Sasuke was staring again. Sasuke was staring, and really, it was all Kakashi-sensei's fault. Well… it kind of all lead back to Kura-kun, really, but that was moot because the alternative was not having Kura-kun.

And that would not be enjoyable for either of us.

Naruto found himself nervous. He was frantic, he didn't want to go from being seen as crazy to being seen as a monster. If he really had to choose between being seen as crazy or being seen as a monster, he'd have taken crazy every time.

It wasn't a great feeling.

Only the weak and dull of mind will see you that way.

And just like that, the anxiety melted away, and he felt the calm wash over him. Naruto took a deep breath, and on exhale leaned back against the tree.

Thanks Kura-kun.

"What are you smiling at, dobe?" Sasuke was still staring.

Naruto shrugged, "Nothin'. I'm just real happy all the time! What're you frowning at all the time, teme?"

"What were you and Kakashi-sensei talking about yesterday?" Sasuke snapped like an angry whip, his eyes narrowed and his gaze turned glare, "Why are you so important that he wants to talk to you but not me?"

Jealousy and unfettered rage. Adorable.

The blonde's smile finally died on his lips, and his easygoing stare stayed on the sky. "Maybe he's just worried that I'm crazy. Told me not to be so crazy. You know how it is, right?"

He wished that Kakashi just thought he was crazy.

Dismissing Naruto as just crazy was getting harder and harder for Sasuke. First Iruka-sensei acknowledged Uzumaki in front of everyone, and then Kakashi-sensei did as well. And just now seeing the misery on the boy's face when he called himself crazy… Something was wrong. Sasuke bit back an insult, and just sat down at the tree, not another word said.

For once, the silence between the two boys was companionable… or at the very least, not so hostile.

You are worried. You worry so much. I am sorry.

A soft smile crossed Naruto's lips, and he closed his eyes.

"Sasuke-kun! Don't sit next to crazy, come sit next to me!"

His eyes popped open, and Naruto slumped a bit more in his position. Right, they had a third member on their team, and she was very, very loud.

She's bothering me. May I make her stop?

Naruto scoffed but shook his head, it wasn't like the Kyuubi wouldn't get its chance to shut everyone up. Annnd that horrible squeezing feeling in his stomach came back. This was gonna end so so badly. "Hey, maybe Kakashi-sensei decided not to show up? Maybe we can just go home?"

Sasuke scoffed. "Doubt it, dobe."

"Shut up, crazy! Of course he'll be here!" Sakura rolled her eyes at him.

"Yes, of course I'll be here."

The blood drained from Naruto's face.

Kakashi walked out from behind the very tree that Naruto leaned back on, seeming for all the world like he'd been there the entire time. He might have been, Naruto didn't check, and the Kyuubi didn't check so...

"Are you all ready for your test?" Kakashi asked while he stared directly at Naruto, "Naruto? Are you okay? You seem a bit nervous."

Sasuke kept glancing back and forth between Naruto and Kakashi. Why did Naruto look like the shinigami had just come to end him? What was he missing here?

"Yeah… uh… Yeah I'm ready." He really, really wasn't. Naruto pushed himself to his feet, idly dusting off his pants with his hands.

"Glad to hear it." Kakashi turned his serene gaze to Sakura and Sasuke, "You all didn't eat breakfast, right?"

"No sensei!" Sakura chirped.

"No, sensei." Sasuke murmured.

"Uh..." Naruto made sure to look everywhere but at Kakashi, "Nooo?"

Kakashi stared at him flatly.

"Ugh, yes! I ate breakfast, okay? Kur- uh… breakfast is an important meal of the day and I just couldn't leave without eating something!" He shot a dirty look at his shadow, "Kakashi sensei, I could not leave unless I ate."

Breakfast is very important.

I know but he said…!

He says a lot. I am more trustworthy.

Of course you are, but I wanted to make a good impression!

A good impression at the detriment of yourself. Unacceptable.

...Why are you always right?

The Kyuubi preened under that praise, and Naruto could feel the fox puff its chest out in silent pride.

It is simply my way. I will teach you one day.

