Beta-ed by Jenny-Cat-Miaow.
Chapter 5
Kakashi arrived at the Academy at the same time as all the other jonin sensei but instead went to the trapdoor on the roof. The one that would allow him to sneak into the tiny space just behind the room where the genin were assigned to their sensei and the one that would allow him to see into the classroom and observe his targets. . . preferably without being seen or noticed.
Getting comfortable, the silver haired jonin settled in for a long wait. He was a patient man and he'd be spending his time watching three mysterious little twelve year olds.
Iruka was quite interesting to watch as well, as he handled the situations that arose, from outrage at Naruto's presence to the unruly excitement one of Naruto's pranks caused. When he finally set about to calling out the teams, Kakashi was thoroughly amused with his blond student.
He watched with less amusement as the Uchiha muttered under his breath, something that looked suspiciously like word for word of everything that came out of Iruka-sensei's mouth. Did he sneak into the chunin's things and look over the team assignments? Why would he do that? And for that matter, why learn it off by heart?
Nonetheless he looked appropriately angry or perhaps indifferent at having Naruto and Sakura on his team when Team 7 was announced. Naruto was happy when he heard Sakura's name but pouted when he heard Sasuke's. Sakura was the same, only opposite.
Kakashi had to admit, their acting was some of the best he'd ever had the privilege of witnessing.
But why the need to act in the first place?
"Iruka-sensei! Why does an awesome ninja like me have to be on a team with that teme?!" Naruto demanded angrily. "You know you're my favourite sensei but you're killing me over here."
"Naruto! Out of all the graduates, your scores were the worst while Sasuke's were the best! We placed you two together because it would give the best balance." Iruka explained with a scowl of annoyance, not really in the mood for Naruto's special quirkiness. It was only special because it took a special kind of patience to handle it.
When the students were let out for a break, Sasuke Sakura and Naruto walked out together, Sakura handing Naruto an extra lunch box despite having proclaimed anger at having the blond on her team moments earlier.
Kakashi just couldn't figure them out. He'd heard they were weird but this was taking it to a whole new level. He began to understand that what they showed the world was what they wanted the world to believe of them, to see them as. If they chose to do something a little different such as Sakura giving Naruto some lunch then it was because that is what they wanted the world to see.
What he was able to deduce from this short session was that they wanted the world to see Naruto as loud and obnoxious, overbearing in some instances and generally dense. This was easy to understand as this was what was blatantly obvious when one looked at the blond.
They wanted the world to see Sakura as a book smart fangirl with nothing but Sasuke on her mind, and with hardly enough strength in her twiggish figure to take on a squirrel much less a fellow genin, but he'd seen one of the punches she'd given Naruto, and that had to have hurt . . . no matter the acting involved.
Sasuke was supposed to be this broody loner who didn't care about anything or anyone so long as he was left completely out of it. He also had a slight air of arrogance but with confidence that said he knew he was the best and didn't have to prove himself to anyone there.
That much was easy to deduce, almost laughably so. What wasn't so easy was what was underneath all that? What were they hiding so effectively under those masks and why were they hiding at all? Kakashi knew that he'd only be able to make a positive deduction, an accurate one, by watching and learning more of his mysterious genin team.
.0.0.0.
"So what are we going to do about Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, leaning his head back as he sat on the grass, resting his upper body weight on his hands.
"Well, I say we give him a run for his money, force him into a state of awareness, one that will indirectly train him." Sasuke grumbled picking at his lunch more than eating it. He'd be done with it before long but he always played with it first.
"But the question to that is how?" Sakura murmured, carefully using her chakra to balance a few pebbles on top of each other. She'd taken to doing mundane things with her chakra because it required such perfect control. She was a medic nin after all so the boys never questioned her about it. They merely accepted it.
"By making him question everything that he knows to be reality." Naruto smirked.
"He is a genius you know, one that might even be greater than Itachi or at the very least close to him. None of us are on that kind of level." Sasuke pointed out.
