Author's note: So, hello there. I'm not sure who, if anyone, is going to read this. Knowing my followers though, some will at the least give it a look. I know I have a really terrible track record with this kind of thing, so I will take this opportunity to learn from my past mistakes. There's a solid chance that this is going to remain as a one shot unless you guys like it and want more. It's another foray into a fandom I haven't really touched before in writing, mostly out of fear of fucking it up. But, this idea has been rattling around in my mind for the last week or so, so I'm just gonna get it out on paper. Fair warning, a lot of this is going to be touch and go, and feel free to correct me on jutsu names and whatnot. I'll be sticking with the english names for the jutsu, although the elemental names will remain, i.e., Doton, Suiton, etc. So now that that's out of the way, let's begin, shall we?
1-1: In which a nearly forgotten conversation between Obito and Rin changed the universe.
They say that when a butterfly flaps its wings, a tsunami tears through the world. That every notable event is caused by a separate insignificant event. In our case, our cause for change is a simple, seemingly innocent conversation between two members of Team Seven, overheard by the third member.
"Say, Obito? What are your plans for after the war? Aside from becoming Hokage, I mean."
The words are spoken softly, with an undercurrent of curiosity. The dark haired boy spares the medic a glance, and shrugs, a thoughtful look taking over his features. He gives another glance to their third teammate who was walking a few paces ahead of them, side by side with Minato-sensei. The young Uchiha brings a hand up to his hair and ruffles it slightly, a wide smile taking over his face.
"Honestly? I think I'd enjoy becoming a Jonin-sensei. Get a team of my own, ne? Have my own legacy to leave behind."
Obito murmurs, a hint of red coloring his pale skin. The words are full of something akin to longing, something that the Nohara notices, but says nothing about. The dark haired kunoichi raises an eyebrow, and Obito gives her a questioning look. Rin chuckles, and waves the look away, her eyes playful.
"You know, I think I could see that."
Obito lets out a laugh, the blush still present as he looks away from his crush, dark eyes scanning their surroundings as an excuse to hide his blush. He opens his mouth to speak again, but is interrupted by the blonde jonin a few paces ahead of the duo.
"The village should be up ahead guys!"
The silver haired man hums softly to himself in though, a lone black eye staring a hole into the large chunk of stone, tracing over the same letters he always did.
Obito Uchiha. Rin Nohara. Minato Namikaze. Kushina Uzumaki.
Obito.
"Hey Obito. Rin. Sensei. Kushina-nii-chan. Things are...getting better. I think. The nightmares are slowing. Actually managed to sleep last night."
Kakashi sighs, a hand coming up to rub at the back of his head. His lone exposed eye glances down at the paper on the ground in front of him, his mind a maelstrom of thought. Would this be a good idea?
While true, he wanted to live a life Obito would have wanted, he needed to be honest with himself. Was he truly capable of caring for a team of genin? His ANBU squad was one thing, but these young shinobi would be relying on him to teach them the things they would need to survive in the bloody world they lived in. A part of him wasn't so sure, but the larger part of him felt like he could do it, and more than that, it wanted to do it. Part of him missed having a pack to call his own. Although this time, he would be the leader, rather than simply one of the packmates being led by an elder.
"I told Sandaime-sama that I was thinking about taking on a team of my own. He thought it would be a good idea. He always seemed to care about my mental health. He even said that I could have Team Seven, if I wanted. I think I might be scared. Our legacy isn't exactly something that has gone well for any iteration aside from the Nidaime's team."
A cold laugh leaves the Hatake, carrying with it very little humor. After all, it wasn't exactly something that was very funny. It was more of a self-depreciative laugh than anything. His Sharingan ached beneath his closed lid, as well as the heavy material of his hitai-ite. Another constant reminder of how he had destroyed his team, his family. Another reminder of his mistakes.
"I think….I think I might do it. For you, Obito. And you, Minato-sensei."
Of course, this wouldn't be his sole reason for it, no. That would be silly, and for the most part, Kakashi tended to avoid things that were silly, Maito Guy notwithstanding. No, there was a lot more going into this. Reaching down to pick up the paper, Kakashi stands, his mind made up, and his shoulders squared.
/Insert Line Break Here, Please and Thank You/
Time passed, and within a year, the first attempt at another Team Seven was made.
For the days leading up to it, Kakashi let his hopes rise. This could be the beginning of something wonderful, but he wouldn't accept just anyone. He wouldn't accept anything short of excellence. Team Seven wasn't just any team, after all. Team Seven had a legacy to protect, and a tradition to follow. On the scheduled day, Kakashi shows up, only ten or so minutes late. His conversation with the memorial had taken a little longer than he had hoped. Giving the Team Seven hopefuls a cheerful wave, he gave them their instructions, before vanishing to the training grounds in a sunshin.
Safe to say, they failed, miserably. And when Kakashi turned in the paperwork to the Hokage's office, he didn't even give them the title of Team 7, not even in failure. Instead, he labelled them as Team 6.5. Hiruzen wasn't particularly pleased, but at the same time, he understood. Team 7 was something special, and not just anyone could be it. Months roll by, and soon, another trio of genin hopefuls are sorted into Team 7.
Kakashi didn't even give them a number, instead referring to them as Team Losers in his paperwork.
