Chapter 2

"You only have one first chance to make a first impression that will last a lifetime."

Nas

Despite all the determination he had felt the night before, Kakashi could honestly say that he was more terrified of walking into the academy to pick up his new genin teams than he had ever been on a mission in his life. He stood in front of the building, underneath a familiar tree and swing that he was fairly certain was older than he was. In his hand was a book, but not with a familiar orange cover. Instead, it was a plain gray cover titled 'How to Train Genin'. It was written by none other than Tsunade Senju.

This was an aspect of the Slug Sannin many did not give her enough credit for. Orochimaru abused his students, his friend Anko being one of the few unfortunate souls still living. Jiraiya had trained the Fourth, but that was his only student of note.

Every single medical ninja in Konoha's hospital could claim to either be trained by Tsunade, or trained by one of her students. One of Konoha's biggest advantages over other villages was the presence of some of the best doctors in the elemental nations at their main hospital in their village. Before Dan Kato's death at the start of the third war and her exodus from the village, there had been a push for future generations of genin teams to all have at least one field medic trained by her, but that plan had fallen apart with her absence.

On top of that, she had seen multiple genin teams to chunin alive throughout her time in Konoha as an active jonin, including some of the clan leaders and stronger jonin in the village. Another key difference in Konoha compared to the other villages was that no matter who you were, every single ninja in the village was required to join a three-man cell under a jonin upon becoming genin. There were still exceptions to this rule, but mainly for academy students who lacked the physical or mental attributes for fieldwork but had potential in R&D, administration, medicine, or intelligence. Still, politics were politics, and students with notable backgrounds were always assigned to notable sensei.

It was the main reason so many notable jonin were taking teams this year, and incidentally had all the clan heads concentrated on their teams. Kurenai was a rising star who had received nothing but praise for her professionalism, proficiency and teamwork. Asuma was the son of the current Hokage and really wasn't far off from elite jonin. And Kakashi was the only living student of the Fourth and an elite jonin. In truth, if Gai had been available Kurenai may have had to wait for the next graduating class to get a team, but he had taken one last year due to his interest in Rock Lee.

Tsunade had written this book shortly before the third war broke out. It centered around how to engage young shinobi, help them learn and grow into their specialties while being conscious of their weaknesses, and help them navigate the inevitable horrors of the ninja world. It also had several tips on how to be a more balanced person in one's personal life and handle trauma from one's own career. In truth, Tsunade had done a great deal to recover from her brother's death in the second war. Losing Dan so early in the third, before hostilities had even truly broken out between all the nations, must have ripped that scar wide open.

Kakashi had decided that he should avoid reading pornography around impressionable children, two of which had no parents and the other of which had a proper noble upbringing. But he truly had no other hobbies besides that and taking care of his ninja hounds in forests outside the village, so he had decided on a compromise and went to the bookstore first thing in the morning. The novel had called out to him; after so many years of shutting people out, he wanted to be prepared. Thankfully he had always been an exceptionally fast reader, and if anything, constantly rereading Icha Icha had made him even faster, so he was already almost to the end of the mid-sized tome after two hours. He was currently rereading the first chapter, which centered around how to get off on the right foot with a new genin team.

``In closing, being a sensei is about more than how strong your team becomes. They will spend more time with you than their families. You will guide them through a dangerous world, and be the one who supports them through the horrors they will witness. You will witness many of their greatest successes and failures. It is important that you try to establish bonds right away, even before your planned post-graduation test. You could end up seeing them on the next graduation cycle regardless, and if they believe you want them to succeed, they will handle any possible failure better.''

The man closed the book, saving the last chapter for later and tucking it in his flak jacket. He still had ten minutes before he was late. He had already seen Kurenai come by to pick up her team. Sakura, the pinkette who would have been his pupil had the events of the prior night not occurred, had seemed down. She likely wasn't a big fan of her teammates - a loud Inuzuka boy and a particularly stoic-looking Aburame - but he supposed getting a kunoichi instructor had her somewhat hopeful.

