Welcome to Gaia! ::

[anything besides the word awsome that can be used to describe my fanfic?]

of course! it is very interesting, exciting, suspensful, and down right creative!!!!!!!!!!!

Title: For the love of my Friends
Chapter 7: Sarutobi-Sensei and the White Fangs Son
Rating: Mature

Neji wearily walked to the Hyuuga mansion, the noon sun bearing heavily down on his tired shoulders.
Gai had been more enthusiastic about their training today. Apparently his rival, the infamous copy nin, Hatake Kakashi, had been issued a new batch of wanna be genins. Gai wanted to make sure his students were fit enough for a 'friendly' competition of sorts, his students fighting against Kakashi's.

Neji didn't see the point.

Kakashi was just going to fail them like he did last year. History repeated itself, time and time again.

He reached the gates without any hassle, meaning that Lee didn't ambush him, demanding a fight. His team mate was struggling to hold a rivalry with him such as Kakashi and Gai held, but was finding it hard. Neji beat him every time.

It was not Lee's destiny to defeat him, the genius prodigy of the Hyuuga clan.

He coldly glared at the person manning the gates. The man, upon noticing the pale eyed boy, opened it hastily, not wanting to lose his job. Neji did not spare him another glance, just moved past him, into the yard. He climbed up the steps, missing the top one in his haste to get to his room before someone noticed he was home.

The heavy oak door seemed to open of it's own accord. Neji was halted in the foyer. Another Branch member stood there.

"Neji." the man stated. He looked back at his fellow Branch member, his gaze not different from the one he had given to the gates man. "Hiashi-sama wishes to speak to you." If at all possible, his gaze got even colder, clearly not liking the way that the older Hyuuga worded it.

When the head of the Hyuuga clan wanted to see you, you immediately jump and see him. Especially if you are a Branch member.

Neji glided past the older man, taking a left in the foyer instead of the right, where he wished he was going. The hallway to Hiashi's den was much more lavishly decorated than the hallway that lead to the Branch's side of the mansion, the white marble almost lighting up the hallway on it's own.

Expensive paintings and wall scrolls with sayings like 'He who thinks he is strong, is invincible. He who thinks he is not, is weak.' decorated the walls.

Neji found himself glaring at one particular wall scroll. It said, 'One half rules, while the other protects. Each is needed, neither are spared.' It was supposed to somehow explain the division of the clan.

One half were the warriors, sworn to protect with their weapons, while the other were rulers, sworn to protect with their power. Neji found himself scoffing, a habit he picked up from Tenten.

The Branch family, warriors? Since when had the Branch family been anything but servants? And when did the Head family ever have to suffer the consequences of their actions, without the Branch taking the blame? The Head family was always spared.

He thought briefly of his father, the twin brother of Hiashi. He had always smiled at him, and kept Neji close after his mother died. To have his only father pulled away because of a stupid thing that Hiashi did..

Neji pushed open the study door, wiping all emotions from his face and mind.

Bowing, he greeted Hiashi in a polite, but distant manner.

"Neji." Hiashi stated, nodding his head. Neji stood in a slightly tensed position, ready to move if Hiashi gave him any reason to. The head of the Hyuuga clan stood by the fireplace, his hand lightly resting on the mantle. The older man did not even glance at his brother's son.

"There has been an emergancy." the Hyuuga began. "Something that threatens the safety of this village." Neji held down his curiosity. If Hiashi wasn't going to tell him what the problem was, then it was a useless to question him.

"I cannot tell you what the problem is.." Neji saw that coming. "But now it is critical to put up the best front possible. We have to act like nothing is wrong. We are the strongest in Kohona. If the others see us in fear, they will be in fear too."

Neji couldn't disagree less. The other clans couldn't care less about what the Hyuugas acted like, having written them off as stiffs a long time ago. If their was an emergancy that the other clans knew about, they would be worried about it, no matter what the Hyuugas thought.

Neji didn't voice his opinion, just bowed and murmured his agreement. Hiashi then dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

His ice cold mask didn't fall, not until he was far out of his uncle's Byakugan range, in the safety of his own room. He gazed down at the only two signs of life in his bare room.

Two pictures sat on the table beside his bed. One was a picture of his team. He was on Gai's left, his arms crossed, and his gaze on something off to the side. Lee was on Gai's right, throwing a mega watt grin identical to his mentor's and a thumbs up. Tenten knelt between them, a soft smile on her face, while their tall sensei towered above her, both of his hands on the boys' heads. He was winking in what he thought was a seductive manner.

The other only had two people in it. A younger Neji, sometime before he got the seal on his forehead that forever bonded him with his cruel fate, hung off of his father's shoulders. Both Hyuugas were grinning.

He smiled sadly at both pictures. The first picture had been something he didn't want in his room the first place, the only pleasant face on it being Tenten's. But it showed him a life that he often forgot existed outside the mansion walls. A place where family treated each other like family, instead as a master or a slave.

The second picture reminded him of his father, and how different they were compared to the other Hyuugas, outcasts even. Where his father had been encouraging and gentle with him, Hiashi had been harsh and almost cruel to Hinata, his oldest daughter, and Neji's cousin.

The other Hyuugas maintained a perfect 'look, but don't touch' icon in Kohona, while his father often broke it in fits of temper, amusement, and happiness. His father had been the only Hyuuga with friends outside the clan.

The absence of his father's warming shadow had made Neji realize something about his clan, and himself. His bandaged hand reached out and gently touched the side of his team's picture, then touched the one with him and his father, as if the smooth texture of the glass could prove to him that these were real, a perfect moment in time captured by something as simplistic as a camera.

The only people who he cared about smiled up at him, life and happiness evident in their eyes.

The Hyuugas were empty hollows of people, mere ghosts compared to the lively people on his team and his father.

And he was becoming one.


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His heart beat quickly as a prey chased by a hungry wolf.
His eyes looked around quickly for an escape route. The boy found none. His hunters surrounded him, shepherding him into the direction they wanted to go.

He wiped his sweaty palms on his shorts and tried to calm himself down. The scent of his own fear was almost suffocating him.

A delay tactic was needed, he had to live a little longer, so many people needed him. He leaned back toward his most basic defense tactic, a low one, but very effective.

"Are we there yet?" Annoyance. How well it worked.

The Anbu in front of Naruto answered negatively. Adopting sulky look, one he had perfected over the years, he crossed his arms behind his head.

"Well I'm hungry." His eyes widened gleefully and he rubbed his hands together. "And you know you want to buy me some ramen!"

"No." the leader said once more. Naruto pouted.

"Aww.. You're not nearly as cool as Iruka-sensei. And he's a chuunin!" His jab at their 'coolness' was ignored. He sighed. Who knew Anbus were such boring people back in the day? At least I was a cool Anbu..

They reached the edge of the training area, about to cross over into the shopping district of the village. All of them jumped up to the roofs, not wanting to be stuck in the square during lunch hour.

"So.." he said, attempting to strike up another conversation with at least one of the masked ninjas around him. "Are we there now?" A collective sigh came from the Anbu group sent to fetch him.

"You guys are so boring. When I become Hokage, I'm sending you all on vacations so you can learn to be cool. Like me." There again was no response. He sighed again. So much for small talk to keep him from his morbid thoughts.

