I don't own anything Naruto.

…

Damn damn Damn damn Damn damn Damn Damn DAMN!

Sakura, disheveled and clearly irritated, bounded over the rooftops of Konoha. The civilians endured the tell-tale noisy hammering as part of daily living in a ninja village. There were pros and cons for living within a shinobi safe haven, such as secure neighborhoods and great weather, but there was also clumsy genin banging on your ceiling.

Of course, Sakura was not a genin. She was late, however, and forwent her usual chakra controlled silent footfalls to concentrate on piecing herself together in some semblance of a responsible, dedicated jonin.

DAMMIT!

A tangle caught in her hair as she attempted to smooth it down. The team's bento boxes strapped to her back clambered and clamored with every jump. Growling, she clumsily tried to tie her hi-taite for the third time, but her unzipped green vest obstructed her movement. The late morning sun had already heated the day to an uncomfortable swelter and a bead of sweat rolled into her eye. So, when she hopped on one foot to secure her sandal on the other, she did not see the electrical wire directly in her path.

Her leg caught on the cable, causing her body to jerk awkwardly and tumble forward. With a surprising amount of grace that she did not think herself capable of that morning, Sakura barely made it out of a flip to land shakily on her feet. Dizzy, she stood fully up and made a quick effort to orient her senses before rushing off, but an unexpected noise threw her off balance once again. Maybe she was still asleep and dreaming, because the tardy kunoichi swore a tall oak tree directly ahead was laughing at her.

Sakura looked up to find the amused party and, sure enough, high up in the shade of the billowing leaves, was Kakashi reclined comfortably on a heavy branch.

His deep and sardonic voice called down to her. "Did you get lost on the path of life, Sakura?"

Sulking, her shoulders slumped forward as the karma burned her ego. "Do you have any better lies than that? I need to have an actual reason."

With a muted thump, his book closed. "It is as good an excuse as any."

"I don't know." She swayed her pink bangs out of her eyes and smiled teasingly at the older jonin. "The lost cat one seemed less flaky."

His lanky limbs sagged as he leapt from the branch to land silently at her side. Somehow, even with his terrible posture, Kakashi always controlled his body with ease and Sakura briefly wondered how it was possible to make 'lazy' an art form. He sighed and feigned offense. "Was I flaky?"

The medical ninja pursed her lips and tapped her chin in thought. "Not flaky. Mmaybe... Maybe 'unenthused' is a better word."

His eyes smiled and hands went into his pockets. "Ah. That might be a fair judgment."

Feeling less frantic, Sakura laughed and cocked her head towards the training fields. "I do have to get running. I am really late and my team probably thinks I'm already bored with them."

She only got a step forward when Kakashi's tone delayed her. "I never thought you three were boring."

The gravel slid harshly underneath her sandals as she skidded to another stop. Her brow furrowed together and, curious about the brief unguarded guilt in his voice, Sakura glanced over her shoulder to her ex-teacher, who was looking towards the ground but staring off into space. "Kakashi-sensei," she began cautiously, "do you want to come and watch?"

Confusion replaced whatever was going through the silver-haired man's mind and his head rose up. "Watch what?"

"The Bell Test," she declared, and her chest swelled as she did. "That's what I'm late for."

Kakashi's unfocused eyes glazed over for a moment. The darkness of his life was well known around Konoha. Most, when they see the expression he wore now, believed he was trapped in a memory or being plagued by a demon from his past. Sakura knew better. When he finally blinked languidly and smiled once again, the kunoichi deduced that there was some responsibility he was avoiding, and her offer had successfully allowed him to escape it. "Lead the way," he tapped her nose as he passed towards the training ground, "Sakura-sensei."

She huffed, as if seriously assaulted, and rubbed her nose. "That's still weird."

"I'll stop when you stop."

She sighed, but Sakura's smile spread wider. "Fine. Do you want to race there, Kakashi?"

The glint of performing countless conniving and underhanded missions flashed in his eyes. "First one there gets to eat their lunches."

Before she could protest, he had already disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

.

