"KAKASHI SENSEII!"

O Gods.

Kakashi winced and looked at the orange bouncy ball in front of him. He already regretted his decision to arrive half an hour earlier instead of the full three hours. The sweet air that rushed out of Naruto's mouth indicated a sugar rush. The kid would not be able to calm down for at least another hour.

He began to feel warm already. Drops of sweat ran down his back. The sun beat down on them mercilessly. They had another seven hours to deal with both the heat and Naruto.

Kakashi glanced at his other students. Sakura covered her ears and Sasuke glared at nature for whatever crime it had done to him. All around them were burned remains of explosive tags and half-melted wire.

How original.

"What is it, Naruto?"

Getting to the point worked better than giving them another halfhearted excuse. None of his students seemed to believe him anyway and he had run out of his most fun excuses a while ago. Only Sakura occasionally gave him the stink-eye, which she had perfected in a week, the dedicated brat- but Naruto got too distracted by his work.

They should get angry and shout at me, but noooo they have to rig the entire field and make every morning an obstacle course.

After the first day, Naruto had started using him as a target for his latest pranks under the guise of them being practice-traps for enemy shinobi. Being the great teacher others expected him to be, Kakashi didn't question it out loud. Little devils never noticed that Kakashi spied on them before announcing his arrival and could hear the evil cackles loud as ever.

Sakura sometimes joined him and thankfully kept an eye out for plain catastrophic (for Kakashi) ideas. Proving herself as the most intelligent of the three, she also helped Naruto device more intricate traps. Any other teacher would have been proud that she was teaching her teammate.

Not this teacher.

Kakashi didn't trust her for a second. He had seen her longing looks and heard her heartfelt mutters towards the explosive tags, shurikens, and mysterious seals. He was just very relieved her common sense won over.

Most of the time. Sometimes, the thought of revenge became too sweet and glitters got involved.

(If Asuma asked, Kakashi had no clue why his hair sparkled in the sun.)

Sasuke had either completely forgotten or ignored the first lesson he was taught by Kakashi and just went to sit away from his scheming teammates. Kakashi knew that he used to be so much like him and that thought just twisted the blade deeper. He wanted to grab him and shake the kid, yelling at him that he might end up like Kakashi one day. Or worse.

"CHI TOLD ME THAT-"

Startled, Kakashi shoved a ration bar in Naruto's open mouth. Naruto choked for a moment, eyes bulging and face turning red. He tried to chew on it and immediately gagged at the taste (Kakashi could not blame him). His face turned an odd shade of green but he bravely swallowed it.

Kakashi had to commend his bravery.

"Right," he braced himself, "now with our inside voice."

Naruto took a deep breath and Kakashi grimaced. Naruto's inside voice was comparable to Gai's whisper: too loud to be commonly and socially acceptable. Whatever would come out of his mouth, it would be loud.

"Chi told me that they had a race with Team 8 but the rule was that they couldn't touch the ground!" Naruto finished in one breath. His eyes were wide and expectant.

Kakashi sighed but a light bulb went on in his head. He never really planned ahead for his training. The only thing he had determined to teach them was teamwork and why it was vital. They still had time, however. This exercise should keep them busy long enough to give me a peaceful day.

So he lifted his head, curved his eye and clapped. "Alright. I'm sure that you want to race as well right?"

Naruto nodded fervently, Sakura looked curious and Sasuke had Uchiha Scowl #3 (interested but annoyed by surroundings) on. Kakashi tried to remember the lessons of his father in hopes that one of them contained a great explanation.

One of his ANBU teammates had once quietly confessed that Kakashi's genius made him a terrible teacher. That tidbit had made its way to Iruka somehow and Kakashi ended up with a registration form (a copy of the document Iruka had forged) for a Jonin-teaching workshop.

"How do you think they did it?"

His clone's memories of that hellish week were a bit fuzzy because Anko had been there too and there had been a lot of alcohol involved.

