Beta-ed by Jenny-Cat-Miaow.
Chapter 6
Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura looked up at Kakashi very, very innocently. The Jonin couldn't help but wonder just what the hell it was that they were up to, but he had no proof so there wasn't much he could really do about it.
As it was he was standing in training ground 7, finally about to give the brats their survival test.
He grinned at them and they smiled back. Somehow that was so much creepier than it had any right to be, in that the smiles were all identical. He moved a hand to his pouch, intent on bringing out the bells merely for the sake of having an objective to give the brats, when several arriving presences made him pause.
By the slight stiffening of his students, he figured they'd sensed it as well.
He recognised some of his ANBU subordinates and some of the other jonin amongst the new additions to his test and wondered what the hell they were doing here.
Naruto leaned over to Sasuke and whispered just loud enough for both Kakashi and the other genin to hear. "Is it just me, or is that Jiji over there?"
Kakashi didn't dare turn to look in the direction his blond student had indicated. Having his ANBU peers here was bad enough. What the hell was the Hokage doing here too? His students weren't that interesting.
Then again . . . . . perhaps they were.
"Alright my cute little genin. Today we're going to assess your talents since I know those Academy reports of yours are bogus." Kakashi began with a cheerful smile.
All the three of them did was look at each other, silently communicating something before looking back to him with the same eye smile as his own, only he could see both of their eyes. Once again it was creepier than it had any right to be.
"What I want you three to do is try and get these bells from me," He paused so that he could hold up said bells and he was almost certain they nearly rolled their eyes. Naruto leaned over to Sasuke and said with a definite grumble something that sounded a lot like "Just be glad you've only done this once before." But Kakashi couldn't be sure. "Come at me with all you've got and you have until noon, kay?" Kakashi added.
"Are you sure you want to give us so much time?" Sasuke asked but Naruto not so discreetly elbowed him.
"So we begin when you say we begin?" Naruto asked, scrunching his nose and Kakashi nodded.
"Just before you do that Kakashi-sensei, we need to quickly discuss something." Sakura interrupted before pulling out a pack of ninja cards. They weren't any different from normal playing cards, they were just far more resilient and designed to be jutsu proof. Also they had pictures instead of numbers.
Kakashi blinked as the girl expertly shuffled the cards using her chakra, balancing them between her palms as she did so. The cards were then divided into four equal stacks which were then handed to each person, including Kakashi.
"Ah, what are these for?" Kakashi felt compelled to ask.
"Whenever we want to make a decision, we play." Naruto explained as though it were obvious.
"Hai, hai." Sasuke said with a happy nod. "We have four options available to us and you're going to represent one of them since rock paper scissors has no clear winner since paper does NOT beat rock and coins only have two sides. So we play."
What the hell was there to make a decision on? Not to mention a decision that had four options. Kakashi couldn't help but shake his head but he chose to oblige the three if only for the pleasure of making those eager to see what his genin did wait a little longer.
"So what are the rules of the game?" Kakashi asked.
"Flip a card in the air. If two or more happen to have the same picture then you call it. The quickest to call it wins. If there is no clear winner, we flip another card." Sakura explained.
"Am I at least allowed to know what we're playing for?" Kakashi rose a brow and the three looked to each other before looking back at him with wide grins and a chorus of "Nah."
Kakashi had no choice but to play along. He could only hope that he won, not that he even knew what his participation represented.
Sakura snickered before flipping a card, Naruto and Sasuke doing it at the exact same time. Kakashi was only a second behind. Naruto was playing for the option of running again, hiding for the rest of the day from their lazy sensei. Sasuke represented the option of kicking Kakashi's ass. Sakura represented the option of playing nice while Kakashi-sensei represented a little of all three while also taking care of their audience.
Naturally, Sasuke rather hoped that he won the game.
"Called it!" Sasuke and Naruto yelled at the same time when two shuriken cards came face up.
Kakashi was beginning to note that this game was excellent for two things: reflexes and snap observation.
"Go again." Sakura decided.