Sakura attempted to reign in her frantic panting, but it was no use. Even after all her progress, Kakashi was much faster than her. In fact, when she appeared at the training ground, startling three already timid looking genins, the silver-hair bastard was leaning against one of the balancing posts and reading as if he had been there for ages.

"Show off," she grumbled.

"Slow poke," he retorted, then turned the page.

It was then that she noticed he was gleaming. "Why are you wet?"

The indolent air he gave off suddenly stormed over and he looked towards her young team. "History repeated itself."

Shou scoffed. "It was meant for Sakura-sensei."

"You pranked him!?"

"You were late!" the energetic boy explained. "And a jounin isn't supposed to fall for-" Suddenly, he recoiled when Kakashi's ruthless glare focused solely on him.

Sakura's shoulders sank. "I'm a jounin, too." But her personal dilemma had gone unnoticed.

The boys were still focused on the silver-haired masked man when Tarou finally spoke. "I think that's Copy Ninja Kakashi."

"WAIT!" Manami reveled herself from behind the bulky boy. "Is he what you meant by Survival Training!?"

"Well," Shou idiotically discerned. "He really isn't the Copy Nin anymore, though."

"Oi!" Sakura attempted to interject.

Tarou continued, "It's hard to believe he once had an eye scarier than the ones he has naturally."

The teacher's temple throbbed and Kakashi sighed. "They don't look like much of a challenge. Care to borrow my book, Sakura?"

He probably expected her to blush. She was quite proud of herself when she glared unamused at him instead. "We will be just fine, Kakashi."

With a gasp, and a slight hint of veneration, Tarou paled. "It IS him!?"

Shou seemed to be the only one who noticed the way his teacher's eyebrow twitched. "Maybe we should be more concerned with her, instead."

Manami gulped. "But, he said he hated us."

"Yeah," Sakura, suddenly exasperated, deadpanned as her irritation gave way to troubled acceptance, "He does that." Without ceremony, the medic roughly reached for her vest pocket. Judging from the team's reaction, they believed she was going to pull out a weapon. So, not one was able to keep their edgy confusion at bay when she revealed the small bells instead.

"Do you know what the fourth rule of being a shinobi is?" she asked her young genin.

The three sat in deep thought before Manami questioned, "Always pack extra underwear?"

"No!" she scolded while the others laughed. "It is to always put the mission first. Being a ninja is not for everybody. Only thirty percent of the genin that graduate can go on to become one. The rest are sent back."

"What!?" Shou exclaimed.

Manami, with her elbows wrapped tightly to steady her arms for when she threw weapons, stiffly pointed at the bells. "Do you mean…"

Sakura nodded sternly. "If you can take a bell from me, you pass."

The peace-keeper of the group was the first to determine the full extent of their dilemma. "But there are only two."

With a small toss, the chiming keepsakes were in the air for Sakura to snatch back quickly. "Right. That means at least one of you will be returning to the academy."

"WHAT!?" With every outspoken word, her new blonde teammate reminded her of the old one.

"And I must warn you now," the sensei threatened. "Unless you come at me with the intention to kill, you won't be able to retrieve a bell."

The genin froze as the implications weighed heavily upon them.

"This sucks," Manami indecently complained.

"Wait," Shou realized, finally able to express more than disbelief. "Why did you tell us not to eat breakfast?"

On cue, Tarou's stomach grumbled and a blush darkened his olive skin.

Sakura smiled wickedly. "Whoever can get a bell by noon can eat lunch. If you can't, however," she pointed to the balancing posts by the cenopath, "you will be tied up and forced to watch your teammates eat."

Manami's stomach now protested. "This REALLY sucks."

Ignoring the girl's resentment, Sakura steadied her stance and pulled out a timer from her back pouch. "You have until noon. On my mark. Ready?"

The blonde and his physical antithesis brandished a kunai, but Tarou braced himself to flee into the brush.

"Go!"

The children blurred in front of her to escape as the exercise began. Finally feeling in control of her day, Sakura sighed and rubbed the base of her neck. "Please tell me we weren't this bad?"

