ZY: All right, this chapter is more about the idea of what a Dream Empath is in this AU. But don't worry. there is still a story.
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Dreams of Passion turned into Reality, Chapter 2; Dream Empath
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"Alright, good job everyone," the Hokage shouted at the class before adding "Now, inside for lunch." The class was happy that the physical exams are over. Naruto rubbed his hands together, drooled a bit, and thought happily 'Finally, now I can eat mom's delicious homemade ramen bento.' Some of the students started chatting about the written exams and other stuff.
Sasuke stretched his arms over his head, which made 99% of girls squeal. 'Itachi-nii said he put a surprise in my bento last night, now I can finally get to find out what it is,' Sasuke thought happily as he brought his arms to his sides. Sasuke felt a pair of arms wrap around his chest and felt someone whisper into his ear "I wouldn't mind giving YOU a surprise." Sasuke shudder a bit. 'Please... Can you wait until ALL of the exams are over,' The ravenette thought, trying not to look behind him, he KNEW EXACTLY who it was. He was relieved when he heard the person chuckle out "I'll be waiting, my Soulmate." Sasuke quickly glanced behind him, and no one was there. "Sasuke, you coming?" Neji asked him when he realized that Sasuke wasn't walking with him and Hinata. The Uchiha quickly nodded and walked quickly towards his friends. "What did Hizashi-ojisan (1) make for your bentos?" Sasuke asked the two Hyūgas. They smiled a bit and told their friend to wait and see. The Uchiha couldn't help but smile.
Lee had one hand on his stomach. 'Finally, lunch. Now I can refuel my Youthful energy for the written exams,' Lee thought happily. Well, he was happy until his eyes caught Neji, walking with Sasuke and his cousin towards the school. The green clad teen looked off to the side, he really couldn't understand how Neji, of all people, could be HIS SOULMATE. After standing still for a minute or two, he came to a conclusion, he REALLY NEEDED to talk to the Dream Empath. Gai-sansei assured him that the Dream Empath was really amazing (When Gai was helping out with some of the physical exams, he told Lee that he was good friends with the Dream Empath, and they actually talked QUIETLY to one another about him while the others were busy with the exams). Out of the corner of his eye, Lee spotted a man with silver hair and had his face covered by a mask and his headband. 'That's Kakashi-san, Gai-sensei's rival! What is he doing here?' Lee thought as he watched Kakashi walk across the court. Lee saw Gai-sensei wave at the silver-haired man, so he started heading in the school, the teen assumed that his beloved sensei challenged his rival to some kind of youthful contest.
}i{ }i{ In the Cafeteria }i{ }i{
"Are you going to drool over that for the entire lunch period or are you going to actually eat it?" Kiba asked the blond, whom was sitting across the table from him and Shino. The Inuzaka and Aburame always sat together, after ever since they discovered that they were each other's Soulmate anyway. Naruto gave a wide grin and said "Of coarse I'm going to eat it, Mom made it for me." The dog-nin leaned over a bit to see the blond's bento, frowned, and couldn't help but say "You know, if you eat that stuff for every meal, you're going to turn into ramen one of these days..." Naruto pretended not to hear Kiba's statement and slurped down the ramen happily. Shino sighed and stated "How exactly are we friends with you again?" Naruto chewed, swallowed his food, and said with a cat-ish grin "Because I'm an interesting guy and I'm awesome." Kiba and Shino looked at each other with a look of disappointment and said "Half right, at least..." Naruto pretended not to hear them as he slurped up another mouthful of ramen.
Lee sat at the same table as Naruto, Kiba, and Shino (Akamaru was under the table, snoozing). "What took you so long?" Kiba asked as Lee started eating. The green clad ninja muttered something along the lines of having to use the bathroom before getting his lunch. Naruto swallowed his food and said "Hope you washed your hands." Lee snipped back that he did, of coarse. Shino stared at Lee and asked "Is everything okay? You seem very stressed." Lee really needed to think of something quick. "It must be because I am hungry, yes, that's it. You know that some people are irritable when they are hungry," Lee said relatively quickly.
After a few seconds, Kiba stated that that was true and added "I mean you should see Tsume-nee when she's hungry." Naruto scrawled and muttered "Don't remind me..." The blond learnt the hard way NOT to cross Kiba's older sister, Naruto shuddered, he still had the scars from that. Lee sighed softly, he was glade he diverted Kiba and Naruto's attention. But Shino didn't buy it, he knew something was wrong with Lee and knew that he was hiding it. Shino took a bite of his food. The bug-nin had an idea about why Lee was acting strange and wasn't sure if he should feel happy or worried for the green clad ninja.
