"Tainted Demon Eyes"

By Nes Mikel

Acknowledgment;

I herby acknowledge that the work of fiction presented here is for my own personal amusement and entertainment purposes alone. Most of the story, characters, place names and other etc stuff in this fiction are copyright Naruto, Kishimoto Masashi, Weekly Shounen Jump, and any others I might have forgot. Enjoy.

- Chapter Four -

"That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine"

"I believe you are the only one fit for the job." – Third

The message was quick, and brief.

"The Hokage wishes for you to be present at his office at 1100 hours."

Tossing the small piece of paper into a nearby trash-bin, he closed his mailbox and stubbornly retreated back into his apartment. As he scanned over the other pieces of mail he received one by one, he also quickly checked the clock that hung forth from a nearby wall with his free eye. He muttered an almost-sigh briefly in annoyance. He was two hours late already.

Geez…

Not that he was worried about it, of course, because try as he may he couldn't come up with a good excuse for being late. Even if he did come up with something, and even if the excuse was actually true (which rarely happened), in most cases people wouldn't believe him. His reputation saw to that. Then again, many people knew about his reputation so they expected him to be late, which was the primary reason he wasn't worried about being late in the first place.

Today, like many other days before today, the silver-haired man couldn't think up of any good excuses for being late. Well, he did have a real reason this time around, but it would've been better if he came up with some other fake excuse instead of telling the truth – he had actually overslept. It was sad, he knew, but unfortunately true. Being a Jounin of the Hidden Leaf didn't help him wake up from slumber any earlier even if he tried, an unfortunate trait he held since childhood. He supposed he should've expected some sort of summons from the Third Hokage at a time like this when he was least prepared. A thought briefly flickered in his mind for the Hokage being rather mean by not calling him up in much more louder fashion (like someone banging on his apartment door, for instances). It sounded more realistic than sticking a small piece of paper in his mailbox.

Quickly dressing up in usual Jounin uniform, tying his Leaf forehead protector over his left eye and adjusting a mask over his mouth, he jumped out of the window of his apartment into the brilliant day outside. The breeze was calm, the sun bright, and the crowds below him lively. Yes, it seemed perfect, nothing out of place, and everything, as it should be…

He narrowed his visible one eye in frustration. Not many shared his thoughts, but he felt it was a bad omen. Not that he had any proof of such things, of course, but he couldn't help but quote a line from something called Murphy's Law he learned way back then…

If anything can go wrong, it will.

Wishing that sinking feeling would just fade away, he quickly made his way towards the Hokage mansion before he was later than he already was. Fortunately, the trip was quick, and he ceased his movements once he landed in front of the doorsteps of the looming tower. Taking a step inside the old building, he nodded momentarily to the sentry posted to guard the place and walked inside confidently. After making his way through a few corridors and staircases, he arrived in front of a large two-door office. He was about to twist the knob open when a voice behind him stopped him.

"Ah, Kakashi, I figured you would show up around now. I was expecting you."

Hatake Kakashi slowly turned his body around to face his superior. He bowed his head forward in respect. "Good afternoon Hokage-sama." he raised his hand and scratched the back of his head. He tried to smile apologetically. "You see, I was training hard yesterday, and I overslept…"

The Third Hokage waved his hand dismissively. "I know." he said, smiling. He was one of the few people who could actually tell if Kakashi's excuse for being late was true or not. "Now then," the leader of the Hidden Leaf took a step towards his own office and opened the door for the both of them. "Come inside, we have things to discuss."

"Of course." replied Kakashi, a step behind his elder leader. His line of sight drifted from the left to the right to scout out the sparsely furnished room before he quietly closed the door behind him. When he was sure the door was firmly shut to ensure the room was now soundproof, he took the initiative and spoke first. "Why was I called?"

The Hokage was silent as he walked over to his desk and sat down in the chair behind it. He took his favorite smoking pipe from one of its drawers and lit the device before he finally answered Kakashi's question. "This is sudden, but I would like you to do me a favor."

He usually wasn't the one to resort to corny lines, but Kakashi said it anyway. "Your wish is my command. What is it you want me to do?"

Calmly breathing out smoke, the Hokage continued. "Orientation was held for twenty-seven Academy graduate students today." It wasn't a question, nor a statement. Rather, the Hokage put it in a way that was somewhere in between.

Kakashi caught the drift. "You want me to be a Jounin instructor for one of the teams?"

"Not just any team."

