Author's Notes: YAY! 100 reviews! Finally reached it! Thank you to all of you who reviewed. ＼( ' v ' )／

Summary: She looks up to gaze at his coal obsidian eyes as he gazes downward at her enchanting sky blue eyes. They both thought, "Is this love?" Who says opposites can't attract? SasuFemNaru… MORE PAIRINGS INSIDE

Pairings: SasuFemNaru, ItaFemKyuu, LeeSaku, NejiTen, ShikaTema, KibaHina, ChouIno

Warnings: OOC-ness, language

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Kesshite Wasuremasu
by Aesura

The Bell Test

Night time pasted quickly as it quickly turned into 5 AM in the morning, almost an hour and thirty minutes before the sun would begin rising over the horizon to signal the dawn of a new day. Three figures could be seen walking from different directions to the center of the training ground.

"Ohayo…" Sakura greeted, rubbing her eyes of sleep.

"..."

"Hey…" muttered Naruto, arriving lifeless and drained of energy.

The three genin all stood there at the meeting place, waiting on Kakashi. The sun hadn't even risen and the sky was still dark, stars still apparent. The air was chilly, and the field was quiet, with only the early birds crying a few calls every now and then. Soon, night turned into dawn. Dawn became early morning. Early morning elapsed to mid-morning, then late morning. It was 11 o'clock now and there was still no sign of their sensei. Naruto was sitting on the ground hugging her knees, a fuming demeanor emitting from her being. Sakura was in a similar position, but she was waiting with a bored and tired expression. As for Sasuke, he just stood there coolly, but even his patients were wearing thin, especially since he had been waiting for five fucking hours.

Finally, their sensei poofed in. Kakashi smiled beneath his mask and waved. "Yo."

"YOU'RE LATE!" Naruto and Sakura shouted in unison, jumping to their feet with a pissed off look on either faces.

Kakashi smiled sheepishly, his eyes mirroring an upside-down 'U'. "Sorry I'm late. A black cat crossed my path, so-"

Naruto and Sakura yelled again, "YOU'RE LYING!"

He looked at his students' heated glares before giving them a brief cough, signaling the end of their little quarrel. "Let's move on…"

He sauntered over and placed a large timer clock that he procured from his pouch and placed it on a wooden tree log. "Alarm set at 12 PM."

He turned to the three holding out a pair of bells dangling from some string. "Today's topic is to get one of these bells from me. Whoever can't will have no lunch. I'm going to tie you there," he pointed to the three wooden logs where he had placed the timer, "and eat lunch in front of you."

"Sadistic bastard," thought Naruto, feeling her stomach growl. "That's why he said not to eat breakfast."

"But wait, why are there two bells?" Sakura asked, after a moment's hesitation.

Kakashi smiled under his mask again. "Since there's only two, at least one will have to be tied to the log. That person will fail since they failed to complete the mission. The person will go back to the Academy. It might be just one or all three."

The students looked at their sensei, taken aback that one of them would have to be sent back to the academy. Kakashi's smiling gesture was replaced by a calm and cool expression. "You can use your shuriken. You won't be able to get these bells unless you come at me with killer intent," he explained, clutching the bells in his hands.

"But that's too dangerous, Sensei!" Sakura complained.

"Lesson one in being a shinobi," Kakashi spoke out, holding up his index finger, "never underestimate your opponent. In the shinobi world, hesitating even for a second in battle could lead you to your death," he stated, shutting up the pinkette.

"We're going to start," Kakashi affirmed, his eyes still half-lidded. "Ready…" he drawled out.

The three genin all visibly tensed.

"Start!"

And the survival exam begins with an explosive start as three shadows flashed into the forest field.

Standing around the area, Kakashi looked for the three genin. "A basic skill for a ninja is to conceal their presence and hide."

He noticed that they were all very good at hiding. Yet, he could still feel two faint chakra signatures coming from within the forest, one lesser than the other. He wasn't worried of not being able to sense his sensei's daughter, seeing that she might just be farther out within the forest where he couldn't sensed that far out. But, little did he know that Naruto was actually within the same perimeter as her other two teammates, concealing her chakra from the three. It took a hell of a lot of practice for her to master that technique, since she had such horrible chakra control to start with, but after a few years of sharpening her skills, she finally got it packed down.

Kakashi scanned the vicinity again. Seeing that he had to make the first move, Kakashi mentally sighed as he reached into his pouch and pulling out a…

Immediately, all the genins' attention was on Kakashi. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke tensed, thinking it might be some sort of weapon. He took out a little orange book. All three students face faulted; they expected more from a jounin. Kakashi began to read the book as he casually stood in the clearing, not really searching for his students, while Naruto stared at the book in his hands.

"Wasn't that the same book that otou-san wanted to kill Kakashi-sensei for?"

"Otou-saaannn. Why can't I go to work with you?" asked a very innocent four year old Naruto, tugging on her father's pants. She pouted when he didn't answer her question right away. Couldn't he see the look of impatience on her face? Well… probably not, since she only ended up at her father's waste line. Sigh. Being short does have its disadvantages.

The two of them were walking down the Konoha street, receiving greetings and bows along the way. The Yondaime waved back half-enthusiastically, his mind somewhere else. He had indeed heard his precious daughter's question, the mere query bringing back the thought of what happened last time when she accompanied him to work. Let's just say that she should've left her crayons at home and he should have placed his paperwork where his daughter couldn't reach them.

