Sorry that it's been a while, this chapter just didn't want to be written. On a positive note, this is the longest chapter yet, with around 6k words(well, technically like 8k due to the omake...). I've also decided to post my responses for reviews in the chapters themselves to try and establish a kind of connection between the writer and readers(this also might provide longer responses from myself as well.). With all that said, enjoy this chapter!
RavenclawGryffindor35; I'm glad I was able to make you laugh! This story is just the culmination of most of my random ideas and thoughts that I have in class and write down. After I finish this story I might go back and rewrite it later, but that's not really a certainty.
NazgulBelserion; Sasuke will be wearing the cannon Shippuden outfit for a while- because it was Orochimaru who picked out his clothes in the first place ;). Plus I don't think he will mind showing a little skin- that narcissist.
InCK; Glad that you do :D
Ambrose; Yep, that was my intent. Angst is great and all, but dwelling on all that really isn't that fun- plus Sasuke has issues with staying serious. He either can't help but indulge in some dark humor or try to shove down some genuine murderous urges and take them out in training.
Enjoy~~~
"I'd be lying if I said things are going according to my plan… but beggars can't be choosers, right?" – Madara Uchiha
Kakashi POV
The silver-haired Jōnin observed the undecided genins with interest, noting the way Sasuke was leading the training along subtly, but let Naruto be in charge. Ah, the last Uchiha, Sasuke. He was what the seasoned ex-Anbu captain last expected to turn out the way he did. The boy was a strange one- the Uchiha's introduction rung through Kakashi's head again.
"My Name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like art, tomatoes, and those I care for- As for my dreams… What I have isn't just a dream, it's something I will make a reality. That goal is world peace. Killing a certain someone, and protect those who are precious to me."
"Just 'cause I'm late-" Sasuke took another bite of his tomato. "- most of the time doesn't mean I sleep in. I have a dream, an ambition, just like you Naruto. You gonna let a little fatigue stop you from being Hokage?"
He could remember the look of glee and admiration on his face even when Kakashi tried to scare the little genins; like he found it amusing or thought Kakashi's idea of torture to be fun. 'World peace huh?' He didn't see that coming- he could understand killing somebody(Itachi), or protecting his friends, but he didn't realize Sasuke was that ambitious. Kakashi was brought away from his musings when he checked the time, deeming it to be late enough and shunshined into the clearing. Holding up a hand in a wave, he gave them an eye-smile, "Good morning cute little genins." Minato's son and Pinkie both pointed and shouted dramatically in sync, "YOU'RE LATE(DATTEBAYO!)" Sasuke just smiled, "Hn." was his input. Kakashi rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, his relaxed posture making them scowl and wait for an excuse.
"Sorry, but a black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long way." Naruto stomped his feet and turned his nose up, "Like we believe that…" he grumbled, making Sasuke giggle- giggle. It was kind of creepy, so he ignored that and continued on with his plans for today. "Ok." he clapped his hands together, gaining their attention. "You'll be doing the survival exercise today- it's actually very simple." Kakashi produced two bells from his pocket, the metal glinting and jiggling softly in the sunlight. "Your test is to get these two bells from me to pass. That's all." at his words, Naruto grinned, posture full of confidence while he laughed out, "That's all we have to do? That's easy peasy!" Sakura scowled slugged him in the arm, "He isn't finished Naruto." she growled, making Naruto shrink back in fear.
Turning back towards the Jōnin, she scrunched her nose and asked, "But there are only two bells Kakashi-sensei, so does that mean…" her eyes lit up in understanding, "Only two of us can pass?" offering them another eye-smile, he replied in a chipper voice, "Yep! The one who doesn't get the bell gets tied to a post while I eat my lunch in front of them, then they get sent back to the academy, of course, all of you could flunk too. You have until noon to get the bells." he pulled an alarm clock out of nowhere and set it on one of the training posts. Sasuke was oddly quiet and looked deep in thought before Naruto's shout of protest snapped him out of it, eyes landing on his friend. "That's not fair dattebayo, all of us worked so hard to get here…" he trailed off, seemingly already concluding that it would be him sent back- Sakura and Sasuke were both graduated top of their class, with the blonde barely passing and only because of special circumstances.
The Uchiha placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling reassuringly at him, "It's ok Naruto. if we get the bells… I'll go back." The response was instantaneous, Sakura and Naruto both getting close to Sasuke and exclaiming their opposition. "But Sasuke… you've worked so hard for this- we all have- but you the most…" Sakura trailed off, lost in a memory. "You just can't give up now teme! What about your dream?!" Sasuke gave him a hard look, serious for once and surprising his teammates. "What about your dream? You're not an idiot Naruto, you just can't do well with the way they teach at the academy." he then turned to Sakura, "Your brain and potential would be wasted at the academy, you really can become an admirable kunoichi."
