Naruto and Sasuke had always been unusually close, especially after the Uchiha Massacre.
Many people only ever saw the two fighting, spiteful of each other, jealous of each other. They pushed each other to the limits of their capabilities and made themselves stronger for the sake of beating the other, to prove themselves the better shinobi.
Sakura was one of the people that only saw the two fighting, mostly due to being their teammate on Team 7.
Kakashi, as their sensei, was slightly biased on this fact, not having known the two as long as Sakura had, only able to guess about them from reports and comments their previous teachers made.
During one training session, Sasuke and Naruto were, rather foolishly, paired together. They could read each other's moves too well and it came down to who could outmanoeuvre the other.
Seeing the spar going nowhere, Kakashi called it a draw just as Naruto and Sasuke were about to lock fists in mid-air. The blonde- and raven-haired teenagers twisted around to face Kakashi with eyes wide in surprise, making them smack into each other and fall to the ground.
Both lay on their backs, panting heavily with their limbs spread around them like stars.
Naruto, having more stamina than Sasuke, was the first of the two to sit up. He gladly accepted the bottle of water from Kakashi, gulping down a third before he managed to stumble his way next to Sasuke, flopping down into a seated position. He hung the mostly-full bottle above the raven haired boy's face, letting him snatch it away and gulp down another third of the water.
Sakura cringed at the casual indirect kiss, not sure whether to point it out or let the her teammates be oblivious. She frowned, annoyed, clenching the bottle of water in her hands that she had been ready to give to her precious Sasuke-kun.
Sasuke pushed himself off of the ground, watching Naruto gracefully bounce himself back up into a standing position. He gladly accepted the tan hand that came his way, pulling himself up slightly less gracefully than the blonde haired boy. While still facing the opposite direction the blonde was, he rested his elbow and, consequently, his whole body weight onto Naruto's shoulder, taking advantage of the fact that the blue eyed boy was currently the shortest person of their age group.
Sakura's frown deepened and her eyes narrowed at the casual display of trust, wondering where all the negative energy that the two held towards each other had gone.
Sasuke patted Naruto's shoulder as he pushed himself off of the younger boy, instantly getting himself balanced. The two briefly shook hands, accepting the draw, before turning to face Kakashi expectedly.
Kakashi was rather confused, unsure of what to make of this new side of the two's relationship he had just been exposed to.
Kakashi cleared his throat and asked two to go and work on something they weren't very confident in so that he could do some more personal training with Sakura.
Both boys had no qualms and headed to opposite sides of the field, though Kakashi did hear Naruto muttering quietly, "Just 'cause Sakura-chan's weaker than us doesn't mean we can't train with her."
Kakashi dismissed the mutterings of his tired student and returned to helping Sakura progress further in her physical capabilities.
Almost five hours and an unnecessary amount of breaks, with practically no work accomplished, later, Kakashi let Sakura call her teammate's for lunch.
The reaction was delayed, with Naruto arriving first, a dark blue shirt and a black t-shirt clutched in his hand while he himself was bare chested. Sasuke followed closely behind, stifling a yawn, with an orange jacket slung over one shoulder and copying Naruto with being shirtless; both arrived sweaty, though neither looked very tired.
Sakura squealed at the sight of Sasuke's chest.
Immediately alert to the reaction from his obsessive fan, Sasuke immediately pulled the bright orange jacket over himself and zipped it up, using the high collar to bury the lower half of his face away in a glare. Unlike the blonde, the baggy orange material actually fit the raven haired boy rather well, not puffing out as much at all the excess cloth. If Naruto was annoyed in any way at the fact that Sasuke was wearing his jacket, he only expressed it with an playful jab at the older boy, earning an elbow from the black eyed boy.
The trio walked over to Kakashi, who offered that they go to a sweet shop as a treat for working so hard that day.