"Otou-ssaaaaaaaannnnnnn," Naruto whined again, snapping Minato out of his not-so-pleasant reverie. The young girl now had both of her tiny hands clasped on to his two fingers, shaking them back and forth relentlessly. The elder of the two looked down at his persistent child. "Yes, Naru-chan?"

"You never answewed my question."

Minato laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Anou.., my office is really boring for a little hyperactive girl like you. Plus, I have to go to a council meeting, so..- "

Naruto started to protest. "But, but.. I want to stay with you, otou-san.." She pulled out those irresistible puppy eyes, the memorizing blue orbs that got her anything she wanted.

Now, as the Yondaime, he wasn't fazed by anything. Not by his enemies the Legendary Sannin Orochimaru or even the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure. No, not he, one who had faced off against the legendary Kyuubi and lived to tell the tale. The Yondaime of Konoha was not fazed by nothing, absolutely nothing. So why the hell was he suddenly feeling his resistance crumbling when his cerulean eyes glanced down to stare into the pleading gaze of a blue so similar to his?

When Minato felt his internal conflict falling towards Naruto's wanted choice, a voice abruptly broke his train of thought. "Yo, sensei. Sorry I'm late. You see, I got lost on the road of life."

Looking over at the source of the familiar voice, Minato sighed at the man with the Konoha hitai-ate over one of his eye. "Same excuse as always, eh Kakashi?" Naruto's eyes widened in glee at the off-duty ANBU captain. "Kakashi-oji!"

With his visible eye, Kakashi glanced down at the four year old, smiling behind his mask. "Ah, Naruto-chan. How is my little blondie?"

Naruto immediately glared at the copy-nin, but since she doesn't have the look to glare, it only came out at a pout. "Hey! Don't call me blondie!"

Kakashi chuckled at her response. That was how he and the little blonde usually started their talks. He calls her blondie, she gets mad, and the conversation carries out from there. "Maa, Naruto-chan. Let's leave your otou-san to his busy work schedule today. Come on," Kakashi said as he lifted Naruto so she was riding on his neck with both legs dangling on either sides of his face. "Let's go get some ice cream."

Naruto's face lightened up at the word 'ice cream'. "Yay! Ice cweam! Kakashi-oji, you're the best!" Naruto giggled as she held on to his silver hair. "Now mush doggy!" she shouted playfully, pointing towards the direction of the nearest ice cream shop.

"Okay, otou-san, you can go to work now!" Naruto shouted over her shoulder as she and Kakashi walked down the street, neither of them noticing the gaped look on the Yondaime's face as a tumbleweed rolled passed by him.

Just then, two ANBU members appeared next to the Yondaime. Bowing in respect first, the one with the bear mask avowed, "Hokage-sama. You're needed at the council meeting."

When they got no response from their leader, the two ANBU looked at him, only sweatdropping when they saw a tearful look running down his face. Sighing, both ANBU walked to either side of the Yondaime, latched an arm on his, and dragged him away to the direction of the Hokage Tower, the one being hauled leaving skid marks in the dirt road. Apparently, they're used to this.

A pleasant breeze brushed passed Naruto's hair as a lone leaf fell on top of her nose, causing her to sneeze and sit upright. She was now sitting lazily at a training ground with Kakashi, the latter sitting against a tree a few meters away from her, reading an orange book.

It's been a few hours since they'd eaten their ice cream cones, hers being three scoops while Kakashi only one. As she ate hers wholeheartingly, glanced over at Kakashi, only to see that his ice cream cone was no longer there. It still confuses Naruto on how Kakashi could eat his ice cream cone without taking off his mask. Was it some kind of advanced jutsu? 'I know! I'll go ask him!'

As she came closer to the silver haired man, she noticed him giggling as he read that book. Questioningly, she came up next to him, leaning over his shoulder, though still not being able to see the context in the book.

She tugged at his sleeve. "Hey Kakashi-oji, what are you weading?" she asked the man as he looked at the little girl. Curiosity showing in her eyes, wanting to know why the man she considered as her uncle was giggling and blushing so much.

"You wanna see?" he asked while his visible eye curved into a 'U' like fashion. She nodded eagerly hopping to see what made her daddy's student so happy. Even though Kakashi lowered the book for Naruto, she still had to stand on her tip-toes to read the text. 'As Keiko moaned in pleasure, Matsu felt an e-'

Huh? In the four years of her life, Naruto had never seen that word before. 'Ew..o… E..wo..t…'

At the exact moment, Minato just happened to be walking to Training Ground 7 to pick up his daughter, the most likely place where Naruto and Kakashi should be. As Naruto was trying with difficulty to read the big words in the book, Minato who had been witnessing this whole ordeal, appeared and took the book and threw at the floor and did a Katon jutsu. Well you can imagine what happen to the book. He looked over at his former student. "If I ever see you with that book around my daughter again, that book won't be the only thing being burn."

With that, the Yondaime lifted Naruto over his shoulder and started walking away from crying man who had just witness the brutal murder of his beloved book with Naruto waving while saying "Bye!" over her father's shoulder.

Naru examined the man after say bye. He was crying, why was he crying? And why did otou-san burned his book?