"Kakashi-sensei, do we HAVE to stay on a team with him? He's crazy and he talks to himself all the time." Sakura pouted and rubbed her arm nervously, "He's gonna get Sasuke-kun killed out there! He's not even listening to us!"

Naruto frowned. He felt the Kyuubi sneer and bare its teeth.

Ah, she likes to do harm with words. I enjoy doing harm with my maw as well.

Naruto frowned even more.

I will only gnaw on her a little bit.

The silver haired jounin stared down at Sakura with a quiet grin on his face. His gaze shifted from Sakura to Sasuke, and finally to Naruto. Slow and deliberate, he took in Sakura's hopeful smile, Sasuke's angry frown, and Naruto's pleading stare.

He walked over to a nearby stump and sat down on it. Next to it sat a single alarm clock. "You have thirty minutes to complete your task… the task, of course, is to defeat me and to take these..." He fished a set of bells out of his kunai holster, and held them up with two fingers. "The first two genin that do will stay ninja, the remaining genin will return to the academy."

"What!? But… you can't do that!" The words were out of Sakura's lips before she could stop herself, "We spent years in the academy!"

Sasuke scowled.

"And you'll spend a few more if you don't pass my test," Kakashi narrowed his eye, "Come at me like you want to kill me, or you won't survive at all-"

Sasuke flashed into action, his kunai out and his body blurring through the air. He was the fastest genin in his graduating class, but Kakashi was much, much faster. Before the genin-to-be knew what happened, one hand was on the back of his head, and his arm was twisted behind his back, and his face was being forced into the dirt.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura took a step forward, but froze when Kakashi raised a single eyebrow at her.

"Points for enthusiasm," The scarecrow muttered, "But you're about twenty years early to try and catch me off guard. You've got the right idea thought. Oh, and Sakura? If a superior enemy has a hostage, you don't approach dead on. It's disrespectful." He released the genin and stood to his full height. "Now… let's begin."

Sasuke pushed to his feet and leapt away to hide, and Sakura dashed off in an opposite direction.

Naruto simply stood there, his fists clenched, "Kakashi-sensei, c'mon… you can't really mean that right? I mean… I don't wanna try to kill you… I can't… man, this is messed up." He could already feel the Kyuubi's eagerness boiling under his skin. A warning. A threat. Both directed in Kakashi's direction. He frantically ran his hands through his hair, trying to clear his head.

Little One… we must fight. We will fight. We will not hide.

"I know that." He sagged underneath the Kyuubi's hushed, nudging tone. It wanted to fight. It wanted Naruto to want to fight. "I just don't wanna hurt him. I ain't gonna try to kill him for no reason."

"I'm not worried." Kakashi didn't dare sit or pull out his book. "This is how it is, Naruto-kun." He put his hands in his pockets, "With a team like this… there's no room for secrets and half measures."

Naruto didn't move. The boy crossed his arms and stared dead on at Kakashi, his eyes narrowed and angry and stubborn. "You can't make me."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Of course I can. Did you know I was the student of the fourth Hokage?"

Shaking his head, Naruto stood fast.

"No? Well here's a funny thing. So my sensei was the first one who dealt with Kura-kun. Now let's be serious for a second. Do you really think I'm not in the position to put him away if I think I have to?"

"Wh-what?" Naruto took a step back, and his eyes shot wide as the weight of Kakashi's words bore down on him. To lose Kurama again over a test… "I… I won't let you." He hissed the words out under his breath, "I won't let you hurt him like they did before."

"Then choose. Fight for your friend's life or lose him. Again." He watched Naruto's fists clench tight, and those bright blue eyes pull into foxlike irises.

We will not let him. We will break him.

Naruto gave a short nod. A growl filled the air, low and warning and angry, sounding from everywhere and nowhere. The atmosphere grew heavy with the combined killing intent of a scared boy and a vicious fox focused solely on removing the only threat in that clearing. Naruto could feel the Kyuubi's barely containted rage at the man: For threatening his freedom, for scaring his little one.

"Good choice. Now, first lesson. Taijutsu." The silver haired teacher began walking forward, "So, show me what you and Kura-kun… can..."