Her back was to him, but Kakashi knew she was paying attention. "I feel disinclined to answer that honestly."

"…You're not a nice man."

"I've never even been accused of such."

Emotionally drained, Sakura laughed half-heartedly and tied the bells to her belt. "How did you like my speech?"

"I feel like I have heard it before." Clearly unimpressed, the silver-haired man turned yet another page.

"You disapprove?"

"I just thought you would be more original."

"Says the Copy-Ninja," she mocked.

His form drooped. "Ex-Copy-Nin, apparently."

Sakura finally looked up to her long-time teammate in penitence. "Obviously it doesn't make you less formidable."

"Perhaps just less notable, then," he tonelessly remarked, but she was trained to see underneath the underneath.

Kakashi, who was truly grateful for Naruto's offering, tried to keep his misgivings out of his voice. He was fearsome in his own right, yes, but he had gone almost his entire life with Obito's gift. Sakura could tell he felt a piece of himself missing, even though, ironically, it was actually a piece of him returning.

"You don't like people paying attention to you anyways," she reasoned. It might have been a callous observation, but it was true.

There was a long pause, and Sakura was not sure how he would react, but the older jounin finally smiled, genuinely, before setting down his paperback. "Well put. You better prepare yourself. I think they are going to attack soon."

Sakura snorted. "Maybe I should borrow your book."

"Eh heh," he laughed nervously before he could stop himself. "Being an outside observer, I now can see how that might be inappropriate."

"I will just have to pull out my own copy, then," she teased, lifting an eyebrow and patting the pack strapped to her left.

The color drained from his face. "…What?"

"You're a bad influence, Kaka-sensei."

Just then, Tarou attacked from her right, so Sakura had no time to increase her ex-sensei's discomfort for her own amusement. Yes, she had reading material on her. No, it wasn't a Jiraiya masterpiece, but a medical text on advanced poisons.

Yet the twisted Hatake didn't need to know that.

Sakura leapt in the air as Tarou's thick leg swung to meet her own. His arms crossed to guard his face as she came down with a weak punch, but he still tumbled a great length in the dirt after the hit. It only took one blow for him to realize he needed to stay far away from her arm's reach, so he reached for his shuriken instead. Once Sakura caught the flying stars out of mid air and spun them around her fingers she saw his dark skin pale before he disappeared once more.

"GAAAHHHH!"

The female jounin did not hold back her yawn as she rose an arm up and grabbed Shou's determined, and feeble, punch. The ease of her defense did not deter him, however. The blonde clumsily displayed the most basic formations that they learned at the academy as he attacked his teacher, but wound up hurting himself more than Sakura's deflections could.

"Ninja skill number one," she established haughtily once Shou's arms were pinned behind him. "Taijutsu."

Manami barreled out from the bushes and got in between the boy and their teacher. "Out of the way, Baka!"

The steel-haired tomboy forewent her special kunai to ready a standard issue one in its place. Sakura had little time to consider why before the girl blurred and appeared on her right, bringing the short blade toward her hip. Using her exquisite chakra control, their sensei flipped, bringing Shou arms to his front, and pushed the boy to collide with her attacker.

The pair had the air knocked from their lungs, but Manami was the first to find it again and growled, "Get OFF me, you annoying half-wit!" With a hearty shove, Shou fell backwards and she lifted herself up. "I'm not going back to the academy because of a wannabe ninja like you."

After pushing himself to his feet, Shou seethed and spit out the dirt in his mouth dangerously close to his teammate's foot. "You'll have to beat me to the bells in the first place."

Sakura wanted to admonish the two, but that would go against the point of the exercise. They had to show that they had the spirit of teamwork within them naturally. The pride of being trusted with the bells faded as she thought that, perhaps, she would have to fail this team.

Gritting her teeth, Manami brought her face an inch away from her blonde rival's. "As if a BAKA like you could even see the bells."

Tarou appeared between his two quarrelling teammates. "Would you two stop, already? I don't know whether to let you kill each other or get you a private room."

