Hey, you're finally awake," Naruto greeted with a grin. "I didn't think a flash tag could knock someone out. Almost made me dispel my clones… Crap! That sounded weird." He smacked a hand to his face.

That wasn't exactly what happened, but he didn't need to know that. There was a clear blur of red across Hinata's face as she tried to look anywhere but his face. 'He c-c-carried me.'

Great! Even her thoughts were stuttering now.

It had been a shock when she had been blinded by a flash of bright light, only to realize she was being carried in the arms of the person she admired most; and just like a princess at that. Suffice to say, she hadn't remained conscious long enough to fully appreciate it. Even now, just thinking about it made her want to faint all over again.

As a side-note, mental and emotional exhaustion in the form of expressing herself and initiating combat with Kakashi-sensei may have had something to do with it. Maybe. Possibly.

"Alright!" he exclaimed, backing up a bit. "Well, I don't mind sticking around, but I gotta go after Kakashi-sensei, so I'mma hafta catch ya later. See ya!"

Before he could leap back into the trees, he was thrown off by something lightly pulling on his jumpsuit. Hinata had grabbed the corner of his heinously orange jacket, her hair hiding her eyes.

"Eh? What's up?" he asked.

"Are you… okay?" she asked weakly.

Naruto was taken aback for a second with a graceless, "Eh?" No one really asked him that save for Jiji, Teuchi, Ayami-nee, and Onee-chan. So having a virtual stranger (someone his age and a girl, at that) even ask him was beyond bizarre. Huh? It was making is chest feel all heavy. Weird.

"Well… yeah, I suppose so. Why?"

She couldn't get that image of Naruto, peppered with kunai and shuriken, out of her head. Or the feeling of his blood running slick on her hands. It made her shiver just thinking about it. "That is the Shinobi world. It comes with the possibility that you may lose your teammates. Or even, those we admire." That's what Kakashi-sensei had said. And he said it like he understood it first-hand.

"N-Nothing," she mumbled, letting her fingers drop from holding him back. She tried to perk up again. "Um, sh-shouldn't we attack K-Kakashi-sensei t-together?" she asked, trying to sound confident. When he just looked at her funny, she averted her gaze. "I mean, w-we're just Genin, and he's a J-Jōnin. H-He has been a n-ninja a lot l-longer than we h-have, and is m-much more s-skilled."

Naruto scrunched his nose as his gaze narrowed in contemplation. "Ehhh… I guess you're right. He seemed super shocked when I threw the kunai at him. Dividing his attention should help. At least he didn't catch on that I can used my clones."

"Clones?" 'What good are regular clones?' she wondered. 'They're just illusions.' Another thought stopped the first really quick. 'And since when can Naruto use the Clone Jutsu?' She meant no offense to him of course, but his attempts to create clones had been borderline sad in the past; she felt bad for him.

"Not just any clones either. Shadow Clone's. They're solid." As if to demonstrate, he picked up a few leaves from the ground, not that it made much difference when he was Naruto Prime.

Despite her embarrassment, she understood what he was trying to communicate, and she couldn't help but be impressed. "Th-That's amazing Naruto! You have clones now!"

That was twice now that she complimented his legend-in-the-making ninja prowess. And it was flustering. Naruto's ears turned an off shade of red. "Thanks," he mumbled, scratching his cheek reflexively. "We… we should probably get going."

Hinata was suddenly fiddling with her fingers nervously, knowing what she needed to ask, but knowing he wouldn't like it. As much as she wanted this opportunity to be alone with Naruto, he would need better back-up than her. "Sh-Shouldn't we, um…." This was harder than she expected.

"Huh? What're ya sayin' Hinata? Speak up!" he interjected loudly.

She steeled herself, if only because Naruto requested it. "Shouldn't w-we get Sasuke-san?" She realized the detriment of that statement as soon as she said it.

He frowned in disgust. "Eh? Why the Teme?"

'Great. He hates me now,' she thought. But she took a deep breath all the same. She owed him that. For all the times that smile had lifted her up and encouraged her. 'I'll always admire you Naruto-kun… even if you never feel the same.'

She took another deep breath, clutching at the hem of her jacket for courage. "B-Both you and Sasuske-san… you have a b-better chance of getting the bells f-from Kakashi-sensei than me, especially if you work t-together."

