Kakashi Hatake had undergone many challenges in his life, but the cruelest, perhaps, was being in charge of Team Seven. Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Naruto Uzumaki barely passed the bell test- needing to actually be told that the target was for them to work together. They were now on their way back to the village hidden in the leaves of Konoha.
"Maaaan- Didya see that, Kakashi?! You should have! I was all bam bam bam and woosh and hya-ah!" Naruto said, while slicing up the air with his jabs and throwing a kunai at a tree in the distance.
"Yes, yes. You modesty is honorable. Go get that." Kakashi nodded off towards the blade stuck in the tree. He would have pointed or gestured with his arms, but he was carrying Sasuke, who was wounded in the main battle they faced. He would have to go to the hospital in Konoha.
Naruto ran ahead.
"He's such a show-off." Sasuke griped, trying to distract himself from the pain. "Why don'tcha just tell him, Sensei?"
Sakura giggled. She changed her voice. "All I saw was you being a moron." Sakura laughed, pretending to be Kakashi.
"You two watch your mouths, now. Naruto is your teammate. And you should treat him as such." Kakashi said, voice and tone, both serious.
Sakura didn't get the point of her teacher's words. It was just Naruto? Who speaking of, was running back.
"Oh bother." Sakura sighed.
Kakashi frowned hard and let it go without a second warning. Afterall, he had JUST corrected Sakura and Sasuke.
Naruto tucked his kunai away. "We are still pretty far out from the village, Kakashi Sensei and I'm hungry."
Sasuke scoffed. "Then eat something you have left. We can't stop now. Right, Kakashi?"
But the other Genin boy didn't allow anyone else to speak. "I don't have anything else to eat." Naruto whined.
Kakashi looked at the position of the sun. He sighed. He had been listening to whiny Genin Ninja for an hour. Their morale changed after a potential highway robbery was luckily thwarted. And thwarted by Naruto. They should press on ahead while there was sunlight, but Naruto DID say that he was out of food.
"Fine. Ok. But—" Kakashi began. "We walk until we find a river. You will practice working together to catch fish."
Naruto cheered while the bummer-buds, Sasuke and Sakura, said nothing and exchanged annoyed looks.
When a river did appear, they knew that they were much closer, still, to the village. Kakashi broke down three rules.
1. Stay together
2. Work together
3. Resolve conflict together
Sakura, however, returned with two fish, alone to the campfire Kakashi had started. He stood and brushed off his knee.
"What happened to my instructions to stay together?"
"The boys won't stop fighting." She said, rolling her eyes.
"Bring. Them." Kakashi said, voice down low, on his last nerve.
"But they don't listen to—" Sakura began.
"Bring. Them. Now." Kakashi demanded, sending the girl away after he took her fish.
He prepared and skewered the fish and placed them to roast and then they boys came back… fishless. The Jonin Ninja leader asked no questions- he instead, sent them away to grab two vines or twigs about the width of their pinky and as long as their left shoulder to their right thumb. Confused, but still bickering, they went out into the woods. Sasuke was using a large branch to hold himself upright.
"This is dumb. Why care about the firewood if its just gonna burn?" Naruto said, cutting down a vine.
"Kakashi cares about specifics too much, sometimes." Sakura sighed. "I mean this isn't even ideal for firewood."
It struck Sasuke. He swallowed. Hard. "IDIOTS!" He cursed. "It's not for the fire! He's making us…" Sasuke paused and felt his neck grow sweaty. "Cut a switch!"
"A switch?!" Naruto screamed, voice breaking.
"Oh gosh." Sakura said, raising her head. "I haven't had a spanking since… well… ever."
"Well. They HURT." Naruto said. "I mean, not to ME." He scoffed.
"But why TWO?!" Sakura worried.
"They can break if ya get swatted too hard." Sasuke informed.
They heard Kakashi call them back.
Together, they walked back VERY slowly. It was nighttime now and they couldn't see past their hands.
