A/N:

I LOVE feedback, people. Reviews and comments...so I know if you guys like it or if I need to improve or if there's something you wanted to see, etc., etc. Thanks for reading, thanks for sticking around, thanks for giving me a chance! This one's a long one. I combined two episodes and then I added on to the end and...yeah. I edited it as much as possible and I still feel like it's long (it was almost 10,000 words so count yourself lucky. .) If you like chapters that are this long, let me know. I'll keep them that way. If not, no fear because never again do I plan on making a chapter this long without being prompted. XD This was way too much. Anywho...enjoy 3

After lunch, Sasuke and Ellainna walked back from lunch into the classroom together. Sasuke sat at a desk in the front of the classroom and Ellainna sat on the corner of the same desk, crossing her legs and reclining back on her hands. Shortly after, Naruto and Sakura entered the classroom, the latter gave Ellainna a dirty look before having a seat as well. Ellainna rolled her eyes and sat up on the desk. She crisscrossed her legs in front of her and hunched over to pick at scratches on the desk from consistent use over the years.

After 30 minutes had gone by, she groaned and stretched her arms upward in tire and frustration. "Ugh, how long are we supposed to even wait," she remarked angrily. She glanced out the window as another team walked by with what she assumed was their sensei, which only made her more frustrated. "We're probably the last team. I'm just ready to go!" Ellainna punched her fist into her opposite palm.

"A good shinobi is patient while they await orders," Sasuke remarked from behind his folded hands, smirking as he poked fun at her.

"Yeah," Sakura added on snootily. "You must not be a good shinobi if you can't even wait a little while for your sensei." She turned her head to stick her tongue out at Ellainna.

"Oh yeah," Ellainna responded sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "I'm the worst ninja ever."

"Well, you'd have to be to be stuck with Genin like us all over again," Sakura retorted, proud of herself, assuming she had cracked the case.

Ellainna rolled her eyes again before kicking Sakura's chair.

"Hey," she yelled indignantly in response.

"Don't forget, Princess. I'm a Chunin who graduated 2 years early and has done over 200 missions solo."

Sakura looked at her in shock and Sasuke smirked.

"I wasn't assigned a team at graduation. That's the only reason I'm here. I was too good a Genin for a team when I graduated."

Sakura turned back around in her seat, red in the face from embarrassment and anger, having nothing to add.

Another 15 minutes of waiting had Sakura and Naruto pacing around impatiently.

"Arrghhh, he's late," Naruto said, sticking his head out of the classroom door, looking around in frustration. Sakura leaned against the 1st desk in the second row and watched Naruto huff about.

"I can't take it anymore!"

"Naruto," Sakura said sternly. "Just sit down!"

Naruto irritatedly vented on how frustrated he was with waiting on their sensei. Fed up, he began fidiling with the door.

"Hey! Naruto! What are you doing," Sakura said.

Ellainna and Sasuke watched silently in interest as Naruto set up a chalk eraser in the door to prank the teacher with, presumably as a punishment for being late. Ellainna giggled and turned to face the door, interested in seeing if the teacher was dolt enough to fall for it.

Sakura stalked over to Naruto and put her hands on her hips, ready to scold him as though she were his mother. Naruto explained why he was doing it, adamaent that he wasn't undoing it. He hopped off the stool he was standing on and chuckled to himself, amused by his prank.

Sakura tried chastising Naruto and Sasuke looked away, lacking care for the entire situation. "Our teacher's a Jonin-an elite ninja," he said as a matter of factly. "You'd think he'd fall for that?"

"Yeah," Sakura said, jumping on the Sasuke bandwagon once again. "Sasuke's right. You're so clueless, Naruto."

"Oh, let him be," Ellainna chirped up in annoyance. "It's fine. It doesn't matter either way. I-"

Just then, a hand clasped the door and began to open it. Each student looked on in interest and anticipation, each having thought up a guess as to what was going to happen next. A head of silver hair with most of his face covered by a mask poked his head through. The eraser simply fell upon the silver mane, leaving white chalk dust scattered upon it, before clattering against the floor. Everyone paused momentarily, taking in the moment. Sakura and Sasuke were shocked that a Jonin actually fell for such a silly prank and Naruto and Ellainna were amused at the success of the prank.

They both burst into laughter, Ellainna having fallen back onto the desk clutching her stomach and Naruto pointing his finger at the teacher. "Hahaha, I got him," Naruto exclaimed. "He totally fell for it! Hahaha!"

Sakura immediately began her usual bout of butt kissing. She expressed her innocence and how Naruto didn't heed her warning not to do it. Sasuke shook his head in arrogant disbelief that their teacher was a skilled Jonin having fallen for such an obvious prank. The teacher bent down and picked up the eraser as he fully entered the room.

"Hmmm...How can I put this," he asked himself aloud, putting his hand to his chin as though he was a wise old sage pondering the meaning of life. "My first impression of this group...You're a bunch of idiots."