Naruto looked up, rubbing his chin in thought. "Yeah, I guess so. But there's only two bells."

Hinata hung her head in resignation. "I-It's fine. You and S-Sasuke-san… you both have dreams. And you're both amazing fighters. You b-both need to pass. And I… I don't want to be a burden to you two." She sniffed as she held back tears. "If this is the only way I can be useful, then I'll help you two get the bells!"

She waited as silence took hold. One second… Two seconds.

"What's this all of a sudden?" Naruto looked down at the confused Hyuga, a strangely serious look on his face that she couldn't recall seeing in all her years of "Naruto Watching" (*cough, cough* "Stalking").

He crouched down in front of Hinata just enough, almost face to face with her as he frowned.

Hinata blushed at how close his face was, trembling nervously as his frown deepened. 'Oh no! I've upset him.'

She flinched as she felt something encompass her head, only to feel it rub back and forth across the crown of her head.

"You know, you didn't look like a burden when you were throwing punches– err… fingers? …at Kakashi-sensei."

She looked up at that to see Naruto's sad smile as he continued to pat her on the head. It was causing a warm flush down her neck, and along her back. She was nervous, and it was taking all her willpower not to faint. But it felt… nice; in a comforting sort of way, even if it was embarrassing.

"Trust me Hinata, you're nowhere near being a burden. You actually made Kakashi-sensei fall back a step. How does a "Burden" do that to an elite ninja?"

She felt tears prickle at the sides of her lavender eyes. 'I'm… not a burden?'

"Besides, you have a dream too, don't you? You want to be acknowledged by your clan, right?" he asked, smiling a little brighter. "Are you gonna give up on that just because the Perverted Stalker decided to be a dick with only two tiny bells?

"W-Wa-Wait! I didn't mean it like that! Crap!"

While she didn't approve of his disrespect for their Sensei, Naruto's words sparked something in her like they always did. Despite anything her family could subject her to, she felt courageous every time Naruto never gave up. But now, his words were directed right at her, point-blank exposure to his Naruto-ness searing away at her doubts.

"N-No!" she proclaimed, squeezing her eyes shut with intensity. "I won't give up!"

"That's the spirit!" Naruto shouted, helping her to her feet. He was about to walk away before she gave him an imploring look, causing him to release a sigh of resignation. "Ugh! Fine! Let's go get the Teme." He began marching off, grumbling under his breath at how unfair it was that he had to work with Sasuke.

'Thank you,' Hinata whispered to herself, following slowly behind him. 'Thank you for giving me your courage… Naruto-kun.'

…

A little while later…

"Ah-hahahahahahaha!" Naruto panted, huffed, gurgled, and rolled on the ground as he laughed his ass off at the scene before him.

They'd been searching the forest (ergo: Hinata used her Byakugan) to find Sasuke, and seeing him trapped up to his neck in the snug earth was just too much for the blonde to take.

"Hey Hinata! Look! A planted Sasuke!" Naruto stated before cackling again. "With that hair, he looks like a weed!" Hinata herself was trying hard not to giggle, covering her mouth with both sleeves.

"Shut up, Dobe," Sasuke growled, tick marks appearing on his brow. "I touched the bells."

That shut him up. Naruto frowned at his self-proclaimed rival, earning a smug smirk from the Uchiha.

"Um… shouldn't we h-help him out?" Hinata asked.

"Sure," Naruto stated, his frown returning to a good-natured chuckle. He quickly crossed his fingers, shouting, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" And suddenly, there were four.

"Oh great," Sasuke commented, smacking his chin into the dirt with a drawn-out face, "there's even more of them."

'Y-Yeah,' Hinata thought, suddenly feeling really light-headed from the number of Naruto's.

"Can it Teme!" all four Naruto's snapped uncannily before they got to work. They all began digging at the ground around Sasuke, shoveling dirt by the hand-full before they were slowly able to get his arms free. Sasuke quickly wiggled his arms out, trying to pull himself free before he was surprised by the multiple Naruto's grabbing his arms, two to each, and yanking to pull him out.

"Damnit Dobe! Don't rip my arms out of their sockets!" he snapped, pulling his arms away forcibly before picking himself out of the ground. "How stupid can you get?"