Seven more cards from each of them were flipped before another pair of duplicates presented themselves. This time Kakashi was ready and he stated rather lazily, "Called it."
Naruto blinked sleepily and Sakura growled in annoyance before Sasuke outright tossed his cards into the air and leapt at Kakashi with a cry of war on his lips.
"Genjutsu is cheating!" he yelled trying to punch Kakashi who dodged easily enough.
"We're ninja. There's no such thing as cheating, only outsmarting your opponent. So, what exactly did I win?" Kakashi asked with a smile that only served to infuriate the Uchiha more.
He had learned from that little encounter that Naruto was completely useless in the face of genjutsu, Sasuke was the fastest to recognise it but Sakura was the fastest to release it and took it upon herself to release Naruto from its hold as well.
"Unfortunately, he's right Sasuke-teme." Naruto frowned, grabbing the Uchiha's arm. "So it looks like it's option four for us." He added with a smile that made Kakashi shiver.
"Now let's see, attack plan 7 sound alright?" Sakura mused out loud, while the boys nodded.
"Now, you can say begin, Kaka-sensei." Naruto grinned at the silver haired jonin who was pouting at being left out of their plan.
"Begin?" Somehow he felt that this little test had started ages ago.
Sakura and Naruto took off into the trees while Sasuke immediately went into the attack. A blow powerful enough to rattle his bones was blocked by his forearm and Kakashi very nearly whimpered.
"You should have let Sakura win." Sasuke informed him with a feral grin before aiming a kick for his head.
"Oh, and why's that?" Kakashi asked as he ducked.
"Her option was to play nice." Sasuke answered as he stopped his momentum with the heel of his palm and twisted so that he could try and sweep the jonin's legs from under him.
"But, dear little Sasuke-kun, I don't want you to play nice. I want you to show me what you've got. I want you to give me the best that you can give." Kakashi answered as he stopped the sweep with his hand.
Sasuke disappeared in a shunshin and appeared behind the jonin, elbow moving to his ribs. Kakashi's hand stopped the elbow and the two were locked in a short stalemate, but only so that Sasuke could whisper, "If we did that, Kaka-sensei, then you'd already be defeated. Naruto alone holds the power to do that."
Kakashi couldn't question the boy further on the meaning behind the whispered words because the boy was suddenly gone. He couldn't help the smirk. Uchiha Itachi's little brother was turning out to be just as interesting as he'd been, if not more so.
As for what Sasuke had said, he had no doubt that in stamina and raw power Naruto far surpassed him, given his Uzumaki heritage and his Jinchuriki status. It would all come down to who was better prepared for this little scuffle. Still, that lshort spar had him wondering if his genin, truly were merely little genin. Those moves had been too practiced too precise. No matter the skill level of a genius, there were still flaws instilled in their technique due to sheer lack of time and experience. Sasuke's habits while fighting spoke of a Shinobi far older than what he was and that was something interesting to consider.
He wondered what the other two were up to but the slightest of chakra hazes in the air surrounding the trees informed him that there was a genjutsu surrounding the clearing. He had to wonder who it was that was under the genjutsu, himself, or those watching?
Feeling no unnatural effect upon his own mind and body, Kakashi had to conclude that the genjutsu was placed on those watching.
His genin were playing a dangerous game and for some reason, they were allowing Kakashi to play with them. Why was that?
He had no delusion about their skill and he knew without a doubt that they could fool him just as surely as they were fooling all those around them. Yet they had chosen to show him what they hid from everyone else. At the very least, they'd chosen to show him that they were in fact hiding something in the first place.
He could only hope that this secret of theirs, whatever it was, wasn't something that could potentially harm Konoha and her people.
Kakashi waited in the clearing for the three to enact whatever attack plan 7 was. He hoped it didn't involve anything explosive. That would serious put a damper on his day. He hadn't done his laundry yet.
Naruto and Sakura bit their lips to hold back the snickers as they snuck in and out of the trees as quietly as they could. The genjutsu appeared to be working but it would only last for so long before others began to notice it. But that was ohkay, they were almost done anyway.