"Does this have to do something about the team's members?"

"Yes." the Hokage put down his smoking pipe on the table surface for a moment as he stared directly at Kakashi. He looked serious, a firm and hard expression etched on his face. "I have put Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke in the same team."

He understood immediately. "…I see."

"Given your…" the Hokage paused as he carefully chose his words. "Given your 'connection' to the three of them, I believe you are the only one fit for the job."

"But surely you're aware of my track record in handling Genin teams-"

His feeble attempt at a protest was dismissed just as easily. "I will trust your judgment on this matter. Now go," the Hokage urged him. "Your students are waiting for you."

With a nod, the Jounin vanished from the Hokage's office in a puff of smoke.

"Where the hell is he?" Sakura exclaimed. She poked her head outside from one of the classroom's sliding doors as she scanned the hallway outside, hoping to catch even a glimpse of the person they were expecting. "All the other teams have gone off with their new instructors… Iruka-sensei also left… but we've been waiting here for two freakin' hours already!"

"You're absolutely right, Sakura-san." A calm voice agreed, as she heard someone approach her from behind. "Perhaps we should use this opportunity to-"

"Don't you dare touch me, Sasuke. I'll kick your ass." Sakura growled at him, clearly irritated at the Uchiha boy for even trying to strike up a conversation with her. "I never asked for your opinion."

Sasuke tried to counter her words by putting up a badly covered-up facade of hurt. "How mean, I was just trying to-"

She cut him off for a second time. "I can get meaner if I really want to." she gave him one of her special death glares. "So shut up okay?"

The black haired boy only shrugged, but seemed to understand Sakura's threat and backed off for the time being, retreating into the near corner of the classroom as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. He was probably attempting to act 'cool' in front of her again… Sighing both out of relief and disgust, she hastily poked her head out of the classroom once more to see if anyone else had bothered to show up yet. It didn't take long for her patience to wear and she promptly went back to what she was doing before – sitting on a chair being bored.

Sakura really didn't like where her team was going already. She hated Sasuke, and therefore wasn't even in the mood to talk to him, much less be near him. Sakura already labeled him as a vermin that would destroy all womankind and targeted him for mean-spirited pranks – which had unfortunately been thwarted earlier by the mobs of girls were acting as his guardians. I'll make you suffer someday. Sakura made a silent vow within.

Her other teammate, Naruto, didn't turn out to be much better. He was also sitting on a chair not too far away from her, clearly looking bored as she was, but she had yet succeeded in making conversation with him. He looked like a typical loner type much like her before Iruka-sensei acknowledged her, minus the hyperactive personality. Well… basically, Sakura thought he was weird, and she felt awkward talking to him.

Well, I gotta start somewhere… might as well try. Sakura thought and she got up from her seat and steadily approached him.

At first glace, Naruto didn't look like a person that kept to himself – his attire was flamboyant: he wore a bright orange jumpsuit with a few signs of wear here and there, and tied his headband proudly around his forehead. He possessed blue eyes, long, spiky blond hair which was his greatest feature. Inner Sakura mentally scratched her head at this. Somehow, she and Outer Sakura thought they had seen that hairstyle somewhere before…

"Hiya." Sakura raised one of her hands in greeting. Naruto looked at her briefly with the corner of his eye. "Naruto, right?"

"Yes." he said.

"There we go, at least you know how to speak!" Sakura said enthusiastically as she plopped down on a chair besides him. "I believe we haven't been properly introduced." She offered him a hand. "I'm Haruno Sakura! Pleased to meet you Naruto!"

Naruto stared at the extended hand for a while as if it was the oddest thing in the world, but he eventually took his teammate's invitation and shook on it. "Uzumaki Naruto." he introduced himself simply, then let go of her hand. Sakura felt rather disappointed at his unresponsive attitude, but she shrugged it off. Yup, weird guy.

"Well," the most unpleasant voice in the world for Sakura started to speak. "I believe I haven't been properly introduced as well." Sasuke had somehow crept up to them during their brief conversation (was that even a conversation?) and had leaned forward into a position where his face was dangerously close to hers. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke, and I-"

He was interrupted yet again when Sakura attempted to slap him. Sasuke was prepared for it this time, however, and he wisely took a step back to avoid the blow completely – but Sakura would be dammed if she stopped there. I'm going to inflict some serious physical pain on this womanizer! Sakura thought as she grabbed the small book she was reading from earlier today from her pouch and threw it at the bugger with all her might. Unfortunately, the projectile missed completely, and instead flew towards the classroom door.