"Like talking to a wall. Except the wall would be a lot more interesting." He snickered when he thought of his 'battle' with the wall that morning.

"Finally." the Anbu to his right murmured, when the Hokage's office came in sight. The other Anbu nodded their agreement, glad to get rid of the blonde and move on to easier jobs. Like trying to hunt down the Akatsuki. Funny how they thought an impossible task was easier than escorting one blonde to the Hokage.

"Old man!" he called out, ignoring the clouds of smoke that came from the Anbu's departure. Naruto walked past the chuunins on guard duty. They both rolled their eyes.

Every damn week, that brat gets in trouble.. the one on the right thought.

Naruto, obvious to the ninja's thoughts, walked into the room. The Third Hokage, in all of his wrinkled glory, sat at the desk. The old man put the paper down, and looked at Naruto through his glasses. He looked a little worried.

The blonde shifted from foot to foot. He couldn't believe that he was actually feeling guilty. All he had down was relieve the pain of having too much chakra in his system, and they jump all over him! Not to mention, the Hokage looked painfully old and weary when he was worried, not at all like the lively old man he had pretended was his grandfather when he was young.

He had to say something to make that man return, even for a moment.

"Didn't know you wore glasses, old man." he said casually, squinting at the Hokage. Sarutobi gave him an annoyed look.

"That's what happens when people get old, brat. Their bodies don't have the sense to function as well as they used to." he grumbled. Naruto looked genuinely surprised by that.

"Really? I thought they just got ugly." Naruto dodged out of the way of the tea cup that was thrown at him just in time. It shattered against the wall.

"Now that's more like it!" he exclaimed. Both Naruto and Sarutobi grinned at each other, both reliving times of youth.

The Hokage sat down, and gestured at Naruto to do the same. Naruto sat down on the chair in front of the desk.

"What do you need?" Naruto asked, twitching until he found the 'sweet spot' of the worn blue chair. The old man took off his glasses, and looked Naruto in the eyes. This was no time for humor. Naruto found himself mimicking the serious look on the older man's.

"The clan heads have come to me and reported a very high rate of chakra depletion going on in one of the training areas. For every wave of chakra used, it was immediately replaced by at least three." Ahh... That's why I had to do more than one rasengan.. Naruto thought privately to himself. "This chakra that was being used and replaced so rapidly was extremely high and powerful, yet only two of them could give me a name for who it was."

s**t s**t s**t! He couldn't tell the Hokage anything, although he was dying to let his secret out, to have someone with a good head on his shoulders help him figure out what he needed to change in order to fix the future. He had never been a tactician, rather a good solider who followed his leader's commands. It was hard for him to go solo.

Just blame me. The Kyuubi's solution didn't make any sense. How was he supposed to explain in his sudden gain in chakra by just pointing a finger at the fox? The Kyuubi's chakra had a much different wave length than his own. Wouldn't they be able to tell?

Eh? The worst part was, Naruto realized, Sarutobi needed to die. Kohona needed Tsunade as the Fifth Hokage. She was the only one, besides Jiraiya, who really had a chance against Orochimaru. Knowledge was a double edged knife without a handle to grab on. Hit your enemy where you needed it, but could wound you if you mishandled it.

Humans cannot even hope to understand the power of a demon. Tell this one that you got the power from me.

"And that person was you, Naruto." Sarutobi murmured, closing his eyes. "If what Iruka says is true, you learned about what really happened to the Kyuubi, right?" Naruto nodded.

"Then you must realize that whatever you are doing with the kitsune, for the heads of the Hyuuga and Inuzuka clans has indeed identified the energy as the said fox, is very dangerous. You could risk setting loose an eons old demon who would like nothing better than to destroy the world."

I resent that. I only want to destroy my enemies' homes. Humans destroy the world well enough on their own. Naruto, despite liking the human species better than the demon kind, had to agree.

"Letting him free would lead to too much paperwork." Naruto said frankly. "I just.. asked him to pay his rent. It's the best thing he could do after using me as a mobile home for the last twelve years without my knowledge. Damn free loader."

Separating from you would be heaven, brat. But our souls are intertwined. If we don't separate naturally, like in death, we would risk destroying our very souls. Naruto wondered privately how the Kyuubi knew this information.

"Nothing short of a powerful kinjutsu can eliminate what the Fourth did to me." Naruto said firmly. "Or death."

There is no hope in reincarnation for you. Why do you look forward so much to death? the blonde asked of his inner demon.

Naruto stood, and smiled at the Hokage. "If we are done with our little chat, I'd like to leave. The genin test is tomorrow, you know. I've got those evil bastards and Sakura-chan on my team. I have to do my best!"

You forget, one gets reincarnated until they are one with the earth's spirit. Or Kami or whatever other title you humans have such a fancy for creating for it. Even demons. the fox said calmly.

Sarutobi nodded. "Is there.. anything you like to tell me?"

So many things flew in his mind that were just dying to be released. How he was worried that he was going to fail, how much he wished that there was some way he could be so powerful where he could kill Orochimaru without having to worry the Hokage about it, how he was going to handle Sasuke, Haku, and later, Gaara so they wouldn't end up getting killed. How he wanted to kill Kabuto right now, but was afraid of the consequences that would bring. How cute Hinata was when she was blushing, and the feel of her hand in his..

He shook his head. The Hokage looked a little disappointed.

"Sorry, monkey breath." Naruto was stricken by an idea. The old man shouldn't know about the kinjutsu that Naruto used, but he should be warned of his own demise.

"Snail beats snake, snake beats toad, toad beats snail.." he murmured. The Hokage looked up, surprised. "Monkey.. can probably defeat toad and snail, but there's no way that the monkey's brute strength can compare to the snake's bite." Sarutobi listened intently. It didn't make much sense to him now, but his instincts told him this was the most important thing that Naruto could ever tell him. "The snake can be defeated.. if the toad and the monkey work together to defeat the snake. Or the snail can get off her gambling a** to help." Naruto turned to the door. "See ya, old man."

There.. he thought to himself. That's the best I can do. He has to see it through himself.

Naruto re winded the conversation in his mind, then replied to the fox.

Shika mentioned something like that. The worse the life lived by the person, the more horrible their next life starts out. I think it's a.. Buddhist thing? Karma and all that? Naruto wondered how bad his own reincarnation into a new form was going to be, but then remembered the Kyuubi. He mentally laughed, coming up with the worst way that the fox could start out his next life. I'd bet you'd be soooo pissed off if you were reincarnated as a human girl. The Kyuubi shrugged.

Gender doesn't bother me. It's the human part. Uck. Naruto snickered at the fox for acting so .. human. He started to add more details to the girl Kyuubi was going to be, such as size, weight, and looks.

And you'll be a awkward red head who is always whistled at and groped. he finished proudly. He glanced back at the door to the Hokage's office, sighing softly. Despite the glee he felt at torturing the kitsune, he couldn't keep the dark thought out of the back of his head, that maybe there was more he could have said, more he could have done, just short of telling the old man that he knew what was to come.

He crossed his arms behind his head and headed back to his apartment, a frown marring his face.