Being the innocent four year old that she is, she asked, "Otou-san, why was Kakashi-oji crying over his book and why did you burn it?" she asked her father, though she couldn't see a small light blush crept through his skin. "Naru-chan, that book is not appropriate for a little girl to be reading."

"Why?"

"...It has adult themes that you're not old enough to comprehend."

"Uuuuhh.. What does it have?"

"..."

"Have you wead it before, otou-san?"

"..."

"You did, didn't you?"

"No."

"Then how do you know what that book has?"

"It says on back of the book the age suitable for reading."

"Is it a bad book?"

"Hai, and it's best you never, and I repeat never, try to read that book at all."

"Then why does Kakashi-oji wead it?"

"Probably because of my sensei's teachings.." His voice was laced over with venom, which earned a questioning stare from Naruto.

"So Jiwaiya-jiji wrote that book?"

"Hai."

"Why?"

"Probably because of his sick thinking…" he mused crossly.

"Sick? Jiwaiya-jiji is sick?"

"No, Naru-chan."

"But you just said that he was."

"It's just an expression."

"..Oh…okay…" Naruto lingered off, confused by the big word her father used. And speaking of big words…

"Otou-san, what does ewotic mean?"

"…!…" The Yondaime fully turned his attention to his daughter now, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets. Where had his Naru-chan learned such an adulterated word?

"Do you get ewotic too?"

"…!..."

"Do all the guys get ewotic too? Do older women get ewotic too? Why won't you tell me what ewotic means? Is it a bad word?"

"Naru-chan," his voice was a bit shaky. He seriously needed to think a way out. Hell, half of those questions she was asking him, he has no answer to.

'Think, think. I need a distraction, curse you Kakashi!'

Naruto pouted as she tried to get her father's attention for the umptenth time. Finally, she had enough. "Otou-san, if you won't tell me what that word means, then I'll keep saying it until you do!"

That got his attention. "N-NANI? No, Naru-chan, don-"

"Ewotic, Ewotic, Ewotic," Naruto repeated in a continuous pace. In alarm, the panicking blonde quickly covered his daughter's mouth, hoping to stop her chatter, but to his dismay, it didn't alter her attitude one bit.

"Mnnhmnm, Mnnhmnm, Mnnhmnm," she kept saying in a sing-song tone.

Minato started sweating as he scanned left and right for a solution to his dilemma, oblivious to the stares he's getting from passerbies. What will make his daughter stop saying that word? Suddenly, the scent of his and hers favorite food came wafting up his nostrils. "Naru-chan, let's eat," he said, placing Naruto down on to the ground as he removed his hand from her mouth.

Hearing something about eating food, she decided to put her curiosity on hold. "Yatta! Let's go to Ichiwaku!"

Minato watched at his daughter hurried ahead of him, climbing on to one of the ramen stand's seats with much difficultly. He sighed in relief, following into the stand to he could help his little girl up. 'At least I have more time to think of a way out of this mess…'

The following day, the Sandaime was strolling down the streets of Konoha, enjoying the lively atmosphere hovering above the area. Nothing could possibly ruin his day. Soon, a small tug on his clothing interrupted his thoughts. He looked down, spotting Naruto looking up at him with her sky blue eyes. Sarutobi smiled at her warmly. "Yes Naruto-chan?"

"Otou-san said you could answer my questions."

"If he said I could then go ahead and ask."

Naruto beamed, finally answers will be given. "What does ewotic mean? Why does Kakashi-oji wead a stwange owange book when otou-san said it was a bad book? Why does he blush and giggle when he weads them? Otou-san told me Jiwaiya-jiji writes them, so does that mean he blushes and giggles too? Do you wead them too?"

While Naurto continued asking Sarutobi began sweating. What the hell was he supposed to tell the four year old?

A growl from her empty stomach awakened her from her reminiscence. She clutched her rumbling abdomen in an attempt to quiet it down. "If I keep hiding here like this, then I won't have time to get one of those fucking bells!"

Making up her mind, Naruto silently crept up to the closest tree near her sensei. He stood there, still unaware to her location, reading that perverted book of his. "Heh, you're in for one hell of a surprise, Kakashi-sensei."

She then reached into her shuriken holster and pulled three out. She stood from the branch she was standing on and threw them consecutively at her sensei. Kakashi jumped up, with the book still in his hand, but moved to his right a little to avoid the shuriken. Naruto pulled a few more out and threw them at her sensei, forcing Kakashi to move more and more to his right. Naruto smirked.

"SHURIKEN KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU"

"What the-"

Kakashi's eyes widened as a pillage of shuriken started flying at him. He jumped to left rapidly, only to find him face-to-face with a tree. He looked behind him to find a way to dodge the incoming projectiles, but his luck fell short as trees arranged tightly packed together blocked his escape. "She purposely cornered me into this spot, so that I couldn't dodge her attacks. Very clever of you, Naruto. But…" Kakashi put his book away as he looked over to a nearby lake. "Not clever enough."

"NINPOU SUITON: SUIJINHEKI"

Two pillars of water rose from a nearby lake and quickly snaked its way towards Kakashi, forming a protective dome, preventing any of the launched shurikens from hurting him. Once all of the missiles fell to the ground in a clatter, he released his jutsu.

