hey everyone! Sorry for the long update, I was busy writing my other Naruto story, and i got a little distracted.

I hope that you guys enjoy this chapter!

Is everything believable? Are the characters solid enough?

PLEASE LET ME KNOW! PLEASE REVIEW!

Chapter 4: Teamwork

It is a fact that in the right formation, the lifting power of many wings can achieve twice the distance of any bird flying alone.

~Author Unknown

Kazuki leaned against the solid trunk of a great oak tree, staring at Ryuu calmly as she tapped her fingers against her thigh. The sandy-haired boy twirled a large leaf in his fingers, and after a second used his chakra to light up the leaf with a flickering blue energy, grinning at the sight before ending the stream of chakra and blowing to send the leaf spinning into the air. Kenji sighed, his pale eyes flickering up to stare into the leafy branches, an inscrutable expression on his face.

The group was silent for the first few minutes, waiting for their sensei. They weren't complete strangers, but they didn't know each other well enough to really make interesting conversation.

They were waiting on the small grassy hill that was beside the lake, and after a moment Kazuki cleared her throat, and rolled over so that she was facing the two boys on her stomach, her legs crossed in the air above her hips. The two boys looked in her direction, and she smiled hesitantly.

"I'm Kazuki Namikaze. I know that Iruka-sensei said our names, but I thought it'd be nice to introduce ourselves personally."

Kenji smiled. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Kenji Hyuuga."

"I'm Ryuu Nagataka!"

Kazuki grinned, glad that the ice was broken so to speak, and poked Kenji in the leg playfully, ignoring his slight discomfort and the tensing of his hands. "So, Kenji-san, what's with all of those girls back there in class? I mean, you must have some idea of what they're going on about."

Kenji blushed faintly, and his lips pursed in irritation as he stared at his knees. Ryuu cackled, and rolled over so he was beside Kazuki, whispering loudly.

"As you probably know, all of the girls in our class except for like, three of them, are obsessed with Kenji, though for the life of me I can't figure out why. And so as their need to prove their adoration and devotion to dear Kenji-kun here grows more and more powerful, they abandon all sense of tact and become nothing more than a vicious, snarling, long-haired demons that will eventually start clawing each others eyes out in an attempt to weed out any possible competition."

There was complete silence as Ryuu smiled proudly, and Kenji spoke quietly, his pale eyes closing in concentration.

"Strangely enough…that description is a perfect answer to Namikaze-san's question."

Kazuki snorted as she covered her mouth in an attempt to hold back her giggles, and her violet-blue eyes danced as she raised her other hand to slap high fives with Ryuu. "That does explain a lot of things…"

Ryuu grinned, and Kenji let a small smile grace his features as Kazuki glanced up at him.

"And Kenji-san, please, don't address me by my last name. I mean…we're teammates after all."

Kenji nodded, and Ryuu looked around, frowning. Kazuki asked him what was wrong, and the boy shrugged.

"I was just wondering what's taking our sensei so long…I'm kind of bored."

Just as Ryuu finished that thought, a dark haired woman with bright green eyes appeared right behind Kazuki and Ryuu, and Kenji was the only one who didn't jump a foot in the air at the sound of her voice.

"I've only kept you waiting five minutes, how could you possibly be bored?"

Kazuki flipped around to stare up at the jounin, eyes wide. Kenji noticed that the woman had a walking cast on her right leg, but by the way that the woman moved Kenji sensed that the jounin was almost perfectly healed. The woman sensed Kenji's gaze, and smiled.

"This boot is pretty irritating, but I've only got to deal with it until tomorrow, and then I'll be right as rain." The woman noticed Kazuki gaping at her, and leaned down to poke her on the forehead. "Hello there, Kazuki. You sure do look like your mother…but you have your father's face…"

"H-How do you know my name?"

The woman smirked, and sat down beside Ryuu. "Oh, I know a lot about all of you. I've practically been stalking everyone in your class for the past four years. Don't worry, I only monitored you guys in the Academy, so don't get the idea that I snuck into your rooms at night or anything…"

Ryuu laughed nervously, and the woman smiled. "Since you guys seem to have already introduced yourselves, there's no need to go through all of that again. My name is Hoshiko Kyoto, and I'm going to be your jounin teacher. A few things you should know about me, I will not tolerate slacking off or berating others. If it's one thing I can't stand, it's when people belittle others just because of their lack of skill. Skill can be taught, while being a good person can't, for the most part. You can be taught to be accurate at throwing kunai, but to be a good person you have to have a good heart, and having a good heart cannot be taught."