Nobody expected for the door to open then.

Sakura helplessly watched as the book found its mark upon the person who walked in at that unfortunate moment, the flat part of the book hitting the tall man square in the face.

"He did it!" Sakura quickly pointed an accusing finger at Sasuke, attempting to cover up the blame.

It was obvious even to the untrained eye that Team Seven had failed to make a good first impression on their new Jounin instructor.

How troublesome…

Kakashi was not a member of the Nara clan by any means, but he couldn't help but feel lazy at task he was assigned to. True, these three young children who he was ordered to teach were unique and had conflicting pasts that could potentially erupt into something huge later on, but these were still children after all – and children tended to be annoying. He could see why the Hokage had assigned him, of all Jounins in this village, to these three, but he really didn't think he was the only one capable for the task.

After wondering what he should do next for a brief moment, he decided to take his three students to the roof of a nearby building to have a brief meeting. Arriving at their destination, he quickly got comfortable atop the roof fence and looked over the three. He didn't want to waste anymore time than he already has, so he opened up a conversation topic immediately. "Well, how about we start with some introductions?"

"Introductions?" the black-haired boy named Uchiha Sasuke spoke. "What should we say?"

The Jounin spread his hands out little as he shrugged. "Well, how about your likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, hobbies…" he crossed his arms in front of him when he couldn't think up of anything else. "Well, stuff like that."

"Why won't you introduce yourself first?" a quiet voice said, its source being Uzumaki Naruto. "We know nothing about you."

"Me?" Kakashi pointed a finger at himself. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you guys my likes and dislikes. Dreams for the future? Hmm…. Well, I have a lot of hobbies…" he trailed off, lost in thought.

"Hey, hey, wait a second!" Haruno Sakura, the hyperactive pink-haired girl shook an accusing finger at him. "All we learned about you is your name!"

"So?" Kakashi shrugged again. "Anyhow, it's your turn. You first."

"Fine!" Sakura grumbled. "I'm Haruno Sakura! My favorite thing in the entire world is Dango! What I like even more is the Dango Iruka-sensei buys me at the Ichiraku! I don't like… well, I don't like Sasuke!" Sasuke's face seemed to fault a little upon her announcement, but he managed to refrain himself from making lewd comments this time to avoid the fury of pink. Ignorant of Sasuke's thoughts and feelings, the girl continued. "My hobbies… ummm, reading books I guess. Novels. And my dream for the future is to become not only the best kunoichi in the village, but the best ninja and become the future Hokage!"

So this girl has grown up in an interesting way…

"Okay, next."

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke. The things I like… well, it more has to do with my hobby… but…" he stole a glace to the girl sitting as far away as she could possibly can. "I'm sure you get the picture." he said bluntly, drawing a distasteful glare from Sakura which he didn't seem to take notice of. "I don't have any particular dislikes… ah, annoying people will be one of them. My dreams for the future? Well… I would like to be stronger…" he trailed off, sounding unsure of himself.

Geez, if he'd be a little more ambitious he'd be best at everything… he probably feels overshadowed by his older brother. I guess that was to be expected.

Kakasahi sighed inwardly, and then glanced over to the quiet boy in back. "Alright, the last one."

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto." he began, as if it were a speech he'd carefully prepared. "I have many things I don't like, but then again I don't really like anything. The closest thing to a hobby of mine will have to be… training. And…" he paused a little, carefully contemplating his next few words. "It's not exactly a 'dream', but I have two goals. One is to finish what my father has started… and… to kill a certain woman."

Oblivious to the two other students who started at Naruto with weird and confused glances, Kakashi narrowed his eyes in trivial frustration.

…I thought so. The 'Ne' incident still weighs heavy in his mind…

"Well then, you three are all interesting…" Kakashi said, trying to break whatever tension his newly formed team felt. "We'll begin our missions starting tomorrow."

"Hell yeah, now we're talking!" that was Sakura, with all of her cheerfulness. "What kind of missions, sir?" she gave him a mock salute.

"First, we are going to do something we can do with just the four of us."

"Well, spill it! What will it be?" asked the excited pink-haired girl.

Behind his mask, Kakashi formed a small smile. He was going to have some fun with this. "Survival training." he said.

"Survival training?" it was Sasuke who asked the questions this time. "Why is training our mission? We have done enough training back at the Academy."

