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Teams of Yesterday, Teams of Today
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Kakashi's eyes shot open. Drops of sweat ran down his forehead. He'd awoken from a nightmare, the one nightmare that accompanied his life. It had been a while since he last dreamt of his former teammates. And of their deaths. He got up to get a glass of water, downing it all at once. He groaned at his own body, at the irrational uproar it was in.
His heart was still beating heavily when he looked at the clock. It was almost time to meet with the new Genin. He knew well enough that this new team of his caused the resurgence of his nightmares. After all, he was close to becoming a squad leader again. All he had to do was let them pass his aptitude test. All he had to do was accept them as his students. Then he'd be their leader and teacher. He'd be responsible for their lives. Responsible for the lives of not only three, but four children.
Not exactly a responsibility he wanted in his life.
Kakashi took a shower, trying to wash away the uneasy feeling sitting in his stomach. The cold water felt refreshing on his skin, but it couldn't reach his insides. He ran a hand through his wet hair. There was no need to worry, he told himself. These four kids would not pass his exam anyway. They weren't compatible with each other. It was obvious. He dried himself up and sat down on his bed again to continue reading Icha Icha. It would take his mind off things.
Hours passed with Kakashi being immersed in Jiraiya's bestseller. He only took his eyes off the book when someone knocked on his window. It was Gai.
"Today is the day, Kakashi. You will get your own Genin squad and become their teacher. Yet another discipline I can show you, my eternal rival, that I am able to surpass you." He jumped into the room, his fist raised far into the air. He was filled with the anticipation and excitement Kakashi was missing.
Kakashi glanced at the time. It was later than he'd expected. "Yeah, I guess I should get going soon," he said, but didn't move.
"Here, I brought some lunch boxes, again." He held up a bag and put them on a table. "Don't misuse them like last time. They are supposed to be eaten together after your team passed, not as part of the test itself. A good teacher-student relationship is important. You should listen to me on that since I am the more experienced teacher here. And my students definitely think of me as the greatest teacher in all of Konoha." He threw a thumbs up at himself and showed Kakashi a toothy grin. It had been Gai who proposed to the Hokage that Kakashi should become a squad leader for the new Genin. And it visibly bothered him when Kakashi would go on to let every single student assigned to him fail.
Kakashi stared at him a while, not twitching even a bit. It was for the best that Gai didn't know he'd already told his students to skip breakfast. "Four lunch boxes?" He looked at the bag.
"One for each of your students and one for yourself, of course. Eating together is the first step to form a strong and flourishing relationship."
"Well, I was assigned a four-man squad though. But no worries, I'm sure at least one will fail anyway." He smiled at his friend, who looked like he'd just been stroked by lightning.
"A four-man squad? Dammit, Kakashi. You aren't even their teacher yet, still you already surpass my team in numbers." There was a moment of theatrical sobbing. But then Gai's goofy mood changed into a slightly more serious one. "Please, Kakashi. Promise me you give them a chance." He folded his hands, begging. "You can't fail every student. Just think of all the possibilities for new challenges if we are both teachers of Genin. We could go on missions together, train together, have competitions between our Genin. As eternal rivals, we are destined to compete against each other in every part of our life. I know I'm having a head start on this, but knowing you, you will catch up in no time."
Kakashi nodded to reassure his friend. But it hadn't been his fault that his former Genin couldn't live up to his expectations. He hadn't failed them on purpose. They had failed themselves.
"Oh, you are reading a new book?" Gai picked Icha Icha up. To Kakashi's surprise, he barely blushed at all. Instead, another fire ignited inside of him. "Kakashi, you truly are my eternal rival. Always furthering your knowledge in all aspects of life. I shall run to the next bookstore right now and buy all the books on love and passion." With those words, Gai jumped out of the window again and vanished.
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Despite already being hours too late, Kakashi ended up on the graveyard instead of the training grounds. He stood in front of Rin's grave, though there wasn't really much to tell her. So he just stared down at the cold stone and the name engraved on it.
"I knew you'd come here eventually."
When Kakashi turned around, he found Jiraiya standing behind him. He turned away again. Jiraiya's intentions were obvious, and he didn't want to hear it.