Kurenai herself had been a bit miffed in the meeting this morning between her, himself, and the Hokage. He understood why - she had apparently already grown attached to Hinata Hyuuga over the last few months, and she had been introduced to the young girl as her new jonin sensei the morning prior. He could understand why even better when the woman explained what she had witnessed then.

"She's been through the wringer, Kakashi." The woman said flatly, giving him a challenging look. "Her father flat out told her she was a stain on the Hyuuga clan, and that she would no longer be considered heiress. Are you up to the task of rebuilding her confidence from the ground up? Don't answer that; just know you better be, or you'll find out what kind of genjutsu are out there that even the Sharingan can't break."

Her words rang in his head. While his resolution was well-intentioned, he did not have much to relate to his new female student with. If anything, arrogance and pride had been his weakness when he was younger, and then self-loathing, but never meekness. The scarecrow wondered where her skills really stood compared to her self-confidence. He had spent the morning reading through her dossier, and all teachers in the academy spoke highly of her performance in practical drills. In truth, it was only a hair that separated her and Sakura as the top female graduates, and that hair was purely academic with the Hyuuga girl proving to be superior in practical application.

'I wonder how I should approach Naruto?' Kakashi wondered to himself, switching gears to the son of his sensei. Of course he couldn't just walk up to the boy, tell him his parentage, and explain that he should have been looking after him. Not only could the boy, having just learned about the Kyuubi sealed inside him that ostracized him, not handle another such reveal, but that reeked of self-pity. He would need to earn the boy's trust, but how?

And then Sasuke… Actually, maybe that approach might work…

He was taken out of his musings by the sound of the academy doors opening and closing. Asuma walked out with his new team, the new Ino-Shika-Cho trio. In a way, Asuma had it easy. That team was built to work well together, and due to the relationship between their parents all the kids knew each other well. However, that also meant it was time to head in for his kids. The smoker would wait until he was right on time to pick up his students.

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Kakashi made his way through the door towards his future.


Hinata was very conflicted. She had been right on time this morning, eager to leave her home where she was constantly the subject of either disdain or pity. Her father had at least been distracted this morning, somehow to such a degree that he hadn't been cold. In fact, when he had given her a look that had almost seemed… Concerned? It had been difficult to tell, especially since she usually avoided eye contact with the clan head.

She always enjoyed walking through the village. Her habit of keeping her head down made it to where almost nobody noticed her. When she did speak to shopkeepers, she was always polite and they were in turn. It was the opposite of her home, where everyone stared at her and thought of her as a failure.

When she had arrived she had sat in the back to escape notice. Everyone else had trickled in, but she hadn't been observing them as she usually would. She was melancholic despite the excitement of others, as she was incapable of removing her mind from the plight of Naruto Uzumaki. The poor boy had failed the exam for a third time yesterday.

She had desperately wished to go to him, but her shyness had kept her until she was taken home by a branch family member to prepare to meet with her jonin retainer, who would now be her new sensei, Kurenai Yuhi, the following day. She had been kind as always. They had talked for a time before the jonin had left, and Hinata actually was looking forward to her team assignment after the smallest bit of encouragement from the red-eyed woman.

Then to her surprise and elation, Naruto came bursting through the door with a forehead protector on. When Shikamaru had joked that only people who had passed the exam should have been in the classroom, the blonde had boasted that he had passed after taking a special test and was a ninja now.

Once again, Hinata had found herself wanting to speak to him, but her shyness kept her in place watching with a small smile on her face. There had also been that small incident where Naruto had been knocked over during a stare off with Sasuke, causing the two to kiss, but Hinata purposely chose to try to forget about that as well as the beating the poor blonde had received from Sakura and Ino afterwards.

She had been first elated as Iruka revealed she and Naruto would be together on team seven with Sasuke Uchiha, but then confused when her sensei was announced as Kakashi Hatake. The name felt familiar, but she was unsure where she had heard it before. Kurenai was revealed as the sensei of team eight, composed of Sakura, Kiba Inuzuka, a feral looking boy with a small white puppy, and Shino Aburame, a heavily clothed and quiet student.