Ellainna sat up in offense, ready to let her new sensei have it. Instead though, she paused as she actually got a good look at him. "Wait a second..." she said, her mind working. "You're...you're! You're Kakashi Hatake, aren't you?!" She wasted no time in getting a response that wasn't coming regardless. She sprang up in excitement and as her teammates looked on in confusion, she leapt over to their new sensei and wrapped herself tightly around his arm, chattering away. "I can't believe it! I absolutely can't believe it! You're going to be my sensei?! Ugh, I can't! I never imagined I would ever meet a legend like you but-ugh-here we are! Oh my gosh! And you're so much cuter in person than people ever let on..." Ellainna trailed on, rubbing her cheek against his arm affectionately, though the more she talked, the faster and less coherent she became. Their sensei, after unsuccessfully having tried to pry her off his arm, pretended like nothing was happening and instructed them to follow him. They all did so, Sasuke annoyed at Ellainna's behavior and the other two Genin confused.

The Jonin led them to the roof and instructed them to sit. He finally managed to pry Ellainna off and leaned against the guard railing behind him. Ellainna hopped up and sat next to him, facing her teammates but looking up at Kakashi in admiration. She cupped her cheeks and watched him with excited enchantment. He looked back at her, uncomfortable with the attention (although not entirely new to it) and decided to just ignore her. "Absolutely a bunch of idiots," he muttered to himself.

"All right," he said louder, addressing his new squadron. "Why don't you introduce yourselves one at a time?" Ellainna immediately raised her hand, waiting to be called upon, as though she was still in grade school. Everyone ignored her except Sasuke. He watched her with annoyance.

Sakura asked him what he meant and he expanded upon it.

"Things you like. Things you hate. Dreams for the future. Hobbies. Things like that."

Ellainna's eyes glazed over as she began daydreaming, answering his questions in her head. Naruto's voice, however, snapped her out of it.

"Well, why don't you tell us stuff first? I mean, before we talk, tell us about you, so we can see how it's supposed to work."

"I agree with Naruto," Ellainna quickly said, jumping up to hug Kakashi once more. He, although, anticipated it, and stuck his hand out to block her. Her face crashed into his hand and she sat down dejected, though her eagerness unhindered. Kakashi continued as though nothing happened and introduced himself, though not giving any information other than his name.

Sakura and Naruto whispered how unhelpful and uninformative he was in his answers while Ellainna gripped Kakashi's leg and whined, "Awww, no fair! That's no information at all."

Still ignoring her, Kakashi gestured to his other 3 students. "Okay, your turn. You on the right, you first."

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke introduced themselves one by one; Naruto talked a lot about ramen, Sakura giggled excessively as she expressed her crush on Sasuke, and Sasuke darkly spoke about his one goal in life. Kakashi took a beat to take in everyone's introduction before he looked down at Ellainna and said, "Okay, do you think you can be composed well enough to introduce yourself?" She nodded in excitement.

"I'm Ellainna." She made a peace sign with one of her hands and stuck her tongue out. "But you can call me Ellie." She winked at Kakashi before continuing. "I don't really hate anything. Maybe that guy at the convenience store that always gives me a hard time, I don't know. Uhm...I like...hmmm...Missions I guess. It's all I do pretty much. Or did. Now I'm stuck here. My dreams for the future right now...I guess I just want to promote so I can get harder missions more regularly." She put her finger on her chin as though she was thinking hard about something. "Hobbies...? Training I guess..." She shrugged her shoulders and looked back up at Kakashi expectantly.

"Good," he said, addressing all 4 of his new students. "You're each...unique..." he glanced sideways at Ellainna for a quick moment. "And you have your own ideas. We'll have our first mission tomorrow."

As they discussed what was to happen tomorrow, they soon found that each of their questions produced a grim answer that really just sprout up more questions. By the time he dismissed them, all they knew was that they were to meet at a designated spot early tomorrow morning after not eating breakfast. It would be a survival exercise of some sorts that would weed out ninja not ready to graduate from the academy and it wasn't like anything they had done before in training so they couldn't prepare for it.

Kakashi stood up and turned away from his students. "That's it," he began. "You're dismissed."

After taking his advice to heart, the three Genin left, leaving Ellainna and Kakashi alone. She stood and walked over to him, gingerly putting her hand on his shoulder. "Soooo...Let's talk about how I'm gonna pass this little exercise tomorrow? I was thinking-"

"Be at the training spot tomorrow on time and pass," Kakashi said, cutting her off. She gently began rubbing his shoulder and said, "Well, I was really just-"

Kakashi promptly left, not willing to listen more to what she had to say. Ellainna chuckled at how easily she made Kakashi feel uncomfortable while she groaned internally, also annoyed that she was having to participate in an assignment as her first 'mission' on a team. "Yeah, this is gonna suck," she said, deciding to ignore the rules and do whatever she wanted anyway. She turned on her heel and went off to pig out at a barbeque place and sneak Sake.

The next morning, Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto met up at the predestined point, tired and frustrated. The sky was purple and the cheery birds were just waking up, chirping about as they stretched their wings. The three Genin, however, dragged their feet and were half asleep as they walked to the meeting point. Sasuke looked stoic and relaxed as possible but he was just as tired and irritable as his comrades. They waited patiently for their 4th team member and sensei to show up for their mission. It was a few hours before Ellainna showed up, her leotard strap falling off her right shoulder and her skirt bunched in her hand. She sported a new pair of sunglasses to block out the brightness of the sunlight.

