Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

Kaoru now has an instrument to learn how to play... Let's see how that goes!

The next day, before she had to go to the training grounds to watch the survival exercise, she went to a music store and looked through the section of instruments, not sure which one she was looking for. Hmm…which one…oh! What about this one? I like it. Such a bright, cheery color…

She picked it up and then went to the section with sheet music and found a book that went with her instrument. She walked to the counter and the guy behind it saw the instrument. He jerked and asked her, "You sure you want to buy this one? It's been on the shelf for months because of the loud color."

She nodded.

"This book too? All right, it's your money."

Why is it with that tone I'm positive he thinks I'm crazy? Shaking her head, she took her purchased items and arrived at the meeting spot first, sitting against the middle of a trio of posts. She opened the case of her instrument and practiced the hand positions before beginning to play what was written in the music book.

After a couple hours, Sakura and Sasuke arrived, and Sakura heard the playing. She flinched and demanded over it, "What's that noise? It's so loud, I can hardly hear myself!"

Sasuke shook his head. "It's not noise, Sakura! It's called heavy metal!"

"Who could be playing out here and disturbing the peace? I feel like my eardrums are about to pop!"

"I'll see!"

The music suddenly came to an abrupt halt and there was a muted popping noise. The Uchiha looked up and saw Kaoru mouthing something on top of one of the three posts set in the clearing.

"How long have you been here, Kaoru?"

She wrote down, 'Since early this morning.'

"It's almost ten, why would you be here so early?"

She shrugged.

"Don't just shrug at me! Give me a straight answer!"

"Kaoru-kun!" Sakura cried as she shoved Sasuke out of the way. "You're so cool at getting here the earliest! Did you hear that noise just now?"

Kaoru shook her head. Noise? I thought I was playing rather well. I was just getting the hang of the song… I guess she doesn't know about this kind of music, it isn't something a girl like her would listen to anyway.

Sasuke snorted. "If you didn't hear it, you'd have to be deaf. It was so loud I'm sure everyone in the village heard it."

Wow, I guess it was, since I couldn't hear anything else until Sasuke-chan got close. Maybe I should put a sound barrier up next time.

Naruto came running up and greeted, "Hi Kaoru-kun! Sakura-chan, Sasuke. Has Kakashi-sensei arrived yet?"

"Does it look like it?" Sasuke asked scathingly.

"What's got your panties in a knot, Sasuke?"

"Kaoru's baiting me, I'm sure of it! He's making me seem like a moron!"

"Hey Kaoru-kun, did you hear that awesome music just now? I love 'Blitzkrieg' by Metallica!"

Awesome? He's so great for saying that!

"You mean that noise has a title, Naruto? It was the most horrible thing I've heard in my life!" Sakura shouted.

"Horrible? That's real skill to find anyone in this village who can play such a song! Don't insult such greatness!"

I didn't know I'd taken such a hard task and done so well with only after a few hours' practice. Maybe I'm a natural at guitar, even if my instrument is bright orange so that no one would buy it. At least it's something I'm actually skilled at on my own, instead of because of imprinting on Itachi-onii-san or my angelic abilities.

Sakura was about to protest when Sasuke put a hand on her shoulder. "Sakura, it's as Naruto says."

She slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me, you gay freak!"

Ooooh! Feel the burn, Sasuke-chan!

Naruto chuckled. "You sure are screwed now if Sakura-chan thinks you're a homo."

"Shut up, Naruto," Sasuke grumbled.

Sakura then looked up at Kaoru again. "You're the only one here, so were you playing and just denying it?"

Like I'm gonna tell you something I plan on hiding until I can master it. You'd just tell me to stop playing such…as you say it…"noise". At least Naruto-kun thinks my playing is cool. Kaoru shook her head.

"Prove it! You have to be hiding a guitar somewhere around here!"

Naruto walked around the post and shrugged. "I don't see anything, Sakura-chan."

"You moron, let me."

Sakura looked around and stated, "Come down here, I want to do a thorough inspection."

"Sakura-chan, are you actually gonna strip search the guy just because you don't believe he doesn't play guitar? How could you do such a thing to Kaoru-kun? Are you that desperate?"

I wouldn't let her anyways, the perverted bitch. Kaoru firmly shook her head "no".

"Why won't you? Are you embarrassed by the fact that you were playing so badly?"

You can't order me around, even if I was only a civilian because of my status as an Uchiha. You sure are full of yourself if you think because you have a major infatuation for me that I'll be your lapdog. Also, you're pissing me off because of your constant belittling of my preferences in music. Excuse me for liking hard rock and heavy metal. Kaoru wrote, 'No, it's just that it's none of your business if I was or if I wasn't. Would you give the same treatment to Naruto-kun or Sasuke?'

Sakura blushed hard as she protested, "Hey! Just because you're an Uchiha doesn't mean you outrank a Genin!"

Kaoru rolled her eyes and scribbled down her answer. 'I'm a Jonin, Haruno-san. Even without the rank, it's rude to demand of a person to let you search them so thoroughly it requires the removal of all clothing, and even a simple pat-down is invasive.' She then thought, Also the fact that I'm a girl would be found out all-too-easily. She's a brat, just like if not worse than Sasuke-chan.

