Caranril: Hm, well, I've noticed some changes in Kaori that are leading in a direction that I'm not liking. So if somethings seems totally different, it's supposed to be.

Legolas: Thank you, dearest Commisar of the Books. #1Kaori-san WILL have a pairing, though maybe not until part 3. If it seems ambiguous, that's one of the changes Caranril made. #2 Don't worry about Zu-zu and 'Tetsu. They'll be coming back.

Caranril: Cause I lurvs them too much to leave them alone! Now, Sasuke doesn't seem TOO OoC does he? I mean, I figure living with Orochimaru-ama for several years then finally getting revenge on his brother was enough to change him. Plus Konoha tortured him and let him back in...I dunno. I suppose it depends on an individual's opinion of what happens to Sasuke. He also almost became a true friend, but Orochimaru reminded him of his need for power. Know what? I'm not gonna try to explain myself. It's bad if an authoress starts to doubt her works. Just...enjoy.

disCLAIMER: While I do not own Naruto nor any affiliated subjects therein, Kishimoto-sama does and therefore he owns my soul.

Chapter 6: The New Team Kakashi

"Oh geez oh geez oh geez!" Kaori babbled as she threw the final few necessities into her backpack. She knew she was forgetting something. She just knew it. But Kakashi and Sasuke were probably already waiting at Konohagakure's gates. Damnit she was so very late!

"Toothbrush!" she remembered. She threw that into the bag and zipped it in a flash. Out the window was quickest. She leapt across the buildings, running through her mind what she planned to bring and whether or not she had packed it. "Please oh please don't say he left!" Like Kakashi would have any reason to leave her behind when she was the one taking the exam. Still, Kaori had a very irrational side that always won the arguments.

Her heart leapt when she saw two figures standing at the gates. Actually she was only happy to see Kakashi. Sasuke's brooding form was not a welcome sight.

"Kaori-san!" Kakashi waved. "We thought you wouldn't make it."

"S-sorry!" Kaori gasped. "I woke up late."

"That's not a problem. It's a three-day journey, and a few minutes aren't going to make a difference."

"Try an hour," Sasuke added bitterly. He didn't even know why he said that. Kaori hadn't spoken or reacted to him in weeks. She really liked to hold grudges. As they traveled at a brisk pace, he brought up the one thing that was sure to get a reaction out of her.

Sasuke cleared his throat. "Kakashi-sensei? I'm wondering, since the Chuunin exams are partially based on teamwork and survival, how is she supposed to compete? She doesn't exactly have a team."

Kaori didn't say anything, but she nearly stopped walking as she stared at Sasuke. Then she looked to Kakashi in a panic.

"Hm, I wouldn't say that," Kakashi said in an annoyingly placid tone.

"What do you mean?" Kaori asked.

"Let's just say your teammates will meet up with us at the border..." Kakashi gave her a wink. "They had some things to take care of beforehand." That didn't really make Kaori feel better, but at least she knew Kakashi had a plan.

"Will I know...who these teammates are?"

"Perhaps." Kakashi kept his one eye away from Kaori's view so he couldn't see the faces she made. Silly girl. He couldn't blame her though. It was like going into battle without knowing who's side you fought on. But if they had picked up the things he asked them to, Kaori would know without a doubt which side was rooting for her.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

The tense silence was practically unbearable for Kakashi. Normally, he didn't mind a lack of arguments, fights, or hysterics. But the silence bred this evil feeling that made him very uncomfortable. It wasn't fair, really. He'd had a brilliant plan for making those two get along, and it seemed to have worked. Then what the hell happened? Everything seemed to go much, much worse. And the past two days had been no exception. Neither Sasuke nor Kaori spoke to him very much, for apparently to do so would mean involving each other in the conversation. Kaori spent her time training while they rested, and Sasuke...Kakashi couldn't say what Sasuke stomped off to do. Probably kill birds and squirrels.

When they reached the border, Kakashi couldn't have been more relieved. They would be there, along with those, and Kaori's attitude would disappear. At least Sasuke was typically stoic so he'd be no problem.

