Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Glee. Also, before we begin I would just like to take a second and thank everyone who has read, liked, followed, favorited, and especially reviewed this story. It's an odd little concept and crossover I know, and I really appreciate the positive response this story has received. So thank you, sincerely, it makes me really happy that there are other people out there who are enjoying this.

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xXx-Chapter 17-xXx

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"Team ten will consist of Akimichi, Chouji. Nara, Shikamaru. And Yamanaka, Ino."

Quinn breathes a sigh of relief even as Ino, Naruto, and Sakura's concern spikes. The last two having both just realized that she hadn't been placed on a team. To Quinn it made sense that Ino would be placed with Chouji and Shikamaru. Ino, after all, was learning the Yamanaka clan techniques and was becoming more and more proficient with them every day. It seemed that they had decided to try and recreate the success of the Ino-Shika-Chou trio. It wasn't a perfect solution but Quinn could breathe easier knowing that a part of what made that combo so successful was that the Nara and Akimichi trained to protect the Yamanaka of the trio. It was just how part of that particular configuration worked.

If she couldn't be on the team to protect Ino at least Ino would be on a team with a history of success. It wasn't perfect but things worked out about as well as they could as far as Quinn was concerned. Ino had Shikamaru and Chouji to look out for her, it was just built into how the Ino-Shika-Chou style worked and Naruto and Sakura were both on the same team and could look out for each other.

Ino, however, was not happy. "Suzumi-sensei! What the hell!? What about Rin, where is her assignment!?" Rin may be at the top of the class, but she was still Ino's baby sister and after her fight with Mizuki, Ino's protective instincts over her sister were in overdrive. Ino after all was older by three whole minutes, who was supposed to look after Rin if she couldn't?

"Obviously Suzumi-sensei read the list wrong because there is no way in hell Sasuke is supposed to be on the same team as me and Sakura instead of Rin." Naruto shouts.

"Shut up, idiot."

"Bastard!"

"Loser."

"Naruto… Sasuke…" Sakura rubs her forehead trying to preempt a headache and Quinn gives her a sympathetic look as Sakura realizes the role that she's going to have on the team.

Referee.

Ino however ignores the exchange and focuses all of her fury on the woman who read out their teams, as if it was Suzumi-sensei who had personally split her from her sister. "Well!"

"Ino, it's fine, really." Quinn says soothingly, touched and a little amused by her sister's indignation.

"It's not fine, everyone here knows you're the best in class and now you're not even being placed on a team!"

"Miss Yamanaka, of course Rin has been given an assignment." If any other student had given an outburst like that she would have torn them a new one, however Suzumi had a soft spot for Ino, as Ino Yamanaka was her favorite student and one of the best in the more subtle shinobi arts to pass through the academy in quite some time. She wasn't as combat oriented as her sister, but Ino had more than earned her place as second in her class.

You wouldn't know it right now, considering how loud and abrupt she was being, but Ino really was quite a prodigy in this area. She couldn't be too mad however, Ino was just looking out for her sister. If there was anything that Suzumi could understand it was that, she had lost her own sister nine years ago on a mission. It was why she had requested a transfer from active duty to the academy.

"Rin, I was going to speak to you privately after this but I guess now is as good a time as any, you've been selected for an apprenticeship."

This draws a gasp from everyone, including Quinn herself. An apprenticeship meant that a higher ranked shinobi specifically requested you to teach, and only you. They usually they came about as a result of a genin team. A sensei ends up taking an interest in one of their student in particular and wants to pass on their techniques to that student, but it was extremely rare for a ninja just to pick a student to take on one on one like this.

"Are you… I mean… who?" Quinn stutters out, the only person she could think of who might even consider this was Sarutobi-sensei but he was much, much too busy to do anything more than their once a week meeting. Wasn't he?

"I'm sorry Rin, it doesn't say who, it only says that on Thursday you are to report to training ground 14 at 0800."

"I will, thank you Suzumi-sensei." Quinn says, still in a bit of a daze, nudging Ino.

Ino stands and bows, now feeling a little bit embarrassed by her outburst, "Yes, thank you Suzumi-sensei, and I'm sorry for my outburst."