Thoroughly horrified, Shou's mouth dropped open. Manami, red-faced, chose to storm on Sakura again. A swift fist launched for her ribs. The girl's body contorted in lithe movements as she kicked and punched, but all she met was air. Her method was fluid, which clashed with the teacher's abrasive head-on style, yet the genin was already tiring and the jounin used her forceful attack to crack the ground under her feet before the difference in technique could catch the medic off guard.

The ice-eyed girl gasped as the ground crumbled beneath her, but was saved from being buried alive when Tarou jumped in and threw her into the tree line. On a jagged edge of Sakura's latest terrain modification, the tall, perverted boy curved his thin lips into a half-smile, revealing the gap from his missing tooth, and readied to attack.

Sakura knuckles cracked when she tightened her gloves.

One day he would tower over her, but now, even big for his age, the genin only came to her shoulders. If she had to classify his method, it would be a cross between street brawling and school yard scuffle. She was almost embarrassed how effective it was proving to be. The boy had clearly studied the hardest while at the academy and trained the most. He lacked the unexpressive eyes and quick responses of a child born into a ninja family, but his enthusiasm was genuine. This was a kid who had wanted to become a ninja. With every deflected punch and dodged kick, Sakura understood him more and more.

During their short fight, she was reminded of her own determination at his age when she had joined the academy.

He was finally kicked down and collided with a protesting Shou. "Ugh! What good is grabbing some stupid bells for our ninja skills?"

The older ninja stood straight and answered seriously, "Rule number three: A shinobi must never question their commander."

"Hyoton!" A high voice shouted from the tree tops behind her. "Kōri no Senbon!"

"Eh!?" Sakura indelicately questioned aloud, and was shocked to see her breath mist. Manami charged from the leaves, an arrogant smirk stretching across her pale face, and directed a storm of ice needles at her pink-haired target. Surprised, the jounin women took one step back, but quickly recovered her ground and sealed a counter move.

"Doton: Doryouheki!"

The thick earth wall thundered from the shattered ground. Shou and Tarou fell from the rumbling caused, and Manami could not evade in time. The chiming of shattering glass rang out in the training field as the ice weapons hit with the wall, followed quickly by the loud thump, and colorful curse, as the tomboy hit as well.

The teacher was impressed that one of her students already had the capability to mold chakra for jutsu use, especially ones as rare as ice. However, she kept all esteem out of her demeanor. Casually, Sakura announced, "Ninja skill number two; Ninjutsu," while wiping the dust off her medic skirt. The boys escaped back into the foliage before she reared back her fist, punched through the mud barrier, and pulled a stunned Manami through to her side. "But it seems you have already learned a thing or two."

The girl sneered and fought against her sensei's hold, kicking the air fruitlessly. "Not enough, apparently."

"Don't worry." Sakura flashed her a cheerful smile. "It's nothing another round at the academy can't help you with."

The sound of the girl's teeth grinding together grated in the medic's ears, but she had no time to scold her on proper dental care. Manami attempted to knee her side and reached towards the bells with a tightly wrapped hand. Clicking her tongue, Sakura waved a finger in her face, smiled again, and tossed her over her shoulder. The screams echoed in the clearing from the flying girl until she landed harshly back by the cenotaph.

Sighing, Sakura dusted her hands off and turned to detect her outmatched genin students. Although it wasn't much, there was more to each of them then what she was expecting. The most important aspect, however, was still missing between the three. She whispered to herself, "I underestimated Kakashi-sensei's patience," before taking to the tree line.

Across the clearing, Shou and Tarou collapsed behind a bush, panting and swearing their misgivings about the survival training.

"Did you see what she did to the ground?" The blonde's voice cracked as he strained for breath. "The woman's fist causes freaking earthquakes!"

"Her taijutsu is really fast too." The darker boy solemnly observed while he rubbed a sore spot on his shoulder. "And brutal."

"I guess this is what a jounin is."

"I have a feeling we haven't even seen her full potential." Tarou strained to look over the bush, hoping to catch sight of their sensei.

Vexed, Shou threw his hands up. "Then how are we supposed to get the bells!?"