Sakura and Ino bemoaned not being on the same team as Sasuke, with the blonde girl having been put on a team with Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi, while Naruto bemoaned being on the same team as Sasuke. Hinata sat quietly as the new teams were taken away by their sensei. The girl wasn't sure if she should approach either of her new teammates, but then her favorite blur of orange made that decision for her.

"Hey, Hinata, right?" The boy ambled up to her, giving her a massive smile. "Too bad we gotta be on the same team with that moody bastard, huh?"

She felt her face flush and her heart skip a beat. Cursing her shyness, she tried to stutter out a reply. "I-I d-don't k-k-know Sasuke that w-well." She managed to squeak out, cursing her shyness. "B-but I'm e-excited to be on a t-team with you both!" She added, seeing his face screw up in confusion.

His smile returned. "Yeah, me too I guess! I wonder what our sensei will be like?"

Fortunately, the boy didn't have to wonder for long, for right after he spoke a tall gray-haired man walked in through the door. He wore the standard navy fatigues underneath a standard combat vest, although his appearance was a bit abnormal due to the mask covering the entire lower half of his face and his headband tilted to cover his left eye.

"Team 7?" He said, his voice cool and aloof. "My name is Kakashi Hatake. I will be your jonin instructor. Are you all hungry? Lunch is on me."

"Hell yeah!" Naruto shouted, jumping up and fist-pumping at the idea of a free meal. Hinata, nerves taking hold, could only manage a nod. Sasuke turned from the window he had been sitting next to and staring out of, grunting something that sounded like approval.

The man closed his single visible eye into a "U", and Hinata took that to be his masked version of a smile. "Alright then, where would you like to go?"

"I got the perfect place!" Naruto boasted. "Ichiraku Ramen, the best food in the village! It's only a few minutes from here."

The jonin nodded. "Any objections?" Hinata shook her head, and Sasuke grunted again. "Alright, let's go then." The man turned and walked back out the door, the team getting up and following behind them.

As they left the academy building, Kakashi turned his head towards them. "Hey, Naruto?"

Next to her, the blond jumped in surprise before answering. "Yeah?"

"Would you mind taking the lead here? I haven't gotten ramen in a while and I'm not sure where Ichiraku's is."

The boy smiled widely. "Sure, sensei!" He started walking confidently ahead. Hinata settled into position to his side while Sasuke and Kakashi followed behind. As they passed through the village, the girl watched Naruto out of the corner of her eye, her head down and fingers pressed together.

Suddenly, the blonde started speaking, not at all breaking his confident stride. "Hey Hinata, you like ramen?"

The Hyuuga jumped half out of her coat, startled by his sudden question. "W-well, I h-haven't really h-had it before."

That made the blonde break his confident stride, stumbling a bit and looking back at her. "How?! That's horrible! Why not?"

The girl's already pink face was rapidly turning scarlet from embarrassment at Naruto's blunt question. "I-It's just n-not something my f-f-family really has for m-meals…"

The blonde looked at her, his eyes turning from horror to pity. "No offense Hinata, but your family sounds pretty crappy if they've never eaten ramen."

'You're not wrong about that, just off on the reason you're right.' She thought sadly to herself. Out loud, she stuttered out, "I-I'm sorry…"

Now the blonde suddenly looked panicked. "Hey, you don't have to apologize or anything." He told her. Then he smiled that massive toothy grin of his and said proudly, "Now that we're teammates, we'll just have to go as much as we can after training. I'm sure we'll be hungry after learning a buncha kick-ass jutsu!"

The Hyuuga girl knew he was suggesting they go as teammates, but her brain couldn't help but scream 'IT'S LIKE A DATE', a sensation she tried to ignore as her face went from its standard bright pink to deep red in record time. 'Come on Hinata, you have to say something!' She cursed herself and her shyness.

His grin started fading a bit. "I mean, if you want to. I guess you don't have to or anything…"

"No!" Hinata replied, her voice carrying halfway to a yell and startling the boy she walked with. "I-I would l-like that, N-Naruto."