Tick marks appeared on all four Naruto's brows. "Well so-rry for helping dig you out of the hole that Kakashi-sensei shoved you in! Maybe next time, I'll just leave you there!" Clone Two snapped. Before any more of them could start a fight, Naruto Prime dispelled them. "What he said.

"So?"

Sasuke just glared at him, brushing off the dirt on his clothes. There was nothing he could do about the dirt that had slipped into his britches. He just had to glare and bear with it. ""So" what?"

"Aren't you gonna thank Hinata?" Naruto asked, gesturing to the timid and rather silent Hyuga, whose face flared red at being called out.

"And why would I do that? She didn't do anything."

"Because she Logic- and Give-That-Cinnamon-Roll-a-Hug no Jutsu'd me into helping you," Naruto stated as though it were obvious, glaring right back at him. It was physically painful for him to admit it, but… "We… need to work… together." Naruto smacked his tongue in his mouth, tasting something bitter hit his throat at those words.

"Tch, I can handle this on my own," Sasuke shot back, already walking off. "Remember Dobe? I touched a bell."

Naruto just smirked back. "Yeah? Well Hinata almost took down the Stalker by herself. She stuck two fingers out and he jumped back like a scaredy-cat."

Sasuke froze at that, turning to look at the Hyuga heiress carefully. 'What?! There's no way. Sure she's from a famous clan. But she couldn't even hurt a fly! Scratch that! The fly would hurt her!'

She shifted uncomfortably at his scrutiny. "Um… it wasn't exactly like that," she whispered, looking away as she fiddled with the hems of her sleeves.

"Nah, she's just being modest," Naruto insisted before looking back at his rival. "Well?"

Sasuke thought about it for a moment before he stated the obvious. "There are only two bells."

"Yep! And we'll all be going back to the Academy at this rate," Naruto stated. "We can worry about who gets what after we get the bells."

The Uchiha frowned at this. "So what you're saying is, there's no guarantee I'll get a bell. I could end up going back to the Academy!" It could be a trick. Something to get him to play along up until Naruto and the Hyuga kept the bells for themselves. That pissed him off.

"Well, if w-we don't get the b-bells, then aren't y-you guaranteed to go b-back to the Academy?" Hinata pointed out meekly. "We all are." Under normal circumstances, she would have volunteered the bells. But now that Naruto had faith in her, she wanted to ensure him that it wasn't misplaced. She wouldn't give up.

Sasuke's eye twitched as the conundrum circulated in his head. Either guaranteed failure, or a chance at potential failure that could potentially promote Dobe and Hyuga. Oooo! This was driving him crazy. There was a distinct chance that he could end up wasting his effort, and if there was one thing he hated, it was wasting his time. Wasted time would only let him fall farther behind.

But in both the long- and short-run of it, he didn't have much choice. To aspire for strength and power, he'd have to make a gamble. How very… Shinobi of him.

"Fine," he snipped, sniveling at his own consent. "So what do you two have in mind?"

Naruto had to work to keep the grin off his face. "Well all we need to do is set up a trap for the Perverted Stalker. After that, we just need a Distraction."

Sasuke frowned. "You mean "bait"?"

"Nope. "Distraction". I can do that part since I can spam my clones, but we still have to set up the Perverted Stalker."

'Right, he can create non-illusion clones,' Sasuke noted. 'How does he do that anyway?'

"S-so? Any ideas?" Hinata asked.

Naruto sat criss-cross and crossed his arms, frowning in thought. In a couple seconds, he was looking at Sasuke intensely.

"What Dobe?" he demanded.

"Well Teme, it looks like it's time to spill your equipment to us," Naruto stated.

Sasuke just frowned at him, completely unimpressed and openly disgusted.

"Not like that you bastard!"

Hinata caught on and promptly turned red.

Kakashi was giggling up a storm from his perch in a tree. He'd read Icha Icha Paradise enough times to have it nearly memorized word for word. But now with the Special Edition's content? A little more comedy, a little more angst, a little more rrro~mance, and no shortage of brain-drooling sex; all Icha Icha. Was it possible for a Kami-sent masterpiece to become even better? Oh-hohoho, he couldn't wait for the Special Editions for the other books to come out!