The three genin stared at her blankly, and Hoshiko sighed. "This team was assembled not only because your personalities were compatible, but also because each of you can learn from each other. Kenji is a close-range fighter, focusing on taijutsu and his kekkei genkai trait, also known as the Byakugan, as well as being a potential tracker. Kazuki is a well-rounded, mid-range fighter who excels at ninjutsu, and Ryuu specializes in long range attacks, and is exceptionally skilled at genjutsu and other forms of deception. You see, all three of you combined make up what I like to call the Perfect Ninja. But since you are three separate people you are going to have your strengths and weaknesses. The point in putting you three on the same team was to help broaden your strengths and lessen your weaknesses by learning from your teammates."

Kazuki and the two boys glanced at each other, and Hoshiko looked at each genin before standing up.

"Alright, now that that's out of the way, get up, because we've got a mission to complete!"

"What?" Three voices asked incredulously, and Kenji frowned.

"But we haven't even–"

Hoshiko went on as if she didn't hear him. "It will take all three of you to work together, and you will need to use all of your skills and cunning."

Kazuki bit her lip. "Hoshiko-sensei, isn't is a bit early to–"

"If you fail, the entire village's existence could be at stake…"

Ryuu looked terrified as Hoshiko leaned over them, her eyes bright as she handed a picture to Kenji.

"Find this individual, and bring him or her to the Hokage's office immediately!"

And with that, the jounin disappeared.

The three genin stared at the spot where Hoshiko had disappeared, and Ryuu and Kazuki both leaned over Kenji's shoulder to study the picture. Kazuki blinked a few times, and Kenji sighed in exasperation.

The picture was of a dark cat with a white spot on its forehead.

Ryuu looked over at his teammates, and his words summed up what the other two were thinking in that very moment as they stood there together under the trees.

"What the hell just happened?"

The next morning, Naruto and Sasuke were making their way to the training ground Kakashi had instructed them to go to; both of them talking about what kind of test the jounin would give them.

"Why did he tell us not to eat anything, anyway?"

"Weren't you listening, Naruto? He said if we ate anything, we'd throw up…"

Naruto scratched the back of us head sheepishly as they arrived at the field, setting their packs down by a bush that rested beside three thick wooden posts, "Oh yeah, I remember. Hey, where's Sakura? Kakashi said to meet him here at seven, right?"

Sasuke nodded, checking his watch. "And we were a few minutes late, so both he and Sakura aren't on time. That's funny, Sakura doesn't seem like someone to lose track of time…"

As if on cue, Sakura ran through the gate of the training field and rushed over to where the two boys were standing, puffing and red in the face. She had to lean over her knees to catch her breath, and she pushed her pink hair behind her ears hurriedly.

"Sorry…for….being late. Had to…do…something..."

Naruto snorted, and peered at the dark object in the pink-haired girl's hand. "Uh, Sakura? What's that in your hand?"

Sakura's head snapped up, and she quickly hid the object behind her back. "No-nothing!"

"Doesn't look like nothing!" Naruto grinned, and darted around Sakura mischievously. The girl blushed, and twisted so that Naruto couldn't see what she was holding. Sasuke sighed, and reached around the girl to pluck the object out of her hand.

It was a single dark gray sandal.

Sasuke held it up in confusion, and Naruto cocked his head in puzzled curiosity. Sakura was covering her face with her hand, and the two boys stared at her.

"Why do you have someone's sandal?"

Naruto yelled in triumph as he saw a name etched on the side of the sandal, and he started laughing so hard that the birds in the nearby trees took off in alarm. Sasuke peered at the name, and a small smirk crossed his face at the horrified look on Sakura's face.

"Sakura…why are you carrying a sandal that belongs to Kenji Hyuuga?"

Naruto managed to stop laughing for a moment, and chortled. "And why does she only have one?"

Sakura's face turned bright purple, and the look in her eye had Naruto scrambling for cover. Sakura grabbed the sandal from Sasuke's hands, and moved over to sit on a small stone that was beside the bush, fingers stroking the sandal for a moment before she carefully and reverently placed it inside her bag.

Naruto and Sasuke glanced at each other, and decided that they didn't want to know.

Kakashi arrived at the training field nearly four hours later, only to find the two boys playing a card game – the jounin didn't even bother to ask himself why they had playing cards in the first place – and the pink haired girl was fuming on a rock, her sea-foam eyes flaming as she leapt to her feet.

"You're late!"