Naruto was bouncing again but with no answer ready. Sakura's brows furrowed as she put her super-brain to work. Kakashi grinned and eyed them.He could already imagine the awes when he walked up that tree without hands. He could also envision the many poor attempts of his tiny students.

They were so cute when they were exhausted and bruised.

One training field further~

"For crying out loud, Shikamaru!" Asuma yelled to the sky as the laziest member of his squad started snoring on the highest branch he could find.

Shikamaru had mastered tree-climbing within minutes after he actually started and used it to walk up the highest and thinnest tree he could get up safely, and went to sleep. Asuma was impressed at first and let him be to instruct the other members, but after half an hour the kid had to get down.

Which left him in his current predicament. For the very first time in his life, Asuma cursed his stature. The tree would not last a second under Asuma's weight. Damn Naras. He swore some more.

"Oi Shikamaru!" He hollered, pleased to see the boy twitch awake. "Get down before I cut the tree!"

Shikamaru gave a brief glance down, "No you won't. I'll die if I fall from this height."

And you like me too much so you won't risk it.

Asuma gritted his teeth and accidentally crushed his cigarette. He spit it on the ground and pulled a new one out. Ino and Choji looked on from the other trees.

This is going to be a long day.

He desperately wanted to get his team in the race with the other teams. It became something of a competition amongst the Jonin. It started with Anko, as most dubious things did. She bet the entire bar that Team 11 could walk just as easily on a wall as they could on the floor. Like spiders, she called them drunkenly. Teeny, tiny spiders.

Well, in Asuma's not so objective opinion, Anko's brain was a teeny, tiny spider. How she managed to rile up an entire bar of professional shinobi, he would never know. He envied it at times like these, when his lovely students decided to act like spoiled civilian kids. Ibiki had it easy, Asuma thought. His team didn't sound too bratty despite his recent craving for alcohol.

Team 11 had learned how to walk on walls after one of the girls had crashed into Ibiki one too many times. Kurenai taught her team after Anko called one girl and she appeared right above them, sticking to the ceiling. Story goes that Kurenai excused herself and Team 8 began demolishing trees that same afternoon. Both women had bragged about the kids that evening at the bar.

It turned out that Gai's team already knew how to do it and Asuma suspected that it had triggered Kakashi's competitive spirit. He could sense the huge chakra spikes from the Uzumaki kid all the way here. Not a single person on his team had that much chakra. Looking up at Shikamaru, he could only be grateful for that.

One training field back~

Naruto sneezed and lost his concentration, subsequently falling down. Sasuke noticed this, smirked, forgot to send his chakra to his feet and fell too. Sakura stared at them from the top branch in shock, mouth opened.

Kakashi had a great time, resting in the shadows, reading his book.

The city-center~

Kurenai and the rest of Team 8, sitting around a table eating dango, had a great day. Mainly because they weren't paying for the meal. Anko would.

Team 11 had lost the race yesterday and thus Anko lost her bet. She sat at the table, angrily chewing on a empty stick of dango while her snakes circled the tree that functioned as Team 11's punishment.

The trio of girls were doing upside down squats on a branch. They had been doing this since the end of the race and that had been two hours ago. So far they had just cried out because of their sore legs and not so much because of all the blood rushing to their heads since Chi controlled their blood flow.

Anko growled and her largest snake hissed, scaring Shinji into super-speed-squats. After she got released from the hospital, Ryuya had offered her blood to Chi who accepted. That single move had doubled the speed of Ryuya's recovery. Ryuya had been spared during the race and Shinji had run her part. Anko allowed her some breaks during this punishment, so she fared well.

Shinji cried out every two squats. Chi looked beyond exhausted, biting her lips as she tried to control both her chakra and the blood of her teammates.

Well, she was the one who ruined it.

Chi's part of the relay race had left a trail of destruction. The tree at the finish line couldn't handle the sudden burst of chakra and exploded. They got disqualified.