Stop trying to annoy me... The Kyuubi muttered. There was a quiet pause. I hope my reincarnation has the sense to learn some taijutsu...


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Naruto woke up extra early that morning, immediately leaving before having any breakfast to the training area he was at before. The pain had returned with a vengeance. He knew he should have taken care of it yesterday, but he grew so tired after the meeting with the Hokage that he went home right after to go to sleep.
It was four in the morning, the sky still dark as night. And as cold as hell.

Naruto did a couple jumping jacks to get some blood flowing through his body.

So.. how powerful should it be? he asked his internal advisor.

At least seven point. was the quick answer. The blonde groaned. He hated doing seven point seals.

Five point seals were easy. Focus energy into your hand, equal amounts of pressure in each finger, then touch whatever you wanted sealed. Three point seals were even easier. Connect a strand of your chakra to a strand of the thing's chakra that you wanted to seal, then guide it to the vessel. Or draw a triangle if it was already there, like his chakra.

But seven point seals had to do with blood and chakra offerings and always left him with a headache. Sealing stuff was such a bother..

There were rules, of course. Naruto hated rules though. He kept the twenty or so rules surrounding sealing and tucked them in a nice secluded part of his brain, preferring to just say that things without chakra cannot be sealed, to make it simple. Of course, it went more like 'a being with chakra could be sealed into another being with chakra, or in an object without chakra, but an object without chakra could not be sealed in a being of chakra or another object without chakra by use of chakra...' and so forth.

See why he condenses it to six words?

Anyway, the more points, or areas of immense chakra concentration, the seal had, the stronger it would be. The seal that bound the Kyuubi to Naruto had the grand total of ten points. The least amount of points needed to seal a demon to a human was three -Gaara had five-, but a seal would need to have more than six if the vessel didn't want to be possessed or taken over by the demon.

Which was the exact problem Gaara had until Naruto took pity and added another three points to his seal. The red head had still found it hard to sleep though, too into the habit of denying himself of that basic need.

Gaara was an intense person.

Naruto whined underneath his breath, then bit his thumb. Blood flowed underneath the pressure of his sharpened canines.

The demon way of sealing would be of much more use. The fox said haughtily. Naruto sighed.

Although he didn't like encouraging the demon, he was right. Besides, the demon way lead to less of a head ache. But it still had to do with blood, as most demonic traditions were.

He wrote on the forest floor the seven most important demonic gods of sealing with little prompt from Kyuubi. The fox had taught him well. Connecting the signs together with a thin trail of blood-he had to bite his finger again because it healed-, he murmured a quick prayer in the language that Kyuubi was beginning to teach him.

He had no idea what the hell he was saying, only being able to translate a little, but put his whole trust in the Kyuubi.

Reaching the last step, he put his hand on top of the signs, his palm almost touching the bloody marks on the ground. Willing this to work, he sparked the reaction with a little of the Kyuubi's chakra.

He felt his head suddenly grow heavy, strength leaving his body. His heart sounded loud in his ears, his breath coming out harsh. The world started to tilt beneath him. Somewhere in the middle of that, his left hand, the one he held over the marks on the ground, started burning.

It wasn't painful, more like the weird feeling after you sit on your foot for a prolonged period of time.

After a moment, the world started to right itself. He no longer felt so heavy. He gazed at the kanji tattooed on his palm, a smaller version of what he had written on the ground.

They accepted your offering. The Kyuubi said lazily, as if this happened every day.

Great. Wonderful. Just peachy. Now what was my offering again? Naruto poked the seal. The flesh on his hand was rised a little compared to the rest of his hand, just like a swelling bruise.

Your first born. the fox said slyly. Naruto stiffened.

What?! he yelled. The fox laughed at him, thinking that his vessel was a silly little creature.

I'm just kidding. I wouldn't put a kit on the line for a simple seal myself. Your offering was a little of my chakra. It'll return by tomorrow.

Naruto let out a relieved sigh, then touched his palm where the signs glowed a dark red. I hope this isn't permanent. As if they read his mind, the dark marks disappeared.

Eh.. explain how this works later, okay? He slumped forward, fully prepared to take a nice nap.

If I feel like it. The was a pause, as if the fox was debating on whether or not he should be telling Naruto what he thought. Didn't you.. have a test or something planned for today?

Naruto's eyes suddenly snapped open. s**t!


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Sasuke looked up at the sun position in the sky, then back across the training area. Half of the people who were supposed to be there were absent. And the last person he wanted to be stuck with stood underneath the branch he sat on, green eyes focused on his every movement. Annoyed, he lightly tapped his fingers on the branch he was straddling.
"Stop watching. I'm not going to do a trick." he snapped. Startled, Sakura took a step back.

"I.. uh.. just wanted.." she stuttered. Sasuke smirked, finding no reason to pay anymore attention to her. There were more important things than girls and friendships on his mind right now. Like how he was going to activate his sharingan, to shrink the gap between Itachi's and his own power. And how he would find a casual way to show Naruto that he had mastered the technique that the blond had shown him the day before.

Okay, maybe showing off wasn't as important as trying to kill Itachi, but it kept his mind out of the darker thoughts that had plagued him when he realized that Naruto, the dobe that always failed the tests back in the Academy, was a lot stronger than he looked. Maybe Bunshin no Jutsu was the blonde's weakness. Sasuke stored that information at the back of his mind.

Sakura sighed. There he went, ignoring her again. "I just wanted to know if you could see Kakashi or Naruto from there. You don't have to be such a jerk about it!" She immediately turned her back to him, a blush on her cheeks. Damn Inner Sakura for gaining control of her mouth.

Sasuke was surprised to hear her say that. When he had met her, he had categorized her as a fan girl in his mind, someone who would annoy him for all they were worth, but were handy to have around when one felt too lazy to do something. Fan girls were people who gushed over him, told him how great he was, and constantly asked him out. They were great to have around when one needed their self esteem to be boosted, but there was little use for them otherwise.

Fan girls did not call their 'beloved' Sasuke a jerk. His dark gaze shifted from the direction he thought the other two would come to her red clad back.

He wondered what he should call her now. 'Fan girl' was just not going to work. Damn people and their annoying habits of changing.

Bowing his head, he accepted his defeat humbly. He had been surprised by a mere slip of a girl. Her reward for catching him off guard was his acknowledgement.

"I can't see anything from up here." he admitted. Sasuke couldn't ignore her until he could properly fit her into a category, or he'd go nuts. He was a control freak.

He kicked his leg over the branch until he was sitting on it sideways, then just dropped. Landing smoothly beside her with his ninja grace, he merely shrugged. "They get here when they're damn good and ready."

Right then, Naruto walked into the clearing. He looked tired, a smudge of dirt decorating his forehead protector free head. He was wearing the same clothes as he had the day before. He nearly tripped over a rock, then sat in front of a tree not too far away from them.

Yawning, he said "Good. I'm not late."

Sakura immediately rounded on him. "What do you mean by, 'not late'?! You were supposed to be here three hours ago!" Naruto tried to smile, but failed when another yawn contorted his face.

"Kakashi is a real b*****d about setting up meeting times." He looked away in rebellion. "I wasn't going to freeze my a** off for nothin'." Sasuke smirked, and turned around. The blonde had his moments of smarts.