"Don't worry about it this time. Alright class, I would just like to take this time and on behalf of the teachers here at the academy congratulate each and every one of you on all of the hard work you have put in here. You are now genin of the Village Hidden in the Leaves and I know that each and every one of you will leave your mark on this world. Work hard, train hard, and do your very best, and I know that you will not only make us here at the academy proud, but this village as well. It was an honor to teach you."

A chorus of "Thank you for all you have taught us." followed.

"You're jōnin instructors should all be here soon," except for one… "So please wait here until they arrive." And with that Suzumi-sensei leaves.

"I'm not sure how I feel about this, I mean on the one hand, an apprenticeship, that's pretty cool. But on the other hand, I can't help but think that you should be teamed up with one of us." Ino grumbles.

Quinn smiles. "Well, you aren't either."

Ino groans, "Don't remind me, I can't believe I'm stuck with Shikamaru and Chouji, I'm being punished for something I just know it."

"Be nice, Shikamaru's…"

"Lazy, has the lowest scores in class, is a misogynistic jerk?" Ino questions innocently.

"I can hear you, you know?" Shikamaru says with a scowl.

"I didn't whisper." Ino snaps right back.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru mumbles to himself before placing his head on the table and seeming to fall right to sleep.

"Well what about Chouji, that's not too bad."

"Yeah, but he seems fairly oblivious to anything that isn't that bag of chips in his hands… how they can be the children of Uncle Shikaku and Uncle Chouza is beyond me."

Quinn gives her sister a sympathetic smile. Ino was going to have her work cut out for her, both Shikamaru and Chouji had a ton of potential, their fathers and even Aunt Yoshino were all exceptional shinobi, Uncle Shikaku was the jōnin commander for crying out loud. Shikamaru and Chouji both had access to all kinds of training. They just didn't utilize it, or even seem to care. They weren't even middle of the pack, they were the tail end. They could do so much better, be so much better, they just didn't care to.

As babies and children, that was fine, as a shinobi, that kind of attitude could get people killed. Who knew, maybe being assigned to a team would light a fire under them, but if it didn't she'd have to have a long and series talk with them about what would happen if Ino ever got hurt because they weren't taking this seriously.

"Yeah, sucks to be you." Sakura teases Ino as she and Naruto join the conversation.

"Shut it." Ino growls, while Sakura and Naruto exchange another fist bump.

"Well it seems you two are excited. I'm happy for both of you, it's so cool that you got teamed up together." Quinn says.

"Yeah, I'm feeling kind of relieved, it'll be nice to have Naruto there with me." Sakura says.

"Yeah, how awesome is it that we're on a team together Sakura! We're gonna kick everyone's ass, believe it!" Naruto cheers. "Too bad we're stuck with that jerk Sasuke, man, why couldn't it have been Rin or Ino instead?" Naruto pouts.

"Naruto, be nice. Rin has been chosen for an apprenticeship so we should be happy for her. And Ino has her own team to worry about. Besides Sasuke is a part of our team now, we're all going to have to learn to work together. In fact, Sasuke, would you like to come join us?" Sakura asks as she turns in her seat to look back at the brooding boy.

Sasuke just gives a noncommittal grunt and looks away. Sakura's shoulders slump. "Right… maybe next time."

"You jackass, Sakura is nice enough to invite your lame ass over and you turn her down, just what the hell is your problem!" Naruto shouts.

"Well who asked her to?" Sasuke growls back, pointedly refusing to even look at Naruto as he says this.

"Why you- gah!"

Sakura yanks Naruto back into his seat, he'd jumped up and been ready to march over there and start some kind of fight. "Don't worry about it Naruto, he'll come around. In the meantime, don't let him get to you."

"I wonder if they'd allow us to switch teams, you know, me for Sasuke." Ino wonders out loud.

"That's a great idea we should totally go see the old man about it!"

As Naruto and Ino begin to plan out how they would convince the Hokage to switch their teams around, and if they were unable to convince him, beat him to a pulp according to Naruto, Sakura leans over to speak with Rin.

