TigrezzTail - Kakashi as a teacher? I offer no words here, and you will have to decide for yourself based on the future events of this book. And yes, I really wanted to explore Naruto's reaction to the Kyuubi and also the Sandaime's own thoughts with it all, because I don't think there was ever a good way to tell Naruto. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

"I'm Asuma Sarutobi," their teacher introduces. "To ensure that you are capable of being genins, there is one last test you must pass." The trio of genins nod; they had known that there was another test to pass, (everything's a test in some way or another). "To pass my test, you simply have to find me. You can ask me three questions now and I will even answer them now."

"Where will you be?" Ino immediately asks, (blunt question, make them underestimate you, a person's more likely to talk if they think you're dumb – basic interrogation tactics).

"In Konoha," Asuma remarks a wry grin on his face. In response, Ino scowls, (it failed, but that's alright, there's no danger in this time), and goes to speak when Chōji elbows her in the side.

"Is there a time limit?" Shikamaru asks, (eyes sharp, tongue sharp, wit sharper; sharp edges of a kunai blade, smooth metal that glints in the darkness waiting to strike; a snake with fangs bared but not quite ready to bite; a threat but an empty one). "And are there any restrictions?"

"You have to find me before sundown," Asuma responds, "and there are no restrictions on your side, aside from the time restriction of course." Before the three can say anything else, (try and gain more knowledge because information can let you win in some fights, when power fails you), he disappears with a flare of chakra, leaving behind leaves.

"It's good that we have no restrictions," Shikamaru says, turning to face his team, small smile on his face. "We weren't told that we couldn't get help."

"We can ask Sasuke-kun or Kiba-kun," Chōji says, "their ninken would be able to track Asuma-sensei, right?"

(They have worked together for months, for years, earned trust and friendship; they are friends and teammates and everything in between. They trust each other and that means that they don't have to tell all their secrets to each other. Once upon a time, they were alone with the connections their clans grant them and nothing else. Now, they aren't alone and have connections that they themselves created.)

Ino shakes her head. "We've got nothing with Asuma's scent, and they're doing their own tests anyway."

Frowning, Chōji says, "If he's a Sarutobi, then people should know something about him, right? Especially the ninja proportion of Konoha."

"Good thinking, Chōji!" Ino says, eyes lighting up in delight. "We can gather information as he gave us his whole name. Shikamaru, do you know anything about him? After all, your father's Jōnin Commander."

"Unfortunately, no," Shikamaru replies, "probably on purpose. However, if we head towards the Jōnin Standby Station, we're likely going to come across someone we can ask." After Ino and Chōji voice their agreement, the three quickly enter one of Konoha's main roads. They're walking quickly along the shops when Ino catches sight of her clan's flower shop. Between both of the boys, she's easily able to tug them into the shop and out of the crowds.

Ignoring the confused looks she receives from both of them, (but they do nothing because they trust her), she heads up to the desk a few metres away from the entrance. "Morning, Miya-san," Ino greets. "How are you doing?"

"Good morning, Ino-chan," Miya Yamanaka replies. "I am well; yourself?"

"I'm feeling good today," Ino says. "Don't suppose you know an Asuma Sarutobi, do you? We were told he was a jōnin but he seems important. Is he?"

"He's the son of the Sandaime," Miya responds, raising an eyebrow in question but not outright questioning them, (to Miya, they are children, genins, young and skilful but not quite mature yet, they have time to grow, to learn). "But he's known for his stint in the Twelve Guardian Ninja, protecting our daimyō. He left about seven years to join them, and during his time, incurred a thirty-five million ryō bounty."

"It must have been difficult to maintain relations whilst out of Konoha," Shikamaru muses, eyes glancing at the collection of purple flowers, (he knows what they mean, because he has been taught by teachers and by Ino, there is a reason he looks; small gestures in a bigger conversation, a way to guide the conversation with no one really noticing), in a vase on the counter.

"Lovely, aren't they?" Miya says. "Amaranths, purple lilacs, bellflowers, and mallows. Anyway, to answer your question, I can't speak about any of his friendships, but he's been at odds with his father, Hokage-sama, apparently for a while, and there are rumours he maintained his dalliance with Kurenai Yūhi; she's also a jōnin, but I don't know much about her aside from the fact she primarily uses genjutsu."

