Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Saku began reading out names and members of our class headed to the front to be escorted out by their Jonin Sensei, team after team was called and members of our class gradually filed out. Eventually there was just me and Kakashi left, I looked at Kakashi with a nervous smile, perhaps we might be on the same team after all, he looked equally hopeful.

"As for you two," Saku spoke up from the front, "You're to meet your sensei at training ground 7, I understand that because of the odd class size this year something in particular has been prepared for you."

Kakashi rolled his eyes, I felt the same, he could have told us from the beginning and we'd already be there. We practically ran out of the door and down the hall to the exit.

Kakashi hadn't said anything about racing to the training ground but it became somewhat of an unspoken game between us as we kept amping up the speed. Training ground 7 was pretty far outside the center of the village and it was almost 10 minutes later when we arrived.

Minato was waiting. But he didn't look too happy. He welcomed us both with a nod before he started speaking "Normally at this point I'd have you introduce yourselves but since I already know both of you and one of you won't be here for too much longer it doesn't make sense to waste time." I practically heard both mine and Kakashi's ears stand to attention to the second part of that greeting. Minato grimaced before continuing, "Honestly I'd love to have you both but as a rule teams are 3 man units, occasionally a Jounin is allowed to select an apprentice which is what I've been able to agree with the Hokage. But I can only have one apprentice."

Both myself and Kakashi started to speak up, to protest but Minato silenced his both with a hand, "I've already spoken to the hokage about this at length. I agreed long ago with Sakumo that I would take Kakashi on when he graduated but the Hokage would rather I take Keiko considering the promise he has shown. This was the only solution we could find. A final test, the loser will go back to the academy to repeat the final year. I'm sorry guys I really am."

Kakashi and I were speechless, in the last 20 minutes we'd had our hopes allayed and then dashed in quick succession, eventually I was able to ask what the test would be.

Minato brought out a bell, "You will have until 2PM to take this bell from me, the one who does gets to be my apprentice." He wound up a clock before placing it on the floor, "Your time starts now."

Both Kakashi and I fled into the trees.

"This can't be happening," Kakashi complained, "We finally get a Jounin sensei, we're placed together and now this?"

I shook my head there had to be something else, something we were missing, a reason for this.

"Of course there's a reason," Kakashi spoke up, I hadn't realised I had been speaking out loud, "This is a test of Shinobi rule number 4."

"'A shinobi must always put the mission first'?" I quoted "You think they're trying to see which is stronger between our loyalty to each other or to the village?"

"It's the only thing that makes sense." He shrugged.

I didn't believe it, I had heard the Hokage talk about the will of fire, how it centered around your will to protect your friends, your family. This isn't a test he'd set up, it goes counter to his philosophy.

"How is either of us going to get the bell off him in the first place anyway?" Kakashi contemplated.

"Either way we're going to have to do something soon, Minato isn't going to leave us like this forever." I replied

"What do you mean 'we'?" Kakashi asked, "You heard him, only one of us can pass this test."

"Maybe," I conceded "But I'm not going to let a stupid test split us up, if it comes to it you can take the apprenticeship, it's not worth my friendship to you Kakashi." Kakashi looked stunned, he looked at me with some emotion I couldn't derive. Embarrassed I continued, "Besides Minato is a Jounin, do you really think we'll be able to get the bell from him acting alone? We might be the top of our class but we're still just genin."

Kakashi nodded at that, "So what's the plan?"

I jumped out of the trees to land opposite Minato, he gave me his full attention.

"Done with hiding? I suppose Kakashi's given you the first try." He said

I smiled and launched myself at Minato, I wasn't going to say anything that might give away what we had planned. Minato immediately dropped into his stance and engaged me. It only took the first few moments of our exchange for me to realise that the last time I had sparred against Minato he was holding back by a large amount, many of my strikes were deflected before they even came into proximity of their targets, though steadily I was forcing him back towards the decline that precipitated the forest on this side of the training ground. I was hard pressed to keep up with his hits myself however, especially his kicks.

Eventually one of his kicks broke my guard and I was thrown backwards through the air. Not ideal. I was hoping to at least get him to the tree line but he was close enough, I ran through hand signs as I stood up, not giving him the opportunity to see what I was preparing before I completed the jutsu "swamp of the underworld!" I called and Minato's eyes widened in realisation but it was too late.

