I think perfection is ugly. Somewhere in the things humans make, I want to see scars, failure, disorder, distortion." - Yohji Yamamoto

Sakura arrives at the training field the next day prepared for battle. Her long hair is braided down her back, and her red kimono jacket is tied as securely as possible. Tucked under her arm is a large scroll, and hidden within her kimono jacket is a copy of the newest bingo book (Sakura promised not to reveal her informant). Sasuke and Naruto have already arrived by the time she appears, one holding take-out ramen and the other several bottles of water. Sakura sits down on the grass, and the two follow suit.

"Good morning everyone." She greets, smiling cheerfully while arranging her belongings. Naruto yawns in response, Sasuke sitting with less grace than usual across from her.

Sasuke blinks at her blearily. "Can we get started?" He inquired impatiently, eyeing the book in her hands.

Sakura nods, flipping the book open to a dog-eared page. "Of course. Did Naruto bring breakfast?"

Naruto gave her a sleepily thumbs up, plopping down Indian style on the ground. "You betcha, believe it!" He grins brightly, blue eyes still half-shut.

Sasuke glares at the take-out containers on the grass. "That's ramen, dobe, not breakfast." Naruto immediately takes offense, tiredness vanishing as he leaps to his favorite food's defense. Sakura smiles softly as she watches them argue, Sasuke grumpily jabbing at the whiskered blonde, who wildly waves his arms around while shouting emphatically. She glances down at the open book in her lap, and frowns minutely. She momentarily hopes Sasuke will not overreact, as unlikely as it was.

"-Ramen is the food of the gods, believe it!" Naruto yells, pounding his fists on the ground as he completed his rant.

Sasuke narrows his eyes at him. "It's cheap noodles, dobe. Nothing special."

Naruto jumps to his feet, incensed. "HOW DARE YOU-" he stops as his stomach grumbles, looking down at the takeout mournfully. His blue eyes water indecisively.

Sakura laughs quietly. "You may eat, Naruto. I have Hatake-sensei's profile ready," She nods to the Uchiha. "You as well, Sasuke." The two eye her, before grabbing two of the bowls and starting to eat. Sakura smiles again, picking up the book and beginning to read aloud. "Our sensei is Kakashi Hatake. He is an A-rank jonin with a 2,000,000 yen bounty-" Naruto chokes on his food at that, eyes bugging out. Sasuke looks shocked as well. With a small chuckle of amusement, Sakura continues, "He also has a flee-on-sight order within Iwa and Kiri. He became a jonin at fourteen, and it speculated he became active in the field at the age of five." The two boys choke once again (Sakura feels fortunate she read the entry the day before, or else her facade may have been broken as well). "He is currently twenty-six years of age. His aliases are the Copycat Ninja, and Kakashi of the Sharingan." She snaps the book shut, tucking it into her inner jacket pocket before Sasuke can snatch it. "I believe this is a battle we will not win."

Naruto's eyes are as wide as dinner plates, empty ramen bowl forgotten in his lap. "I can't believe that old geezer is such a badass! Are you sure there's not a mistake, ttebayo?!" Sasuke is still frozen, staring at the pocket where the bingo book is in shock. Sakura chooses to move on, hoping to delay the inevitable questions she will not be able to answer.

"I can assure you, my sources are correct. I have spoken with another jonin about this as well." (Sakura has never been more happy to know Gai). "Hatake-sensei is a ninjutsu specialist, but is also skilled with taijutsu and kenjutsu. He is obviously not someone we can hope to defeat at our current skill level. Based off of this entry, he is a prodigious jonin with full mastery of a kekkai genkai." Sasuke looks slightly more ill with every word she adds.

Naruto is, as always, much more vocal. Flinging his arms in the air, sending his bowl flying upwards, he dramatically screams, "We're doomed!" To accentuate that statement, the ramen bowl falls back down on his head perfectly, covering his eyes. The whiskered blonde groans in defeat, slumping forwards.

Sakura raises a hand to her lips, giggling. "Not exactly, Naruto. Consider this: if we were able to defeat our teacher right out of the Academy, we wouldn't really need to learn from him, yes?" Naruto frowns in confusion, before nodding slowly.

Sasuke's eyes widen in understanding. "He isn't testing our combat abilities." The Uchiha sounds stunned by the revelation.

"Not exactly," Sakura corrects gently. "I'm sure he is interested in our fighting abilities, that is simply not his focus. As a jonin, he can train us to fight. Think carefully: as an intelligent person, what is the one thing he wouldn't want to see in his students?"

"Stupidity," Sasuke answers immediately.

Sakura nods. "If we wish to impress him, we need to display our strategic abilities, not combat skills; although, I'm sure that would help." Naruto jolts at this, the bowl tipping back to reveal his eyes, which are bright with excitement.

"If he's gonna be super late, we should set traps for him, ttebayo!" He suggests excitedly, vibrating with eagerness. The light in his blue eyes is almost evil, and Sakura represses the urge to shudder.

Sasuke appears thoughtful. "That's not a bad idea, dobe." He agrees in a backhanded way, which Naruto seems willing to ignore.

Sakura smiles and nods in assent. "Yes, that is an excellent idea. That may be Hatake-sensei's intention for giving us so much time. Good job, Naruto," She compliments, and Naruto grins ecstatically.

"YES! I'm great at making traps, dattebayo! It's just like pranking people, believe it!" The blonde shoots to his feet, fist pumping in the air, before darting off, ramen bowl still crowning his head. Sasuke glances to Sakura for confirmation, and she nods in acquiescence.

"I will finish eating, Sasuke. You should join Naruto in setting traps. Ensure he remains in the clearing and nearby woods. Hatake-sensei has a reputation as a tracker, so I doubt we will find any purpose in leaving this area to hide," Sakura assures him, picking up the bowl of take out and a pair of chopsticks.

Sasuke continues to look hesitant. "You said one of his titles is 'Kakashi of the Sharingan'..."

Sakura tilts her head. "Yes, your family's kekkai genkai. Hatake-sensei is not of Uchiha blood, so I cannot tell you how he obtained a sharingan eye. I suggest you ask him later on." She smiles encouragingly. "I'm sure he will be helpful when you develop your own." Sasuke nods, appearing slightly uplifted at the thought, before running off to join Naruto. Sakura watches him go, before removing the lid from her breakfast. She has some plans, but she is content to let her teammates have free reign for now. The seals she has prepared with Iruka would prove their worth now.

(In the trees, Kakashi observes them approvingly. He has his doubts, but if Sakura continues to pull them together, this team could pass. He does not like the pink haired girl: cold, calculating and suspicious. Her teammates have their own traumas, but they just might succeed where his own genin team failed.)

(He will not admit it, but Sakura is far too similar to himself as a child for comfort.)

And The Others Laugh, I haven't picked out the pairings for this story yet. They may be with canon, they may not, I honestly want to see where this goes. If anyone here has read some of my other stories, I'm usually pretty open about the fact I'm not big into romance. I digress: the pairings are yet undecided.