At this point, the silver haired Jonin was beginning to lose hope that any trio would meet his standards, despite them being quite simple. However, that all changed upon his meeting with the third attempt. It had taken a slight bit of persuasion from Hiruzen for Kakashi to even contemplate trying again for a team. After all, how often would a team like this roll around? The son of his Sensei, the last Uchiha, and a veritable genius. It had all the makings of a true team.
For the third time in the span of twenty-six minutes that the trio had been waiting, Sakura sighs in irritation, green eyes glaring at the still as of yet unopened door to the classroom. Across from her sits one Uzumaki Naruto, pouring over what appeared to be a scroll on creating explosive tags. It was one of the few course materials from the academy that she had ever seen the blonde take more than a passing interest in, despite his lack of book smarts. Not too far from the whiskered blonde, her darling Sasuke glared at the door, an air of impatience surrounding him.
So cool, cha!
Sakura silences her inner voice, her attention being drawn away from her precious Sasuke towards the opening door. She wipes her slightly sweaty palms on her shorts, before returning her attention to the doorway. All three of the genin hopefuls raise their eyebrows at the sight of the gray haired jonin who was slated to -possibly, although they don't know it- be their sensei for the foreseeable future.
"Hm. My first impression of you three? You're..almost boring. Meet me on the rooftop in five minutes. Ja ne!"
As quickly as the Hatake had arrived, he vanished, leaving behind three disbelieving students. Moving swiftly, the three comply, with Sakura sticking close to Sasuke as he leaves the classroom, neither paying much attention to their blonde teammate. Said Uzumaki finished packing away his scroll, before tucking it into his hip pouch. He makes his way over to the nearby window, and with barely a glance at the ground a story below him, the blonde clambers out of the window, and begins climbing upwards, using the pipes and loose bricks to do so.
"Why don't we start out by introducing ourselves? Likes, dislikes, dreams for the future."
Kakashi instructs, his arms crossed over his chest as he raises his sole visible eyebrow. He looks first to Naruto, then Sakura, before ending on Sasuke. Internally, he was aching. Dead last, Kunoichi of the Year, and Rookie of the Year. Loud and brash, reserved, and dark and broody. It was like seeing ghosts of the past, and that was if you didn't include Naruto's strikingly similar appearance to the dead Yondaime. It was a painful reminder of his mistakes. A hand gestures for Haruno to start, his lone dark eye meeting her own emeralds. The pink haired girl stutters for a moment, before asking him to provide an example. Part of him wanted to ignore it, or even worse, insult her, he refrained. She was a child, a civvy born at that.
"My name is Kakashi Hatake, Jonin of Konohagakure no Sato. I like dogs and Icha Icha. I dislike cowards. As for my dream, well, I haven't really thought about it in a while. Now, speak."
Kakashi speaks quickly and slowly, meeting each of their gazes. All three pay rapt attention, something that made a small spike of interest to flow through him. Perhaps this could be the one. They definitely had the background for it. Sakura, an academic genius. Naruto, the Yondaime's Legacy, as well as they Kyuubi Jinchuriki. And Sasuke, the last of the reviled Uchiha, younger brother to Itachi, and son to Fugaku. Each had potential, to be sure, but whether or not they would reach that potential under his teachings remained to be seen.
"My name is Sakura Haruno. I like…."
She pauses for a moment to glance at Sasuke, before glancing away, her cheeks reddening. Her mind whirls, and another moment changes. Sakura steels herself, before meeting the waiting jonin's eye once again.
"I like dango. I dislike idiots, as well as people who talk too slowly. And my dream? To become the best Kunoichi of Konoha."
Kakashi raises his eyebrow once more. Not bad, not bad. At first he was afraid that she was just a mindless fangirl, but at the very least she could speak around him and Sasuke. He could probably make this work, depending on their results on the Bell Test. Turning his attention to the blonde Uzumaki, he gestures for the boy to speak.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I like ramen, as well as those I hold dear, like Jiji. I dislike traitors and liars. And my dream is to become the Godaime Hokage, and surpass the Yondaime, dattebayo!"
The blonde shouts, an infectious grin on his face. Kakashi nods, noting the twin eye rolls from Haruno and Uchiha. Something told him if they knew what resided inside of Naruto, as well as who his family happened to be, they'd be a bit more likely to believe him rather than roll their eyes. Finally, he turns his attention to the heir of the Uchiha, his gaze expectant.
"I am Sasuke Uchiha. I like tomatoes, and I dislike the man who calls himself my brother. And my dream isn't a dream, as that implies that there is a chance I will fail. I have an ambition. I will kill a certain man, and avenge my clan."
A surface level idiot, an almost fangirl, and an avenger. But, he couldn't help but wonder if there was something more beneath the surface. Kakashi gives them instructions to meet on the sacred Training Ground 7, and vanishes once more with a sunshin, this time headed for the Hokage's office. He needed to talk to the old man, and confirm a few things. From there? Well, perhaps a conversation with a certain scarred academy teacher wouldn't be amiss.
And that's a wrap on chapter one! A bit of a long one, huh. So uh, this is a thing. Of course, it doesn't seem too different from canon, but by the time the Chunin Exams come rolling around, the differences will begin to pop up. Some general things to expect: Naruto isn't going to be as stupid as canon, Sakura's fangirl tendencies are curbed far sooner, and Sasuke...well, Sasuke's a bit of a mystery. I'm still figuring out how I want him to progress from here.
Honestly, I'd like to continue the story, and probably will regardless, but it would be greatly appreciated if you guys could leave a review, tell me what you think, etc…
Anyhow, until next time!