Kakashi's smile widened, still hidden from view thanks to the black cloth that covered his mouth. "I'm your opponent, but this isn't normal training."

"Then what is it?" Sakura asked, a slight irritated tone in her voice.

Kakashi tilted his head downwards; he was unable to hold back the chuckled sound that soon came forth from his mouth. Oh, these kids are so clueless…

"What's so funny?" that was Naruto, sounding just as much irritated as Sakura before him.

"No, well…" Kakashi managed a slight pause within his fit of giggles. "It's just that… when I tell you guys this, you guys are definitely going to flip."

"Huh?" Sakura said, obviously confused.

"Of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will be chosen as Genin." he answered. "The rest will be sent back to the Academy. So that means… that this 'training' is actually a super-difficult test with a failure rate of over sixty-six percent!"

He observed the unique facial expressions written on the face of his three students for a moment before he erupted into light laughter. "Haha, told you you'd flip…" he chuckled.

"What the hell?" that was Sakura, obviously. "But… but we worked so hard… then what was the point in graduating?"

"That?" Kakashi shrugged. "That's just to scout out the possible Genin candidates."

"Whaaaaat?"

He ignored her outburst and continued. "Anyway, tomorrow you will be graded on the training field. Bring all your shinobi equipment and assemble there at five in the morning. Well then…" he got off from the railing he was sitting and turned to leave. "Dismissed. Oh, and one more thing… skip breakfast. You'll throw up."

Oh, what he would give for a camera now.

Even though he didn't show it, Nartuo was probably the most annoyed out of his three teammates. At first he only felt disrespect for his new Jounin sensei when he failed to dodge the book that was thrown at him when they first met, even if it were unintentional. And then his cocky attitude… that was just plain aggravating. Then came this sudden 'mission' where the balance of his Genin career already hung on the line. He couldn't fail here. He had his own life mission to accomplish.

Grumbling to himself, he woke up at four-thirty in the morning and headed to the not-so-distant ninja training field. He came to this place several times, so he knew the area well. He expected to be the first one there but was mildly surprised when he found Sakura there first – although she was sleeping whist leaning back on her small pink backpack. As he slowly approached, he briefly wondered if he should wake her from her slumber, but to his slight surprise she opened her eyes before he had a chance to shake her awake.

"Mm… Naruto?" she said sleepily as she sat up, rubbing her eyes.

He nodded, keeping a relative comfortable distance between him and her. "Yes, Sakura-chan. Good morning."

Sakura looked at him with a bewildered look before he observed a slight blush come to her cheeks. "Don't call me chan, Naruto. It's… not fitting." she smiled lightly.

"Sakura-san, then?" he asked.

She made a face. "Ugh, no. You calling me like that will remind me of Sasuke. Sakura is fine, Naruto. I don't call you Naruto-kun or Naruto-san."

"That's true." he mused. He saw her taking long blinks a few times, probably trying to rid of the sleepiness that clouded her eyes. "Sakura, how long have you been here?" he asked.

Sakura slowly climbed to her feet. "Hmm… I dunno. About ten minutes?"

"Were you here first?"

She shrugged. "I guess. I don't see that lecher around."

Naruto smiled faintly. "True." He soon noticed that Sakura was staring directly at him. "Is there anything wrong?"

"No, it's just… say, can I ask you something?"

"Yes?"

"…have I met you before?"

Naruto said nothing. Instead, he stared at his female teammate, and narrowed his eyes in pity. She was ignorant – of course his face will seem familiar. His father's face was a common site for all who lived in this village. Himself, he was just a shadow…

He turned his back, instead focusing his thoughts on the trials that were to come.

Sakura was furious. Many small, irritating things added up, and it was reaching boiling point.

First annoyance: waking up so freakin' early.

Second annoyance: Naruto giving her the cold shoulder. And just when she was thinking he could talk after all – she just couldn't understand him. Did she say something wrong?

Third annoyance: When Sasuke appeared soon afterwards and tried to smooth talk her. What was even more frustrating was that he wasn't just all talk, he was actually quite good in fights and dodged and blocked her blows easily.

And Fourth: when Kakashi-sensei finally showed up… six hours late. And what did he say when he did?

"Hey guys, good morning."

Oh god, the nerve!

"You're LATE!" Sakura literally screamed at him, shaking her annoyed fist at her. Argh, she wanted to beat the crap out of this bastard! Sasuke besides her nodded in agreement (which she rather appreciated, for a change) and Naruto acted as if he didn't care.