}i{ }i{ On the School Roof }i{ }i{
Sasuke and the Hyūgas were sitting in a triangle on a picnic blanket on the roof. The sky was clear and blue, so it was a nice day to eat outside. Besides, the three really hated eating in the cafeteria, 99% of the gals, and some of the guys, in the Ninja Academy tried to flirt with the Uchiha and the Hyūgas didn't like all of the stares from the other students, they could easily see them. The three always ate on the roof when it was sunny, they only ate in the cafeteria when it was really raining or snowing.
Sasuke took a bite out of a gyoza that Neji gave him, it was soooo damn delicious. "Seriously, Hizashi-ojisan should really open his own restaurant. I sware, it'll be a huge hit!" Sasuke couldn't help but say. Neji beamed with pride, he was proud of his fathers cooking skills. "Father always tells Uncle that he should, but Uncle keeps on refusing. Says making his family happy is enough for him," Hinata said with a smile.
The Hyūgas' personalities were a complete 360 from earlier. The two were smiling more, more opened, and sounded really happy. They wore these "Cold Masks" when they were at school, and so far only the rest of their family and the Uchihas (Plus Kisame) knew that. And since it was just the two Hyūgas and Sasuke, Hinata and Neji didn't need to have those Masks on. Sasuke finished the gyoza happily.
"So, what did Itachi-niisan make for you?" Neji asked the ravenette. Sasuke said that he hasn't looked yet and pulled his bento out of his bag. The Uchiha was excited, when Itachi was making the bento he mentioned that Sasuke would love it before he even took a bite. The Uchiha told the Hyūgas this. Hinata quickly wondered what the older Uchiha meant by that. Neji stated that there was only one way to find out.
Sasuke opened his bento. What he saw, made him speechless. A hand covered his mouth in complete shock.
"Sasuke... What's wrong?" Hinata asked her friend when she saw tears appearing in the corners of Sasuke's eyes.
When his voice came back, cracking but back, Sasuke said "You guys remember when Itachi-nii went to the doctors to check the gender of the baby he's carrying." The Hyūgas nodded and Neji said "Yes, it was two days ago, he didn't tell you the gender. Today's the follow-up, to check the health of the child." Sasuke nodded as the tears fell down his cheeks and he motioned the two to look at his bento. The two did. What they saw caused the two to immediately embrace the Uchiha in a hug.
The older Uchiha was right, the younger Uchiha WOULD love the bento before he took a bite. It was indeed a surprise. The Hyūgas were so very happy for their friend, the soon-to-be-uncle. To put it simply, what Itachi put in the bento told Sasuke that he was going to have a niece AND a nephew.
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When lunch was over, the class made their way back to their classroom. When they got there, they noticed that all of the desks had numbers on them, numbers 1-30, and that there was a small beige box on Iruka-sensei's desk. Minato stood next to the desk.
"All right, written exams will begin shortly," the Hokage explained, then added "Now, everyone pick a number out of the box. That number will be your seat for the first test. We will be changing seats for all four written exam."
One by one, each of the students pulled out a number and went to the corresponding desk.
Sakura pulled the number 8.
Kiba pulled number 6 and Shino pulled 20. Those two desks were not close to one another. So Kiba quickly nuzzled Shino's cheek before heading towards his desk. Naruto noticed that the bug-nin had a dusting of pink on his cheeks as he walked to his respective desk. The blond couldn't help but chuckle a bit and think that they were a pair of lovebirds.
Sasuke pulled number 7. The pink-haired kunoichi was overjoyed.
When it was the Hyūgas' turn, Minato asked them politely to not use their Byakugan to pick their numbers. The two nodded, all of the desks weren't that far apart from one another so no need to use their eyes. Hinata pulled number 10 while Neji pulled number 27.
Lee pulled number 21. All Lee needed to was to get through the written tests without any incidents and he will be able to talk to the Dream Empath.
Naruto pulled number 11. 'I have to sit next to the Hyūga heir! Seriously?!' Naruto thought as he walked towards his temporary desk. 'Well, at least it's only for this test,' the blond thought as he sat down. With his best smile, Naruto waved a hi. Hinata didn't even give him a second look. The blond really wondered why she and her cousin were so cold.
After everyone was seated. Minato passed out the test papers to all of the students and explained that this was a multiple choice test and wanted everyone to finish it within the designated time. Plus the Hokage told his son not to randomly fill in any of the answers and to actually read the questions. The majority of the class laughed.
As soon as everyone had a paper, Minato told the class to begin.