"I guess from today on, you have both Naruto and Sasuke on your team," he said.
"If you are here to tell me to not fail them today, don't. That's something only I will decide."
The two were surrounded by graves, and Jiraiya knew many of the names they bore. Too many.
"You've gotten away with failing all those students so far because no one knew their names. But that's different now, Kakashi. You cannot do the same with Naruto Namikaze and Sasuke Uchiha."
"I'm perfectly allowed to send the children I see unfit back to the Academy. I won't treat those boys differently because of their names."
Kakashi slowly left the graveyard again. This was nothing that should be discussed on front of the grave of his old teammate. Though if Rin had still been alive, she'd surely be excited about Minato's son.
"We all know you are abusing your power, because you don't want any Genin."
Kakashi glanced back at the man that followed him. His words barely made him feel anything at all. "Are you here to threaten me?"
Jiraiya sped up so he could overtake Kakashi and block his way. "I just want you to think this through properly. These are Minato and Mikoto's children we are talking about. They deserve the best. What will happen if you sent them back to the Academy? Naruto might never become a shinobi if you fail him here. You know how much trouble I had to go through to convince the Hokage to give him a second chance? He deserves this."
"Have you ever considered his life might turn out better if he doesn't become a shinobi?"
"You truly believe that?" He hopped left and right on his wooden sandals to keep Kakashi from walking past him. "Have you never wondered why there are so many civilians that choose to live in Konoha? Or in any other ninja village? Because the world out there is harsh, and they are the first to get killed. We shinobi are at least able to protect them, and ourselves. You want to take that from those two boys?"
"I'm not taking anything. And neither am I obliged to give anything. Now, if you'd excuse me… I have students to test."
Jiraiya let him pass. If he really failed Naruto and Sasuke, Jiraiya could still talk to the Hokage. But surely, Kakashi wasn't that stupid. After all, those two boys were basically destined to become shinobi themselves. It had been the will of their parents.
"Your book." Kakashi stopped and pulled it out of his pocket to show to Jiraiya. "It's good. Maybe you should have become a full-time author."
On his way to the training grounds, Kakashi wondered what his life would look like if he had never become a shinobi, which field of work he would have chosen. He couldn't really see himself doing paperwork all day long or yelling at people passing-by to buy his products. A farmer seemed the likeliest though. His grandfather had once been one. Had his grandfather ever regretted becoming a shinobi over clearing away dung all day? He didn't know.
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His students were still waiting for him when Kakashi arrived at the training grounds. They hadn't noticed him yet. He stood behind a tree for a moment, observing them. Naruto and Sakura paced up and down, clearly impatient. Sasuke was leaning against one of the three tree trunks, arms crossed in front of him. Naho was reading a book on survival skills. Naruto frowned at her every now and then, until he finally walked over to her.
"Why are you reading that?"
The girl shrieked as Naruto's head suddenly appeared next to hers. "I just, I wanted to be prepared for today."
Naruto took the book away from her. "You don't need that. We are going to pass anyway!" He smiled at her, trying to sound reassuring, but Naho took a step away from him instead.
"Give it back to her, Naruto. Just because books are lost on you doesn't mean that others can't enjoy them," Sasuke said.
"He's right, Naruto! Don't bother her," Sakura agreed with Sasuke, but inside, it bothered her that Sasuke would defend the new girl.
"You're such a bore, Sasuke," Naruto answered, but handed the book back to Naho.
Kakashi walked towards them, revealing his presence. Naruto and Sakura instantly threw complains at him for being late.
"Sorry, guys. There was a black cat on my way, so I had to make a small detour." They clearly weren't satisfied with his answer, but Kakashi barely cared.
He put a clock on a tree stump and showed them three bells tied to his belt. "Today's mission is to take these bells away from me by noon. If you can't do it, you won't get lunch. You'll be tied up to these tree trunks over there and I'll eat my lunch right in front of your eyes." He could see the exact moment his students realised why they'd been told to skip breakfast. He enjoyed it. Naruto's belly was rumbling already.
"But… there are only three bells," Sakura noted.
