YO!!! Krecier, yes, the Hokage will have more power but he will not misuse it of course. The teams are already set, and sorry but Kirito will NOT be on a team with the girls... at least not yet.

XXX

Kirito stood in front of Hiruzen. Hikari was slumped on one of the chairs, still unconscious.

He stared at the old man, "Hokage-sama, mission accomplished."

He brought the scroll out of his seal and placed it standing on the floor. Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction, "Good job. By the way, you heard Mizuki, didn't you?"

Kirito stared at the old Hokage before looking at Hikari, "About Hikari-chan being the Kyuubi?"

Hiruzen nodded, "I just want to make it clear, she is NOT the Kyuubi, she is its Jinchurikii. Hikari holds back the Kyuubi from the village, she is a hero."

Kirito stared at Hiruzen, "I knew that already. Kayaba-sensei told me a lot of things."

Hiruzen sighed, "I see."

Kirito nodded, "I still and will always care for her. Besides, when were you going to tell her?"

Hiruzen turned and looked out of the window, "I was going to tell her after she became gennin, and her heritage after she became chunnin. But with all this happening..."

Kirito stared at the Hokage, "So you do know who her parents are?"

The Hokage blinked in surprise as he realized he let it slip. The monkey summoner sighed, "Yes, I always knew. But you have to understand, her parents had and still have a lot of enemies, if word gets out who her parents are, those enemies will come."

Kirito stared at the Hokage coldly, "And you didn't think the village could protect her? That you couldn't protect her?"

Hiruzen sighed, "Yes. I'm old, Kirito-kun. I'm not the Professor, not anymore. The village is recovering from the Kyuubi attack, but we cannot withstand a war. I swear, when Hikari-chan becomes a Chuunin, I will tell her."

Kirito huffed, "And if you don't make it?"

Hiruzen stared at the teen sternly, "Who do you think I am, boy? I am the Sandaime Hokage. I can hold until she becomes a Jounin."

Kirito held his gaze, "Anything can happen. Only god knows what can happen."

Hiruzen and Kirito stared at each other, both not faltering in the slightest. Frankly Hiruzen was impressed, it just showed how far Kirito had come and how strong the boy was.

The old man chuckled, "Fine. If I do not make it before she makes Chuunin, give her this."

He took out a file and placed it on the table. Hiruzen then stared at Kirito hard, "Do not, under any circumstances, give her this before she becomes Chuunin, swear to me."

Kirito sighed and nodded, "Fine. I swear on my pride as a swordsman, a blacksmith and my swords that I will NOT give Hikari-chan the file before she becomes Chuunin."

Hiruzen nodded, "Good. I will transfer the money to your account, congratulations on your first A ranked mission by the way. Its very late, you should go home, bring Hikari-chan with you too."

Kirito nodded, "Got it."

Hiruzen then spoke, "Before you go, give Hikari-chan this. I know very well she has passed the exams. She learned a jutsu from the scroll after all."

The Hokage placed a headband on the table, which Kirito took and slid into his pocket and nodded.

He then picked up Hikari bridal style as he walked to the door. Hiruzen called out, "Tell Hikari-chan I'm sorry, and tell her that she can tell those she deems trustworthy about her status as a Jinchurikii."

The teen nodded and walked out of the door and the Hokage tower.

As he walked through the empty night streets, he heard Hikari's voice, "Did you mean it?"

Kirito stopped and looked down to see Hikari awake, staring at him. The teen asked, "You were awake?"

Hikari nodded, "Only when Hokage-jiisan mentioned me being a Jinchurikii. I fell asleep after that."

The blonde then looked at the boy, "Did you mean it?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, no matter what, I will always be by your side. I will definitely protect you."

Hikari giggled, "But you're not even a ninja, shouldn't it be the other way around?"

Kirito chuckled, "Maybe. So, are you going to tell Asuna-chan, Suguha-chan and Sinon-chan?"

Hikari looked away, "Maybe, maybe not. It could be our secret, ya know?"

Kirito chuckled, "Its your choice. Come on, let's go home."

Hikari nodded, "Okay."