}i{ }i{ Two Hours Later }i{ }i{
'Last test! After this, I will meet the Dream Empath!' Lee thought happily as he pulled the number for his new seat, #15. 'That's right behind Neji!' Lee thought as he walked to the respective desk, doing his best not to show any hint of his anxiety. When he took his seat he noticed that Neji's hair seamed really shiny and well kept. 'Pretty,' Lee couldn't help but think as he imagined himself running his fingers through the paled-eye teen's hair. Holding Neji close and leaning in to... Lee shook his head. He could NOT let his mind wonder to THAT. He needed to focus on the last test.
Naruto pulled number 17. The blond didn't hide his feelings about it.
Minato raised an eyebrow at his son. "Is there a problem, Naruto?" he asked.
Naruto frowned and stated "Not again..." At first the Hokage didn't understand what his son meant, but when he saw the number, it clicked. The Hyūga heir was sitting at desk number 16. Minato couldn't help but say with a slight chuckle "Oh my, you're sitting next to Hyūga-chan yet again." For ALL of the prior tests, Naruto somehow always pulled the number next to the number Hyūga Hinata drew. 'Seriously! What the hell are the odds?' Naruto thought somewhat sarcastically. Still chucking, the Hokage said playfully "I wonder if this is some sort of sign that you two are meant to be ^_^ " "DAD! THAT IS SOOOO NOT FUNNY!" Naruto practically shouted at his father, completely forgetting where they are. Still with that playful smile, Minato said "Now, now, Naruto. You know the only surefire way to know who you're meant to be with," then added "But I must admit, the odds of you and Hinata-chan sitting next to each other for all four of these tests is pretty spectacular."
Grumbling, Naruto headed to his seat. The blond just to happened to have glance to his left. Hyūga Neji was glaring at him. Naruto practically shouted at the paled-eyed boy "Oh come on! Dad was just joking! Really, really badly..." Neji was still glaring at him as he said with venom "Then I hope you won't try anything funny with Hinata-sama." Naruto grumbled something along the lines of "who would want to" as he sat in his seat, not even bothering to glance at the other Hyūga, he knew she would probably be glaring at him too. Now Naruto REALLY wanted the test to end as soon as possible.
After a couple of minutes, everyone was seated. The Hokage handed out the test papers and said "Make sure you explain your answers best you can, and if you finish before the designated time, you my spend your free time how you please outside this classroom but be sure to be back here by 15:00. Our residential Dream Empath will be speaking to this class. You all are in the 15 age range, so he'll be talking to you about what he does and what to expect when your Soulmate Dreams appears." Lee was already happy about that.
After all of the young ninjas had their test papers, the Hokage told everyone to begin.
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Lee was writing his answer for one of the questions on the test. The green clad teen glanced up from his paper and just stared at the back of Neji's head for a bit. 'Why would he be my Soulmate?' Lee couldn't help but think. The green clad boy watched the paled-eyed boy write for a minute or so, before he noticed that he stopped. Neji slowly turned his head, to look behind him. When Lee saw that, he immediately darted his eye to his paper and pretended to think about the question he was on.
After about half a minute of watching Lee think, Neji turned back to his paper. He could have sworn that the bowl-cut boy was staring at him. Neji shook his head and thought 'There's no way that he would be staring at me, especially during this test.'
After a couple of minutes, there was nothing but the sounds of pen scratching paper. Minato kept an eye on the entire class, making sure that no one was cheating in any way. So far the only odd thing to happen was the male Hyūga looking behind him at the miniature Gai. Not the most exciting thing for him to do, but it's nesasary. After all, these tests will help determine who will be on each of the three man teams.
A student stood up and walked towards the Hokage. Everyone was surprised by this student, whom had finished first. Minato blinked as he took the test paper from the student, looked at the answers to make sure they were written to the best of the student's ability, and said "Alright everything's answered. Lee-kun, you may leave, but be back before 15:00." The green clad teen nodded and left the room. 'How'd did he finish first?!' thought 85% of the students remaining in the class. The 15% that wasn't thinking that were keeping their focus on their test.
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Lee walked down the hall. He really needed some fresh air. "Are you already done with the written tests Lee-kun?" Lee heard someone ask him. The green clad teen turned towards the voice, it was Kakashi. The silver-haired man had his hands in his pockets and had a sketchbook under his left arm. Lee nodded, but not with much vigor. "Gai told me you completed your Soulmate Dreams and since there's a good amount of time left for I have to talk to your class, I guess I can talk to you about it," Kakashi said as he motioned Lee to follow him. Hold on... "Wait! Are You..." Lee was cut off by Kakashi putting a finger to his masked covered lips and said with a smiling eye "I am, but~ I prefer you'd not shout it, there are still people taking the test." Lee nodded with more energy and with a smile. This was such exciting news! No wonder Gai-sensei spoke so highly of the Dream Empath. "Ano, you don't need to draw my Soulmate, I already know who he is," Lee said as Kakashi led him into a vacent room. Kakashi chuckled and said "I supose that's less work for me, but from what Gai told me, that's not the real problem. Is it." Lee nodded as the silver-haired shinobi closed the door. "No worries, what you tell me will not leave this room unless you wish it," Kakashi said as the two sat in some free chairs. Lee happily thanked the older ninja.