"Sorry, sorry! You see, a black cat crossed my path, and…" Sakura gave him the death glare, and Kakashi stopped his excuse right there. "Ah, well, anyway…" Trying his best to ignore the looks his students gave him, he then took out a rather large alarm clock from his backpack and set it down on top of a nearby tree stump. "Okay, it's set to noon."

"Huh, what's that?" Sakura asked, clueless.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes in visible annoyance. "It's an alarm clock, can't you tell? Or is your forehead too big to comprehend?"

That did it. She could've just let that insult slide, but having heard that same insult from Ino yesterday (the mere thought of what transpired yesterday made her want to screech in anger) it was rather difficult for her to hold back as instinctive rage took over her mind. Before either Naruto or Sasuke could stop her, Sakura quickly unstrapped her weapons holster, pulled out a kunai and raised it high above her head with intent to throw it at her insensitive teacher with all her might.

Sakura suddenly felt a cold, pointy metal prickle the back of her neck, freezing her motions solid.

"Sheesh, slow down…" A cool voice behind her said. Sakura blinked once, then twice, and her eyes opened wide in surprise. Her teacher in front of her had disappeared from sight, only to be replaced by the man who was now standing behind her, and held her arm in a position which made her point her own kunai to the back of her neck. "I haven't even started explaining yet. You're a feisty one aren't you?"

I couldn't even see him…

"I, uh…" she tried to speak, but her words were stuck in her throat, unable to express.

Much to her relief, Kakashi soon released his hold and Sakura felt her arms fall limp to her side. "Well, at least I guess that means you're willing to take this exam seriously." She saw him smile behind his mask. He took a quick look at Naruto and Sasuke, who both had their hands in their holsters, ready to use its contents if need be. He nodded a small nod. "And you guys too. Maybe I can start liking you guys." He added.

He coughed once to ease the tension. "Well then, now that I have your full attention, let me explain." A near-silent ring echoed the premises as he took out two small silver bells from his pockets. "Here are two bells. Your task is to take these from me before noon. Those who can't get a bell by noon, will get no lunch. Not only that," Kakashi motioned over with his head to the three tree stumps located in the center of the training area. "I'll tie you to one of those stumps and eat lunch in front of you."

Sakura felt her stomach growl. Dammit, so this is why he told us not to eat…

"You only need to get one bell to pass." Kakashi continued his explanation. "There are only two, so one of you three will definitely be tied to a stump. Also…" Sakura saw Kakashi's eyes narrow a little. "The person who doesn't take the bell will fail. So, at least one of you will be sent back to the Academy." he then visibly relaxed, as he tossed the bells slightly in the air and caught them back again with a flick of the wrist. "You can even use your Shurikens. You won't succeed unless you come at me with the intention to kill."

Sakura gulped down her nervousness she felt building up in her throat. This was serious. It was no joke. She will need – no, she had to get those bells, or her dream would come to an end. She was the type of person who didn't believe in chances, who didn't believe in 'oh there's always next year' kind of crap. I have to succeed.

"Well then… let's get going." she heard her teacher mumble lazily. "Ready… start!"

The three students all jumped in different locations, blinking away from view.

It was the most basic of strategies – the art of concealment. To hide oneself from enemy, and attack with the element of surprise; a tactic so simple, yet effective and a critical skill that separated the dead and the alive in the field of battle. At first, when his students vanished from his immediate vision, Kakashi contemplated the thought of commending them for their decision to hide away the first chance they got.

So he had to convince himself it was only natural that he staggered a bit back in mild surprise when one of his students didn't hide himself away after all. Uchiha Sasuke stood before him as if he were proud, his arms crossed in front of him, chin high, static and seemingly prepared.

"Come and fight me!" he declared.

Kakashi crooked his head a bit to the side as he scratched his head. "Umm, you're a bit off…"

"Tsk." he heard Sasuke say, and watched his hands reach in his nin-tool pouch. "The only thing that's a bit off is your haircut." Sasuke tossed a few kunai towards his immediate direction, which Kakashi easily sidestepped.