"So, you know him?" the dark haired shinobi asked. Naruto stared at the Uchiha symbol on the back of the other boy's shirt, trying to focus.

"Know him? No. Know of him? Yes." the blonde said slyly. It was kind of a lie, but mostly the truth. No one really knew the copy nin that well. Having served under his leadership had only let Naruto into the outermost layer of the maze that was Kakashi.

"Um, Naruto? You have dirt on your forehead." Sakura mumbled. All that waiting for nothing, she thought. While Inner Sakura ranted on about evil teachers, Sakura glanced at the position of the sun. It was almost ten.

The blonde scowled, then rubbed the mark until the skin was pink.

"Gone?" the pink haired girl nodded distractedly. Sasuke turned slightly to look at the boy.

"What, did you sleep in the training area? Baka." he said coldly. Naruto yawned, not rising to take the bait.

"Almost." the demon vessel said truthfully. Sasuke stared at him for a moment, before turning his head back around. Damn. He'd have to re-categorize Naruto too. That was the bother of really getting to know people. They tended to surprise you right after you thought you got them all sorted out.

There was a poof of smoke, then Kakashi appeared. He sheepishly waved at them from the branch he landed on.

"Morning, everyone. I got lost on the long winding road called Life.."

"Liar!!" Both Naruto and Sakura yelled pointing a finger at the copy nin. He coughed, slightly embarrassed that they saw through him so easily, then jumped down to them.

At least he didn't contradict us.. Naruto thought amused. He crossed his arms behind his head and squinted at the jonin. He better hurry up. I'm hungry!

"Ah, yes. Why are we here again?" he tapped the side of his mask in thought. A not so concealed growl from not Naruto, but Sakura snapped him out of his daze. The annoyed looks on all three of the teens jogged his memory. "Right! The survival training!" Kakashi clapped his hands, then reached in his kunai holster.

All three of soon to be genins tensed, but they relaxed when they saw he pulled out two innocent looking bells. Except for Naruto.

A scowl marred his tan face. Aw, hell.. not this test again. The Kyuubi chuckled at him, fully amused. Naruto flipped the demon off, feeling little satisfaction as the chuckles evolved into full out laughter.

Kakashi, from what little people could see of him, looked sadistically amused as well. Naruto's scowl deepened. The fox and the jonin just had to be related.

The White Fang's son twitched his hand, making the bells jingle softly.

"The mission is.. Take these bells from me, using any method possible."

[okay maybe a little closer]

that was great! awesome writing style i love it!

Title: For the Love of My Friends
Chapter 8: Brotherly Affection and Abused Peacemakers
Rating: Mature

Lee was anything but a girl's dream boyfriend.

"534... 535... 536.." he panted, kicking the log in front of him with enthusiasm. "If I cannot reach 600.. 537... I will... 538.. run 800 laps around Kohona.. 539... on my hands! 540.." With a battle cry, he jumped into the air, and came down with harder force on the poor log. His foot caused a crack in wood to widen and deepen.

Sure, he had the sweet attitude that a girl would love in said boyfriend -in small doses-, but his looks just didn't make the cut. Inches thick eyebrows, his haircut, and his poor choice in clothing were enough to make the most rowdy and anti-feminist tom boy run the other way.

It had taken him a while to convince Tenten that his eyebrows were indeed not his pet caterpillars, but an actual part of his face. The only reason why she didn't run or faint was because she wanted to look good in front of her crush, Hyuuga Neji.

Lee shook his head lightly, then delivered another powerful kick to the already stressed out log. Tenten was a nice girl, but there were only so many times he could turn down a makeover before she'd take out her beloved kunai.

He was certain that he'd find the perfect girl who would look beyond his looks, and see the true him, the gentle soul who loved squirrels. But even if Lee found a soul mate in a blind person, that person would be so annoyed by his constant happy and hyper nature that they'd leave him anyway. If he'd tone it down by a mile and got an extreme makeover, he'd be lucky to go out on a date by the time he was thirty.

Such is the fate of those who worship Gai. Although the man was nearly thirty himself, somehow, he hadn't gotten the hint that he was far too passionate for his own good.

Of course nowadays, Gai was too involved in trying to make a certain woman fall in love with him. And that certain woman had a crush on Kakashi, his better looking counter part, ever since they were genin. She was the sole reason why Gai had started his rivalry with the gray haired jonin.

Said male didn't know of the female's affections, and only participated in the rivalry when he was bored. Which was often, since he never passed a genin team.

Tears pooled in Lee's eyes when he thought of his poor unfortunate mentor. To love someone no matter who she loved, or what she did.. His respect for Gai doubled.

"Gai-sensei! Love will come to you!" Breaking down, the boy sobbed joyous tears. Whether the tears came from happy visions of Gai and some unknown lady marrying and having billions of thick eyebrowed, bowl haired cut kids who called him Uncle Lee, or because he finally reached six hundred kicks, we will never know.


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Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, and glared hard at the gray haired man who dared to insult him with such an easy exercise. He was twenty two years old, for kami's sake! Or at least mentally. Besides, one perverted old man wasn't going to stand in his way..
A flashback of being tied to a log made him wince. The 'perverted old man' sure knew how to tie knots..

"Uh, sensei?" Sakura raised her hand, feeling a little foolish. With an amused look, Kakashi nodded to her. Not everyday that he saw a ninja raise her hand to ask a question.

"There's two bells.. and three of us." She smiled nervously, certain that it was just a simple miscalculation. "How is that going to work?"

"Easy." Her answer came from not her sensei, but her blond team mate. "The person who doesn't get a bell loses. Short and simple, eh scarecrow?" Sharp blue eyes fell on Kakashi. They narrowed when he smiled back.

"So." The Uchiha turned to the other two. "Instead of supporting team work, this drives a wedge between us, because we're not only fighting Kakashi, but we're also competing against each other to see who can get a bell first." Sasuke murmured, a frown on his face. "Every man.. or female," he glanced at Sakura. "For themselves."

Realization dawning, she added, "And because we haven't eaten lunch or breakfast, and probably haven't had the best of sleep last night, we are not at our best. Kakashi has the total advantage."

"But of course. He wants us to experience what a real ninja has to face." Naruto said, waving a hand like it was the easiest thing.

"..Real ninja?" Sasuke echoed, his eyes focused on Naruto. The blonde merely smiled secretively.

"A real ninja out in the battle field has limited access to food, water, and most important of all, places to take care of their personal hygiene." Sakura made a face at that.

"Why would hygiene be more important than water?" she asked. A low laugh from Sasuke made her loose her concentration. Did.. he really do what she thought he did? The faintly amused look on Sasuke's face made her reel back.

"What's the point of hiding if they can smell you from a mile away?" he murmured.

"Like signing your death warrant." Naruto said, agreeing. Both boys were grinning. They both found something hilarious in that little fact, something that Sakura couldn't understand. Boys will be boys..

It was nice to see Sasuke smile instead of scowling or smirking..

Kakashi clapped his hands, looking overly pleased. "Exactly! And one last rule..." His voice lowered, and the happy shine in his eyes disappeared. They tensed at such an abrupt change in attitude, instinctively moving closer to each other. "The person who fails to get a bell from me also fails this exercise, and will be shipped back to the Academy."