Kakashi had pitched a 3-man tent that he would keep watch out of. They were only a few hours of walking away from the gates of the village. The fire had roasted their fishes and what looked like two squirrels, gutted and skinned. A bowl of berries sat on a rock and Kakashi moved them. He smiled.
"It's a lovely night for a swim, if you'd like."
The kids shook their heads and handed over their switches.
"Do you young gentlemen and lady know why I sent you to get these?"
They nodded. "We think so." Sakura said.
Kakashi lowered himself to their eye level. "You three will each get a spanking tonight by hand and by switch. When it is done, you are forgiven. Now- go and eat."
Naruto looked at the white eye on the fish and took a bite, pulling the meat away from the ribs. He chewed, slowly, and swallowed. When they cleaned up, Kakashi had Naruto stay while Sasuke and Sakura went to wait in the tent.
"You will have to undress down below your hips, Naruto." Kakashi said. "It's for your safety. I need to see how it affects the skin."
"Not WELL, I'd imagine!" Naruto shouted, feeling tears of embarrassment burn the corners of his eyes. He let Kakashi sit on the large rock and the next thing he was aware of was his bottom up-turned and facing the moon.
Like all good, lectured punishments, the scolding was arguably worse than the main event, but when Naruto was at last stood on his weak knees and told to put his palms on the rock, the switching made him truly cry. He pulled on his pantsuit and tied the arms around his waist, looking somewhat like an inmate to a ninja prison.
Next Sakura was called out by Kakashi, as Naruto walked in, rubbing his behind. She looked at Sasuke, then, at Naruto.
"It's not on the bare- right? I mean it can't be for me! I'm a GIRL!" Sakura whined, hoping she was right.
Sasuke bit his lip, thinking. Should I lie and give her a final minute of false hope? But NO. That wouldn't be right. He sighed. "Just go, Sakura. Refuse to let him see you cry. It'll be fine."
With a groan of annoyance, Sakura left the tent and made sure to close it up so those boys didn't peek out if she really was going to have to take her dress and shorts off. She relaxed her shoulders remembering that she at least had an undershirt—AN UNDERSHIRT! THAT was what was going to provide her solace?!
Kakashi stood with his arms crossed by the smooth boulder. Evidently the river must have been a lot wider- the girl thought- or maybe they were in a dry season because it, the stone, looked softly eroded and smaller gritty type rocks lay at their feet, though there was some young grass, but grass can be new and—
"SAKURA." Kakashi said, louder, preparing to flick the girl's forehead, gently.
"Wuh-huh?" She said, zoning back into the real world.
"Please remove your dress and anything under the hips. Fold it and lay it on my vest so it doesn't get dirty. Then I will discipline you with my hand before you get the switch. AM I UNDERSTOOD?" The leader asked, saying the last part louder and grabbing her fist to stop her from picking at the piece of skin by her thumbnail that was now about to drip a small droplet of blood. She was dissociating from reality. SHE was getting a spanking?!
"But I'm a girl!" She said, angrily. Kakashi did not see Sakura grumpy often. The girl huffed and pulled her wrist back. "We have different bodies and—" She couldn't bring herself to go on, so she sucked on the bloody thumbnail. Kakashi swiped her hand out of her mouth SO quickly, she was worried that she'd just been slapped.
"Do you think I CARE about that right now?" Kakashi asked.
"No- but—" Sakura began. "Girls have- UGH- I don't KNOW!"
"Well I do." Kakashi said. "Believe it or not I've seen bodies, Ms. Haruno. It's emphatically uninteresting so take off your dress, your shorts, your panties, and I will put you over my knee. I will give you an extra twenty for defiance."
"Fine!" Sakura said, biting back tears. "Wait! With the switch?!"
"Don't tempt me." Kakashi said, now in a terrible mood.