Sakura nodded. "I'm really sorry for assuming so much, Kaoru-kun. I won't do it again."

What's with brats and saying that? First Sasuke-chan, now this girl. If she does it again, I'm gonna at least bitch-slap her. Kaoru pointed to her eyes then to Sakura.

Sasuke crossed his arms and gave her a look, and she cocked her head to the side in question. "You haven't given me much trouble since we first met, and I was jealous of all the attention you were getting. I'll…attempt to restrain myself from my childish outbursts. In return, would you talk to me like you do with Aniki? We've hardly done so at all. Deal?"

He held out his hand and she jumped down, shaking his hand.

Sakura squealed and gushed, "You're so cool, Kaoru-kun! You even forgive Sasuke for being rude to you! You're such a good older brother!"

Way to ruin the mood, Haruno-san. Now you're back in fan girl mode. Holy crap you're the type for mood swings.

"Hey Kaoru-kun, do you like rock and stuff like that?" Naruto asked.

Kaoru nodded and wrote, 'One of my favorite music genres.'

Sakura interrupted with, "That stuff, yuck! I prefer pop and classical."

I thought as much. So I won't play for you, since you don't seem to like guitars.

"Classical is just piano with no words," Naruto criticized. "At least rock and metal have meaningful messages."

"Boys and their noise."

I guess being raised as a boy has twisted my views on what's cool and what's not. I don't mind piano pieces, I just prefer rougher stuff. I sure have turned out to be a weird angel. Kaoru smiled and shook her head, which caused those around her to stare with confusion.

"What's got him so happy all of a sudden?" Sasuke asked Naruto.

"How should I know? Just because I've known him the longest doesn't mean I know what's going on in his head! I've only known him for at most a week!"

"Ask him, then!"

Naruto scratched behind his head as he asked, "Whatcha smiling about, Kaoru-kun?"

Kaoru looked down at her friend. Her smile softened. 'I was thinking about just how I've turned out as an angel. But since it's almost an hour after the appointed time, I'm sure Kakashi-san will be here any moment and I don't need you distracted by my sob story.'

"I've been wondering," Sakura began. "Why are you writing in hiragana? We can all read kanji just fine."

'Not all of you.'

Automatically Sasuke and Sakura turned to Naruto. The blonde boy demanded, "What are you looking at me for?"

Just then, Kakashi arrived, greeting, "Good morning!"

All three of the Genin shouted, "You're late!"

Kaoru hardly listened as Kakashi explained the exercise, it a little dull. So all they have to do is get two bells, that's easy. Team up and make a plan to snatch them, although they will have to decide who gets tied to the post. I do wonder if they can tell that's what they're being tested on.

The four split up, the other two hiding while Naruto tried to fight Kakashi on his own, but all Kakashi did was pull out a book that Kaoru knew well.

He reads Icha Icha Paradise too? I wanna talk to him about it! She flinched and shook her head. I can't, or Itachi-onii-san and possibly Shisui-san would get in trouble! Oh man, this sucks!

Kakashi dodged all of Naruto's amateurish taijutsu while still reading his book. Naruto tried to do the work of all three of his team by using the Shadow Clone Technique, but failed when Kakashi used the Substitution Technique. To add further insult to injury, he fell for an obvious trap.

Kaoru shook her head. Naruto-kun,youidiot.Ihatetosayit,butthat'swhatthisperformanceboileddownto.

Sakura went next, but Kakashi caught her in a low-level genjutsu.

I wouldn't doubt she tried to impress me by trying to show up what Naruto-kun had done. What a bimbo. Kaoru rolled her eyes and shook her head.

Sasuke did quite a bit better with his skill, but he still missed the point entirely by doing it alone and was defeated.

Sasuke-chan, you bonehead, sure you're an Uchiha, but you're still too cocky. Touching a bell was quite impressive, but getting one for yourself is pointless.

Kaoru heaved a soundless sigh as the timer went off, and the team assembled, Naruto tied to a post because he'd tried to steal the lunches that had been the reward for getting the bells. She jumped from her perch and flicked all three in the head in quick succession.

"Ouch!" Sakura yelped.

"Ow!" Naruto cried.

"Hey!" Sasuke protested.

All three of you are morons, complete and utter morons. You all uber fail.

She walked over to stand next to Kakashi, who nodded to her. "After watching these three, what do you think about how they fared?"

Kaoru wrote a single word. 'FAIL.'

Kakashi smiled pleasantly as he stated, "I agree with his assessment wholeheartedly. You three will not be sent back to the academy for further training."

Just as the Genin were celebrating, Kakashi continued. "In fact, you'll no longer be ninja at all. You all failed."

All three of them stared with disbelieving eyes. Sasuke recovered first and his eyes hardened in a glare before he charged at Kakashi. In a movement only Kaoru could see, the Jonin pinned the Genin to the ground, placing a foot on his head.

"Do you think this childish behavior is putting a good name on the rest of us ninjas? Do you? Did you ever stop to think why you were put into teams?"

