Chapter Twelve

Sasuke was all but trembling as he joined his teammates near the posts at the center of the training field. Never in his life had he felt as humiliated as he did right then, bested by two supposedly untalented shinobi; from a no-name family of merchants of all things. Not wanting his emotions to be seen, on the off chance that they showed on his face, he was sure to keep his head lowered so that his eyes would remain shadowed by his bangs.

"Well," Kakashi said, still slightly stunned. "I suppose we'll continue. Show me your bells, whoever doesn't have one will be tied to the stump."

Naruto grinned widely as he held out his bell and Kakashi waited for Sakura to do the same. Instead she just shrugged, her palms open before her and a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"I'm sorry Kakashi-sensei, I don't have one."

Kakashi blinked once before glancing down at his belt. Both bells were gone so unless Naruto had both Sakura had to have one of them. Unless Sasuke had one but since he hadn't been present the jounin couldn't see how that was possible. The light 'ting' of a bell sounded from behind him and Kakashi glance over his shoulder just in time to watch Sasuke pull the second bell from his pocket. Judging by the boy's surprised expression Kakashi instantly knew that he hadn't taken it, but the rules said whoever had a bell, not whoever stole the bell.

"Well Sakura, it looks like you'll be tied to the stump…"

Sasuke glared heatedly at the pink haired girl over Kakashi's shoulder as he secured the knots on the rope. She didn't seem to mind though as she smiled innocently back. That, of course, just made him flush in anger before he dropped to the ground and looked away from her. Once he was finished, Kakashi handed out the bentos to Sasuke and Naruto.

"I'll leave you three here for an hour while I speak with Sandaime-sama. As it stands Sakura will have to go back to the academy but the two of you will train under me. However! If you give Sakura anything from your bentos then you will not only, not be trained but you will also lose your place as ninja. You won't be going back to the academy. Got it?" He waited a moment for the boys to nod before he gave them a one eyed smile and a slight salute. "See you in an hour!" And then he was gone.

The boys ate slowly and Sakura couldn't help but stare at their lunches as they disappeared. Her stomach gurgled lightly and she sighed as she realized that breakfast had already been a whole six hours ago. Still, it wasn't like she would be tied up there forever. She could eat when she got home.

Sasuke eyed Sakura silently from the corner of his eye as he slowly ate his lunch. He was upset at her, yes, but he was also curious. What exactly was it that possessed her to give him her bell when he had so pointedly dismissed her before? It couldn't just be because of a crush could it? His eyes darkened slightly at the thought. If it was then he would make sure that she really did go back to the academy. He didn't need some love-struck girl holding him back.

"You could just ask her you know." Naruto whispered from where he sat next to the former Uchiha. "She can't tell you why she did it if you don't. She's not a mind reader you know."

Sasuke stared at Naruto blankly, wondering slightly if maybe he was before he 'hn'ed and turned away. He had already been humiliated by this girl twice today, he didn't need to open himself to a third. Her stomach gurgled again and this time Sasuke hesitated in eating. He really did sort of owe her. First she had invited him to join in on the plan and then she had given him her bell and because of that she was going hungry. At the very least he could ask her why, couldn't he? The idea made his stomach curl slightly in annoyance. She had better not make him regret this.

"Why?"

Sakura started at the unexpected question as she glanced down at Sasuke who was staring pointedly at his half-eaten bento.

"Why, what?" She said, her forehead crinkled in confusion.

Sasuke scowled down at his food but refused to back down. If she wanted to play games the he would show her that he could match her pace.

"What do you think?"

"Ah," She said. "You want to know why I gave you my bell. You think it was out of pity or something don't you?"

Sasuke stiffened but didn't respond which caused Sakura to smile down softly at him, he really was rather predictable. Neither one noticed when Naruto had backed away to watch them from a safe enough distance where he wouldn't be in the way, but could still hear everything. He grinned as he continued to eat his bento contentedly; this was almost better then the cinema.

