Underneath the Underneath

By: FlameXFullmetal

Disclaimer: I really don't own Naruto. Although admittedly he would make a good pet so...

A/N: Hello and welcome back to Underneath the Underneath. I am still astounded at the support that the story has received and I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart. As I said in the last chapter I am typing in this unfamiliar word processing software so if there are any obvious formatting errors or spelling and grammar that I normally would have caught it is because I am still adjusting to the new software.

I have had someone ask how things would work with Sasuke and his sharingans as Kakashi is no longer his sensei. I believe that was done as an excuse to repeat the sannin. I do not believe that there is nothing in the Uchiha clan library that wouldn't be able to instruct Sasuke on how to apply the chakra into his eyes to turn them on and off. I also believe that is the only thing that Kakashi could have taught to Sasuke as he was not an Uchiha and as a result did not have the same training with specific techniques to be used in combination with the dojutsu. So in effect, there is no reason for him to be Sasuke's jonin. Anyway on to the reviews!

"hello" people (bijuu in human form) speaking

'hello' people (bijuu in human form) thinking/coded hand signals

"HELLO" bijuu (full demon form)/summoning/deity yelling

"hello" bijuu (full demon form)/summoning/deity talking

'hello' bijuu (full demon form)/summoning/deity thinking

hello jutsu

**************First Team Meeting*************

Hinata and Kimiko were playing a game of shogi when Kakashi finally arrived to pick up his team. He was not only three hours late but also seemingly uninterested. He had been surprised when he had not received Sasuke on his team but when he asked he was told that it would be safer this way. He felt bad that he couldn't train Obito's relative and try to make up for everything that happened but he decided that he would just have to accept the Sandaime's decision if he only knew...

"Hey sensei? Could you at least try to be on time next time? Some of us do actually have lives and things to do with our time." Naruto said without looking down from his meditation on the ceiling. Kakashi did a double take to ensure that he wasn't seeing things and sure enough the blonde genin was sitting cross-legged on the ceiling. Looking over at the desk he saw the two females that he had been assigned playing a game of shogi that didn't seem anywhere near ending.

"How long have they been playing?" He asked in curiosity. Naruto snickered a little and opened his eyes.

"You would know had you been on time." Was his response. The laugh that followed was enough to make the girls look up and glare at the tardy sensei. Standing and sealing the board away to preserve the game Kimiko walked over to the jonin and fixed him with a blank stare.

"If you intend to waste three hours of our day on waiting for you to arrive tell us now so that we can get something productive done. Or better yet hand the team over to someone else. You of all people should be aware of how important punctuality is for a ninja, Hatake. No, by the way, I will not watch my tone with you. In the time that you took to get here, Naruto and Hinata could have moved on to the next phase of some of their training. For Naruto that would have included more chakra control exercises which he is in desperate need of." She lectured the jonin. Kakashi blinked in surprise. The Sandaime had said that he had been given a unique genin and team and he hadn't known what he had meant then. Now, however, he believed he could see why. The girl wasn't afraid to speak her mind or order him around if it meant getting the point across.

"Sandaime-sama said that there was something you wanted to tell me." He said narrowing his eyes at the genin. Something about her was off and he didn't know what it was but it was making him uneasy.

"Should you gain my trust then I will tell you. However, as of now, there is no respect outside of what your skill level is. Plus the amount of knowledge that you could impart on this team given your extensive history as a shinobi and the vast amount of knowledge that you have picked up over the years." She retorted. Somehow Kakashi felt that he should have just shown up when he was supposed to. Shrugging he turned to leave the room. Looking over his shoulder he called out to the aggravated genin in the room.

"See you on the roof." With that, he shunshined out of the room. Kimiko felt like punching the man. He had wasted their time only to show up, demand answers and then tell them to meet him somewhere else.

"Deep breaths Kimi-chan." Naruto soothed as he heard the rant that his parents started internally. This wasn't going to go well. Already he was having to soothe the three most powerful beings on the planet and two of them lived in his head. Arriving in the roof not even a minute later the three genins looked over at the jonin and after only a minute Kimiko had snatched the book he had been reading out of his hand and had torched it.

"Do try to keep your perverse habits to yourself." She snapped. Kakashi was staring at her in shock. Never had anyone done such a thing! Especially not to his precious book.