"Morn' guys," she said with a slurred voice. "I may it...I'm here...Got up late." Her still sleepy teammates nodded to her in acknowledgement, still too tired to say anything. She yawned as she bent over, slowly putting her skirt on. She of course purposely stood in front of Sasuke who had a hard time keeping a cool, collected face. Her leotard already hugged her every bend and curve and revealed a bit of her backside so her bending over just made it entirely worse. Sasuke managed to look away, but he was quite visibly red in the face. Ellainna then sat on the ground and leaned against Sasuke, promptly falling back asleep. Naruto followed her lead and sat on the ground and drifted off as well. They all waited a few more hours, now more alert and awake but also more frustrated with the absence of their new teacher. Ellainna still leaned against Sasuke's leg, but she was now awake, unbeknownst to her squamates.

Finally, Kakashi arrived and nonchalantly greeted his students.

"Morning everyone. Ready for your first day?"

Sakura and Naruto both jumped up and proclaimed, "Hey! You're late!"

Ellainna jumped up and said, "Oh it's fine! As long as he's here!" She leapt towards Kakashi, intending to hug him. He sidestepped her, causing her to fall to the ground comically, and addressed them as though nothing was out of the ordinary. "Well, a black cat crossed my path, so I had to take the long way."

Sakura and Naruto growled in frustration but didn't argue. Ellainna wrapped herself around Kakashi's leg as she had the day before, affectionately rubbing her cheek against it, as she said, "Oh, that's totally understandable! You can't be too careful around black cats!"

Her teammates rolled their eyes and Kakashi cleared his throat before he spoke again. "Well...Let's get started." He walked over to a tree stump with Ellainna still wrapped around his leg, surprisingly with little trouble, and his other three students looked on in interest and confusion. He set a clock upon it and turned to face them.

He explained the rules of the exercise: nab the two bells from him before noon. Fail and you are tied to the posts, forced to watch him eat lunch (Ellainna comically pointed to herself when he said that), and sent back to the Academy. Sakura inquired why there were only two bells when there were four ninja and he explained that it helped to dwindle the number of genin. At least two, or all, of them would fail. They were allowed to use any weapon they so chose to attack him with.

"Including shuriken," he said. "If you're not prepared to kill me, you won't be able to take the bells."

"Those weapons are too dangerous, sensei," Sakura cried out in concern.

Naruto laughed heartily. "Especially since you couldn't even dodge that eraser," he remarked.

"Class clowns are usually the weakest links," Kakashi smoothly countered back. "You can safely ignore them-lowest scores, losers."

Naruto looked on at Kakashi in frustration, grumbling.

"When I say start, you can begin."

Naruto, offended by Kakashi's retort and eager to prove him wrong, grabbed a kunai from his pouch and charged at him.

Kakashi easily grabbed Naruto's hand and directed it to point his weapon behind him at his own head. Ellainna blinked in confusion as she was sitting in the same spot she was just a second ago, but now grasping air. She was all the more impressed with his skill.

"Don't be in such a hurry," Kakashi said. "I didn't say start yet."

Naruto growled as he struggled unsuccessfully to get free from Kakashi's grip. Sasuke and Sakura stepped away in unease, surprised in the skill their teacher had.

"But," Kakashi continued. "You came at me with the full intention of destroying me, so...How can I say this...? I'm actually starting to like you guys." Ellainna sat up in giddiness and hearts in her eyes. "Not you," Kakashi added on. Ellainna fell back to the ground and pounded it as she whined.

"No fair!"

Ignoring her, Kakashi addressed his students. "Get ready...Aaand...start!"

Sasuke and Sakura quickly his in a nearby tree and bush, respectively, each watching on. Ellainna sat crossed legged and watched Kakashi in a seemingly dazed fashion. Her eyes were glazed over and she didn't move a muscle. Kakashi admired how well Sasuke and Sakura had hidden before he noticed Naruto standing tall and proud, prepared once more to face him head on.

"You and me," he announced loudly. "Right now! Fair and square! Let's go!"

Kakashi just stared at Naruto, confused by his boldness.

"You know, compared to the others," Kakashi said. "you're a bit weird...And that's saying something," He nodded his head towards Ellainna, suggesting he meant she was weird as well.

"Hey," she yelled in indignation.

"Oh yeah," Naruto said, responding to Kakashi. "The only thing weird here is your haircut!" He then charged Kakashi, full speed. Kakashi stuck his hand in his pouch and Naruto paused, on guard as he waited to see what weapon Kakashi was going to pull on him.

"Shinobi battle techniques, part one: Taijustsu-the physical art." Kakashi pulled out a book, confusing Naruto and intriguing Ellainna.

"What are you waiting for," Kakashi asked. "Make your move."

Confused, Naruto responded, "But...I mean...Why are you reading that book?!"

"Why?! To find out what happens in the story, of course. Don't let it bother you. With your weak attacks, it doesn't really matter if I'm reading or whatever."

Angered by yet another insult, Naruto growled and made a tight fist. "I'm going to crush yooooooooooou," he yelled as he charged at Kakashi once again, brandishing his arm threateningly. Ellainna looked on in immense interest.