"The weapons were efficient and executed in so little time. I was even forced to move exactly as she wanted me to. I guess she didn't plan for me to use suijinheki." He started clapping and stated blatantly, "Wonderful, Naruto. I'm impressed. You can come out now."

Naruto grinned from the tree she was on and jumped down to land gracefully in front of Kakashi. "Glad you enjoyed it," she replied, "but it looks like I'll have to get serious soon. I still have to get that bell from you."

"That you do." Kakashi got into a loose fighting form, his right leg a few steps in front of his left as his fist were placed cautiously in front of his body. "Ninja tactic number one: Taijutsu. I'll teach you that first."

Naruto got into her stance too, her legs slightly spread apart with her knees bent forward, perfect for making a fleet dash. Her hands were curved into semi fists, more narrowed into hitting pressure points than landing external blows.

Kakashi's eyebrows rose in interest. "So, Minato-sensei. You've already taught your daughter your family taijutsu. Still…, I'm determined not to lose to a genin, whether she's your daughter or not."

A few minutes passed by, and the night was still young with the moon shining from above, bathing the foliage in an incandescent light. Two figures faced each other in their own personal private training ground, littered with trees, traps, and special training dummies, behind an immense mansion. The blonde haired girl sat on the ground, listening intently as her otou-san explained their family taijutsu style.

Minato cleared his throat, beginning the explanation. "The Namikaze Style is also known as the Inbijiburu Shitai Style. That is because those who use it move so fast that they appear to be invisible. The stance," he got into the family taijutsu position, "is designed to be more silent and lethal, aimed to hitting pressure points rather than breaking bones. When using our family style is combined with the Hiraishin.." The Yondaime disappeared from his former spot in a yellow flash, appearing next to one of the training dummies in a few seconds. "The damage done to the enemy is deadly." The dummy then collapsed onto the ground in the 'thud', the wounds penetrating deep enough to crack the exterior.

Naruto was just sitting on the ground with an awe expression on her face. "..So, how will my training go, exactly?"

"Well, to start off, you will wake up every day at six o'clock in the morning," said the Yondaime, "get ready, eat breakfast, and make your way to our private training ground by six thirty AM. Begin your warm-ups by doing one hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups, and one hundred laps around the field. No complaining and no stopping until you finish your exercises."

Naruto's mouth was hanging open by the time her father had finished. "Since you have your survival test tomorrow, begin your training now."

"NANI?"

"I never said that my training régime will be easy. …Don't tell me you're chickening out already?" That got his daughter's attention.

"No way!" Naruto stood up, and with an air full of determination, she stride over to the nearest tree and was about to began her one hundred push-ups, until her otou-san's voice interrupted her.

"Oh, and Naru-chan.." He pulled out a scroll from his pouch, unraveled it, and bit his thumb, spreading the newly drawn blood on the parchment. In a puff of smoke, a full set of weights appeared: one torso body armor and two pairs of arm and leg weights, both for the lower and upper parts of the limbs. Picking up the weights with ease, he walked over to his daughter.

Seeing the questioning look on her face, Minato enlightened, "These are a special set of weights, designed specifically for the Namikazes. Unlike regular weights, these adjust to your increasing strength. When you can continue daily life with the standard weight capacity, the weights will then intensify to a higher number. Mastering the Inbijiburu Shitai Style requires long and hard training with these special set of weights so that the user can move rapidly, even with them on. However, the true power of this style comes when the weights are taken off. The user is then able to move at such incredible speeds that could break the sound barrier, making them seem to be invisible most of the time" When he was done clarifying, he handed her the weights.

As soon as the weights were placed in her hands, she collapsed to the ground, the weights cracking the earth in an instant. "UWAAHH! These are heavy!" She struggled to get up. Naruto didn't know how her otou-san could've lifted them like they were nothing but a stack of pillows.

"Better get used to them, since those weights are 50 pounds each. No daughter of mine will be taking shortcuts."

"NANI?"

A light wind blew and a few leaves fell from the trees surrounding. A big, green maple leaf was the last one to fall, lightly spinning in the wind. The moment that leaf landed, the two shinobi lunged at each other. Kakashi's fists were more cautious, yet powerful, while Naruto's attacks tended to be somewhat swifter with unexpected blows. Though not heavily concentrated on the offense side, Naruto had an advantage. Kakashi would not know what to expect from her form. Kakashi, however, still was able to land his powerful strikes. One would push the other back, and then when he thought he had the lead, the other would push him. In the sparring match, it seemed impossible to figure out who was winning.

When Naruto saw that their constant brawling wasn't getting her anywhere, she pumped a bit of chakra into the soles of her feet, propelling herself into the air. Kakashi immediately figured out her plan and raised his arms to block her brisk spin kick. "Ah yes." He thought to himself. "I had forgotten how fast this style actually was."

Kakashi grabbed her legs and with a flick of his wrist, sent her hurtling to a tree. Sensing this, Naruto flipped in mid-air and used the tree to propel herself back towards the silver haired jounin. "You'll have to do better than that!"

On the sidelines watching were the other two members of Team Seven, forgotten and discarded. The two were in awe as they watched the jounin and genin fight at what seemed to be equal grounds. The two were moving blurs, moving as quickly as possible to try to gain an advantage in vain. "So this is what it means to become a jounin," Sasuke thought to himself.