Kirito continued to walk as Hikari snuggled into him, the girl blushing slightly when she realized their current position.

As they walked, Kirito said, "Hokage-sama said you passed the graduation exams. We know you learned jutsu from the scroll."

Hikari blushed and looked away, "Good, at least I still passed."

Kirito chuckled, "Which jutsu was it?"

Hikari blushed slightly, "The Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and the Bunshin Daibakuha."

Kirito blinked, "Two jutsu?"

Hikari nodded as Kirito chuckled, "Nice. Good job, I'm proud of you."

Soon, they reached home and at the door, Hikari said, "Okay, you can let me down here."

Kirito nodded and slowly let the blonde down. He then opened the door to see three girls smiling sweetly at them. Asuna asked, "So, Kirito-kun, Hikari-chan, where did you two go?"

After a short while of explanations, Sinon sighed, "So Mizuki-sensei wanted to kill Hikari-chan and steal a forbidden scroll. A friend told Kirito-kun about it and he went to tell the Hokage."

Asuna nodded, "Well, at least no one got hurt much."

Suguha nodded, "Yeah, since it wasn't your fault, we'll let this slide. Let's sleep, its already 3am."

The others nodded. Then Kirito said, "Oh before you girls sleep, Hikari-chan, Hokage-sama said since you passed, he wanted me to give you this headband."

The teen took out a headband from his pocket and gave it to Hikari.

The girls nodded as Hikari took the headband. Then, a while later, as Kirito was preparing to sleep, he heard a knock on his door.

The teen opened it and saw Hikari standing there without her twin-tails. Kirito asked, "What's wrong?"

Hikari's faced turned slightly red, "Umm, thank you, Kirito-kun."

Kirito blinked, "Eh?"

Then before he could say anything else, Hikari kissed him on the cheeks before she ran back to her room.

Kirito blinked several times before he dumbly closed his door and slumped onto his bed.

The next morning, Iruka and Hiruzen were in the Hokage's office. The chunnin apologized, "I'm very sorry, Hokage-sama, because I was careless, we have to go through this all over again."

The Sarutobi chuckled, "Its fine. So, these will be the teams. I changed this year's teams slightly, so we won't have the traditional Rookie of the Year paired with the Kunoichi of the year and the dead last."

The Hokage gave the Chuunin instructor a list as Iruka nodded and took the paper. Iruka bowed, "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

The Chuunin then left and ran for his class.

Meanwhile, in the class, Ino grumbled, "Where is Iruka-sensei?"

Sakura sighed, "Who knows? Why did Hikari have to come? Sasuke-kun has been looking at her for the whole morning. Now he's going to her."

As the whole class chatted, Sasuke stood up and walked over to Hikari. The last Uchiha asked, "Hikari, I'm curious, where did you go after the test? You didn't come back to the class."

Hikari was annoyed that the Uchiha had interrupted her conversation with Asuna, Suguha and Sinon. Regardless, the Uzumaki looked at the Uchiha, "Hokage-jiisan called me to his office for a short while. I went home after that."

Sasuke was intrigued, "The Hokage? Why?"

Hikari sighed, "Its classified. You'd have your head off if I told you."

Sakura walked over, "Not if its Sasuke-kun. He's the last Uchiha."

Sinon stared at the pinkette, "Do you seriously think that?"

Sakura nodded, "Okaa-san said that. She's never wrong."

The whole class wanted to facepalm at her statement. The girl was one of the smartest students yet one of the stupidest people in the class.

Sasuke glared at Sakura, causing her to back away a bit before he looked at Hikari, "Never mind then, I respect your privacy. I do hope that we end up in the same team."

Hikari just nodded as the Uchiha left and sat down. The girl groaned as she turned back to her family, "I sure hope I don't end up in a team with him."

Asuna giggled while Sinon and Suguha just smiled.

A short while later, Iruka entered the class panting slightly. The man said, "Sorry class, I had a little stuff going on. Mizuki apparently tampered with the class results so I had to rearrange the team members with Hokage-sama."

A random student asked, "What happened?"

Iruka let out a breath and said, "Mizuki was a traitor and manipulated the class results. Regardless, Sasuke is still the Rookie of the Year."