Slipping the last piece of chakra wire around the last jonin's ankle, Naruto carefully backed away and the two of them, Sakura the one maintaining the majority of the genjutsu that was feeding off of Naruto's chakra, and Naruto the one that had been laying the trap, went to find Sasuke.
All he'd really had to do was distract their sensei for the smallest of minutes and Sasuke was more than capable of doing that. The question wasn't whether he'd manage to do that, it was more of a question if he'd give away too much. Sasuke was really itching to test his strength against the jonin but that would mean telling the jonin more than what they'd let him see thus far and they weren't quite ready for that yet.
They found the Uchiha in a smaller clearing, not far from the one Kakashi-sensei was currently waiting in and they took note of the smug expression on his features. He was leaning against a tree, arms crossed over his chest and those dark eyes were twinkling with a dark amusement.
"Did you know, this is roughly the same spot Kakashi-sensei buried me in last time around?" he asked casually.
"What? Thoughts of revenge?" Naruto replied with a raised brow and a hint of amusement.
"Later, for now, we need to take care of the intruders." Sasuke grinned holding out his hand so that he could take the seal Naruto handed to him. Sasuke then shunshined into the clearing with Kakashi still waiting patiently within it.
"Sensei, I don't suppose I could ask you to demonstrate a doton jutsu? Perhaps a pillar or something." Sasuke asked innocently.
Kakashi was immediately suspicious. What did the brat need a pillar for?
"Yeah, sensei, please?" Naruto asked with wide eyes and a tiny pout, shunshining in next to Sasuke. The blond was a little peeved that Sasuke had decided to ask Kakashi-sensei to do something that Sakura already could and not to mention that there were plenty of trees in the surrounding area that would do that same thing. But oh well. The Uchiha had made up his mind.
Kakashi shrugged before obliging the wide eyed genin and creating the requested pillar. Sasuke grinned before jumping on top of it and slapping a seal at the very top. What surprised Kakashi was the fact that Naruto was the one to activate the seal. Both of them sprang back the moment he did, Naruto pulling Kakashi with him as he did so.
The three of them ended up standing next to Sakura who whistled in appreciation at the pillar. "Nice pillar, sensei. Too bad about that boulder."
"What boulder?" Kakashi asked, almost afraid at what the answer might be.
But at that moment a large boulder puffed into existence, squishing his measly pillar of earth in comparison in a blink of an eye. The four of them coughed around the dust that tainted the air while Naruto waved a hand to try and dissipate it.
"Man, Naruto you really need to work on the gravity part." Sasuke complained. "It wasn't supposed to be that heavy."
Multiple shouts of indignation caught their attention and Kakashi noticed that the genjutsu was no longer hazing around the edges of the clearing. Whatever its purpose had been it appeared that the genin had accomplished it.
What was most amusing however, were the jonin and ANBU hanging upside down, suspended in the air by their ankles. They were swinging around violently as they tried to cut themselves loose. The only one that hadn't been targeted was the chuckling Hokage.
"So that boulder was connected to the chakra wire you placed on their ankles, eh Naruto-kun?" Sarutobi asked, the amusement clear in his tone.
"Hai, hai." Naruto nodded happily. "We noticed that Kaka-sensei didn't seem to like the audience so we decided to have fun with them. Well that all depended on who won the game and since Kaka-sensei did, we had to take care of them first before we could get Kaka-sensei's bells." Naruto explained with a large childish grin.
"Which Sasuke already did during their spar." Sakura added while Sasuke casually held up two jingling bells.
"Huh? Since when?" Kakashi asked looking a little lost.
"Since my cousin was Shunshin no Shisui but he was also known to the Uchiha as Suri no Shisui. He may or may not have taught me a few things before his untimely demise." Sasuke shrugged. Suri no Shisui, meaning the Pickpocket. Just because he was a genius and mostly dignified didn't mean Shisui was above using his Shunshin talents to get things that didn't always belong to him.
"When are you three going to take my test seriously?" Kakashi almost wailed. They blinked at each other before Naruto shrugged and replied. "We're ninja Kaka-sensei. We're supposed to be underhanded and sneaky."