He explained to them the rules of the bell test. The fact he had four students standing in front of him instead of the usual three made it easy for Kakashi to justify the fact that at least one of them would be sent back to the Academy at the end of the day.
The four children eyed their teammates, or in this instance, their rivals. The girls looked rather uncomfortable, but the two boys had their eyes set on the bells. They'd eaten his bait already. " Alright, let's start when I give the signal."
Naruto grabbed a kunai from his bag. "This is my path. I'm going to be Hokage," he yelled as he threw the blade straight at Kakashi, who stood almost completely still as he caught the kunai at the ring, spinning it around his fingers and back at Naruto. Naruto fell backwards, almost failing to dodge. The four students stared at their teacher with big eyes.
"Don't be so hasty. I didn't say start yet."
Naruto had Minato's looks, but definitely not his character. He was like his mother. And like Obito. A soft smile formed under Kakashi's mask, visible to no one. Kushina had always liked Obito best.
"Ready? Start." Kakashi stayed, observing the first moves his students would make.
Sasuke, Sakura and Naho did the first thing they had been taught at the Academy: they jumped away, and all hid in different spots of the training field, masking their own presence. A shinobi always tried to have the aspect of surprise on their side. Naruto was the only one who stayed in the open with Kakashi. He was going to face him head-on.
"Huh, guess you are the odd one out," Kakashi said. The eagerness in Naruto's eyes was completely missing in his. He was bored. He wanted to be somewhere else. His hand reached into his pockets, and he pulled out the book Jiraiya had given to him. At least he had something to read while these four kids played around.
Naruto stared at him with big eyes and an open mouth.
"What is it? Why don't you come at me?" Kakashi asked.
"But what about that book?"
"What about the book? Well, I was curious what happens next. Don't worry. With you guys as my opponents, it won't make any difference if I'm reading or not."
His last sentence clearly triggered anger in Naruto. He wasn't going to have his teacher talk down on him like that. He was going to prove to him that he was an opponent to be respected. So he ran at him, ready to strike. But Kakashi dodged the first blow, and the second. Naruto tried to punch him from behind, but that one got blocked as well. All this while, Kakashi seemed to barely move at all.
"Shinobis shouldn't let the enemy take them from behind, fool." Kakashi suddenly appeared behind Naruto, who didn't even have time to turn around and face him again. Kakashi clapped him on the butt and send Naruto flying straight into the nearby lake.
"What's the matter? There's no lunch if you don't get a bell," Kakashi called over to him as Naruto crawled out of the lake again. His clothes were soaked, making moving somewhat uncomfortable and slow. "You are not very energetic considering you said you wanted to surpass the Hokage."
Naruto stood up again. "I will! I will surpass the Hokage. Both the Third and my own father." He formed a sign and produced a shadow clone. Again, he charged at his teacher with his own clone as backup.
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Jiraiya was sitting on the branch of a tree and observed the bell test. It reminded him of his own time as a Genin. His teacher, the Third Hokage, had given them this test to evaluate whether his team was ready to participate in the Chuunin exams. Jiraiya had liked it, so he used it for his own Genin team years later, and then Minato, his student, used it for his team. And now Kakashi was using it to fail team after team.
Naruto stepped into a trap, and seconds later, was hanging heads-down from a tree, water dripping down as his clothes were all soaked.
Jiraiya sighed and leaned back against the trunk. This would take a while, he concluded. His own team had only managed to find out teamwork was the key in the last five minutes of the test. So there was still hope for this new team 7 as well.
But Naruto was still hanging from the tree, yelling and struggling in vain, and the rest of his team was nowhere to be seen. Even Kakashi had vanished.
Jiraiya closed his eyes. He heard one of the girls scream further inside the forest. But those girls he wasn't interested in anyways. So he decided to take a nap.
He only opened his eyes again when someone approached Naruto. It wasn't Kakashi, but one of his teammates, the girl with the black hair. Jiraiya felt like she reminded him of someone, but he couldn't quite tell whom.
There was a moment of hesitation before she took a kunai and cut the rope that trapped Naruto. The boy hit the ground hard, and his teammate immediately apologised.