"Don't worry about me." he smiled fondly, "I can deal with another year- I can always train on my own. I'll catch up." Naruto looked down, fists clenched, before he snapped his head up and stared at Kakashi with a hard determined glint in his eyes. "Then I'll go with you." Sasuke looked surprised for a moment, but schooled his features, eyes sharp. "Naruto…" the jinchuriki took Sasuke by the shoulders, looking him in the eyes dead on- which is a bold move to do on an Uchiha- and by the widening of the boy's eyes, Sasuke seemed to realize this too. "We're in this together, as friends, as a team. You hear that Bakakashi-sensei-" Sasuke snorted, "-It doesn't matter if you fail or pass us, we'll do it together dattebayo!" Sakura nodded resolutely, expression serious.
"Guys… I…" Sasuke's face softened, "As a team, huh?"
"Even if we remain academy students forever, I'll still become Hokage." was the blonde's firm response, and the Uchiha's eyes flashed with some hidden emotion. "So you all are conceding to failure together?" Kakashi prodded, eye narrowing in false anger. "We're a family now- no, we were before. I understand that now." Sakura responded quietly, the other two nodding mutely. "So yes, Kakashi-san, we all give up together, as one."
All was silent except for the faint breeze that blew through the clearing, before Kakashi's posture relaxed, and gave them a smile. "You pass."
They all jumped in surprise, exclaiming, "WHAT?!" a range of emotions flashed through their eyes; Shock, relief, happiness, then confusion. "B-but how? We didn't even try to get the bells…" Sakura trailed off, Naruto nodded along with Sasuke. "Hmm, let me explain." Kakashi began, "This test had an underlying meaning- the two bells were meant to break you apart, and see if anyone would put themselves above their teammates with their selfishness. You are the only team to have realized the true meaning of this test- right Sasuke?" The boy's knowing eyes crinkled, "Hn." he grunted in agreement, while Naruto squinted at Kakashi. "So this whole test was a trick?"
The silver-haired man hummed, then took on a serious look. "Don't take everything at face value- a shinobi must be able to see underneath the underneath. Your decision to go down as a team, and put your teammates above your own needs, is what truly makes you a ninja of the hidden leaf."
"Remember this; those who break the rules are scum, but those who don't take care of their friends are worse than scum."
Their faces displayed a kind of awe and respect that they hadn't shown previously, Sasuke seemed especially inspired. "Come, I need to show you something." his tone left no room for complaints- not like there were any to begin with. Kakashi turned and started walking down the path he had taken countless times- almost every day. The trio of new genins trailed behind him; they walked for a short while until Kakashi stopped in front of the marble memorial stone, and waited for them to settle down before speaking. "This stone has the names of all the ninja who are hailed as heroes of Konoha engraved on it. They were all KIA."
"Ooh… that sounds really cool!" Naruto stated, and Sakura frowned at him, "It means killed in action. They all died." The boy's grin slowly dropped from his face. "This is a memorial stone, the names of my closest friends are engraved here." Kakashi continued, voice growing wistful as he remembered Rin's and Obito's smiling faces. The three genin's expressions turned solemn, and a flash of emotion flickered through Sasuke's dark eyes, Kakashi missing the concealed anger in their depths. "Then they probably would feel lucky to have their friend become one of the strongest shinobi in the leaf." the Uchiha stated softly, drawing his team's attention. Naruto's gaze, however, didn't leave the stone for a moment, before he spoke. "One day I'm gonna have my name on there dattebayo," he said with conviction, not missing the way Sasuke and Sakura's faces morphed into determined ones, nodding. "Same here." Sakura voiced.
There was a comfortable silence that followed that; the serenity only broken when Sasuke asked, "So who's up for some team ramen?" Sakura and Naruto made a face but agreed anyway.
'Hmm, I have a feeling that I'm going to like this team.'
"Sasuke, what are you wearing?" Naruto asked, making me look up from my seat on the ground, blinking up at him. It had been a week since we were first made a team, and I'd hadn't wasted any free time I'd been privy to when I wasn't training like a lunatic- although that title really goes to Lee. I wouldn't even attempt to try to match him in his training regimen. Back to the matter at hand; I need new things to entertain myself with, or I'll go insane and probably seek Orochimaru out for something interesting, so I take matters into my own hands. This time I've had that one especially popular shooter game series on my mind, and put together a Ghillie suit for shits and giggles. I even painted on some camo face paint streaks on my cheeks, like the ones they sometimes do with their thumbs all dramatic-like. Right now I was sitting cross-legged- one with nature- in a partial ghillie suit that left my face and most of my clothes under it visible.