"This is Naruto?" Sakura couldn't believe her eyes. She was so strong! Her attacks were like fluid in their movements and she blocked all blows to her as if she had trained those responses for years. "How can she be so strong?"

"Hah!" Naruto sent a rather powerful blow towards Kakashi and although the jounin was able to block it, the force of the strike alone sent him tumbling a few steps back. Seeing her chance, Naruto rushed forward and prepared to swipe away his legs.

What she didn't expect was for Kakashi to fall on his hands and grapple her legs with his own. "Ugh! His grip is strong!" Try as she might, Naruto couldn't get her legs free. Suddenly, Kakashi twisted his hips and with a flip of his legs, threw the startled blonde away. "Damn it!"

Naruto quickly got her bearings just in time to block a spin kick from Kakashi. The attack was powerful and Naruto was forced to step back. Kakashi was relentless. He wouldn't let her up even for a moment. Soon, punch after punch slammed onto Naruto's weighted arms. "Ugh… if I don't do something quick, I'll just be a sitting duck!" Thinking fast, she knocked one punch off course and dove in between them. When close enough, she delivered a hit a pressure point near her sensei's stomach.

The blonde was immediately rewarded with a grunt from the jounin but her victory was short lived. Kakashi had grabbed her arm and with a sound of exertion, threw her away. He then hunched over and held onto his stomach as he gasped for air.

"Nani… she's…" Kakashi ducked as Naruto came rushing back, her foot narrowly missed its target. "Suddenly… improved…"

Twisting around from her previous kick, Naruto landed hand-first, pushing herself off the ground and performing a back flip to obtain some distance from her opponent. Still in mid-flip, she executed the necessary hand seals.

"REPPUSHOU"

A strong gust of wind blasted in the copy-nin's general direction, driving him back a couple of feet. Naruto suddenly landed a few meters back from her opponent as her hand suddenly whipped out from her side and threw a kunai at the silver haired man, lips bared back into a feral grin. With her jutsu in play, her weapons, with the wind's help, can increase in power and deadliness. "Take this!"

Kakashi caught the dangerous projectile with his index finger and thumb. However, he noticed the explosive note cleverly attached to the handle a little too late as Naruto eerily had a smirk plastered to her face.

The jounin's eyes widened as the note sparked to life by a tiny flame. Within a second, the weapon had exploded into a thick cloud of smoke that obscured the air. Naruto pumped chakra to her legs again, sending herself airborne ten feet up and out of the hazy mist of explosives. She landed with the accuracy of a cat onto a clear patch of grass, grinning widely.

"Heh… bang!" The blonde grinned cockily as she turned her head to her handiwork. Not that she could see it anyways. Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine as she realized that she had something was gently brushing against her neck… the cool touch of a metal edge.

Kakashi stood right behind her, one hand grasping Naruto's wrists and the other a kunai, forcing it closer to her neck. Naruto and her two teammates were alarmed, not only at her predicament, but also at how fast their sensei actually moved. "A ninja should not let the enemy get behind them," Kakashi whispered dangerously.

Sweat dripped down her forehead as she felt the cold blade press gently into her skin, daring not to breathe for fear of impaling herself. Irregular heartbeats thumped against her chest, as the thick smoke cloud slowly blew away. "Kuso…!"

"Naruto!" Sasuke balled his fist until his knuckles turned white, thinking of a way to rescue his teammate before it was too late. Kakashi wouldn't go as far as to kill her…would he?

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he clenched his teeth. Finally, he noticed a blind spot. Kakashi actually dropped his guard. This was his only chance to get him now! Grasping multiple kunai and shuriken between his fingers, he thrust his arms forward and fanned out the throwing weapons to hit his sensei from multiple angles. "I got you!" he growled through clenched teeth.

Naruto stared in horror as the jounin was struck by multiple kunai and shuriken behind her, his grip on her now freed. His eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he fell forward onto his face. "Kakashi-sensei! Sasuke, you overdid it!"

The blonde turned her attention back to her wounded sensei, only to stare wide-eyed at his location. "Huh?" Kakashi's body turned into a log. "Damn! He got away!" Naruto fumed as she jumped into the foliage.

"Kuso!" Sasuke cursed, moving deeper into the woods for further concealment. "Damn it! He purposely left himself open for that attack to find my location. He even used Naruto as bait to get that reaction out of me, toying with my feelings to get me to save her like that."

Somewhere near the fleeing genin, a lone half-lidded eye followed his movements in the leafy canopy. An ominous feeling of dread slowly settled in over the area as the figure reached into his weapon pouch. "There he is."

Sakura also started running after Kakashi turned into a log. When she gasped after seeing him get hit, she was worried to what would happen to their sensei because of that accident. But when she saw the kawarimi take his place, she ran.

"Where is Sasuke-kun? Did Kakashi-sensei already get him...?" She thought, running through the forest looking for her crush. "No, that can't happen to Sasuke-kun!"

Catching a brief sight of Kakashi out of the corner of her eye, Sakura quickly hid in a nearby row of bushes. Peeking around the corner, the pink haired kunocihi observed. "I'm safe, he didn't notice me."

"Sakura, behind you."

