Chapter VI: Dynamics

I walked fast. Faster. No, if I went faster I would break into running; I didn't want togo into fuul panic. Fuck, this wasn't supposed to happen. Why the hell it happened anyway? It made no sense that I'd be summoned by the Hokage. I really didn't do anything except of minding my own pathetic existence. Was even that too much? Apparently. My thoughts went back to Danzo. Nah, it can't be him. JSADGIASQDBIASBCCISADBCHUWEFUWH! Calm down. What is done is done. Besides, I had no say in it.

I started walking normally, if not a little robotically until reached the door. Yeah, just like always the doors were a bigger problem than they probably should be. Perhaps I had some sort of phobia or shit. Ooor perhaps I had bad anxiety. Yeah, perhaps. Should I just barge right in,or…? Ah, what about the eraser? But this was a little too early for that. Or at least that's what I hoped. I really wasn't looking forward to be showered in chalk dust. I opened the door and waited before entering. No eraser, that's good. Three pairs of eyes fixed me. Poor things. They must have been waiting for some time now.

"KAYA – CHAN?! NO WAY! YOU CAN'T BE OUR TEACHER!"

I flinched at the shouting blonde, closing the door and stepping further into the room, thankful that he didn't set the eraser yet.

"Don't be so loud, Naruto. My ears are fully functional."

"Baka, of course she's not our sensei, she's a genin like us!" Scowled Sakura, and then turned to me smiling. "Why are you here, Kaya-chan?"

Must be bipolar this one. Her being so nice and polite really scared me. It gave me the impression that she was plotting my slow and painful death. The third one in the room was eyeing me as well. I sighed.

"I have some business with your sensei and I figured he didn't arrive yet so I came here."

"Oi, you know who he is?! Tell us!" I mentally smacked myself for saying that. Of course they'd be curious. I would be too. I watched the blonde anxiously waiting for me to unravel the mystery of their sensei's identity. It didn't escape me Sakura's expectant expression or Sasuke's head tilted towards me. Ha, kids.

"Patience is a virtue, Naruto." I smiled at their groans.

Naruto walked away from me, mumbling something about cruelty and unfairness. I was so content, to see the sun burning high in the sky as I walked to the window to scan the entrance of the Academy. I hate it so much. The sun? Yes. Being here with these three? Also yes.

"The three of you… are in the same team? That's hilarious." I giggled and Sasuke scowled refusing sparing us, peasants, even another glance. Hawks, huh? Nah fam, he should summon some peacocks in Shippuudden . Naruto grinned at me and I still couldn't get over how fast these kids were going from one mood and emotions to another. Hello, problems with emotion regulation, anyone?

"He's quite late, isn't he? How much have you guys waited until now?"

"Two hours."

I sighed. I nodded and turned back to the window. How funny… How funny, that our positions betrayed exactly what we were thinking. Naruto at the blackboard doing… something, excited about the whole team thing, Sakura trying to act as calm and nonchalant as she could, flipping her hair but pacing the classroom in anticipation, Sasuke at the desk still unsatisfied by the idea of having other teammates since he viewed them as deadweight on his road to avenge the clan. And me at the window, ready to leave at any moment as I didn't want to be here. What a picture we made.

"Why is the sensei of our team the only one late? Iruka-sensei already went home!" Naruto exclaimed. And who could blame him?

"That's not very important." Sakura said, supporting herself on a desk. On the contrary it was very very important since I was famished and ready to sacrifice one of them to Satan just for some onigiri. Even some ramen would do.

"Ha. I bet the other teams are home as well by now." I said adding my complaint to Naruto's. Sakura turned to me but didn't say a word. "Right after they had lunch."

Three stomachs in unison seemed to agree with me. At least I'm not the only one suffering. Because, we were in this together~

"What are you doing, Naruto?"

The wait is almost over.

"This will teach him to never be late again" Naruto said adjusting the eraser he balanced at the door as a prank for the grey jounin. "It's his fault for being late."

"It's your own fault if you get in trouble." Sakura glanced disapprovingly at the eraser.

"A Jounin will never fall for a plain trap like that."

"And the duckling finally spoke." I announced clapping. "Plot twist: he actually falls for it and makes you look like a fool and Naruto as a trap genius."