"Nope, but Shikamaru is, aaaaaand we do have the advantage of surprise." Naruto offered.
"Wouldn't Shikamaru find it suspicious?" Sakura rose a brow.
"Nah, he'd find it too troublesome to investigate and by the time he really actually did anything about it, then it would already be too late because we'd have already succeeded into goading dear old sensei into training with us. He's far too comfortable with the level that he's at right now." Sasuke mused. "So we'll use one genius to take care of another, if we really have to. But we can still try without involving Shikamaru."
"How do you figure?" Naruto asked.
"I won't train until sensei agrees to train with us. I'll say that how can he proclaim to protect us from someone like Itachi, someone who's powerful enough to take out the entire Uchiha clan." Sasuke smirked.
"Think he'll bite?" Sakura asked. "It's also a bit harsh, considering Sensei's past."
"He'll have to. Because I'm going with this one too." Naruto chuckled. "At the very least it'll be interesting to see what he does."
"You know, it's creepy enough to be very nearly the same age, mentally, as Iruka-sensei, let's not add drinking buddies with Kakashi-sensei to the mix." Sakura shivered.
The two boys merely looked at each other before shrugging and focusing their attention on the food that they were supposed to be eating.
When it came time to go back to the class to meet their sensei, Team 7 did not return, knowing full well that Hatake Kakashi was already there and had been since all the other jonin had. They took it as payback for all the times he made them wait.
.0.0.0.
"So Kakashi, what do you think of your team?" Asuma asked, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. He was among a very small handful of people that could get away with not adding a san to Kakashi's name and likewise with Kakashi for the other jonin.
"I don't know. They never came back after that break." Kakashi admitted reluctantly. He absolutely refused to add that he had been unable to find them after he'd decided that five hours of waiting was ridiculous, even for him. "What about your team?"
"The embodiment of their parents. So what are you going to do about your test tomorrow?" Asuma seemed determined to keep this conversation on Kakashi.
Kakashi was one step away from summoning his ninken to find the brats for him but he still had some pride to maintain. This was beginning to look like he'd actually have to get serious to find his genin team.
"I'll find them before the sun sets." Kakashi replied absently, trying to give the impression that he really wasn't bugged, but the problem was, he was uttering infested as far as being 'bugged' went. Hell, he was almost an Aburame.
"Well Kurenai said her team looks promising for tracking. You missed her already. I still think the Hyuga girl needs some confidence boosting though." Asuma chuckled.
"Oh, my team, from what I was able to see, has this odd hate love relationship going for them. The girl has a crush on the Uchiha and hates Uzumaki but Uzumaki has a crush on the girl but hates the Uchiha. The Uchiha does not care for either of them and broods the day away." Whatever game his genin were playing, Kakashi decided that it was worth playing along with them. Besides, he loved surprising people. Not to mention the Hokage knew about their little game as well but he didn't seem to think it was worth raising the alarm over.
"I do not envy you. With that kind of tension they'll never pass the bell test." Asuma whistled.
"We shall see. Which means I should probably find them before the sun sets." Kakashi shrugged before hopping onto a rooftop. He'd only come here to see if any of the other jonin had had any trouble finding their teams but apparently not.
.0.0.0.
"Well so far our 'making-sensei-question-his-own-reality' plan seems to be working. He still hasn't found us." Naruto grinned doing a handstand on the railing of the roof of the Academy.
They themselves had only just arrived, deciding it was time to give their poor sensei a break, at least so that they could get the introductions done.
They waited only ten more minutes for a slightly frazzled looking Hatake Kakashi to pop onto the roof, looking almost relieved to have finally found them.
"So where did you brats go after lunch?" Kakashi asked casually but they knew the man well enough to know that he was burning with curiosity.
"Here." They chorused and by the odd gleam in their soon-to-be-official-sensei's eye, they knew that he didn't believe that but he could not detect a single ounce of dishonesty and he was too prideful and arrogant about his status as a jonin that he didn't consider the possibility that they were in fact lying. He didn't pause to consider the inconsistencies with his own theories.