Sasuke grumbled, annoyed, burying himself further into the white collar of Naruto's jacket. Naruto almost immediately refused, declaring in his usual boisterous attitude that ramen was way better than sweet stuff like candy. Sasuke, in his usual quiet brooding mood, stalked off silently, making his way to the Ichiraku Ramen stand, where the best ramen in the Land of Fire (in Naruto's opinion) was, waiting for the four of them to arrive.
Kakashi decided not to comment when Naruto put Sasuke's shirt on instead of the one he normally wore underneath his huge jacket.
The boys walked ahead of the other two, bickering as always, wearing the other's family symbol, and Kakashi couldn't help but notice that Sasuke looked atrocious in orange. It gave him a new appreciation that Naruto somehow managed to almost pull off the ridiculous colour.
Teuchi, the owner and chef of Ichiraku, didn't comment either, as though it was a regular occurrence for the mortal enemies to be wearing the other's clothes.
Three bowls of ramen had already been downed by Naruto by the time Sakura and Kakashi made it to the ramen stand, with Sasuke making smooth progress through his own huge bowl.
Kakashi sighed, knowing that his wallet would be empty by the time Naruto was full.
Kakashi's head of silver hair vanished beneath the flaps of the ramen stand as he went to seat himself to Sasuke's left. Sakura took no time in shoving Naruto to another seat to the right so she could sit next to Sasuke, earning whines of "Sakura-chan~" as Naruto dragged his pile of ramen bowls with him to the next seat over. Sasuke tilted back on his stool and glared at Naruto from behind Sakura's back, earning a raspberry from the younger boy as he turned back to his sixth bowl of ramen.
Kakashi noticed small things that he had never thought to think of about Naruto and Sasuke. It was unusual. Sasuke opened the collar of the jacket, folding it outwards and pushed the sides away from his face. Naruto almost constantly held the high collar of Sasuke's shirt close to his neck, respectfully afraid to stain it with the steaming broth that he had surreptitiously been washing down his throat. Kakashi was positive that, if the blonde twelve year old boy hadn't been trying his best not to stain his rival's shirt, he would have been on his tenth bowl of ramen- okay, never mind, he was now on his eleventh.
Sakura didn't seem to notice the strange behaviour, instead choosing to skip lunch - something about a diet to impress 'her Sasuke-kun' - and gawp in a mess of her own drool as Sasuke sipped on the broth of his ramen, looking at him as though he were the only thing worth seeing on the planet - in her point of view, he probably was. Naruto eagerly slurped away at his ramen, engulfing his head several times with the porcelain, downing his fifteenth bowl before Kakashi even received his first. Sakura twirled her natural pink locks of hair between her fingers, trying to show off to the raven haired boy, who payed no attention to the green eyed girl and did his best to not seem starving as he masterfully handled his chopsticks, slurping ramen with such 'grace' that Sakura swooned in her chair, almost falling off of it hadn't been for Naruto's helpful hand, which she immediately batted away in disgust and annoyance.
Kakashi sighed.
What am I going to do with these children?
Having returned back to the training grounds with nearly twenty bowls of ramen under Naruto's belt and Kakashi's almost empty wallet, the silver haired man announced that the three twelve year olds would be doing a small test to see how they had progressed.
Knowing Naruto was about the go off about how he hated tests, Kakashi explained that it was purely physical, focusing on skills instead of knowledge.
Sakura looked worried, knowing that she was likely to fail; she popped right back up, though, when she saw Sasuke glance her way, mistaking the blank look for one of encouragement - one couldn't really tell since Sasuke was, out of all people, an emotionless bastard (Naruto's words, not Kakashi's).
Sasuke and Naruto were encouraged to return to their own clothes (Kakashi really must admit that orange did go well with Sasuke's white shorts, though, just not with Sasuke). Back in his orange jacket and back in his blue shirt, Naruto and Sasuke were practically raring to go, already quarrelling over who would do better . Sasuke shouted from the back of the group to where Naruto had sprinted ahead, eager to reach the artificial training ground for their tests.
First test: survival.
Now thoroughly lost, the three fresh genin were tasked with surviving for five days on their own in the forest that covered the great cliff behind Konoha.