"Duckling?" Naruto asked confused as I smiled innocently as a response to Sasuke's glare.

"Yeah, you know the back of his hair …" I motioned behind my head. "Looks like a chicken butt, but I hate ducks more, so yeah, 'duckling' it is."

"Sasuke-kun's hair doesn't look like a chicken's butt!"

"Yeah, and mine doesn't look frizzy mop."

"…"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! SASUKE'S HAIR LOOKS LIKE A CHICKEN'S BUTT!"

"NARUTO!"

"Shhh. Steps."

Thank the Vala. I really shouldn't feed their childish urges. But it was fun. And also, I shouldn't dig my own grave even deeper, judging from Sasuke's glares. A hand appeared through the door crack and the tips of grey hair. Finally… and the eraser fell landing with a 'puff' on Kakashi's head and then on the floor. Out of consternation, none of us said anything. Until the blonde exploded.

"He fell for it! He fell for it!"

Naruto – 1, Sasuke – 0.

I snorted coming closer and I could feel, annoyance and disappointment emanate from Sasuke. Ha. That duck. I really shouldn't call him that. But I wanted to get other reaction out of him, beside death glares.

"Gomenasai, sensei! I tried to stop him, but I Naruto-kun didn't listen to, me…"

…. Really? I shook my head half amused, half annoyed, playing my fingers on the desk Sasuke was sitting at. Apparently, he didn't have a problem with tapping noises. Damn it.

"Don't worry. He is a Jounin." I rolled my eyes. Finally, a reaction. Sasuke frowned. I smiled amused. Nope, Sasuke I don't read minds. Though I wish I had, that would have be awesome.

"How should I say this… my first impression of you guys" Kakashi spoke for the first time with the eraser in his hand. "… I hate you."

Ha. Haha. Hahaha. No. Not really. That really crushed everybody's high spirits. Sasuke has such a thing? Shut up. He's human, of course he does. Minutes later we were on the roof and Kakashi wasn't particularly happy that I omitted explaining the situation to his three new genin.

"Whaa? Kaya-chan, you lied to us!" Naruto exclaimed with indignation. Bruh, you don't know even half of the story, ok?

"No, I didn't. I do have business with your sensei. Or the other way around. It's just a long-term prolonged kind of business." I was exasperated already by the energy bursts from this kid. And with the lose wavy strands of hair that got in my face because of the wind. I decided against trying to get them to stay out of my face since that wasn't going to happen anyway. I hated wind.

"But Kakashi-sesei, aren't the teams supposed to be of three genins and a Jounin?" Sakura asked politely. I sighed. I had hoped that she at least would understand, her being … the smartest student in our year.

"It isn't fair to the other teams."

I arched an eyebrow to the Uchiha. Fairness? He talks about fairness? Oh, really now? That little… He's not like that. Not yet. Of course, that didn't mean he wasn't a considerable ass and bastard with a superiority complex that needed to be reminded that he was just a child playing at being an avenger.

"Now, listen, and listen close, I am not…"

"Kaya isn't part of this team" Kakashi cut me off. "She's under my surveillance, ours if you choose so. If she wants to take part of the training is up to her. Although, she'll have to take part to our missions as I have to keep an eye on her."

"…. his student, but his mission." I continued my sentence as if Kakashi didn't speak.

"But why do you have to keep an eye on her, sensei?" Sakura said stealing glances at me.

"Because I have chosen to become a shinobi and there were no teams for me to join. We were an uneven number and since I don't want to be a civilian, I as a genin, have to be under the surveillance of a Jounin. The reason why I've been put under Kakashi is pretty much obvious." I explained deciding to put an end to the questions. I pointed at Sasuke's head and then stopped at Sakura. "Is this explicit enough for you?"

Actually, the real reason was waaay simpler. The village didn't trust to leave an Uchiha with other Jounins. Kakashi had both the expertise and experience to handle the matter. And was a former ANBU. I could only imagine Danzo was delighted with The Third's plan. Of course, the official version was the one I passed to Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke,the rest was what I deduced, because it made no sense. We weren't uneven. There wasn't one year in which the number of students was uneven. That was hardcore bullshit.