"No worries. I'm fine," he said, scratching his head in embarrassment. He got up and recollected some of the kunai he'd thrown around earlier. "Where did Kakashi-sensei go? I'm going to go and get that bell," Naruto yelled, running away from Naho.
"Naruto, careful! There…," Naho tried to warn him, but it was too late. He had stepped on yet another trapped that send him right back to where he'd been a few moments earlier. He hit the ground hard for a second time when Naho once again freed him.
Jiraiya sighed again.
"This is stupid. I can't fight or concentrate when I'm hungry." Naruto's stomach growled. "I need something to eat." He sighed, scratching his neck. When he turned around to Naho again, he realised that she was staring at him. "Mh? Do I have anything on my face?"
"What? No, no! I'm sorry, I just… I was lost in thought."
"Ah man, this whole exercise sucks. I really need one of those bells so I can finally eat something," Naruto said, louder than he had to. It almost seemed like he wanted Kakashi to hear him and come back for him. That way, he at least didn't have to go through the trouble of finding him.
The two looked around the training grounds. Jiraiya followed them without anyone noticing.
"Naho-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, so loud and sudden that Naho almost jumped in the next bush to hide. "Look what I found." Naruto ran up to a memorial. Behind it, there were four lunch boxes, ready to be eaten. But Naruto's eyes narrowed as he realised that this was probably yet another trap.
"Leave them, Naruto." Naho pushed her headband back up. It was still too loose.
Naruto carefully touched one of the boxes with his toe. Nothing happened. He poked at it next. Again, nothing happened, so he picked it up. "See? It's all safe. Come here, there is enough for both of us." Naruto sat down next to the memorial with a big smile on his face.
Naho walked up to him. "I don't think we are allowed to eat those," she tried again, but Naruto just grabbed her hand and pulled her down next to him. Smiling, he handed her one of the lunch boxes. It only took a few seconds for Kakashi to appear behind them.
Jiraiya's eyes fell on his watch. The time for the test was almost up. And the two teams hadn't even interacted with each other.
A third sigh. It was like the children didn't even try.
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Tenten and her team were ready to leave Konoha to go on another mission. Their teacher Gai had just left them to buy some more supplies for the way. Lee was doing 200 sit-ups, telling himself that if he wouldn't finish before Gai came back, he would have to walk to the next town on his hands. He was wearing the signature training suit of his teacher, a tight overall all in green. It had taken Tenten quite a while to get used to the sight, especially since their teacher wore the same one, day in and day out.
"Is there something bothering you, Tenten? Your eyes keep drifting off," Neji asked. He was from the Hyuga clan and had their distinctive eyes. They were of a light violet, almost white.
Tenten sighed. "A friend of mine is doing her Genin aptitude test right now. You know, the one in which we had to try and hit Gai-sensei once. I wonder how she's doing."
"She'll be fine. I don't think anyone ever fails that test."
"But she has that Kakashi as a teacher. You know what Gai-sensei said about him, right?"
Lee immediately stopped his sit-ups and looked at Tenten. "You are talking about Gai-sensei's eternal rival, right? I have to admit, I am really curious what kind of rival Gai-sensei chose for himself." He looked at Neji. There was a tension between the two that only Lee could feel. He went back to doing the rest of his sit-ups, telling himself he would do 100 extra for taking this short break.
"Worrying about it will do no good, Tenten. It's only going to distract you from our mission," Neji scolded her. "She's either going to pass or fail. There is nothing you can do to change that."
"You are always so indifferent," Tenten scolded back. "It's normal to worry about people, you know? So use your Byakugan to look at the training grounds and tell me what's happening there." Tenten pointed towards the training grounds and threw a demanding glance at Neji.
"I'm not going to use up chakra to see how that friend of yours is doing." Neji's eyes had the ability to use the Byakugan. It was a Visual Jutsu that only the children of the Hyuga clan could inherit.
"Come on. Just this once. A short glance won't hurt. Aren't you interested in what kind of test this Kakashi is giving them?" She could see that Neji really didn't care at all, so she changed her plan. "Who knows, maybe we could ask Gai-sensei to do the same test with us to see if we would pass. It seems to be a hard one from all we've heard, so I am sure it would be good training."