"Well just so you know," Sakura said. "I wasn't pitying you and I wasn't making fun of you or looking down on you."

When Sakura didn't continue Sasuke choked down his pride and spoke up again. "Then why?"

"Because," she said. "We're a team. And teammates look out for each other, right?"

Sasuke was silent for several moments before he slowly looked up.

"You hungry?"

Sakura blinked before she understood. She smiled brightly before giving him a nod. "Yeah, maybe just a bit."

Kakashi watched with a light glare as Naruto moved over to join Sasuke in sharing his lunch with the Haruno girl. He had warned them, with dire consequences, not to give her anything but apparently his instructions weren't as important to them as she was. Well, if that was the case then he knew just what to do with them. After all, what jounin instructor would want a team that couldn't follow orders?

Sasuke was the first to notice that something was out of place. The hairs on his arms tingled as they stood on end, a reaction he had developed from all of the years his brother had appeared from nowhere with a teleportation jutsu. Someone was coming. He signaled over to Naruto with his eyes just as a large boom was heard and the clearing filled with smoke. Both boys were instantly on their feet, weapons in hand, as they stood ready next to Sakura who was still bound tightly to the center post.

"YOU!" Kakashi roared. "You think that you can disregard my orders just because I was absent! That your teammate's well-being is more important then following the guidelines of your mission! Well, I'll have you know that in the world of the ninja that is unacceptable! Because of that, YOU ALL…Pass." ;)

The three genin could only stare as their new sensei smiled down at them with a bright one-eyed grin.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Iruka absently paced the length of his classroom again as he glanced sideways at the clock. He had already chewed his right thumb nail down to a stub and was currently working on his left as Kyo watched on in unveiled amusement. The two had met up for lunch an hour ago since they were both scheduled to meet with the Hokage at one-thirty with the rest of the parents to discuss the status of their children (or in Iruka's case, students) with the jounin who had been assigned to them.

Having taught his students for over year Iruka was quite aware that only a third of the class would be able to pass the initiation exams at best and knowing them the way he did he could easily predict who would and would not pass. The only problem was one team.

Team seven was the wild card this year.

The students themselves were all very good. With Naruto being more of a physical fighter and Sakura more mental they balanced out well with Sasuke who was equally gifted in both aspects. The only problem was their personalities didn't match up well. Naruto and Sakura got along well enough, being cousins, but Naruto and Sasuke had never had any problems sharing their distain of each other while Sakura had never bothered to hide her complete adoration of the dark haired boy. It didn't help either that everyone knew that Sasuke despised his fan-following with a passion, Sakura included.

And then to have Hatake Kakashi as their jounin instructor. The man who failed a thousand teams as he came to be known among the other academy instructors. It never failed that every year his team would come back to the academy defeated and depressed. Some even refused continue their lives as ninja, choosing to instead enroll in the Konoha Institute for Learning to find a different career path. The Sandaime continued to insist that Kakashi would eventually find the team that he was looking for and that they would be as good for him as he was for them but Iruka didn't believe it. He most definitely didn't believe that team seven would be that team either.

"You know Iruka, you really should relax."

Iruka jumped as he turned to face Naruto's father. He had completely forgotten that the other ninja was there.

"If anyone can pass Kakashi's test it will be Sakura and Naruto." Kyo's voice was calm as he spoke, truly convinced of his words. "They're better ninja then most people give them credit for you know." He sent Iruka a knowing smile. "Sometimes even you."

Iruka flushed slightly as he awkwardly scratched at the scar across his nose. "I know that you have spent a lot of time working with them, Naruto in particular, but even still. Teams better suited then team seven have been turned away by Kakashi before."

"That's true, but none of those teams had Naruto, Sakura, or Sasuke in them."

Iruka's forehead crinkled lightly as he raised an eyebrow. "What makes you so confident that they'll make it?"