"Tricks and traps. Ah, an art in that of itself." Sasuke sighed jingling the bells lovingly. "Deception is something that needs to be refined down to perfection when one plans to make his career of killing and not being killed in turn. A ninja can never stop training, no matter how trivial the task of the day is."
"Where the hell did he learn that?" Kakashi asked, not really expecting an answer.
"He was reading some stupid books he found in Itachi-kun's room." Sakura replied anyway and rolled her eyes. "Apparently, being a flashy show off kind of ninja is the wrong way to go about it. I don't know why he took it all to heart when they were a bunch of fantasy novels."
"Oh, so does this mean I'm never going to get a serious test out of you three?" Kakashi asked, looking like a child who'd heard Christmas was cancelled. He ignored the kun attached to a wanted S-rank missing nin's name.
"Maybe one day when you can keep up with us." Sasuke smirked. "You're not too far off but you've gotten lazy Kakashi-sensei. How in Kami's name do you expect us to listen to you when you can't even protect us from our enemies?" Sasuke's tone had grown serious now, no longer smiling at the jonin who blinked at the Uchiha questioningly.
"You don't have enemies, Sasuke. Not yet." Kakashi stated quietly.
"Itachi." Sasuke replied simply. "Can you assure me that you can beat my brother should he ever come back, looking to finish what he started?"
Kakashi stiffened slightly when he processed those words. Could he actually defeat Itachi?
"I'd certainly try my very best." Kakashi replied in a very small tone after a moment of silent contemplation.
"Not good enough sensei. We decided that unless you're training with us, we're not listening to a word you say. After all, how do we know that you're not telling us to do it so that you can get rid of us and you can go back to doing whatever it is that you did before we entered the picture?" Naruto interrupted with a shake of his head. It made his heart ache when he thought of the harshness of his words but they were doing this for the jonin's own good. "How do we know that the exercises are any good at all? If you're doing them with us, then we have no choice but to believe you."
The three genin gazed at him with the most solemn expressions he'd ever seen and he could hardly believe that they were on the faces of children.
"Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash." Sakura stated quietly. "We're a team, Kakashi-sensei and we won't abandon you. Not now, not on our first dangerous mission, not ever."
"I need time to think." Kakashi eventually managed to splutter out. He couldn't believe the emotional chord these three had struck within him. It was one thing to be hiding their true skill from the village Shinobi, but it was another thing entirely to see that skill as they used what they had gathered about the jonin in their short meetings together thus far.
The three nodded before Sasuke walked over to him and lifted his limp hand, placing the softly jingling bells within them before closing the jonin's fingers over them. They waved with soft smiles before shunshining away in a swirl of leaves.
The Hokage approached the silver haired jonin slowly. He placed a hand on the jonin's shoulder and squeezed gently. "They don't let just anyone in on the secret of how talented they truly are, Kakashi-kun. Don't let it be a miss placed trust. I believe in all their young lives there has only ever been one other and that was Umino Iruka."
The silver haired jonin nodded, not trusting himself to speak before he too disappeared from the clearing.
The Hokage chuckled, puffing on his pipe. Those four were good for each other.
Now, if only Naruto-kun had left the solution for deactivating that boulder trap. Those ANBU were starting to look a little dizzy.
.0.0.0.
Sakura was smiling and laughing, talking to her father who had never progressed further than that of a genin. Naruto watched from a distance, wondering if he should interrupt. He knew that Sasuke and himself had been taking Sakura away from her parents more than what was really necessary.
She was the only one with family aside from Team 7 and it was hardly fair to ask her to step away from it merely because Sasuke and Naruto couldn't be considerate enough to remember that. She would gladly follow them without question but that didn't mean she never looked back and thought about those they were leaving behind.
So Naruto backed away before she could see him and decided to find something else to do to occupy his time.
He found himself wandering the streets of Konoha, thoughts not really on any particular topic as he hummed to himself. He wondered what Sasuke was up to but he knew that sometimes, as great a team as they were, they all needed some time to themselves.