His statement slowly died on his lips as he watched Naruto's shadow simply began… walking away. It began circling around him, stalking freely. It was unnatural. Bizarre in a way that made Kakashi shudder… the way that thing stalked around him reminded him of his dogs when they tried to flank an enemy. Pack tactics. A boy and his fox.

"Well… that's new."

The shadow ran long, as though it were standing against the sun. It ran long and stretched until it shaped something else entirely. And then the Kyuubi, pitch black like the void and blue eyed like the sky, maw open revealing its many many teeth the size of kunais clambered out of the shadow and stood behind Kakashi, nine tails flagging wickedly behind it. It was a nightmare come to the training grounds, and it wore the Yondaime's eyes.

Let us begin.

The Kyuubi leapt at Kakashi, claws outstretched, and Naruto moved in concert.

Sasuke watched with wide, bewildered eyes as Naruto proceeded to defy every expectation he held of the boy. He was supposed to be loud. Weak. Crazy. More than anything, Kura-kun was not supposed be a demon, Kura-kun was not supposed to be able to speak, and Kura-kun was not supposed to exist!

And then there was that chakra that he was using…

It was vicious. It was unlike anything Kakashi had ever seen before. When the Kyuubi leapt towards Kakashi, he dove out of the way, immediately spotting that even its chakra seemed like it was lashing out against him in wild, angry spikes. Even being close to the Kyuubi meant charred flesh and broken bones.

Taijutsu is a good lesson. We will learn it well.

We? Oh right, Naruto.

The boy had already been moving the second the Kyuubi had moved, and when Kakashi had touched down, Naruto swung a clawed hand at Kakashi.

He dodged the attack masterfully, effortlessly. For someone so supposedly dangerous, he'd expected far more from the…

A wild, uncontrolled torrent of chakra in the shape of a bestial claw formed out of the air and drove down at Kakashi, following the boy's movements in spastic bursts. He avoided the attack with a few quick steps to the side. "You know, if you were faster you might have caught me with that. Pretty nasty wo-"

The Kyuubi was behind him, mid swing of those massive tails, trying to drop them on him like a gargantuan club. Kurama, he noted, was very good at not announcing its attacks. The fox offered no tells or warnings, it was simply opportunistic as hell even when refusing to use anything but physical attacks.

The way it fought was a far cry from how it attacked Konoha that day. But then, Kakashi mused mid dodge, that if he were as tall as the sky, he would fight differently too.

"That was close. You two fight pretty well together."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at Kakashi, and for the briefest moment, he caught white hot anger burning behind that relatively innocent face. ...Maybe the threat against Naruto's only friend had been a bit much? The kid took a few running steps forward and then planted his leading foot like he were going to throw a ball.

A pitch black ball of chakra tore out the air next to him, and ripped through the air so fast that by the time he'd thought to dodge, it was shearing away at flesh and cloth alike. The manifestation instantly broke apart upon impact, melting into nothing and dissipating into the air… only the acrid scent of virulient chakra remained from the attack.

We need to work on your control and aim, little one.

In quick succession, the Kyuubi thrashed in from behind Kakashi, spinning and rolling and clawing madly, there was no attempt at subtly here. In Naruto's mind it was a flash of red murder that briefly seared his vision. It crashed its tails into his midsection hard, just as Kakashi was sent careening, two claws tore through the man and bent him in at a harsh right angle before he vanished in a plume of smoke.

The Kyuubi stared at the point of impact, a cracked, smoldering crater that was pockmarked by angry, red claw like scars.

A clone. It snorted. Ninja. They move too much for my tastes.

Naruto gave a relieved sigh, "I thought we killed him. I mean, I woulda felt bad for him but… he shouldn'ta said that, Kura-kun. I won't let him do that to you."

His words got him a warm feeling that welled up in his chest that reminded him of a hug.

We have work to do, little one.

"Yeah? Lets try not to wreck him this time, huh?" The two shared a laugh until the kyuubi began nudging the boy repeatedly, "Okay, okay! Let's go!"