Sakura turned around at hearing the deep voice. There Kakashi squatted down behind her, staring at her lazily. "AAAAAHHH!"

Kakashi formed his hands into the Rat seal. Leaves suddenly started to blow her way before circling around her instead of the jounin. Not even realizing, Sakura's eyes glazed over a little bit and became half-lidded. Just as suddenly as it happened, the leaves fell to the ground and Sakura's eyes obtained life again. Yet, the silver haired man was no where to be found. "Nani? What was that? Hey, where did Kakashi-sensei go?"

"Sakura…" a weak, almost nonexistent voice called out to the girl from behind her.

"That sounded like…" Sakura thought as she whirled around to face the speaker and shouted in delight, "Sasuke-kun!"

Instead of seeing Sasuke like she pictured him, her eyes were greeted with a horrifying sight. Sasuke sat on his knees, his hand resting against the base of a tree trunk to steady his balance, wounds covering all over his body. Blood poured out of his body from the many injuries caused by the weapons that littered his body. His left leg twisted in an unnatural direction that gave a slim, if any, hope left of being movable again. But, what shocked her the most was the fact that Sasuke's right arm was clearly cleaver off right above the elbow, completely gone from its former location.

Then the mouth moved.

"S-Sakura... help.. me..." the decrepit and bloodied Sasuke pleaded with his last breathes, his ragged and shallow breathing coming out in painful pants. Just by looking at the raven could anyone tell that he was about to collapse by the immense amount of blood lost. Sakura's breath hitched in her throat, her face shifting to one of horror. She began to shake uncontrollably, tears forming on the edges of her eyes.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the girl screamed into a dead faint.

And off to the side, Kakashi observed, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Maybe I overdid it," Kakashi mused out loud from his hiding place, monitoring the effects of the genjutsu he had placed on Sakura, as well as reading his book. He flipped over to the next page. "But she should have noticed if it was real or not."

Sasuke's head turned to the side to the direction of the scream. "That must've been Sakura's voice."

"Ninja tactics number two: Genjutsu. Sakura fell for it so easily." Kakashi said, reading his book while leaning against a tree. The bells at his waist clanged together as he shifted his position slightly, regarding to the fact that no one has yet to take one of the bells yet.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes upon hearing the voice. "Genjutsu? A type of mind-controlling illusionary technique. It's no wonder she fell for it so easily. But, I'm not like her." Sasuke said, not bothering to look behind him where Kakashi actually was. His ambience seemed emotionless and composed, but his actions could tell otherwise. His eyes, which were fixed forward, seemed to be scanning the proximity for something. Or someone.

"Why don't you say that after you get a bell, Sasuke," Kakashi said from behind him, leaning up against a tree. He moved from his location and stepped closer to the raven, his face calm and calculating. Sasuke turned to him, mimicking his visage. The Uchiha took one last look at his surroundings, again not being able to since any form of a certain kitsune-like girl's chakra signature.

A few seconds past, neither one of the two shinobis moving an inch, waiting for one of them to make the first move. A shrill wind passed by the area, sending Sasuke to a slight crouch position. He glowered at his opponent, throwing a half a dozen shuriken straight at Kakashi without any further warning. The jounin moved out of the way to his left, sliding across the ground for a few feet. "There's no use in just using normal attacks."

Sasuke's smirked as he threw a sole kunai in another direction. The sound of something cutting caught Kakashi's attention, jumping to the side, narrowly avoided being made a pincushion of kunai, hearing the faint sound of around twenty kunai planting themselves in the tree behind him.

Skidding to the end of his halt, Sasuke came around behind him with tremendous speed, which seemed to be in the chunnin level range, and aimed a spin kick towards his head. Letting his reaction skills take over, he blocked the boy's attack just in time. He seemed very skilled in the Uchiha clan style of taijutsu, probably from the one-on-one training he'd done with his older brother.

Having his ankle caught, Sasuke tried to deliver a punch towards the jounin's head in order to get him to release him, but instead the jounin just grabbed his fist with his free hand. Though that was just simple a diversion as Sasuke threw his weight to kick him with his free leg. Unfortunately, his ploy was discovered and blocked with an arm while still holding on to the two caught appendages. Sasuke smirked, reaching out with his free hand for the bells. With his sensei's arms preoccupied in holding his legs and arm in place, he now had free access in obtaining his prize.

Hearing the clinking of the bells being moved, Kakashi looked down just in time to see Sasuke circling his fingers around the bells. Before he could grab them, the silver haired man threw the raven forward while propelling himself backwards. That was too close. They needed to find out the meaning of the test, not accomplish it individually.

Landing a few meters away from each other, Kakashi stared down at the other genin who had managed to keep him on his toes. "Looks like I don't have time to read Icha Icha Paradise when fighting him too."

Sasuke glared at his sensei, still angry at the fact that wasn't able to get the bells after he had come so close.

"I admit it, you're different from Sakura," Kakashi said, snapping the Uchiha from his seething. Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke performed a set of hand seals as fast as he could, drawing on his chakra. Kakashi instantly recognized the jutsu, his eyes widening.

"Horse. Tiger." Sasuke smirked and inhaled a big breath.

"Nani? That techinique isn't something a genin could do…! He should have enough chakra," Kakashi thought frantically. Sasuke inhaled a large quantity of air and released the jutsu right at the silver haired man.