Naruto wasn't so far lost in his own thoughts that he didn't notice that he was being watched and not just by the usual populace of Konoha. Those eyes were ever-present but there was something more this time. Was it Danzou and his ROOT?
Possibly.
Could be Orochimaru's spies for all he knew. Could even be Akatsuki.
It could even be the normal ANBU doing something for the Old Man Hokage. Either way, Naruto didn't react, didn't show that he noticed.
Naruto just kept walking right on into Ichiraku Ramen, greeting Ayame with his usual enthusiasm as he ordered a bowl of miso ramen.
.0.0.0.
Kakashi found himself sitting in Tenzou's ANBU room, waiting for the other to return from a mission. He didn't know when that would be, how long it would take but he felt that he needed the quiet ANBU's guidance.
Gai was great and all, but he would proclaim, without much thought, that Kakashi should embrace this 'youthful' opportunity with all his 'youthful' enthusiasm and just roll with it with the 'hip' and 'cool' attitude that he used in everything.
He wished it was that easy.
He glanced up as the door opened, not really having expected Tenzou so soon. It had been hours since that test, a test where he felt like he had been the one they were testing rather than the other way around.
"Kakashi-senpai?"
"Tenzou-Kohai." Kakashi greeted.
"I heard that your test didn't go very well." Tenzou began, shifting slightly as though not quite sure whether to keep standing or to move to the bed where Kakashi had seated himself.
So Tenzou hadn't been on a mission, perhaps he'd been training then.
"Ah, I wouldn't say that. But it didn't go as planned either." Kakashi replied with a soft smile that did not reach his eyes.
"What is it that you want to talk about senpai?" Tenzou's tone had softened, realising that Kakashi wasn't here for a social visit.
"They're so different. Everything they do . . . I just can't figure them out. Usually there's always one, if any, in a genin team that has that little something that makes them standout either in a good way or a bad way." Kakashi began with a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "But these three, they all have a lot of that something. Thing is, I don't know if it's a good thing or if it's a bad thing." Kakashi ended, a deep, distant frown accompanying his words.
"Senpai, have you not wanted to teach Naruto-kun for years now?" Tenzou asked, moving to the bed so that he could sit next to the jonin.
"Yes." Kakashi agreed. "But they . . . they know me Tenzou, in a way that no one, no one has ever known me before. They're kids, just genin." Kakashi paused to take a shuddery breath.
"What do you mean Senpai?" Tenzou asked in confusion. He'd never seen Kakashi so shaken before. He had always been so calm and collected previously.
"Not good enough sensei. We decided that unless you're training with us, we're not listening to a word you say. After all, how do we know that you're not telling us to do it so that you can get rid of us and you can go back to doing whatever it is that you do before we entered the picture?"
"Can you assure me that you can beat my brother should he ever come back, looking to finish what he started?"
"We're a team, Kakashi-sensei and we won't abandon you. Not now, not on our first dangerous mission, not ever."
"They knew about my fears, the ones where I lose my teammates." Kakashi replied, staring at the wall rather than look at wide eyes that saw too much, had always seen too much in him. "They were reading me like a book the whole time. To be honest I feel like I've lost something, a part of myself, as though I was forced to live under an intense observation but that's just ridiculous. They're just kids."
Kakashi sighed in frustration before getting up and pacing. "They knew about my habit of watching my prospective genin teams during team assignments. They knew about my habit of being late. They knew about my bell test. They knew about everything Tenzou."
"Well, Senpai, you have failed a great many teams and you are a living legend among the Shinobi of Konoha. Perhaps they took the time to find out a little about you. I imagine it would be no mean feat to get into the Academy Instructor's offices and see the Team Assignment records, both past and future. All it would take is one daring genin and hasn't Naruto-kun proven that he's more than a little gutsy?" Tenzou tilted his head with a soft smile at the pacing jonin who had stopped to look at him. "It's somewhat enduring that they're that willing to work with you. Perhaps they were trying to impress you?"