Naruto attacked Kakashi with all he had, coming at him from all kinds of angles. Unfortunately, his every strike was blocked by Kakashi with his one hand. He lived up to his promise that he could win the fight while reading his book. Naruto, seeming to have gotten a leg up on his opponent, came at Kakashi with a ferocious punch, shouting, "Now you're mine!"

He blinked and Kakashi was gone. Confused, Naruto stopped in mid punch. Kakashi, having snuck behind Naruto, said "Don't let the enemy get behind you all the time."

Ellainna chuckled and Sakura, thinking it was a dangerous jutsu that Kakashi was going to unleash upon Naruto, called out, "Naruto! Get out of there quick! He's going to destroy you!"

Naruto glanced over to where her voice was coming from and Kakashi said, "Too late. Leaf Village Secret Finger Jutsu!"

Naruto glanced back at Kakashi and he attacked him. "No," he yelled before groaning in uncomfort from the attack. With his fingers up Naruto's butt, Kakashi yells out, "A Thousand Years of Death!" He pushes and it sends Naruto flying. Ellainna falls onto her back, laughing and kicking her legs about. Sakura and Sasuke mentally facepalm at the absurdity of it all and the anticlimactic end of the attack. Naruto lands in the water and Kakashi promptly goes back to reading his book.

Deciding that he doesn't want to give up just yet, Naruto decides to attack from the water and sends out two small shuriken at Kakashi. Kakashi catches them easily with his fingers, not taking a moment's pause from his reading material. Ellainna, having looked on at this, found herself swooning harder. She got up and lunged at him from behind. She ended up on his back, clinging on like a backpack. He glanced at her but decided it best to ignore her antics until she was actually fighting him.

Naruto climbed out of the water, gasping for air and Kakashi addressed him, his voice dripping with pity. "What are you doing now? You know, you won't get lunch unless you take a bell by noon."

Naruto looked up and replied frustratedly, "I know, I know! You told us already!"

"You look pretty wobbly for someone who's going to surpass the Hokage," Kakashi responded.

"You told us not to eat breakfast! How can I fight when I'm starving to death?!" Kakashi started walking away, Ellainna comfortably hitching a ride on his back, but Naruto still shouted onward. "So, you caught me off guard! That's all it was. Believe it!" He hunched over, weakening from hunger. "I'm so hungry...I don't have any strength...But I can't let that stop me. I've got to get one of those bells no matter what! I'll find the strength somehow. Believe it. I'm gonna pass this test and I'm not going back to the Academy. I will become a ninja."

Suddenly, I gang of Naruto clones jumped out the water, heading for Kakashi. He looked back in interest and quickly tossed Ellainna off his back. She tumbled into a somersault and landed by the tree Sasuke was in. She had no objections as she would rather not be in the middle of fight. She stood and watched as Naruto renewed their fight, intrigued at how apt he was at such a complicated jutsu. No one so young can usually handle it so well, and so many clones at once. She was impressed.

"Ha! You're overconfident, sensei! That's why you weren't ready for a shadow clone attack-my best jutsu!"

The clones landed on the ground and began charging towards Kakashi, whom was also impressed at his skill with the jutsu. "Great technique," he began. "But I don't think you can maintain it for very long. You talk like you're the best, Naruto, but you're still the worst student. You can't beat me with this jutsu." Shockingly, Naruto came from behind and grabbed onto Kakashi to hold him still.

"What," Kakashi said incredulous. "He got me from behind!"

"Didn't you say 'don't let your enemies get behind you'? Good advice, sensei. Believe it!" All of the clones began grasping onto Kakashi and holding him in place. "I had one of my clones come out of the river, then sneak up behind you super quiet. Now, this is for nailing me in the butt earlier!" Naruto came at Kakashi with a diving elbow drop, his teammates watching on in awe. Naruto seemed to be really serious about his ninja training. Suddenly, his attack connected, but in Kakashi's place was a Naruto clone! Ellainna chuckled softly and Naruto landed on his feet, confused.

"It's you," Naruto exclaimed, thinking he had figured out what happened. "You're Kakashi sensei, aren't you?! You transformed into me using a jutsu!" Suddenly, all the Naruto's and his clones were fighting each other, each one thinking on of the others was Kakashi in disguise. The Narutos conversed and came up with a plan. He would undo the jutsu, leaving just him and the imposter! Naruto chastised himself for not thinking of it sooner before he released the jutsu.

All the Narutos disappeared and the only person there was Naruto himself. No imposter or Kakashi in sight. What was in Naruto's sights, however, was one of the silver bells, on the ground next to him. "A bell?!" Naruto cheesed in victory. "I must have got to him with my attack. He dropped a bell!" Naruto raced over to pick it up, laughing in victory. As he crouched down to pick up his prize, he was abruptly yanked into the air by his ankles. He had fallen for a trap! He now dangled upside down from a tree, rope tied taught around his ankles. He cried out in surprise, "Hey! Woah! Let me down! What is this?! Hey! Help! Somebody! Ahhh, help! Come on! The bell!"

Naruto tried, futility, to reach the bell from his spot but was unsuccessful. Kakashi showed up and picked the bell back up, sighing in dissatisfaction. "Think before you use a jutsu, or else your opponent might use it against you. Oh, and also, if the bait is obvious, don't take it."