Lee instantly jumped up, a fire burning in his eyes. "She is right, Neji! I want to see this test too," Lee said excited.
Neji sighed. "You two are unbelievable." He was not happy, but gave in to his two teammates regardless. They had an unwritten rule in their team that majority votes decided actions. It only took a moment for him to activate the Byakugan, which granted him improved vision to see all the way to the training grounds. Even trees and buildings standing in the way proved no problems for his eyes. "I can see that Uchiha boy. He's all buried in the ground except for his head. There's a girl trying to dig him out. Pink hair, red dress. Is that your friend?"
"No, that must be Sakura. Why is he buried in the ground though?"
"How should I know? There's no one else around." He kept looking. "Wait, there is another girl. She's with Naruto. I guess that Jounin must be Kakashi-sensei."
"What are they doing?" Lee asked, looking at Neji like he was watching a thrilling movie scene.
"Kakashi is tying them up to those tree stumps."
"Have I just heard my eternal rival's name?" Gai-sensei appeared behind them, both hands were on his hips and his chest was puffed out. His sudden appearance startled his students as none had heard him approach. "And why do I see the Byakugan, Neji?"
"Gai-sensei," Lee interrupted. "We have observed the aptitude test your eternal rival Kakashi Hatake gave to his students. Please, let us take the test as well once we are back from our mission. We want to prove ourselves."
"Lee?" Gai seemed irritated by his student's words.
"I'll also volunteer to be the one buried in the ground, sensei. I will show you my strength by digging myself out all on my own," Lee said, full of determination.
"I don't know what you are talking about, Lee. But you don't have to take Kakashi's test. I know you would all pass anyway." He smiled at his students, doing some exaggerated gestures.
"How can you be so sure?" Tenten asked.
"Remember your own aptitude test? I told you to try and land a hit on me. But, of course, a Genin could never hit a Jounin. You were posed with an impossible task to begin with. What I wanted to see was how you'd deal with it. I wanted to see your endurance and determination. And none of you ever gave up. Kakashi's test is similar. But instead of testing their endurance, it's all about… teamwork."
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Sakura gave Sasuke a hug as soon as they'd freed him from the ground. He slowly pushed her away, but Sakura didn't care. She was glad he was still alive. She watched as he got up, readying himself to find Kakashi again.
"Are you sure you want to keep trying? It's almost noon." Sakura had observed Kakashi's movements when he fought Naruto. She was well aware there was no way she would ever get to touch one of those bells. The gap in skill between her and a Jounin was way too big. It was obvious.
"I was able to touch them," Sasuke said, looking at his fingertips. "Next time, I'll be able to get them." He was determined, turning around to walk away and leave Sakura.
She ran after him, grabbed his hand. "Wait. There really isn't much time left. Maybe we should all just try again next year. Our teacher seems pretty mean and disinterested in teaching us anyway. I'm sure we'll get a better one next time." Sakura wasn't proud of her feelings, but she didn't want Sasuke to pass this exam without her. She would be separated from him. He would get a new team and go on missions, while she would be stuck in the Academy, far away.
A sudden realisation hit her that maybe there would be no next time. If she failed this, it would only prove to her parents that she wasn't cut out to be a shinobi. It would prove to her parents and to herself that she was a failure despite all her good grades.
"Let go off me. I don't have time for setbacks. I must become strong and…"
They could hear the clock ringing. The time was up.
"Dammit, I wasted too much time here." Sasuke turned around and walked away.
Sakura followed him. Her parents would be pleased with this result. She bit her lips, knowing that this failure undermined all her efforts to convince her parents that the she was strong enough for the life of a Shinobi. Fired on the first day.
They saw Naruto and Naho both tied up to a tree stump when they returned. Kakashi was leaning onto one as well, reading his book. He stopped when he saw Sasuke and Sakura approach and put it away.
"Now, look at the four of you. Seems like all of you failed," he said with a flat voice. "And sounds like your stomachs are growling too." He looked at Naruto in particular. "But I changed my mind. I won't tell you to go back to the Academy."
The four students were surprised. A smile formed on Sakura and Naruto's face.
"I'm telling you to quit being a shinobi instead," Kakashi added.
