Undone

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Everything belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Sasuke cursed under his breath before readying his sword again, tensing his muscles and getting ready to spring.

Damn that bastard Kakashi. He really saddled him with a stick in the mud when he assigned Sasuke to Shiranui Genma as a student.

Well, it wasn't like the older man was a bad teacher. In fact, he was about just as proficient as Kakashi. But he was a bit too laid back for Sasuke's taste, not to mention that he spoke in a fashion that always ticked Sasuke off.

"First and most important lesson first," the tobubetsu jōnin had said upon meeting Sasuke for the first time. "All those stories about fighting honorably and playing fair are all a bunch of crap. We're shinobi, not samurai. If winning means stabbing somebody in the back, do it. If it means striking while they're weak, do it. If it means playing dead so they'll let their guard down, do it."

"Basically attack when the enemy is weak and take no chances," Sasuke muttered back. This was something new. The Academy had always taught students to play as fairly as possible and to fight in an honorable fashion. The Academy instructors, Sasuke supposed, where not as smart as they thought they were.

One moment Genma was standing calmly in front of Sasuke, a grin plastered on his face.

The next, he was coming down at Sasuke from the sky, his katana held high and ready to cut Sasuke in half.

The Uchiha had reacted rather quickly, jumping out of Genma's way and yanking his straight sword out of the sheath strapped to his back with clenched teeth.

"I guess that's something, then," Genma had commented as he advanced upon Sasuke, his slashes surprising fast. "You had enough common sense to dodge the attack and draw your weapon. I suppose Kakashi actually did teach you stuff."

His attacks were getting impossibly fast now, and Sasuke was given no choice but to continuously jump away the attacks, unable to get any slashes in.

A desperate idea suddenly came into his mind. Well, he had said that fighting honorably was all crap. Sasuke ducked down, planting his hands and feet on the ground. A brief look of surprise crossed the older man's face.

And with that, Sasuke leapt up, swung his foot out, and kicked a certain vulnerable part of the man's anatomy.

"Holy shit!" Genma cried out, dropping his sword in surprise. The weapon quickly clattered to the ground, and Sasuke moved in, his katana pointed directly at the man's chest.

"Goddammit! What the hell has Kakashi been teaching you?" the tokubetsu jōnin yelled, not even bothering to defend himself.

"You're the one who said that fighting honorably is all crap," Sasuke replied, a smirk appearing on his face.

"I don't even want to know what happened," Sakura commented, trying to keep a straight face as Sasuke helped a groaning Genma into the hospital room, the expression on his face livid.

"Why did you have to kick me there, of all places?" the man muttered as Sasuke abruptly let go of him, causing him to lose his balance.

"I'm going to assume," Sakura said as Genma picked himself off the ground, still grumbling, "that Sasuke-kun kicked you in a certain part of your male anatomy."

"How did you know?" Genma suddenly looked up, a frown on his face.

"We get this all the time. It seems that everybody thinks that the best way to fight is to kick others directly in the groin," came a voice from behind Sakura.

"O-Oyone-sensei. I didn't think that you'd be here," the female genin whirled around, turning to look at the short woman standing behind her.

"Get up, Genma, and stop whining like a baby," the older medical-nin commanded, a disapproving scowl on her face.

"But Oyone-chan, Sasuke kicked me there," Genma protested, gesturing feebly at the Uchiha from his spot on the ground.

"I don't care if he did," Oyone said, shaking her head as she reached over to grab the man by his hair.

"And up you go," she added as she yanked him by the hair.

"And I thought I was popular with the women," the man mumbled as Oyone half-dragged, half-kicked him out of the hospital room.

This left Sakura alone with Sasuke in the small, white room.

"So, uh, is training going well for you, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, poking her head out of the doorway to check on the two older shinobi. It seemed that her teacher was giving the man quite a scolding out in the hallway.

"It's fine," Sasuke muttered, turning around and getting ready to leave the room.

"Wait," Sakura suddenly cried out, grabbing Sasuke by the wrist.

"What?" Sasuke snapped, jerking his hand back, causing Sakura to let go of his hand.

"This," Sakura said firmly, pointing at the raw skin on Sasuke's hand, her brows furrowing.