Damn brat.

Kurenai chewed slowly and looked at her team. Kiba wolfed the dango down and fed Akamaru. Shino's sticks disappeared behind his collar and reappeared empty. Hinata shyly munched on one stick. Kurenai smiled at her. She had a nice team.

Training field~

I have a terrible team.

Asuma looked at the brats that were ruining his proud-sensei moment. Ino had stopped walking up the tree the moment she was able to reach the ten meter bar and then started fussing over her hair and clothes. Choji munched on his chips from the thickest and also lowest branch. Asuma had carefully discouraged him from going further out of fear that the branches may snap. And Shikamaru...

Shikamaru... Asuma growled and glared at the boy who watched the clouds. He had tried bribing and threatening but nothing worked. Nothing, except maybe...

"Shikamaru! Get down or I will go to your house and tell your parents how incredibly disappointed I am!"

Parents as in his mother. Aside from her years as a formidable active Chuunin, Yoshino Nara was the only person even the Hokage didn't like to disobey. She didn't yell at him, of course, but her glare... ANBU shivered when they looked her in the eye, never mind her son and husband. Shikamaru got the message and made his way down without complaints. Asuma grinned evilly. He was still going to talk to his mother.

He declared that loudly at the bar that evening, smirking happily when Shikaku Nara winced. The man had decided to tag along with Tsume Inazuka and was playing (read: destroying his opponent) shogi with Genma. The man looked to be on the verge of tears.

Kakashi read his book in a corner, looking up briefly when Asuma joined him. Kurenai smiled at her not-so-secret-boyfriend, and the latter felt his heart skip a beat.

"Had a good day?" Kakashi asked slumped back in his chair.

Asuma sighed, rolling his shoulder, "Finally send the kids home. They learned the technique pretty quickly. How about yours?"

"Hmm, I'm pretty sure that Naruto is still practicing his tree-climbing skills." The masked man replied lazily. His free hand stroked the dark fur of the huge Inazuka companion.

Kurenai's eyes widened, "Seriously? How much chakra does he have?"

Kakashi smiled at her, but there was a sharpness to his eye, "His Uzumaki blood provides him with at least four times my chakra."

Asuma felt faint. In fact the entire room gaped at the copy-nin. Then Ebisu leaned forward "And with the... you know?"

Kakashi's eye turned to the man, eye cold as steel as if he dared the man to speak out of line, "A hundred times, but probably more."

Ebisu paled but wisely kept his lips sealed. Kakashi turned back to his book. Asuma had to give it to him: Kakashi's quarter of exposed skin was more expressive than actors in a play.

"A-anyways..." Anko tried to change the topic. "how's the rest? Ready for the race?"

"I forced Sasuke to go home or else I'd had to carry him. After falling down for the two hundredth time and being unable to get up without wobbling knees, he left for the sake of his pride. Sakura managed it on her first try and made the kid jealous. I'm sure Naruto will succeed sometime tonight as well. I have no doubt that they want to compete." Kakashi concluded.

"Hmm, like I said, Shikamaru already knows it but it will take some serious bargaining to get him to participate. I'm thinking of asking his mother..." Asuma muttered and Shikaku choked on his sake.

"Ino is doing reasonably and we couldn't risk Choji falling of the tree so I'm not sure how high he can go. They will be participating though."

"If the kid is too heavy for the trees, he can try buildings you know." A gruff voice alerted them on Ibiki's arrival. The man nodded to the group and made his way to the bar.

Kurenai smiled at him, "Ibiki, how are your girls?"

"They're not my girls." Ibiki grumbled, "and the last time I saw them, Ryuya and Shinji were feeding Chi lemon-water and sugar cubes."

He send a pointed look at Anko, who busied herself with her fascinating cocktail.

"I know what you did. I also know that they lost because they only trained on even surfaces like the walls, and not trees."