Iruka paused a bit, "Okay, I'll be announcing the teams now. Team 1... Team 7 will be Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Hikari. Your teacher will be Hatake Kakashi."

Sakura beamed at Ino but slumped down when she heard Hikari's name, "Why..."

The Uzumaki facepalmed, "I had to jinx it."

Asuna and Suguha giggled, the auburn haired girl smiled at the blonde, "Its okay, its only until you become a Chuunin right? It won't be that long."

Sinon nodded, "Yeah, just bear with it."

Hikari just nodded and slumped onto the table. Iruka then continued, "Team 8 will be Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata and Aburame Shino, your teacher will be Yuhi Kurenai."

Kiba grinned at Hinata and Shino who both nodded at the Inuzuka. They were fine with it since they knew each other quite well.

Iruka then continued, "Team 9 is still active, so we'll skip that. Team 10 will be Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akamichi Chouji, your teacher will be Sarutobi Asuma."

Ino sighed, "As expected, they want to recreate our dads' combination."

Shikamaru shook his head, "Yeah, but its still troublesome. At least we can work together well."

Chouji nodded as Iruka finished, "Finally, team 11, Yuki Asuna, Asada Sinon and Kirigaya Suguha. Your teacher will be Uzuki Yugao."

Hikari glared at the three girls slightly as they laughed a bit. The Uzumaki slammed her head on the desk, "I give up. Kami-sama hates me."

The instructor placed the list down and spoke, "From now on, you all are no longer my students. From now on, we are equals, we are shinobi. You may be Gennin only, but you are still adults. I bid all of you good fortune, may the Will of Fire burn brightly in you."

Iruka let out a breath, "Okay, your Jounin-sensei's should be here soon, wait here. I'm off."

The Chuunin didn't wait for a response and left the room.

Soon, one by one, the Jounin instructors came in to collect their teams, and the teams left were Team 7 and Team 11. As Yugao entered the room, she said, "Team 11?"

Asuna, Suguha and Sinon stood up. Yugao raised an eyebrow, "An all girls team? That's rare, anyways, come with me."

The three girls nodded and followed the purple haired woman. Hikari looked at the three girls, "I'll see you girls later."

The three nodded and walked out of the room. As the three waited, with Sakura bugging Sasuke and said Uchiha looking out of the window, Hikari grumbled inwardly, 'I swear Hokage-jiisan did this. He knows very well I don't like Sasuke and Sakura. I wish Kirito-kun was here.'

After an hour, the door opened to reveal a silver haired masked man. The Hatake eye-smiled, "Hey, you're team 7 right? Sorry, I had a little errand with the blacksmith so I was late."

Sakura glared at the man, "You're late!"

Kakashi raised his hands in a surrendering manner, "Yeah, sorry about that. I had to visit the blacksmith about something and I kinda forgot about this."

Hikari glared at the man, "Whatever, so now what?"

Kakashi put his hands down and said, "Well, since we're all here, might as well just do it here."

The Jounin walked to the seats and sat down, facing his students, "So, I want you to introduce yourselves, your name, what you like, hobbies, the likes."

Sakura raised a hand, "Umm, Kakashi-sensei, can you show us?"

Kakashi stared at the pinkette, "Fine. My name is Hatake Kakashi, I have a favourite food, I like to read. And dreams, well, I have one."

The three 'Gennin' deadpanned at the man. Kakashi chuckled, "Well, since you asked me to go first, you're up pinky."

Sakura nodded, slightly miffled at the nickname, "My name is Haruno Sakura. I like cherries and I like to study. My dream is to..."

She looked at Sasuke blushing a bit. Kakashi sighed and thought, 'A fangirl. This is gonna be troublesome.'

Kakashi nodded, "Blondie, you're up."

Hikari nodded, "I'm Uzumaki Hikari. I like ramen, my family and ramen. Hobbies, pranking, I guess? I haven't really done that in a while. My dream is to protect my family."

Kakashi nodded and Sakura asked, "I thought you're an orphan, Hikari?"