"Right, so my first impression of you three–" Kakashi began, starting with the same song and dance he went through for all the genin he'd ever been presented with, but he was interrupted and for him, that was definitely a first.
"We don't like you either." Naruto said with a perfectly straight face, blinking slowly, almost lazily.
Not missing a beat, he was a jonin after all, Kakashi continued, "And since we're all already on the roof, why don't you introduce yourselves?"
"Care to go first Hatake-san?" Sakura asked with a raised brow and amusement in her tone so rich that Kakashi got the distinct impression that they were laughing at him. Not to mention the fact that she hadn't called him sensei, almost like she knew about the test still to come. And for that matter, how had they known his name, team announcements maybe? Was it said in the announcements? He didn't think it had been?
"Alright then, my name is Hatake Kakashi. I like a lot of things, I don't like a lot of things, I have too many hobbies to mention and I don't feel like telling you my dreams. Fair enough?" Kakashi asked with a curved eye smile.
"My name is Haruno Sakura. I like a lot of things also. I don't like many things too, one of them being the Yondaime. I have some hobbies and I have a dream or two." She smiled sweetly at him.
Kakashi twitched a little but otherwise he didn't react.
To his surprise Sasuke went next. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't like. Period. And if I do, you'll certainly never know. I hate the Yondaime. My hobbies are my business and I don't have dreams. I have possible realities to call my own."
Kakashi had to forcefully stop himself from reacting to that one.
Naruto had to be different right?
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I like so very many things. I don't like some things but one of the people I don't like is Yondaime. My hobbies are this and that and my dreams are of big things to come." Naruto grinned at him. A large, toothy one and everything.
Kakashi very slowly and rather woodenly uncrossed his arms from his chest before he snapped his fingers, using a jutsu he practically never used to ensure all four of them were suddenly standing in the Hokage's office.
"Ah Kakashi, I see you found your team." Asuma snickered. "And you're late for the meeting but I did tell the Sandaime you were having trouble locating the brats."
Kakashi sent the other jonin a withering glare before turning to his team with a bright, overly cheerful smile and saying, "Please introduce yourself to the Hokage."
"Is he going to introduce himself first?" Sakura asked, that same rich amusement and raised brow.
Kakashi paused so that he could look to their aged leader, not at all caring that he'd technically interrupted a meeting. A meeting he was supposed to be attending but oh well.
Sarutobi chuckled before removing his pipe and looking to the three genin, wondering what Kakashi was on about. "Alright then, my name is Sarutobi Hiruzen and I am the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha. I like a great many things and I dislike only that which displeases me. I have some hobbies and I have already achieved my dream but I suppose I should add that I'd dearly love it if one of you young genin could invent the cure for paperwork."
The three looked to each, almost having a silent conversation before the same introduction from before was given, only they now understood that it came with being an experienced ninja and that as an experienced ninja, they would actually be able to learn a great many things from that seemingly useless introduction. But that would have to come later. At the moment it was introductions. Why hadn't they done this with every new team they had to work with? It was so much fun.
"Honestly Hatake, you haven't even gotten through introductions yet?" Someone sighed but that someone was ignored.
Once again, Sakura began, "My name is Haruno Sakura. I like a lot of things also. I don't like many things too, one of them being the Yondaime. I have some hobbies and I have a dream or two." She smiled sweetly once more.
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't like. Period. And if I do, you'll certainly never know. I hate the Yondaime. My hobbies are my business and I don't have dreams. I have possible realities to call my own." Sasuke drawled once more, not even changing his tone.
"Hey Jiji, how you been? Long time no see right? Anyways, I guess I should say my introduction huh." Naruto began in a happy chatter that made Kakashi relax very slightly. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I like so very many things. I don't like some things but one of the people I don't like is Yondaime. My hobbies are this and that and my dreams are of big things to come." Naruto grinned at him. The same large, toothy one.