Ino looks at the clock above Miya's head. "Thanks for your help, Miya-san, but we need to go now! We said we'd meet up with the others."

"Have a nice day," Miya calls as the trio leave the store.

"You too," Chōji calls back, polite as ever, (you make sure you don't ostracize people, you never know when you may need allies – and, in this life, you always need allies). However, the moment they leave the store, Ino runs into someone, causing Shikamaru to stop and Chōji to run into his back. "Sorry!" He says as Shikamaru grunts.

"All good," Shikamaru replies. "Hinata-chan, is that you?"

The two girls get up, brushing dust from their hands. "Hi Shikamaru-kun, Ino-chan, Chōji-kun. Where's your teacher?"

Chōji shrugs, moving out from behind Shikamaru so he can see the other three genins. "We have to find him."

"So do we," Kiba says. "Not your teacher though, our teacher – Kurenai Yūhi. She's apparently testing our skills. Hence, we have to find her. We were told she was going on a date for lunch, but that's it."

"She's dating Asuma Sarutobi, our teacher," Ino reveals, (information shared because these are friends and allies and one day teammates). "That means we can work together to find them both!"

"But we still don't know where they are," Chōji points out, causing Ino to frown.

"If they are testing our skills as ninjas, it would make sense that the pair are at Kasukana. Why? Because needing to find a hidden, ninja-only restaurant would be a good test of our skills," Shino states.

"How do we find it?" Kiba asks. "We can't track them by their scents."

Shino tilts his head and holds out his hand, which an insect lands on. "I can lead us to where the entrance may be. From there, it will be a test of our skills as a group."

"Lead on, Shino-kun," Hinata says. "We'll work with what we've got, find our teachers, and pass these tests."

Placing the menu down, Kurenai sweeps the room with her eyes, (looking for children who are students who are still not there). "I do believe we are almost out of time. I don't know how much longer we can stretch this lunch," she remarks.

"I told my team they would have until sundown," Asuma replies. "I didn't consider that our lunch would end at some point."

"How do you think your team is doing?" Kurenai asks. "I'm hoping mine have figured it out by now. Shino-kun's insect left a while ago."

"I'm not too sure. If they've found your team, they will have had an easier time of it, but if they haven't gotten that information then–" Asuma cuts himself off as a small puppy lands on their table, (weaponry gleams within sight for a moment, a tense air takes hold of the room, and then it disappears as reflexes are controlled as ninjas realise there are no enemies coming for them). The puppy barks, wagging its tail and glances up at the ceiling. Both jōnins look up at the ceiling at the same time, and see an undone vent, with a genin looking down at them. Asuma raises an eyebrow at Chōji and the boy flushes, but jumps down, not landing on the table like the ninken. His teammates quickly land next to him, Kurenai's team following them.

Running his eyes over his team, Asuma notes that they seem fairly tired and a bit bruised, (but they are here as genins not children, so he will not coddle them). Similarly, Kurenai's team also appears the same way, although the Inuzuka genin has soot on the front of his clothing.

"Welcome to Kasukana," Kurenai says, amusement lilting her tone. "Join us for lunch, won't you? We can discuss what you did well and what you need to improve on."

Ino immediately sits herself down next to Asuma, with Chōji and Shikamaru sitting further down, across from them, Kurenai's team sits as well. "What we did badly was coming in through the vents," she immediately says. "We definitely didn't think that through. Landing amongst ninjas from the roof? We're lucky poor Akamaru wasn't skewered!"

The ninken barks and jumps onto Kiba's head. "I didn't think of that," the genin in question says. "We know for the future now, though, don't we boy?" Akamaru barks in agreement.

(Even as genins, they are all too aware you cannot make the same mistake twice – if you do so, there is a high chance you will not live to see the next sunrise. Ninjas cannot make the same mistake twice because their lives depend on them not making mistakes.)

"Indeed," Asuma says. "You did well in, not only sharing information, but working together to get here as well. Do you have any questions for either Kurenai or myself?"

"Why didn't you include the other team?" Kiba asks. "I mean, their skillsets might not seem to fit with the skills you tested, but they'd easily keep up with the rest of us."

"Hatake-san had his own plans," Kurenai says smoothly, without exchanging a glance with Asuma. Akamaru barks, resulting in the other genins looking at Kiba who taps the table twice.