He gazed at them sternly, watched as they in turn watched him. The corner of his mouth twitched up when Sakura actually took a step backward. Seeing him quietly enjoy the effect his serious side, Naruto took a step forward and smirked at Kakashi.

"Are you done talking? I wanna get this over and done with before I die of starvation." This'll be easy. Naruto thought confidently. All I have to do is convince them to work with me..

This is going to be hard. Sakura slide into a more tense position.. Her right hand dropped down, hovering an inch above her kunai holster.

Sure of his soon victory, Sasuke smirked. He was an Uchiha. He would surpass all others.

Kakashi looked at the three of them, silently shook his head. These wanna be ninjas.. he thought. All I can sense is determination and confidence. He tilted his head slightly to the side. They have no idea what they are getting themselves into.

The copy nin tied the bells to one of the loop holes on his pants. Not bothering to look up, he said, "You have two hours. You may begin."

As he expected, the ninjas in front of him darted off to the side, taking cover in the dense forest. However, to his surprise, Naruto was still standing in front of him. He sighed. These kids had a lot to learn.

"Lesson one: When a ninja higher than your level is on the opposite side of the battle field, it is wise to hide until one can figure out a good plan of attack." He reached into a pouch on his vest, and pulled out a orange book with a strange illustration of a man running after a woman. Of course, there was no mistaking the large red crossed out sign, signifying that it was an adult book.

Naruto rolled his eyes, a light blush coloring his cheeks. He crossed his arms over his chest, an scandalized gasp from his left the only thing that kept him from rasengan-ing the book. Like hentai author, like hentai reader.

Jiraiya wrote good stories, with complete and understandable plots. If the book and the man weren't equally perverted, he would have gone as far as saying that the frog hermit was a good writer.

Yes, Naruto had read one of Icha Icha Paradise series. His face didn't return to it's normal tan hue until weeks afterward. He still burned red whenever someone pulled one of them out and started reading.

"It has nothing to do with levels, pervert." he said, managing to cool the blush down slightly. "A genin could beat a jonin if that genin has an advantage over him." Naruto countered.

"That would still require planning. One can't plan while fighting." the copy nin murmured lazily, taking time to turn the page. His head was tilted slightly in the direction where he too had heard the gasp. Naruto, in horror, realized that he knew where Sakura was. Brotherly affection and protection reared it's head.

Distraction!

"True, good argument." Naruto said graciously. "But.. what if 'one' already has a plan?"

"You don't seem like the type of person who plans things out too well. Indulge me. Speak of this plan."

"Well, one.. I'm going to kick your a** and pass this exercise." Naruto cracked his knuckles, his foxy grin fixed in place. "And for two.. you're just going to have to wait."

The teen ran forward, his fist raised. He expected for Kakashi to dodge the punch, which the jonin followed through with, then aimed a kick where he thought his blind spot was. Kakashi, without tearing his gaze from the book, grabbed Naruto's leg with his free hand and flipped him. The impact with the ground jarred Naruto's senses.

W-what the hell? The boy darted to his feet, denying the truth. He came at Kakashi again, only to be knocked back when the man blocked. He was about to have another go at the man when a stern voice assaulted his mind.

Time traveling and extra knowledge about combat aside, you cannot defeat him unless you open one of the seals on your palm. The Kyuubi said, annoyance coating his words. And I refuse to waste so much energy on an ally.

Why the hell can't I?! He's not like Orochimaru! He's about as strong as Kabuto was..eh.. is.

If you faced him as your older self, chakra and myself excluded, he'd still beat you. He has four more years of experience. Kyuubi snickered.Foolish mortals. Always thinking that they are invincible.

Annoyance flickered in Naruto's eyes. Damn it... He put his hands on his knees and panted. Damn it to hell. Well, his first goal was impossible to reach. But there was hope for the second one, as long as he figures a way to get to Sakura without Kakashi seeing.

"Out of breath already? What about your plan? My a** hasn't been kicked yet.." Kakashi said humorously.

I don't have to defeat him.. no, that's not the point of this exercise. I have to.. out maneuver him. A plan was beginning to take shape in Naruto's mind.

"You should have never messed with me!" he shouted. Naruto ran at Kakashi, sliding to a stop a few inches in front of him. His fist flew at the copy nin's head. The jonin shook his head at the blonde's antics.

With a poof of smoke, Kakashi was suddenly behind him. Surprised, Naruto looked back. The older man's eyes were shadowed. His gloved hands formed a tiger seal.

From the bushes, Sasuke and Sakura reeled back. Naruto! Get out of the way! was Sakura's desperate but silent call.

A hidden smile appeared on Naruto's face. Go ahead. Fall in my trap.

"Konohagakure Furui Taijutsu no Ougi: Sennen Goroshi!"


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"You have got to be kidding." Team Ten stared at the obstacle course in front of them. Monkey bars, ropes, and endless abysses lay between them and the finish line far, far ahead of them.
"Welcome to Training Area 51. Otherwise known as Hell." Asuma said calmly, lighting a cigarette. "Only nine out of the twenty seven graduates become genins, the rest either give up being ninjas or go back to the Academy to retake the last year. Myself, Kurenai and Kakashi- you may meet the last two later.- are the three jonins assigned to take teams this year. I have already given this exercise twice today. Although I am far from impressed with the others, I doubt you will prove to be much competition."

"Real encouraging." was Shikamaru's sullen reply. Asuma shrugged, and turned his back to them.

"There are no rules. Just make it to the end. I will give you points on how you performed." he said.

"B-but, there's no way we can get past all of this by ourselves!" Ino had gotten past her surprise. She shook her fist at the bearded jonin's back.

"You figure it out." he said. Glancing back, he said seriously, "Be happy that you paired up with me instead of Kakashi. His exam is killer. He hasn't passed a single team, and he's been a jonin for awhile. Good luck. You'll need it." he poofed away.

The three teens were left alone to stare at the smoke until it disappeared. Shikamaru then turned around and started to walk away.

"I'm out of here." he muttered. "Stupid troublesome exams.. Didn't even want to pass in the first place.." His friend jumped in front of him, trying to stop him from leaving.

"But Shika!" Chouji whined. "It's obvious, we need to work together! If you leave, we'll have less of a chance to succeed!"

"What makes you think I'm going to work with you?!" Ino said, glaring at the both of them. "I want to be on Sasuke's team! You heard Asuma! Sasuke has Kakashi. He won't win either. I'll be there to mend his pride and be on his team next year!" Her blue eyes became sparkly as she daydreamed about Sasuke.

"That.. is the stupidest thing I have ever heard come out of your mouth and that's saying something,Ino." Shikamaru scowled at her. "You're going to make Chouji fail just because you are in love withthat ice cube?"

"It's not like you are helping him any by just leaving, you lazy bum!" she snapped, angry with him and herself for feeling guilty.

A sharp whistle made them both jump. Chouji stood between the two like a referee.

"Come on Ino, Shika. No fighting." he told them. Chouji turned to Ino.

"Sasuke's supposed to be a genius, right? He'll figure out a way to pass this stupid test, even with that Kakashi guy as his teacher."

