O-0 Wow...people really like this?! Cool! I'm happy so many people are enjoying my story. Thanks for the support. I'll try to remember your comments and suggestions when I write. Naruto has never been and never will be owned by me...everyone knows it, wish I didn't. On with the story!
The three teens (or pre-teens, they're all the same to me) sized each other up.
Sasuke's Thoughts - *Damn. This guy doesn't look like much. Wonder how good he is?*
Simple and to the point. The fact that one of the three legendary Sennin had been his teacher was not lost on the Uchiha boy. He knew of their exploits as they had been one of the main topics in the academy ninja history class. If Kakashi was a good example of a Jounin at his peak then one of the three Sennin would almost be like a force of nature. If the blond boy in front of him had grown up with a Sennin as his sensei Sasuke might actually be able to like the boy.
Sakura's Thoughts - *What's with the face paint? He looks like a clown! He is kinda cute though. But still, he doesn't look like a ninja, more like a punk actually.*
Sakura too knew about the boy's teacher and his exploits as one of the three Sennin. She knew a bit more about them then Sasuke did though so she knew that his teacher, Jiriaya, was also well known for other things besides his ninja abilities. Being a book worm AND a constant listener to gossip Sakura knew that he was regarded as a perverted old man with low morals. This by itself didn't endear Jiriaya, and therefore her new teammate, to her being as she was of the female race and therefore a hater of all things perverted. The real kicker was that a month ago she had been able to get a peak at one of the books Kakashi-sensei kept with him almost constantly. Being the avid book worm that she was she noted things others might not have. The name of the author being one of them. Still, she wanted to give the boy in front of her the benefit of the doubt and not immediately peg him as a pervert just because his sensei was one. As for ability she had no doubt he was strong but she held supreme confidence in Sasuke's ability to best the boy. No Genin in the world could touch her Sasuke in combat.
Naruto's Thoughts - *Ah great, a girl! Just my luck. Why does it have to be a girl, and a cute one at that? Uncool. Really uncool! That Sasuke guy looks strong though. Wonder if I can beat him.*
Naruto knew very little about his new teammates. The only thing he knew about them was that they were supposedly smart. He actually knew more about his new teacher then the other two. A more detailed inspection of Kakashi had revealed a certain orange book corner sticking out of the man's pouch. That told him all he needed to know. Naruto instantly knew what book it was. He had seen it a million times before. He had seen it being written along with its companion books while he trained. He had watched as his sensei *gathered data* at every bath house from the Wind country to the Mist. If Jiriaya had one vice, Naruto thought, it was his extremely perverted nature. The fact that he shared it with the world through his books made it even worse. Because of his sensei's moral backwardness Naruto had taken an entirely different path. If girls drove sensei over the edge into a perverted old man then they must be bad. His favorite mantra for training, especially if Jiriaya was off some where spying, became "Hate girls, hate girls, hate girls, HATE GIRLS!" It didn't help that the pair never stayed anywhere long and that they stayed at the outer fringe of society. Naruto had never had much exposer to girls of his age, guys either, and had never seen a girl ninja at all. He knew they existed, but Sakura, and the other ninja women he'd just seen while walking through town, were really the first ones he'd ever seen. He had no idea how to judge how good they were or how to deal with them. Actually he didn't have much experience dealing with ANY kids his age. The only reason he had any manners at all was because he had had to develop them to cover for his sensei when the old man was caught spying or made mistakes. He quickly learned to treat any person older then him with respect. It made it easier to avoid the beatings his sensei received. No one ever believed that such a nice young man had anything to do with an old pervert like Jiriaya.
All of this passed through their minds in moments. Naruto gave Kakashi a dirty little look then smiled at his two new teammates. He decided to try being nice. If that worked then he knew he was on the right path. If not...well...he'd think about that later. "Hi. Nice to meet you." he said trying to put his best foot forward. He gave them his trademark grin.
Kakashi saw the dirty look and quickly deduced the reason. He silently cursed himself for his failure to make sure the book was hidden. He covertly pushed the book deeper into his pouch. *Great way to make a first impression* he thought glumly.
Sakura said hello and Sasuke exchanged head nods. They would spend time to get to know each other later.
The Hokage continued to smile as he turned to depart. "I will leave you four to get to know each other better. If you have trouble finding your way back to your apartment Naruto I'm sure one of your team mates would be glad to help you." The old man disappeared back up the trail he and Naruto had traveled just a few minutes before leaving the blond staring after him.