Anko relaxed a tad. Genma let out a wail. He had been annihilated. Shikaku gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder and walked to the bar. "Say Ibiki, how are you planning to let them do missions?"

Ibiki downed half of his drink. "I don't know."

"Aren't they already doing missions?" Ebisu wondered. Next to him, Iruka was pretty sure they were.

"They are, but I can't be there with them. I have too much work at the office so an ANBU goes in my stead." Ibiki said.

"But they can't keep doing that." Anko added and the two men nodded. ANBU were trained assassins, not baby-sitters.

"Are they even capable of any difficult missions?" Shikaku informed with a knowing look. Ibiki's shoulders tensed and he put his glass away, suddenly not feeling like drinking.

"Ryuya will have to stay in the office. Her injuries are healed but she needs regular check-ups and she is just too weak by nature. I doubt that she'll even become Chuunin, she lacks the skill to become a fighter." Ibiki scowled.

"There are always other options." Yugao piped up from the corner. "Lots of jobs around here."

Ibiki shrugged, not disagreeing. "Yeah, lets see once she's recovered. She got lucky, she can use Chi's chakra now so it's going fast."

"How about the other two?" Kurenai asked and to everyone's relief, Ibiki's expression loosened.

"I see a bright future as interrogator for Shinji. She's sharp, to the point and stubborn as a mule. You should see her discussing with some ANBU, she is a fierce one." he nodded to himself.

"She could become a spy." Genma offered but Ibiki shook his head.

"She is from a samurai family. She'd get exposed on her first day as a spy." he chuckled and then took a sip of his drink, "Does anyone know how to train poker-faces, by the way?"

There were some shrugs and vague murmurs. Some eyes went to Kakashi, others went to Ken the Frozen One, whose facial muscles were actually paralyzed during an unfortunate encounter with wild mushrooms. Ibiki made a mental note of potential teachers. Shinji needed one.

"I suppose the last one is a lost case." Shikaku yawned but no one was fooled.

"Yeah..." Ibiki's face turned sour again. "She is a fighter by nature and has both the stamina and jutsu's, but her bloodline is the problem. I want to make good use of it, but I can't teach her anything about it."

"What would be the best place for her?" Kurenai wondered.

Ibiki crossed his arms, "As far as I know, Ketsueki were mostly send out to track down shinobi who went missing or were captured."

He grimaced, "They also assassinated anyone marked as an internal threat. Their bloodline allows them to find people easily."

"The fighters were a scary bunch." Shikaku remembered.

Tsume nodded, "You can say that again. I worked with one before. Lost his whole arm but didn't go down. Didn't bleed either."

"I guess it depends on their branch." Shikaku sighed.

"Branch?" Gemna questioned.

"Yeah. Ketsueki shared the same bloodline: they controlled blood and all it's aspects. But you can do a lot with blood and some had more skill in healing someone and others were specialized in controlling someone. It really depended on the person."

Genma grimaced and swiped a shot from the table. "How did anyone ever work with them?" he groaned, after downing the alcohol.

Various shinobi shrugged. Tsume grinned, "We didn't know better. They were there and willing to work, so why not?"

"They didn't need food." Ken mumbled, drawing their attention, "But they would get the rations anyway, so the rest of the team had more food."

"Always had the best blood-sausages." Tsume sighed. Her companion sniffed in agreement.

"Weird people, but really interesting too." Kakashi hummed, turning a page. Ebisu, on his way back form the bar, caught a look of the page and turned bright red.

"The moment you give them your blood, you give them permission to control it. Not all that bad actually. They can sense you, recover you from injuries and give you chakra..." Shikaku smiled, pulling out a cigarette from his pocket. "They were crazy but very useful."

He looked at Ibiki, "Have you given her your blood?"

Ibiki stared at the man, "No, should I?"

"Hmm depends on what you want. It could be very useful depending on how skilled that girl is." Shikaku shrugged.