Hikari smiled, "Yeah, no idea who my parents are. But Asuna-chan, Suguha-chan, Sinon-chan and Kirito-kun are my family."

Sakura nodded while Sasuke grunted, the Uchiha feeling annoyed with how she said Kirito's name.

Kakashi nodded and thought, 'Minato-sensei would be proud. I have to make up for my mistakes.'

The cyclops then looked at Sasuke, "Emo, your turn."

Sasuke grunted, "Hnn, my name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like... tomatoes. I have no hobbies, well, training maybe. My dream, no, my ambition, is to kill a certain man."

Kakashi sighed, 'Itachi really did a number on him. Damn it, I'll have to break him out of the avenger mindset. Provided they pass my test.'

Kakashi nodded, "Okay. Good. Now, I just want to tell you that you are not full-fledged Gennin yet."

He waited for it to sink in as the two girls yelled, "What?!"

Kakashi nodded, "The graduation test is just to weed out the ones who can potentially be ninja. The real test, is the one I'm giving you. Meet me at Training Ground 7 tomorrow at 7am. Don't be late, and don't eat breakfast or you'll throw up."

Kakashi stood up, "Well, I'll see you guys. Ciao."

The man vanished via Shunshin. Hikari sighed and stood up to leave. Just as Hikari reached the door, Sasuke spoke, "Hikari, would you join me for lunch? Its about lunchtime now."

Hikari wanted to outright say no, but she wasn't that bad. So she turned and gave an apologetic smile, a fake one of course, "Sorry, but I promised Kirito-kun and the girls I'd have lunch with them. So I'm going to his shop now. Maybe some other time."

Sasuke sighed and nodded, "Fine."

The blonde nodded and left the door. Sakura then asked as the two were alone in the class, "Umm, Sasuke-kun, we can eat lunch if you want?"

The Uchiha just walked to the door, "My appetite's gone. Maybe tomorrow."

Sakura growled, "Damn it, Hikari."

She then brightened up, "Wait, he said maybe tomorrow..."

The girl then fist pumped, "Yes! I might have a chance!"

So for a good 10 minutes, Sakura cheered in the class before she finally left the class after realizing she was alone.

Meanwhile, with team 11. Yugao and the three girls were sitting in a dango restaurant.

The former Anbu spoke, "Okay, we'll do the introductions first. I know about you a little, but you know nothing of me. So I'll start."

The girls nodded as Yugao started, "I'm Uzuki Yugao. I'm a former Anbu. I like to cook and spend time with my boyfriend. I like sweet stuff and my dream is to see my boyfriend to be healthy."

Asuna asked, "Is he sick?"

Yugao nodded, "Yes, very sick. So, Asuna, right? You're next."

Asuna nodded, "Okay, I'm Yuki Asuna. I like to cook, and sweet things too. My dream is to protect our family."

Yugao nodded, "Good, Sinon, you're next."

The brunette nodded, "My name is Asada Sinon. I like to read books. I like coffee. My dream, like Asuna-chan, is to protect our family."

Yugao nodded, "Okay, Suguha."

The black haired girl said, "My name is Kirigaya Suguha. I like to spend time with my family and I like sandwiches. My dream, like Asuna-chan and Sinon-chan, is also to protect our family."

Yugao nodded, "I noticed that the three of you said 'our family'."

The girls smiled as Asuna said, "Well, we all live together, Sinon-chan, Suguha-chan, Hikari-chan, Kirito-kun and I. We're basically family since we lived in the orphanage before we got kicked out."

Yugao blinked and decided not to pry, "Okay."

The Jounin cleared her throat, "Okay. So I'll just say this once, don't interrupt me, normally I'd have to test you before you can really be gennin."

The girls nodded as the woman continued, "I've seen your records, even if they are based on academy students' stats, I can guess how good you girls are. I also know that three of you can work well together. So, I'll just skip the test."

The three girls nodded. Yugao then said, "I've been wanting to train a kenjutsu team. Unfortunately, no one is interested so I cannot do it. So, I want to ask, are you three interested?"

The girls shared looks, Asuna spoke, "Well, Suguha-chan and I have been meaning to pick up kenjutsu."