"Alright then let's get started. Name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, hopes and dreams for the future. You first blondie." Kakashi snapped. Naruto grinned at the jonin and looked him right in the eye.

"Lead by example sensei." Came the reply. Kakashi almost faces planted at the answer. He had not expected that even though Iruka had warned him that Naruto and the girl had a habit of trying to annoy people to the point of snapping. Internally Kushina and Minato were laughing hysterically. They had not expected Naruto to do that and the look on Kakashi's face had been priceless.

"Hatake Kakashi. My likes...I have them. My dislikes...I have those too. My hobbies...you are too young to know. My dream...well irrelevant." He replied and Minato felt a few brain cells die at that answer. Did that boy not take being a ninja seriously anymore?

"Okay then. Name...you would already know that had you read the team file you were given. Likes...meh who knows. Dislikes...you. Hobbies...pissing people off and pranking them. Dream for the future...you are too OLD to know that." Naruto replied making the silver-haired jonin gape as his own tactic was used against him. Kimiko snickered at the reaction and cleared her throat.

"Name unimportant to you. Likes are torturing arrogant pricks and people who disinterested in the lives of the children that they were placed in charge of. Dislikes are perverts, incompetent fools, and weaklings. Hobbies are pissing people off and I sometimes eat annoying gnats. Dream for the future...well I guess avoiding a true family reunion would be preferable." The vixen said making a chill go up Kakashi's back.

"Umm...you really should know our names already Kakashi-sensei. Also since we already know each other isn't that part redundant? My likes are not important to someone that has yet to earn my trust and my dislikes aren't any of your business at this point. My hobbies are for me to know and you to find out. My dreams are none of your business for as long as you remain disinterested in us and our progress." Hinata finished deciding to keep the theme/game going. Silence hung in the air as the team stared at each other and Kakashi tried desperately to come up with a solution. They had seemingly taken an instant disliking and as a result, had decided that he was not a trustworthy person to divulge their personal info to. He wasn't sure whether to be proud or annoyed.

"Right then...The fact of the matter is that none of you are genin yet. You still have to take the exam and there is a 66% chance of failure. Meet me..." He started but never finished as the vixen interrupted him.

"Do you have any prior engagements for the rest of the day because if you don't then there is no reason that the test can't be done now." She said making the jonin sweatdrop. Who was in charge of the team again? He was seriously doubting that it was him.

"No need to be like that. There are things that have to be arranged and I want to make sure that the three of you are ready." He tried to placate the vixen.

"We are as ready as proper shinobi should be. The question is are you ready? To be completely honest I don't think that you are even close to being ready for a genin team. However, out of all the prospects you were the most suited for preparing this team for the hardships that are coming. Do not make me regret choosing you as our jonin." Kimiko snapped violently making Hinata and Kakashi's eyes widen in shock. They had no idea that Kimiko had been the one to select this squad. However, how she had that much authority over something like that as a new academy graduate was beyond them both. After a second Kakashi shook his head.

"Since you don't want to wait for tomorrow morning we will meet at training field eleven at ten tonight for the exam. Don't blame me if you get hurt in the dark. Bring all of your gear and don't eat dinner." He snapped and vanished from sight.

"Was it wise to anger our jonin like that?" Hinata whispered.

"Wouldn't know. I haven't met our jonin yet." Kimiko sneered at the place where the man had been. She had not expected the jonin to be so carefree and...pathetic. She had remembered him from when she had been sealed inside of Kushina and he had been far more reliable than that.

"But Kimiko-san he was..."

"No Hinata that was a washed up has been that needs a reality check. One that we are going to give him and if he fails to meet my standards then we will be getting a new jonin." Kimiko said knowing that the man had yet to leave the vicinity. Kakashi could feel himself grow red with rage. The girl was seriously pushing her luck and if she thought that he was going to let her get away with the insult then she was sorely mistaken. Leaving his perch he headed for the Hokage's office hoping to clear a few things up.

"Hinata make sure that you eat dinner. He is trying to weaken you for the test, No shinobi should ever go on a mission on an empty stomach." Kimiko instructed and the girl nodded. Turning she headed home to inform her father of her team placement. She just hoped that the jonin and the vixen wouldn't kill each other tonight. Naruto and Kimiko headed in the opposite direction and groaned as they felt the annoying emo following them once again. It was going to be a long day.