Yawning, I offered him a sleepy grin, "It's camouflage dobe." he scrunched his face at that, squinting at me, "But why?" I shrugged, "Why not?" Naruto paused, then mimicked my shrug; "fair point." my grin morphed into a smirk, nodding my head in approval. "Damn right. Anyways, when do you think Sakura and Kakashi-sensei will get here?" gesturing to the bridge void of life excluding the two of us. "Dunno dattebayo. Sakura-chan will be here soon, as for Kakashi-sensei." Naruto scowled, "he'll be hours late as always, tha' jerk." he sat down next to me with a huff, the both of us waiting it out until Sakura showed up. We were both dozing when we heard footsteps and looked up to our equally tired kunoichi teammate. She gave me one look before shrugging and sitting down on my other side, the three of us too lazy to train this morning.
Normally, I'd have enough energy to motivate the other two, but I'd spent most of the night putting together the suit to get anything more than a few hours of sleep at best. The three of us said nothing, leaning on each other and attempting to maybe catch a few minutes of shuteye. Eventually, I decided to voice something I'd been thinking about recently, stifling a yawn. "Hey Sakura," I began, the pinkette blinking blearily up at me from my shoulder, too tired to blush or react as usual. "Have you considered becoming a medic ninja? You have the control for it, and a combat medic is a very valuable ally to have in battle." she paused, the gears turning in her brain before she perked up, a little more awake than before."I actually haven't.. But, that sounds like a good idea Sasuke. 'CHA! And I can heal him if he ever gets hurt, that'll win his heart for sure!'"
I nodded, "Yep, I'd considered it myself before as well, though I think I'd be better as a mid-range fighter. I really want to learn how to use a sword." Naruto heaved himself to his feet, dusting off his pants and suppressing his own yawn. "I'm just gonna' kick their butts with ninjutsu." he sniffed, rubbing his nose. Sakura leveled him with an unimpressed stare, "Kick their butts with ninjutsu." she echoed, standing up herself. "Do you know how many specialties there are that just ninjutsu Naruto?" he gave her a blank look, rubbing the back of his head and questioning, "What's a specialty?" Now was my turn to send a flat look his way, joining them both as they walked over to the bridge. "Different jobs that ninja who are really good at certain things do; like how a sensor would be best at tracking and such." Naruto's eyes lit up in recognition, punching his fist into an open palm. "Oh, that's what that's called… I knew that dattebayo!" he laughed, "Jus' forgot what it was called."
Snickering at his antics, I took off my bag and set it on the bridge, rummaging through it for a moment and retrieving a book on basic medical… stuff. I only briefly flipped through it at the library before deciding to give it to Sakura in hopes she picked up the skills to become useful before the Shippuden era; it would certainly give her a head start. From my knowledge on the anime, the mission in the land of waves happens at least two months after Team 7 become genin; Which means it's about seven weeks away, and that's just a rough calculation I did in my head. I hummed in contemplation, tossing the book Sakura's way and watching her barely catch it, sending me a quizzical look. "It's on anatomy and the basics of medical ninja stuff. I got it yesterday." was my response, her eyes lighting up in gratitude and thanked me.
Sakura immediately cracked open the book and got started, a hungry look in her eyes. Seeing as Naruto and I didn't have anything better to do, I shrugged and grabbed his arm, dragging him off into the field to train. "U-uh teme? Shouldn't we wait- I mean, at least till Sakura-chan's done-" he started sweating bullets at the evil smirk on my lips while I replied, "Ah, but that wouldn't be productive, would it?" I stopped and backed up until I was at a decent distance away from the tense Jinchuriki. "This is abuse dattebayo!" he called in vain, while I tutted and pulled out a handful of senbon from one of the seals on my apron(not skirt.), "Tch, you'll thank me later when people are hurling kunai and shit at you. They're way slower and obvious than these needles. You'll be so good at dodging almost silent very deadly and fast projectiles that everything else will be child's play."
He yelped when I let loose the first wave of needles, taking sadistic pleasure from his cry of;
"NO, NOT THERE TEME-"
Kakashi leveled an exasperated yet fond look at the three of us; covered in dirt, sweat, and blood. Myself with a ghillie suit; something he chose not to comment on. "Hmm, well, can't say I'm not glad that the three of you are using your time training and not lazing around-" Naruto and Sakura cut him off, "How is Sasuke training us by making us into human porcupines?!" Sakura complained, too tired and with far too many small wounds to care about being too brash with her 'true love'. "Yeah sensei, why does he get to sit back and be all evil and have all that be ok with you?" Naruto put in, trying his hardest to get his point across; he even was gesturing to me dramatically and everything. I just stood there with a satisfied smirk, slightly sweaty and breathing light- the only dirt on me rubbed on by myself to make the suit as realistic and perfectly functional as possible.
The one-eyed sensei of ours scratched the back of his head, offering a weak; "Sasuke's improving his aim and you, your dodging for dangerous missions?" Naruto's eye twitched, and he threw his hands up in the air. "All our missions are are just chores! What, is our next mission walking dogs or something dattebayo?" At Kakashi's sheepish eye-smile, he cried out with a "really?!" while Sakura just groaned tiredly. "Cool, dogs are cute." was my input.
Needless to say, it wasn't as appreciated as it ought to have been.