"She's a Genin." Ibiki replied, tone dry as dust. "Last week she asked me how 'to breathe fire like in Dragon Chaser'."

"She reads that too?" Genma perked up. He deflated at Ibiki's look.

Kakashi brought them back to the topic at hand.

"What are you planning for her?" Perhaps it could be of use for Sakura.

"I don't know yet. She refuses to become an ANBU for some reason."

I should not have said that.

Iruka's glare burned a hole in his skull. The teacher sat across the room, half-turned in his chair, and muttering something under his breath.

"I didn't try to get her in!" Ibiki added hastily and the Killer Intent faded, but was still there. "I just don't know. I can't train her enough to become a front fighter and I don't want her to become a torturer."

"Aw, you do care!" Anko smirked and ignored Ibiki's glare.

"She hates ANBU." Iruka interrupted darkly. "She and Naruto used to look for hidden operators and egg them."

"Hold up-" Genma nearly tumbled off his chair, "How did they even find them?"

"Scent." Iruka tapped his nose and shrugged. Genma threw his hands up.

"It wouldn't be that bad to get her in," Ibiki started, ending with a deep sigh, "but ANBU got a bad rep these days."

A nice way of saying 'ANBU's integrity is compromised and we all know how but we can't prove it'. Shikaku dropped his chin on his hand, "She's young, no need to worry about ANBU already."

"Try explaining that to her." Ibiki sighed.

"How about you let her train with our teams to see how she develops?" Kakashi proposed. "She's certainly welcome in my team."

She can help Naruto with Fujinjutsu while I can supervise and she might get Sasuke off his high horse and oh boy could she help Sakura... His exterior revealed nothing of his fanatic train of thoughts. He turned another page and giggled. His friends dragged their eyes away from him, a few of them wondering if Kakashi's infamous paranoia had finally come a full circle.

Gai opened his mouth and Asuma immediately jumped to Chi's rescue even if the girl would never find out.

"Team 10 is available too." She can scare Shikamaru and Ino at once! Choji might cry though...

Gai tried again and Kurenai interrupted this time "So is mine!" Let's test how well she can track with my team.

"My-"

"Thank you. I think that will be enough for her." Ibiki quickly finished. Gai sulked and Genma patted his shoulder. He send an approving nod over the green shoulder.

"You know, " Iruka spoke up absently, "I asked her once what she wanted to become later on. She said that she would like to become a Jonin sensei."

The group stared at the Chuunin who merely shrugged, "She can always do that though."

The very next day in the T&I office~

"BRATS!"

Ibiki was pleased to see the three flash in front of him. It had only taken about every damn morning for the three to learn to show up fast when they were requested. Chi's hand were dyed red from all the stamps she had to make. Ryuya and Shinji were red from the many paper cuts, earned by folding letters and envelopes.

Ibiki did not feel sorry.

Not after Shinji tried to make him coffee and Chi started coughing in her hand when he stumbled to the bathroom looking sick. He felt a little bad for Ryuya, since she brought him a delicious cake and made him proper coffee.

"I want a clear and honest answer." All three nodded. That didn't mean anything though, he had discovered. The best answers were always slightly more positive or extremely negative, as the office collectively discovered. Stickers were great encouragements and any requests for death should be agreed with, straight-faced.

"What do you want to do later on?" They fell still and thoughtful. After a moment, Shinji straightened her back as a sign that she wanted to speak. Ibiki nodded.

"I want to take your position."

Control yourself Ibiki. You can't throw a Genin out of the window, calm down. We don't even have windows.

Inoichi wasn't even hiding his amusement and giggled with Shikaku in the corner near the coffeemaker. Ibiki coughed and glared at them.

"And why do you want to become the head of the Torture and Interrogation Unit?"

Shinji cleared her throat and Ibiki already regretted asking her.

"Well, first of all I want to change the name. Right now it's too dull and obvious. We should change it into 'The Counseling and Communication Unit'. Or just Communication."