After a moment of silence Naruto turned back to his new team and gave them another dashing smile. "Alright" he declared loudly, "lets get started Kakashi-sensei. Gotta train hard if we're gonna make it in the Chuunin Exam."
*Well at least he gets to the point* Kakashi thought with a smile. "Ok then. I suppose we should get to know each other better if we're going to be a good team. Why don't you two" here he pointed at Sasuke and Sakura, "tell Naruto a little bit more about yourselves and Naruto can do the same for us. Your likes, dislikes, dreams, things like that."
The four of them found some shade and sat down. Sakura spoke up first. "Well I like reading, studying, training and...boys. And I dislike idiots. Some day I hope to...getsasuketolikemeenoughtokissme." Sakura had been unsure whether to include the boy part in her likes and had had a very difficult time admitting coherently her dream. She mumbled the last half quickly and blushed heavily. She glanced at Sasuke several times then sat still.
Sasuke had understood Sakura perfectly and gave a mental eye roll. The girl never stopped. Naruto on the other hand didn't understand a bit of her last statement. Before he could ask for her to say it again though Sasuke started.
"I don't really like much. I dislike ton's of stuff. And, I wouldn't really call it a dream, an ambition really...to kill a certain man." Kakashi and Sakura weren't surprised to hear this. They had heard it once before when the team first met and had gotten hints of it through the months. Naruto, on the other hand, was speechless. *He's scary* was the only thing Naruto could think of.
Naruto noticed everyone was staring at him. "Ah gomen. Um...well I love RAMEN. Eat it all the time. I also love to train. I don't like perverts, girls and vegetables. And my dream is to become a Hokage."
Stoney silence met his statement. The other three were a bit surprised at his boldness and didn't know what to say for a while. He had been so nice earlier. Where had this bold personality come from?
*Hokage eh?* Kakashi thought, *I thought so. But that pervert comment was meant for me. Gotta make sure I don't read those things in front of him.*
*He...doesn't...like...girls?* Sakura was stunned. The boy was obviously good looking yet he didn't like girls? Not at all? *I guess living with Jiriaya-sama didn't make him a pervert, it made him the exact opposite.*
Sasuke smiled lightly. *Sounds like my kinda guy. I guess this won't be so bad after all.*
"Ok ok...now that that's taken care of we can move on to something more interesting." Kakashi stood and pulled a pair of bells out of his pocket. Sakura and Sasuke smiled, in Sasuke's case a light upward turn of one side of his lips was a smile, as they saw what their teacher was planning. They'd done this exercise several times before and knew what it was about only in their case it had only been one bell.
"The point of this exercise is for you to get a bell from me by sundown." Kakashi walked over to a set of three posts and placed an alarm clock on the center one. "Use whatever means necessary to get them from me. You may even use your shuriken and kunai. You can only get them from me if you come at me with killer intent."
Naruto stood and stretched. He had done these kind of exercises thousands of times before with Jiriaya-sensei. A confident smile graced his lips. "Yeah yeah yeah. I know the drill. You're gonna withhold food from us if we don't manage to get a bell in the appointed time right?"
Kakashi quirked an eyebrow. The blond already knew the motivation behind the drill? *I guess he knows the rest then.*
"Correct. Since you already know this drill I suppose I can skip the rest of my speech. Are you all ready?" he asked. A moments silence then... "Begin!"
Instead of his three students disappearing from sight like they were supposed to Kakashi found that two vanished and one had remained. The smoke cleared, revealing a grinning Naruto still in the exact same spot he had been in a moment ago.
Kakashi sweatdropped big time and gave Naruto a weird stare. "Uh, you're a bit off. You were supposed to hide."
"Why bother?" Naruto said loudly as he cracked his knuckles "I'll kick your butt right now!"
*That idiot. What does he think he's doing?* Sakura thought.
Sasuke was of the same opinion. *What the hell? That total moron.*
Naruto came in swinging hard with his fists. Kakashi let him come at him until he blocked at the last second. Using his remaining momentum Naruto launched into a series of kicks and swings that made a pretty decent combo. Kakashi blocked every attack however. He could sense that Naruto was testing him and allowed the boy to do so. The Jounin saw a number of flaws in the boy's taijutsu technique but it wasn't bad for a genin of his level.
Finally Kakashi saw an opening so wide you could drive a cart through it. He took it. Naruto swung but found no one on the receiving end. A voice from behind him announced where his target was. "A ninja isn't supposed to be caught from behind over and over idiot."
*Shit. A fire element jutsu at that close range?* Sasuke thought as he saw the seal Kakashi made.
"Hidden Leaf Ancient Taijutsu Supreme Technique..."