…
We all trudged to the missions office- well, Sakura and Naruto did. I skipped alongside a relaxed Kakashi, myself unminding of the D-ranks while our lazy sensei didn't even have to do anything but watch us and offer silent emotional support. Thanks to having the village jinchuriki(and Naruto having a personal and familial relationship with the Hokage) and the 'last Uchiha' on one team apparently qualifies the Hokage for signing off every mission we get. I'm not complaining, the old mans' pretty cool. Though the lingering thought in the back of my head saying it was partially his fault for the Uchiha massacre because of his lack of balls kind of takes a lot of that away. ah well. Team 7 finally arrived, the blonde greeting Hizuzen-sama with a yawn and a lazy wave. "Ah, tired Naruto-kun?" the old man chuckled heartily, eyes twinkling with amusement. The boy pouted, before crossing his arms, "Sasuke is even more of a slavedriver than Kakashi-sensei. Plus he already told us we were doin' some lame D-ranks today."
The elderly man who could probably snap my neck very easily with just his pinkie took a puff of his pipe, exhaling deeply and looking over a mission scroll that was rolled out when we arrived. "Naruto, even if you say that these missions are 'lame' doesn't mean they're any less important to the good of Konoha. Besides, you'll have to build up a good relationship with the citizens of the leaf before you can become Hokage right?" Too tired to protest his logic, he relented and Kakashi retrieved the scroll from Hiruzen's wrinkled, weathered hand with an eye-smile. "See? Sasuke is such a cute student. Not even Naruto is as loud in the morning anymore-" -I coughed, "You mean afternoon." -Another cough. The Hokage laughed, "Indeed Kakashi-kun, I might have to hire your team to keep Konohamaru busy."
While the two old men shared a few more words, I turned to my team and looped my arms around theirs, giving them a grin. "Come on guys, let's do some D-ranks." Sakura sighed, "At this rate, we'll be stuck doing these for the rest of our careers."
Remember how I said the dogs were going to be cute? They are so cute, so precious, even the one dragging Naruto into that restricted minefield- Oh shit. Shrugging, I reached down and gave the adorable bulldog and german shepherd I was walking scratches behind the ears. Sakura was walking two puppies- and Naruto, of course, chose the biggest dog of them all to walk. Wait a minute...
"Wow, that's so pretty Sasuke!" Sakura exclaimed, admiringly the intricately painted roses covering her right forearm. I smiled, "Thanks Sakura, now, if only Naruto would keep still while I finish these dragon Lilies on his arm…" Our sensei appeared after a few minutes, beginning to make up some excuse about helping an old lady before seeing that I was painting. Kakashi raised a brow at my artwork, watching as I hissed at Naruto to keep still. "But it tickles Sasuke!" I tighten my grip on his arm, digging in my short nails. "If you make me mess up on these flowers I'll be extra generous when we train together tomorrow." he stiffened at that, making me smirk a little. "Good, now, was that so hard?" he glowered at me with a look in his eyes promising revenge one day. I simply smiled viciously, bring it.
It was a nice clear sunny day in Konoha, and there was a pleasant breeze as well. Currently, I was in a nice Dango shop- the same one Itachi and Kisame stop at after the Chūnin exams. Speaking of that time… I think I'll force myself onto Jiraiya, maybe butter him up by saying Icha Icha is amazing or whatever then get a free ride to Tsunade- and be at the exact location the Akatsuki attempt to kidnap Naruto prematurely. I believe it's the perfect place for a family reunion, barring Kisame doesn't mind, though I don't think he would. Taking another sip of the tea I ordered, I almost spat it out when a hand reached over and snatched up my dango. I didn't even sense or feel the person there. "Thanks, kid, you're are just too kind." a woman's voice said into my ear, and I could practically feel the sass.
I made a choking sound and turned around, leveling an unimpressed look on- one Anko. Oh. She shoved the sticks into her mouth, instantly making any attempts to get my dumplings back useless. She made a face, "Ugh, there's practically no sugar on these things." I stared at her for another moment, before giving her a deadpan stare, "I mean, you shouldn't have taken my food in the first place- whatever, you owe me now hoe." she placed her hands on her hips, leaving me a full view of her skintight fishnetted body. Hah, you think that'll work on me bitch? I'm 100% hotter than you could ever be and I've barely started puberty. "You got some guts kid, what makes you think I'll do anything you say?"
I held up a finger, stuffing the stick I had in my hand into my mouth, "One; I'm in love with only myself so such a provocative display won't get you anywhere. Plus I'm a child, so… hmm, two; I'll buy you as much dango as you want if you train me." she stared for a moment, before laughing, wiping a wake tear out of her eye. "Ahah- ah, I think I like you kid, though are you really sure what you're getting into? Me, train you for a limitless supply of dango? You sure bout' that kid?" I nodded, finishing off my dango and gulping down the rest of my tea. "Well, it's not like I really blow all my money off on everything, so I should be golden. Please train me?" her lips stretched into a feral smile, "Careful what you wish for, and I think I'll take you up on that deal." I mirrored her smile with my own, seeing a few people in the shop inch away from us in amusement.