Wordlessly, the two made their way towards the tree line.

Hunting. How fun.

Kakashi watched as the two walked off from his position from high in the tree line, his eyes narrowed, 'Already that strong, and way more loyal to the fox than he is to the village? Huh. Okay. So maybe he's a little bit of a risk.'

Sakura's eyes went wide and horrified at the sight of Naruto fighting alongside Kura-kun. The imaginary friend. "Its… its real? How is that real?!" She clutched the ground underneath her hands a bit too tightly as the panic set in. She was shaking. Her breath was quickening but she couldn't breathe as reality slammed into her like a kunai to the forehead.

"N-nine tails. Nine tails..." Naruto had the nine tails. She didn't know how, she didn't know why, but she was instantly scrambling back and away from under tree brush in the hopes of getting away from that monster.

From both of those monsters.

Before she could think to get up and stand and run because the two of them turned and started walking straight for her and she couldn't quite get to her feet. And what shocked her more than anything was the way the two walked in sync. Sometimes, the fox's ear would twitch and Naruto would look in the direction the fox's ear twitched, or Naruto would sniff the air and the Kyuubi would scan the horizon like it was checking what the idiot was smelling.

They couldn't really be that close, could they? That level of relationship was the sort of thing that was almost… it was wrong.

The monsters were closer now.

Up.

"Huh? Think so?"

As prey, up is ideal. The Kyuubi paused, and sniffed the air. Fear. Confusion. The annoying one is here.

The monsters were here. The monsters were here and the monsters were rude.

"Oh, you mean Sakura-chan?"

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Naruto knew it was talking about her just by it calling her annoying? Sakura almost yelled, but then Naruto dropped to his haunches and spotted her instantly.

"Hey Sakura-chan, me and Kura-kun are goin to hunt-"

All she saw were bright blue eyes that were more fox than human. All she saw was that enormous fox that stood over him like a murderous shroud, smiling. She yelped. All she could remember doing was throwing her hands up and trying to push him away and scampering away from him the second she caught sight of those eyes. Sakura could the edge of her vision dimming, but all she could think about was getting away.

She tried to tell Naruto to stay away. She tried to beg the Kyuubi not to claw her to bits.

She screamed until she ran out of breath and passed out.

Sasuke's fists clenched tightly at the piercing sound of Sakura's screams… she was no doubt already taken down by Kakashi, and the forest was pitch silent again. Unnerving, considering he was sharing the forest with a Jounin that was trying to kill him and a teammate with a demon.

"Yo. You seem pretty at ease for someone being hunted."

He leapt out of the forest and into the clearing, the Uchiha wasn't used to fighting in and out of trees… out in the open, though? Sasuke landed roughly on his feet, and came to a skidding halt as he turned to face his attacker.

Kakashi, hands jammed in his pockets, walked out after Sasuke.

"Well, you're not passed out and screaming, so at least you're doing better than Sakura-chan."

"I'm different from Sakura." He narrowed his eyes.

Kakashi smirked. "Oh yeah? Want to show me what you've got, then?"

Without another word, and for the second time that day, Sasuke dashed at Kakashi, shuriken already flying from his fingertips. He would defeat Kakashi, take the bell, and become a ninja. He would destroy Itachi.

He was Uchiha.

And he, as a Uchiha, watched as Kakashi effortlessly caught the shuriken between his fingers and casually examined them, "Not a bad throw. You missed th-"

Before he could finish, Sasuke had crossed the distance between them, and thrown his foot around in a vicious roundhouse. Kakashi effortlessly caught his leg, only for his eye to widen when Sasuke spun out of his grip, his other leg outstretched and aimed right at his head.

Sasuke tried not to be too pleased at the shock on his sensei's face.

Kakashi would acknowledge him.

The Kyuubi's ears twitched. Naruto turned his head to look in the direction of Sasuke and Kakashi. "They're really goin' at it, you can hear em from here." He briefly glanced back at the unconscious girl on his back, and frowned.

You are not a monster.

"She screamed when she looked at me."

She screamed when she looked at me.