Two figures were standing at the cliff that descended into the jagged rocks lining the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind. Team Kakashi stopped next to them.

"Hello, Kakashi," one of them said.

"You're late as usual," the other added.

"Kaori-san, these are your teammates, Nyako-kun and Tako-kun."

Kaori stared at them open-mouth. "Kitty and octopus? The hell?" They were gangly teenagers who grinned stupidly. One had wild black hair and a nose red from acne; the other was shy and practically hiding behind his long black hair. The former crossed his arms and pouted.

"Why do I hafta be octopus?" he whined.

"Because Iz-...uh, he looks like a cat, and with your hair...well you're more of a hectopus."

Nyako stuck his tongue out at Tako. "Hah, see? I knew I was cuter than you!"

"Octopuses can be cute..."

"Yeah, when they're crushing innocent sea life for their meals," Nyako finished.

"Oh great," Kaori groaned. "My teammates are Izumo and Kotetsu? What the hell were you thinking Kakashi? I'm gonna fail!"

"Hey!" Tako/Kotetsu protested.

"How'd you know?" Nyako/Izumo asked at the same time.

"I've spent way too much time hanging out with you guys."

"Now understand, Kaori, we're pretty much cheating by doing this," Kakashi said seriously. "Tsunade-sama has spoken to Gaara-sama about this, and he will overlook your teammates in exchange for sending representatives from Sand on our mission to your country. They will help out in the first two exams, but on the last you're on your own."

"Okay...but them?"

"They really wanted to go and Tsunade-sama figured they could go as teenage versions of themselves."

Kaori lolled her head to the side, peering at the pair.

"No wonder you two are still virgins," she commented. Sasuke snorted and Kakashi smiled, while Izumo and Kotetsu threw fits.

"What the hell are you talking about? I was fine back in the day!" Izumo ranted.

"You want me to prove full well that I'm no virgin?" Kotetsu said, stalking closer to Kaori. She lifted a corner of her lip as he approached, trying not to laugh as his much smaller frame tried to look intimidating.

"Ew. Besides, it's hard to prove that with something you can hardly see," Kaori said calmly. Kotetsu's cheeks turned as red as his nose. Izumo stood there getting hair in his gaping mouth. Sasuke let out another snort.

"That's my student," Kakashi said proudly.

"N-n-n-no way this is working out, Kakashi-senpai!" Kotetsu managed.

"They're Hokage-sama's orders," he sighed. "You want to back out now? Besides, without teammates, Kaori-san can't take the exams."

"She doesn't deserve to," Kotetsu mumbled.

"Yeah," Izumo added.

Kaori stared at them in disbelief. That actually hurt. They'd always had friendly jabs going among them, but these didn't seem to be jabs. More like stabs. Whatever happened to the hardened sailor she used to be? She should be quite used to name-calling and insults; she could easily ignore the everyday idiots who blundered they way aboard the Inazuma. Kaori realized with a twinge that it hurt more because they were her friends. Damn friends.

Kakashi noted Kaori's change in demeanor. He glanced at Izumo and Kotetsu, who were muttering between themselves, then at Sasuke, who was looking at Kaori with a slightly-creased brow.

"Hey," Kakashi said in as cheerful of a voice as he could muster. "I had something made for you." He shoved Kotetsu to the side and forcibly made Izumo turn around while he took the pack off his back. There were protests from both, but Kakashi ignored them. He presented the box to Kaori, who didn't look to be in the mood for gifts. She took it anyway and was surprised at the weight. She set the box on the ground and opened it, revealing two wonderfully made short-swords. She took one out and examined it. The handle was a black metal lined with silver to depict the picture of a lizard erupting from the earth. On the pommel rested a tiger's eye topaz, glittering despite the shade from the trees. The blade was as long as the point from her elbow to her fingertips. It was a little bit longer than she trained with, but she wouldn't trade these swords for all the mere centimeters in the world. They were perfect.