'Hmm. Some of these new scenes have some interesting positions,' he thought, somehow keeping a stoic face at the not-so-borderline graphic word porn. It soon evolved into a reverent blush as he thought about their applications. He hummed in appreciation of the images his mind conjured for it.

His ear perked when he heard some leaves rustle a ways off. 'Mmm,' he groaned. 'Break time's over. What a mood-killer.'

The whizz of two small shuriken made themselves known, and he almost laughed at such underwhelming force, but he still stayed wary. These kids had already shown that they could surprise him.

He caught the shuriken on his first two fingers, watching as their momentum slowed down before grinding to halt. What could he say? He was showing off some of the cool shit a full-fledged ninja could do. Maybe he should have just kept reading his book while fighting them. What says "I'm a badass ninja" like not even paying attention while whooping their asses? Eh, too late now; he'd chosen to be a teacher over a badass ninja the moment Naruto wanted pointers.

'What does that say about my future career?' he wondered glumly.

The shock-and-awe factor was greatly less "whelming" than he had anticipated, because the next moment, he was met by a single blonde-haired, orange-suited Genin-wannabe, charging out of the tree-line. He was slinking on all fours at that half-decent speed of his, using his increased agility to launch between tree trunks for height before he swung higher from a lower branch. It wasn't Tree Walking, but it was still an impressive display.

'So much for teamwork,' Kakashi sighed, putting his book away to meet "Blondie's" charge. He half-heartedly tossed the shuriken into the branch at his feet just as the Naruto reached him. Unlike last time, rather than attack immediately, Naruto fingers dug into the branch, swirling over, under, and around until he was behind Kakashi before his legs shot out in a mule kick.

'Clever,' Kakashi thought, knocking it away before his eyes widened. In the shadow of his own kick, Naruto was tossing a kunai at Kakashi's leg. 'Most clever.' His eyes narrowed suspiciously. 'Almost Sasuke-clever.' He stepped over the flying kunai before using his lifted leg to nail Naruto in the face. There was a prominent poof! of smoke as his foot connected as the Henge was canceled. 'Nice try, but you almost had me.'

The smoke cleared. But there was nothing there. "Wait? What?"

Two more poof!'s sounded as Henge's were actually released. The two shuriken at his feet had erupted into a pair of Naruto's. 'Shadow Clones?! When did he learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu?! Hokage-sama didn't tell me about this!

'But still, coupled with a Henge. Not bad, not bad.'

"Now!" the Naruto's yelled at once, both latching onto Kakashi's legs.

Kakashi turned at the waist from his pinned position to see the once flying kunai go up in smoke, revealing Hinata. His one visible eye widened. 'Oh fuck! Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!'

She dug in her feet to stop her momentum before pushing off back toward them, her Byakugan flared. "Hyah!" she shouted, her palm extended as she charged.

Kakashi twisted over the edge of the branch, only to hear the whizz of shuriken flying from the trees. 'Not this time.' He quickly brought both fists down on a pair of blonde heads, watching as one poof!ed, and the other let go to grab his head. Kakashi quickly grabbed Naruto Prime by the scruff of his jumpsuit and tossed him at the charging Hyuga before drawing a kunai to bat away the flying projectiles.

Hinata "Eep!"ed as Naruto bodied into her, knocking them both off the branch. He quickly crossed his fingers, four more Naruto's popping into existence, two each chaining together to catch both him and Hinata, and send them back upward before dispelling.

Kakashi swiped away another slew of projectiles, his eye narrowing. The faintest glint could be seen trailing from the weapons, and it made his eye widen in realization. 'Shit!' All at once, the projectiles pulled taunt, their momentum curving them back around until the sunlight caught an entire net of ninja wire attached to the weapons. He quickly flipped out of the well-made trap, spinning mid-air to further some distance. The trap fell slack over the tree branch.

"Well well," he mused, looking at the kids with something awfully close to impressed. Naruto and Hinata had landed back on the branch. And while Hinata was red-faced from proximity to Naruto and his clones, she hadn't fainted at least. Naruto took point, clearly the foremost attacker. And what Kakashi now knew to be Sasuke, was supporting them both with clever shurikenjutsu from the trees; using techniques that were reminiscent of Itachi.