The inky-haired genin paused before slowing turning his attention back to the exuberant teammate. "You want us to get them, and forget about Manami?"

The other boy sulked. "She isn't really including us, is she?"

"She doesn't really include anyone," the larger one reasoned.

The guilt of abandoning their female partner began to weigh on his bright mood. "…She did save me back there, though."

"Yeah," Tarou agreed, once again taking it upon himself to act as look-out. "She really didn't have to give her position away."

"I still don't like her."

Tarou scowled. "I'm not sure I like you."

"Fine!" the shorter ninja yelled. "Get a damn bell on your own, you tank!" He stood up to storm off, but a weak cry diverted their attention.

"Ta-Tarou-chan... Shou…" a feeble voice pleaded. "Help me…"

Both boys turned towards the tormented girl and froze. Manami, beaten, bloody, and broken, crawled weakly their way. "Help… She is serious." She coughed, and crimson blood splattered to the ground. "Sakura-sensei is going to kill us."

The large, black-haired boy tried to stand, but his knees gave out on him and he fell backward into the bush. His lower jaw shook as he fought to find the words to convey his fear. "Holy shi-"

"Heh," Shou scoffed, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "Serves her right."

Tarou's mouth dropped with the blonde boy's blatant disregard to Manami's condition. He knew they did not like each other, but he never expected him to be so cold-hearted…

Then, the energetic genin rolled his eyes and said, "If only…" Quickly, he brought his hands together, molded his chakra, and yelled, "Ninja skill number three, right Sensei!?

"KAI!"

Kakashi, still resting on his branch above the cenotaph, was genuinely impressed as the illusion released. Sakura was one of the most developed genjutsu users since Kurami, yet even she did not notice them right out of the academy. The kid was spastic, but this could possibly be a sign of potential. Perhaps her team was not a total loss.

Immediately, his short-lived praise was deflated as a flash of gray and silver caught his eyes. Manami, dizzy from the impact but recovering quickly, rushed from tree to tree as she slowly made her way towards the Memorial Stone… and the bento Sakura had brought for the victors. The man sighed. It wasn't his job to intervene. In fact, it was probably a bad idea. However, Sakura was at the other edge of the training field, and memories of catching Naruto in the same position sent a pleasurable wave of nostalgia through him.

It had been damn funny to tie that brat to the post so many years ago.

The strap of her over-sized tunic fell off one shoulder as Manami appeared in front of the cold lunches. Her stomach growled and her smile widened once she sat down to enjoy a quick snack while the others were keeping Sakura-sensei busy. "Keh," she rationalized with herself. "Ninjas need to be sneaky, right?"

Suddenly, a small pop and hazy cloud materialized above her before the chopsticks could reach her lips. "Yo," Kakashi joyfully addressed from his perch on top of the monument.

Her shoulders jumped, but by the time she turned towards the elder ninja she was seething.

"You know," he playfully bated, "for a natural ice-user, you are rather hot-headed."

Manami scoffed dismissively. "Is being lame an old people thing, or something? My grandpa used to make the same joke."

The threat in Kakashi dark eyes made the girl drop her stolen bento.

A small gust of wind blew across the now sweltering field as the noon sun beat relentlessly down on the exposed area. Any animal that wasn't scared off by the sparring were now startled away as Sakura's timer went off, signaling the end of the Bell Test.

The two boys struggled fruitlessly in her grip as Sakura brought them back to the posts with a smile on her face. Shou might have seen through her genjutsu rather quickly, but they were still no match for her man-handling. Once she was in front of the posts, she dropped the grimy, beaten boys down to the ground. They groaned once they hit and she sighed as she stripped off her gloves. "Now, where is the third…"

Kakashi then stepped out from behind the Memorial Stone holding a fuming Manami by her belt, completely undisturbed by her struggles and said, "I caught one trying to eat my lunch."

Sakura joked back, even though she sensed the fear her squad emitted at their combined presence. "Oh? And what punishment do you recommend?"

"1000 Years of Pain?" he suggested. The exposed part of his face crinkled in a sadistic smile before turning back to the quivering genin in his grip. "I would be very afraid. She is a medical professional, after all, and this technique is rather invasive."