Kakashi held up his hands in defense as the girl seethed at him.

"Hey, hey…let's take it easy."

"How am I supposed to take it easy, when–"

Kakashi sighed, and went on in a slightly louder voice, so he would be heard over Sakura's heated words. The two boys, who had gotten up from their game at the sight of their sensei's approach, listened quietly as Kakashi spoke.

"It's time for the test. The assignment will be to retrieve these two bells within half an hour. If you get a bell, you get to eat lunch. If you don't…you get tied to the stump with no food. And the person who fails to get a bell gets sent back to the Academy, so I wouldn't fool around." The man reached into his pocket, and retrieved two small silver bells, each dangling from a thin string. Three pairs of eyes were drawn to the delicate sounds they made as the jounin jostled them slightly.

Sakura was drawn from her anger as she crossed her arms in befuddlement. "But Kakashi-sensei…there are only two bells."

"And…?"

"There are three of us."

"Is there a problem, Sakura?"

Sakura growled in exasperation, stomping a foot in irritation. "As genin, we're required to be in three-man teams! If there are only two bells, how can we move forward as a squad? You said that if we get a bell, we pass. So if you were speaking the truth, that means that you're going to have only two people move on to become official genin. But that's not how it's done! So either you're going to fail the entire group, or you're going to pass all of us!"

Kakashi stared at the smirking pink haired girl, and chuckled softly, slowly tying the bells to his waist band. "You should be proud, Sakura. You're the first person to realize that fact. I suppose it's useless to hide the truth from you any longer." Kakashi turned to stare at the two boys. "Sakura's right. If one of you doesn't get the bells, you all fail."

Naruto yelled angrily. "But that means that we fail no matter what we do! What the hell is the point to this test if the only option is to fail?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at the two genin beside him. "Unless it's not just about the bells."

Kakashi held up a hand. "Anyway, back to the subject at hand. You can come at me with everything you have; unless you come at me ready to kill you won't stand a chance."

Naruto cackled. "You couldn't even dodge a chalkboard eraser! We'll kick your ass!"

Kakashi closed his eyes in boredom as he sighed. "The weakest are often the ones to make the most noise, so let's just ignore the idiot and begin. Whe–"

Naruto's eyes bulged as he snarled, and he was leaping at Kakashi before Sasuke and Sakura had time to restrain him. A kunai was in his hands, and he stabbed at the man, fury in his cerulean eyes as the jounin suddenly disappeared.

In a blur of motion, Kakashi was suddenly standing behind Naruto, holding the boy's arm back in a way that had the kunai aimed at his own head. The jounin's hand was gripping the top of the blonde's head, and Naruto's eyes were wide as he stared at the ground.

"You're prepared to come at me with the intent to kill…it seems that you're beginning to understand. Maybe…you'll prove me wrong."

Sasuke smirked, and Kakashi released Naruto quickly, curtly speaking one word.

"Go!"

All three genin disappeared in a flash, and the jounin's eyes scanned the area lazily. He got out his book, and waited for one of them to attack him head on.

That's what always happened in the beginning.

Sasuke hid deep in the bushes, his dark eyes scanning for Naruto. The Uchiha boy found his friend in the trees behind him, and the dark haired boy sighed in relief. Sasuke had been sure that Naruto was going to rush at Kakashi again like an idiot, but it seemed that his parents had actually taught him something in terms of strategy.

Naruto spotted his friend, and was about to yell when a pale hand clapped over his mouth from behind. Sakura poked her head out from behind the tree, glaring daggers at the blonde.

"Shh!"

Naruto nodded, and Sasuke jumped up so that he was beside the two.

"We need to come up with a plan." The Uchiha whispered, and Naruto mumbled some nonsense from behind Sakura's hand, which resulted in the girl's fist colliding sharply with the top of the blonde's head. Sakura's scoffed at Sasuke's words.

"That's stupid. He's a jounin, we don't stand a chance!"

Naruto pried her hand away, hissing. "It's better than sitting back and doing nothing!"

Sakura's shoulders stiffened, and she was about to yell when Sasuke spoke quickly. "Stop it, both of you! Kakashi-sensei did say that if one of us doesn't get a bell, we all fail, but think about it. Why the heck would he even bother giving us this test if he already knew the outcome? There has to be a different motive…something he's looking for."

Naruto nodded. "That would explain why he quickly changed the subject when you suggested that the test didn't really have anything to do with the bells…"

Sakura huffed. "But why would he say that we're going to fail, and then go back on his word? It doesn't make sense!"