"If I were a Chūnin, I'd be dead right now," he stated too easily with his signature eye-smile. 'Oh my. Did my heartrate increase a little?' Interesting. They could actually put him through his paces.

"Now!" Sasuke's voice called from the trees.

Kakashi instantly homed in on it, prepared to take out their support when he heard a hissing sound below him. His attention turned downward, only for his eyes to bug. There was a tag on each leg, the edges of them burning as the fuse was lit. His head snapped up to see Naruto making a hand sign with a smirk.

'Tags? When did he…? When he tried pinning me.' The realization wasn't going to help him any. He may not have been going all out, but still, these kids weren't half-bad. Still, he wasn't going to make it easy for them to get the bells, even if they were now working together.

Acting fast, he pulled the wraps from around his legs off; and with them, the tags. He just thanked Kami that Naruto hadn't put a bunch of tags all over his legs. Last thing he wanted to get around was that a potential Genin team had managed to get his pants off; getting nicknamed "Streaker Pervert" so soon after "Perverted Stalker" would suck. Before he could discard the wraps, Naruto's smirk deepened.

"Boom," Naruto commented.

The tags activated, sending out a sharp POP! in the air that caused Kakashi to drop a knee. His vision blurred as the inner fluids of his ears were disrupted, causing a mild nausea. Nothing he hadn't faced before during the Third Shinobi War, but still. Unexpected. 'Not explosive tags,' he noted blandly. 'Where did he get these tags?!'

The Jōnin barely kept sight of the fact that Naruto had been affected too, who was doing his best to stay atop the branch they all occupied by falling down and hugging around the tree. He looked a little green. "The boom… hasn't been… calibrated… properly," Naruto moaned weakly.

Sasuke finally showed himself, dropping in from behind with a kunai drawn, unaffected by the blast due to distance. He attacked, using relatively sloppy – but consistent – knifework as far as Kakashi was concerned, but still aiming to take him down. Kakashi dodged a slash here, and a jab there before his ANBU senses began tingling like crazy.

He spun under another jab from Sasuke to see Hinata coming in with an open palm aimed where is arm had been, and notable light blue wisps coming from her ears.

'She fortified her ear canal's with chakra before the blast. Smart girl.' Smart, ingenuitive, and adaptable. He was liking these kids more and more. They acted like they had actually planned some of this.

They were capitalizing on his affected state to try and immobilize him, or at least slow him down further. Limiting his movement was a smart move. Especially since it would cut into his attacks and escape. And it was intense. They were all gunning to win.

If one attacked high, the other attacked low. Between the Hyuga and the Uchiha, Kakashi was actually having to work it a little to dodge. Hinata was still pulling her attacks, but she looked determined to continue. And Sasuke was growing frustrated the longer he went on without landing a blow, the gaps in his defenses growing more and more prominent.

But nothing could describe the immense joy Kakashi felt as he dodged or slapped away their attacks. Hinata was attacking fervently, doing much better now that she was attacking with the group. And Sasuke was attacking in tandem with the others as a team. And they had done it before the alarm went off!

At least they were giving him some things he could help them improve on.

"Spring board!"

"Spring board! Boo-ya!"

His attention was thrown off slightly as a recovered Naruto was crouching to give a clone a jump-lift… or his clone was giving him the lift? Either way. A Naruto was thrown into the air, jumping Kakashi from above while the other sub-Genin were coming from either side. He reached over, grabbing Hinata's forearm and tripping her into the charging Uchiha's path, just before flipping across the branch to avoid more thrown weapons from a dropping Naruto.

Hinata deftly danced around Sasuke, while Sasuke continued his charge to engage their sensei while Naruto landed next to what was left of Sasuke's ninja wire weapons. Crossing his fingers, several Shadow Clones appeared on the branch, each picking up a wired weapon and running at Kakashi.

"Teme! Switch!" one Naruto shouted, the wire tangling together as multiple Naruto's charged.

"Hn," Sasuke nodded, ending his low-end Taijutsu spar and backing away as multiple Naruto's took his place.

Kakashi was met with the clones as they attacked rather poorly with Sasuke's weapons, easily popping them with a few good smacks and flicks. It was only after the third clone popped that Kakashi noticed that they were draping the wire around or over him even as they popped.