Ibiki felt a headache come up, a familiar one. One that always arrived as soon as Shinji had an opinion.

"Counseling and Communication?"

Shikaku snorted and Inoichi continued giggling. Shinji was not deterred, not in the least.

"Yes. That way foreign nin won't have the idea that they are being interrogated. Interrogation has a negative image, counseling has not. If you tell a foreign nin to talk with the head of Torture and Interrogation they will feel attacked and close up on themselves. However, if you tell them to 'please talk with the head of the Counseling and Communication unit' they will suspect nothing."

"And they won't take us serious." Ibiki was starting to get annoyed by his seniors in the corner.

"Even better! That way they will underestimate us and give us way more information than they are supposed to." Shinji declared with a confident nod.

It's not a bad idea. But I'm not going to be the one to tell her that.

Ibiki sighed "Alright you brat. If you are absolutely sure that it works, then go consult with the Hokage."

Revenge tasted oh so sweet.

Jaws went slack. Mainly in the corner. One ANBU fell off the ceiling. He would deal with that idiot later on.

Shinji's chest swelled with pride, but Ibiki saw something else in her eyes. Something that warned him that she had another opinion.

"As a matter of fact, I think you should discuss all of your ideas with the Hokage and then let me know."

Another ANBU fell. Shikaku was nodding slowly and Inoichi looked impressed sipping from his giant teddy-bear mug. Shinji stepped back, practically beaming. He looked at the other two.

"Shorty?" Ryuya bristled at the nickname but stepped forward anyway.

"I want to become Anko-san's apprentice."

Inoichi spit his coffee all over his friend who was too busy counting all the reasons why she should not. And there were a lot of reasons. In fact, it would be easier and quicker to count reasons to work with Anko.

All remaining ANBU fell down, be it from the ceiling in this room or in the hallway where they could hear them. Somewhere out there, a God laughed at them.

Ibiki needed alcohol.

"Anko-san?" He stared at the girl incredulously. To his shock, none of the others looked surprised. He shook his head. Nope.

"NO."

His reply was a bit loud and harsh, but one-hundred percent deserved. Anko. He was so going to get Iruka and make her do D-ranks for a month.

Ryuya didn't even blink at his Killer Intent, already too used to it. Another minus point for her psych-evaluation.

Ibiki frowned, "Would you like to work at the Shinobi Archive?"

Boring job but at least it won't turn her into a dango-addicted maniac who walks around in just mesh. There were enough perverts staring at Chi. If Ibiki had to deal with any more, they would lose a quarter of the working force.

The girl's distaste was almost touchable. The Shinobi Archive could be considered hallow grounds for those avid fans of dry literature and the history of Everything, Everyone and Their Dog. Ibiki always got an eye-twitch whenever he spoke with one of the shinobi stationed there.

In a flash of desperation, T&I once put one of them in the interrogation room with a brutal murderer who refused to crack. The skinny, hunched, dry-eyed and monotone Chuunin had the man screaming in frustration within seconds.

"Alright." Ibiki amended, "Then how about the Mis-"

"Spying?" Inoichi interrupted him. Ibiki spun around and glared at him. Ryuya's sapphire blue eyes went wide.

"Could I do that?"

Damn those eyes.

Ibiki sighed and nodded. Ryuya's eyes glazed over. Her fantasy about espionage would have to be beaten out of her soon. Spies started early, to make full use of their naturally changing appearances. It took guts, a lack of fear and hyper-intelligence to become a Jonin-level spy. Ryuya possessed not one of those qualities, but she could learn.

It might work. She can easily pose as a maid or nanny, or even as a student. No one will suspect her to be a spy, much less a shinobi.

"I'll introduce you to Cat. She's our expert." he tried to add, but Ryuya had stopped listening.