"Do we get food, Asuma-sensei?" Chōji asks, drawing the attention away from Kiba and his behaviour. It's a simple tactic and works well; the teachers don't question Kiba's behaviour whilst the official genins are all too aware of the lie their teachers told, (they won't question it just yet, they trust their teachers, trust their superiors, trust Konoha's jōnins; after all, they have no reason not to).

"Our sensei is a dick," Sasuke says the moment he sits down at the table, features tight with anger that is rarely incited. Kiba chokes on his drink – because Sasuke never swears – causing Chōji to pound his back.

Sakura plops down next to Ino on the seat that has the wall as its back. Leaning against Ino, (wordless comfort always offered), she adds, "Sasuke-kun isn't wrong. He hated us from the beginning and attempted to have us work against one another in our test, which failed, obviously. He almost let us fail without actually testing us."

"I'm never going to say a bad word about Asuma-sensei," Chōji decides. "Our teacher has to be a saint compared to yours; he paid for lunch!" There's a low murmur of agreement from six of the eight genins. "Where's Naruto-kun?"

Crossing his arms, Sasuke scowls, anger and frustration exposed further. "We met up with Toru briefly, and Naruto went with him, because he wasn't feeling well or something. Bet you Hatake did something that upset him like the other day."

Ino leans forward, dislodging Sakura who grunts and pushes herself upright. "I think this gives us enough reason to get back at Hatake, don't you think? He upset Sasuke-kun enough that he swore, Naruto-kun's gone to Toru because he's feeling that terrible, and Sakura actually sounds willing to commit a crime against another Konoha ninja."

"He'd deserve it," Sakura says grumpily in the following silence. The conversation quickly dissolves into revenge plots and prank ideas. There's no mention of Naruto's absence or how he's upset, no mention of Toru taking care of the boy. They're all aware there's no reason to comment on Sasuke and Naruto's relation with Toru and the whole family scenario with the Uchiha Clan – it's a sore point for everyone. More to the point, they are all protective of each other because they are friends and future teammates and allies.

In the end, it is Shino who calls an end to their dinner. With an apologetic smile, he states, "I have to go home now. Why? Because I told my parents I would be home soon."

"Oh, shoot!" Kiba says, startling upright and causing Akamaru to fall off of his head. "I said I'd be home half-an-hour ago! I'm actually going to die."

"Better get moving then," Hinata says with a fond grin. "We can cover your bill if you need."

However, Kiba's already shaking his head. "I'll pay and then go," he says firmly. "Besides, it's Shikamaru-kun, Ino-chan, and my turn to pay. If you guys need to head off go, we'll take care of the bill. We'll organise another meetup soon! We can even do spars and all that when we have the time." Everyone gets up, saying goodbye and thanking those who have to pay. Soon enough, the nine genins separate, going their distinct different ways.

(They are teammates and classmates and so much more; they're friends.)

Entering the apartment, Sasuke isn't surprised to see Naruto huddled up to Toru as the other reads a book quietly. He's mildly surprised to see Iruka-sensei on the other couch, a book in his hands as well, (only mildly surprised because Iruka-sensei tends to come only on Friday and Saturday evenings, but not too surprised because Iruka-sensei does tend to be around a lot). Beside Naruto is Takumi, who doesn't move even as Sasuke arrives with Takuma.

"Welcome back," Toru says, looking up, smiling at Sasuke. "Did you have a good meal?"

Nodding, Sasuke points at Naruto, who hasn't looked up yet. Raising one hand, Toru makes a gesture indicating that the blonde-haired boy was caught between feeling fine and feeling bad. "The others are planning revenge on Hatake," Sasuke says, causing Naruto to look up, revealing red eyes.

"Hatake?" Iruka-sensei squawks, dropping his book.

"Not you?" Toru says at the same time, before turning his gaze to Iruka-sensei. Sasuke follows the movement, giving Iruka-sensei an unimpressed expression.

Flushing, Iruka-sensei rubs his nose. "Ahh, Hatake-san hasn't been known to pass a team. He's also well-known for not really being any kind of teacher."

"If you say so," Toru says in incredulity but doesn't say anything else, and Iruka-sensei ducks his head. There's something there in the interaction, but it goes over Sasuke's head. Going to sit down next to Naruto, Sasuke's expression crinkles upon seeing the bowl there, a small pool of red bean soup at the bottom still.

"That's disgusting," Sasuke says.