Somewhere in the trees around them, Jiraiya almost fell from his branch.
Sakura and Naruto instantly stopped celebrating. "What do you mean we have to quit? Just because we couldn't get that stupid bell?" Naruto yelled at him.
Sasuke decided to give it one last try and go for the bell again while Naruto distracted their teacher with all his yelling. The time was up, but Sasuke wasn't going to give up. His road couldn't end there. He dashed at Kakashi.
But Kakashi slammed him to the ground before he even got close to the three bells. His teacher then put a foot on his head, pinning him down.
"Are you kids thinking that being a shinobi is easy and fun? Huh? Why do you think you are doing this exercise in teams?" He looked into three confused faces. "You guys have no idea what the point of this whole exercise is, do you?"
Naruto looked up, thinking hard. "To get the bells?"
"Man, are you guys brainless or what? Don't you get the meaning of a squad? A team?" He waited a moment for them to say anything, but they all remained quiet. Sasuke only moaned, trying to free himself from Kakashi's foot. "It's teamwork."
"You mean, working together?" Sakura asked, surprised at the answer.
"Exactly. But it's too late now. You might have been able to take the bells if the four of you had come at me together as a team. But you failed horribly." Kakashi was not surprised they failed. And he was glad they did. The world didn't need more shinobi that were only interested in their own benefit.
"But why use teamwork when there were only three bells? That'd just create internal conflict," Sakura intervened. Naruto backed her up and agreed.
"Of course," Kakashi said. "This is a test that purposely places you against each other. I wanted to see if you could prioritise teamwork over your own interests. But you were all fools. Sakura, you were only concerned with Sasuke, even when you didn't know where he was. You completely ignored Naruto who was right in front of your eyes and could have used help. Naruto, all you do is run solo. When Naho freed you from the trap, the first thing you did was to run away again, straight into the next trap." He stepped harder onto Sasuke's head. "And you labelled the other three as hindrances when we fought and acted all on your own. You are arrogant. And Naho." He paused for a moment. "You were the only one close to passing. You went out of your way to help a teammate, putting him before yourself. But I'm disqualifying both you and Naruto for breaking the rules and abandoning the mission before it was over."
"But I…" Naho wanted to say something, but Naruto interrupted her.
"Hey, that's not fair. The food was just lying around. You never told us we weren't allowed to touch it!"
"Quiet!" Kakashi yelled. It was the first time he rose his voice. "Missions are carried out in squads and you guys failed as a squad. There is no doubt that a shinobi needs high individual skill, but teamwork is considered more important than that. Individual actions disrupt teamwork. They throw the team into a crisis and can lead to death."
Kakashi could feel Jiraiya's glances burning down at him from up the treetops.
He finally let go of Sasuke and walked over to the memorial where Naruto had found the lunch boxes. It was big stone with many names engraved on it. "Look at this. These are shinobi who are called heroes in our village."
"Wow, really?" Naruto yelled over at him. He wished he could have a closer look at those names, but he was still tied up. "I'm getting my name engraved there too! I'll become a hero, yes." He nodded to himself.
"These are no ordinary heroes, Naruto. They are all heroes who were killed in action during the Third War."
There was a long moment of silence as Naruto's euphoria died down.
"This is a memorial," Kakashi continued. "The names of my friends are also engraved here." It was silent again.
Kakashi eventually turned around to his students. He looked into their eyes. They were filled with so many emotions. What was he supposed to do with these four children? Kakashi had no faith in them. He didn't want to have faith. Gai flourished in his role as a teacher, but he was different.
"I will give you guys another chance," he said, a bit surprised at his own words. "However, this time it's going to be an even harsher battle to take the bell. You should eat something to regain some strength. However, Naruto and Naho don't eat. And you will not let the two have any food. This is a punishment for breaking the rules and attempting to eat lunch on their own while the mission wasn't over yet." He glanced at Naho, but she avoided him and looked away. It was clear to Kakashi that Naruto was the only one at fault, yet the girl chose to remain quiet.
"But Kakashi-sensei," Naruto started talking instead. "Naho never even touched the food. She was just following me. She even told me not to eat the lunch boxes."