Her silver eyes bulged as her imagination ran wild until Shou stepped forward, his knees shaking with the excess adrenaline brought on by his fear. "Let go of Manami."

Sakura and Kakashi looked at the steadfast blonde in bewilderment. His dislike for the girl was obvious, but now he stood by his comrade in defense.

"You idiot!" she berated and swung at Kakashi. "Get the bells!"

Tarou scoffed from the dusty ground before standing up, imposing over the other boy's form. "Do you really think we will let you sacrifice yourself so we can get them?"

She growled in Kakashi's steady gripped. "Like I would do that for you two idiots."

Shou shook his head, but a grin and kunai rose simultaneously. "What good are the bells if you are in danger?"

As the genin boys readied to attack the opposing jounin, Sakura glimpsed at her ex-sensei. The reach of his arm extended fully outward, and he either casually avoided or easily deflected the random strikes the pale girl tried to deliver, but his attention was mostly focused on the other two, who were banding together for the sake of their teammate.

The cold kunoichi, however, did not perceive the sentiment. "We are supposed to be in danger, baka!"

"Heh," Tarou smirked, whistled through to small gap in his teeth, and readied his stance to attack Kakashi. "There's no point in grabbing a bell if you go back to the academy."

Manami balked.

"You saved me back there," Shou squared his shoulders and faced the pink-haired nin. "Now it's my turn."

The boys' eyes focused on each target and, as Manami gasped, they charged. With the desire to protect her, their movements were faster. Sakura still easily countered each basic move Shou delivered, but his heart was in every attack in a way that wasn't prevalent before. The olive-skinned genin came down upon Kakashi brutally, somehow mixing his singular harsh style with hero worship as he swung and receded whenever the man would push back. Within her mind, the kunoichi recited the rules she was supposed to instill in her charges. "Rule 15. A shinobi must see the underneath under the underneath…"

She had grown quickly from the studious bookworm that knew nothing of conflict to a caring member of a team. Knowledge was important, but so was experience, and looking upon the exhausted genin, Sakura made her decision.

Following a nod in her old teammate's direction, the next attack held little back and both boys were hurled to the ground, grunting in pain and the struggle to gain their breath. Without regard, Kakashi tossed Manami into her beaten comrades and they fell backwards yet again to the dirt. Sakura stood above them, hands on her hips, with a menacing frown that wrinkled the diamond gracing forehead. The pink-sensei let the weight of their failure darken her voice. "You three…" Their shoulders hunched as they cowered, dreading her next words.

Kakashi groaned once her head tilted to the side and expression brightened. "… Passed!"

Their emotions were still playing catch up when Sakura continued. "Congratulations; you are now officially ninja."

Shou was the first to shout. Their fears abated, the others quickly joined in the celebrating and ignored the older shinobi. Kakashi, shaking his head at their familiar antics, walked up to Sakura. "You held back."

"You're one to talk."

His brow rose, puzzled.

Knowingly, she grinned. "You might have gotten wet, but your book was dry."

He returned her expression with approval. "You are good at seeing underneath the underneath."

"Well," the medic turned towards the exit and paused to rest a hand on the tall man's shoulder. "I had a decent teacher."

Grinning, he followed Sakura out of the training field. "Decent? I was terrible."

The young kunoichi's laugh echoed in the cenotaph clearing along with her newly approved team's joviality.

…

Thanks for reading/reviewing. :]

*SPOILER ALERT*

A/N: I love this chapter, and I will tell you why: I HATE that Kakashi lost his Sharingan. Hate it. HATE. IT. So, this chapter is somewhat therapeutic. Cathartic, even.

Still… Not only are eye transplants an easy maneuver now, but regrowing eyes is as simple as, "Look at me, I'm the Kyuubi/Reincarnation of the Six Path's Son/Such a Mary Sue I might as well be on Uchiha's nuts because emo Sasuke is the perfect manmeat for all my awesomeness." *rant*

…I'm not bitter, really.

Also, keep writing that NaruSasu… I love it.