Kakashi's shoulders seemed to relax slightly and his eyes slowly changed from pained to thoughtful.
"Thanks Kohai. You always were my little voice of reason." Kakashi stated, sounding far more at ease now. "Still, that makes me wonder, what the hell are they hiding? What the hell is so big that they managed to distract even me from trying to figure it out? Little brats." Kakashi added with an irritated scowl.
"Perhaps, like you, Senpai, they have a hard time trusting people. The Uchiha boy alone would have plenty reason enough to keep his distance." Tenzou offered.
The only problem with that, Kakashi thought to himself in a deadpan tone as Sasuke's actions with the bells flashed through his mind, is that they were far too trusting of him for him to believe that. It was like they were desperate, or desperately trying to achieve something. It wasn't obvious but it was there in the way that their actions were too practised, to well thought out.
"They don't let just anyone in on the secret of talented they truly are, Kakashi-kun. Don't let it be a miss placed trust. I believe in all their young lives there has only ever been one other and that was Umino Iruka."
"Thanks for the chat Tenzou. Really, it helped but there's someone I need to go and see." Kakashi stated suddenly, a little absently.
"Ah, sure thing Senpai. I'd say any time but you know how ANBU gets." Tenzou replied ducking his head.
"Hai. Well I'll be seeing you around. Don't get killed without me." Kakashi added with his usual eye smile before leaving through the door. It had been some smart ass ANBU's idea to make it impossible to shunshin inside of the ANBU headquarters. Great in theory with enemy infiltrations and what not but not so great for those unfortunate die hard ninja whom absolutely loathed using a door.
Kakashi wasn't quite sure yet which side of the fence he fell on with that issue. The only thing no one seemed to really know, was whose bright idea it had been in the first place. Since most of the ANBU were certifiably insane, most of them were by default die hard ninja that loathed using a door. For the poor smart ass ANBU who'd made the suggestion's own safety, his identity had been kept a secret.
Too bad Kakashi never asked Naruto if he'd tried to shunshin out of the ANBU headquarters since the blond clearly had the skill to perform the technique. If he had, he'd have noticed the amusement blazing within those blue eyes and immediately realise that the smart ass ANBU, was no ANBU at all.
.0.0.0.
Umino Iruka never expected to arrive at his apartment after a late shift at the mission desk to see a ninja learning against the wall next to his front door.
Schooling his features into something that didn't resemble guarded caution, the Academy Instructor moved closer, only now seeing the features that identified the man as none other than Hatake Kakashi. He knew the ninja by reputation and experience since Kakashi had been the Captain of the mission that had made Iruka decide to be a teacher.
But that was as far as their relationship went.
"Hatake-taichou." Iruka greeted, having never known the man under any other title. The jonin in question didn't seem to care either way.
"Umino-san. I was wondering if perhaps you could spare a moment or two." Kakashi replied, inclining his head slightly in greeting.
"If I may ask, Hatake-taichou, what exactly is this about?" Iruka asked, not meaning to sound rude but needing to know all the same.
"Team 7."
Iruka closed his eyes as a sudden wave of weariness washed over him. When he opened them again, he was sure they looked far older than what they had a moment prior.
"Come on in Hatake-taichou." He sighed, opening his door and going in first so that he could turn on the lights as he went.
Kakashi only hesitated for a mere second before he followed, removing his shoes by the door as he did so.
"Would you like something to drink?" Iruka asked but moving to make tea all the same so Kakashi didn't reply.
The tiny apartment was silent as the chunin went about making the tea and neither seemed all too eager to break that silence. Kakashi stood in the doorway of the kitchen awkwardly, waiting for the man to tell him what to do or where to sit.
Iruka didn't. He seemed to be focusing his mind on his self-set task. It wasn't a good sign to the jonin that Iruka had grown so sombre after mentioning his genin. The man was known for being typically in good spirits.