"Yet you chose to eat lunch anyway and she didn't stop you after all. You two will bear the consequences together, like a team does." At least those two had potential, he realised. They backed each other up.
He looked at Sakura and Sasuke again. Those two might work well together as well too. The question that was left open was whether all four could work as team.
"If someone lets Naruto and Naho eat, that person will be disqualified immediately and will not be given the second chance. Got it? I'll see you after lunch." With those words, Kakashi turned around and left his students alone to eat, taking the spare lunch boxes with him.
Naruto's stomach was rumbling loud enough for everyone to hear as he watched Sasuke and Sakura open the lunch boxes. Yet he still told them that he was fine and that they should eat.
Sasuke took a few bites. He could hear Naho's stomach rumble as well and the girl blushed in embarrassment. He looked into her deep black eyes. It felt like he had seen those eyes so many times before.
He got up and stood in front of Naho, holding his chopsticks up to her face with some rice on them.
"Uh, you don't have to share with me," Naho stumbled. Her blushing intensified.
Sakura blushed too, unsure what shocked her more: Sasuke breaking the rules or Sasuke feeding another girl. "Yes, Sasuke. Kakashi-sensei just said that…"
"It's okay," he interrupted her. "There's no sign of him right now. The four of us are going to have to work as a team to get the bells. It'll just be trouble for me if these two become a hindrance because their stomachs keep rumbling."
He couldn't get himself to look at those eyes again, so he stared at the chopsticks again.
Sakura looked at her own lunchbox, and then held it towards Naruto.
"Sakura… thank you," Naruto said, tears filled his eyes.
"Don't thank me. Just hurry and eat."
"But…"
"Come on, it's fine. I'm on a diet anyway, so I'm not eating all of this." Sakura started getting angry as Naruto still wasn't going to take the food.
"Um, Sakura. I think what Naruto is trying to tell you is… we um, kind of have our hands tied up." Naho's headband slipped down again, but there was nothing she could to about it.
"Hurry up, Sakura. We don't know when he'll be back," Sasuke said, feeding Naho some more rice.
"Yes, Sakura, hurry." Naruto had a dirty smirk on his face.
Sakura's whole head flushed. "Why don't we change places and I'll feed Naho?"
"Don't act all embarrassed feeding Naruto. Just hurry." Sasuke didn't appear to move away from Naho. Naruto on the other hand opened his mouth wide into Sakura's direction.
Completely embarrassed and jealous at the same time, Sakura took some rice and fed it Naruto. All of a sudden, she wished she'd be the one tight up to those stumps, so Sasuke would be feeding her, not this other random girl.
As soon as Naruto's mouth closed around Sakura's chopsticks, Kakashi appeared behind them again. "You guys," he yelled at them. Sakura dropped the chopsticks. "You defied the rules, so that means you know what's coming. Do you have anything to say?"
Naruto started stumbling, trying to find a good-enough excuse.
"You just told us we are a team, right?" Sasuke said.
"That's right. We live together and we die together." Sakura added. "Or, you know… we fail and pass together in our case."
"That's right. That's so right." Naruto agreed, a big smile on his face.
Naho was smiling too, nodding at her teammates, which caused her headband to slip down further over her eyes, leaving her almost blind.
Kakashi slowly walked up to them, and eventually knelt down to them a bit to be on the same heights as his younger students. A smile appeared on his face that was visible even through the mask. "You pass. All of you."
His four students stared at him with big eyes. "Why?" Sakura and Naruto asked at the same time.
"In the world of a shinobi, those who break the rules and codes are branded as scum. But those who abandon their friends and comrades are worse than scum."
Naruto's eyes filled with tears again as he kept staring at his new teacher. "He is kinda cool."
Sakura giggled. "Naruto has a crush."
The atmosphere around the five had lightened up suddenly, and they all felt closer to each other than they'd been before.
"Here, there are lunch boxes for you two as well." Kakashi pulled out the two spare lunch boxes, telling Sasuke and Sakura to untie the other two. Naruto hugged Sakura before he went straight for one of the lunch boxes.
"Don't touch me." Sakura punched him right in the face, but Naruto was so happy, he barely felt anything.
"I did it. I'm a shinobi," he yelled. "We all did it."