Frustrated at being one upped once again, Naruto shook and gripped from the tree.

"I ninja must see through deception," Kakashi lectured.

"I! Get! It," Naruto yelled angrily.

"I'm telling you this because you don't get it. You think you get it, which is not the same as actually getting it. Get it?"

Sasuke, seeing a moment of opportunity as Kakashi was lecturing Naruto, decided to take a chance and attack his sensei by throwing a few small shuriken and kunais at him. They connected and took him down, shocking Naruto and Sakura.

"Wha," Naruto exclaimed. "He just got blasted by shuriken! Are you out of your mind, Sasuke?! You went too far!"

Kakashi fell to the ground before a puff of smoke revealed a log in his place, showing that it was a substitution jutsu Kakashi had used, just like on Naruto a few moments ago. Realizing this, Sasuke quickly ran to relocate, knowing that he had just compromised the one he was residing in and not wanting to be caught unawares. He scolded himself as he analyzed what had happened and how he fell for it. Kakashi, hiding in a bush nearby, readied a weapon from his pouch. Sakura chased after Sasuke, more desperate to be near him and wondering if he had been caught than to be thinking of a plan to get the bells. Ellainna continued to stand by the tree, contemplating her next move. Naruto, was still stuck in the tree.

Sakura seemed to have caught up to Kakashi and she hung back in the treetops, watching him. Then, a whisper came from behind her; 'Sakura, behind you!'Shocked, she turned around and saw Kakashi sitting there. She screamed in pure terror before Kakashi put her in a genjustsu. She looked around, terrified and freaking out, before she saw Sasuke covered in blood and weapons. He was calling out for her help and she froze in fear. She teared up and screamed once more before passing out. Kakashi watched from a tree branch nearby and was internally monologuing, obviously proud of himself, before he was interrupted when he too heard a voice behind him. 'So, when are you going to tie me up, Kakashi sensei?'

He suddenly noticed that Ellainna was on his back again, her face right next to his. He was startled, internally questioning how she not only found him, but how he hadn't heard or noticed her until just then. That's when he realized that she was a Chunin for a reason and that he shouldn't underestimate her. It was also when we noticed that she had a kunai near his throat. She giggled innocently, as though she were an ignorant child. She jingled his bells and ran her tongue across his ear before she crooned seductively, "What's the matter, Kakashi sensei? You seem so-" she pressed the kunai closer to his throat this time, "-unnerved."

Kakashi managed to push her off and jumped away, facing her and prepared to fight back. Ellainna stood in a relaxed stance, swinging the kunai on her middle finger leisurely. "It's only me, sweet, oblivious, Ellie."

She spoke softly, like a dazed woman watching the clouds go by, but immediately grasped her kunai in her hand and charged Kakashi after she spoke. He quickly entered a defensive position, knowing now that he definitely needs to take her a little more seriously than he previously assumed. Thinking she was going to attack him head on, that's what he prepared for. Instead, Ellainna tossed her kunai upward and slid underneath Kakashi, between his legs. She got behind him while he was in a moment of surprise and used that to climb onto his shoulders effortlessly and catch her kunai. She held the point to his neck once more and bent over to look at him in the face.

"This is getting a little old, sensei," she teased. He leaned back slightly to make her unbalanced and slide off. Wanting him to do this very thing, she easily slid so that she was now sitting on his shoulders facing him and let momentum knock him on his back. She was now sitting on his neck and giggled. "At least take me to dinner first, sensei!" She couldn't tell because of his mask but Kakashi's face turned a few shades redder as he realized how compromising a position they were in. She stabbed her kunai into his shirt, temporarily pinning him to the ground and bent over, kissing him on the cheek, before she stood back up and faced Sasuke, who had been watching the entire showdown. Prideful and full of himself, he rushed past her, attempting to grab a bell from Kakashi as he was immobile. Kakashi easily removed the kunai and jumped out of the way of Sasuke's opening attack. Ellainna spun on her heel and knocked Sasuke down on his face with one hand. She squatted over him so she could speak right next to his ear. "I'm not done playing with him yet. You can wait until I'm finished. She then used her grip on Sasuke's head as leverage to areal flip to the side, dodging the kunai Kakashi threw at her.

"No fair! I wasn't ready to let you up yet!"

Kakashi charged at Ellainna and she jumped in the air, grabbing him by the shoulders of his shirt and suplexed him to the ground as she landed. The puff of smoke revealed it was a substitution jutsu again, a log taking his place once more. She felt the seemingly discarded kunai Kakashi threw at her earlier at her neck and said sensei was standing behind her. "I think now is when you give up."