"See!" Kakashi suddenly yelled. "I can't teach them! I won't! I refuse. I'm not even going to do tomorrow's test with them. No way! No how! They fail! I don't care about Uchiha and Uzumaki and politics. No NO NO!" Kakashi ranted as though the dam had burst.
"I don't get it." Kurenai deadpanned to Asuma who was chuckling. To him it seemed that Team 7 had managed to give Kakashi a taste of his own medicine.
"Well, Kurenai-chan. They all most unyouthfully do not approve of our most valiant Yondaime Hokage." Gai clarified none too quietly. "Kakashi does not appear to like this very much." Understatement much?
"Naruto, I thought the Yondaime was your idol." Sarutobi mused. Inwardly he'd noticed that their introductions were artfully crafted to bring Kakashi grief, in a way that only children could, mocking his usual introduction. This could have been accidently or intentionally. Or their introductions could have been the perfect jonin ninja introduction, in which everything was told in a few simple sentences of nothing. And that was worrying because they were supposed to be genin.
"He is." Naruto quipped with a grin. "But he's still a teme."
Kakashi was by now near having a heart attack.
"How can you say that!?" Kakashi asked, very nearly shaking the boy. He couldn't add 'How can you say that about your own father' now could he?
"Is there something wrong with my introduction?" Naruto asked in confusion. He paused to think for a moment. "If you feel that strongly about it Hatake-san then I amend my previous introduction to I like Namikaze Minato but I do not like the Yondaime."
"I second that." Sasuke smirked.
"I third." Sakura added with a smile.
"Is there a difference?" Sarutobi asked, far too amused in Kakashi's opinion.
"Definitely." They answered in unison.
"And why don't you like the Yondaime?" Asuma asked, merely to poke at Kakashi's buttons.
"Because he died." Naruto replied with a shrug while Sasuke and Sakura nodded their agreement. Only they understood that in dying, the Yondaime had become eligible for edo tensei and in so doing, he'd been able to perform ANY jutsu he wanted. And it was the jutsu that he had performed that had Team 7 very much wishing they could cheerfully pulverise their Yondaime. But Kakashi didn't know that.
Kakashi paused in his hyperventilating meltdown moment to blink at the three before tilting his head in a considering fashion.
"Oh, in that case. Never mind Sarutobi-sama. I'll just be taking these three so that I can go over tomorrow's schedule." Kakashi grinned airily, waving a hand in the air as though the whole thing was really no big deal.
He snapped his fingers and they were on the roof top once again.
"Now normally I'd give you all this little intimidating speech about failure rates and extra tests but I'm going to skip all that and go straight for something else." Kakashi began, his voice growing low and slightly sadistic. Not good, not good at all. "Tomorrow I'm going to be running your little genin butts through a survival training exercise. So it's my suggestion that you all get in a nice hearty breakfast because I'm going to be coming after you, and I'm going to be coming after you hard. So make your way down to training ground 7 in the morning. You better not be late either."
The three gulped somehow finding this slightly wounded pride version of Kakashi a lot more intimidating than his first speech about genin survival tests had been. What was more, he was actually telling them to eat something. Was he even still going to do the bell test?
What had they unleashed upon this poor unsuspecting world?
Perhaps insulting the man's precious person was not the greatest why to get him into the training spirit.
He was sure as hell taking this job more seriously however so they couldn't deny that it had worked. Not to mention, he was probably going to be taking them more seriously as well, rather than slacking so much as he had the first time around. Then there was the fact that he had to realise somewhere in that porn addled mind of his that they were merely genin, supposedly, so he wouldn't go all that hard on them, would he?
This was Kakashi so one could never really be too sure.
With one last evil cackle of delight Kakashi was gone in a swirl of leaves where he reappeared in the Hokage's office with a cheerful eye smile at the waiting Sandaime.
"I like them. I think we're going to have a lot of fun together."