The boy huffed, and set Sakura down near the alarm clock. She settled with a groan and shifted when her body touched the ground, and she grimaced as she was beset on by nightmares. Eventually, she settled.

"That's kind of the same thing, isn't it?"

The Kyuubi snorted, and swiped its tail across Naruto's hair. Clever. It sank into Naruto's shadow halfway, just far enough that its eyes and ears poked out from it. She still makes your heart run fast.

Naruto rubbed his other arm and gave a forced smile. "She's real pretty, thats all." With one last glance to Sakura, he turned away and started walking towards the sounds of combat.

I notice you do not think as much when she is talking.

"She's loud."

You're loud.

"She's a different kind of loud. You know what I mean, right?"

And the Kyuubi did. It hummed lightly in response, and kept rooting around in the boy's memories. It did so instinctually, which was easy enough when one shared brainspace with another. She was the kind of loud that Sasuke was quiet. The mean-spirited sort. But she was pretty and that tended to make up for a lot in the mind of a pubescent boy.

She is a different kind of loud. It agreed.

"Told you." Naruto puffed his chest out proudly.

You would do well to continue to consider what you find pleasing about her.

Instantly, the boy deflated. "Eh? Whats the big deal? I just like 'er, you know?"

It is important to understand yourself and know where your susceptibilities and proclivities lay. The Kyuubi waited for Naruto to understand the more complicated words. Know where you are weak, and then you may become strong.

"But how is liking someone makin' me weak?"

The two walked in silence for a moment, thoughts flitting back and forth between the two, before the fox finally turned its gaze on Naruto again.

You are yet young. I will explain later. Would you like to borrow a tail?

"Wait, what do you-" His eyes widened, and his gaze snapped to the Kyuubi. Naruto smiled so wide that all his teeth were exposed and his eyes were forced shut. "Of course I want to borrow a tail!"

Sasuke spat fire at Kakashi. A wild torrent of flames ripped through the air and tore through Kakashi with all the practiced ease of someone who'd practiced that jutsu hundreds of times. This time, he didn't bother hiding his glee as Kakashi was englufed in fire. Defeating a jounin would definitely bring closer to reaching his ambition… to killing his brother.

Except when the world stopped burning and the smoke cleared, Sasuke found no remains of his sensei's body, and instead felt a distinct sense of horror welling up inside of him.

All that was left was a charred log, shattered and brittle and blackened.

"Impressive, knowing that jutsu when you're so young."

Behind him.

"Not bad, so far. I'd say you're just a little bit ahead of Sakura. Keep it up and you might impress me."

Sasuke moved, whipping his body around in a vicious roundhouse kick. If Kakashi hadnt been a jounin, he might have been caught of guard.

He wasn't. Kakashi easily caught Sasuke's foot with one hand, and swung down with a kunai in a furious arc.

Sasuke swore that he could see arcs in the wind from the sheer strength of that swing. Regardless, he yanked a kunai out of his pouch and blocked the swing. The kunai clashed between them, and Sasuke's was easily knocked out of the way.

"Huh, you're pretty quick. Not bad." The jounin let Sasuke's arm go, and the Uchiha stumbled backwards.

Sasuke scowled deeply. To put everything into this fight and have his jounin instructor patronize him? Not bad. Sasuke snarled and grit his teeth, "I'll show you not bad." His fingers began dancing as he started a series of handseals, blindingly fast.

He blinked.

Kakashi was gone.

"Wh-"

"For a Uchiha, you sure lose track of your opponent a lot."

Behind? Sasuke snapped around, "No… beneath!?"

A hand broke the surface of the ground, and grasped Sasuke's ankle.

And right then, just as Kakashi were going to pull Sasuke in, the air grew acrid and stuck, and the scent of the area became tinged with copper. The sudden change and hesitation gave Sasuke enough time to leap away from Kakashi's hand.

"Hmph… so you're not as fast as you think, huh?"

The sheer amount of killing intent directed at him clawed into the back of his mind, Kakashi's senses were screaming at him, and his body was moving before the attack ever came. He leapt out of the ground, and dove off to the side. And the attack did come.