Sasuke sighed, glancing around to make sure that Kakashi was still standing in the clearing, reading that strange orange book of his. Itachi had mentioned the Icha Icha Paradise series once to him, saying how some ninja used it for…specific purposes. But he never really found out what those purposes were because his mother overheard Itachi talking about it and started yelling so loudly that both brothers couldn't hear properly for the rest of the day. Now every time he thought about those books, the painful ringing of that day filled his mind, effectively repressing any active desire to know what was within their pages.

Sakura's voice brought him back to earth, and the two boys listened as the girl's sea-foam eyes narrowed in concentration.

"I could…go in and distract him by creating clones of myself, using a substitution jutsu to get behind him. While I do that…you two go around and get the bells."

Sasuke shook his head. "It's too obvious."

Naruto quipped. "Don't we want her attack to be obvious? If it's obvious, he won't notice you and me being stealthier. I could always send clones in there, which would allow us to see how he fights."

The Uchiha smirked. "You seem to be under the ridiculous impression that you're in any way stealthy…but other than that, sending in clones is a good idea. Sakura can go in as herself, along with a few clones. If we can't find an opening, Naruto will join you with a bunch of clones, while I loop around to get behind him. Sakura and Naruto, your job is to distract him long enough for me to get in there."

Sakura bit her lip. "But what if you can't get the bells?"

"Then all three of us have to attack him at once." Naruto said with a beaming grin, and Sasuke and Sakura looked at the blonde in silent consideration. Naruto shrugged. "It works when Kazuki and I fight my dad…well, it sorta works. Actually…now that I think about it…it never works. Heh heh…"

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as Sakura groaned, and Sasuke twisted to see that Kakashi was peering into the bushes in confusion.

"Okay, he's getting suspicious, we have to move. Sakura, go!"

"But I'm not–"

Naruto grinned impishly. "Who cares? Take a leap, go for it!" The boy put his fist out in front of him, and Sasuke put his on top. The two looked to Sakura expectantly, and the pink haired girl seemed shocked at the gesture.

Sakura blinked at the two of them, who were grinning at her. "I thought…you guys hated me."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You really need to learn how to read people other than Kenji. Yeah, you've been annoying so far, but what's the point of fretting over it? We're stuck in this together, for better or for worse."

Naruto cackled softly, his cerulean eyes sparkling. "C'mon, Sakura-chan! You can do it! We're Team Seven, and we're gonna kick ass!"

Sakura stared at the two boys, and a small smile crossed her lips as she slowly put her fist on top of the stack. The squad crouched there for a few more seconds, and then Sakura glanced down at Kakashi.

"Okay…"

And she was gone in a flash of pink. Naruto and Sasuke watched as the girl stood before their new sensei, her eyes bright and determined as the jounin glanced at her from behind his book.

"Oh, it's you? That's a relief…now I don't have to put down my book."

Naruto cringed as Sakura's hands clenched into fists, and her eyes were murderous as she leapt towards him, several clones appearing on either side of her. Kakashi didn't even look up from his book as he ducked to avoid a foot to the head, and Sakura whirled around, her clones rushing at Kakashi from either side as the real Sakura jumped towards his seemingly undefended back. Kakashi whipped his hand around to block his punch, his other hand holding his book as he tossed her carelessly into the pond behind him. The girl came up sputtering, and the other clones disappeared as the girl hurriedly exited the water, growling at the fact that her hair was now a mess.

"Too slow, Sakura." Naruto muttered, and he was gone in an instant, his hands making the signs for that forbidden jutsu that he had learned just two days ago. Sasuke watched as his friend jumped into the fray, followed by twenty shadow clones. Sakura got to her feet, and quickly made clones of her own, dashing in and attempting to help as Kakashi easily took on Naruto's clones.

But as the battle went on, Sasuke began to see small openings in Kakashi's stance, and even though he knew that Kakashi was taking it extremely easy on them, it would be stupid to not take advantage of it.

Sasuke dashed around in the branches until he was behind Kakashi, and after a moment of concentrating his chakra he jumped down, running towards the jounin and making rapid hand signs. Itachi had helped him perfect this juts when he was eight, and it was the only time that his father had openly showed his pride towards Sasuke.

Sasuke felt the fire welling up in his chest, and he saw one of the Naruto clones yell to one of Sakura's clones, and without a word the orange clad genin grabbed the pink haired girl by the arm and tackled her out of the way as Sasuke released the jutsu. Kakashi turned just in time to dodge out of the way, but Sasuke was already on top of him, kicking and twisting, trying to grab the two bells that hung on the belt of the jounin.