He didn't miss the boy's actions afterwards. To the untrained eye it would've looked as if Sasuke had vanished in front of him with a puff of smoke, but in reality he was already behind him prepared to knock him off his feet with a leg sweep. Kakashi had to admit to himself that he held some skill to take his behind like that in the brief second he was distracted from dodging the Kunai, but at the same time he knew Sasuke was still too naïve. His student's attack hit nothing but the air and space with Kakashi had just previously occupied. Instead, he now stood behind Sasuke, taking his behind just like his student had done seconds ago. He teasingly then tapped onto Sasuke's shoulder, startling the boy who was so sure his kick hit at his intended target. Instinctively, he spun around and tried to deliver a backhand punch at his instructor, but to his demise he was no longer there, and had instead retreated back to his original position.

"Decent. I'll give you that." Kakashi tilted his head back slightly as his right hand went towards his item poach. "For that, I'll teach you something. Ninja Fighting Lesson #1 – taijutsu.".

Sakura, who hid herself behind the bushes, watched with some interest the fight between the lecher and the teacher. Well, not just a lecher, but also a definite show off. She didn't miss the tiny wink he threw at her when Sasuke declared his intention to stay put and fight. What a moron… he probably wants to show what he's capable in front of me so I'll swoon over his strength. Ha! Like I'll fall for that!

She had to quickly change her initial hiding spot, since Sakura was pretty damn sure her teacher knew whom that wink was for, and thus revealed her position. So not only did that Sasuke bastard try to show off some idiotic macho or whatever, but he had put her at risk! She mentally noted to herself to strangle him later, but seeing the brief skirmish between Sasuke and Kakashi, the thought faded away. This teacher of hers was strong. An image formed in her mind of Sasuke being beaten up to a pulp in front of her, and she quietly smiled at the thought. Her smile almost disappeared however when she quickly realized just what this teacher was capable of. She was going to have to think something that was damn clever to pry those bells off this sensei of hers.

Satisfied with her new hiding position, she watched the battle between Sasuke and Kakashi carefully. If she was going to try to get those bells off him, then she had to digest every bit of information she could get her hands on to work an advantage

Later, she considered regretting that decision as she watched Kakashi pull out a perverted book from his pouch…

Inner Sakura quickly reminded herself that she ONLY knew of that book because she needed a reference guide when she was struggling with Sexy no Jutsu, not because she was…okay, train of thought, stop right there.

…and took advantage of an infuriated Sasuke to perform the Hidden Leaf's Ancient Taijutsu Secret Technique – 'a thousand years of pain'.

It was simply a powerful ass poke.

"I'm surrounded by idiots." she said to herself quietly.

Not too far away, Naruto was thinking the exact same thing as he watched Sasuke fall into the nearby river with a loud splash. "Tsk… this isn't going to be easy."

"Hoh, you're going up against that hentai?" a voice behind him said. Wha…? Naruto quickly spun around. The owner didn't even bother trying to hide, as the figure that spoke raised a hand in greeting in plain sight of Naruto. "Hey."

Naruto was silent for a while. "…what are you doing here." he then finally said. It wasn't really a question. It was a demand.

The laughing eyes of the slightly older boy behind Naruto never wavered from his indirect threat. "I was worried about your sorry ass?" he replied, his expression ever indifferent.

Naruto grunted and turned his attention back to the battle between Sasuke and Kakashi. As he watched Sasuke struggle out of the river, he spat words back at the boy behind him. "You're in my way."

"And I should be hurt by sorry ass's words?

"Go away. You can get me disqualified." his eyes never drifted away from his current focus.

"I never said I was going to help you fight your battle, sorry ass."

"…that's three times." Naruto was quickly running out of patience. The quiet giggle that followed was certainly not helping. Then it stopped.

"Sorry ass."

"…four."

No giggle this time. "I dropped by your apartment just a few minutes ago."

"…" he was silent. Naruto already knew what was coming next.

A sigh. "Stubborn bastard."

"…"

"I made that especially for your sorr-" the older boy paused, and as if he was actually considerate, the black-haired boy changed the words that he intended to finish the sentence with. "For you."

"…"

"You can use it a little, right?"

This time Naruto decided to break his unresponsive attitude and nodded once.

"I'll put it here. Do whatever you want with it." And with that, the presence of the older boy behind him vanished, only leaving behind some parting words. "Sorry ass." And he was gone.

"…that's five." Naruto mumbled as he reached his hands to feel the item the older boy left behind. A scroll. It was something Naruto had left at home, and seeing that he did, the older boy brought it to him. He really didn't want to use it. Using it meant that he was following in that older boy's footsteps as he was copying his techniques. It was true that he learned it from him… but he wanted to be different. He wanted to be strong in his own way. Above everything, he was tired of being a shadow. Of his father. Of his family, his comra…

"…ame. Why, why did you…?"