And all those in the room that understood exactly what Kakashi's idea of fun was, shuddered in fear and pity for those poor unknowing genin.
.0.0.0.
Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto sat huddled together in the blonde's apartment.
Said blond had hysterically proclaimed that Kakashi just might try something while they were sleeping and had demanded that they stick together.
"Strength in numbers!" He'd argued when Sasuke had called him ridiculous.
"Seriously Naruto? This is Kakashi-sensei we're talking about." Sakura huffed.
"Oh yeah?" Naruto pouted. "This is the same man who uses the Thousand Years of Death technique." He'd reminded them with a deathly pale expression. That particular lesson was one that Naruto always tried to shove down to the far corners of his mind never to be reflected upon but in moments of weakness it would appear once again. "And we were ballsy enough to insult his most precious person."
That, however, was reason enough for the other two genin who froze mid-step in the act of leaving Naruto to his imagined fate. Sasuke spun around and wrapped an arm around Naruto's left as Sakura grabbed his right.
"What was it that you were saying dobe? Strength in numbers?" Sasuke began in a nervous tone, eyes shifting this way and that.
"Never could have said it better myself." Sakura agreed with a chuckle just as nervous as Sasuke's tone.
They'd barricaded themselves in Naruto's apartment and that's where they were sticking till morning. The only stops they'd made where to get a change of clothes for the teammates sleeping over and to get some dinner via Ichiraku takeout.
None of them slept a wink the entire night, jumping at every shadow and every noise with small eeps of fear.
.0.0.0.
By the time morning rolled around, Naruto's apartment was completely empty. All three genin had decided that it just wasn't safe enough after a mouse had managed to wiggled its way through their hastily set up defences and they decided that if a mouse could get through, so could a ninja.
Kakashi arrived at the specified training ground bright and early, humming happily to himself as he expected to see three yawning genin already there to greet him.
When he stepped into the clearing with the three tree stumps he frowned when he didn't see three yawning genin.
Was this because one of them had heard he was notoriously late to everything and they'd decided to chance it by arriving late themselves? He couldn't really fault them there but it was extremely poor ninja-ship on their part to assume he'd always be late.
Mentally calculating his usual tardiness limit, Kakashi settled in to wait for the brats before he went out to search for them.
He had no doubt that they'd pass his test because their teamwork, while subtle, was beyond his tutelage. They had already formed bonds so deep that he'd be hard pressed to find their equal. They also seemed to have an uncanny knack of knowing things they shouldn't. So they probably knew about the bell test anyway.
So it's only purpose would be to see just how skilled they were.
Now if only they'd show up to take the damn test. . .
.0.0.0.
Five hours later, again, found Hatake Kakashi entering the Jonin standby station in utter confusion.
His not-so-cute-right-now little genin were nowhere to be seen. So he'd summoned Pakkun, his pride taking several hits because of it and asked the pug to help him find his team.
"Ah Kakashi, so did they pass your infamous test?" Asuma asked in amusement as he spotted the bewildered jonin entering the station.
"I don't know. I haven't tested them yet because they never showed up. At first I thought I might have forgotten to mention which training ground to meet in but it's not that because I distinctly remember telling them not to be late getting there." Kakashi replied, scratching the side of his head.
"But then they didn't show up for five hours and so I decided that no, they weren't punishing me for my tardiness and were in fact not coming at all so now I'm looking for them and this is where I ended up." Kakashi finished with a frustrated sigh.
"Wow Hatake-san. You must be really slipping if three Academy graduates can pull the wool over your eyes." One of the other jonin joked.
Kakashi ignored him as he went about looking for his students. Apparently they were in here but not one of the jonin lazing about had seen them. How strange. But it did prove that Kakashi wasn't the only one.
A soft, barely perceptible mumbling could be heard just under the quiet din of conversation in the room. Kakashi focused on it, following it to the storage units he'd never bothered to use. He didn't even know what they were for.