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Sasuke was the next one to finish, he silently signaled his two friends to meet him on the roof. Both of whom nodded before the Uchiha left.
Once Sasuke opened the door to the roof, he was practically attacked by an unknown assailant. Well, the teen thought he was being attacked until he felt a pair of lips on his own. "For Kami sake! DON'T do that! I could've killed you!" Sasuke said before he was pushed against the closed door and was kissed yet agian by this unknown. "Now, tell me, how can you kill someone who is not actually here?" the assailant asked before kissing Sasuke very deeply. The Uchiha sighed and mumbled something along the lines of "not the point here" before the assailant pulled him away from the door and drew him into a hug. "You know very well that I will never harm my Soulmate," The assailant said as one arm wrapped around Sasuke's waist and another around Sasuke's shoulders. The Uchiha rested his hands on the assailant's back and said "I can't wait to actually meet you in person... Itachi-nii, Kisame-nii, and the Hyūgas... They all want to meet you too." The assailant nuzzled his nose into Sasuke's neck and said "I know, I'm sure my real self wishes to meet you just as much."
"Eh-hem." the two quickly cased their eyes to the door to the roof. There standing in the doorframe was Hyūga Hinata and Hyūga Neji, both had their Byakugan activated. "We're not interrupting anything are we?" Hinata said with a small smirk, Neji on the other hand was chuckling a bit. Sasuke cheeks were as red as a rose. The assailant just went back to nuzzling the Uchiha's neck.
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About ten minutes later. Shino was under a shady tree with Akamaru by his side. The two decided to spend their free time outside while they waited for Kiba. Shino tossed a large wooden stick into the air and Akamaru went after it. When the giant dog caught the stick and brought it back to the bug-nin. Shino didn't find the appeal of "Fetch", but Akamaru loved it and it was good exercise for the dog, so Shino threw the stick yet again.
When Akamaru brought the stick back, he dropped it an barked three times. Even though Shino was still learning how to understand the Inuzaka dogs, he was able to understand some of what the dogs said. And he knew EXACTLY what the giant dog asked. With red dusting his cheeks, Shino muttered "No, we are NOT having "Puppies" anytime soon. Kiba told you that we're not going to try until AFTER we are wedded." Akamaru whimpered a bit. The bug-nin patted the dog on the head and said "Don't worry, the Wedding's in a year and a half." The dog whined. This time Shino didn't understand what Akamaru said.
A pair of arms wrapped around Shino. "Maru said that a year and a half is ten and a half dog years," said the owner of the arms, it was the bug-nin's Soulmate. Shino leaned back into the arms and said "Ah, so that's why he was whining." Kiba nuzzled Shino's cheek. Akamaru wagged his tail, happy that his ninja partner was finish with the testing. The giant dog barked. Kiba chuckled and said "Sorry, buddy, we can't leave yet. We have to stay for Hatake-san's speech." Akamaru tilted his head a bit. "It's mandatory Akamaru, even if we already found our Soulmates," Shino explained to the dog. Akamaru barked. The two smiled and Kiba said "Sure, you can join us. I'm sure Hokage-sama won't mind." Akamaru was happy.
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Sakura was sitting at a table in the cafeteria, doodling hearts with "Sakura x Sasuke" and "SH x SU" written in them on a notebook. "Seriously? Why do you draw those?" The pink-haired kunoichi looked up from her drawings. Standing in front of Sakura was another kunoichi with brown-almost-black hair tied in two buns placed symmetrically on her head, had dark brown eyes, and was only a little bit taller than the pink-haired kunoichi. "It could happen Tenten," Sakura stated happily. Tenten sat down across from Sakura with a sigh. Tenten gave Sakura a serious look and said "Listen, what you have is a crush. That's it, nothing more. Once you have your Soulmate Dreams, you'll find your true love. And I guarantee that it's not going to be that Uchiha." Sakura frowned and said "Oh, come on Tenten, what's not to love about Sasuke-kun? He's perfect. Why do you hate him?" Tenten replied plainly "I don't hate him, it's just... I can't understand why every girl in school fawns over him. Besides, this crush destroy a perfect friendship between you and" Sakura interrupted by saying "Don't even finish that sentence!" Tenten muttered "This proves my point."