Kakashi didn't have the heart to tell Sasuke that a legitimate threat had arrived.

He landed easily on his feet in time to watch eight arcing pitch black tails sailing against the sky, midnight chemtrails burned their way along until, abruptly, they dove down at Kakashi, impaling the ground where he once stood in thick thundering cracks that left the earth charred and sundered.

Sasuke found himself frozen as the chakra tails tore into the area just in front of them. He didn't know which was more unnerving, that Naruto was the one behind the destruction… or that Kakashi had effortlessly avoided it.

In the scorched wake of the attack, Naruto stood, a cloak of blackened chakra hung off of his body and sloughed off in slow, lazy dollops. His blue eyes burned, and his mouth pulled into a smile made vicious by sharpened teeth.

"...Dobe?" Sasuke failed to keep the alarm out of his voice as he glanced over at the dead last. "What are you…?"

He does not like to be called dobe.

The shroud of chakra snapped at Sasuke. Was his chakra growling? Not just growling, it was boiling. Furious. One of the Kyuubi's tails curled and poised high like a scorpion's, threatening and daring Kakashi to attack from the front. Killer intent hung from the boy's frame like a cloak and and while it wasn't quite up to the standards of Itachi…

It was close.

"Sorry Sasuke."

His voice snapped the Uchiha out of his brief reverie, and he found himself staring at Naruto, who's gaze never left Kakashi's face.

"Can't talk now, gotta get those bells."

Naruto erupted from where he stood so hard that Sasuke's hair was blown back into his face. For the first time in his life, he was left staring at the dobe's… Naruto's back. And for the third time in his life, first with Itachi, then with Kakashi… he felt out of his depth.

Sasuke grit his teeth and clutched his fists, watching as Naruto ignited into midnight fire.

Upon accepting the team with Uzumaki Naruto on it, Hatake Kakashi expected an idiot child that'd spent his time at the academy goofing off and not taking anything seriously. Lovestruck and loud, obnoxious and oblivious.

He expected Obito.

He did not expect to be confronted with a blonde blur of violence and black chakra that had just set upon him like a whirlwind; the boy's fists shot out in a flurry, followed by angry, lazy swipes of the black chakra that he wore as a cloak.

Kakashi blocked each fist easily, shifting his forearms and swiping them away from his center with little effort.

"Sloppy." He muttered, only to have to duck the two mad chakra claws that moved independent of Naruto as they tried to cleave his torso from his hips.

Naruto had gotten faster, but certainly not faster than the man taught by the yellow flash. The chakra claws, on the other hand ripped out from his cloak and tore at him like a hoard of mad piranhas. Piranha's that corroded flesh and melted bone if they got a hold of you.

He'd have to talk to Naruto about restraint.

The silver haired jounin took a few steps back from Naruto, "Sorry Naruto-kun, I didn't tell you that we weren't doing taijutsu lessons any more. Tell me, what do you know about ninjutsu?"

The chakra shroud growled. Naruto bit his bottom lip, and froze under his sensei's gaze. "Uh… I never really… uhm… figured out handseals."

"Ah." Tragic as it was, it was clear Naruto wouldn't be the one to need extra help, which meant less work for Kakashi. He brushed off the comment, "Then let's move on to genju-"

A music lesson in instead.

Oh right, the Kyuubi.

He is the conductor. I am the ORCHESTRA.

The giant fox, now wielding eight tails, crashed down in front of Kakashi between Naruto with all the grace of a fox the size of a few trees. Naruto walked to the Kyuubi's side, and bore his cloak's claws along with his own.

They still wore the same eyes. Maybe a similarly murderous smile.

"Ahh, I really do always forget that there are two of you." Kakashi scratched the back of his head and grinned behind his mask, "Is Naruto borrowing one of your tails?"

Shhh, now is not the time for talk, let us hear you sing.

And then the Kyuubi was charging, its tails pointed directly at Kakashi with dire purpose. Naruto was charging with two condensed balls of viscous chakra in his hands. The same condensed chakra balls that'd ripped his clone's face off from a distance.

He'd really have to talk to Naruto about restraint.