Kakashi seemed to realize that Sasuke was a bit more skilled than the other two, and put away his book in order to use both hands. Sasuke reached down, and his pale fingers brushed against the silver outer layer of the bell before Kakashi managed to throw him off.

But little did Kakashi know, a rock that was beside the two fighters was in fact Sakura. She had used a transformation jutsu during the fight to conceal one of her clones. Naruto had seen her do that technique, and had done the same. As Sasuke made sure the jounin's hands were busy in the moments before Kakashi threw him away, both Naruto and Sakura appeared below them, leaping for the bells. Naruto was just ahead of Sakura, and his hand brushed against the bell before Kakashi managed to twist and throw both of them off towards the bushes. Sakura winced as she rolled painfully across the ground, and Naruto groaned as he sat up. Sasuke was crouched by the nearest tree, his dark eyes narrowed and frustrated as the jounin brushed his shoulders off nonchalantly.

"Too bad…time's up."

Just as he said those words, the small alarm clock he had set up by the posts started ringing, and Kakashi leaned down in front of Sakura with a falsely cheerful smile.

"Sorry, Sakura. But since you're the only one who didn't come close to getting a bell…onto the post you go!"

"Argh!" Sakura shrieked as Kakashi tossed the girl over his shoulder, and just sighed when she struggled to get free. Naruto and Sasuke cringed at each other as Sakura sent death glares at them over the silver haired man's shoulder,

A few minutes later, Sakura was tied to the post, her sea-foam eyes burning holes into the back of the boys' heads as they sat beside her on either side. The jounin before them sighed, and ran a hand through his hair.

"Well, I'll admit, you guys did better than I expected. You didn't let your irritation towards each other–"

"You mean Sakura's irritation towards us…" Naruto muttered darkly, and yelped as Sakura sent her foot into the back of Naruto's head in anger. The blonde wheeled around in indignation, but Kakashi quickly went on, effectively interrupting them.

"–get in the way of attempting to work together. Because of that, I'm going to give you another chance after lunch. Sasuke and Naruto, you two can eat the lunches I've prepared. But since Sakura didn't come close to getting a bell, she doesn't get any. Do you understand? If you give her anything, you all fail right here and now. My word is law, and ninja who don't obey the law are the most useless ones."

With a small wave, their sensei disappeared, and Sakura slumped over in her bonds, her face expressionless as she stared at her feet.

Sasuke and Naruto tentatively began eating, and it wasn't until a few minutes later that the loud rumbles of Sakura's stomach began to be heard. The girl blushed angrily, and Naruto laughed at her expression.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, and lifted out a large clump of rice with his chopsticks. He got to his feet, and held the rice in front of Sakura's face. "Eat it."

Sakura's eyes widened, and so did Naruto's, but for slightly different reasons. The kunoichi stammered wildly.

"B-But we're not supposed to! It's against the rules!"

Naruto blinked at his best friend. "Wow Sasuke…breaking the rules…isn't that against the norm for you?"

"Shut up..." Sasuke muttered, and turned back to Sakura. "Kakashi's probably half way across the village by now, don't worry. And you were the one to help come up with the plan, so it'd be pretty bad sportsmanship if we just ate all the food and left you to starve."

Naruto nodded. "And if we're gonna have a chance at beating that guy, we'll need all the energy we can get!"

Sakura stared at the two of them, and after a moment she sighed.

"Fine." And without further ado she opened her mouth so that Sasuke could insert the large glob of rice.

Naruto grinned, and plucked a small piece of meat off of his own box of lunch, and nearly shoved it down Sakura's throat. The girl gagged, and chewed frantically before growling at the blonde.

"What was that for, stupid?"

"For kicking me in the head! Mom said I should never hit girls – unless they're enemy ninja or it's a spar – in retaliation, but she sure as hell never said anything about shoving food down their throats in retaliation!"

"Probably because your mom's done that to several people…I wouldn't put it past her." Sasuke muttered under his breath, and Sakura giggled as the Uchiha boy offered her another clump of rice and a piece of fish. The pink haired girl beamed happily at them as they fed her portions of their lunch, and both of them smiled back as the three ate under the warm sun.

Suddenly, a huge bang filled the clearing as Kakashi appeared once more before them, eye flashing dangerously. Sakura screamed, and Sasuke nearly dropped his box of food, shock crossing his face as he whirled around to face their sensei. Naruto shrieked, his food going everywhere as he jumped horribly. The box of food soared over the other two, the contents spilling out and landing all over the three genin as they waited for the jounin to speak.