The closer he got the louder it was for him and he began to pick out some phrases, disturbing phrases.
"I is a good Naruto, good, good Naruto. No more Yondaime for Naruto. No, Naruto is too good for that. No vengeful Inu's and no experimenting Yondaime's because I is a good, good Naruto."
"Yes, Naruto is a very good boy. No Yondaime for you or me. But me thinks vengeful Inu's just might be on the list of today's punishments for past crimes. Sasuke must have been a very bad boy. Bad Sasuke."
A slightly higher pitched whimper announced the presence of his third missing genin and Kakashi mentally paused to digest what he'd heard. Deciding that it wasn't worth the possible insanity, he pulled open the unit he heard the mumbles coming from only to be greeted with the sight of three sleep deprived genin holding their knees and rocking back and forth ever so slightly. Somehow they'd managed to cram themselves into the unit that looked more like an overly large cupboard to Kakashi.
They looked terrible, exhausted and absolutely frightened of something.
When those large black ringed fear filled eyes landed on him, they screamed in pure terror before making a mad scrambling dash for the door, all the while screaming their little genin heads off.
Even Sasuke.
Kakashi blinked in stunned amazement as his genin team panicked around him. The jonin in the room grew utterly quiet yet not a single one of them made a move to capture the rampant batshit crazy little genin.
"Inu's attacking!" Sasuke screamed.
"Run for your lives and protect your rears!" Naruto yelled, hands interestingly moving to his behind, while he ran around in a circle like a puppy chasing its tail.
"Ahhhhhhh! No more genjutsu, no no no no no!" Sakura wailed, falling to the ground as tears streamed down her face.
"Kakashi, what the hell did you do to them?" Asuma asked, just as shocked as Kakashi was.
Kakashi shook his head and took a small step away from the storage unit they'd taken to hiding within.
Wrong thing to do as all three froze immediately before bolting out the door screaming about crazy ninja out for revenge.
"Uh, I think they took my advice of getting a healthy breakfast the wrong way?" Kakashi stammered.
"Wait? Don't you usually tell the genin not to eat breakfast?" Kurenai asked in confusion.
"Yeah, but I actually wanted to pass these three." Kakashi slumped down in devastated defeat.
The deafening silence of the room was punctuated yet again as the three came scrambling back into the room, screaming about alien ninja before they had the presence of mind to henge themselves into small furry creatures and launch like little cannons onto Kakashi and burrow themselves into his jonin vest.
The three little lumps that were supposed to be his students were visibly quivering and the silver haired jonin awkwardly patted them with an even more awkwardly stated. "There, there."
"Yosh! My eternal rival, was that your three youthful genin I saw but a moment ago?" Gai asked loudly as he popped his head into the jonin standby station. He blinked at Kakashi for a moment from the doorway before approaching cautiously. "Has my Eternal Rival most unyouthfully allowed himself to over indulge in the splendid wonders of our most amazing village and to put it as cool and hip and my Eternal Rival would, gained weight?"
It was all Kakashi could do to keep up with the man's question. He noticed that the quivering of his students had stopped and they'd grown more and more still the closer Gai had come.
Alien ninja . . . . .
A slow smile crept into place on Kakashi's features as he took in the afternoon's events. Soon enough, the silver haired jonin was laughing. Not a small chuckle as he was prone to allowing himself but rather a full blown laugh with tears rolling down his cheeks and everything.
"I'll see you around Gai. I've got to go get rid of my extra weight." Kakashi managed to gasp between chuckles before he shunshined away from the room and into his apartment.
He hardly brought fellow jonin to his apartment so those brats better be worth it.
Slowly the three furry students scurried out from under his jacket, popping out by his neck. To say he was slightly disturbed by the action would be an understatement but at least he knew the brats were creative.
The little furry students looked around his apartment before hopping off his shoulder and to the floor, releasing the henge upon landing.
"Is he gone?" Naruto breathed out cautiously.