"Just sit down and eat," Sasuke said, annoyed at Naruto's obvious enthusiasm.
"Don't you want to eat too, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked her teacher, who was the only one to not sit down in a circle with them.
"It's fine. I'm not really hungry." He kept standing, his hands buried in his pockets where they usually were.
"We can share with you too," Naho said, holding her lunch in his direction.
He smiled again. "I appreciate the thought. I see you guys are true high-flyers now. I'll sit down with you, but you should eat up. This will probably be the only time you'll get lunch from me, so you better enjoy it while it lasts." Kakashi sat down next to his new students.
These kids were his first students. The first ones to pass his test, despite all his doubts. They were far from being perfect. But they had passed. He let them pass. A weird feeling crawled up inside of him as he looked at the smiles on their faces, and he couldn't help being happy himself after all. Just a bit.
He sat there and listened to Naruto exclaiming how food tasted so much better when you shared it with friends, and he listened to Sakura scolding him for speaking with a full mouth. He watched as Naruto and Sasuke got into a fight over who got closer to stealing the bell from him, and he watched Naho blush when Naruto declared that she'd been a great partner in crime for not telling on him.
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Sasuke was the first to get up when they were done eating. "Guess I'll head home if we are finished here."
"Sure. You start your missions tomorrow, so we will meet up again in the morning." Kakashi watched Naruto jump in the air in excitement. He was ready to prove himself in those missions.
"Wait, Sasuke. I'll accompany you." Sakura ran after him. Sasuke didn't seem too happy that she joined him, but also didn't say anything against it.
"Hey, don't forget about me," Naruto yelled and was gone too.
Naho was the only one who kept sitting and started to collect the empty packaging the others had left behind.
Kakashi observed her with his one visible eye. "Now, you are a well-behaved one. But you don't have to do that." He took the litter from her and put it back inside the bag. "You'd make a good voice of reason on the team. But those bullheads won't even hear you if you don't speak up." he said, standing up.
The girl looked at him in confusion, but he wasn't going to explain it any further. She would understand his words soon enough once she spent more time with Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke. "Come here," he said instead. "Tie that headband up tight. A shinobi who doesn't see properly is just asking to get killed."
Naho cringed as he tightened her headband. She looked up and touched her forehead when he was done. "It feels weird wearing it."
"You'll get used to it."
She eyed him carefully. "Why is your headband covering your left eye though?"
He smiled at her and turned her around. "You better go and catch up to the others."
"I don't think they want me to..." She stopped to find the right words, when suddenly, Naruto came running back to them.
"Naho-chan, come on. Sasuke's gonna get all grumpy if we make him wait any longer."
Naho stared with big eyes at Naruto, who was waving at her to come over. A smile formed on her lips and she hurried to join her new team.
Kakashi stayed behind, watching his students leave. Once they were gone, he walked over to the memorial again, putting a hand on the stone. "Obito, Rin. I guess I'm a teacher now." He couldn't help but feel anxious. Yet that strange warm feeling still lingered inside him as well.
Jiraiya jumped down from the trees and landed next to him.
"Are you leaving Konoha again?" Kakashi asked. He'd been well aware that Jiraiya had watched. And he hadn't been the only one.
The older shinobi nodded. "Tomorrow morning."
Kakashi stared into the direction his students had left. "I once heard that from each team of Genin, at least one is killed in the line of duty. It's like an unwritten law of nature."
Jiraiya's face stayed stern as he wished he could find an example to counter Kakashi's doubts. But he couldn't. So instead, he grabbed his shoulder, gave it a good squeeze.
"Then you should aspire to be the first team that can say they proved this stupid pseudo law false."
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A/N
When I started writing this, I had planned on also focusing more on the side characters of Naruto (like the rest of the Genin). But man, there are so many... I do really like Tenten though! And there is so little of her in canon. So we might see her a bit more often. Also adding a bit more NaruHina interaction just because there was so little in canon even though she had such a big crush. But again, I don't plan on writing a NaruHina pairing (not too fond of it myself), just some more... character depth, I guess? For now though we'll continue with a bit more Team 7 bonding and character insight before the wave arc :)