"So, are you excited, it sucks that you have to wait until Thursday to finally meet your sensei, any idea of who it might be?"

"Well my first thought was Sarutobi-sensei... what?" Quinn laughs at the look on Sakura's face.

"Sorry, it just still kind of freaks me out that you refer to Lord Hokage as "Sarutobi-sensei," it's just so familiar."

Quinn giggles, "Yeah it was a little strange for me at first too, but I don't know, we've done a lot together and he's helped me so much and he doesn't seem to mind. But I can't imagine that it's him though as much as I'd like it to be, he's so busy that it's amazing he's made the time for me that he already has, I don't know how he could possibly make any more."

"Nah, I bet it is the old man!" Naruto interjects with a grin. "It's gotta be, you guys have spent the last few years training together, it's about damn time he made it official."

"Maybe, and I honestly don't know who else it could be though, I mean maybe, maybe, it could be Asuma Sarutobi, we've met a couple times, but I don't think I made that big of an impression on him, and certainly not enough of one that he'd want to take me on exclusively."

"I am excited for you but I still really don't like not knowing. I mean what's with all the mystery, the least they could do is send you a name." Ino says. "I guess it could be worse though, I mean the Hokage wouldn't have approved an apprenticeship for you with just anybody so they have to be strong, and at least you haven't been stuck on a team even worse than the one I'm on… man this sucks."

"I can still hear you woman!" Shikamaru growls.

"So?" Ino snaps at him, "I haven't said anything that isn't true. I am stuck with you and it does suck. You, are going to have to shape up because I am not going to be held back just because of your lazy ass."

"Troublesome woman." Shikamaru mutters under his breath.

Shikamaru and Ino hadn't gotten along since her and Ino's sixth birthday party and Shikamaru had spilled cherry fruit punch on Ino's brand new Yukata. It had been an accident of course, but Ino had reacted with all the grace of an upset six year old, which meant none at all, and Shikamaru had stubbornly refused to apologize stating that Ino had bumped into him. That pretty much set the stage for their relationship to this day.

Ino then fixes her glare onto Chouji who gulps nervously, "And as for you, enjoy that bag of potato chips while you can because it's going to be your last one for a while. I get that your clan techniques require a lot of calories to successfully perform, but what you've been eating is just empty calories that do more harm than good. I'm not going to have myself or a mission put in jeopardy just because you aren't eating right. I'll be stopping by your place later and going over a better diet plan for you with Aunt Miso."

Quinn can't help but giggle at the look of horror on Chouji's face. Chouji's only real crime in Ino's opinion was that he hung out with Shikamaru, unfortunately for him that was more than enough. He really hadn't changed much from the sweet happy baby Quinn had met him as. And while she was being a little more forceful than Quinn would have been, Ino had a valid point. While the Akimichi's needed a high calorie intake to successfully and safely perform their clan techniques, junk foods like potato chips were the wrong kind and did more harm than good and gave him much less energy to work with as well.

"Well it seems I've been stuck with a lively bunch. Team 10, you're with me." A handsome, bearded jōnin with a cigarette in his mouth says from the doorway, grabbing the attention of everyone in the class. Rin recognized him as Asuma Sarutobi, the Third Hokage's son. She'd met him once or twice while training with Sarutobi-sensei, but really only in passing.

Quinn gives Ino and encouraging smile, who looks very reluctant to go. "You'll do great, that's Asuma Sarutobi, the Third's son. They must have a lot of faith in you to place you under his guidance. He was one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, the shinobi chosen to protect the fire lord."

Ino looks a little more encouraged after that and with a quick hug for her sister and a brief wave to Sakura and Naruto, quickly follows after her new team and sensei.

"I want to know who we've got." Naruto wonders out loud. "It sounds like Ino got somebody cool, I hope we did too."

"I'm sure that whoever it is, is more than qualified." Sakura answers, "After all, they don't just let anybody become a jōnin sensei. Only the very best are chosen."