Sakura undressed and Kakashi pulled her over his lap and delivered a hard seventy swats that stung like hell. She cried after the tenth. After all- Kakashi was an S-Ranked Ninja. He could kill someone with a slap. When the birching part came, Sakura had to bite down, despite her pitiful sobs. She was allowed to get dressed. She returned to the tent.
Even Sasuke felt awkward, unable to deal with the fact that he couldn't comfort Sakura, for fear of looking too "soft." He even got up immediately as she came in.
"Sasuke."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." The boy griped.
"No. Do not walk unassisted. You've done that enough for the night." Kakashi said, coming to scoop the boy up and carry him far off to the stone, where the teen was sat down.
"Can you bend with your busted ribs?"
"I can do anything." Sasuke said, spitefully. "YOU won't ALLOW me to TRY."
Kakashi feigned surprise. "Well Mr. Healing Powers, I would love to see how you can maturely and competently drop your shorts and boxers for a spanking without screaming in pain."
Sasuke didn't realize he was being played right into Kakashi's hand: a medical evaluation and the next step to accepting his punishment all by just a mild dare.
With hatred or some semblance of it in his eyes, Sasuke, bent at the waist two inches before he yelped in pain.
"Stand up." Kakashi said, lifting the Genin. He helped Sasuke pull down his shorts and underwear and gently let the boy lean against a tree. "You don't get a warm-up, I'm afraid, as I can't put you in your current state over my lap."
The Senior Ninja swished Sasuke's two branches in the air and chose the more nimble of the two before announcing that he would begin.
Sasuke managed to not cry like the others, but he needed help having his clothes pulled back up in place and the mortification made him noncompliant when Kakashi ordered the boy to expose his injured ribs. Instead, Sasuke began to stalk away, angrily, and limping.
"I will spank you in front of your teammates. Do NOT test me." Kakashi said. Only then did Sasuke pause and come back. He chewed some bitter pills and drank some water before he was allowed back into the tent.
Sakura gave him a weak smile when he came back.
He just rolled his eyes. "Let's just go to sleep." He said, turning over.
Sleep, however, did not come to him and instead, he listened to Kakashi's even breathing come and go as the Jonin took laps around the campfire and tent.
They were unlikely to be robbed, as they remained so close to Konoha, but Kakashi waited for a long time before he awakened Sakura by double-tapping her ankle. She came out of the tent, sore, but watched for instruction from her Jonin leader.
Kakashi pointed to his eyes before pointing to hers and circling over their heads and up and down the path. I want you to stand watch- keep an eye on the trees and the footpath. Essentially. Finally, he pointed to his ears and covered his eyes with a gloved hand. He pointed to the water in the distance and the forests around them. And listen to the river and the woods.
The Genin girl nodded and kept watch. Kakashi slept comfortably against a tree.
Sleep came for Sakura, as she lazily walked around- holding a shuriken at the ready. In fact, she had to tag Naruto in at the last minutes of night and sleep in partially through dawn, before they walked the rest of the way through to town.
"Well LOOK who it is." Came a voice, booming.
Neji, TenTen, and Rock Lee were following their leader, Might Guy, out of town. It was Guy who spoke.
"Headed to the hospital?" He asked.
Sasuke was walking slowly. Kakashi allowed the boy to walk with Naruto's assistance. Sakura carried Sasuke's bag.
"Yes." Kakashi replied. "We'll be seeing your team around then I suppose. After a mission?"
Guy nodded. "Of course. When we come back, I challenge you, Kakashi!"
"Ah well, I suppose it can not be helped. I will see you later. Stay safe, everyone." The Jonin leader of Team Seven spoke, before prodding his team along to the hospital.
When they arrived, Sasuke was taken away to be examined and Naruto and Sakura remained, sitting in the lobby. Kakashi returned for them and gave the remaining teammates orders to meet up outside the bridge by the edge of the village in the morning.
"Yes, sir." Naruto and Sakura chorused.
But their good behavior only would last so long...