I still wasn't good enough with the technique to turn the entire field into a bog but I could manage the area Minato was stood and because it was on a hill it created a small landslide. Minato struggled to extract himself from being already shin deep in the sticky slurry. By the time he did he was already in the forest proper and I leaped after him.

Inside the forest I found Kakashi had already engaged him, keeping him within the forest before he could escape, when he saw me coming he broke from Kakashi Long enough to create 2 shadow clones to delay me. Using the hair hardening technique jiraiya taught me I stretched my hair over my hands creating spiked gloves which I used to make quick work of the clones.

With the prospect of fighting the both of us and no escape from the forest Minato leaped backwards, further in, and was surprised when he was suddenly stopped by a web of ninja wire, the same moment he saw where the wire led he threw a tri pronged kunai into the distance, there was a flash of yellow light that flickered for a moment before Kakashi charged the wire with a raiton jutsu incapacitating Minato. I landed in the same web moments later cloaked in my white mane which offered protection against being zapped and grabbed the bell from Minato's unconscious body. I took the time to head into the forest to collect the unusual kunai Minato had thrown assuming he'd want it back.

Once we got Minato back to the training ground and he recovered from being zapped he stood up checked his belt and not finding his bell looked between the two of us.

"Well. Which one of you managed to get the bell?" He asked.

Kakashi and I both pointed at each other, "He did."

Minato sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "well you guys pass. Honestly I thought it would take a little longer than this. Seems like I've been slacking off."

Kakashi and I looked at each other "what do you mean Minato?" I asked

"Ah ah, that's Minato-sensei to you now. And you both pass. Getting the bell was never the point of this exam, the point was -"

"To work as a team" Kakashi completed, he scowled then, "You tried to drive us apart by telling us there was only one place available."

Minato nodded "Got it in one Kakashi."

"That's a mean trick Sensei" I complained.

"Well originally Kakashi was going to be the only one I was going to be teaching but I got you a few days ago without warning so I'm just giving a little payback." he said grinning, "You need to remember guys, no matter the situation, if you can't rely on your team you don't have a team. The team always comes first."

Kakashi and I nodded, suddenly I remembered the kunai Minato had thrown and I passed it to Minato who thanked me looking a little sheepish.

"What was that yellow flash, Sensei?" I asked

He scratched the back of his head "A new technique. It was too early to use it on combat really, still a prototype."

I nodded. I had felt the activation of a seal so I was more than a little curious but I let it go, I understood that new techniques were jealously guarded among ninja.

"Now who wants to eat at ichiraku's to celebrate?" Minato asked.

"You just want to go there to see Kushina." Kakashi groaned, seeing through Minato immediately.

Minato went a little red in the face but he tried to pretend he didn't hear him.

The next day we went to have our team picture and Minato was insisting I wear my Konoha headband.

"I know it's an honour to wear it Sensei, it just… Look at me, I don't exactly accessorise much." I explained, exasperated.

Minato though wouldn't budge and in the end I opted to wear it around my bicep. The next struggle was the team picture, Minato had insisted me and Kakashi stand in front and whilst I was shorter than Minato my hair was voluminous enough that it made up the difference, with Minato not budging and the cameraman losing patience an assistant was called to fetch 3 boxes, one which Kakashi stood on and the other 2 were stacked for Minato.

In the end the picture came out quite well and I personally requested 3 different prints. Minato also mentioned we would be getting another team photo once a third member joined us, according to him genin operated in 3 man cells with a Jonin leader and eventually a new person would be added to our team. Kakashi didn't seem too happy about that but I was strangely looking forward to a new member of our team. Minato dismissed us for the day and asked us to show up early the next day for our first mission.

When we arrived at Hokage tower I was practically dancing with excitement for our first mission. It was to my immense disappointment to find that the D ranks we would be doing for the immediate future were little more than glorified chores. That day found Kakashi and myself dutifully repainting the gates of Konoha under Minato's watchful gaze. It would have been good tree walking practice if we hadn't long since perfected the practice, without even that upside it was just laborious.

I had hope the next day but that mission had us delivering a message to an outpost no more than an hour from Konoha as the ninja flies.