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"What kind of loser did they stick us with!?" Sakura screams in rage. It had been three hours, three, and team seven's sensei still hadn't shown up. Everyone else was gone, except for Quinn who had decided to stick around until all of her friends were gone. She wanted to know who was training Sakura and Naruto. There wasn't anything she could do to change it, but it would help make her feel better if she knew which jōnin was looking out for them. She didn't know any of them personally, but her father allowed her to read through his bingo books and so she was pretty up to date on the who's who of the ninja world.

"I'm sure he must have a very good reason for being so late." Quinn offers, but even she was feeling a little apprehensive. Whoever their sensei was, they were running exceptionally late.

Naruto nods his head knowingly, "Yep, I figured this would happen. The old man fears all of the progress that I'm making and is obviously trying to sabotage me so that I can't take his place. So he's stuck us with a lemon for a jōnin sensei and now there is only one solution. I must kill the Hokage." Here he glances over at Sakura, "What's the penalty for assassinating the Hokage?"

"It's death, but only if we get caught, now here's what I propose-" Sakura says.

"Guys! Don't you think you're being a little overly dramatic?" Quinn asks.

Both Naruto and Sakura give her a blank look as if she'd spoken some kind of strange and foreign language.

"Right… I guess not."

Quinn couldn't blame them for being upset though, it really was very unprofessional for their sensei to be this late and not send them any kind of message. All three members of team seven were quite pissed. Sakura and Naruto were more vocal about it but even Sasuke was quietly simmering away, maybe it was best just to let them plot and blow off some steam… then again Naruto had just mentioned exploding tags on the Hokage monument so maybe she should step in.

"Hey guys, why don't we get some training in?" Quinn offers, "You know, do something productive while you wait?"

"Sure." Sakura says.

"But nothing too strenuous, you're still healing." Naruto adds. Quinn smiles indulgently, she was physically fine now, though she still had her cast on and wouldn't be cleared for active duty until Thursday. Naruto and Ino had both been a couple of mother hens while she had been healing. "But first…" Naruto then goes over to the blackboard and grabs the eraser, he then runs it over as much chalk dust as he can getting it as dusty as possible. He then places the chalk high up in between the door and the doorframe so that whoever opened the door next, the chalky eraser would fall on their head and cover them in dust.

"You idiot, no jōnin is going to fall for such a stupid trick." Sasuke sneers.

Sakura nods her head in approval of what Naruto is doing. "Too bad it's not something heavier, like a brick… three freaking hours…" She grumbles.

When Naruto is finished he goes over to Rin and Sakura. "Alright, so what should we do?"

Just as Quinn is about to answer she senses someone approaching, possibly jōnin level. The strangest part of this presence though was that whoever it was, was feeling… giddy, like they were doing something naughty and enjoying it. "Hold that thought Naruto, I think you're sensei's coming."

A couple of minutes later a head pokes through the door, however before they can say anything the eraser falls down on their head with a puff of smoke. Naruto falls to the floor rolling in laughter and Sakura tries and fails to hide her own giggles, having zero sympathy for the man who had made her wait three hours and Quinn didn't even need her sensor abilities to be able to sense the disgust rolling off Sasuke towards the man who had apparently fallen for such a lame trick.

Quinn however was stunned. She could read the guy better now that he was closer, he was suppressing his chakra but she could tell that he was strong. Like scary strong. And Quinn recognized him as well, she had just read up on him a couple of weeks ago. Naruto and Sakura were being assigned to Hatake Kakashi, also known as Copycat Kakashi or Sharingan Kakashi, the man who was said to have copied over a thousand jutsu. Though, she was having a hard time reconciling the man blinking stupidly at them with the living legend she had read about.

"Hmmm…" Kakashi hums aloud. "My first impression of all of you is…"

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke all wait with bated breath. "I hate you. Meet me on the roof." And with that he walks away.

"That's it!? That's him, that's the guy we've been waiting for!? That tears it, Sakura, we go after the Hokage tonight!"

"Right!"

"Count me in." Sasuke adds to everyone's shock.

"Guys, don't any of you know who that is?" Quinn asks.

Naruto and Sakura give her a curious look while Sasuke just scowls.