'Hmm, I think this is a start to a beautiful friendship'.
I hummed while running the paintbrush over the wooden fence, ignoring Naruto as he attempted something stupid yet again. Painting in general was so calming; just so… nice to do. At least that's how it is for me, even if we are only repainting a white fence a solid color. I was so lost in my own world that when I was hit with the cold paint I let out strangled noise freezing, only to slowly turn to the blonde who was apologizing profusely, Sakura rubbing her temples and grumbling, "It's only you Naruto." I felt my eye twitch, lips spreading into a cruel smile. "Naruto," I reached into my weapons pouch and slowly pulled out a handful of senbon needles, features smoothing out into a serene expression. "Y-yeah?" I held them up and twisted my fingers, the needles ready to be thrown at any second with precision. "You might want to start running."
Kakashi sighed, chastising me lightly, "Now Sasuke, this is the fifth time this week Naruto has had to go to the hospital for injuries relating to senbon, especially in… sensitive… areas." Shrugging from my spot on the guest chair, the nurse scribbling something down on her clipboard stopped and openly gawked at me. "You're the reason for his almost daily visits?! He comes in here looking like a human pincushion! Why…?" Pausing in the inspection of my nails, I glanced around at my team for a moment before answering, "Because we're shinobi; it's just some wounds from when we're training, nothing too serious." Naruto was sitting on the hospital bed, senbon all removed and stored back into my storage seals courtesy of Kakashi; speaking of the scarecrow, he was leaning against the doorway with his eyes glued on his book, occasioning glancing up in conversation. Sakura was in the other guest seat, reading one of the many medical texts she accumulated or borrowed from the library or hospital.
Oh, so Sakura took a job at the facility- that was all her. Sure, she isn't performing surgery, but she's getting the basics down and I think her sensei is going to teach her the mystical palm jutsu soon. Still don't know who it is- she hasn't mentioned him other than he is very patient and kind, which is nice. The nurse shook her head, muttering something while she finished writing on her clipboard, sending a scowl my way when she turned and left the room. I leaned back in the chair, sighing and closing my eyes. It was silent for a while, nobody wanted to speak- we were all too tired from the paint disaster earlier today. I started getting restless after a bit, deciding to voice a question, "So, are we doing any other D-ranks today?" Kakashi gave a slight shrug, "I think it'd be best if we all went home."
Suddenly, I was struck with an awesome idea, blinking open my eyes and giving my teammates an enthusiastic grin. They eyed me warily, knowing I had something to say- kinda funny how we know each other almost like an extension of ourselves now. "We should have a team sleepover at my place- think of it as an apology for sticking you two full of needles for the past couple weeks." My teammates seemed to ponder this, Naruto being the first to speak up. "Sure teme, that sounds like fun dattebayo!" his own grin mimicking mine. Sakura yawned, "I'd have to ask my parents… but, I think I'd be able to come." we turned to Kakashi expectantly, the Jōnin raising a brow. "Hmm?" he questioned, being a bit wary at being the center of attention for our intense stares. "Will you come to the sleepover with us Kakashi-sensei? It's for the whole team after all- even if you don't do anything sensei." Sakura grumbled the last part, Naruto and I nodding along.
"Yeah sensei, it's for the whole team." I echoed, even going as far as pulling out the puppy eyes. He gave me an unimpressed one-eyed stare, though I could tell he was amused. "Puppy eyes don't work on me, I raised dogs." Coughing, I gestured to myself, "How can you say no to this beautiful face?" he chuckled, "I don't see anything worth calling beautiful in this room excluding my book." was his smartass reply- oh, it's kind of self-deprecating too… Naruto and Sakura squawked at that, rushing over and hugging me, earning a few snickers from myself. "Don't worry Sasuke, he's just lying." Sakura soothed, caressing my face lovingly. Naruto nodded, "Yeah teme, you're the prettiest person in this village dattebayo." he assured me, patting my head. I sniffled, "Do you really mean it?" their response was to hug me tighter and give me a serious look. We all stared at each other for another moment, before bursting into giggles. I almost missed the soft look in Kakashi's eye at our antics. "Awe, you guys are the best~" I crowed, before succumbing to another fit of laughter. Soon we were just laughing at each other's laughs, unable to stop even when our sides started hurting. "H-ah! I can't breath-" I wheezed out, making my teammates laugh harder at the strangled sounds I was making.
By the time we had gotten a handle on ourselves, we were wiping tears away from our eyes, the occasional snicker leaving our lips. "So Kakashi-sensei, will you join us?" I asked again, slowly unpeeling myself from Naruto and Sakura's arms, them mimicking my actions. He sighed dramatically, putting away his book, "Guess I have no choice." We cheered, racing out of the room through the window to get our stuff ready.