"There's senbei for you in the kitchen," Toru says, amused. "You don't need to have any sweet stuff. You can thank Iruka for that."

Grimacing, Sasuke mumbles, "Thanks," at Iruka-sensei before picking up the bowl and heading towards the kitchen. Returning with the snack in hand, he decides to take a seat next to Iruka-sensei, Takuma jumping up beside him and curling up.

"Hey, Toru?" Naruto says quietly, nudging the older Uchiha who hums in response. "Can you tell me something about the Uzumaki?"

"The Uzumaki Clan?" Toru asks, placing his book down and shifting position slightly. Naruto nods quickly. "What do you want to know?" Naruto shrugs, and Toru frowns in thought. "I don't know too much," he begins, "but, well, I can tell you what I can."

Whilst Toru pauses and Naruto reorganises himself, Iruka-sensei puts his book down and Sasuke makes himself comfortable, which includes shifting so he can lay down on the couch, feet resting on Takuma's back and head on Iruka-sensei's lap.

"One of the main things most people know is that the Uzumaki Clan had close relations with the Senju Clan throughout the Warring Clans Era, and even after the founding of Konoha. Often they kept such relations through marriage, the alliance between the clans enabled them to offer each other a diverse range set of skills. For instance, much of the Senju Clan's fūinjutsu was due to the Uzumaki Clan sharing their fūinjutsu.

"They were a matriarchal clan as well, with their Clan Head usually being a woman," Toru continues. "But Clan Heads could be challenged by others, and then forced to step down or step aside. I'm not positive," he says with a frown, "but I do believe that one or two Clan Heads were assassinated. Although, such a thing was rare when the Uzumaki Clan was still small."

"Was the Clan Head mantle inherited?" Iruka asks curiously, catching Toru's gaze. "I'm intrigued, now. There's so little known about clans outside of Konoha aside from their fighting capabilities and all that. You know I never pass an opportunity to learn."

Smiling, Toru says, "Generally, the inheritance of the Clan Head mantle followed one family. However, if the Clan Head stepped down or had no children, they would call for a vote for a different Clan Head who'd been nominated. Actually, it ended up becoming part of Uzushio's traditions. People would be nominated, the population would vote, and the person with the most amount of votes would become Uzukage. They tried to keep the Uzukage candidates from knowing if they were nominated and who actually won. Sometimes it worked, but most times it didn't."

"Were they strong?" Naruto asks.

"As a whole, I would say so. Due to managing to grow so big in conjunction with their tendency to avoid battle – which resulted in the clan being on good terms with numerous other clans and having alliances through marriage, introducing new genetics and bloodlines into the clan – they had a variety of abilities," Toru explains.

"They were known for their long lives," Iruka adds. "I always assumed it was a kekkei genkai of some kind."

"They had a kekkei genkai?" Naruto echoes, "Did they? Do I have it?"

"They had a kekkei genkai, yes, but it's not what you think, Iruka," Toru replies. "Since the Uzumaki Clan were wanderers years ago, they had an impressive resistance to illnesses, which led to the concept being created that they had a long and-or strong life force. This concept was further strengthened by the Uzumaki Clan's ability in fūinjutsu and revolutionising the field, evident in their medical seals. It led to an increase in the life expectancy… I think. They actually had a few kekkei genkais due to the wide variety of genetics. Not all Uzumakis had a kekkei genkai, but some had adamantine chains or could heal others or themselves through the consumption of chakra. Moreover, while it wasn't a kekkei genkai of any kind, some Uzumakis had an extraordinary sensory range."

"Heal through consuming chakra?" Sasuke repeats.

Toru nods. "I don't know how it worked – it had something to do with blood being consumed, maybe?"

"Red blood cells have chakra bonded to them as well as oxygen," Iruka says slowly. "If there's a need for blood cells and a person consumes the blood cells from a person with a kekkei genkai… perhaps that chakra is adsorbed in the form of healing chakra?"

Toru shrugs. "Your guess is as good as mine." He nudges Naruto, "Come on, you need to get to bed. You mentioned you have training early tomorrow."

"That's if Hatake even shows," Sasuke grumbles and Toru shoots him a look. "I'm not sorry," Sasuke mumbles but heads towards his room. Iruka rolls his eyes as Naruto follows after the other boy, yawning as he goes.

Finding himself yawning, Iruka covers his mouth with one hand. "Guess I should be heading off soon as well."