Ino frowned. That was true. Her crush was an Uchiha after all. If she ended up failing, and he ended up passing, he'd think she was an inferior ninja. But if she passed and he failed, his pride would be wounded and he'd hate her. Oh, what to do?

Chouji then turned to his friend, his eyes pleading. "And your mom said she'd give you more space when you became chuunin, right? Becoming genin now instead of later just brings that prize even closer."

Shikamaru considered his friend, crossing his arms over his chest. His mom was a pain in the a**. Always bugging him to wake up, take out the trash, and take care of the deer. Being a chuunin meant his life would be in more danger, which was very troublesome, but on the other hand, he'd have more authority. Which meant choosing which missions he wanted, and more sleep and cloud watching time. He weighed the two against each other.

Shikamaru then nodded. He was going to die on one mission or another. Such is the fate of a ninja. Either he'd die by falling on a pair of cutting shears while gardening some old lady's back yard, or he'd get killed by a higher level enemy ninja while he- he, because Shikamaru refused to be defeated by a girl- tried to take over Kohona, Shikamaru's death only another notch on his belt. And because he felt some affection for his village, he'd booby trap the area before hand, blowing up the ninja who killed him before he could reach the village.

"I'll stay." he muttered.

Ino nodded as well. "Fine. But don't take any liberties with me! You're just going to have to control yourself around me." She flicked her hair, giving them a charming smile like a model posing for a picture.

Shikamaru gave her a look, not effected by her at all. "Control against what? Strangling you?"

Chouji jumped between them again to keep Ino from hurting Shikamaru. "Geez! You guys fight like an old married couple!"

The peacemaker found himself with two bumps on the head that weren't there before. "Ow!" he whined.

Ino and Shikamaru walked toward the first obstacle, feeling justice had been met.

[Thanks for all the reviews. So here is next chapter for you]

that was awesome! im ready for the next chapter!!!!!!!!!!!!

Title: For the Love of My Friends
Chapter 9: The True Meaning of Sacrafice
Rating: Mature

"Kohonagakure Furui Taijutsu no Ougi: Sennen Goroshi!" The harsh blow connected with Kakashi's target, but instead of the scream of outraged pain he expected, the boy in front of him poofed into smoke. Kage Bunshin?

The sound of something bouncing on the hard ground brought his gaze downward. Several familiar looking dark colored balls rolled toward his feet, then promptly exploded into smoke, adding to the smoke from the Kage Bunshin. In mere seconds, Kakashi was shrouded in a thick cloud of non toxic gas. Kakashi, with great reluctance, placed his book back in his pocket. Such a pity.. he thought mournfully.

Naruto, hidden in the thick gas, grinned. There was one advantage of having knowledge of what was to come. He had spent years watching Kakashi, training and learning from him, even the occasional fight or two. He knew all of the man's weaknesses, which were actually very few.

Zabuza had been an instrument in learning one of his sensei's biggest weaknesses. The nin from the mist had shown him how vulnerable Kakashi was when his most known attribute was disabled. Kakashi, so used to using his eyes in battle, was lacking in his ability to adapt to the usage of his other senses quickly.

Unlike Naruto, who found it easier to track with his nose and his ears.

His eyes closed, all ten of Naruto's clones closed in on Kakashi, who was trying to figure out where he was.

"Gotcha!" was their battle cry. Kakashi jumped, the thought of them being so close not passing his mind before that moment. Smoke screens were normally used so the user could escape, not as a battle plan. The jonin saw the clones, who finally moved in his range of vision, and dodged when they jumped toward him.

I have to get out of here. he thought, starting to run toward where he thought the edge of the clearing was. But no matter how much he ran, it felt like he never moved at all. Genjutsu! He stopped his useless running. I can't believe it's come it this.. his hand trailed up to his slanted forehead protector. And to a boy they called dead last. Despite his wounded pride, he felt happy for Naruto. The boy reminded him so much of Obito, although they were opposites in looks.

He pulled up the head band, exposing his red sharingan eye to the air, the three comma like marks swirling around. The genjutsu dropped. The copy nin watched the silhouette of Naruto calmly as the smoke disappeared.

"Good but not good enough.." he said confidentially until Naruto coughed, and gestured for him to look down. Frowning, Kakashi looked down. A blush rose to his face.

Somehow, someway, the boy in front of him had moved undetected around him and had stolen a bell. And in his eagerness to get it away from the jonin, he had accidentally loosened the belt around Kakashi's waist, making his baggy pants fall down.

"I didn't mean to, honest!" Naruto stammered. He twiddled his thumbs and looked to the side, his bell firmly held in his right hand. A blush colored his tan cheeks. He was suddenly very glad that Kakashi wore boxers.

In the bushes, both of his team mates blushed as well. More annoyed than embarrassed, Sasuke muttered 'baka' underneath his breath. Sakura clenched the sides of her head. Bad Sakura bad! No more wrong thoughts!

"Well, Naruto! I didn't know you swung that way!" Kakashi said, his one visible eye curving. He pulled up his pants, gently touching the cool metal of the remaining bell.

"What?! Y-you.. you pervert! I happen to like girls!" Naruto yelled, an angry swipe at the air illustrating his anger.

"Really? Who?" Kakashi asked slyly. Just as he expected, anger loosened Naruto's mouth greatly. At least one thing about the boy was predictable.

"Hin- no no no! Not any of your business!" Naruto nearly screamed. Breathe, Naru, breathe.. he told himself firmly. He's trying to get a rise out of you..

Just as quickly as one could dawn a mask, Naruto became serious.

"I'm done with this. But this will not be the last you see of me." Naruto said ominously, then grinned. "See ya!" Kakashi blinked and the boy disappeared. For not the first time that day, and certainly not the last, Kakashi was shocked speechless.

W-what the hell?! He walked up to where Naruto had been standing until just the moment before. With his eyes, he examined the ground carefully. There was no chakra residue on the ground, hinting at the boy's travel through the ground. And Naruto's chakra..

He straightened, a frown settling on his hidden features. Naruto's chakra had just disappeared. Like a flash of lightening, he was there, then he was not. Flash.. yellow flash..! Kakashi stifled a surprised gasp. No way he could have.. there's no one who teaches that jutsu at the Academy.. only the Fourth and his teacher know that jutsu! Slowly, he pulled his head band back over his eye. It couldn't have been.. Shunshin no Jutsu? As much as he wanted to deny it, it was the only logical explaination. If it had been any other jutsu, his sharingan would have sensed it, focused, and copied it, tucking the information deep into his mind.

But Kakashi couldn't copy the Shunshin no Jutsu from his teacher, just as he couldn't copy, nor sense Naruto's jutsu.


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Sakura noticed the presence behind her an instant before she was dragged up against it, one strong hand covering her mouth to muffle her reflexive scream. She wiggled, fought, and struggled but her captor's grip was like steel. She bit down on the hand covering her mouth, thinking if she could just get her mouth free and scream, three very pissed off ninjas would save her.

However, he- her captor was male, his close proximity to her assured her of that small fact.- didn't even react. Her teeth couldn't even break through his callused skin.

Tears welled up in her eyes when she saw her hiding spot become smaller and smaller in the distance. Help! she screamed mentally, in vain.