"That's Copycat Kakashi. They say he's copied over one thousand jutsu and that he's one of the strongest ninjas that this village has ever produced."

"Really? Him?"

"That guy?"

"Yeah, I can tell you right now, he's the strongest jōnin to show up today. I don't know what he's thinking or why he was so late but don't let him fool you, that guy is one seriously powerful ninja." Quinn almost felt giddy, Ino was being looked after by the Hokage's son, a ninja powerful enough to be asked to protect the fire lord and Naruto and Sakura were being looked after by, arguably, the most powerful jōnin in the village.

"Well if Rin says he's okay I guess we can give him a shot." Sakura says hesitantly, not quite sure if she believed Rin or not.

"Humph, he's still a jerk for being late… and what the hell does he mean he hates us!? He hasn't even met us yet and he's the one who's made a bad first impression!" Naruto shouts.

"Just give him a chance, I'm sure you guys can learn a lot from him." Quinn encourages them.

"Right… well, come on we don't want to make our new sensei wait." Sakura says, the words tasting like ash in her mouth. Naruto grumbles but follows along.

"Good luck Naruto, Sakura, do your best."

"Thanks Rin."

"We'll see you later okay."

"Good luck to you too Sasuke." Quinn says as he passes by her.

Sasuke does his best to ignore her, but he can't help but glare at her out of the corner of his eye as he goes past her. There was something about Rin that just rubbed him the wrong way. Something about her that was just wrong. He didn't mind Ino or Sakura, he didn't particularly care for either of them and it was a little frustrating that they currently surpassed him in skill but he could deal with it. Rin Yamanaka was a completely different story. For some inexplicable reason he absolutely hated her. He couldn't explain why, and it wasn't like she had done anything to him, in fact personality wise she was the least offensive person in his class. She certainly wasn't as obnoxious as Naruto or Kiba. It didn't matter though, for some reason, and it almost felt instinctual, like it was written into his very DNA, he hated her.

Quinn was well aware that she was not Sasuke's favorite person by any stretch of the imagination. Early on in the academy they had been neck and neck in terms of skill, however as time passed she began to surpass him and it seemed like anything he could do she could do better. And what was worse is eventually she pulled Ino and Sakura along with her as well.

Sasuke had a huge chip on his shoulder and either dismissed others as useless or, in Rin's case if they were doing better than him, as a rival to overcome. It was like he took their success as a personal slight, or at least hers. He certainly didn't have the same animosity towards Ino and Sakura that he did towards her. Quinn felt sorry for him, he'd lost his entire family, and she could tell he was hurting, but he was completely unapproachable. He seemed to find solace in his anger, not that Quinn felt it was her duty to fix every sad or angry person she came across. She had her family and friends, they were her responsibility, if someone came to her for help then she'd try her best to help them, but otherwise she had enough on her plate without seeking trouble out.

Really, she just hoped that Naruto and Sakura could help him work out his issues enough that he wouldn't be a problem for them. As far as Quinn was concerned as long as his attitude didn't put Naruto and Sakura in any danger he could angst and brood to his heart's content. Otherwise it wasn't her any of her business.

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"Hey sweetheart, you're home late, I thought you were coming straight home after you found out your team assignment?" Her mother asks as Quinn steps into the house.

"Yeah, I was but I decided to hang out until Ino, Naruto, and Sakura all left. Ino's sensei came pretty early and I'll let her tell you all about it but poor Naruto and Sakura had to wait around for three hours before their sensei showed up."

Megumi giggles, "So, they got Kakashi did they."

Quinn quirks an eyebrow. "How did you know?"

"Kakashi has a… let's say a reputation for being late. As a ninja he's one of the best, he was a student of the Fourth Hokage and has made quite a name for himself, but when it comes to his social skills, well… they do say that all of the best ninja are a little crazy, your father certainly has his quirks."

"Do you know Kakashi mom?"

"We've met once or twice, your father's gone on a couple of missions with him and knows him a little better. But what about you honey, tell me about your team?"

"Oh, um, I actually haven't been assigned to a team."

"What do you mean you haven't been assigned to a team?" Megumi asks, concerned.