"Hatake?" Toru questions, tone light but the younger boy seemed willing to push if Iruka didn't respond.

Hesitating, Iruka settles with saying, "He was in ANBU for some time." The silence stretches between them. "They thought Itachi was a lot like him."

"Are Naruto and Sasuke safe with him?"

Iruka tilts his head. "I believe so. I just… don't know how well he'll manage teaching them. In spite of everything, they are still children."

"They could surprise us all," Toru says. "Besides, all teachers have their first students, and they themselves were students at some point. Anyway, are you staying for the night?"

"I shouldn't impo–"

"Iruka."

Sighing, Iruka collapses against the back of the couch, head flopping backwards so he's looking at the ceiling. "Fine," he groans. "I swear I'm pretty much living here now."

"Mmmhmm."

"I could move in and no one would actually think anything had changed. No one here would even notice the difference."

"If you say so."

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Yeah."

"Toru? Toru – you're reading! Do you know anything I've said in the past few minutes?"

"Nothing important, I'm sure."

"Toru!"

(Friends and laughter, trust and safety, family is what you make of it, family is what you decide, sometimes family is two boys, five dogs, a reincarnated Uzukage, and a teacher.)

It's late afternoon when Toru sees Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura in the distance. Making no attempt to hide, he isn't surprised when Sasuke sees him and the trio walk over to him. The genins look particularly tired, hunched shoulders with scratches adorning their arms. "What have you been up to?" Toru asks.

"D-rank missions are the worst, believe it!" Naruto says. "Why were we even given the mission to capture a cat? Takuma is a dog!" Takuma growls by Sasuke's feet. "I mean ninken, not dog!"

"D-rank missions are important," Toru says before smiling, "but they are annoying, I can't refute. They do teach valuable skills and lessons, regardless. Everyone's done their fair share of D-rank missions, some more than others."

"Why do they teach? All I've learnt is that I want to avoid D-rank missions for the foreseeable future," Sakura states. "I hate them! I haven't learnt anything! Hatake-sensei is useless!"

"Don't go disparaging your teacher like that," Toru says in a stern voice. "I'm sure Kakashi Hatake knows what he's doing. Besides, I'm almost certain that D-rank missions have taught you something. Has not your teamwork gotten better? Many D-rank missions enable you to work on skills such as trapping and tracking for future missions. They form a basis for future missions."

"How is painting a fence going to help with anything?" Sasuke says.

"Depends what you were painting," Toru replies. "If it's got detail and design of some kind it can come in handy when creating maps and so forth. Moreover, most times you have to paint, you have to speak to the owner, correct? Communication is vital, not just within your team, but also with your client. It may even be necessary for you to negotiate something or just remain on the good side of your client."

"But they're so boring!" Naruto whines.

Sighing, Toru says, "Then talk to your teacher about getting a C-rank."

"Can't you train us?" Sasuke asks. "At least for an hour this evening?" There's a pause and both Naruto and Sasuke's expressions turn helpful.

Heaving yet another sigh, Toru decides. "Okay, but I'm going to train with you, not train you. Understand?" The genins nod and Toru rolls his eyes. "Alright, come along. We're not going to go hard, though. You've got training and missions tomorrow, and I have my own mission as well." Catching sight of Sasuke's frown, Toru hastens to add. "It's not for long, but there might be a few back-to-back missions this week."

"Let's go!" Naruto says, and Sakura grins, grabbing his hand and forcing the boy to skip with her. Following behind them, Sasuke rolls his eyes and stalks after them, Takuma at his side. However, despite his seemingly aggressive actions, he clearly doesn't mind his teammates, a relaxed tilt to his shoulders and a calm expression on his face. It's easy for Toru to fall into step behind them, (he's never had a genin team or taught anyone really or had siblings; he's had a clan, in both lives, but family – treasured – has never been more than his parents really).

When they reach a nearby empty training ground, the genins all turn to Toru. "I'm sure you've got basic signals and all that figured out," Toru begins, "but what attack plans do you have? There are three main ways you can be attacked. You can either be ambushed, you will attacked when you are prepared for a fight, or you will be attacked clearly when you are not prepared for the attack."

Sakura smiles. "We've got plans for all three," she confirms. "In the case of an ambush, Naruto goes for the attack and so does Sasuke if needed but tries to undertake a sneak attack, whilst I protect the objective."