Ellainna smirked and pressed her neck against the kunai. "Oh, really," she replied, still taunting him. Sasuke threw his own kunai at Kakashi, causing him to let Ellainna go and she ducked. Sasuke's kunai cut a rope, which didn't go unnoticed by Kakashi and Ellainna, which released a barrage of kunai and shurikens in Kakashi's direction. He dodged them and noticed almost too late when Sasuke appeared behind him, ready with a follow up attack to take advantage of him being focused on dodging the weapons. Ellainna jumped and kicked Sasuke out of the way. "I told you, this is MY fight, Sasuke," she proclaimed, before Kakashi grabbed her leg and swung her the opposite way. She flipped and landed on her feet. Sasuke quickly recovered and came back for Kakashi right after he threw Ellainna, going in for a kick. When Kakashi blocked that, he went in for a punch, which was easily blocked by Kakashi's other free hand. Sasuke then used the momentum to turn and attempt to knee Kakashi. That was blocked too by Kakashi's forearm, but he was impressed nonetheless with Sasuke's skills. Smirking at how well he was faring against his sensei, Sasuke reached out to try and grab one of the bells, on succeeding on touching it with a finger and Kakashi pushed Sasuke away and he slid backwards.

Elsewhere, Naruto was complaining about his sensei's teaching methods and struggled to get out of the tree. He reached up with his kunai and deftly cut the rope binding his ankles. He glided to the ground and landed on his feet, proud of himself and vowing not to fall for another trap. Suddenly, Naruto was up in the air once more! He had fallen into another tree trap and he was now dangling from the same tree, though with just one ankle this time. He groaned loudly and chided himself for getting stuck again. He spent a few moments contemplating what to do before he noticed that the lunches were sitting on the memorial a few feet away. After contemplating if he would steal it or not, he decided that he would and hatched a plan to get down.

Back at the fight, as Sasuke charged back at Kakashi, Ellainna came from behind the latter and used his shoulders like a vault and flipped herself over him. She kicked Sasuke in the face and followed through on her flip so that she was facing Kakashi. She was hunched over and her hair was a little messy. She smirked and licked her lips, enjoying the fight. Kakashi made the bring it on gesture and she charged at him again. Sasuke attempted to take advantage of this by coming behind her and catching Kakashi off guard. Ellainna, however, spun and side swept Sasuke, knocking him down once more, and then leapt at Kakashi. He was expecting her to attack him again so he was definitely taken aback by her hugging him tightly, linking her legs behind him firmly. He was going to pry her off but he had more important things to worry about since Sasuke, fed up, began the hand signs to perform the Fireball jutsu. Kakashi was shocked. Genin weren't supposed to be able to do such high level jutsu, but then again look at Naruto's clones. Thinking quickly, he tossed Ellainna unceremoniously to the left before Sasuke blew the jutsu where he was standing. Ellainna rolled to avoid being injured, but a tree ended up breaking her fall. The force knocked the wind out of her and she was unable to yell at Sasuke for being so inconsiderate and interfering with her fight.

Meanwhile, Sakura had finally woken up and after taking in her surroundings, she remembered she saw Sasuke was in trouble and called out for him. She began looking for him, determined to somehow nurse him back to health.

After he finished the jutsu, Sasuke saw that Kakashi was nowhere to be found and looked around himself frantically, trying to locate him. Kakashi's hand shot up from beneath Sasuke and grabbed his ankle as he taunted him.

"Where? I'm where you least expect me-" He pulled Sasuke down so that he was fully underground, save for his head. He looked like a Sasuke plant in full bloom.

"-Right under your feet," Kakashi said, finishing his statement. Ellainna laughed, amused at the predicament Sasuke was now in. Kakashi crouched so her could lecture Sasuke. "Earth Style Headhunter Jutsu. Can't move, hunh? That was ninjutsu, the third shinobi battle skill. You have talent. You were right to think that you are different from the others. But! Different isn't always better." He stood up before he finished speaking. "They say the nail that sticks up is the one that gets hammered down." As Sasuke complained and tried in vain to escape, Kakashi walked over to Ellainna, a threatening look in his eye. She stood, intending to distract him and get away but he was too quick and suddenly he was behind her. Swiftly, before she knew it, she was on the ground, her arms and legs bonded with rope. Kakashi had hogtied her!

As he lifted her up, he said, "And you. What you did was unacceptable."

She squirmed, confused, and said, "What do you mean?! You told us to attack you!"

He hoisted her on his shoulder and walked back towards the wooden posts. "Yes, me. Not your comrades."

"He got in the way! You saw! I was-OW!" Kakashi carelessly let her drop to the ground and silently raced to Naruto, whom he had saw on the memorial monument, beginning to take a munch on the lunch he had left there.

"It's chow time," Naruto exclaimed cheerfully.

"Hi there," Kakashi said from behind him, just as cheery.

Naruto screamed in alarm. Quickly trying to backtrack, Naruto said glumly, "I was just joking, sensei."

"Nice try."

While he was distracted by Naruto, Ellainna struggled to, but eventually successfully, move her arms from behind her to in front of her, stood, and hopped away. She hid behind a tree and hurriedly reached for a kunai to cut herself free. As she sawed, she looked behind the tree to make sure Kakashi hadn't come for her. She wasn't ready to be counted out just yet. As she got close to cutting the rope around her wrist, she stopped paying as much attention and rushed to get her hands free. As soon as they were, she looked around the tree nervously. Kakashi was nowhere to be seen. Slowly and fearfully, she turned back around and there he was standing, a few inches from her face. She turned red in embarrassment and chuckled nervously. "H-h-hey there...you..."