"Apparently I've grabbed the attention of someone because I've been chosen for an apprenticeship." Quinn shakes her head, still not quite able to believe it.

Megumi's brow furrows. "And how do you feel about that?" This was strange, not unheard of, but definitely strange. Also, why hadn't whoever requested Rin come talk to her or Inoichi? While in order to take on an apprentice you technically only needed the approval of the Hokage, it was still customary, not to mention polite, for the sensei to at least speak with the ninja in question's parents or guardians, at least if they were under the age of fifteen like Rin was. She would have to talk to Inoichi, and see what he knew about this.

Quinn shrugs her shoulders, "It is what it is. I mean it's a little weird and I'm kind of disappointed that I didn't get to be on a team with my friends or Ino. I'm also a little confused, I just can't imagine who would want me, you know. I mean the only person I can think of who it might be is Sarutobi-sensei but he's way too busy to take on a student full time and I can't recall anyone who I might have made enough of an impression on that they would request me, not to mention someone that Sarutobi-sensei would approve. But on the other hand…" Here Quinn smiles, "I'm kind of excited too. I mean, I should learn a lot right? I just hope I live up to their expectations, there must be a reason they chose me."

"You just do your best sweetheart, that's always been enough. You've proven that time and time again. So don't worry about it too much, okay."

"Okay."

"Well, your father's not due back for another hour and who knows when Ino will get back today, do you want to help me start dinner?"

"Sure, what are we having?"

"You pick."

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"Hey, so how was today, really?" Quinn asks as she joins Ino on her bed, the two of them just finishing up getting ready for bed.

Ino lays back with a dramatic sigh. "I'm not sure. I know daddy's excited for me and I don't want to let him down but I honestly don't know how I'm going to work with Shikamaru and Chouji."

"You could have told him the truth, he wouldn't have cared… no, wait, that's not right. He would have cared but not in the way that you were worried about. He loves you, you won't let him down just because you're apprehensive about your team."

"I know that but… did you see how happy he was, I didn't want to take that from him, but I really don't know how this is going to work. I don't really think either Shikamaru or Chouji have what it takes to be ninja, I mean you should have seen them today. They were disinterested in everything Asuma-sensei had to say, Shikamaru kept nodding off and Chouji… he wasn't really any better. And now tomorrow we have this stupid test to see if we'll even get to stay genin or if we'll be sent back to the academy for another year. It's not fair, I've worked so hard to get where I am to just have them drag me down."

Quinn could feel the hopelessness radiating from Ino and Quinn felt really bad for her sister. "I'm really sorry. Is there anything I can do?"

Ino shakes her head, "No, I mean part of me really wants to pass tomorrow, Asuma-sensei seems really great, and I don't want to go back, but another part of me kind of hopes we do fail, you know? I keep trying to convince myself that another year at the academy wouldn't be too bad and that once it was over I would at the very least get assigned to a different team."

"Maybe you should talk to daddy, he worked with Uncle Shikaku and Uncle Chouza, maybe he can help you." Quinn offers up.

"Maybe but… I don't know, I guess a part of me was also really hoping that you and I would be on a team, you know?"

"Yeah… I wanted that too." Quinn says sadly.

"It just feels strange, we've done everything together since we were little and now we're just, apart. It doesn't feel right. And now even Sakura and Naruto are on a different team and everything is just different. I mean I knew the four of us couldn't always be together, you know, but I still kind of hoped that it would still happen. Like they'd make an exception. We all worked so well together and we were all so passionate and motivated. We all wanted to get stronger, we wanted to improve and help each other, and now I'm stuck on a team with two guys who don't seem like they could care any less."

"I know what you mean, I honestly completely forgot about the team assignments for a while, it wasn't until just before the fight with Mizuki that I was reminded of them. I wish I could be with you guys too, I mean, I have no idea what I'm even in for."

"I just want to know why, why did they split us up? Naruto and Sakura got paired together and that's great but what about you and me, we would have made a great team and it's not like they haven't put siblings on the same team before."

Quinn smiles, trying to make Ino feel better, "We'd have been completely unstoppable together, they probably split us up so that we wouldn't make everyone else look bad by comparison."