Meanwhile, Sasuke, oblivious of his female team mate's distress, smirked. An opening! He threw a wave of kunai at the unsuspecting jonin. His kunai hit their target, impacting heavily with the silver haired jonin.

Kakashi suddenly morphed into a log.

Damn! Now he knows where I am! Sasuke thought.

Kakashi had disappeared into the thick shrubbery around the clearing he had chosen for their training exam, casually crouching on the ground where he had thought Sakura was. His respect for Naruto doubled when he realized that this was the second part of the fox boy's plan.

Maybe.. just maybe he understands the point I'm trying to get across. His hand touched the two pairs of foot prints in the dirt. They both were about the same size, but the one in back was fainter than the one in front. The heels of the first set of footprints were slightly elongated, and left a different imprint. The second person had pulled the first one back a little, with a little too much force, dragging the first's feet a little.

Maybe.. this team has a chance... He thought of the boy who, in looks, reminded him so much of his teacher, but when he opened his mouth, all Kakashi could hear was Obito. If he can guide them.. maybe they'll understand what he seems to understand already. It was strange, that the only one who had the scorn of the villagers and the heavy burden of carrying a demon, the only one who had never felt the comfort of a parent's touch, the only one who had been singled out and dubbed with the name of 'monster', was the only who knew that he was not, could not be the lone wolf, rather, one part of a whole that could not function unless all parts worked together.

Or maybe I'm looking too underneath the underneath, and drawing false conclusions. He passed a hand over his eye, then poofed behind Sasuke.

The Uchiha sensed his arrival, but did not turn around. "Heh, so you're the last one standing?" Kakashi murmured.

The dark haired boy turned slowly. The jonin stiffened when he saw his face.

Sasuke's dark eyes betrayed no emotion. Despite his training, Kakashi couldn't help but be creeped out by the vast blankness of those nearly black orbs, especially when he had known someone with eyes as endless as Sasuke's, whose eyes had always been sparking with annoyance, anger, or another emotion. To see such cold eyes coming from a boy who had not yet killed his heart to make his first kill disturbed him more than anything else could.

Such eyes on a child.

We can all thank Itachi for that. Kakashi thought bitterly.

The warmth and light he had faced while fighting Naruto had fading. Funny, how even when his career as a ninja hung in the balance, the blonde could make such humor out of it.

Instead, the air froze and became so thick that it was hard for Kakashi to draw his breath. But breath he did, lest he die from suffocation. Not a fun way to die.

Their silent staring contest was shattered by a piercing scream. Both of the ninjas look to the direction it came from.

"Sakura.." was the one word that rolled off of Sasuke's lips. Looking back, Kakashi was surprised to see emotions in those frigid eyes, something that resembled worry before it was hidden behind a mask of cool indifference.

"Must of fallen in one of my genjutsu traps." Kakashi said casually. Personally, he wondered why the pink haired girl had screamed. Sure, he did set up some genjutsu traps, but wasn't she with..

"Hmph. So she fell for an illusion. She would." A cold smirk. "And the dobe ran away." A gust of wind made his long dark bangs dance along his pale face. "However.. I'm not like them.."

Kakashi leaned against a tree, considering Sasuke with his one visible eye. Maybe there was hope for the last Uchiha... His heart wasn't completely covered in ice. "Say that after you get the bell..."


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Sakura had about enough of being carted around like a piece of furniture. She tirelessly began to fight against her captor once more. She discovered that even though her biting him seemed to have no effect, her captor hated being kicked in the shin, enough to even rearrange her so that her constant flailing about couldn't put her in a position where she could kick him incessantly.

Sakura was determined to go down as a brave ninja who fought until her last breath of air! She wasn't going to go down without a fight to even an abnormally strong ninja.

Mistaking the sudden stop on a thick tree branch some fifty feet above the ground as a sign that her attempts where working, she immediately screamed when the ninja's hand left her mouth and pivoted, feeling her right fist connecting soundly with the other ninja's jaw. The force knocked the ninja off of the branch before she got a good look at him.

Adrenaline pounding in her veins, she silently congratulated herself on a job well then. Then held her wrist against her chest, her face twisted in a grimace. But damn, that hurt!

"Ow.." she heard not too far underneath her. In a panic, she realized her kidnapper must had landed on one of the lower branches. Sakura scampered to the edge and looked over.

What she saw was enough to rapidly change her fear into pure annoyance and anger. Her captor looked up at her sheepishly, throwing a pain filled version of his infamous grin.

"Was that really necessary, Sakura-chan?" he asked, wincing when he touched the tender flesh of his cheek. He had really forgotten how hard Sakura could hit when she was worked up. His almost sharp blue eyes gazed up at her, looking slightly guilty.

"Na-ru-to!!" she yelled. "How dare you scare me like that!! And lugging me around like a sack of potatoes!!"

"But Sakura-chan.." he said, dragging out the last bit of her name into a whine. "I had to get you away from pervert-sensei! And I.." A faint blush covered his cheeks. "And I didn't.. know where.. t-to.."

Annoyance stretched her patience to the limit. "Spit it out." she snapped, her emerald eyes cold.

"To grab you! Okay?! I didn't know how to grab you! 'Cause you're a stupid frickin'.. girl." Sulking, he sat cross legged on the branch, his back to her.

All of her anger drained out of her, leaving her only with amusement over the blonde's antics and not a little sympathy. And quite a bit of guilt. Here he was, trying to 'save' her, and his reward was a violent fist in his face. Still she couldn't help herself. A giggle slipped out of her lips.

He turned around at the small sound, the small pout still on his face. At the clueless, adorable, and utterly naive look on his face, she only laughed even harder.

"..Eh.. Sakura-chan? Are you.. okay?" he asked tentively, watching with growing horror as the girl only giggled even more. They grew to the point of her rolling around. Unfortunately, the branch had to end somewhere..

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled, watching her body roll off of the branch. Before she could scream, she found herself in Naruto's arms. The blonde landed on another branch, a little unsteadily, one hand supporting her back while the other when under her knees.

"Next time you plan on going all.. weird on me like that, warn me." he muttered grumpily, gently letting her feet touch the ground.

"I'm sorry.." she whispered. "That instant, you reminded me so much of my cousin when he was in his anti-girl phase." Naruto considered her for a moment, then gave her one of his foxy grins.

"No need to apologize. After all, a laugh a day keeps the doctor away!" the smile he gave her that time was somehow different than the ones before. It reached his impossibly blue eyes. For some reason, seeing him smile like that made her feel extremely affectionate of him, not in the same way as she felt for Sasuke, but not all that different.

She remembered the day before when she had informed her parents about the team she was on. Both of her parents were merchants, she was the first in the family to be a ninja. They didn't understand most of the stuff she did, but stuck by her decision to be a shinobi. Sakura had been surprised when they didn't know of Sasuke, but knew plenty about Naruto. Her father had a negative reaction to the boy's name while her mother just clammed up and didn't say anything.

'"That rotten boy, near my child.."' he had muttered angrily before stalking out of the room. Sakura's mother tried to smile encouragingly, but failed.

'"Why don't you guys like Naruto?" Sakura had asked. For some reason, she had felt a strong urge to stick up for the blonde, although she was rude to him almost all of the time. '"Sure he's a little annoying and pulls a lot of pranks.. But underneath that he's a pretty good guy."'