No.

No.

I will not end up like them.

"How stupid." Naruto commented as he observed Sasuke get beaten up into a pulp while the teacher calmly continued to read that odd book of his. He stared at the scroll he now gripped in his hand. He smiled. The decision was already made. "…pfft, why am I being like this. I'm not following in his footsteps… I just stole this from him. That's all." Naruto's hand went over the small wooden pole that was stuck in the middle of the scroll. He then twisted open the top of the pole and pulled out a small brush from within. Likewise, he twisted open the bottom and pulled to reveal a cartridge full of ink, with a small hole wide enough to dip the brush in.

"I won't let you tell me otherwise, Sai."

He opened the scroll, and started to draw on the blank pages.

Hey, what's wrong Sasuke?

Remember, if you don't get a bell by noon, no lunch for you!

- Hatake Kakashi

-

Tainted Demon Eyes

- Chapter Four -

"That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine"

-END-

Author's Notes:

Oh. My. God.

It's been so long. I can't believe it took me, like, an entire year to finish this chapter up. I had flashes of inspiration here and there, but for the longest time I couldn't just sit in front of the computer and type out something that was satisfactory. And finally, I have finished writing that is presentable to the outside world… at least, I hope so. Format is giving me headaches though. I have been away too long. I'll probably have to tear down the first three chapters just so the format looks the same again… uuuugh.

Oh, and I should probably put it in the acknowledgements section that this fanfiction has manga spoilers in it, huh… with Sai appearing so soon in the story timeline like that… oh well.

And yes, Sai is not an OC. In fact, I doubt I will be introducing any OC's in this fic. Of course, many many characters will be OOC since, after all, this in an AU (although yes, there were parts in this chapter that was nearly a copy of the original… I'm working on that, trust me). Anyway, about Sai. If you've been up-to-speed on the latest Naruto chapters, you'll know who he is, and what the scroll Naruto holding does (although I think some of you can already guess from the hints). In fact, I will most likely be introducing some Naruto characters much earlier into the Naruto storyline compared to the original. Sai is merely the first one to appear in this fanfic.

Anyways… this chapter, a little glimpse into the past of Naruto (not a very happy one), and Sasuke beaten up to a pulp with Inner Sakura cheering at the sight… so sorry Sasuke fans. I don't hate him or anything. Really. He will have his moments, I promise.

Reviews, comments, criticism, feel free to drop them by!

- Nes Mikel

(Chapter Format Revised, 01/15/06)

Japanese Word Translations in Chapter Four (in order of appearance):

hokage – literal translation is "shadow of fire". Title given to the leaders of the Hidden Leaf.

jounin – expert-class ninjas on the ninja hierarchy.

sama – attached after a name, could mean "lord" or "master". Either work.

genin – novice-class ninjas on the ninja hierarchy.

sensei – teacher

san– attached after a name, it is a way of calling people out of respect. It could mean "Mr", "Miss" or "Mrs".

dango – a traditional Japanese sweet/snack. Packed full of stuff called 'anko', which I'm not exactly sure what it's made out of.

ichiraku – a ramen stand in "Naruto". Literal translation is "easy one". I think. Could be wrong.

ne – literal translation is "root". In "Naruto", this is a name of an actual Anbu squad.

shinobi – literal translation is "those who stealth". Another word for ninjas.

chan– attached after a name, it is a way of calling people who are considerably younger than you, or a girl, or as a form of a pet name. Closest translation will be "Miss", but this word can be used for men, too, so it is rather incorrect.

kun – attached after a name, basically it's used to call someone who is younger than you or about the same age. What makes it confusing is that it's used in some other situations that is rather hard to explain.

kunai – small, metallic daggers used by ninjas. Mostly used as throwing weapons, but unlike shuriken it could also be used as melee weapons.

shuriken – a small, star -shaped, quadruple-bladed throwing weapon used by ninjas. However, shuriken's shape and size can vary widely. The example I gave in this explanation is just the most common form of shrunken.

nin – shortened version of the word 'ninja'.

taijutsu – literal translation is "body technique." In "Naruto", these are physical combat techniques used by ninjas. Some combat taijutsus require the use of chakra, but most do not.

sexy no jutsu – sexy (seduction) technique. Sexy and Naked lady appears in front of you. A one shot KO technique to most men.

hentai – pervert. Typically used as an insult.