And there came back that million gigawatt smile. "Awesome! I know you'll like ramen, it's gotta be what Kami eats every day! There's a bunch of different kinds. My favorite is miso, but tonkatsu is really good too, and one time old man Teuchi made this special called tsukemen that was really weird but good where you dip the noodles into the broth…"

The Hyuuga heiress let off a small smile as she listened contentedly to the blonde rant about ramen. Regardless of any other factor involved, she knew she would love being on this team.


The newly minted Team 7 reached their destination quickly. Sasuke paid no mind to his teammates chatter - though really, it was less a conversation between the two of them and more the blonde loudmouth he was stuck with shouting about the glories of ramen and how they were going to be the most "kickass" group of genin the village had ever seen.

He was loath to be on the same team as Naruto Uzumaki - even more so after accidentally kissing the fool earlier - but he figured it could be worse. Hinata was seemingly the only female member of his class that did not have some childish fantasies about him. Of course that meant he could not recall ever paying even disdainful attention to her, but better than Sakura or Ino screaming about true love every ten seconds.

Instead of focusing on them, he was watching his sensei out of the corner of his eye. The man was mostly unassuming, if a little odd in his appearance. Still, Sasuke had grown up with that man, and he knew a powerful shinobi when he saw one. There was a relaxed rigidity to the way he carried himself, as if he was totally at ease but still ready for combat at any given moment. It was something the last Uchiha had seen from some of the more powerful shinobi he had met in his life.

He was certainly not as strong as that man, but he was also certainly stronger than Sasuke himself. That was truly his only concern, as that meant the cyclops would be useful to his ambitions for now. His teammates would be superfluous as long as they did not impede his improvement.

Sasuke was interrupted from his callous thoughts by a shout of excitement as they came up to the ramen stand. The raven-haired boy had rarely eaten ramen - he usually cooked for himself at home so his meals would be as nutritious as possible, and ramen was not very nutritious - but he supposed there was no reason to complain about a free meal.

The mismatched group entered the small establishment. Beneath the flaps that hid occupants from view at the street, Sasuke had to admit that the small stand had a certain warmth to it he had not felt in a long time. It was almost like this place was a home, in a way, or at least felt like one.

"Old man Teuchi, Ayame!" Naruto shouted at the two people behind the bar. Both were very average looking, the man aged with gray hair and tan skin and the girl in her later teens with long brown hair and kind eyes. "This is my new team!" He pointed at each of them, listing off their names.

"Nice to meet you all!" The man, Teuchi, replied. "Any friend of Naruto's is a friend of Ichiraku's! Though I suppose I should say it's good to see you again, Kakashi. It's been what, a decade?"

"Something like that." The gray-haired man agreed amicably.

"You've had ramen and then you didn't come here for ten years?! What gives?" Naruto exclaimed, shock evident on his face. Sasuke had to wonder if anything would get the boy more worked up than a slight again noodles and broth.

"Well, my sensei came here a lot. He died in the Kyuubi attack, so it's a little bittersweet to come somewhere with so many memories." Kakashi replied, rubbing the back of his head.

All the children were quiet at that, none of them quite knowing how to reply. Sasuke himself certainly understood not wanting to discuss memories of those lost, even if he was a bit curious as to who said sensei was, if he was anyone notable. Thankfully, the walking orange ADHD diagnosis next to him had no such tact.

"Who was your sensei?" The blonde asked, wide-eyed and… Was he almost apprehensive?

The jonin did his strange eye-smile again. "Well, I'll give you a hint. You can see him from anywhere in this village."

'Wait…' Sasuke thought to himself as his teammates looked confused. The realization hit him like a truck. "Was your sensei the Fourth Hokage?" His teammates looked at him first in surprise, and then at their new sensei for confirmation.

"You sure are sharp Sasuke. Got it in one." The man said, validating the Uchiha's deduction.

"What would you all like to have today?" Ayame asked them cheerfully, cutting off the conversation before the children could ask anymore questions.

"I'll start with three bowls of miso and a bowl of tonkatsu!" The blonde enthusiastically ordered, any contemplation of this new information now out of his mind..

"Miso for me." Kakashi replied.

"Shio with a seafood base." Sasuke said.

"I-I'll have m-miso as w-well." The quiet girl stuttered out.