The two were rushing Kakashi down in tandem, and Kakashi… Kakashi simply stood there, one hand reaching for the headband covering his eye.

The Kyuubi raised its horrifying claws, poised to slice him open. Naruto was dashing in low, probably prepping to try to blow his legs off as soon as he dodged.

Kakashi almost felt a little proud.

"Annnnnd..."

The alarm began shrieking.

The Kyuubi came to a skidding, graceful stop just in front of Kakashi. It lowered its paw, and cast a baleful sidelong glance at Kakashi before watching Naruto go stumbling past. As it turned out, the little one wasn't so good at moving that fast, and was sent tumbling head over heels as he tried to stop.

"Ahhhh!"

The Kyuubi's tail swept around the boy's midsection, stopping him midair just before he'd face planted into Kakashi's foot.

"Thanks Kura-kun!"

You are welcome.

Kakashi yawned.

"Time's up."

"Well, that was disappointing." Kakashi leaned against a tree, his arms folded neatly, "You three were one of the most anticipated teams for this rotation, and instead what I get is..."

His gaze shifted from Sakura, who stared at Naruto like he was going to bite her. Sasuke, who sat on a stump across from him with a dark look in his eyes, And Naruto, who simply sat there leaned back against the Kyuubi that had curled around him the second the boy had sat down. It barely seemed willing to pay Kakashi a glance.

Sakura looked like she was going to cry.

"A scared child who doesn't know how to fight under pressure, an avenger who thought doing good in school meant he was ready for the big leagues, and a… well… I don't want to say you did good Naruto. I'll just say you tried. You moved Sakura to a relatively safe place at least… not much for teamwork with anyone that isn't Kurama, though.

Naruto preened and puffed his chest out. The Kyuubi snorted, and nudged at Naruto's chest until he broke out into a small laugh.

You did well. The fox mumbled, completely disregarding Kakashi outright, and to Kakashi's chagrin, Naruto smiled widely in return and ran a hand through the Kyuubi's caustic fur.

"I can't do this."

It was barely a whisper, but Naruto's gaze instantly found Sakura's.

"Kakashi-sensei, I can't be on the team with the Kyu-" She froze at sudden and dangerous expression that had crossed the Kyuubi's face: The narrowed eyes and razor teeth all addressed her with a quiet, dangerous sneer.

"Uh..." Naruto found himself interrupting, "Kura-kun really hates to be called that. Just call em' Kurama."

The pinkette shuddered.

"Kakashi-sensei, the Ky-kurama killed a lot of people. You can't just put Sasuke-kun and me in danger like this!"

"Don't bring me into this," Sasuke hissed, the words came out angry, baleful, "I am not afraid."

Naruto's eyes widened.

The Kyuubi released a short, sneering snort before going back to snuggling into Naruto's chest. The fox knew it couldn't kill the hurt in Naruto, but it could still hug the boy so tightly that it would muffle the pain.

"Sakura." Kakashi bit the words out, "Walk with me. You two don't move, you are not dismissed."

The pinkette stood up and walked away alongside Kakashi, nervously rubbing her opposing arm as she stole one last look at Naruto.

"Heh…" Naruto frowned, and gave the Kyuubi a squeeze, "I always wanted her to look me, but now..."

"Kakashi-sensei, I'm sorry I..."

He took a deep breath. "Just a little bit further."

The aspiring genin fell silent, and said nothing until Kakashi finally came to a stop before a enormous pillar of stone. Easily as tall as Kakashi, and twice as wide. Names upon names were scrawled into the stone in carefully and masterfully written kanji. It was a beautiful as it was dire.

"If we do our jobs right, this'll be all we ever leave behind."

She bit her bottom lip, and opted to stare at her feet instead. "Kakashi-sensei..."

"You can formally request to be placed on another team, you know." He ran a hand along the memorial stone, and stopped at Obito's name. "As long as you ask me with the hokage as witness, you can make that happen."

Her eyes widened. Could it have really been that easy though? Simply putting in a request and walking away from her nightmare of a team?

"I have a question for you though."

Her gaze snapped to him.