Yugao nodded and looked at Sinon. The girl shook her head, "I'm not against it, but I'm bad at close combat, so I was hoping to learn archery."

The swordswoman nodded, "Archery isn't common among shinobi, but that might actually work for us. I'm a swordswoman, and if Asuna and Suguha pick up swordsplay, we will be over focused on close combat. If you take up a bow, it can balance things out."

The girls nodded as Yugao swallowed a piece of dango, "Okay. So you girls take the day off. Tomorrow morning, I'll bring you three to one of the blacksmiths in the village."

The girls nodded as Yugao stood up. The instructor spoke, "Well, I'll see you girls tomorrow."

The former Anbu then left the shop while the three girls left to go home.

Later, when Kirito closed the shop and reached home, he entered the apartment to see the three girls finish cooking.

The teen asked, "So what happened for you girls to cook?"

Asuna turned and smiled, "Well, we had some time today, so we decided to cook."

Suguha nodded, "Yeah, Kirito-kun you've been working everyday and cooking after you graduated. So we thought we'd do the cooking tonight."

Sinon nodded, "Besides, we just met with our Jounin-sensei's today and did nothing else."

Kirito nodded, "Okay then."

The girls quickly cleaned up and placed the food on the table. Kirito blinked, "Curry chicken, fried salmon, miso soup, spinach and rice. You girls went with the traditional stuff."

Asuna smiled, "Well, its been a while since Hikari-chan ate something that's not ramen. You spoil her too much ya know?"

Hikari pouted cutely, "Hey! Ramen is the food of the gods!"

Kirito chuckled, "Well, I did learn under a ramen chef. So, who are your teachers?"

Hikari sighed, "A guy named Kakashi. Seriously, Hokage-jiisan must like messing with me. I mean, the guy seems fine, but he had to put me on a team with Sasuke and Sakura! I mean why couldn't he put me on a team with someone else?! Asuna-chan, Suguha-chan and Sinon-chan are on the same team!"

Kirito chuckled, "I see... Kakashi huh."

The man thought, 'What a coincidence? Maybe I can use this.'

(Flashback early that day.)

Kirito was finishing a set of shuriken when he heard someone enter his shop. He stored the shuriken and walked to the counter to see Kakashi standing there.

Kirito greeted, "Kakashi-san, so, what do you need?"

The cyclops eye-smiled, "Well, I went to Akihiko-san to fix my tanto, but he just told me to come to you."

Kirito tilted his head, "Tanto? I didn't know you used a sword."

Kakashi chuckled, "I did, but the sword broke and I didn't really bother to fix it until now."

The man took out a pouch to reveal a broken tanto. Kirito easily recognized the sword, "The White Light Chakra Saber..."

Kakashi nodded, "Yes. Can you fix it?"

Kirito nodded, "Of course, but the materials needed are quite pricey."

Kakashi nodded, "I don't care about the price, just fix it."

The teen took the broken blade and inspected the pieces, "Okay, I'll fix it. I'll have to think about the price though. Meet me tomorrow and we'll talk about the price."

Kakashi nodded, "I'll leave the sword here. I have something to do."

Kirito nodded as he studied the sword while Kakashi left the shop.

(Flashback end)

Kirito nodded, "Kakashi-san is not a bad man. He's known as the Copy Ninja since he has an artificially transplanted Sharingan. Rumor has it he has copied over a thousand jutsu from around the Elemental Nations."

The girls OH'd in awe. Hikari said, impressed, "Wow, who knew..."

Kirito chuckled, "He's also the Yondaime Hokage's student, the only one alive apparently. I think Sasuke was placed under him because of his Sharingan while you and Sakura were by chance."

The young man thought differently, 'Hokage-sama must have wanted him to get close to Hikari-chan... being her father's student and stuff. No doubt he knows that too.'

Kirito then looked at the other girls, "So, who's your teacher?"

Asuna replied, "A woman named Uzuki Yugao."

Kirito blinked, "Yugao? Well that's a coincidence..."

Sinon blinked, "You know her? She did say she'd bring us to a blacksmith tomorrow though."