Sasuke had to repress an eyeroll at the girl's stutter. He could already tell that would get annoying quickly. Still, Hinata did not seem all that interested in him in the slightest, and actually had some skills that would matter and be useful in the field. In fact, with how she continued to listen to the blathering blonde, and the small looks she was giving him…

A small, sardonic smile made its way onto the face of the last Uchiha. Oh, that was absolutely hilarious. It was also confirmation that the blonde was as dumb as he looked. While Sasuke would never claim to be intuitive about peoples' feelings, he was observant and the signs were so obvious even he could see it, especially after the many years he had spent batting away unwanted admirers. Hell, even the ramen girl was giving them knowing looks now.

In addition to getting stronger, maybe he would actually get a laugh or two out of this team.


Naruto Uzumaki sure didn't know what to make of his new team. He definitely didn't want to be on the same team as Sasuke, but Hinata didn't seem so bad even if she was kinda weird blushing and stuttering all the time. His teacher seemed super cool though. The guy seemed so mysterious and strong, but he was also buying the blonde boy ramen! And he learned from the boy's hero, the Yondaime Hokage! Things were off to a great start.

Now that they had ordered, Naruto was continuing to talk to Hinata, now about what kind of super cool technique they would learn. He had to admit, she was already being nicer to him than all but about four or five people in the world. Even the old man wouldn't put up with him talking this much for this long, but she seemed like she actually enjoyed listening to him and that felt really nice. Then the jonin seated down the counter spoke up. "Well, how about we all introduce ourselves?" He said.

When his two teammates didn't respond, Naruto asked, "Well how do ya mean, sensei?"

The man did his weird little one-eyed smile and said, "Well, I suppose I can go first to show you what I mean. My name is Kakashi Hatake, I'm an elite jonin of Konoha."

The blonde raised his hand, confused by the title. "Wadda ya mean elite jonin? Is that a special kind of jonin or something?"

"Yes, that's exactly it. Consider me to be between jonin and Hokage. I like books, dogs, and… visiting friends. My dislikes include those who abandon their comrades and people who give up on themselves. My hobbies are reading and taking care of my ninja hounds. My dream is to see you all become splendid shinobi." Kakashi replied, finishing his introduction.

"Oh, I get it!" Naruto said enthusiastically. "Alright, I'll go! My name is Naruto Uzumaki! I like instant ramen and Ichiraku ramen! I hate the three minutes it takes water to boil before you can put it in the cup. My hobbies are eating and comparing different types of ramen. My dream is to become Hokage!"

"Hokage, hmm?" The cyclops replied. "Quite the goal. It will take a lot of hard work to get there."

"That ain't gonna stop me!" The blonde replied defiantly.

Kakashi chuckled. "I hope not. Hinata, why don't you go next?"

The girl next to Naruto jumped before answering. "S-sorry. M-my n-name is Hinata Hyuuga. I l-like pressing f-flowers and cinnamon b-buns. My d-dislikes a-are b-bullies a-a-and shrimp. I-I like to p-p-press flowers… And my dream is to unite the branches of my family." She said the last part without her usual stutter, and the boy wondered what she meant by it.

Naruto tried to listen to her introduction, but he was currently trying to get over his surprise at his new teacher's words. He hoped not? Did that mean the man thought he could be Hokage?

"Another big dream. You'll be making the whole village a better place when you pull it off." The gray-haired jonin told her encouragingly. She looked at him momentarily with wide eyes before looking down, face bright pink. "Sasuke?"

Naruto glanced at the dark-haired boy next to his sensei. He looked annoyed at being prompted to speak. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I don't like many things. I dislike sweets and loud people. I don't really have hobbies. My dream… Is more of an ambition. I will kill a certain man."

'Geez.' Naruto thought to himself. 'Why does he have to act so cool all the time? And who the hell does he wanna kill?'

"... Interesting." Kakashi replied, right as their food came out. Naruto was practically rabid as his four bowls were placed in front of him, grabbing his chopsticks and digging in with a quick mumbled thanks for his meal.