Sakura stared at her doodle thinking that Sasuke could be her Soulmate.
Tenten had to be THE ONLY girl in the Ninja Academy who didn't harbor any feeling for the younger Uchiha, neither love nor hate. She didn't hate Sasuke himself per say, she just hated what he was doing. Well, okay, it wasn't actually Sasuke's actual doing, it was the stuff that the other girls were doing for his affection. It was one of the reason why Sakura was no longer friends with...
"Wouldn't it be funny if you were Sasuke-kun's Soulmate," Sakura said interrupting Tenten's thoughts. Tenten shook her head and stated plainly that there was no way she would be Soulmates with him. Sakura chuckled and said "Oh come on, don't you think it would be funny? The only girl in school who has no feeling for the hottest guy in school ends up being Soulmates with one another?" Tenten shook her head yet again. The darker haired kunoichi couldn't see the humor in the pink-haired girl's statement.
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At 14:50 on the dot, everyone in Naruto's class was back in their classroom. Naruto was still working on his test, in the second to last row, but he's on the last question so no worry.
Kiba, Shino, and Akamaru were sitting together in the first row. The dog was laying in front of the desks that Kiba and Shino were sitting at.
Hinata and Neji were sitting in the second row from the front. Sasuke was sitting between the two, for obvious reasons. The Uchiha didn't want any fighting to occur for the "Rights" to sit next to him and the best way to do that was to sit between the Hyūgas, NO ONE wanted to go against either of those two.
Lee was sitting right behind Neji. He was still processing the information that Kakashi told him.
** Lee was telling Kakashi that he was willing to wait for Neji to have his Soulmate Dreams. The green clad teen looked at the silver-haired man, it was hard to figure out what he was thinking, mostly because his face was covered. "Are you sure you really want to do that?" Kakashi finally said, then added "Are you really willing to endure the pain of having your Soulmate believe that you're not worth their time? Just because they have yet to have their dream about you?" Lee twiddled his thumbs, Kakashi-san did have a point. Lee took a breath and asked "Then... What should I do? I know Neji will not believe me when I tell him that I'm his Soulmate." With a mischievous gleam in his visible eye, Kakashi said "I know that you're quite talent at Taijutsu, that you're also a shinobi of action, that you are a hard worker, and that you can do amazing things when you put your mind to it." Lee was blushing at the Dream Empath's praises, but it was mostly him remembering the phrase "Shinobi of action" that was making him red. "So," Kakashi continued "Show Neji that you're worth his attention, and in time he'll learn who you are to him." Lee thought that was a great idea. "Besides, you two need each other," Kakashi said with a smiling eye. **
Lee wondered what his beloved sensei's rival meant by him and Neji needing each other.
"FINISHED!" Naruto shouted before he jumped out of his seat to hand in his test paper, with two minutes to spare. After Naruto gave his father his paper, he returned to his seat. Minato wasn't too surprised by this.
The Hokage signaled someone from the doorway to come in. So he did.
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"Evening young ninjas," Kakashi said with a smile, though it was hard to tell, and added "I am Hatake Kakashi the Dream Empath of Konoha."
Naruto practically jumped and shouted "WAIT! KAKASHI, YOU'RE THE DREAM EMPATH!" Kakashi calmly stated "Just like you're the son of the Hokage, Naruto-chan. Now, sit." the blond frowned, folded his arms, sat back in his chair and muttered "Don't add the chan to my name." Naruto has known Kakashi since he was in dippers, since his father was Kakashi's sensei, but this it the first time he's heard about the silver-haired man being the Dream Empath. So, yeah, Naruto's exclamation is valid. Kakashi sighed and stated "You were never told Because you sensei's son and you can't keep a secret. Pretty sure you don't get that big mouth from your parents. No offense Sir." Minato replied none taken. Most of the class chuckled.
"Anyway..." Kakashi stated looking around to make sure everyone was listening, Naruto included (whom was now interested in this new information about his family friend). Kakashi continued "It's one of the jobs of a Dream Empath to bridge the meaning of dreams into the awaken world. Meaning that we council people about what their dreams are telling them. One of those things is being able to give the person an image of their Soulmate so that they are able to search for them easier." The silver-haired man opened his sketchbook showing the class an detailed penciled image of a doe and her fawn by a river with trees, flowers, grass, and other small critter. Kakashi continued "Translating an image onto paper or canvas is a natural skill that all Dream Empaths have. Weather it be drawing in pencil, pen, marker, charcoal, graphite, or paint. And weather it be in black and white, grayscale, or color. A Dream Empath can use whatever they feel comfortable using to create and image of anything from the Dream Plain." Kakashi closed his sketchbook and continued "Now, does anyone know how a Dream Empath can enter a person's Dream Plain and what a Dream Plain is?" Most of the students were confused by this question.