"Who, Gai?" Kakashi asked just to see if they'd truly been running from Gai just moments after running from him.
"If by 'Gai' you mean the creepy spandex wearing alien, then yes 'Gai'." Sakura clarified with a wide eyed nod.
Kakashi allowed himself an amused chuckle before continuing with the conversation. "Yes, I left him at the Standby Station. Where I found you three when you were supposed to be having a survival test with me."
They froze, eyes twitching and looking just about ready to bolt for the nearest exit.
"Relax, relax. I've already decided to pass you." Kakashi added hastily, not really ready for another round of whatever that was.
"No Thousand Years of Death?" Naruto whispered.
"No genjutsu?" Sakura asked fearfully.
"No getting buried alive?" Sasuke whimpered.
"No, no and uh no." Kakashi answered with a confused frown.
"So, we're really, really genin now and you're our sensei?" Sakura asked tilting her head to the side.
"Yes. We begin missions tomorrow but there's something I want to show you three before the end of today . . ." Kakashi began to explain when he trailed off, growing silent as the three clutched each other like a lifeline, dramatic tears rolling down their faces.
It would have been cute if not for the looks of utter pain on their features.
"What?" Kakashi asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
"D-ranks!" They wailed in unison, the flow of tears increasing.
Kakashi sighed and hung his head in defeat. He had to agree with the brats on that account but he didn't make the rules. He still planned to show them the memorial stone before the day was out so, devastated genin or not, he snapped his fingers and they were instantly standing by the memorial stone.
"I know you guys have some amazing teamwork going for you and I'll test you tomorrow or something merely to see what kind of skill you guys have but for now I want you to think about this and take it to heart." Kakashi began in a sombre tone and the three were immediately paying attention as though they hadn't just been crying their little genin hearts out.
"These names represent all those in Konoha who have died for the village while on a mission. It's the KIA Memorial Stone. One of the names on this stone, one of the people that gave their live for this village, taught me something very important and I want to teach it to you as well. Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash." Kakashi explained quietly.
"Hai, Kaka-sensei." They said in unison before smiling soft genuine smiles at him.
Kakashi smiled back but he couldn't help but notice the slightly saddened look those young faces had held in eyes far too old.
.0.0.0.
The four of them sat around a tree as they watched the sun sink under the horizon. Kakashi's bell test was almost completely forgotten but the jonin figured there was always tomorrow and if they didn't show up, again, then he was going to put leashes on them and stick to their asses like ninja glue until they had that fricken test.
But for now, they were very nearly falling asleep against his shoulder, Naruto possibly already gone with the other two not far behind.
"So," Kakashi began quietly, as though anything louder would break the mood. "Want to tell me about this morning?"
Sasuke shifted slightly before blinking sleepily. "Naruto came to the realisation that we'd just insulted the Yondaime and that you might take offense to that. He also heard from a friend of a friend of a friend of a . . . . Something else that goes there, anyways he'd heard that you're a master at the Thousand Years of Death technique. He had a bad experience with it once so he wasn't too eager to do it again." Sasuke explain with a yawn.
"I see." Kakashi replied but he really didn't. Oh well, he had them as his team now and there was very little you could keep hidden when you had to spend that much time with someone.
Looking up, he saw the eagle that announced the jonin meeting. He looked down at his sleeping genin before sighing very softly and clicking his fingers. The three of them only shifted the slightest bit as they appeared in Kakashi's apartment and on top of his shuriken patterned bed spread.
Kakashi carefully tried to extract himself from the tangle of people they'd become. He was somewhat touched that they trusted him so immediately as to fall asleep around him. They were only genin but this was Naruto and Sasuke after all, two people who had every right not to trust anyone at all.
His heart did a sort of languid somersault when he noticed that Naruto's fingers were curled on his shirt sleeve, much the same way as they'd been curled on his shirt when Naruto was five. At least this time, he wasn't whimpering in his sleep.