"It's nothing," the dark-haired boy snapped back, rolling his eyes as Sakura grabbed his hand again, her grip even firmer this time.

She half-dragged Sasuke over to one of the cabinets at the back of the room and held him tightly by the wrist as she dug around, hunting for the medicine that she was looking for.

After a few more seconds of rummaging, she emerged triumphant with a small pot of healing salve in her hand.

"Here," she said loudly, shoving the small container into Sasuke's hands. "Herbal salve. Apply on infected areas and cover it with cloth. Ease up on your kenjutsu training a little, Sasuke-kun. There wouldn't be a point in giving this to you if you continue to damage your skin so much."

Sasuke turned to the side, hning coldly and refusing to accept the salve.

"Here," Sakura said again, putting as much force as possible into that one word. "Take it, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at this, but reluctantly snatched the small container from Sakura's hands before shoving it roughly into his pocket.

Sakura nodded, obviously satisfied, as Sasuke hned again, this time more quietly, before shuffling out of the room with his hands in his pockets.

"And Sasuke-kun?"

"What?" he snapped, turning around as he reached the doorway, frowning.

"Good job."

"Hn."

"What's the point of this?" Naruto groaned, tossing the rubber ball into the air as he turned around to glance at Kakashi.

"It's to help you train," Kakashi replied absentmindedly, turning the page in his book. "You already popped a water balloon this morning. Add more power to it, and you'll be able to pop the thicker rubber. And when you combine that," he clapped his hands together, "you get a Rasengan."

Naruto sighed. It was already afternoon, and the sun was beating down on his back. Kakashi was sitting under a tree and chilling while he was standing under the sun and doing something that he felt was impossible.

"What are Sakura-chan and teme doing right now?" he tried again, finally setting the ball back onto his hand.

"It's not your concern," Kakashi murmured, turning the page again. "You'll find out after you see them again two weeks later.

Naruto rolled his eyes. Well, he had obviously drawn the short straw. Sakura was probably sitting in an air-conditioned hospital room right now while Sasuke was learning cool kenjutsu skills. And here he was, trying to pop a rubber ball. Trying to pop a rubber ball.

"I strongly recommend that you stop staring at the ball and actually start trying to pop it."

The blond groaned again, wiped the sweat out of his eyes, and returned his attention to his rubber ball.

When Team 7 gathered in Training Ground Three again two weeks later, the change was significant.

Sasuke now carried a straight sword strapped to his back everywhere he went. He also seemed to get ticked off more easily, possibly due to him spending two weeks with an instructor that he strongly disliked.

Naruto looked pretty much the same as before. He acted the same, still walking around with a slightly idiotic grin on his face and a relaxed. But upon further examination, it was obvious that his chakra was different. Gone was the uncontrolled and wild mass of energy he had possessed before the two weeks of training. Now the chakra was more refined and in control, although it still wasn't perfectly reigned in.

Sakura was probably the one that had changed the most. She now walked around with a small pouch strapped to her waist, containing all of the items that she needed for emergency treatment. Bandages, medicine, and a small vial of potent poison. She also walked around with a lot more confidence, and was definitely more willing to look all of her teammates in the eye.

Once again, the resemblance to Rin was almost scary. Kakashi shuddered inside before deliberately pushing the thought out of his mind, deciding that although he regretted everything that had happened more than a decade ago, the past was the past. Well, not really in this case...

Naruto was tapping his foot impatiently, giving Kakashi an expectant look.

"Well? What are we doing now that the training's over?"

Kakashi turned around to glance at the blond, frowning. "Analyzing your skills and seeing what you have learned, obviously."

Naruto blinked. "Analyzing our skills? How are we going to do that?"

Kakashi allowed a small smirk to cross over his features.

"You will see."

"Isn't this a training ground?" Sakura asked, glancing around at the clusters of trees surrounding the clearing they were currently in, a curious expression on her face.