Ino giggles, "Yeah, the unstoppable Yamanaka sisters, the most badass kunoichi to have ever lived. Stand back Lady Tsunade there are two new legends around here now."

"I'd do all the grunt work of course and you would think circles around our enemies. You know, assuming you even let me have a chance to fight them, what's that new technique you've been working on called again?"

Ino grins at the mention of her pride and joy, her first original technique, "You mean my Miasma Shuriken?"

"That's the one, between the two of us every mission would be easy as pie." Quinn laughs.

"Exactly!" Ino's smile starts to disappear. "I… I'm worried. How can I work with a team that doesn't seem to want to work?"

"You'll find a way sis, you'll whip them into shape and one day your team is going to be so famous that they won't even remember daddy's team. You can do it Ino, you can make this work, I know you can."

"Maybe, but… damn it, I shouldn't have to. It shouldn't be my job to motivate my team, they should want to be the best all on their own, not because I force them to. I'd help them if they asked of course, even that jerk Shikamaru but I know that they won't. It's like they don't even want to be ninja… it's not fair." Ino's voice cracks at the end.

"Ino…" Quinn wraps her arms around her sister who starts to cry, the frustration finally getting to her.

"I've worked so hard… and… and if we don't pass this test tomorrow… then none of it will have mattered… I don't want to go back to the academy but with those two… I just don't know how we have any chance of passing."

"Hey, it'll all work out, maybe they'll surprise you tomorrow, you know? They can't completely suck if they managed to graduate. I know it's not fair for you to be the one to have to motivate them, you're right they should want to improve all on their own, but maybe they need you to. At least for right now, and maybe that's why this team was formed because they think you're the only one who can get them into gear. This combination has worked great in the past, they wouldn't just set you up just to fail Ino, you're way too good for that."

"Maybe…" Ino says hesitantly, her tears starting to subside.

"No maybe about it," Quinn says, wiping away a tear from Ino's face, "You are going to be so fantastic tomorrow that Shikamaru and Chouji won't be able to help themselves, they're going to want to get in on the action too. You'll see."

Ino laughs and hiccups, feeling a little bit better now. "You really think so?"

"Definitely, hell I bet you make chūnin before all of us. And Ino?"

"Yeah?"

"You really should talk to daddy about this, he's been on this team before, he knows how it works, talk to him. Tell him your fears and concerns, I'll bet anything you want that he'll know how to help you."

Ino is quiet for a moment, "You're probably right. I should go talk to him now." Ino says as she pulls away from her sister and gets off of the bed, "I hope Sakura and Naruto are having a better time than I am?"

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Sakura lay wide awake in her bed, stressing about the coming morning. Tomorrow there would be a test to determine whether or not they would stay on team seven or be sent back to the academy. It was very possible that tomorrow all of the hard work that she had done would mean absolutely nothing. Because come tomorrow, if she failed, she would have to start all over again.

It wasn't fair. She had faith in Naruto, and even Sasuke to a certain degree, but Kakashi sensei was a different story all together, it was like he wanted them to fail. Telling them that the test only had a thirty three percent pass rate, that it was going to be so difficult that they shouldn't even eat because they'd throw up, it was like he was trying to demoralize them so that they would go in already defeated. And it was working, maybe not for the reasons that Kakashi-sensei wanted it to, but because it was so obvious that their potential teacher didn't want them to, or expect them to pass.

She had been so proud of herself for getting as far as she had. She had gone from a strictly middle of the pack kunoichi, nothing special about her at all, to the third best student in her class. And it wasn't like she neglected the other aspects of the ninja arts either, she knew a couple of Ninjutsu and Genjutsu to supplement her Taijutsu.

She had potential, she knew she could go far if she was just given the chance, she'd proved that she could, but now she was stuck with someone who didn't seem to care. Sakura sighs, it was getting late and staying up and worrying wasn't going to do her any good. Tomorrow was going to be rough. But before Sakura can go to sleep however she hears a tapping at her window.

"Huh? Who's there?" She asks aloud as she slowly reaches for a kunai.