I was sitting on the couch in my living room, the rest of the team was supposed to be arriving in about half an hour, leaving me time to get things ready. Popcorn and drinks were already set out on the coffee table, along with blankets, pillows, and sleeping bags in a large pile on the floor. Since I had some time to kill, I pulled out a small scroll from one of my storage seals on the apron I took off. I had changed and taken a shower beforehand, and opted on wearing some fluffy pajama pants with little duckies on them and a baggy white t-shirt that had a huge pink heart smack dab in the middle as a design. Is it girly? Yep. I never cared for social normality in the first place; I wear and do what I want, simple really. If it confuses and creeps other people out all the better.
The scroll was something I'd been working on the past week; I'd been planning for the Chūnin exams and the events afterward, and have been writing a very long letter that I was going to slip to Itachi when the time was right. Basically all the things I've been up to, new ideas, some pieces of artwork on a separate storage seal inside, a hefty amount of dango, you know. I just wanna see Konoha try to stop me from catching up with my brother, I dare them- dare Danzo the child creeper. One of these days I'm gonna slip up and call someone the nickname I have for them in my head and they're gonna punt me across the elemental nations.
After a short while I hear a knock on my door, and a voice shouting, "open up teme!" It's probably Kakashi. I rolled up the scroll and sealed it away while getting up to open the door, calling back, "just a minute!" after dusting off some imaginary dirt from my pajama pants, I grabbed the handle and swung the door open, being immediately assaulted by a cacophony of noise. Sakura was smacking Naruto for some reason- and is that Kiba? Wait, all of the rookie 9? Once he saw me, Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head, breaking the ice with, "This place is creepy at night dattebayo." I idly noted everyone had various bags- presumably full of their sleep clothes, snacks, and other things relating to a sleepover. Quirking a brow, I replied, "Yeah, deters most intruders too. So, why is everyone here and not just you two? I mean, I don't really mind but-" I shrugged, and Ino shot an accusatory glare at the blonde, making him inch closer to me. "So Sasuke-kun didn't even know we were coming?" Waving off any threats, I offered the group a small smile and stepped to the side of the door. "It's fine, please make yourself at home."
After everyone filed in, I closed and locked the door after stepping inside, watching as everyone got situated. "Ooh, popcorn!" Choji said and grabbed one of the bowls, taking a seat on the couch; Shikamaru and Ino joining him. Naruto and Sakura set up a couple of the beanbags on the floor, while Hinata accompanied Shino as they got some more drinks from the kitchen. Kiba and Naruto started chatting away, making me smirk slightly. Thinking for a moment about where I would sit, I shrugged and sprinted towards the couch, jumping and landing on Shikamarus lap. He let out a wheezing noise while I wrapped my arms around his neck, batting my eyelashes at him while pursing my lips. "I've missed you Shika-kun~, we haven't gotten to spend any time together for a while." he made a face, before sighing and deciding it wasn't worth expending the energy to kick me off.
"We all haven't really, except for the other members on our teams." I stuck my tongue out at him, "Aw, why can't you just admit you've missed me already Shi-ka-maru." I purred, running a finger down his shirt. He shivered in disgust while Naruto snorted and made fun of his misery. Shikamaru's normally sleepy expression dropped into a deadpan stare and regarded me with a look one would give if you came upon a mildly disturbing scene of two animals tearing each other apart in the wild. "I'm regretting choosing to come to this get-together, it's such a drag." my face fell into a pout, "So mean Shika-kun," I whined, unpeeling my arms from his person and begrudgingly getting off his lap. Turning to Naruto, I popped the question; "So, how did you manage to drag everyone here in the first place anyway?"
"Heh heh… Well, I know you said it's a team sleepover, but we all haven't really had the time to meet up together- the rookie nine dattebayo. I was just gonna get Shikamaru and maybe Hinata, but everyone found out and tagged along." he nodded, "Hmm, yeah, that sounds about right." humming, I accepted his answer and went into the kitchen for some tomatoes, content with just snacking on those the rest of the night. At some point, we started a movie marathon. Kakashi showed up about a movie and a half in, offering some lame excuse about him taking a super long shower or something. The Jōnin made sure no one murdered anyone else and prevent Naruto from cooking and burning down the whole compound- what a kind and generous man.
I must have fallen asleep at some point because I found myself startling awake when someone shook me awake. I reacted and reached for the kunai I always keep under my pillow to slit the throat of the unfortunate fool who decided to mess with my beauty sleep. Upon finding myself with no kunai and a different room other than my bedroom, my eyes shot open and I jumped up from my spot on the couch- Sharingan spinning wildly and scanning the entire room before landing on a startled Naruto. "Jeez teme," he whispered, while I deactivated my kekkei genkai, eyes fading back to their usual onyx color. My eyes narrowed, "why'd you wake me up Naruto?" I hissed in a low voice, noting everyone sprawled out around the living room asleep. He scratched the back of his head, adopting a sheepish expression, warily inching away from my dangerous aura I was unconsciously projecting. "I couldn't sleep?" he offered, bringing his arms up in an attempt placate me. "So you woke me up?" One thing about myself is that I absolutely despise being woken up in the morning- or any time for that matter, when someone isn't dying or if the village isn't on fire.