Sasuke leapt off to the trees, leaving Sakura alone as Naruto disappeared between the tree trunks. Feeling rather foolish standing alone in a forest, Sakura shook the locks of well-kept hair out of her face, worried most about how her hair would last without any of its usual special treatments, and without the trip to the hairdresser's planned for the next day.
Two days in and Sakura was lugging her deadweight through the forest, searching for Sasuke, who had left her on the first day. She wept, feeling unwanted by her childhood crush. Her long-standing 'love' for Sasuke strained her forward until she felt her eyes draw close and her limbs give out beneath her.
Green eyes fluttered open as Sakura awoke under boringly familiar trees, laying with her back cushioned by low-growing plants. Turning her head, her groggy eyes spotted Naruto to her left, watching a rabbit intently as he turned it on a makeshift skewer, made from a heavily-carved branch. The rabbit was roasting above a fire, being carefully assessed by the blonde boy for the perfect moment to drag it off the flames. Sasuke landed silently in front of Naruto, having leapt down from the tall trees surrounding them. The raven haired boy seated himself near the warm fire - Sakura suddenly took notice that it was near twilight - and started cutting the raw fish he had arrived with.
Naruto was the first to notice that Sakura was awake, exclaiming her name with the ever-dreaded familial -chan suffix. Sasuke didn't bother to look at her, making her 'humph' in disappointment, wondering where the 'care' from before went.
Naruto's head snapped around to watch the rabbit, cursing as he pulled it away from the fire. Sasuke glared in annoyance at the blonde, calling him out as a thin hammer. Sakura sighed in content, happily absorbing the sound of Sasuke's deep, honey-like voice. Naruto threw back insults in his raspy voice, overused from shouting, receiving a concealed glare from Sakura.
Two days passed and Kakashi learned many things he had never really thought of about his students as he watched them thrive.
Naruto was exceptional, having no trouble and would have been able to last indefinitely in the forest on his own. Sasuke was helpful, though he didn't seem to be as proficient as the blonde, usually just assisting in hunting and the campsites themselves. Sakura, once she was back on her feet, was coaxed into gathering more of the natural resources, like water and fruit, not yet ready to actually kill an animal.
The three worked well together, Kakashi admitted to himself, though they still had a lot of work to do, considering that Sakura would only ever fawn over Sasuke, and Sasuke and Naruto were still constantly butting heads. Sakura, even though she had fainted on the second day from malnutrition, was still rather good at identifying edible plants, supported by her high intellectual score back in the ninja Academy; all that Sakura lacked was experience and the ability to implement her knowledge in real life.
With every contribution, the others were left to do their own things, leading to more discoveries on Kakashi's part.
Naruto had, initially, taken no time to settle in the trees for a nap, climbing without much effort in an exercise that seemed second nature to him. Sasuke started chiding him from the ground, looking up the several feet of air that split the blonde and himself, telling him to help him make a shelter. For a lack of a better phrase, both of them sucked at shelter building; Naruto had only ever really bothered to sleep in the trees and Sasuke never spent a night outside without a tent. In comes Sakura and her book smarts, saving the two boys from further embarrassment as she taught them all she knew about survival, though she herself could not apply her knowledge.
Kakashi felt a smile curve his only visible eye. The team turned out surprisingly well balanced, with the only qualms left being Sakura's unending infatuation with Sasuke, Sasuke's lack of teamwork and Naruto's...well, Naruto was a bit loud and pushed his crush on Sakura a tad too far, but if he gained some patience and Sakura and Sasuke learned to tolerate him a bit better, they would make a powerful team.
A sly spark glinted in Kakashi's eye as he thought of the training potential.
Sakura panted, exhausted and holding on to the grass for dear life, kneeling on all fours in a sweaty mess. Stamina was not her forte and she could only collapse so many times before Kakashi's training became easier to handle; that would have been the case if Kakashi hadn't started using movement-restricting seals on her, making her have to always work the same amount as the first time she did the exercises every time she did them again.