It was a pattern that repeated itself until I was almost ready to lose my mind before finally, after a week, Minato called us to training ground 7 for some training.

"Good morning my lovely students" Minato greeted us, "There won't be any missions today. Instead I have some good news and some bad news."

"Good news first please sensei" Kakashi drawled.

"Very well then," he removed some brown colored paper from behind his back, "Today you learn your chakra nature"

Kakashi's hand almost reached out for the paper before he drew it back, I wasn't entirely sure what a chakra nature was but if it made Kakashi so excited it could only be good. First things first though.

"And what's the bad news?" I asked before we continued.

Minato seemed to become a little nervous "Ah, well, you see now that the war is over the Hokage has been convinced by Tsunade that every unit should have a medic," I nodded, considering what I had heard of the success of teams in the war that followed the tenant Tsunade espoused - that every team should have a medic - it only seemed to make sense that should be the case, but then I realised what that would mean, Kakashi though was still waiting for the rest of the news, "I already have my own studies to keep me up at night, Ko is unsuitable due to his abnormally high chakra reserves, so that leaves you Kakashi"

Kakashi's face, even with his mask went through several discernable emotions. First, shock, then disbelief, then distaste after which he looked to be about to argue but decided better after looking at Minato's firm expression he then looked frustrated and then finally resigned.

"You won't be required to learn all of a medics skills and knowledge Kakashi, just enough to provide aid in the field" Minato commiserated.

Kakashi didn't look any happier but he did nod accepting the assignment.

"Ok, you'll report to the hospital Wednesday evenings to learn what you need Kakashi, you will be working with a nurse named Miku."

Kakashi nodded again and seemingly eager to change the subject Minato returned our attention to the paper he had brought out earlier.

"This is chakra paper," he explained, "If you push your chakra into the paper it will tell you what elemental affinity you have, that is which element best suits your chakra. Jutsu in this element will be easier to learn but you can learn other elements most Jonin are competent in least two."

'Well. I am fairly sure I've not got an affinity for earth judging by my struggle learning swamp of the underworld' I thought as Minato passed us both a piece of paper each.

Kakashi went first, frowning down at his paper it crinkled to his fingertips, he looked up at Minato who nodded "A raiton affinity, but you probably already suspected that considering your use of electric ninja wire. It's your father's affinity as well if I'm not mistaken." Kakashi nodded in confirmation and then they both turned to me.

I looked down at my paper and urged some chakra into it, immediately it fell into 2 pieces and flew away from my hand, "A futon affinity." Minato said, nodding, "That's rare. You won't find many people knowledgeable in that affinity in Konoha." I frowned thinking that was going to mean a lot more reading but then Minato continued, "Luckily for you I'm one of them and what's more wind jutsu is strong against Kakashi's electric jutsu." He finished grinning.

We spent the rest of the day training and Minato sent us both home with separate tasks to do in our spare time to enhance our control of our chakra nature. Mine was to split a leaf using only my chakra.

I spend the rest of the evening and most of the morning trying to cut the leaf with nothing but my chakra but had made no headway at all to my frustration. I set out to the mission desk to meet Minato and Kakashi still practicing.

When I arrived I found to my suprise that Kushina was joining us on this mission, due to the war there had been an increase in bandit activity and we were being sent to deal with a particularly large band that was causing problems on one of the main trade routes. It was still a C class mission because they were still only bandits but Kushina was being sent along with us as backup if it should escalate. We met up at the gates of Konoha to follow a merchant who, unknowingly, was our bait. Really he should be grateful, he had left on the road passing a known bandit hotspot and had not even requested an entourage, luckily for him he was getting one anyway. Minato and Kakashi followed from a few hundred meters back in the trees on the left hand side and Kushina and I a similar distance back but on the right.

"Does the Hokage really anticipate trouble on this mission?" I asked Kushina, keeping one eye on the merchant

She shook her head "not really, but you're only a 2 genin squad so on a mission like this which is almost certainly going to involve some combat he decided to send me for insurance. Especially since it's your first C rank."

I nodded and for a while we talked about seals. I had been a little curious lately because the 4th grade shelf that Kushina sealed away had no puzzle to let me access it. It was starting to concern me since I was could see myself reaching the end of the scrolls already unlocked to me within weeks.