The four ate quietly for a moment. In between his bouts of sheer bliss, Naruto noticed that his teammates were also picking up their pace with every bite, overwhelmed by the pure deliciousness that was Ichiraku ramen. Maybe this team would work out after all.


'This team is either going to be the greatest in Konoha's history, or they'll give me an aneurysm. There is no inbetween, I'm sure of that.' Kakashi thought to himself as he examined his team and ate his ramen, once again thanking the stars for his simplest but most often used genjutsu, an incredibly tough to disrupt illusion that made it seem as if his meal simply passed through his mask into his mouth, when in reality it was down. He really would have to come to Ichiraku more often - he hadn't been in years, not since the Kyuubi attack. Too many fond memories of Minato and Kushina, but he refused to let that kind of thing stop him anymore.

He ran over what he had already learned by simply observing his team. Naruto may have been a dead ringer for his father in many ways, but his personality was almost one-hundred percent Kushina. He had a chip on his shoulder, that was for sure - but more importantly, the boy was starved for attention. He was loud and boisterous by nature sure, but Kakashi would have been more than willing to put a S-ranked mission's pay on the child subconsciously expressing that negatively, as bad attention was better than never getting paid any mind.

He would be easy to approach. The kid really just needed somebody to give a damn about him. On that note, his thoughts pivoted to someone who clearly did care about the blonde ball of chaos. Hinata Hyuuga could be politely described as demure in behavior, and honestly be described as the flattest wallflower to ever fade into the background. If he couldn't say she was spot on, he would say that Kurenai had understated how bad of a nervous wreck the girl was. The jonin had of course already noticed her infatuation with her blonde teammate, and she seemed willing to push herself out of her comfort zone when he was involved, but that wouldn't solve her self-confidence issues. He would need to have words with Hiashi and try to figure out what the hell the Hyuuga clan had done to make her THIS lacking in self-worth.

Sasuke was a bit more difficult for him to read, but he saw too much of himself in the boy not to at least get a hazy picture. The kid had darkness in him, plenty of it. How could he not after what he had been through? Kakashi had read the reports. Occasionally in the years since the Uchiha Massacre, his mind would wander back to Itachi Uchiha and he would once again be baffled as to how one of the most pacifistic ninja he had ever met would snap to such a degree that he would murder his entire family and torture his beloved younger brother. Sasuke would be a puzzle, but he knew the boy respected the strong and had already appraised his new sensei as such, even if he thought the gray-haired man had not noticed his probing glances. Perhaps attacking the issue directly would be the best course, as had occurred to him earlier.

He finished his meal quickly, though he barely beat Hinata and definitely would have finished after Naruto if the boy had ordered a single bowl. Placing his mask back over his face, although to the random observer it appeared as if he simply passed his hand over his face, the man cleared his throat and caught the attention of his genin.

"So,' He began, trying to ignore Naruto's comically large cheeks and the noodle hanging out of his mouth, "I'll be blunt. You have one more test before you all are finally genin."

The blonde boy choked on his food, barely avoiding a salty spit-take, and began coughing wildly. Kakashi had to hand it to the kid, he certainly wouldn't provide a dull moment. His teammates looked at their new sensei, Hinata wide-eyed with concern and Sasuke's eyes narrowed at this new information.

"Waddaya mean?!" Naruto half shouted as he worked through his coughs. "What gives? We got headbands and everything!"

"Sorry kiddos." Kakashi placated. "Every new team has to be tested by their sensei before they've officially become ninja. If you fail, you get sent back to the academy."

"WHAT?!" Naruto this time was fully shouting. Funnily enough, it took only one look from Ayame, currently wiping down the other side of the counter, for the boy to immediately settle back down into his seat. The cyclops felt it was a safe bet that the blonde had been reprimanded for his volume before. "But why do we need another test?" He could see the same question in the eyes of his other two students - in a way, it was a good thing Naruto was so willing to speak up, otherwise he would have to try and guess at the answers they were looking for every time they had a question.

'Alright, time for the first big change - not going to make it harder on these kids. Remember how sensei explained it." Kakashi thought to himself before responding. "The academy test proves that you three have the minimum skills to be a ninja on your own merits. My test is to see if you three will be a good team. Hinata, what is the most important advantage Konoha has over the other villages?"