'Okay. Now where will this go?' he wondered, trying to shake off the wire as he moved. Once more, Naruto's clones were trying to pin him by latching on. This time, they were more persistent as new ones kept appearing to replace the ones that had dispelled. It didn't take long for some of them to get through "spar" Kakashi's guard, grabbing any limb of his they could.

All at once, the wire on the weapons they used tightened, securing multiple Naruto clones to Kakashi. On the other end, Sasuke held the wires in hand now that they had finally gotten the Jōnin in a trap. He quickly sorted through hand signs before taking in a deep breath.

'Oh shit!' Kakashi thought. These kids were actually trying to kill him! 'Well, I did tell them to come at me.'

"Oh shit! Say cheese, sensei," Naruto taunted from his trapped position while another one was patting around his waist, trying to find the bells.

"Katon: Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke exclaimed, a stream of fire following along the wire and to the entrapment, Dobe and Jōnin going up in flames.

Or "would have", if Kakashi hadn't Kawarimi'ed his way out and the Naruto's hadn't been clones… maybe?

Hinata watched almost felt her breath hitch before the last of the clones burst, unconsciously letting loose a sigh of relief when it turned out they were all clones.

"Could you not look so happy to burn me next time?" Naruto asked as he dropped down, frowning at their failed attempt, and their now missing sensei. Part of his face looked a little sooty and some of his hair was laying flat.

"I think it's an improvement," Sasuke stated after cutting off his chakra. "Besides, you Substituted out of there. Did you at least get the bells?"

Naruto shook his head, looking only somewhat disappointed. "No. I didn't have time to get at them before you decided to light us up."

"Shit," Sasuke growled, glowering at the spot his Fireball had charred. 'So close! We were so Kami-damned close!'

"Well, you t-tried your best N-Naruto-kun," Hinata offered. "I-I'm sorry, I c-couldn't be more h-help." She felt disappointed that Sasuke and Naruto had done most of the engaging; Sasuke with his larger weapons skillset and ninjutsu, and Naruto with his clones had covered most of the attacking. Meanwhile, she only had her Taijutsu, and that required contact. And obviously, Kakashi knew all about the Hyuga's Jūken.

"Well our best wasn't good enough!" Sasuke snapped, causing Hinata to wilt a little.

"Geez! What's your problem? No need to yell at her for it," Naruto stated with a scrunched nose. "We were all going ham to spam. Besides, how much you wanna bet that Kakashi-sensei was the toughest ninja anyone in our class could have got."

"What's my problem?" Sasuke demanded. "My problem is that you had one job Dobe! And you couldn't even do that!"

"Well I'm sorry!" Naruto shouted sarcastically, "but I was a little tied up and had to Substitute out because an idiot was so busy flaunting his chakra dick, that he couldn't wait more than half-a-second before he tried to kill me!"

Hinata looked back and forth between them, clasping her hands to her chest. "P-Please, s-stop fighting," she whispered.

"Says the guy with no skill to be a ninja!" Sasuke snapped back. "When was the last time you actually paid attention in class?!"

"When was the last time you didn't have every teacher sucking you off and bowing down to the "mighty" Uchiha?!" Naruto shot back. "At least they gave a shit about helping you!"

"JUST STOOOP!" Hinata yelled, her eyes and the hem of her jacket clenching tightly from the effort.

Both boys turned in shock at Hinata's outburst, stunned silent by the fact that she could get so worked up. Sasuke swung his head away with a "Tch!" while Naruto just grit his teeth and glared at the ground.

"I'll admit…." Their heads snapped up to another tree, Kakashi crouching down with the bells drooping tauntingly over his finger. "…You guys are good for Academy students." 'More than good,' he kept private, 'but you fell apart so easily when things didn't go your way the first time.'

Despite such a large setback, this was better than he'd ever hoped. Sasuke's adept use of ninjutsu and shurikenjutsu was able to control the flow of battle. Naruto's Shadow Clones were a constant tide changer, and with his chakra levels… he shuddered. And even though Hinata could only get in a few strikes between her teammates bombardments, her Gentle Fist would be devastating if she landed a hit, even if she was holding back.

It would be a pure, unadulterated, crippling Assault. 'If I can get some heads pulled out of asses,' he added as an afterthought. He dreaded to think it… but if any new Shinobi wars or skirmishes broke out… these kids would be a terror on the battlefield. He hoped it would never come to that. But otherwise, he could see why the Hokage had made the changes he did.