Kakashi felt a swell of pride as he watched Kaori's awed expression. She was at a complete loss for words as she studied one of the swords carefully. She pulled out the other sword and stood, swinging to test them out. The blades made a slight humming sound as they sliced through the air. Kaori stopped and looked at the blades closely, enthralled that they made such a sound.

"They are inlaid with a metal that sucks your Chakra nature. Your element is Earth, which doesn't generally use knives or swords. But I figure since you started out with Chakra swords, you might as well have the best to fight with."

Kaori turned to stare at Kakashi. "How much...I mean, these must have cost you a fortune," she said solemnly.

"I just called in a few favours is all," Kakashi said, smiling. "I couldn't get matching scabbards and belt, sorry."

"Kakashi-sensei," Kaori choked. "Thanks so much." She removed the swords currently housed in her scabbards and lovingly put her new ones in. They even felt better just sitting there.

"What should I do with...?"

"Just leave them here. We have an exam to catch." Kakashi waited until everyone gave their nods, and the group took off. In a few hours they would reach Sunagakure and Kaori, Nyako, and Tako would take their first exam.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Pad pad pad pad. Pivot. Pad pad pad pad. Pivot. Sigh. Pad pad pad pad.

Kakashi had meant to read during those long hours, but he found himself distracted by the pattern of Sasuke's pacing. He watched the bare feet go back and forth. Everything in the Uchiha's life had to be perfect, symmetrical. This even included his pacing.

Kakashi sighed and put his novel down. The first two exams were held in private with just examiners to observe. He represented Team Kakashi, with Kaori and Nyako and Tako being his team, and had been given a low-down on the contents of the first two exams. The first was the typical written, while the second involved leaving the teams out in the desert with only their packs and a water flask apiece. Their mission was to locate the Screaming Mountains and find the source of a freshwater spring that would take them to the final point. Apparently there were several freshwater springs in the Mountains, and several that weren't fresh. It was a harsh survival test, particularly at night when packs of wild dogs dominated the desert lands. Poisonous snakes had to be taken into account as well. Kakashi knew Kaori nor Izumo and Kotetsu were medic nins, so in that he was slightly worried.

"I'm going to go find a party," Kakashi said as he stretched. "Care to join?"

Sasuke stopped pacing and looked at him. "No. I might go for a walk though."

"Listen, Sasuke. They have two days to cross the desert and find the Mountains. They have a while yet."

Sasuke let out a short laugh. "You think I'm worried about them? You're mistaken," he glowered, pacing again.

"Am I?"

"Yes. I'm worried about myself."

"Ah-ha."

"Yes. Gaara hasn't been too kindly towards me in the past, in fact he was desperate to kill me. What's to stop him now that he's Kazekage?"

Kakashi sighed. "I've explained this all to you before. Now, are you sure that's it?"

"Yes." Sasuke glared at the older man, who knew not to provoke the Uchiha too much.

"All right, all right," he said, walking past with his hands up. "Enjoy your evening."

The next day and evening occurred in almost the exact same manner, though Sasuke used a different excuse about his nervousness. Kakashi simply shook his head and claimed he was heading out to the bar. Instead of going straight down the street, he turned and headed towards the Sand building, which housed all the business and political dealings of Sunagakure. Those of the second exam who finished on time would be taken there immediately after the two day limit was up. There the battles would be presented to take place in one month. Kakashi looked forward to using the terrain and climate of the Land of Wind to tweak Kaori's training a bit. It would be an excellent experience for when they had missions to this country.

A few Chuunin officiants bearing Sand hitai-ates greeted Kakashi, then directed him to an area where he would wait for his team to return. The hall wasn't nearly as grandiose as the Leaf's, but the architecture was significantly better, made to withstand those storms that swept the desert plains.

There was a thud of double doors being swung open, and the Kazekage entered the room, a guard on either side of him. Behind him came his siblings, Kankurou and Temari. Kakashi bowed with the rest of the senseis. He gave Kurenai his one-eyed smile as he stood next to her.

Gaara turned and nodded to Kankurou, who went to another door and held it open as worn and weary Genin filed in. They brought with them a stench rival to the manure farms of the Country of Grass. Each group perked up slightly when seeing their sensei, though most were too bushed to wave or smile.