Sasuke continued punching the strengthened wooden post even as Sakura fell to the ground, her face blocked from view by the flowing pink hair that spiralled around her. Sasuke's knuckles bled as they splintered the damaged wood, reaching out for it for the hundredth and twenty-ninth time that morning. He grimaced at the pain that shot through his arm, cursing his low pain tolerance with every weaker hit that his tired arms lashed out with.
Naruto wasn't too troubled by his exercise itself, having no trouble sticking to the tree branch upside down using chakra, but the focus he used to stick to the tree itself channelled into the focus he had been using to listen to Sakura and Sasuke as they alternatively took turns to continue teaching him what he had willingly missed in the Academy, doing their best to make the studies into fantastical stories to keep his attention on them.
Kakashi leaned against a tree, not too far away from his students. He watched them interact and couldn't help but feel proud as he peeked over the book he was reading to see Sakura and Sasuke taking a break, still talking to Naruto as they munched on their homemade onigiri.
Sakura still glanced up at Sasuke, blushing furiously during the few times that their eyes would meet, and Sasuke was still not entirely comfortable with his teammate's, but in part thanks to Naruto's familial attitude, the three slowly started to become closer.
It was some time before Naruto's chakra started running low and Sasuke called him down for food, knowing that the blonde fool would continue to keep working until he dropped unconscious if no one stopped him soon.
Naruto settled beside his teammates and took half of the onigiri away with him in one bite, charging through the other assortments of food he had made with Sakura for that day's training.
Naruto paused in his attempt to coax Sasuke to give him a rather tasty looking tomato. His eyes traced the barely-concealed figure of his sensei, standing off to the side with an orange book in hand as he had been doing for the whole morning. His eyebrows ruffled slightly and he left his argument over the tomato to go and stand next to Kakashi. Sakura stopped eating in the sudden silence, following Sasuke's line of vision to see Naruto shuffling awkwardly next to their sensei, clutching a bento in his hands.
Kakashi looked down with his only visible eye, glancing past the pages of his novel to see Naruto's gaze glittering towards him.
The blonde cautiously held up the closed bento he had been holding close to himself.
"Here, sensei," Naruto said, smiling timidly. "We made this for you!"
Kakashi's eye widened slightly, noticed by Sasuke, though he couldn't be sure, considering how far away he was. The silver haired man's eye quickly crinkled in a smile, guiding his book away to the weapons' pouch on his hips. He gratefully accepted the bento from his student, earning a heartfelt grin from the short twelve year old.
He felt his pulse skip as he saw the bright smile take over the blonde's face, reminding him so much of the boy's mother's own smile. That smile that had now been plastered onto the boy's face; so much, from his blonde hair to the mesmerising blue eyes and warm skin, had been passed down from Naruto's father. His round face was the same as his mother's had been when she was a child, and his eyes were round like her's. The feature that most differentiated from Naruto's parents was the three whisker marks on both his cheeks, though that might actually have been a side effect from the fox demon that had been sealed within his mother.
Naruto frowned curiously.
"Are you okay, Kakashi-sensei?"
Kakashi's thoughts sank back to reality and his eyes refocused on the concerned child in front of him.
His visible eye closed in a smile. He let out sheepish chuckles and told Naruto that he was fine, that he had just been spacing out a little from lack of sleep.
Naruto looked unconvinced and was about to shout out his thoughts to his teacher when he felt a stare drilling itself into his head. Twisting his torso, Naruto was able to see Sakura glaring pointedly at him, knowing, even though all three teenagers were unconvinced and curious, that they should just drop the subject. Naruto huffed in annoyance, but still complied with his teammate's wishes.
He looked back to Kakashi with another nostalgia-inducing grin, inviting the older man to join them for lunch.
Kakashi looked at his students with soft eyes and followed the orange swirl on the back of Naruto's baggy jacket, reminiscing about the family symbol that the blonde boy didn't know the history of.