"If there's an attack that we're prepared for, Sasuke and I attack whilst Sakura protects the objective, sneaking in attacks when she can, and healing anyone if necessary," Naruto explains. "Most of our plans follow that kind of layout, right?" With a grunt, Sasuke nods.

"What would the three of you do if the enemy is stronger than you, which is likely?"

"Well, even with the increase in the size of our ninja force," Sakura explains, "there's still the general idea that Konoha produces 'nice' ninjas due to our tendency to have genin teams. Based on that, it can some people may assume that the increase is due to an easier graduation rather than an increase in skill. So, I mean, we could try and get underestimated further by acting really badly?"

"That's a smart idea, but be careful not to overdo it," Toru says. "However, Sasuke can't act too incompetent due to his clan heritage, and some may know that outside of Konoha. Nonetheless, both you and Naruto are unknowns and so people will be likely to underestimate you, you just have to help that along. Act loud, whine, grumble, do all sorts of things."

"It'll be just like class!" Naruto says, "Watch this! You ready? Watch me!"

Naruto's posture shifts, becoming something looser and more energetic, he bounces on his feet and fidgets with his fingers. Placing a wide smile on his face he skips up to Sakura, "Hey, hey, hey! Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan! Guess what I saw – guess! Guess!"

"What did you see?" Sakura asks, an amused smile on her face.

"I saw a frog!" Naruto crows loudly. "You never see frogs in Konoha! They're so hidey!"

"Hidden," Sakura corrects absent mindfully, only to realise when Naruto beams at her.

"Masterfully done," Toru admits, and Naruto grins. "Smart to use qualities you already have. "Sakura-chan, you played along towards the end, but remember you might not be amused by Naruto's whining but rather annoyed and frustrated because it would be annoying over a long period of time."

Sakura nods in thought. "I understand, Toru-san."

Takuma barks, pouncing on Toru's foot. Nudging the ninken off, Toru laughs. "Alright, alright, we can move on to actual training now. You three have to protect Takuma as your objective and make it to the pond. I'll be your enemy. Ready? Go!"

Crouching gracefully on a branch, a brown cat flicks her tail and studies the small bird on the edge of the branch. It hasn't noticed her yet, and she takes a careful step closer, light on her paws and gradually decreasing the distance between herself and her prey. She takes another slow step, and then another, and finally readies herself to pounce. Mouth partially open, she leaps forward, claws outstretched. The bird cries out, wings fluttering as it tries desperately to take off and escape in time.

Just before the cat can catch the bird, something wraps around her body. She yowls loudly, displeased, and lashes out with her claws. However, she's quickly and efficiently bundled into a towel, unable to escape from the arms holding her and incapable of thrashing anymore. Looking around, the cat's ears pin backwards as she smells dogs nearby. Hissing, she bares her teeth at the three humans now approaching.

"Good job, Sakura-chan," Kakashi says. "You get to take her back. I'll see the three of you there for another mission!"

Sighing, Sakura tightens her grip on the cat. "What's the likelihood Hatake-sensei has another D-rank mission lined up for us?"

"Likely," Sasuke responds, before turning to glance at Naruto as the three continue to walk out of the park. "Could you ask Hokage-sama to give us a C-rank mission?"

Visibly hesitating, Naruto slowly nods, before furiously nodding. "Yeah! I can try to get us one. He owes me."

"Owes you?" Sakura echoes, confused.

Rubbing the back of his head, Naruto awkwardly laughs. "Eh, I was planning to prank him but I didn't! He should be thankful for that, you know!" Sakura exchanges a glance with Sasuke, aware that Naruto was lying, but the pair of them decide to leave it. If Naruto wants to tell them, he will, otherwise it clearly doesn't matter that much.

Finally reaching the outskirts of the park, the three channel chakra to their legs and leap up onto the rooftops, pausing briefly to give Takuma time to follow after them. The wolfdog quickly appears and the group heads towards the Hokage's building. "Takuma is getting faster," Sakura says as they leap over one gap, half-struggling with keeping herself upright as she continues to hold the cat to her chest. She stumbles, but both Sasuke and Naruto keep her upright until she regains her balance.

"He has improved," Sasuke says proudly. "We've done quite a bit of work on it." He scowls. "After all, Hatake hasn't done anything for us."