"Yes. It's the Seventh Training Ground," Kakashi replied, turning around to look at his students with an unreadable expression on his face. "Also known as the 'Forest of Prosperity'. It's the exact opposite of the Forty-Fourth Training Ground, the 'Forest of Death'. Here, you will find abundant resources and plenty of fresh water, none of which will be poisonous. Personally, I think I'm making this a little too easy for you guys. The only threat is the wildlife," he added, turning to point at the entrance of the training ground.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Naruto asked, earning him a hn from Sasuke that obviously meant something like "How come you possibly don't know? You idiot."

"Survive. Stay alive for an entire week," Kakashi replied evenly, waving a hand in the air. "And I'll say it ahead of time, but this won't be the first time I toss you guys into random training grounds. There's a lot more to come."

And with that, he lashed out at the blond, knocking him out cold with a blow to the jaw.

Sasuke and Sakura went down soon after, barely having sawn what had just happened.

"I wanted to separate you three," Kakashi murmured as he formed the seal for a Kage Bunshin, causing two identical clones to materialize next to him. "There's no use in teaching you tracking skills if you're already together from the beginning."

"You what?"

"I tossed them into the Seventh Training Ground, unconscious," Kakashi replied evenly, ignoring the loud coughing noise that Asuma had made upon hearing this.

"Isn't that a little too cruel?" Kurenai asked tentatively, making sure to stay a few steps behind her male comrades.

"It's been only a month," Asuma muttered gruffly after recovering, stubbing out his cigarette as he spoke. "Isn't it a little too soon to test their survival skills, all by themselves?"

"They're ready," Kakashi replied evenly. Although he worked to hide the pride in his voice, both of the other two jōnin-sensei heard it.

Kurenai shook her head. "I taught Sakura the basics of genjutsu, along with a few low to mid-level techniques. There's no way she can survive in a forest by herself for an entire week, even if it is the Seventh Training Ground."

"That's the whole point of it," Kakashi mused as they stopped outside the Hokage's Office. "I'm teaching them teamwork. I know perfectly well that Sakura probably can't take down two bears by herself. Neither Sasuke nor Naruto can heal their wounds or even clean them properly. They'll have to realize that they need to work together or fail," he added quietly.

This earned him a small sigh from Kurenai as she knocked on the door, still doubting Kakashi's training methods. "I just hope you keep an eye on them."

"Come in," Sarutobi called out, loud enough for all three jōnin to hear.

There was a small groan from Asuma as he heard this. "I hate it when my old man calls meetings."

The three jōnin filed into the office, making sure to stand in a straight line against in front of the wall as they walked in.

"How's your team going, Kakashi?" Sarutobi asked, raising a gray eyebrow at the silver-haired man as he pushed aside the stack of paperwork he had just been working on.

"They're coming along well. Sakura's healing and genjutsu skills are coming along really well, though she is still kind of lacking in taijutsu. Naruto's chakra control has improved greatly, and he already got the hang of Rasengan. Sasuke's kenjutsu skills are also steadily improving, and he's a lot faster than most of the other genin in his class."

Sarutobi nodded, sitting back in his desk. "I hope to see those results soon."

Kakashi didn't even flinch at the last statement. He wasn't planning on mentioning how he had tossed all three of his genin into the Seventh Training Ground.

Asuma's hand twitched slightly as he heard this, and Kurenai shook her head slightly.

"Is something wrong?" Sarutobi asked sharply, sending a hard look in his son's direction.

"Nothing, Hokage-sama," the younger Sarutobi replied quickly, deciding that he wasn't going to rat out a fellow jōnin. Not to his father, of all people.

"I hope to see improvement in Teams 8 and 10 too," Sarutobi added, giving the other two jōnin an unreadable look as he moved the stack of paperwork closer to him again.

Author's Notes

Oyone's actually a canon character. You can always go Google her if you want to know. She's one of those people that helped with studying the black receivers they found on Pein.

And as for Sasuke, I can just imagine him doing that. Don't ask me why.

And people might say that Sakura's OOC, but I want to say otherwise. We all know that Sakura had, or still has, that Inner Sakura in her. Basically she's bipolar. I like to think that every time she goes into medic-mode, it's just Inner Sakura unleashed with a real purpose, which is to make sure that none of her comrades get hurt.

Ah, even I find it a little weird that Kakashi decided to toss all three of his students into a training ground, unconscious. But they do need to work on teamwork, so it's not really that bad an idea.