"Sakura, hurry up and open the window, it's me." Naruto whispers… well he does a Naruto version of a whisper which, still, really wasn't all that quiet.

Sakura goes over to her window and opens it and Naruto slips inside. "Naruto, what are you doing here so late?"

"Look, Kakashi-sensei is a jerk and I refuse to let him fail us. We've worked too hard to get where we are to let it all come to an end just because of him."

Sakura looks down, "But what can we do?"

Naruto gives her a foxy grin, "We know the area that the test is going to take place, we may not know what the test is going to be, but we know where it will be. I say we go there right now and set it up. Give ourselves the advantage. You know tripwires, pitfall, whatever we can think of."

Sakura grins at Naruto, suddenly feeling much more confident about their chances. "You mean cheat?"

"Hello, ninja."

"Right, let's do it." Sakura laughs quietly. They had nothing to lose in Sakura's opinion and everything to gain. Who knew, maybe they would pass in spite of Kakashi-sensei. Naruto was right, they'd worked too hard to let it all come to an end just because of one man. She was really grateful to have been placed on a team with her friend.

"We should grab Sasuke too."

"What! Why!?"

"Would you keep it down, you don't want my parents to hear you, do you?" Sakura hisses.

Naruto looks at the door wide eyed as he clamps his hands over his mouth. "Oops, sorry." He whispers. "But still, why him?"

"Because like it or not, he's on our team, we can't exclude him just because he can be a jerk sometimes."

Naruto still doesn't look convinced. So Sakura tries a different tactic.

"Besides if we do this without him then he might get caught in one of our traps and it could ruin our chances."

"Alright, fine. But we still do this whether or not he agrees come, deal?"

"Deal, but we do need to at least make the offer."

"Fine, but you talk to him, because I really don't want to."

Sakura rolls her eyes but agrees.

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Author's Note: So I want to be clear, the characters opinions of other characters are not necessarily my opinion. For exampler, Ino and Shikamaru. We all know that Shikamaru is strong and crazy-genius-smart, but all Ino sees, heck what most people see is a slacker, and that's going to rub Ino the wrong way. Quite frankly, right now, Ino doesn't like Shikamaru and vice-versa. And with Sasuke, the Sakura in this story isn't crushing on him, and so personality wise, though I would argue he had good cause to be standoffish and cold, she doesn't particularly care for Sasuke. She doesn't hate him, in fact, Naruto doesn't hate him either, maybe viciously dislikes him lol, but he doesn't hate him. I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I'm not going to bash characters in this story. However, that doesn't mean that some characters won't fight or not get along with each other.

It's my belief that you can have your characters not like another character and still avoid bashing them, i.e. making them supremely weak, or humiliating them, or turning them into caricatures of themselves. Sasuke's dealing with a lot, his family was murdered by his brother, his hero, he has every right to be angry at the world. That doesn't change the fact that there are times when he was a jerk, plain and simple, but I never got the pampered prince vibe from him that a lot of Naruto fic's give him. To be sure, he's a real asshole at times, and for most of the series I don't particularly care for him, but that doesn't mean he's a two dimensional character. I'm harping on Sasuke because he's the best example of this, but it applies to all characters in my story. I'm trying to write them all as people, with motivations and personalities. I would consider it a failure on my part as a writer if I treated that character as a punching bag. For the most part I'm not a fan of character bashing. Even if I don't like a character, even if Quinn, Naruto, Ino, and/or Sakura don't like a character, I still feel I need to be fair to them.

Sasuke is still a skilled shinobi for a genin, it's just that Quinn, Ino, and Sakura have currently surpassed him. Shikamaru is still a genius, it's just, I'm writing this story from the perspective of characters who hate laziness. So when a character gives an opinion of another character, it's just that, an opinion. I don't want someone reading this story thinking that I'm treating their favorite character unfairly. So if you like Sasuke and/or Shikamaru, or any other future character who may initially be viewed unfavorably by one of the main cast, then please believe me when I say that as a writer I'm trying my best to be fair to them and that at the very least it is not my intent to humiliate them within my story.