Sakura's hand immediately shot up. Kakashi looked at a class rooster before saying "Alright, please answer, Haruno-san."
Sakura explained "Dream Empaths can enter one's Dream Plain via direct contact with one's head, even when that person's awake. But they must have permission to do so. Because entering one's mind must take absolute trust in both the person and the empath. Dream Plains are best described as a mirror image of one's heart that is developed over time. While the Dream Plain varies from person to person, it's believed that all Dream Plains are connected in one way or another. Reason why we have Soulmate Dreams." before Sakura could continue, Kakashi told her nicely that she's explained enough and didn't need to say anymore.
Kakashi continued "Dream Empaths do their best to use their abilities to ease the minds of people who need the help, even if they are not aware of the problem. Helping those to find their Soulmate is the majority of what a Dream Empath does." Once Naruto heard the words "Help" and "People", he knew that he wanted to do that and voiced it very loudly.
Minato sighed and Kakashi shook his head. "It's not as easy as you think, Naruto-chan," Kakashi stated plainly and continued "Being a Dream Empath just can't be learnt by anyone, like a jutsu. These are abilities are something someone is born with and start surfacing between 10-13 years old."
"Like a Lineage line?" Tenten asked. "I suppose that's the best way to describe it, but not really," Kakashi said, leaving the class in a bit of confusion. Kakashi explained "While it IS considered to be an inherited ability, it's not really something that's pasted from parent to child. In fact, most of the Dream Empaths don't even HAVE a relative that is another Dream Empath."
"Then, how do they learn how to use their abilities?" A cubby teen with long orangey-brown hair, red swirls on his cheeks, squinty eyes, and wide nose asked. This teen's name is Akimichi Chōji.
"Excellent question with a simple answer," Kakashi said with a smile, then added "They learn from other Dream Empaths. If there isn't one in the village they live in, then they find one from a nearby village." The room was silent. So silent that you could hear a pin drop. "But..." Kakashi said after about a minute of complete quietness. Kakashi continued "Their is one Dream Empath I know that has a parent that is also Dream Empath. Probably the only one who is." The silver-haired man glanced at the Hokage, whom was giving him a look that said "Don't say another word about THAT, you know you're not suppose to talk about it." Kakashi chuckled and said "Oops, I said too much. Sorry Sensei."
Wait...
"DAD, ARE YOU?!" Naruto shouted. Both Minato and Kakashi said at the same time "I'm/He's not." Now things were REALLY quiet. "Ano... If Dad's not, then why is he looking at you like that?" Naruto asked in utter confusion. "Sorry Naruto, but that information is strictly classified. ISN'T IT HATAKE-SAN," Minato stated sternly at his former pupil, whom was rubbing the back of his head in an apologetic manner. "I didn't say who it was," Kakashi said in that tone that was the manner he was persenting. With a sern look, Minato said "Finish up with your talk, but." Kakashi muttered that he knows.
With a deep breath, the Dream Empath continued "Now, I'll talk about Soulmates to finish this off." This got 95% of the class really excited.
"I sure Inuzaka-kun and Aburame-kun can tell the rest of you how it feels to be united with their Soulmate, and I'm also sure that Uchiha-kun can also tell all of you that Soulmates are a great addition to a family," Kakashi said, causing the lovebirds to turn a soft shade of pink and Sasuke to smile happily. Kakashi chuckled and continued "As you all know, finding your Soulmate is the main battle." Than Kakashi added seriously "But, I am going to tell you this. A Soulmate isn't someone who is compatible with you, compliments you, or who you want. A Soulmate IS someone who you NEED and who NEEDS you as well." Then Kakashi happily added "Right, Inuzaka-kun and Aburame-kun?" Kiba grinned a cheeky smile and Shino buried his face into Kiba's shoulder, to hide his embarrassment, both were VERY PINK in the face. Akamaru barked. Kiba was red with pure embarrassment when he said to the dog "Maru! Please! Don't bring THAT up HERE!"
The class laughed. None were sure what Akamaru said, but Kiba's reaction was pretty funny.