"Because of Sasuke?" Naruto blinked not understanding. "Why is he the reason…"

"Why don't you introduce yourselves?" Kakashi cut off Naruto. Not sketchy at all.

"Oi! Sensei, why is Sasuke the reason Kaya-chan…"

"Introduce ourselves? What are we supposed to say?" Sakura getting the hint without pressing the matter further although she must have been just as curious as Naruto was. I ignored the feeling that a pair of black eyes were fixing me.

"What you like, what you don't, dreams and hobbies. Things along that line." Kakashi explained.

"Hey, why don't you introduce yourself first, sensei?" Ha, that was easy. Naruto really was easily distracted. That would be ADHD and ADD to you. I would know.

"Me? I'm Hatake Kakashi. I have no intention of telling you my likes and my dislikes. As … for my dream… I have few hobbies."

How informative.

"So, all we found out was his name." Sakura stated. I snickered.

"A true shinobi sees beyond what the eyes can see." I recited solemnly.

So this is Kakashi-sensei. I must confess meeting him was something I was looking forward to, but didn't know if I'd have opportunity to. Let me put it simple: his hair was weird. Waaay weirder than Sakura's. I mean, Sakura's hair was pink and you could get used to that, but Kakashi's hair was defied the law of gravity. And not like Naruto, whose hair was a blonde mess of unruly hair that decided to be spiky. Not to mention it was grey. And he was young. What was he 26? 27? Holy crap, he is 2 or 3 years older than what I was. To say that that shook me to the core, was an understatement. The maturity level however, radically differed. I mean. I never went to war. I never lost my sensei and friends. I never went to countless missions. By age, we would have been close in range, but as life experience, I was a toddler in comparison to him.

Oh, and that damn mask. Apart from all that, he looked just about the way you would think a jounin would. Oh yeah. Because I've seen many jounin in my short life. He wasn't of an imposing height, actually I think he was about my height when I was on high heels. Had been. In my previous life. Which I still remembered. Yay.

The three looked at me curiously.

"What can you tell about Kakashi-sensei, then? Heh?" whispered Naruto excited. What and obnoxious child.

"Well, …"

"It's your turn guys. You go first." Of course he had to cut me off.

"My turn! I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I like cup ramen. My favorite ramen is the one from Ichiraku that Iruka-sensei buys for me. Hehe. I hate the three minutes I have to wait after I put the hot water in the instant cup. My hobby is to eat and compare cups ramens! And my dream is to become greater than the Hokages! I'm going to make all the villages recognize my existence."

"… I think they already do…from a mile ear radius."

My statement was ignored. Really. I sighed. I could have been at home sleeping. But no. I had to agree with the Third's plan. Damn me and damn him. And Danzo. And this world. Who dies and ends up reborn in an anime?!

"Okay, next."

"My name is Haruno Sakura. I like … well, the person I like is… And my hobby is… well, my dream is to…"

Well, you can't say she doesn't get what she wished for in the end. I mean, these two end up together though it's still questionable how. I wondered how they would react if I just told them that they would eventually marry and have a kid. I smiled evilly. Nah.

"And what do you hate?"

"Naruto."

"EHHHH?"

Jesus, take the from my hands. I want to sleep so bad. And this is soo boring, because I have already heard this befooooore.

"I see. You"

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are many things that I hate, and there aren't a lot of things that I like. Also, I have an purpose, which I have no intention to leave it just a dream. The revival of my clan and … to kill a certain man."

Ba-da-da-dum. I sighed. Yeah. That happened. I glanced at the Uchiha which was looking at nothing in particular already lost in his thoughts a thousand mils awaaay from us. Tch. If he knew… I furrowed my brows.

"And the last."

"You said I'm not part of the team. Ha, never mind. I'm Uchiha Kaya. I like taking long walks and early mornings. And coffee. I hate summer and when someone cuts me off in the middle of a sentence. And being ignored, of course. My hobby is reading and my dream is to find out – to acquire as much knowledge about the world as I can. That implies traveling everywhere. Hahaha. Essentially becoming an Hermit."

"You are related to Sasuke?!"