"My first meeting of Uzumaki Naruto was not something I had ever expected and not something I think I'll ever be able to forget . . . brush aside." Iruka began suddenly. Kakashi did not miss the fact that Iruka had said of Naruto and not with Naruto. Iruka paused again as he poured the tea into two cups and handed one to the jonin. "When I had first heard that I was to be teaching Naruto, I didn't know quite what to do. See, it wasn't as though I hated him . . . I just didn't know what to do with him either. After all, I lost both of my parents that night and while logically I knew that Naruto was a child and not it, I was still in over my head. A Rookie Instructor charged with the boy's last chance at becoming a ninja? I thought Sandaime might have been losing it."
Iruka paused again, seemingly needing to gather his thoughts as he took a sip from the tea he'd just prepared. "I don't know what I expected to see when I first walked into that classroom. I don't know if it was a grinning prankster or a glaring menace but whatever it was, it wasn't a broken boy in the arms of two students who up till then, had shown no indication of ever being all that close to each other." Iruka stopped to frown, lost in his own thoughts. "Those eyes, all three of them had the most pain filled eyes. It was something that one would never expect to see in a child, especially not ones so young . . . . . . after that, Sasuke and Sakura, they changed a little. Sasuke, well he'd been a little distant before Naruto came but a lot of the kids tend to get that way sometimes, parents away on missions, something's not going so well at home. But they always bounce back. Expect, Sasuke never did and all things considered with what happened, it's not really a surprise."
Iruka moved towards the doorway and Kakashi leaned away from it so that the chunin could pass. He followed when he saw the man head to the couch.
"Sakura had always been nearly inseparable from Yamanaka Ino, and sometimes she'd interact with Sasuke but it wasn't anything more than what you'd expect from children that age. They were in the same class after all so they were bound to exchange a few words. But after Naruto came, things changed." Iruka looked down at the steaming half full cup in his hands. Perhaps making the tea was so that he'd have something to do. "It wasn't anything major and for the most part I never even noticed. But things have a way of lingering in your mind whether you want them to or not. Sakura still talked to Ino, Sasuke still kept to himself and Naruto became the boisterous child I'd mostly expected from him when I'd first been informed of having him in my class."
"But, every so often there'd be a look, a shared almost missed whisper. A strange interaction that held a far deeper meaning. There was a silent something about them that made you absolutely certain there was more than what you were seeing." Iruka whispered, sounding troubled.
"Something you can't put your finger on, you just know it's there." Kakashi supplied and Iruka blinked in surprise before nodding in agreement.
"The second time I saw something I won't easily forget, and perhaps I wasn't meant to see either of these events but I was there all the same, was when Sasuke broke down in the middle of recess, the very same day that his family was killed." Iruka's tone sounded a little haunted and Kakashi wondered if the chunin had ever told anyone about what he'd seen, ever talked to anyone about it before. "He'd been growing more and more distant while the other two had been moving closer and closer to him in terms of seating arrangements. It was as though they were trying to form a physical barrier between him and something else but they were trying not to be obvious about it."
"Their teamwork is impeccable." Kakashi clarified for the chunin.
"Thing is, they never showed that in the Academy. They were supposed to be one of the teams that failed. Their dynamic just wasn't supposed to work." Iruka shook his head. "Naruto had been goading Sasuke the whole day, pushing him into sparring matches whenever he could. Eventually Sasuke snapped and the two had a spar that I've never seen in Academy genin before. There was so much emotion in their movements, so many unspoken words. And then Sasuke was crying, breaking down while Naruto held him together. Out of all the kids there, only Naruto and Sakura seemed to truly understand what was happening."
"And you were left standing on the side lines, trying to figure out what you'd missed and when." Kakashi sighed.
"Then the Uchiha died and they went back to normal. Well as normal as things can be when they're involved." Iruka shrugged. "The third time I saw something I won't easily forget is that thing with Mizuki. Naruto seemed like an entirely different person. He didn't care about Mizuki, he wasn't scared. He didn't even appear to be interested in the whole thing. It was like staring at someone older. He didn't even care about the reason why everyone hates him so much."
There was silence again as they finished their tea.
"What do you think about them?" Kakashi asked, being the first to break the silence.