"Oh, don't worry about that" Kushina said, "I'll unlock it for you when you're ready."

Interesting. So there was some knowledge or a level of maturity that was required before unlocking the next level. There would be no point in begging Kushina to unlock it with that in mind.

We spent the next few hours in a companionable silence, we didn't want the trader or the bandits to know we were here so stealth was key, once we entered what was known as the hotspot area for the robberies we dropped from the trees and followed on foot since the trees rustling from us jumping through them with no accompanying wind was a dead give away.

Kushina spotted them before I did, they were some distance behind us, they must have closed in from deeper into the forest. We took back up into the trees to let them pass and once they did we took up the chase again. It was a large band, I counted perhaps 50 and looking to the other side of the road I could see more on Minato and Kakashi's side.

I almost felt sorry for the bandits, they were plainly ragged from lack of nutrition and many of them had clothes that looked like they had had patches sewn over patches. At some hidden signal from Minato to Kushina she turned to me and nodded to begin the attack.

Whilst it was the simplest ease taking the bandits down there were a lot of them and at some point into the fray I lost sight of Kushina, the bandits who had surrounded me grinned thinking me a small child and they had me outnumbered. I quickly disabused them of that notion, bones splintered, blood flew from my knuckles as I dispatched enemy after enemy and after perhaps half a minute I heard a voice whisper in my ear, "Causing trouble are we." and I felt a pain penetrate me, at first I only heard the wet 'plop' as the spear that had been shoved into me exited through the other side of my torso but the pain was quick to follow, I tried to grab the spear but my hands couldn't seem to for a grip, at first I thought it was because of the blood making the shaft slick but then I struggled to move my arms at all. Something on his spear had paralyzed me.

"You'll be coming back with me," His malevolent voice whispered from behind me. I didn't really have much choice but to go where he directed me with the spear and in the chaos of the fighting there was no way for Kushina to see me. After getting perhaps 50 yards away my captor seemed to grow bored with my slow pace and used the spear still skewered through my abdomen to hoist me into the air. My vision dimmed at the edges and I became aware that I must have screamed at that moment, despite the paralytic agent in my blood, for a heard Kushina shriek my name in the distance before my vision narrowed to black.

I awoke in an encampment, it appeared to be approaching evening so I knew I couldn't have been unconscious for long. Or at least I hoped that was the case. The spear impaling me had been wedged into the crevice of a large rock forcing me to remain standing, the paralyzing agent in my blood made it difficult but the pain that resulted from putting any measure of weight onto my wound was all the encouragement I needed to make it work. Looking down I realised I had lost a significant amount of blood, which explained why I was short of breath, without enough blood in my body to keep my brain active my heart was working overtime to pump blood around my body fast enough to keep everything working, I made an effort to try and slow down my heart, as it was it was only making me bleed out faster. It was at this moment the man who had captured me noticed I had woken up.

He was sat in front of a small fire, handily crafted so that smoke would not give it away. He was surrounded by men and I could see more behind them roaming the encampment. Whoever provided the information on this group was going to get a great deal of grief from me when I got back, we had been told there were maybe 60 to 70 in this bandit group but looking at them now and adding the ones that must have been killed back with Kushina there were easily 200 bandits. "Awake I see," He rasped, I thought he was whispering for covert reasons back during the fight but I saw now that his throat had been cut at some point in the past and he now struggled to speak. Worse than that though was the hitai-ate that he wore on his forehead from Kumo, it had a line etched through the village symbol marking him as a missing nin but being a ninja alone was enough to have put this mission up to at least a B rank. I was going to slaughter the information division if I made it back.

I grunted, I wasn't going to waste words in the state I was in, I spent what time I could looking around for something to use but the more I looked the more I despaired, short of being rescued there was nothing I could do.

"Not one for words are we?... Hmmmm, but we can help with that." He nodded to one of his men who walked over and cut into my right left shoulder, not particularly deeply, meant to cause pain rather than maim I thought. I clenched my teeth.

"On that knife is a paralytic to slow your heart." He swallowed, something that looked like he had trouble doing, "We wouldn't want you dying too quickly on us before we've had our fun." Some of his men laughed at that.

I realised if I wanted to get out of this in any fit state I needed to delay him so I asked him "Why?"