The Hyuuga immediately wilted at being addressed directly, which Kakashi had expected, but he was happy when she replied, "T-teamwork?"

"Are you asking or answering?" The jonin said gently. Might as well get to work on her self-confidence now.

The girl's eyes widened only slightly, but then she straightened out her back and said confidently, "Teamwork, sensei."

"Spot on." The man replied, giving her another smile with his eye. "I need to know that you three can work together towards the goal of the mission. So tomorrow, you will have one last test. Eight in the morning, training ground three." The kids all gave him different looks - Hinata was nervous, Sasuke was resolute, and Naruto was clearly still bothered by the concept.

"That said… I feel confident in you all. I've failed eight teams in a row. You all are the first ones I think might actually pass. Just look underneath the underneath, and you'll do fine." Like Tsunade's book had said, they needed to feel like he wanted them to succeed. Hinata and Naruto perked up at his words, and even Sasuke gave a small smirk at the words.

"Hell yeah sensei, bring it on! We'll pass your test no problem!" Naruto exclaimed, the excitement evident on his face. The heiress next to him looked at him, that small smile once more on her face. Even the Uchiha scion seemed to be on the same page as his teammates, even if he didn't know it.

Once more he smiled at the kids, replying "Now that's what I like to hear. You three can head home for the day. Prepare, get your tools ready, and meet at Training Ground Three by eight tomorrow morning. I want you all to give me everything you have tomorrow. Oh, and make sure to eat a nutritious and filling breakfast. You'll probably fail otherwise. Any questions?"

Naturally one hand leading to an orange sleeve shot straight in the air. "Ramen's nutritious, right sensei?"

"This kid really needs supervision.' The tall man thought morosely to himself. Externally he managed to barely withhold a sigh and respond, "Try eggs and bacon, Naruto. See you all tomorrow." And with that he held up two fingers and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.


Hiashi Hyuuga stared at the scroll. Then without a change in expression, closed it and sealed it with an insignia unique to his status as head of the Hyuuga clan. "Ko." He called. The door to his study opened and one his most trusted guards walked in. Ko was a model branch house member, immaculate in his appearance with long dark hair and a stern demeanor. The man stood stoically, awaiting instruction.

"Take this letter to the aviary and have it sent out." The clan head told the man, handing him the scroll. Ko's eyes widened only slightly when he saw who it was addressed to, but otherwise did not react and took the letter, turning and swiftly leaving the office. Only a few moments after he shut the door, Hiashi heard a knock.

"F-father?" He heard from the other side of the door, the stutter being a clear sign that it was his daughter speaking.

"Come in." He replied, repressing the urge to sigh at her verbal impediment.

The girl opened the door and walked inside, eyes downcast and poking her fingers together out of nervous habit. Once more Hiashi wondered exactly how badly his wife would tear him apart if she were here to see what his parenting had made of his daughter, what he had allowed the expectations of the clan and its elders to do to her confidence and self-worth.

The man remembered the Third Hokage's last words to him the night prior. "Send out the letter by sundown tomorrow, and make sure you leave no room for refusal. Oh, and Hiashi? Show some damn kindness to your daughter. I'm not a success as a parent, but even by my standards you've done a piss-poor job. Damn the elders of your clan and what they think, be a father. If she fails because of how she is treated at home, I will personally come and beat you all half to death with Enma."

The words had been as disrespectful and harsh as he heard from another in his life, but they were fair. Hiruzen saw in his daughter potential to be a part of his next incarnation of the Sannin, so naturally he would not stand for her being beaten down at home anymore if it impeded her progress.

So instead of his normal harsh demands for a report, he gently asked, "How was your day, daughter?"

The girl went still as a statue before slowly raising her head and looking at her father. "I-I e-enjoyed m-m-meeting my n-new team. I w-was surprised I w-wasn't p-p-put on a t-team under K-Kurenai. My s-sensei's n-n-name is Kakashi Hatake."