Naruto wondered what Kakashi meant by Soulmates needing each other, and he wasn't the only one thinking that. Lee couldn't help but think 'Why would Neji and I need one another?" Kakashi saw that look on his rival's pupil's eyes. The Dream Empath smiled under his mask as he thought 'Good, Lee. You're one step closer.' Kakashi then glanced at Naruto and thought 'You still got some growing to do.' Now Kakashi's eye landed on Sasuke, Hinata, and Neji. 'I'll be seeing them later today,' Kakashi thought happily. After all he found the answer to what's been plauging Sasuke.
}i{ }i{ Five Days Later }i{ }i{
The results were in. Naruto's class of 30 were going to be split into ten three-man teams. Naruto was excited, he was fine with all his classmate. Well, all but the Hyūgas and Sasuke, especially Sasuke. But what were the odds of Naruto being on the same team as any of them?
}i{ }i{
Iruka-sensei was telling his class who was on each of the three-man teams.
Sakura had to hold back a laugh when she heard that Ino was on the same team as Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chōji, Team 10. 'Serves her right,' Sakura thought happily. The pink-haired ninja noticed that Tenten was giving her THAT look. Sakura looked away from her.
Iruka-sensei called the names for Team 8, after looking at the names for a good minute. "Okay, next team is Inuzaka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and..." 'HOW'D THOSE TWO GET ON THE SAME TEAM!?' thought 98% of the class. "Hyūga Hinata." ... Huh?! There was a good moment of silence. The Hyūgas WEREN'T on the same team?! "Hinata-kun, Neji-kun, before you two say anything. The reason the two of you are not on the same team is because both of you are on the same level with the same ability," Iruka stated before adding "The staff and I are very aware that your positions in the Hyūga clan call for the two of you to be together, but the tests, the staff, and the High Ranked Shinobis believed that it be best for you to be on different teams. Besides, Hyūga Hiashi himself was the first one to approve it."
Neji stood up to question the teacher, but Hinata stopped him by saying "Neji, not another word." Neji turned to his cousin and said "But, Hinata-sama..." Hinata folded her hands, rested her chin on them, and said "This was decided by the higher ranking Shinobi, the tests, and my father. *Her stern eyes stared at Neji* You're not questioning him, are you?" Neji vigorously shook and said nervously "No! I would never! But... It's just..." Hinata closed her eyes and stated "Sit. We can simply ask Father when we get home about his decision." Neji nodded with a "Yes, Hinata-sama." before he sat back in his seat. This was a very odd thing for the class to experience.
Things were quiet for half a minute.
"Now for Team 7," Iruka stated looking at his clipboard. "Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto" Naruto was overjoyed. You see the blond had a not so secret crush on the pink-haired kunoichi. "You done Naruto?" Iruka asked in a humorist tone. That was when Naruto realized that the entire class was staring at him, okay, Sakura was glaring at him. The pink-haired kunoichi knew that Ino was snickering at her. "Next time, try containing your excitement until AFTER I'm finished talking," Iruka said with a sly smile. "Sorry Iruka-sensei," Naruto stated as he sat back down. Iruka continued by saying "The last member of Team 7 is... Uchiha Sasuke." Sakura was absolutely overjoyed. Iruka quickly stated "Naruto, before you say anything, YOU'RE FATHER was the one to recommend that you be on the same team as Sasuke-kun. So, anything you have to say, talk to him about it." Naruto was practically pouting as he was grumbling. Sasuke wasn't exactly thrill about the team arrangement as well.
"Neji-kun, you're on Team 6 with Buki Tenten (2) and Rock Lee," Iruka stated before moving on to the next team line-up. Neji wasn't exactly thrilled about that, but he kept quite. He was already on Hinata's bad side and he didn't want to get into anymore trouble with her. Tenten wasn't sure if she should be happy or sad with her new team. 'Well, at least I'm not on that Uchiha's team,' Tenten thought plainly, 'But, I kind of wish Sakura wasn't on his team...' She really didn't want her friend that close to that guy. Lee felt his stomach sank to his feet. Well, at least he had more of an opportunity to show Neji that he is his Soulmate without verbalizing it.
After Iruka-sensei finished organizing the teams, he said that a Jōnin ranked Shinobi will be leading each team and that they were assigned to lead certain teams. Iruka wished everyone good luck with their new teams and told them that the Jōnins would be in shortly before leaving.
}i{ }i{ One Hour Later }i{ }i{
All the teams met with their receptive Jōnin senseis. Well, all but one team.
"He's late..." Naruto said flatly, he was obviously in a bad mood. He had four reasons to be in a bad mood. 1; he was on the same team as Sasuke. 2; his own father put him on the team Sasuke was on. 3; Sakura was currently flirting with Sasuke, or tying to. And 4; he had to now do missions with Sasuke. 'Worst day ever,' Naruto thought bitterly.