"'Why?' He asks," He spat into the fire before getting up, "I know what you're trying to do you know. Trying to delay the inevitable. But since you ask I will tell you as I continue my work on you. I'll tell you everything." He grabbed my hair holding my head up. I belatedly realised there was another knife in his hand he was holding to my face.

"Now, should we start with the face? It seems like something that should be built up to. Yes perhaps later, and I'll carve the insignia of your precious leaf into your forehead… But before that." The knife flashed and my flesh burned across my abdomen. "Yes it seems to have taken effect, don't pass out on me now boy, we have time now look." He slapped my face and brought my attention to my chest and stomach which now had a diagonal line across it, what was curious was my blood though which seeped slowly from it as if too viscous to escape. Not good I decided.

"The venom you have been infected with comes from Suna, it coagulates the blood, makes you bleed slower. Now you asked me why?" He had moved away at this point, to the side where I couldn't see him but I heard the rattle of chains. And then he was back. "I had a brother before the war. Perhaps you can tell where this is going. But I like to think I'm a simple man with simple motivations. Yes" He nodded to himself "Before the war I had a brother… and now I don't. Wake up." Suddenly I felt a tearing pain in my chest again and opening my eyes I saw to my horror that he had pushed a hook into the flesh at one side of the wound on my chest, the hook curled outwards from the cut, I gasped a mixture of shock and pain.

"He was better than me. Always better. He was sent on a special mission with two other chunin to steal a weapon from Konoha." I felt the pain rip through my chest again and I nearly lost my footing, I looked up away from it, breathing in heavily, some of the missing nin's men were looking on a little uncomfortably. "Of course they failed despite nearly making it to the border. So now I used to have a brother. Because of Konoha." Some part of what he was saying connected in my brain. A team that made it as far as the kumo border.

I was given a short respite whilst he connected the two hooks together with a chain.

"Then our idiot of a leader decided to end the war. Before I had my revenge. Well, I guess you can see how I got here now. The war won't be over so long as I have blood to bleed."

"Uh, boss, should we be doing this. He is a ninja but he's just a kid." I didn't see the man who said this but I heard the blunt sound of a fist making contact with something before a body fell into the fire, I looked up as someone hurriedly dragged him off and the missing nin looked around as if to ask if there was anyone else. Apparently satisfied he looked back to me and I saw his face for the first time. I had a moment of dawning realisiation when I saw that he looked like he could have been the face looking down on me almost two years ago when I had first met Minato and he had left me with one of Kushina's kidnappers. The face that looked blankly down onto mine with a kunai in its neck as the corpse's weight lay on me.

I also saw he was holding more hooks. He made short work of threading another 4 into me before my legs failed beneath me and he held me up by my neck. He grinned, "Looks like you're on your last legs." Some of his men may have laughed, I could barely see through the shadows at the edges of my vision but I knew there was only pain ahead. I resolved to make it quick. I leaned as far forward as I dared and into his ears whispered what I knew. I had killed his brother and I told him how. Accidentally killing yourself wasn't exactly a glowing sign of competency as a shinobi. I told him what he looked like, his hair color, his sunglasses in case he didn't believe me. As I leaned back I saw he did, his face was set, he was done playing games, he attached the chains to some logs that were off to either side of me. They were connected to some kind of mechanism, I didn't see much more for when the ninja directed a man to begin and I heard a cranking noise in the background I blacked out as my flesh began to be ripped from my body.

I was in hell. That was my first thought, I came back to semi consciousness to an intense feeling of malice, glanced down for a moment and resolved to not do so again. Instead I tried to raise my head and saw that everything was alight and there was screaming, against the fire though I saw a red aura, someone shadowed within it. There was an explosion some distance behind me and in the light I saw what might have been Kushina, but different. I vomited and could not tell if it was the nights darkness that closed in or the darkness of unconsciousness. The outline of Kushina against red was all I saw before the malice and rage in the air intensified. If I could have moved I would have ran. Instead I let the darkness take me.

AN: Easily the hardest chapter so far to write, especially the first half that's partly why this took so long the other part being I had some planning to do for the next few years of this story before I tied myself up in plot holes. Thank you again for the reviews. I hope you enjoyed. See you in the next chapter.