"Toru says he's still figuring out how to be a teacher," Naruto says cautiously as they enter the correct building. "Iruka-sensei said he wasn't the best teacher first either – I don't agree though; Iruka-sensei is the best," he proclaims loudly as they enter the mission room. His face goes red upon seeing Iruka in the room. Behind a mission desk, their old teacher simply offers them a smile and continues to focus on the ninja in front of him.

Snickering, Sasuke follows Sakura as she leads them into a side room where the cat's owner waits them. Kakashi is already there, leaning against the wall and flipping through a book of some kind. Sasuke really doesn't care. "Here's your cat," Sakura says, handing the cat wrapped in a towel over to the woman.

"Thank you!" The woman says loudly as she hugs the cat to her chest. "Tora must have been so scared! Oh yes, yes you were! You're not going to run anymore, are you? Oh, no, no, no."

Sasuke pulls on Sakura's top and, along with Naruto, they quickly leave the room behind. Their jōnin teacher appears in front of them, still reading and meanders towards the mission room slowly. "Hatake-sensei, could we get a C-rank mission?" Sakura asks politely, sweetly, and Naruto coughs to hide the smile climbing his face. Both Sasuke and Naruto are aware that Sakura's thoughts regarding Kakashi are not polite in the slightest. The only response the group get is a hum, and Sakura shrugs. Naruto nods and Sasuke smirks. They're going to get their C-rank mission one way or another.

Thankfully, they've clearly chosen the right time to attempt to gain a mission, for the Hokage had just entered the main mission room. Without needing to be nudged forwards, Naruto bounces towards the Hokage, a smile on his face, (and confusion still resting in his heart; he's still torn between anger and love, but despite everything, the Hokage had been the first person to be kind to him and – in the end – that would always win out).

"Hello, Naruto-kun," the leader of Konoha greets, looking down at the boy. "Has your team come for a mission?"

"We have!" Naruto replies. "But we don't wanna do another D-rank. They're boring! We've been doing D-ranks for days! We wanna do a C-rank!"

"Oh?" The Hokage questions, glancing at Naruto's teammates. "Do your teammates agree?"

Hands twisting behind her back, Sakura nods, not meeting the Hokage's eyes. "I think it'd be a good test, Hokage-sama," she says. Beside her, Sasuke nods in a single motion, and says nothing.

"I suppose, then," the Hokage responds, "that it is up to your teacher."

The three genins twist to look at Kakashi. Their seemingly permanently bored and lazy teacher hums. "I suppose that we could do such a thing. After all, we've completed the required D-ranks."

With a squinty-eyed look at Kakashi, Naruto turns back around, "See?" He says to the Hokage. "We can do it!"

Softly smiling, the Hokage nods. "A new C-rank mission came in recently and looks like the perfect C-rank mission for a new team," he says. A short word to a nearby chūnin, and he's quickly given a scroll that he hands to Kakashi. "Your mission will be to protect Tazuna-san from Konoha to the Land of Waves and the time taken for Tazuna-san's bridge to be completely built."

"Understood, Hokage-sama," Kakashi says, scanning through the scroll. Turning to the three genins crowding nearby, he says, "Meet at the main gate at eight tomorrow. We leave then for the Land of Waves."

"Good fortune on your mission," the Hokage says, "and stay safe." Kakashi meets the Hokage's gaze. A conversation is exchanged in the span of several heartbeats, before Kakashi nods, acknowledging the warning that the Hokage has given him and planning to be cautious. However, knowing that something seems off does not equate to knowing what is off. With a wave of his hand, the Hokage dismisses everyone and heads towards his office.

Glancing at his genins, Kakashi raises an eyebrow. "What are you three waiting on? Don't you have bags to pack?"

Undertaking tests as genins that are tricky is only the first step in their journey. There are still D-ranks to commiserate over and training to partake in. There is time to learn and grow, and finally, the C-rank missions start to occur.

*Shrugs* I honestly don't have anything to say for this chapter. It's pretty much a filler with me trying to urge everyone towards the C-rank we all know (well, kind of know). I will admit that what happens in the rest of the book - since it follows canon for quite a bit (canon events, not necessarily the same results or actions just the events themselves) - that it probably won't be close to the script. I know the basics of it all fairly well, but I don't know it word for word or to any great extent. A lot of my understanding comes from various fanfics and the naruto wikia. Essentially, I haven't actually seen all of the Naruto anime or manga.