"Yes, I am aware." Hiashi replied. "In fact, I specifically asked the Hokage to change your team last night. If not, you would have been on a tracking and reconnaissance team with Shino Aburame and Kiba Inuzuka under Kurenai Yuhi, as you were told yesterday."

The girl bit her lip, obviously wanting to ask a question. Deciding to be patient, Hiashi simply stayed quiet and gave her time to gather her courage - the fleeting thought came to his mind that he couldn't remember the last time he had shown her anything approximating patience. Then finally she spoke, albeit low and waiting for a reprimand, "W-why did you c-change my t-team, father?"

"Because despite what I may have made you think Hinata, you are my daughter, and I never want to see you become a member of the branch house." The parent replied truthfully. "I know you may not be able to believe me, but it is true. And learning from a man as skilled as Kakashi Hatake, on an assault squad, gives me the best chance of getting more time."

The girl looked somehow even more statuesque than she had before, clearly not expecting those words from her father. Hiashi might have felt a pain in his chest at this if he had not already accepted that any aversion she had to his attempts to be a kinder father were the direct results of his actions, his fault and his alone.

She stayed quiet, and he figured it he had gotten all he would out of her for the evening. Then his daughter surprised him. "... I don't believe you father."

Not sure what shocked him more, her words or their stutter-free delivery, Hiashi felt the dagger in his chest that he had prepared himself for. "Whatever your reasons, you've made your feelings towards me clear. People don't change… Not like this. Not all at once." There was no anger or malice in her tone. Her eyes conveyed merely sadness and exhaustion, all of it directed towards how she thought her father felt about her. "Am I dismissed?"

Hiashi stared at his child, feeling his heart break as his little girl made it clear that she would not believe him. He knew it would not be easy to undo his years of abuse, but had he really damaged their relationship to this degree?

Of course he did. He hoped for a moment that he would never die, for he would never be able to face his wife in the afterlife. "Yes Hinata, you may go. Good luck with your test tomorrow. I am sure you will do well."

The girl stiffly turned and walked out of the office. Hiash thought he may have seen her eyes begin to brim with tears as she turned, but he couldn't be sure. He sat there for quite some time, trying to maintain his stoic Hyuuga facade, but eventually he felt a single tear he could not contain roll down his face. There was no question now. He was a failure as a father.

As he sat in his chair, wise words he once received came back to him. 'You will probably break many things in your life Hiashi. When you lead your clan, there will be hard decisions to be made for the good of all. You'll let down those you care about along the way. But remember, much like every wound I have taught you to heal, no matter how hard you try, some things just take time and effort. Don't be disheartened when trying to make up for your mistakes. Just keep trying."

Hiashi raised his hands, looking down on his open palms. Then out of the air a green glow of healing chakra covered them, and he allowed himself the smallest of smiles.

"It will take time, won't it sensei?" He said to himself. "No matter how much time it takes though, I will make it up to everyone. To Hinata, Hanabi, Neji… Hitomi and Hizashi."

Two nights in Konoha, and two decisions had been made, both personal and entirely within an individual, that would alter the course of the Elemental Nations.


Holy shit I had the worst trouble with just about every bit of dialogue in this chapter, and I think it shows, but I'm expecting a much easier time with the next chapter and want to get there already. To everyone who left me feedback - I would say of all kinds, but it was all positive, and while I don't think I deserve all that, I do humbly say thank you.

I have big plans for Hiashi. Kakashi is far from the only character I plan to have an epiphany, he's just gonna be the focus. There's a lot of characters that I think could use a moment of clarity. Having Hinata push back at the end was my way of saying I know people can't change their ways and have everything be okay, but I think the decision to try and be better is something that can happen overnight. Results just take time.

Also, you may note that I am definitely moving events around the timeline to fit my narrative. Just roll with it, the Naruto timeline itself barely makes sense. Please let me know if it feels like the difference between me making a mistake and a deliberate change is unclear, I don't want to confuse anyone. Also, since I now have the full pre-Naruto timeline together how I like, maybe re-read chapter 1. I had to correct a couple of small things so I don't contradict myself later.

Thanks again everyone, I hope to have the next chapter to y'all faster than this one. Take care!