Naruto smiled slightly. *I don't think so old man.*
"One thousand years of PAIN!" Kakashi stuck out...and hit nothing but illusion. The fake Naruto disappeared in a poof of smoke as Kakashi's hands passed through it. The Jounin's eye widened in shock. *Henge?* He stood and took a look around. *I underestimated him.*
Naruto was watching Kakashi from a bush on the other side of the field. *If you're not going to take me seriously I'll just have to show you otherwise.* he thought as he began pulling out a kunai. The knife only made it half way out before a pine cone bounced off his head. Naruto turned his head and saw Sasuke sitting hidden in the tree above him. A very faint whisper reached his ears. "If you want to beat him idiot come with me."
The words grated on Naruto. *Does he think he's better then I am? Who the hell does he think he is?* Another pine cone bounced off of his head, this time harder. Naruto abandoned his bush. *I'm going to follow you if only to beat you up.*
In a tree several hundred feet away Naruto found Sasuke and Sakura. Sakura looked like she wanted to punch Naruto. "What the hell were you doing idiot? I thought you already knew this drill?" She practically yelled.
Naruto gave her a similar glare. "Shut up Pinky" he said simply. Sakura's jaw dropped. No guy had ever insulted her like that. Only Ino came close but a girl's insults were a different matter. She was so mad she couldn't even answer back. Inner Sakura however was ready to kill the blond. Sasuke was surprised too. He'd never gone beyond calling her annoying and useless. Naruto obviously didn't have any inhibitions about using guy to guy tactics on girls.
"I owe you for those pine cones pretty boy." Naruto said as he turned his ire on the Uchiha boy. Sasuke let the insult role off him. Insults from other guys his age didn't do much to annoy him.
"This is supposed to be a team drill. We're supposed to work together to get the bells idiot." Sasuke said seriously.
Naruto 'humphed'. "I've never been on a team before. My drills were all one on one. How was I supposed to know?"
"Well we need to work together. Sakura and I have ever only gotten the bells once. I've touched them several times but never been able to get them on my own. He's to fast."
Sakura got over her silent spell but instead of jumping the blond she decided to save his punishment for afterward. "Sasuke's right. We can't do it unless we work together."
The three genin stared at each other for a moment. Naruto was the one that had the power to make or break the team and he knew it. After several moments of quiet Naruto sighed. He'd never done this before but there was a first time for everything. "Fine, what do you want me to do?"
The three teens (or pre-teens, they're all the same to me) sized each other up.
Sasuke's Thoughts - *Damn. This guy doesn't look like much. Wonder how good he is?*
Simple and to the point. The fact that one of the three legendary Sennin had been his teacher was not lost on the Uchiha boy. He knew of their exploits as they had been one of the main topics in the academy ninja history class. If Kakashi was a good example of a Jounin at his peak then one of the three Sennin would almost be like a force of nature. If the blond boy in front of him had grown up with a Sennin as his sensei Sasuke might actually be able to like the boy.
Sakura's Thoughts - *What's with the face paint? He looks like a clown! He is kinda cute though. But still, he doesn't look like a ninja, more like a punk actually.*
Sakura too knew about the boy's teacher and his exploits as one of the three Sennin. She knew a bit more about them then Sasuke did though so she knew that his teacher, Jiriaya, was also well known for other things besides his ninja abilities. Being a book worm AND a constant listener to gossip Sakura knew that he was regarded as a perverted old man with low morals. This by itself didn't endear Jiriaya, and therefore her new teammate, to her being as she was of the female race and therefore a hater of all things perverted. The real kicker was that a month ago she had been able to get a peak at one of the books Kakashi-sensei kept with him almost constantly. Being the avid book worm that she was she noted things others might not have. The name of the author being one of them. Still, she wanted to give the boy in front of her the benefit of the doubt and not immediately peg him as a pervert just because his sensei was one. As for ability she had no doubt he was strong but she held supreme confidence in Sasuke's ability to best the boy. No Genin in the world could touch her Sasuke in combat.