"But, how do you expect to pull off something similar against real ninja when I'm holding back and there's infighting?" he asked seriously, before letting his voice slip coldly. "If I was really trying, you'd all be dead. Starting with Hinata."

That caused them to stiffen, especially Hinata.

"Hinata is the only one of you three with any sense, and it would be a huge blow to morale to both of you, so obviously, she'd have to go first," he continued darkly. "Once she was gone, you two would be easy pickings once you two freeze from watching her die. If you didn't just kill each other first.

"That is the reality of Shinobi," he stated normally. "That is a strategy that others will use to cripple, and then kill you."

As if punctuating his statement, the alarm finally went off, causing Hinata to slump in defeat while Sasuke fumed. Naruto looked especially nervous for some reason, pawing slightly at his kunai pouch.

"And that should wrap it up," Kakashi stated, dropping to the ground. He gave a hard stare to all of them as they undoubtedly thought about their return to the Academy. And maybe, just maybe if they thought about his words, they'd wise up a little. "Come with me," he ordered, already walking away from them.

The kids all looked nervously between each other before they obeyed, following behind him warily.

It didn't take long for them to exit the forest, now back right where they had started just a couple hours ago. The three posts sticking out of the ground were enough to make the kiddies twitchy, considering what their punishment was supposed to be, but Kakashi walked right past them without a second glance.

He stepped a few more meters in before stopping, hands finding purchase in his pockets before he looked down. He'd stopped at a large, dark stone, the edges smooth and cut, shaped like the blade of a kunai with varies words carved into it.

"Do you all know what this is?" the one-eyed Jōnin asked.

"It's… a rock?" Naruto asked, not sure what qualified as an appropriate answer.

"It's a memorial stone you Dobe," Sasuke stated, with a more reserved glare in his eye, suddenly somber. "They carve the names of the dead on it." Because he had one erected in the middle of the Uchiha District pavilion, covered in the names of his slaughtered clansmen. Men. Women. And children.

Hinata looked down at the ground, trying to hold back tears behind a grave face. The thought of death in general made her sad, but the solemness that adhered itself to the moment weighed heavily on her.

"Correct," Kakashi stated, his eye wondering immediately to a specific pair of names. It was hard, even then, to keep his shoulders from sagging from the weight it brought. "The names of the village's heroes and honored dead are carved onto here. Specifically, those who perished during the Third Shinobi War. Both of my teammates and closest friends are engraved here."

"Oh," was all Naruto could offer in light of that revelation.

"I'm sorry, sensei," Hinata said softly, unable to procure the courage to say much more.

It was silent for several moments. With the alarm having just gone off, it was a little after ten in the morning. With the sun out, the mood wasn't as suppressed as it might have been, but that left the light a lot more dreary than welcome at the moment.

"Do you know what the point of the exercise was?" Kakashi asked after a moment.

"To get the bells," Sasuke stated, much more reserved than normal.

"That was the objective," Kakashi corrected. "But what was the point?"

None of them answered, trying to ponder what he was getting at while still weighted from the somber moment.

"Teamwork," Kakashi clarified, letting it sink in for a moment.

"Teamwork?" Naruto asked, cocking his head slightly.

"Teamwork," Kakashi stated. "Why do you think you're put into teams? The point of being in a team is to work together. Hence: teamwork."

"So the point was to work as a team?" Hinata asked.

Kakashi nodded. "When out on missions, if you can't work as a team, your chances of dying skyrocket." He sighed, looking down as his own memories betrayed him. "I didn't work with my teammates. I thought I could do it all alone. And one by one, I had to watch as they were killed right in front of me. It was only because of their sacrifices that I'm still here today."

He looked back up, eyeing each of the potential Genin. "That, is a burden I will have to carry. But for you three, there is potential to change that before any of you repeats my mistakes. And so far, you're off to a good start, but you still have a long way to go before you're ready for the real deal.

"For that, you all pass."

It was silent for a moment.

"WHAAAAT?! That was it?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Uh?" Hinata muttered unceremoniously, a look of utter confusion on her face.

"But… there were only two bells," Sasuke stated, frowning slightly. "You said that one of us was going back to the Academy."