Kirito nodded, "Yugao-san is one of Kayaba-sensei's regular customers. So I met her some time ago. So you're probably going to his shop."

He thought inside, 'Well, she is one of my regular customers now, but eh, it'd be fun to see their reactions tomorrow.'

The three girls nodded in response as Kirito spoke, "Well, good luck with your tasks tomorrow then."

The girls nodded before Kirito remembered and said, "By the way, Hikari-chan, you're taking Kakashi's test right?"

The blonde nodded as the teen continued, "Tomorrow morning, eat a good breakfast and go to the meeting place three hours late."

Hikari blinked, "Why?"

Kirito grinned, "That man has next to no punctuality. If its not missions that are important, he will always be late for three hours. A lot of people have even betted that he'd be late for his own funeral."

The girls blinked several times before Sinon asked, "And how do you know?"

Kirito chuckled, "I run a blacksmith and there is a cafe beside my shop. You learn a lot of things here and there. Besides, I'm planning to bring you girls there some time."

The girls nodded as Kirito continued, "Anyways, Kakashi will most probably do the bell-test. He'll show you two bells, tell you that you need to get a bell to pass and let you have a headstart. Convince your teammates to work together and you'll pass, regardless if you get a bell or not."

Hikari nodded, "So he wants to test our teamwork."

Kirito nodded, "That man's motto is that 'Those who abandon rules are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum.' So remember that."

The teen then looked at Asuna, Sinon and Suguha, "Yugao-san has been wanting to get a team to teach them kenjutsu, so she'll probably not care about the test. Besides, she's a former Anbu, I don't know what test she'll use."

The three girls blinked several times as Suguha said, "Umm, actually, you're right, she just said that she'd bring us to a blacksmith tomorrow and not test us."

Sinon stared at the boy, "Seriously, how do you know these things? Its creepy you know?"

Kirito chuckled, "I told you, you'd be surprised at the info you can get in a cafe."

Asuna sighed and nodded, "Well, the food's getting cold. We should finish it."

The others didn't need another word and quickly continued eating.

The next morning, Kirito had left for his shop early while the girls prepared for their day.

In his shop, he saw Kakashi entering and said, "Kakashi-san, Ohaiyo."

The cyclops waved and asked, "So, how much will you charge me for the sword?"

Kirito nodded and asked, "Kakashi-san, you're the Yondaime Hokage's student right?"

Kakashi blinked a few times and nodded, "Indeed I am, why?"

Kirito continued, "You know the Rasengan and the Hiraishin no Jutsu?"

Kakashi felt weary and answered, "I know the Rasengan, but I know nothing of the Hiraishin. Why? You're not asking me to teach you right?"

Kirito laughed, "Nah, perish that thought, I can't use chakra the way normal shinobi do. No, Uzumaki Hikari is your student right?"

Kakashi stared at the teen, "Yes, why?"

Kirito grinned, "I'll fix your sword in three days. I already have the materials ready, but I'll only do it on one condition."

Kakashi stared at the teen and he had an idea what Kirito wanted, "Name it."

Kirito's grin widened, "Teach Hikari-chan the Rasengan and the Chidori, and I'll fix your sword, no extra charges."

Kakashi stared at the teen skeptically, he was actually hoping to have Jiraiya teach the girl her birthright. The cyclops was also sure that it'd cost him a fortune to fix the blade, but here was Kirito, willing to fix the blade just to get him to teach the girl the Rasengan and the Chidori.

The man nodded, "Deal. I'll teach her the Rasengan and the Chidori, you fix my sword in three days."

Kirito nodded, "Cool, I'll get started then. Come back in three days."

Kakashi nodded and left the shop as Kirito went to fix the blade.

XXX

Done. So review please. The next chapter will be the bell test and Kirito will fix the White Light Chakra saber. He will also forge Asuna, Suguha and Sinon's weapons.

As for Hikari, I don't think I'll give her a weapon. But I'm all for suggestions. And I'm keeping Hikari's heritage and status as Jinchurikii a secret from the other girls until the Wave arc. I have a little idea for that, just in case you're curious.

So yeah. Until the next chapter.