Naruto's Thoughts - *Ah great, a girl! Just my luck. Why does it have to be a girl, and a cute one at that? Uncool. Really uncool! That Sasuke guy looks strong though. Wonder if I can beat him.*
Naruto knew very little about his new teammates. The only thing he knew about them was that they were supposedly smart. He actually knew more about his new teacher then the other two. A more detailed inspection of Kakashi had revealed a certain orange book corner sticking out of the man's pouch. That told him all he needed to know. Naruto instantly knew what book it was. He had seen it a million times before. He had seen it being written along with its companion books while he trained. He had watched as his sensei *gathered data* at every bath house from the Wind country to the Mist. If Jiriaya had one vice, Naruto thought, it was his extremely perverted nature. The fact that he shared it with the world through his books made it even worse. Because of his sensei's moral backwardness Naruto had taken an entirely different path. If girls drove sensei over the edge into a perverted old man then they must be bad. His favorite mantra for training, especially if Jiriaya was off some where spying, became "Hate girls, hate girls, hate girls, HATE GIRLS!" It didn't help that the pair never stayed anywhere long and that they stayed at the outer fringe of society. Naruto had never had much exposer to girls of his age, guys either, and had never seen a girl ninja at all. He knew they existed, but Sakura, and the other ninja women he'd just seen while walking through town, were really the first ones he'd ever seen. He had no idea how to judge how good they were or how to deal with them. Actually he didn't have much experience dealing with ANY kids his age. The only reason he had any manners at all was because he had had to develop them to cover for his sensei when the old man was caught spying or made mistakes. He quickly learned to treat any person older then him with respect. It made it easier to avoid the beatings his sensei received. No one ever believed that such a nice young man had anything to do with an old pervert like Jiriaya.
All of this passed through their minds in moments. Naruto gave Kakashi a dirty little look then smiled at his two new teammates. He decided to try being nice. If that worked then he knew he was on the right path. If not...well...he'd think about that later. "Hi. Nice to meet you." he said trying to put his best foot forward. He gave them his trademark grin.
Kakashi saw the dirty look and quickly deduced the reason. He silently cursed himself for his failure to make sure the book was hidden. He covertly pushed the book deeper into his pouch. *Great way to make a first impression* he thought glumly.
Sakura said hello and Sasuke exchanged head nods. They would spend time to get to know each other later.
The Hokage continued to smile as he turned to depart. "I will leave you four to get to know each other better. If you have trouble finding your way back to your apartment Naruto I'm sure one of your team mates would be glad to help you." The old man disappeared back up the trail he and Naruto had traveled just a few minutes before leaving the blond staring after him.
After a moment of silence Naruto turned back to his new team and gave them another dashing smile. "Alright" he declared loudly, "lets get started Kakashi-sensei. Gotta train hard if we're gonna make it in the Chuunin Exam."
*Well at least he gets to the point* Kakashi thought with a smile. "Ok then. I suppose we should get to know each other better if we're going to be a good team. Why don't you two" here he pointed at Sasuke and Sakura, "tell Naruto a little bit more about yourselves and Naruto can do the same for us. Your likes, dislikes, dreams, things like that."
The four of them found some shade and sat down. Sakura spoke up first. "Well I like reading, studying, training and...boys. And I dislike idiots. Some day I hope to...getsasuketolikemeenoughtokissme." Sakura had been unsure whether to include the boy part in her likes and had had a very difficult time admitting coherently her dream. She mumbled the last half quickly and blushed heavily. She glanced at Sasuke several times then sat still.
Sasuke had understood Sakura perfectly and gave a mental eye roll. The girl never stopped. Naruto on the other hand didn't understand a bit of her last statement. Before he could ask for her to say it again though Sasuke started.
"I don't really like much. I dislike ton's of stuff. And, I wouldn't really call it a dream, an ambition really...to kill a certain man." Kakashi and Sakura weren't surprised to hear this. They had heard it once before when the team first met and had gotten hints of it through the months. Naruto, on the other hand, was speechless. *He's scary* was the only thing Naruto could think of.
Naruto noticed everyone was staring at him. "Ah gomen. Um...well I love RAMEN. Eat it all the time. I also love to train. I don't like perverts, girls and vegetables. And my dream is to become a Hokage."
Stoney silence met his statement. The other three were a bit surprised at his boldness and didn't know what to say for a while. He had been so nice earlier. Where had this bold personality come from?
*Hokage eh?* Kakashi thought, *I thought so. But that pervert comment was meant for me. Gotta make sure I don't read those things in front of him.*
*He...doesn't...like...girls?* Sakura was stunned. The boy was obviously good looking yet he didn't like girls? Not at all? *I guess living with Jiriaya-sama didn't make him a pervert, it made him the exact opposite.*
Sasuke smiled lightly. *Sounds like my kinda guy. I guess this won't be so bad after all.*
"Ok ok...now that that's taken care of we can move on to something more interesting." Kakashi stood and pulled a pair of bells out of his pocket. Sakura and Sasuke smiled, in Sasuke's case a light upward turn of one side of his lips was a smile, as they saw what their teacher was planning. They'd done this exercise several times before and knew what it was about only in their case it had only been one bell.