Kakashi clicked his tongue and shook his head in disapproval.

Back in the forest, Sakura ran around, still looking for Sasuke. When she got to the clearing where he was buried, she stopped mid jog as she noticed his head sprouted above the ground. Her stomach dropped in fear and she fought against fainting again.

"...Sakura..." Sasuke said, confused. This prompted Sakura to scream.

"Sasuke's just a head without a body and he's talking!" She then promptly fainted again. Sasuke deadpanned and begroaned, "And that's my partner..."

As Sakura came to, Sasuke hovered over her, trying to make sure she was okay. She awoke fully and began attacking him affectionately, much to Sasuke's chargin of course. He pushed her off, satisfied that she was okay, and refocused on his mission: getting a bell before lunch. Sakura tried multiple times to dissuade Sasuke from trying, she figured that if they all failed at least she'd be with him still, though it didn't work. He had his mind made up and he was insulted she even tried to change it.

At the 3 wooden posts, we see Naruto tied to the one in the middle, Ellainna retied, though her hands were in front of her this time and she had been gagged with a bandana, and Kakashi lecturing them both. Before they knew it, the bell had rung. It was noon, lunchtime, and nobody had a bell. Ellainna and Naruto were both tied up. Everyone was hungry (except Ellainna), and they all felt defeated and dejected. Sasuke and Sakura had joined the other three by the pillars and sat on either side of Naruto, Sasuke making sure to sit next to Ellainna. He helped her sit up and she leaned against him, frustrated at how the day's events had turned out and sad at the prospect of having to start over again. Especially at seventeen. She huffed through her nose and Sasuke pet the back of her head out of habit to calm her down.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura's stomachs growled and Kakashi took a moment to poke fun at them. "Uh-oh, stomach's growling, hunh? That's too bad. Oh, by the way, about this exercise? Well, I've decided I won't send any of you back to the Academy." Ellainna sat up expectantly as they all got excited. Maybe there was hope after all!

Sakura, slightly confused, said, "What? I passed? All I did was faint and fall over. Do you get points for that?" She then started cheering. Sasuke smirked and Naruto cheered as well as he could, being tied up to the post.

"That-That means all of us-I mean, all of us?!"

Ellainna tried to say something and sat up, bobbing up and down excitedly but nobody cared enough to decode or ungag her.

Kakashi smiled as he spoke again. "Yes. All of you are being dropped from the program. Permanently."

The cheering stopped immediately and the grimaces returned. Ellainna plopped down on the ground and growled in frustration.

Naruto protested vehemently, "Drop us from the program?! That means we can never become ninja!"

"Mm hmm-mmp mmm hm mmmm," Ellainna chimed in.

"You said if we couldn't take the bells, we'd be sent back to the Academy! You can't just change your mind and kick us out! Why would you do that?!"

"Because you don't think like ninja," Kakashi replied. "You think like little kids-like brats."

Sasuke, angry by the insult, charged Kakashi again. He was easily taken down and Kakashi sat on him as he continued his lecture. "You all think it's all about you."

Sakura yells at Kakashi thinking it will help anything. "Let go of Sasuke! You can't just step on him like he's a bug!"

Ellainna however found it all amusing, though was too upset to laugh.

Kakashi ignored her and continued. "You don't know what it means to be a ninja. You think it's a game, hunh? Why do you think we put you on squads? Did you consider that question for one moment?"

"I don't know what you mean," Sakura said.

"I mean, you never realized what this exercise is all about. Not even close."

"What it's about," Naruto said.

"Yes. That's what determines whether you pass or fail."

"But that's...I mean, I wanted to ask you about that from the begginging," Sakura said, tyring to earn brownie points."

"Use your head," Kakashi said, annoyed. "Three people on a squad. Why do you think we would do that?"

"How are we supposed to know why you picked three people," Naruto groaned in frustration. "We didn't make the rules!"

"It's so basic. Teamwork!"

All four of Kakashi's students looked away, ashamed that they so obviously and terribly screwed up.

"It's like working together. Is that what you mean," Sakura asked.

"That's exactly what I mean. It's too late now. But if all of you had come at me, you might have been able to take them. Well, anyway, it's over."

"Wait," Sakura said. "Why is there only two bells then? It would have led to group conflict and split us up!"

"Exactly. I purposely pitted you against each other. I wanted to see if you could overcome that and put the squad ahead of yourselves. A genin should have a natural feel for teamwork. And a chunin especially. But you four-it never even crossed your mind. Sakura-you obsessed about Sasuke, who was gone, while Naruto was right in front of you and you wouldn't lift a finger to help him. Same goes for you, Ellainna. You play around and make jokes. You don't take anything seriously. And when you finally decided to throw your hat in the ring, you did so solo. You even went so far as to fight your own comrade. And for what? That is beyond unacceptable. Naruto-you do everything on your own. Everything. And you Sasuke, you thought the others were so far beneath you they were worthless. Arrogance! Ninja missions are carried out in squads. Of course you need individual skills, but teamwork is the most essential element. Every shinobi understands this. When individuals put themselves above the squad, it can lead to failure and death. For example-" Kakashi pulls a kunai out and holds it next to Sasuke's throat. "-Sakura, kill Naruto now or Sasuke dies."