"KATON: GOUKAKYUU NO JUTSU"

Fire streamed from Sasuke's mouth from a thin stream into one huge ball of flame. The ground and surrounding grass was immediately incinerated by the flaming ball. When the technique completed, everything within a five foot radius of where Kakashi stood was blackened.

"He's gone!" Sasuke scanned around the area, surprised. "Is he behind me? No, above? Damn it, where did he go?"

"Beneath you," a voice suddenly shouted out loud, halting Sasuke's attempts to locate him. A hand shot out of the ground and lacked onto his ankle.

"Nani—?"

"DOTON: SHINJU ZANSHU NO JUTSU"

By the time Sasuke realized it, he sunk all the way down until only his head remained above the ground. He glared distastefully at Kakashi who was squatting in front of him with his usual upside-down 'U' expression. "This is the third ninja tactic: Ninjutsu. How is it? Can't move, right?"

Sasuke scowled at him, struggling to get out of the ground. Kakashi mentally laughed at his fruitless attempts. "Looks like your talents are exceptional. But…," the silver haired man continued as he stood up and started to walk away from the buried boy, "just because you're in the most elite family in Konohagakure doesn't mean that you could pass this test alone."

Sasuke watched his sensei walking away, his last words confusing him. What the hell does he mean not being able to pass this test alone? He'd almost gotten one of those fucking bells! "Damn it!"

When Kakashi disappeared, Sasuke brooded over how he could get out of this trap, until he heard a very familiar voice coming closer to his location. "..-suke-kun! …Sasuke-kun! Where are you?"

Sakura came running out of the bushes a couple of yards from Sasuke.

"Huh?" Sakura stared wide-eyed and fearfully at the head of Sasuke. The feeling of wishing to faint came over her but she fought it off. She looked at the head of Sasuke wearily. Sasuke blinked. "Sakura."

"WAAAAHH! NOW IT'S A SEVERED HEAD!" She fainted right on the spot… again.

Sasuke sweat-dropped. "What's wrong with her?"

Thump.

The sound of someone landing a few feet away from him diverted his awareness to the newcomer. A familiar blonde with cerulean eyes gazed at his visible head with a raised eyebrow in amusement.

"Nani? Since when were you there?" He asked, not being able to sense her chakra presence until now.

"Shhh. You'll get me caught," Naruto simple whispered as she walked over to him and started digging into the hard earth with her bare hands, trying to free her trapped teammate.

"Why are you doing this? I'll just be going against you for a bell afterwards," Sasuke suddenly retorted, silently cursing himself for snapping at the blonde.

"Didn't I say to be quiet?"

"That didn't answered my question, dobe," the raven growled.

"Well deal with it, teme," Naruto countered as she kept on digging. The rest of the time spent digging the Uchiha out of the ground was in silence, which was actually not helping Sasuke's mood, since his mind was stuck on the fact that he couldn't do anything, being as he was, and it took Naruto almost twenty minutes just to dig his upper body out of the ground. However, once she'd struck a weak spot in the earth, she smashed her fist on to it, creating a crater. With the soil loosed around both his arms, the Uchiha, with Naruto's help, was able to pull himself out of the ground the rest of the way.

"Thanks," Sasuke mumbled embarrassingly, not used to being saved, as he brushed the dirt off of his clothes, not looking Naruto's way once he was freed.

The blonde narrowed her eyes angrily at the raven, ticked off at his attitude. He could have at least tried to act more sincere. "You're welcome," Naruto shot back, crossing her arms in a huff. She turned her head to the side, not wanting to deal with the Uchiha right now. But something pink lying on the ground caught her interest. It kind of looks like…

"Hey, Sasuke. Isn't that Sakura?" Naruto asked, pointing over to the heap of red and pink. The dark haired genin glanced over at the direction she was pointing at, discerning that it was indeed Sakura, remembering how she'd fainted over their after seeing his only evident body part. Seriously, couldn't she tell whether that was a jutsu or not?

"Come on, dobe. Let's wake her up," he said, putting his hands in his pockets as he walked over to her prone body. Naruto bit back her comeback, catching up to the same stride as Sasuke.

Once hovering over her body, they kneeled down beside her, the blonde more concern for their teammate than the latter. "Sakura. Hey, Sakura. You alright?"

Opening her eyes, Sakura looked around the clearing groggily, wondering what happened to her. Gradually, the girl started to remember that she had seen Sasuke die in front of her and instantly woke up. She could make out Naruto calling out her name, the blonde's brows furrowed in slight worry. The pinkette turned her attention to the second presence next to the blonde. Once she saw Sasuke alive and well, she jolted up in a start, latching on to him tightly. "Sasuke-kun! You were okay!"

"Get off me!" Sasuke shouted, having to pry off the pink-haired fan girl. After a few moments of struggle, he stood and turned towards the direction of the three logs.

"You guys stay here. I'm going to get the bells."

"Who died and made you team leader? And what makes you think that you can get those two bells all by yourself? I'd gotten close enough to swipe one of them before!"

"I was able to touched one of the bells a while ago. I can get it this time."