"Seriously?" I looked at both Naruto and Sakura with consternation. "We've been in the same year at Academy since… forever. And it never occurred to you that we both have the same last name? We're from the same clan. The blood relatability is so distant and questionable that it merely matters. We are from the same clan. That's the closest you get."

"Who likes early mornings?!"

"I do. Fight me."

"Alright, alright. You all have unique personalities. I like that. We're going to begin missions starting tomorrow." Kakashi intervened.

"HA. What kind of mission is that, sir?" the blonde asked excitedly. Oh my, he said 'sir'. So easily to excite.

"First, we're going to something between us as a team."

"What, would that be?"

On Merlin beard, let him speak. I was becoming weary of our hero right here. No, seriously. At least I wasn't vocal about all this. I bet we would end up having a looong shouting session if I were to go in about lecturing him. Now, that would have been troublesome. Nope, better quiet than sorry.

"Survival training."

As soon as the words left Kakashi concealed lips, both Naruto and Sakura began complaining. My mind grew numb. I needed sleep. Like, right now. And food. And Sauron's Ring. And Danzo's head on a spike. That would be so nice. And to give Sasuke a haircut after The War. One fabulous Madara Uchiha was enough for the world. No, now without jape, what am I going to do? I glanced at Sasuke.

I never intended to get so close. All I've ever wanted was to observe and make sure all stays the same. And if it doesn't…. what then? Intervene? Like this? As I am now? I was a weakling. A mere genin, and not even that. No, I needed training. This, Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, this was good. I coould watch things unravel and train at the same time. Yes, I got close. Seven Hells I'm practical in the same team with the protagonist and his rival.

"Out of 27 graduates, only nine are going to become Genins. The other 18 will be sent back to the Academy. In other words, this training is going to be a very hard test with a dropout rate of 66%."

Ah. Percentages. I've missed hearing all the good shit about statistics. More indignation and complaining. I couldn't really say I didn't understand my…ahem, comrades, but knowing already what I knew, I wasn't particularly alarmed. Only a little curious.

"What about me? Am I supposed to take the test or can I sit out of it?" I asked hoping for an affirmative answer for the second part.

"Theoretical, even if you fail and the rest of the team passes I still have to keep you around so, I don't think it really matters."

"WHAT?! THAT IS SO UNFAIR!"

I nodded. Figured that much. I won't be taking the survival test. But I have to see that everything happens as it should. Then I'll tell Kakashi to let me watch. But I can't just stay there and watch. What about training? This is training as well; beside it would be, as Naruto said, unfair not to participate. It's already unfair that I'm with team 7. But I'm not. Tehnically. I had to sleep on it. I had to consider consequences. The ripple in the course of events. After all I was a human being, made of flesh and bones. Not an invisible entity watching the events from distance.

"Anyway, I'm going to decide whether you pass or fail, tomorrow at the training grounds. Bring your shinobi equipment and meet me at 5 a.m."

That's not going to happen.

"Oh, and don't eat breakfast. You're going to throw up if you do."

I snorted. Did I find that funny because that was the case for me anyway? Yes, yes, I did. I looked up in the sky at the clouds mixing up with the blue. Grey on purple and blue.. Kakashi disappeared with a spoof, leaving us as confused as any new genin would be.

"Anyone else wants to learn Shunshin no jutsu this weekend? After we fail the survival test, of course." I said dryly as neither of them were going to say something too soon.

"No way am I going to fails that test!" Naruto exclaimed with a large gesture. "What is shunshin?"

"What Kakashi did when he disappeared in a cloud of smoke." I simplified with a deadpan expression.

"Cool! Me! I want to learn it! Do you know how to do it?" I smiled at his excited reaction and started walking away.

"No. But I will, after this weekend."

Hi. I don't know either man. I'm fried. I've decided to re-read and re-write 6 chapters in a row. My brain is fried. But, I hope you enjoy! Oh, I made Kaya 6 years older than what I initially wrote 3 years ago because I found it extremely annoying to try and write a teen coming off age. I don't have fond memories of that period, so I was left in an awful mood everytime I was reading herinner thoughts :))) It reminded me too much of my own coming of age years. Anyway, if you have any suggestions, questions, impressions or topics to debate comment them in a review (ffn) or a comment (ao3).