"Hey hey, you're gonna wake them up!" he whisper-yelled at me, gesturing frantically to a few of our friends who were starting to stir. I kept glaring while I reeled in my killing intent as best I could, watching as they settled back into sleep again. I landed on the floor soundlessly, motioning for him to follow me as I weaved around the sleeping bags and strewn about food. Naruto trailed after me as I made my way to the kitchen, glancing at the clock on the wall and scrunching my nose in disdain. Sending the blonde a look, I asked, "four AM? Really?" Opening the fridge and grabbing a tomato, I went through the motions of making coffee, too awake to go back to sleep but too tired to function normally. He took a seat at the kitchen table, silent for a moment before he spoke up. "I had a nightmare."
I paused mid-step, then resumed what I was doing while taking a bite out of the fruit in my hand. "Tea always helps." was my quiet reply, opening one of the cabinets and taking out a box with numerous different teas and placing it silently on the counter. I glanced back and saw him offer me a smile and get up to grab it, opening another cabinet for a cup. After a few minutes, I sat down at the kitchen table with a steaming cup of black coffee. Naruto joined me with his tea and sent me a look while I chugged the scalding hot liquid. Hey, when you shot fireballs out of your mouth almost daily(training), a little hot coffee is nothing. Well, actually I coat my throat with chakra to prevent burns- and it's probably not good for my internal organs… meh. I rubbed at my eyes, sighing in content, ah, that really warm feeling feels super nice. It was quiet, the rest of my guests sleeping- though I suspect Kakashi is always listening and watching- and still managing to catch some sleep; I saw the sky was brightening slowly as the minutes ticked by.
"Hey, Sasuke?" I turned towards the blonde, raising a brow and replying, "Hn?" his relaxed look morphed to a nervous one, causing him to smile shakily. "You're not still mad about me waking you up, right?" he winced when my lips curled into a vicious smirk. "Training is gonna be extra fun today."
He blanched and started making these choking noises. 'Huh, funny'.
Omake; Cracked up team introductions
Team 7's new sensei proceded to silently stare at them as soon as he walked into the classroom, not even reacting when the chalkboard eraser hit his head. After a few more minutes he let out a shaky breath, muttering a petrified, "No…"
"Yosh! Our sensei is finally here!" Naruto cheered, fist-pumping the air enthusiastically in his bright neon orange spandex jumpsuit, yellow bowl cut swaying with the movement. "But it was quite unyouthful of him to be so late." the pink-haired kunoichi pouted, hands on her hips and own tasteful red spandex. "..." Sasuke was silent, sitting on the ceiling in a meditative pose with his eyes open. His gaze locked with Kakashi's, the Uchiha blinked slowly before a twisted and malicious grin spread across his lips; not unlike one a lion would give a small rabbit. He was in a completely white kimono, Sharingan active and spinning, and with his long black hair draping over his face, he was particularly unsettling.
The Jonin pondered his options, before deciding to try and speak with… the only one not wearing spandex. They were all insane without a doubt, but the Uchiha at least has to have the mellowest persona. Sakura and Naruto were screaming now about youth and getting each other fired up, yells of 'CHA', and 'Dattebayo!' echoed throughout the empty classroom. "So.. uh, Sasuke was it?" said boy's creepy smile slowly dropped into a serene one, and he nodded, letting himself fall off the ceiling and landed on his toes. "Yes."
"Can you tell them to meet me up on the roof for team introductions in five minutes?" he nodded, "Of course. By the way, have you seen my art? I'm very proud of it you see." Kakashi let out another shaky sigh, before shaking his head slowly. The smile immediately dropped from his face while his gaze intensified, seemingly staring into the depths of the Hatake's soul. "It's on the Hokage monument, how anyone could miss it is beyond me. Why don't you look out the window to see it?" he had a very bad feeling about this, be complied and peered out like requested. The boy had painted over the stone faces and replaced their image with people of his choosing.
Hashirama's face had been painted to resemble Itachi, his criminal brother. Tobirama's had a spiraling orange mask with a single Sharingan eye staring out of its hole. Somehow that image made a shiver run down Kakashi's spine. Hiruzen's face resembled Sasuke's-no surprise there for anyone who knew the boy-, and lastly, Minato's looked like Madara's. Naruto caught him staring and startled him out of his inspection when he shouted, "Sasuke-chan turned the Hokage mountain into the Uchiha mountain, it's very youthful in my opinion!" Sasuke wiped a faux tear away from his eye and sniffled, "Thank you Naru-chan, I always put effort into my art and this piece is perfect. We might as well change our village name from Konohagakure to Uchihagakure."