While her two teammates continued to bicker at each other, Sakura's expression fell to one of defeat after hearing their almost successful attempts. "Oh, this isn't fair… I can't even get a bell from Kakashi-sensei, let alone get near enough… I'm going to fail this test.. I have to try though… but he's a Jounin! I stand no chance against him! ..Arrh! It didn't make any sense! Why would Kakashi-sensei purposely put us against one another? We're supposed to be a team! …Wait..! "

Sasuke turned around, about to venture off to search for their sensei. "There is a little time left until noon. I'm going."

Sakura interjected his plan. "Wait, Sasuke-kun! It's a trick! This is all psychological warfare, we get in groups of three to work as a team! There's no way a genin can keep up with a jounin alone, so we need each other for help."

Sasuke faced his teammates again. "Kakashi said-"

Naruto spoke, "Kakashi-sensei lied. I think that Sakura's right. This is about teamwork. It makes a hell of a lot more sense than what Kakashi-sensei told us to do." The three genin stared at one another. Sure they figured out the meaning behind this whole test, but.. what was to occur now?

Naruto broke the silence. "So, what now?"

Sakura smiled. "I've got a plan…"

Kakashi was currently grinning, laughing from time to time behind his Icha Icha Paradise novel. Suddenly, he jumped backwards as a hurdle of kunai flew at him. The dark-haired assailant jumped out from the trees and into view. He put book back in his pouch, expecting another one-on-one with the genin.

Kakashi spoke, "That won't work…"

Sasuke just smirked as his hands went through a series of rapid hand seals.

"KATON: HOUSENKA NO JUTSU"

A wave of small fireballs flew from Sasuke's mouth, hastily targeting his sensei. Kakashi countered with his own Katon, although this was what the young Uchiha was hoping for. Sasuke, seizing this chance, canceled his fire technique and lunged forward, aiming for the man's blind spot. Kakashi, who somehow foresaw his attack, sidestepped neatly.

"Kuso!" Sasuke swore, twisting in midair to avoid being punched. However Kakashi with astonishing speed jumped up and kicked him clear across the clearing, the Uchiha boy painfully clutched his stomach and glared across at the jounin.

Standing up with difficulty, Sasuke yelled, "Now Sakura!"

Five Sakuras jumped out of the tree at him, all them drawing out a kunai for attack. Three of them landed on the ground, rushing towards the jounin, ready for combat. Kakashi's eyes widened slightly in mild interest. "Kage bunshins instead of just bunshins?"

The two Sakuras came closed enough to distract the copy-nin with their attacks as the third one moved in to swiped the bells, but with a quick flick of his wrist, Kakashi withdrew his own kunai from his holster, destroying the clones in one clean sweep. He thought back to the genin's status information he'd received from the Sandaime. "Assuming from her abilities, these are just Naruto's kage bunshins placed under a henge."

Looking down, he saw that his own shadow was getting considerably larger by the second, much to larger for his own person. Quickly, he raised his weapon, hearing the audible clash of kunai meeting kunai. "Hm… the fourth Sakura has appeared.." he thought, annihilating the clone with fast reflexes. "So.. the real one should be…"

The pink haired girl had successfully sneaked behind the jounin without him noticing, until his hand suddenly whipped around and hurtfully gripped her wrist so tightly that she was so sure that her bones creaked. "Itai!"

"Right behind me…" Kakashi said in a lazy tone, slightly amused at the girl's dreadfully obvious attempts to creep around- her breathing was too loud and her footsteps were far too heavy. Using his momentum, he hurled her to Sasuke's propinquity. While still off the ground, Sakura threw her kunai at her sensei in one last attempt. Kakashi, expecting an attack like that, threw his own kunai at hers, canceling out her weapon.

Once she landed, the jounin immediately sensed something coming from above him. He glanced upward, spotting little balls descending around his being. When they got closer, Kakashi's visible eye dilated. "Smoke bombs..!" As soon as those words left his mouth, they struck land, exploding into a thick haze.

The silver haired jounin, who scanned the area once the smoke began to lessen, raised an eyebrow at the situation he's in. His eyes carefully taking in every detail of the scenario while his mind puzzled over this new turn of events. A small spark of hope flickered to life within him—maybe they could figure out the secret behind the true meaning of his little examination after all.

"DOTON: TSUCHI TSUKAMU NO JUTSU"

Something firm and hard latched on to Kakashi's ankles, not letting go. He looked down, only to see his feet surrounded by a pair of rock-molded hands, preventing any sort of escape for the time being. Surprised, he looked towards the direction of the jutsu's user, only making out through the smoke the male of the two genin having his hands slammed onto the ground, concluding that he was the one who had ensnared him. Suddenly, a voice from behind alerted him.

"HIRAISHIN NO JUTSU"

Kakashi's eyes widened at the name of that particular jutsu. He caught a yellow flash shooting out of a tree, speeding up towards him with incredible speed. He had never seen anyone used that move since the Yondaime… Though something was off about the way his third student was moving…

Still, Kakashi was taken aback, leaving him and the bells an open target, and that's exactly what Naruto noticed. Perfect. She continued to speed towards him, outstretching her arm. Only one inch away…

BBRIIINNNGGG!

Too late. The alarm went off, halting Naruto in her tracks. The yellow flash diminished as Naruto anxiously looked up at Kakashi's face, his stunned expression calming down to his usual half-lidded one.

"Well, well. It seems that you three have failed my test. What will we do now?"