Kyo just smiled. "Let's just say that my son is good at creating miracles."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The meeting was scheduled to begin at exactly one-thirty so it was no surprise to Sandaime that at two-fifteen they were still waiting for their final instructor to arrive. In the mean time he took this time to examine the two full teams of genin that were gathered with their instructors. The first was team eight under Yuuhi Kurenai. Iruka had predicted that this team would be one of the three expected to pass and he had agreed whole-heartedly with that assessment.

Aburame Shino, though quiet and reserved, was a strong ninja with a strict eye for tactics that balanced out the rash boldness that made up his first teammate Inuzuka Kiba who, of course, brought with him his life-long partner Akamaru. With Hyuuga Hinata added into the mix it was easy to see that this team would be perfectly suited for scouting and tracking missions.

The second team, comprised of Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji, was also expected since the three members were not only well suited but also well acquainted. They had trained together under their fathers (the first Ino-Shika-Cho trio) for most of their lives and their complementary jutsus made them a good defensive team.

Unfortunately since the other jounin instructors were with out a team it seemed that this year would yield only two genin teams unless, by some miracle, Kakashi decided to accept team seven under his tutelage. Of course, despite his hopes on the subject, Sandaime by no means believed that the strict jounin would pass such a miss-matched group no matter how confident Naruto's father was.

A sudden knock at the door started the Hokage from his thoughts and he absently called for the person to enter, knowing that it would be the wayward shinobi that everyone was waiting for. Sure enough Kakashi lazily pushed open the door, an expression of calmness on what was visible of his face.

"Sorry I'm late." Kakashi said. "I had a few things to explain to my team."

Surprised that, for once, Kakashi had forgone a lie for the truth the Third almost didn't catch the meaning of what the jounin had said. Even though he expected it he couldn't help but slump a little in his chair as he rested his chin on his folded hands.

"I see," Sandaime said. "We had all hoped that you wouldn't turn away another team Kakashi-san."

Kakashi's visible eye crinkled slightly in amusement as he pushed the door completely open and stepped aside to reveal a sheepish, yet proud team seven.

"Who ever said that I turned them away?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Night had fallen long before when Hikari was finally able to pull herself away from the Uchiha compound. The final preparations for the wedding seemed to be dragging on and on as she and Itachi were constantly being called on to approve this or choose that. It was the most annoying thing Hikari could ever remember doing and she thanked fervently every kami she knew of that the chaos would finally be over in only four days. She had never really thought about just how exhausting a wedding could be.

"I guess I just always thought the bride just had to show up," Hikari said as she absently trailed her fingers through her long white hair. "I'm just glad I'm only going to get married once."

"Only if you're lucky."

Not having sensed anyone approach Hikari jerked around swiftly to see who was there only to be taken by surprise as she was struck by a kunai once, twice, three times. The pain was excruciating as warm blood swelled up from the deep wounds to spill onto her skin, staining her clothes a deep, sticky red. The last thing she managed to make out before darkness completely took over were the bright blood red eyes of an Uchiha.

End Chapter Twelve


Kaliea: So who all was expecting that? Anyone? Probably, I'm fairly predictable in my writing. Anyway, I hope that you all enjoyed the chapter. Also, I'll try to get the next chapter of Dark and Light out before the end of the month but I make no promises. Don't forget to review!


Review Answers:

VWaterlily: Yeah, but hopefully Sakura and Naruto will help him get over that.

Music 1s my s0ul: Ooo! Cookies! Thanks! I love cookies!

ChristinaAngel: Yeah well, no matter what world it is Sasuke will always be Sasuke and I wouldn't have it any other way.

deitarion/SSokolow: Yep, and he has plenty of attitude, that's for sure.

Dragon Man 180: Sorry about not tying Sasuke to a stump. Sakura is just too team-centered in this fic. It probably doesn't help that she's madly in love with him though…


Kaliea: Thanks so much for all of your reviews! I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Till next time, ja ne!