Sakura nodded rapidly, flushing and exclaimed with stars in her eyes, "YOSH! All your ideas are perfect Sasuke-kun, marry me!" he took the fair maidens hand and kissed it, smirking up at her with a smoldering look in his eye. Her heart rate picked up and she squealed, fainting on the spot. She fell and her form landed in a tasteful pose, long hair spreading out around her unconscious form like a halo. It was all too much of a sight for the young starstruck Naruto to take and he fainted too with a massive nosebleed.
Kakashi looked on in detached wonder, Sasuke meeting his eyes again with the smuggest smirk the boy could muster. "They won't wake up until we get them to the roof, maybe then they will have calmed down with their… you know." the Uchiha didn't say the dreaded word since he knew it would practically reanimate the blonde and pinkette with stronger fire to boot. Sasuke threw both of his teammates over his shoulder and effortlessly carried them up the stairs, trailing after the Jonin. Kakashi's mind had been overstimulated with such displays of the fire of youth, along with Sasuke's odd obsession with the validation with his art- Kakashi would say that stemmed from his own insecurities but chose not to comment in fear of what the young Uchiha would do to him.
Once he was comfortably seated he chanced a look at the trio in front of him, Sasuke in between the unconscious spandex lovers on the stairs. "Can you… wake them up?" the artist nodded, then leaned down and whispered something into each of their ears, leaning back some when they both shot up, reenergized. "So Kakashi-sensei, we are to introduce ourselves?" Sasuke asked, and the Hatake nodded, choosing to ignore the fact he already knew his name. "But Kakashi-sensei, how are we supposed to introduce our youthful selves?" Sakura asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion. Naruto nodded along, "Yosh, how about you do it first sensei so we know how to?" Kakashi cleared his throat, "Uhm… like this. Ahem, my name is Hatake Kakashi, the things I like and things I don't like… I can't think of at the moment. My hobbies are… reading… my dream for the future? Protect this village and someday raise an exceptional genin team."
Naruto and Sakura stared wide-eyed at the Jonin with stars in their eyes, while Sasuke looked unimpressed. (Keep in mind he still has his Sharingan active.) "Your dream is most youthful dattebayo!" the pinkette gave a thumbs up, "Indeed Naru-kun, let us run 50 laps around the village after this; I'm fired up CHA!"
"We have to introduce ourselves next Sakura." Sasuke reminded her, making her blush in response. "Sorry, it's just hard to control my youthful fire like this.." how she said that in such a shy and apprehensive tone with forever mystify Kakashi. "Me first!" Naruto bounced in place, vibrating with youthful energy. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen, youth, youthfulness, ramen, my youthful friends, youthful foods like ramen… and my dream' is to be the greatest and most youthful Hokage dattebayo!" Kakashi had to stop himself from jumping off of the roof and joining his friends and father in the afterlife, and instead stay seated and listen to two lunatics and one psychopath integrate themselves under his tutelage. 'Why can't anything in my life be easy?' Kakashi thought with a mental whine, only to mentally scream out his frustrations a second later when Sakura introduced herself.
"I'm Haruno Sakura! What I like is- I mean the person I want to spend the rest of my days with is Sasuke." she openly stared at him with a blushing face. "My dream is-" she couldn't contain herself and squealed, throwing herself at the impassive boy and wrapping her limbs around his waist, nuzzling into his hair. "FUCK ME NOW SASUKE!" she screamed, making Naruto gasp. Kakashi watched as Naruto's heart was broken into itty bitty pieces then set on fire, then thrown into a pit and buried- only to be dug up and reanimated only to be broken just as violently again. When Sakura started rubbing her body against Sasuke's is when Kakashi snapped and stood, shunshining over and grabbing the Uchiha's arm, and yanking him out of the pinkettes vice-grip; he shunshined away with Sasuke in tow, traveling to the village gates and booting Sasuke out. "Your mission is to hunt and return with a rabbit for provisions- survival exercise!" before the boy could object the silver-haired Jonin shunshined away, presumably to hide and try to wait the insanity out and hope that this was some kind of sick dream. Sasuke shrugged, then turned and skipped off into the woods, happily humming Disney songs.
"Often people have it wrong, mistakenly believing… that showing mercy to an enemy is kindness. They spare the foe whose life is in their hands. But don't you see? It's an empty existence, to go on living… alone and unloved… when defeat's already cost you your dream!" – Haku
"When people get hurt, they learn to hate… When people hurt others, they become hated and racked with guilt. But knowing that pain allows people to be kind. Pain allows people to grow… and how you grow is up to you." – Jiraiya
I will probably go back and correct grammar mistakes later on cause I'm too lazy to do it now hehe.
Also ref for Sasuke down below- ignore the different clothing, it's just random
creepergirl890/art/Sasuke-from-Is-this-Reality-828881526