"Naruto, did you ever think that our sensei might be coming back from a mission and that's the reason he's late," Sakura stated trying to impress Sasuke. It wasn't working. It was probably because she too was irritated that their new sensei was late. 'Why couldn't they put me with Hinata and Neji? These two are just going to drag me down,' Sasuke thought, but he remembered what Iruka-sensei said about the Hokage putting his son on the same team as him. 'I reeeealy hope the Hokage had a good reason for that,' Sasuke thought as he watched Naruto place a board eraser on top of the door so that who ever walked in would get hit in the head with the eraser. "There's no way a Jōnin would ever walk into a childish trap like that," Sakura said, but she was thinking that it served that person right for making them wait this long. Sasuke simply sighed.
The door was pushed open, which caused the eraser to fall, but it didn't hit the person who opened the door. The eraser just fell to the floor. All three students were shocked at the Jōnin, their new sensei. "Really, Naruto-chan? You're almost 15 and you still do these childish pranks?" said the Jōnin. "W-w-what are you doing here Kakashi?" Naruto stuttered out. Why was Hatake Kakashi, the Dream Empath, doing here? With a smiling eye, Kakashi said happily "That's Kakashi-sensei to you."
"YOU'RE OUR JŌNIN SENSEI?!" all three young ninja exclaimed. Still cheery, Kakashi said "Yup ^_^. Team 7 is my responsibility ^_^." Sakura nervously asked why he was THEIR sensei. "Oh, Hokage-sensei assigned me to be this team's sensei." Kakashi explained as he watch his new students reactions, then added "Which means Team 7 has an extra special mission that starts right now."
Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke asked in unison "What's the mission?"
With that visible eye smiling, Kakashi stated happily "Protecting the Dream Empath while he's in some one's Dream Plain." That was when it hit Sakura Like a ton of bricks "Oh I understand!" "You do?" Naruto and Sasuke asked at the same time, causing Naruto to glare at the other. Sakura nodded at Sasuke and said "When a Dream Empath is in a person's mind, they are in a state of slumber, so to speak, and will stay in that state as long as they are in another person's mind. It's the only time where Dream Empaths are completely vulnerable to attacks and abductions." Kakashi happily said "Right again, Haruno-san. You really do your research, don't you." Sakura beamed with pride, and was hoping that Sasuke's interest were purked. Sadly, Sasuke wasn't at all interested. 'I already knew this... Hatake-san knows that,' Sasuke thought eyeing his new sensei, then he figure that Naruto didn't know that fact.
"Are you really defenseless when you do that, Kakashi?" Naruto asked. The Uchiha was right, but not for the reason he thought. The blond never saw the silver-haired man in any type of helpless situation, Kakashi had always found a way to never be defenseless. Kakashi answered solumly by saying "I am, Naruto-chan. It's... Not something that can be trained away. It's also the reason why I always have at least two guards on me when I'm working as a Dream Empath."
No one said anything for a complete minute.
"Naruto-chan, Haruno-san, Sasuke-kun," Kakashi said, getting the three's attention. "The fact that you three are on my team shows that the higher ups believe that you have great potential if they're making you my guards," Kakashi stated. This gave the three a very warm feeling. "But~, this also means you three are going to have to step it up and work really well together. Right, Naruto-chan?" Kakashi stated happily, knowing exactly what he was implying.
Naruto shouted "STOP CALLING ME NARUTO-CHAN!"
A thought came to Kakashi and said "Oh, right. Since you three are going to be doubling as my guards... All three of you are going to be sleeping at my place starting today."
Wait a minute...
"YOU MEAN I HAVE TO SLEEP UNDER THE SAME ROOF AS HIM!?" Naruto hollered as he pointed at Sasuke. The Uchiha wasn't happy with this too. Sakura was both overjoyed that she would be in the same housing as Sasuke but she was irritated that Naruto had to be there too. "Don't worry, Naruto-chan. My place is big enough so you boys don't have to share a room, so I do expect you all to behave in my home," Kakashi said with a small smile then added "I'll talk to all of your respective guardians about this. Oh, and be sure to pack your toothbrushes when you all pack your bags."
Well at least things aren't going to be boring...
}i{ }i{
1: Yes, Neji's father is alive in this fanfic.
2: I know Tenten doesn't actually have a last name, but it did fell a bit weird in this story so I gave her one. Also, Buki is Japanese for Weapons. So it fits her style ^_^
}i{ }i{
ZY: Ooooohhhh, looks like the three are going to be living together, somewhat... Wonder what kind of chaos will ensue. And the next chapter is going to be about Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke moving in and adjusting to living with their sensei and each other, and their first couple of small missions ^_^