"The point of this exercise is for you to get a bell from me by sundown." Kakashi walked over to a set of three posts and placed an alarm clock on the center one. "Use whatever means necessary to get them from me. You may even use your shuriken and kunai. You can only get them from me if you come at me with killer intent."
Naruto stood and stretched. He had done these kind of exercises thousands of times before with Jiriaya-sensei. A confident smile graced his lips. "Yeah yeah yeah. I know the drill. You're gonna withhold food from us if we don't manage to get a bell in the appointed time right?"
Kakashi quirked an eyebrow. The blond already knew the motivation behind the drill? *I guess he knows the rest then.*
"Correct. Since you already know this drill I suppose I can skip the rest of my speech. Are you all ready?" he asked. A moments silence then... "Begin!"
Instead of his three students disappearing from sight like they were supposed to Kakashi found that two vanished and one had remained. The smoke cleared, revealing a grinning Naruto still in the exact same spot he had been in a moment ago.
Kakashi sweatdropped big time and gave Naruto a weird stare. "Uh, you're a bit off. You were supposed to hide."
"Why bother?" Naruto said loudly as he cracked his knuckles "I'll kick your butt right now!"
*That idiot. What does he think he's doing?* Sakura thought.
Sasuke was of the same opinion. *What the hell? That total moron.*
Naruto came in swinging hard with his fists. Kakashi let him come at him until he blocked at the last second. Using his remaining momentum Naruto launched into a series of kicks and swings that made a pretty decent combo. Kakashi blocked every attack however. He could sense that Naruto was testing him and allowed the boy to do so. The Jounin saw a number of flaws in the boy's taijutsu technique but it wasn't bad for a genin of his level.
Finally Kakashi saw an opening so wide you could drive a cart through it. He took it. Naruto swung but found no one on the receiving end. A voice from behind him announced where his target was. "A ninja isn't supposed to be caught from behind over and over idiot."
*Shit. A fire element jutsu at that close range?* Sasuke thought as he saw the seal Kakashi made.
"Hidden Leaf Ancient Taijutsu Supreme Technique..."
Naruto smiled slightly. *I don't think so old man.*
"One thousand years of PAIN!" Kakashi stuck out...and hit nothing but illusion. The fake Naruto disappeared in a poof of smoke as Kakashi's hands passed through it. The Jounin's eye widened in shock. *Henge?* He stood and took a look around. *I underestimated him.*
Naruto was watching Kakashi from a bush on the other side of the field. *If you're not going to take me seriously I'll just have to show you otherwise.* he thought as he began pulling out a kunai. The knife only made it half way out before a pine cone bounced off his head. Naruto turned his head and saw Sasuke sitting hidden in the tree above him. A very faint whisper reached his ears. "If you want to beat him idiot come with me."
The words grated on Naruto. *Does he think he's better then I am? Who the hell does he think he is?* Another pine cone bounced off of his head, this time harder. Naruto abandoned his bush. *I'm going to follow you if only to beat you up.*
In a tree several hundred feet away Naruto found Sasuke and Sakura. Sakura looked like she wanted to punch Naruto. "What the hell were you doing idiot? I thought you already knew this drill?" She practically yelled.
Naruto gave her a similar glare. "Shut up Pinky" he said simply. Sakura's jaw dropped. No guy had ever insulted her like that. Only Ino came close but a girl's insults were a different matter. She was so mad she couldn't even answer back. Inner Sakura however was ready to kill the blond. Sasuke was surprised too. He'd never gone beyond calling her annoying and useless. Naruto obviously didn't have any inhibitions about using guy to guy tactics on girls.
"I owe you for those pine cones pretty boy." Naruto said as he turned his ire on the Uchiha boy. Sasuke let the insult role off him. Insults from other guys his age didn't do much to annoy him.
"This is supposed to be a team drill. We're supposed to work together to get the bells idiot." Sasuke said seriously.
Naruto 'humphed'. "I've never been on a team before. My drills were all one on one. How was I supposed to know?"
"Well we need to work together. Sakura and I have ever only gotten the bells once. I've touched them several times but never been able to get them on my own. He's to fast."
Sakura got over her silent spell but instead of jumping the blond she decided to save his punishment for afterward. "Sasuke's right. We can't do it unless we work together."
The three genin stared at each other for a moment. Naruto was the one that had the power to make or break the team and he knew it. After several moments of quiet Naruto sighed. He'd never done this before but there was a first time for everything. "Fine, what do you want me to do?"