"Oh that?" Kakashi stated, putting a hand to his chin in thought. "Well, I lied."

The kiddies might as well have keeled over at that.

"I did have to be sure you three would fight your hardest, but you would either pass as a team, or all three of you would have a one-way ticket back to the Academy," he stated.

"So th-there were only t-two bells t-to see if we w-would fight?" Hinata asked.

Kakashi eye smiled. "Exactly. For a brief moment, you guys were capable of working together despite the potential risks," Kakashi commented solemnly. "It ended quickly, but it was there. A common goal. None of the other teams I've tested figured this out, much less before their time ended. You wouldn't have been able to properly press me otherwise." He turned back around to face them. "So whose idea was it?"

Naruto and Sasuke immediately looked at Hinata. Her face turned red from all the attention, smoke trailing out of her ears.

"Well then," Kakashi said cheerfully, "Hinata, you are now officially my favorite student. Class, be sure you follow Hinata's example. Because Hinata is bestest student."

The red in Hinata's face intensified.

"Tch," Sasuke growled, whipping away angrily.

"Man," Naruto sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "Well she did almost body ya twice, so it's fair I guess."

'Once,' Kakashi thought to preserve his dignity. 'At best.'

"Good. Now you three have the rest of the day off," Kakashi ordered. "We'll begin training the day after tomorrow at 7 in the morning. Make sure you do eat breakfast, and bring lunch then. We'll be busy. I need to finalize your official status to Genin tonight, and I need to do some preparations tomorrow. Understood."

"HAI SENSEI!" they all stated.

'Awww. They're so cute. Too bad I gotta train it out of them via borderline torturous methods. Not that they need to know that,' the one-eyed Jōnin thought. "Alright. Dismissed."

He continued to watch as they trailed away. Naruto was wanting to eat some ramen, Sasuke was making that funny noise ("Hm!"), and Hinata was being bestest student and just smiling because she was happy she passed. Oh, how he envied them.

For a moment, he could vaguely see his own team. These kids were very different to be sure, but the similarities were clear enough to drop a hint of melancholy on the moment. A reminder that the world at large didn't care what age they were, it would destroy them given the chance. Unfortunately, the Shinobi occupation would steal that innocence before long, if it wasn't somewhat muted already; they weren't exactly sparred from the cruelty of the world, each in their own way.

"Oh, hey Sensei!"

Kakashi looked back up to see Naruto jogging back over to him. Before he could ask what was up, the blonde tossed something lazily at him. Kakashi caught it without looking, before turning to see what it was. The orange back of a book greeted him, and it took him a moment to realize that it was his book. He hastily reached back to feel his waist pouch, only to realize that it was empty.

Naruto was grinning like a much nicer version of the fox sealed in him, scratching the back of his head smugly while Kakashi glared. "When?"

"Just before Sasuke tried barbequing us," he answered. "I was trying to go for the bells, but when he jumped the gun, I had to grab something quick. So when I hit the jackpot, I figured I'd bribe ya with it if we didn't pass."

"And what makes you think it would make a good bargaining chip?" Kakashi asked, doing his best not to sweat. 'My precious Icha Icha! It's okay honey! I'll never let you out of my grasp again!'

"You're a pervert. And those stupid smut books are the bible you swear by," Naruto reasoned without really caring. "Besides, Nee-chan says that anything you can use against an enemy is fair game, right? I'm just glad I didn't have to use it. I've never negotiated a hostage situation before." And with that, the blonde took off to catch back up with his teammates.

Kakashi stood there for a second, looking between his book and the retreating Naruto. And back and forth a few times before subtly feeling his chakra to make sure he wasn't under a Genjutsu. "What the hell have you been teaching him Anko?"

Author's Note:

Heads-up: Seeing as this Story is a Sample, this will be the final sample chapter for this story. I had planned clear up into the "Land of Waves" Arc, but given the general feedback from less than encouraging sources for this story, I'm cutting it short so I don't bear the potential illusion of wasting my time. Because it's a Sample Story, if I get serious about writing this, it will be subject to changes. So not everything here will be gospel if I come back to it.

Thank you to those of you who had a hand in providing the necessary support to continue as far as I did. I wish I could provide you guys the full story you deserve.