"You all–"

Sasuke closed his eyes in preparation for the verdict. His dream was crushed…it was all over. What would he say to Itachi, but more importantly, what would he say to his parents? They would be so ashamed…they would fake a smile, but he knew that their eyes would be sad and disappointed, wondering why they had gotten their hopes up.

It didn't help the situation to realize that he now had rice all over his hair and shoulders, and that something that felt like a piece of ginger root was slowly slipping down his cheek.

" –pass!" Kakashi announced loudly, leaning over the three of them and smiling pleasantly as the three of them blinked. What did the jounin just say? Had they heard him right?

Naruto got to his feet, blushing and yelling. "Why in the hell did you have to come in like that? You could've just walked up and said that we pass, but no! You have to make a scary-ass noise and start yelling like–"

Sakura yelled at the blonde. "Why in the hell did you have to freak out? Now we're all covered in food! Ugh, having wasabi on my skin is gonna make me break out like no one's business! Thanks a lot, you idiot!"

Kakashi sweat dropped. "Uh, guys?"

Sasuke put his head in his hands as the two continued to scream at each other. "How was I supposed to know that he'd appear like that?"

"You're supposed to be a ninja, not a–"

"Hey, don't get all high and mighty on me! You screamed louder than either of us!"

"Enough!" Kakashi said loudly, and the two turned to look at their sensei as the man coughed lightly. "Anyway, you guys passed. Congratulations."

"But why?" Sasuke asked quietly, and Kakashi made that weird under-the-mask smile again.

"Well, first of all, Sakura put aside her resentment at being put on a team with two boys who aren't Kenji Hyuuga and actually made an effort to work with the two of you. I already knew that Naruto and Sasuke would work relatively well together, because they're best friends. I couldn't care less about the bells. What mattered more was how you guys worked together, and even more important than that was what you guys would choose to do when I ordered you not to give any food to Sakura. With every other team I've tested, they've always been too cowardly to consider helping their teammate, even if it meant that that teammate would be sent back to the Academy. You see…a ninja who can't follow orders are considered trash. But those who don't care for their teammates are even lower than that."

Kakashi flicked out a kunai, and Sakura's ropes were severed in a flash of metal. The girl sighed in relief, rubbing her arms as she moved so she was beside her teammates.

"So…now what, Kakashi-sensei?" The girl asked tentatively, and Kakashi turned to walk away.

"Well, we have a lot of training to do…so meet here tomorrow at the same time. Bring all of your weapons and pack a lunch. See you all tomorrow."

And with that, the jounin disappeared once more. Sasuke rolled his eyes, and moved to sling his pack over his shoulder.

"That whole disappearing-and-appearing-without-warning thing is going to get old pretty fast…"

"You said it, Sasuke. But never mind that, I have to go to my dad's office to tell him that I passed!"

Sasuke smirked as Naruto waved excitedly to the two of them, and dashed off, yelling at the top of his lungs. They watched him become an orange speck in the distance, and Sasuke turned to smile at Sakura's sigh of dismay.

"What, you thought that he was only this crazy in school?"

"Pretty much…"

Sasuke laughed quietly, and Sakura quirked a small smile back as the two of them walked towards the entrance to the training area. "You know, you're not as dark and brooding as I thought you were."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You know, you're still as superficial as I thought you were…"

"Hey!"

Sasuke leaned away to avoid her fist, and smirked at her. "I wasn't done!"

"Well you better get done; otherwise you're getting kicked from here to next Sunday!"

"Oh darn, I forgot what I was going to say. Too bad…it was really good…" Sasuke smirked even more widely at her astonished scowl.

"C'mon, tell me!"

"Sorry, my memory is just…not what it used to be. What's your name again?"

"You know what, fine! I didn't want to know anyway, stupid!"

"Good for you."

The two stopped at the crossroads between two streets, and with a huff Sakura stuck her tongue out at him and whirled around to start marching down the street farthest to the right. Sasuke smirked, and called out.

"Are you not using my name because it's too complicated, or because you're trying to ignore my existence?"

Sakura turned, her eyes flashing, and crossed her arms over her chest with a smirk.

"Wouldn't you like to know…"

And with a flick of her hair, the girl turned to continue marching down the street, not once looking back as the disappeared around a corner. Sasuke shook his head, and turned to walk down the street farthest to the left, sticking his hands into his pockets as he weaved his way through the shopping and socializing civilians.