Sakura and Naruto both freak out and Ellainna tries to wiggle free of her bondage to help but she just keeps falling over.

"That's what happens on a mission," Kakashi continued as he removed the kunai from near Sasuke's neck.

Naruto and Sakura both take a breather. "Oh boy. That was really scary," the latter said.

Kakashi spun the kunai around his pointer finger as he resumed his lecture. "The enemy takes a hostage and you've got an impossible choice. And someone ends up dead." Kakashi replaces his kunai in his ninja tool bag and stands up off of Sasuke and walks towards the memorial monument. "On every mission your life is on the line. Did you look at this stone? The names engraved on it? They're all ninja who are honored as heroes in our village. "

Naruto, missing the point, exclaimed that that was the kind of life he wanted to live. He wanted to be the kind of hero who got his name on the monument. Kakashi took a moment to explain that these heroes were killed in action; they gave their lives for the village.

Naruto began reconsidering his decision and the weight of the reality of the meaning of the monument weighed on him. Kakashi explained the personal importance of the stone to his students and they all took a moment to let it sink in just how dangerous it really can be as a ninja.

Kakashi turned around and announced that he would give them a final chance to pass on.

"All right...I'm going to give you one more chance. But I'm going to make it much harder on you. You'll have three hours to get a bell. Eat lunch now to build up strength. But Naruto doesn't get any as he broke the rules, trying to eat by himself. Ellainna can't either as she has to stay tied up for the remainder of the mission. Anyone who tries to feed Naruto or free Ellainna will immediately fail. I make the rules, you follow them. Got it?"

As Kakashi walked off to who knows where in the woods, Sasuke and Sakura began eating the prepackaged lunches. Naruto tried to be strong and ignore his hunger pains and Ellainna scooted like a worm over to Sasuke. She stopped halfway, out of breath, and just lied on her back and groaned in frustration. Then, Naruto's stomach growled and he tried to play it off, encouraging his teammates to ignore him and not break the rules. Unfortunately, his stomach growled right after his proclamation so it didn't do much convincing.

"I think we should feed Naruto and untie El," Sasuke began.

Ellainna perked up, confused. Sakura looked at Sasuke incredulously and tried to convince him otherwise, reminding him of what their sensei had said before he left.

Sasuke replied, explaining how they would be a more effective team with a fed Naruto and a fourth teammate. Sakura ultimately agrees and after a bit of back and forth, she begins feeding Naruto (much to his pleasure). Sasuke makes his way to Ellainna, kunai in hand. She sits up and watches as he begins to saw at the rope tying her hands together.

Suddenly, a large cloud of smoke appears and an enormous rush of wind gushes across them, knocking Ellainna flat on her back. Kakashi appears and in a loud, booming voice, yells, "You!"

Startled, Naruto starts freaking out on the pole.

"You broke the rules. I hope you're ready for your punishment." Kakashi makes some hand signs and dark storm clouds appear, shooting lightening menacingly. "Any last words?"

Sasuke reaches out to help Ellainna up and Sakura cowers as Naruto challenges Kakashi, explaining how he was the one who told them they were a team and needed to act like it, though he trailed off, not sure of what else to say. Sasuke and Sakura piped up and helped him complete his argument and Ellainna nodded, unable to do or say more as she was still bound and gagged.

Holding his hands in one sign, Kakashi strode over to them threateningly and said, "The four of you are one? That's your excuse?" He stares at all of them and smiles (though they can't see it because of his mask) and says, "You pass."

Each of his students are confused and he says again, slower, "You. Pass."

"What d'you mean," Sakura asked. "How'd we pass?"

The sky rapidly cleared up and Ellainna spun in a circle, kicking her feet in the air in enthusiasm and joy.

"You're the first squad that ever succeeded," Kakashi said, replying to Sakura. "The others did exactly what I said and fell into every trap. They couldn't think for themselves. 'A ninja must see through deception'. In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum. That's true. But, those who abandon their friends are worse than scum."

Sasuke and Sakura smiled triumphantly and Ellainna was still doing her little dance of victory. Overcome with emotion, Naruto began to tear up and expressed how much he admired his new sensei. He thought he was pretty cool.

Giving them a thumbs up, Kakashi announced that the exercise was over, they had all passed, and that they would begin their first mission the next day. Sakura and Naruto cheered in excitement and Kakashi turned to begin walking away. "Let's go home."

Sasuke finished cutting Ellainna free and she jumped up excitedly. She ran and sprung on Kakashi's back, affectionately rubbing her cheek against him.

"I'm going home with you," she exclaimed. Kakashi and Sasuke both sighed and everyone continued walking. Naruto, however, still stuck to the post, cried out for attention.

"I knew they would do this; it happens every time! Hey! You guys forgot to untie meeeeee!"

A/N:

So, basically, if you can't tell already, I'm just taking it episode by episode right now. There will be more to fill and flesh out (that's what next chapter is). I am just trying to figure out how I want to write this right now. I've had this idea in my head for years but actually writing it is sooooo completely different. I'm changing a lot as I go and filling in spots so. 🙂 Just stick with me and I'll do my best to deliver a wonderful story. Thanks!