Iruka shook his head as though trying to say he didn't really know. "They're children. But at the same time . . ." he looked at Kakashi then, eyes showing a story he couldn't adequately place into words. "I'd say they were geniuses but it's not that. I mean Naruto truly didn't get some of the concepts taught at the Academy until one day I tried explaining it to him a different way and recognition flared in his eyes, recognition and not understanding as though he was connecting the theory to something he'd already practised. And then, despite that, he continued to do poorly in his grades." Iruka looked away again. "Then there are the times where they know things, just know it. No explanation is needed, nothing. Like Naruto never once attempted to use the Bunshin jutsu in the Academy, like he knew he'd never have the chakra control for it. Sakura always had this habit of playing with her things using her chakra, almost absently but this was before we'd even explained what chakra was to the students. Sasuke, well he'd always seemed like he was miles and miles away yet he never failed at anything. He got perfect scores throughout his entire Academy attendance. He never made a single mistake."
"But, do you think they're dangerous?" Kakashi whispered.
Iruka blinked at him as though he was stunned Kakashi would even ask him that.
"Without a doubt Hatake-taicho, but that's not the issue. The main concern is who are they planning to use those talents against?" Iruka replied.
"Who indeed."
"However, they're unflinchingly loyal to Konoha. That is something I am absolutely certain of." Iruka nodded his head adamantly.
"How can you be sure?" Kakashi himself needed to be one hundred percent certain if he was ever going to continue down this path without referring them to go and have a nice long chat with Ibiki.
"Because they were the ones who explained the Will of Fire to their classmates, far better than what I'd ever be able to. They spoke as though they'd experienced the life of a Konoha Shinobi, as though they were intimate with its entire meaning and not just the childish dream most Academy students have." Iruka replied with a sad smile.
Kakashi sighed. "It would seem my little genin are far more complicated than what anyone ever gave them credit for."
.0.0.0.
Naruto paused, having been on his way to Sasuke's house.
But then, something else had caught his gaze.
Down below, just in front of the Hokage Tower, a Tokubetsu Jonin was giving a long winded and flowery lecture to a young boy who wasn't really listening.
Sarutobi Konohamaru.
Closing his eyes in contemplation, Naruto wondered if he should approach the child or see if the child would somehow find a way to gravitate towards him.
With a shrug he decided that it would be interesting to see what fate dictated, if only for the first little while.
.0.0.0.
Kakashi was standing out by the memorial stone, hands stuffed deep into his pockets and head bowed as his mind raced through everything he had learnt in these last few days.
There were things that he would never be able to explain so he simply decided to stop trying.
Then there were things that given a little more information, and he was sure he'd be able to unravel the mystery like yanking on a stray thread.
Another thought that hounded his addled mind was the possibility of his genin being stronger than him, Sasuke's words in their brief spar playing over and over. His genin might not need him at all.
But did he need them?
He'd wanted to teach Naruto-kun since the boy was five but had he come too late?
Both conversations with Tenzou and Umino Iruka were in his thoughts as well, especially Tenzou's suggestion that they were trying to impress him. One thing was certain, they'd helped him to clear some of his confusions and to realise that they were still his genin, no matter what. He wasn't going to let anyone else take them from him.
Kakashi was snapped from his thoughts when a twig was snapped not far from him. Reflexes made him tense but he did not move, did not turn away. Not yet.
Then a small hand was grasping his arm, fingers curling in the fabric of his shirt. Blond locks could be seen out of the corner of his eye and Kakashi realised that the boy had specifically chosen the side that wasn't in his blind spot.
Pastel pink made him turn his attention back to the stone and he saw that Sakura had bought an array of flowers with meanings so deep and complimentary to their purpose, he was sure more experienced kunoichi would have a hard time besting it.
Lastly, Sasuke stepped up to his other side, tilting his head slightly to look up at the jonin.
"D-ranks tomorrow?" He asked, large eyes showing none of the angst broodiness that he usually displayed to the world.
"D-ranks tomorrow." Kakashi agreed.
.0.0.0.