Proud to have solved at least one problem, he faced the last one. Chi stood still as always, feet planted and hands at her side. Her eyes- a muted red- gave him an expectant look. Ibiki considered her. Of all his students, Chi showed the biggest potential, if only because of her clan. Stronger, taller, and ruthless. None of the qualities required in T&I.

"You have to get out of my office." he settled on.

Shinji snorted. Chi's eyes grew wide. Her excellent posture (drilled into her by at least four scandalized ANBU) crumpled as she stumbled back.

"Why?!" she cried, her chakra flaring. A Hyuuga behind his desk screamed in pain. Chi flinched and they all turned to the victim. She gave a quick bow and turned back to her sensei. Shinji sniffed behind her, taking tiny steps away from her.

"Because you are wasted here." Ibiki answered, dragging his eyes away from Shinji.

"I- What?" Chi blinked helplessly at him but the confused-puppy-eyes she attempted clashed terribly with her eyes. Ibiki's jaw twitched as Chi's eyes began to change shades. This is one hell of a gamble.

"I spoke with the other teachers and they all agreed to let you work with them for a while." he explained, "That way you can get more experience in different areas and we can figure out your strengths and weaknesses."

Chi ignored him, "Why am I the only one who can't choose?!"

Of course that's the only part she focuses on. Ibiki resisted a very tempting eye-roll,

"Because you are the only one with the potential to level this building to the ground, if you're not careful enough."

Chi's jaw snapped shut. Shinji reeled back, giving her teammate an incredulous look. Ibiki studied Chi's expression. She didn't look proud. Burdened, would be a better description. Confusion swam in her eyes, as if she wanted to test her strength to see if that statement rang true.

"You are more fit to be in an assault squad." Ibiki continued. She should have been in Team 7 and I should have had that Haruno kid. Would have been a much greater solution. Damn Danzo and his 'precautions'.

"But alas you are here with me in an unspecified squad. Out of you three, your future is not so cut out. There are too many options so we need to test." Ibiki watched closely to see if she understood. Chi didn't look happy, but nodded.

"You will be Team 11's fighter, that's for sure, but you could also become tracker for us to bring in prisoners. You three would make a great unit that way." The idea popped in his head as he said it, and he quickly signed his assistant over the heads of the Genin.

"Besides doing missions with your team and the other teams, I will also be assigning you to solo missions." he held his breath.

Chi's eyes narrowed and Ibiki caught himself growing nervous when they flared yellow. He had little experience with her clan in the past. None of them were people he had ever wanted to have lunch with. Or meet in a dark alley.

Sorry kid, but I need you to work with me here.

Ibiki huffed, "You won't become an ANBU. You are no genius to join this early anyway."

That's not a complete lie. You are damn useful, but no genius.

"Promise?" Chi asked quietly.

Ibiki looked her straight in her open eyes and felt his heart clench. They had been under his supervision for a month and he quite liked them. The one thing all three had in common was loyalty. No matter how much they hated a job, not one of them left the others behind.

"Don't worry about it. You've only been a shinobi for a month." He jerked his head to a stack of timetables on the table next to them. Shinji muffled her snort.

"Go get your training schedule, you start next week. Shinji and Ryuya follow me."

He turned on his heels and stalked out of the room, fully aware of Chi's eyes on his back. The girl stood lost in thoughts while her teammates walked past her, sending her worried glances. Shikaku and Inoichi shared a look. After some deliberation, Inoichi walked up behind Chi.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently.

Chi snapped up, "Huh?"

Inoichi smiled at her, trying to physically shield her from Shikaku's undoubtedly unhelpful face, "It's a great opportunity to train with the rest."

Chi swallowed and looked away, "Uh, yeah. I guess."

She stepped forward and grabbed her schedule from the table, scanning it quickly. She looked up briefly, and Shikaku tensed at the sight of her yellow irises. Chi gave a curt bow and blurred as she used the Body-Flicker. The intensity of her chakra made Inoichi shiver.

Shikaku came to stand beside him. "This is going to be troublesome."