"Sandaime-sama," Kakashi said entering the room causing the rest of the occupants to groan. They had all gathered to give the Sandaime a brief overview of their teams and their predictions based on first impressions, however, the meeting had been delayed by an hour because of the copy-nin.

"I see you ignored my advice and met your team late. In all honesty, though I am surprised that Kimiko didn't tear you apart for that." The old man stated seeing the man's irritation. Kakashi felt his eye twitch again.

"Just who is that girl? How was it that she got to pick her own team?" He asked. Hiruzen felt a headache start. He had hoped that the nine tails would keep that under wraps but it seemed as if she felt the need to inform Kakashi that she was not fooling around at all.

"Kimiko's origins and purpose here in Konoha will be divulged to you Kakashi by her when she feels that you have gained enough trust to keep that information a secret. I can assure that she will not harm the village so long as she is not given cause to. Being allowed to select her own team was part of the deal that was made with her." He replied to the jonin causing many to wonder about the girl themselves.

"I see. My apologies Sandaime-sama." Kakashi said trying to regain control of his temper. Unfortunately, it was not working.

"All right then shall we continue?"

As the genin made their way to the training field later that night they felt themselves wondering about what kind of test they were going to receive from the irate jonin. Hiashi had not been pleased when Hinata told him that she would not be able to attend a clan function that evening as she had to be ready for her genin test. She just knew that the jonin was going to get an earful. As she had passed the academy there was supposed to be an affair to recognize her as a full member of the Hyuga however it was forced to be placed on hold. Though she had not been thrilled about the whole ceremony to get the clan crest tattooed on her. She felt that was taking her clan's arrogance to a new level. Just another form of branding. Shaking her head she looked over and saw Kimiko and Naruto approaching at the same time that she was.

"Hey, Hinata-chan!" Naruto called out to the heiress. Smiling to herself she jogged over to meet them. Luckily for them, Kakashi showed up not even three minutes later still irate as he had been earlier.

"Never took you to be one to hold grudges." Kimiko taunted the jonin making him try to compose himself once more.

"Alright then. The three of you will have one hour to locate me, retrieve the bells that I have somewhere on my person and return to this very spot. If any of you are not in your starting positions when the alarm rings then you fail. Failure to retrieve the bells will also make you fail. I will be defending them and should you make it back here before the alarm goes off I will try to take them back. You may use any technique that you know and any weapons that you have on you. Begin." He snapped disappearing from sight. Kimiko rolled her eyes and turned to the heiress who was fidgeting.

"Try to find him with your byakugans. He can't have gone far. Once you find him, try to locate the bells." She said making the girl nod and shake away her nervousness. She had found that the vixen was stern yet fair during the time that she had been training with them. Furthermore, she had also learned that she was stronger than everyone in the village at the moment. She felt lucky that the fox had been willing to train her. However, she also knew that there was something that was being kept from her probably to prevent her opinion of Naruto and Kimiko from changing before she had already made up her mind. It didn't take long before she managed to spot the jonin and even less time to find the bells.

"I found him. But there are only two bells. Furthermore, he seems to be rigging traps everywhere in the forest." She reported. Kimiko snorted.

"He is underestimating us. Well, that will be dealt with quickly. Hinata, keep an eye on him and his movements. Report them to Naruto from a safe place. Naruto I want you to disarm the traps and lead him back here. I will deal with retrieving the bells and knocking reality back into him." The two nodded and disappeared from the clearing leaving the vixen alone with her thoughts. Hinata quickly found an outcropping that would provide shelter from most directions and force Kakashi to use more direct approaches to get to her. It was then that a thought popped into her head. 'How am I supposed to let Naruto-Kun know what is going on?'

'Hinata, are you in a safe position?' Kimiko's voice rang out from seemingly next to her.

"Hai. How are you doing that?"

'A modified version of a technique called the Wind whisper justu. However, a flaw with that technique is that anyone can overhear the conversation if they listen hard enough. This technique allows the thoughts to be transmitted over long distances instead of voices. Something like telepathy. Neither you or Naruto are ready to learn it yet.' The fox said answering her question.

'So I don't have to talk out loud?' Hinata asked testing the jutsu.

'That is correct. Just think of what you want to say and to whom. If you want both of us to hear don't focus on anyone.'

'Got it.' the formation that they were using was an experimental one that they had been working on. Hopefully, this field test would determine whether or not it was viable.