Moving Naruto's hand onto Sasuke's shirt instead Kakashi gave the three on his bed one last look before shunshining out of his apartment and into the Hokage's office. He really was making a habit of being earlier and earlier wasn't he? Oh well, it wouldn't last. They shouldn't get used to it.
"Ah Kakashi-kun, what a surprise to see you here so early." The Hokage greeted cheerfully.
"Maa, the brats fell asleep on me." Kakashi shrugged. "I had nothing better to do." His answer for once, had an air of truth about it which surprised those present.
"Oh, and out of curiosity's sake, how did they do in your test?" Sarutobi asked with a puff on his pipe.
Kakashi felt the gaze of every jonin in the roof and shifted at the uncomfortable weight that settled on his shoulders. Couldn't people just ignore him for the most part and be done with it?
"I don't know, I didn't test them." Kakashi replied with a smile.
"This is bad tact, even for you Hatake-san." One jonin muttered in irritation. "First you can't find them, then their introductions are unsatisfactory and now you haven't even tested them."
"Oh, I passed them, I just haven't tested them. I passed them because they rather skilfully evaded my every attempt to test them." Kakashi's eye smile widened but inwardly he was not impressed with his fellow jonin.
After all, his brats had been in the standby station for an undetermined amount of time and none of them had even noticed. How pitiful.
"Did they somehow know about your test?" Asuma asked with a slight frown.
"Don't know." Kakashi answered cheerfully. "But Naruto seemed to be concerned about Thousand Years of Death techniques, Sasuke seemed to be concerned about being buried and Sakura seemed concerned about genjutsu." Kakashi elaborated with an even brighter tone.
"Aren't those the techniques you usually use with these tests?" Gai asked surprisingly quietly and with a measure of normalcy.
"Hai."
"So you passed them . . . because they didn't take your test?" Kurenai tilted her head with a small frown of confusion.
Kakashi sighed before looking to the Hokage to help him out. The old man chuckled before addressing all the jonin as a whole. "What Kakashi-kun is trying to say is that he likes them all enough to sit with them long enough with or without teamwork, to drill said teamwork into them. Also, he finds them interesting enough to actually consider them his team. Does that clear things up for everyone?"
"But why them? Why Naruto?" One jonin asked, remembering Kakashi's unusual excitement at getting to teach the Uzumaki boy.
Instead of telling the jonin in the room that his little genin were not what they seemed Kakashi merely widened his smile and said in a deadpan tone. "Why the hell not?"
These were his genin and training them was his decision. He didn't care what anyone else thought. If they had an issue with it, so what. His team, his problem so they could all kindly bugger off. He didn't have to explain himself to them. His reasons were his and his alone.
Besides, his brats were playing a game with the Shinobi of Konoha at large and Kakashi was happy to play along with them. Perhaps he'd earn enough of their trust for them to actually tell him the truth of what was going on.
For the time being it was D-ranks and genin pay checks.
Stuffing his hands into his pocket Kakashi found to his confusion that there was a piece of paper in his pocket, one that he didn't remember putting in there. Pulling it out and opening it, the poor jonin couldn't help but laugh.
He could only assume it was Naruto's messy scrawl because the paper said the following. "I know the Old Man is somewhat important but all you're going to be talking about is the teams that passed. Here, let me clear up some time for you. Team 7, Team 8 and Team 10 are the only ones that passed so use that extra time to go get us some dinner. Ichiraku Ramen is preferable."
"Yes sir." Kakashi chuckled before waving to the Hokage and stating cheerfully. "I have orders from three hungry genin so I'll be leaving now. Asuma-san and Kurenai-san can meet up with me later to co-ordinate some team training." Then he was walking out the door, doing so simply because they had expected him to shunshin and it was nice to keep them on their toes.
"How did he know? We hadn't even got to that part yet!"
"Well he is Sharingan no Kakashi. I wouldn't be surprised if he knew everything." Someone grumbled back, sounding a little putout.
Kakashi found that he didn't care one iota.
.0.0.0.