'"I.. it's.."' For once in her life, her lively mother had been speechless. '"It's an adult thing, Sakura."'

Naruto cleared his throat.

"Anyway, we all need to team up." he nodded sagely. Sakura shook herself out of her thoughts and waited for him to continue. Her eye twitched when there was only silence.

"That's all you've come up with, isn't it?" she asked, a sigh passing through her lips. His shoulders slumped. A nearly inaudible 'yes' reached her ears. Sakura closed her eyes and counted to ten. A little annoyed, yes. But surprised? Hell no. It was common knowledge that Naruto was driven by impulse, and rarely thought things through.

"E-eh.. Kakashi is a jonin!" he said, as if it explained everything.

"Thanks for that brilliant deduction, Sherlock." she muttered.

"No! That's not what I mean!" he sighed. "I'm not too good with words.. Bare with me, okay?" Without waiting for her response, he began pacing on the branch. "We just got out of school. He's been a jonin since before we were born. Not to mention that he's not no ordinary jonin, he's the bloody infamous CopyCat Nin of Kohona. Sharingan Kakashi, or whatever you want to call him. My point is.. we're just kids! He's a frickin' legend! We stand a much better chance against him if we had my stamina, your mind, and Sasuke's skill as one fighting force instead of us trying to go solo."

"But, you seemed to be doing just fine against him..." she said uncertainly.

"Che, yeah, only because he had half of his mind on me! He underestimated me then. He will not make that mistake again." he was counting on that fact that she had been too embarrassed by Kakashi's clothing problem to realize he had gotten a bell. When she nodded, he breathed a sigh of relief. Sakura wouldn't trust him if she knew that he, by the rules and regulations of the exercise, had passed. She would have expected some hidden ploy.

But the truth was, Naruto understood the true purpose of Kakashi's exercise. It was to build team work. If the team didn't have any foundations for team work, Kakashi would fail the lot of them, like many of those before them. But it wasn't simple. There was a variable. If the conscious decision to work together was made, one would have to sacrifice him or herself for the rest of the team. The situation happened far too many times in the ninja life style.

The Third and the Fourth sacrificed themselves fro the well being of the village.

Chouji had sacrificed himself for Inari and Kohonamaru, the unspoken symbols of innocence and purity of the Kohona rebellion.

Iruka sacrificed himself for the Hokage, and the rebellion, knowing that if she died, Orochimaru would win.

Hinata had sacrificed herself to save him, her precious person.

The ninja who does not follow rules and regulations is called trash, but the ninja who cares not about the well being of his or her comrades is worse than trash. A saying he had held close to his heart.

Naruto did not doubt that Kakashi modeled the very situation, the painful choice of giving up your dreams so that other people would be safe, after a situation in his life.

"But.. there are only two bells." Sakura murmured. "Only two of us can pass." she turned her gaze to him. "How can we work together with something like that hanging over our heads?" Not to mention the difficulty of talking Sasuke in to working in a team.. she thought grimly.

"Easy. We decide now who is going to lose." Naruto said solemnly. Sakura stiffened. She didn't want to fail. She wanted to stay with Sasuke! Although she knew she was being selfish, she could not find it in her heart to do something as .. as.. noble as that, not when her love was on the line.

Naruto smiled at the look on her face. The good thing about knowing someone as well as he knew Sakura was he knew every thought that passed through her mind by looking at her eyes. To give up one's dreams to help another.. she had been willing to do that for Sasuke, and after he left, to the many people she almost died trying to save. Because he knew her heart as well as he knew his own, he did not hold it against her.

"I'll lose." he said firmly. Sakura snapped her attention to him. Her mouth open in protest, but he cut her off. "And no arguing. Sasuke has no room to improve at the Academy, and you could practically teach the classes yourself." She blushed at the compliment. Naruto stretched his arms over his head, sighing in pleasure when he heard the satisfying pop of his spine. "Besides, I still don't understand how to do Bunshin no Jutsu. I totally cheated by learning Kage Bunshin." he said truthfully.

Naruto turned to her, a true smile lighting up his eyes. "Come on, let's go dig Sasuke out of the hole he dug for himself." He picked her up again, not noticing her incredulous look.

Naruto...just when did you grow up? Where was I... when you changed from an annoying idiot to a mature ninja?


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Whatever higher deity watching from above had a cruel sense of irony, because even as the sentence passed the fox boy's lips, Sasuke was struggling to get out of the ground trap that Kakashi had caught him in. Only his head was visible. Muffled curses escaped the boy's mouth.

The amused jonin watched the futile movements. "You know, Sasuke.." Kakashi said conversationally. "You really shouldn't curse so ******** you.." was the flat reply. Kakashi chuckled light heartedly.

"What you said was true! You aren't like them at all!" he said gleefully. "Instead of running in terror from my greatness, or falling for genjustu, you fell for a simple ninjutsu!" Kakashi laughed some more, enjoying the power he held over the cold Uchiha. He crouched in front of Sasuke, pulling out his orange book. Sasuke glared at accusingly.

"You want to hear a paragraph?" Kakashi asked in mock sincerity. "'His hands trailed over her body, memorizing the texture and feel of it in his mind. She moaned softly in his ear, arousing him even further. He knelt down to-'"

"Shut up!" Instead of being red with anger, he was now red with embarrassment. Kakashi chuckled, happy he could get such a reaction from an ice cube. He decided it was his personal duty to piss Sasuke off as much as possible, just so that the ice mask would fall, and the boy could feel something besides the loneliness that must have plagued him ever since Itachi's betrayal. Even if it was an uncertain and deadly emotion, like anger.

He tapped the boy's dark head with his book.

"Lesson Three: Never assume anything. It only leads to false information that could mean someone's death in the long run." he said casually, flipping a page of the dirty book.

"What do you mean by that?" Sasuke asked sullenly, stopping his useless movement.

"Naruto didn't.. as you put it 'run away'. Nor did Sakura fall into one of my traps." he murmured, only half of his mind on the conversation. His eye widened a little at what the girl did on the next page, then mentally chuckled. Where does Jiraiya get this stuff?

"B-but.. you said.." Sasuke stammered.

"Hmm? You need it spelled out for you? Use your eyes, Sasuke. How many bells do I have?" Sasuke's eyes widened when he saw only one bell hanging from Kakashi's belt loop. But, the absence of the other could only mean.. "Naruto succeeded where very few ninja have, and I blame most of it on me, for underestimating him. But what's done is done. He passed this exercise, with flying colors, and also predicated my next target, having figured out where she was at the same time I did. Instead of parading around, flaunting his victory, or retreating to eat his lunch, he rescued her and took her out of the danger zone." Kakashi paused, then rubbed even more salt in Sasuke's wounds.

"Seems like Sakura, seeing since she isn't half under the ground, and Naruto, who was the only person to get a bell from me, are the closest to being genins, while you are dead last. Funny how the number one rookie is being upstaged by the guy who passed with the lowest scores..."

crying This is the best story i have ever read!!!!! heart
Now onto the good stuff
twisted NEXT CHAPTER NOW!!!!!!!! ninja