Naruto was heading towards Kakashi's last known location when he received the information on the technique. Nodding to himself he continued forward stopping only when he needed to disarm a trap. Internally Minato was lamenting how open Kakashi's strategies had become and wailing in despair. He had thought that he had trained Kakashi better than this. He had also noticed that his skills had slipped drastically as well. Kushina was sitting nearby trying to comfort her distraught husband. Naruto came to a stop a few feet from Kakashi and began to watch the jonin closely. The man was standing perfectly still seemingly unaware of his surroundings. Narrowing his eyes Naruto jumped backward off of the tree branch he was on as a massive water dragon slammed down right where he had been standing.

"Look Kakashi-sensei I know that you are irritated but trying to kill me to soothe your problems with Kimi-chan will not solve anything." Naruto bit out sarcastically. Swinging around he quickly caught the jonin's fist and flung him away. Smirking he looked at the irate man and held up a very similar orange book that he had swiped from the hip pouch of the seething copy-nin.

"I think that I am just gonna give this to Kimiko and see what happens." Naruto taunted and darted off back towards the clearing not even bothering to look back. He knew that the nin was following and that was all that he needed. As he skidded through the clearing he tossed the book towards his lifelong companion and then darted out of sight. Kakashi, on the other hand, froze at the sight of his beloved book being burned for a second time in one day, by the same person. He was literally seeing red and if anyone asked him later what he was thinking that day he would never have been able to answer. Pulling a kunai from his holster he prepared for the coming attack and vowed to get even at the redhead for destroying his favorite piece of literature. Kimiko for her part just gave a foxy grin and vanished from his sight.

Naruto and Hinata were sitting nearby knowing not to get in the vixen's way. She may have been limited in what she could do but she was more than strong enough to handle a washed up jonin living in the past. Looking over at the heiress, Naruto felt a blush spread on his cheeks and allowed his mind to wander. He had really wanted to ask the girl out but he wasn't sure how or if he would even be allowed to go on a date with her without exposing everything before he was ready. Trying to clear his head to focus on the battle before him he flinched as the silver-haired nin quickly cleared a small trail through the greenery on the training field as a result of a very high powered kick from a still grinning genin. Shaking his head once more he focused on his parents.

'Hey, dad? How do you ask a girl out on a date and not get killed by an overprotective father?' He asked making the incessant crying end. Minato blinked a couple of times and then allowed a huge grin to cross his face. His baby was already asking about dating. While he knew that he should be freaking out he felt proud more than everything as it meant that the blonde was passed most of the abuse he had been put through.

'Ask the father for permission first otherwise there is no guarantee. Be polite, respectful, honest and do not answer any questions the way that you think he wants them to be answered. State your true feelings. Hiashi respects honesty and he will know that you truly are interested in Hinata.' Minato replied making Naruto groan. He had been afraid that his dad would say that.

'Bare in mind Naru-chan that the Hyuga clan is one that holds to tradition and it used to be a requirement that the man asks for permission before trying to court or marry the girl.' Kushina soothed knowing that the boy was still terrified of the stern man's reaction to someone wanting to date Hinata. Before the blonde could reply, however, a massive explosion caught the attention of the observers and Naruto sweat dropped as Kimiko stepped up next to them holding the bells and smirking.

"We may not have training for a few days with Kakashi as he is in need of medical care. However, we can continue on with our individual training." She chirped tossing the bells to the two gawking kids. Naruto looked back to where his sensei was and flinched at the extent of the damage. Minato noting that he may be out for more than a few days without Tsunade around to fix him. Shrugging Naruto offered to walk Hinata home and then afterward he planned on taking a long bath before heading to bed himself. Nearby several ANBU were gaping like fish as they dropped down next to the jonin and carefully, but quickly, carried him to the hospital. The Sandaime had asked them to observe the test and they were certain that the redhead was the devil in disguise. She had been playing with the jonin the whole time and enjoying it. 'We're doomed' was the collective thought.

***********T.B.C***************

A/N: Hey there! I am trying different ways to try and get the indents to appear on the sight so hopefully, it worked on this chapter. If it did then I will keep that method going forward. Then I may go back and re-upload the old chapters with the indents so that they are easier to read. Anyway, I hope that everyone enjoys the chapter and has a nice day. Ja ne!