Sakura and Naruto looked confused. Kaoru rolled her eyes. As I said: morons.

"Obviously not. You missed the entire point of the exercise."

"It had a point?" Naruto asked.

Duh Naruto-kun, you didn't even think of this, at all. Even I got it, because it's logical in any tactics against a more powerful enemy. There's greater power in numbers, after all.

"Of course. The point determines whether or not you succeed."

"But…you haven't explained what it is," Sakura pointed out.

Both Kakashi and Kaoru sighed. "I don't believe this."

"Aw, come on!" Naruto shouted. "Tell us!"

"Kaoru-san, if you please."

Kaoru nodded and showed them her pad. 'TEAMWORK.'

"Teamwork?" Sakura and Naruto exclaimed together.

"If the three of you had come at me together, you could've gotten the bells."

"But still, one of us would've had to not have lunch! It would've caused us to fight anyways!" Sakura cried.

"Of course, this test was designed to cause dissension in your ranks."

"WHAT?"

"It was so that one of you would put your own interests aside and suggest you work together for the good of all… Instead of which, Sakura, you ignored Naruto, who was right in front of you, and instead tried to impress Kaoru-san who you could not see, failing miserably. Naruto tried to do the work of all three of you. Sasuke decided that you two were too much of a bother and tried to go solo.

"You are a team! Learn to start acting like one! Yes, individual skills are essential, but what is more important is teamwork! Making an individual play is bad for the team and exposes your teammates to unnecessary danger. You might as well kill them yourself. For example…"

Kaoru watched without alarm as Kakashi drew a kunai and leveled it at Sasuke's throat.

"Sakura, kill Naruto or Sasuke dies."

Naruto just about fainted while Sakura gasped.

Kakashi then withdrew, getting off Sasuke and letting him return to his original spot. "The day might come when one of you would be taken hostage and forced to make such a choice. When you're on a mission, your lives will always be on the line." He went over to a stone that Kaoru had looked at earlier while she'd been practicing her guitar.

All those names carved on that stone, it's like a war memorial.

"All these names on this stone are heroes. Ninjas."

Naruto heard that and yelled, "I wanna get my name on that stone!"

Moron, he wasn't done speaking. I can tell that these heroes are all deceased.

"These ninjas aren't just any heroes; they're all ninjas who were killed in action."

Naruto's face fell, and Kakashi touched the memorial's surface. "This is a memorial. The names of my best friends are on here."

Kaoru felt her eyes prick as if she was about to cry, but no tears came. I wonder who his friends were. I hope they didn't suffer.

"Listen, I'm giving you one last chance. If you think you're up to it, eat your lunch. But no sharing with Naruto, he goes hungry."

"Why?" Sakura asked.

"He brought this on himself for trying to steal the lunches. If either of you feeds him you fail the test right here. My word is law. Do you understand?"

With that he disappeared. Kaoru sensed that he was still nearby, but didn't bring it to their attention. This must be a test too, but since I'm but an observer, I'll wait to see how this turns out.

"Kaoru-kun, why don't you come over?" Sakura called.

Kaoru shook her head.

"Don't mind him, he's on a diet," Naruto stated, only for his stomach to growl loudly. "He's never eaten in front of me."

"He never asks for more at dinner, either," Sasuke added. "I've never seen him eat breakfast."

"Are you anorexic, Kaoru-kun?" Sakura exclaimed in shock. "I thought only girls did that!"

"Nah, he's not, he told me," Naruto reassured her. "I guess he's not a big eater."

I only eat dinner at home so that Oka-san doesn't think I'm starving myself. I haven't felt hungry since I died.

Naruto's stomach growled again and Sasuke held out his lunch. "Here."

"But Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei said—" Sakura began to argue.

"It doesn't matter. He's miles away by now and we all need our strength if we're gonna pass this test."

Naruto looked shocked.

"You're no good to me if you're just going to be a liability."

Sakura hesitated for a second before she thrust her lunch at Naruto. The boy blushed and smiled. "Thanks, Sakura-chan."

Now that's teamwork.

Kakashi appeared with a dangerous aura and all three students jumped in alarm. "YOU…"

Kaoru smiled.

"…pass," he finished with a smile and wink.

"We pass?" Sakura questioned. "But why?"

"You three just took a major step forward. Until now, all of you have done everything I've told you without question…like little drones. A true ninja looks underneath the underneath. A ninja who doesn't follow the rules is considered garbage, but those who don't protect and care for their fellows are lower than that!"

"Oh!" Sakura exclaimed.

Sasuke saw Kaoru's approving look and smiled.

Naruto grinned.

"All right, Team Seven, this exercise is over! Your duties commence tomorrow! Let's go!"

"I did it!" Naruto yelled. "I'm a ninja, ninja, ninja!"

Kaoru frowned as the others forgot Naruto was still tied to the post and stuck her tongue out before going and untying him. How rude. I think they did that on purpose.

"Thanks, Kaoru-kun. I wanna eat ramen to celebrate!"

I thank all who review for their comments on my story thus far!

So, who can guess why Kaoru's the observer for Team 7? My special cake to those who guess right!

Please review!