Kakashi couldn't help but grin when his team entered. They were as filthy and smelly as the rest of the Genin, but Kaori spotted Kakashi and waved eagerly. She tried to signal to him, but she was so excited about something that it all went over his head. In contrast, Nyako and Tako were practically dragging themselves into the room. Kaori was even dirtier and more beat up than they were. They didn't show any excitement like Kaori, but Tako did make a face as she poked him and pointed at Kakashi.

The good news was that there weren't enough Genin left to do a preliminary third round. Kankurou explained the purpose of the third exam and the benefits and drawbacks to participating. Mixed emotions lit up on the Genins' faces, but for the most part they were determined. When Kankurou asked who wished to withdraw from the exams, Nyako and Tako's hands went up immediately. Besides them only one other Genin chose to leave. They were escorted out, and the rest turned their attention to Temari, who was handing out slips of paper. As they all read off their numbers, she scribbled something onto a clipboard. She held up the clipboard for all to see their matches.

Kaori squinted at hers, wondering at the single word she was set up with: Mao. She glanced at the group, unsure of who Mao was. Then she noticed the young man staring at her. He looked to be about sixteen, large and muscular with a small-ish head and closely-set eyes. To make up for his head was a huge bushel of black hair, sticking out every-which-way, slightly tamed on the forehead by his Sand forehead protector. His slanted eyes took her in carefully, studying her every reaction. Just for the hell of it, she smiled and waved cheerfully. He rolled his eyes, his expression saying "girls". But Kaori would show him. One month from now she would prove she wasn't a "girl". At least, not a girl in the same context as Mao was thinking.

There were some mutters among the teams, eyeing those they'd be battling even from their own country. Gaara stepped forward, not very intimidating in height and size, but his presence loomed eerily and the Genin shut up.

"I'm not known as a man of words," he said quietly, a gruff voice off-set by his boyish looks. "So I won't bother with pretending to be eloquent. This is an important event for everybody, particularly the Sand. Don't spoil it for yourself, your opponent, or the feudal lords by screwing around in this next month." With that said, Gaara walked past the Genin and left through the door he entered from.

There was a beat of silence before students and teachers exploded with conversation. Kaori immediately dashed for Kakashi, who held up his hands all too late as the stinky woman wrapped her arms around him. Kakashi tried not to breath through his nose.

"Oh Kakashi-sensei you wouldn't believe it!" she babbled happily. "We were the first ones to find the source!"

"Is that so?" Kakashi said, choking. She still had him stuck in her unearthly-smelling hug. "Uh, can you...?" He peeled her away.

"What is something wrong?" she looked at him, feigning innocence. But Kakashi could see in her eyes she exactly what she was doing.

"First thing you're going to do is bathe," he groaned, keeping her an arms-length away as they left the building.

"We sweated awfully in that desert, and then sleeping on the ground, and then crawling through those moldy crevices in the Mountains..." Kaori made a face. "Did you know Izumo hates getting stuff under his nails? And Kotetsu wears that cloth on his face to keep his nose pores clean? They'll always be teenagers, I tell you."

Kakashi's eye widened at this new bit of information, but he didn't really care. The star of the show was Kaori, who went on to recap their adventure in great detail. She led the group directly to the Mountains, being very acquainted with astral navigation. Plus the moderator for the written exam had purposely let slip the direction the mountains were in. Very few caught the hint, and Izumo was one of them. And Kotetsu had been the one to taste the water, somehow being able to recall what water tasted like what, so they didn't backtrack like so many others did.

"Kami-sama, I could use a drink," Kaori said, sticking her parched tongue out.

"Sake will only make your thirst worse, and I'm not taking you anyplace public until you smell human again."

"Funny thing is, when you're a sailor who doesn't typically bathe more than once a...month, you don't really care."

Kakashi stopped walking, which made Kaori turned and laugh. She went back and grabbed his arm and pulled him forward.

"I was only kidding, Sensei."

As they entered the hotel room, Kaori added, "We bathe about once a season."