"Is your goal as a ninja to become strong? Or do you just want to impress Sasuke? Do you have a goal?"

Did she have a goal? She'd joined the academy to become a ninja, but beyond that? It'd been all about Sasuke and bookwork… as long as she was good at those, she'd been fine. But what about an actual fight? Was she really that useless?

"I… don't know." Sakura admitted, slowly, carefully, as though the words themselves would turn on her if she spoke too quickly.

Kakashi smirked slightly, "If you want to become strong, this team will be the strongest, and you will have to become better to keep up. If you want to impress Sasuke..." He turned his gaze on her, "Then you should stop being a ninja. If you aren't motivated for yourself, then you won't survive. I'd sooner see you at home rather than on this stone. And as for Naruto..."

Sakura winced.

"I know the Kyuubi is scary, but as it stands now, you'll face scarier things that are actually trying to kill you. Do you think Naruto would ever hurt you?"

"I mean… not at first." She nervously grabbed onto her arms and held on for dear life. "But you didn't see him! He… they move like they're thinking the same thoughts, and if they are..."

"...You should relax. As far as I can tell, the Kyuubi only tries to hurt people that Naruto wants to hurt. That boy's got the biggest heart I'd ever seen. so try not to worry about the giant demon that follows his whims. There's no way that will go badly for you." A quick pat to Sakura's back, and Kakashi began walking off, "I believe we have a meeting to finish."

Sakura cringed hard at Kakashi's assessment, and fell into step behind him.

"Uhm… yes, sensei."

"That's the spirit."

The Kyuubi breathed deeply, his eyes lagged closed in a slow and lazy blinks. It'd been a long time since it'd been free, but it'd been much, much longer since it felt the wind on it's back. Everything would have been perfect, if the Kyuubi didn't feel eyes on the back of it's head. Well… on Naruto's head.

There were few things that could ruin a moment like this. Loud children. The masked man showing up again. Impetuous younglings that were staring at Naruto like he owed them money.

You're staring, whelp.

Sasuke flinched back, and desperately tried to find something else to look at.

The Kyuubi tilted its head and scoffed.

"Hey, hey Sasuke. Did you mean it?" Naruto just as quickly and eagerly picked up the conversation, "You're really not afraid of us?"

He is not afraid of you, The Kyuubi watched Sasuke intently, He does not know better.

Sasuke narrowed his black eyes, snapping his gaze to Naruto. "What? What do you mean?"

There was a brief moment where the Kyuubi turned to look Naruto in the eyes, and Naruto stared back. Then, the boy groaned and rolled his eyes and slumped back into the fox's midnight fur, huffing childishly.

The Kyuubi snorted, a quick exhale of breath.

The little one does not want me to say. So I will not. Do not stare, lest I decide to stare back. With my teeth.

"You don't look with your teeth." Naruto huffed, arms crossed.

Not when I look at you, I don't.

The fox leered at Sasuke, flashing its bright white teeth in vicious warning. Naruto rolled his eyes and instead took the fox's head in hands and began dragging his fingers behind the Kyuubi's ears.

"Seriously, Kura-kun ain't nothin to be afraid of. He's great!" Naruto smiled wide at Sasuke.

Sasuke stared at Naruto, then the fox. Finally, he exhaled, and slumped backwards onto his butt. That look in Naruto's eyes was so painfully familiar that he had to look away. It reminded him of how he looked up to Itachi or his father… and worse, the Kyuubi seemed equally enamored with Naruto, to the point where it was happy being nicknamed. Sasuke didn't really know what to say to that… so he just leaned back on his arms and mumbled.

"Yeah… right."

"Hey..."

The Uchiha bristled. "What?"

"Do you think we passed?"

Sasuke huffed and looked away again. "How should I know?"

Kakashi took a step forward into the clearing, and the Kyuubi's eyes instantly snapped open and locked on to the jounin. Naruto instead turned his gaze to the pinkette standing just behind Kakashi.

The sight of twin blue eyes made her shudder.

"Hey Sakura! You uh… you feeling okay now? I'm real sorry for scaring you, ya know." Naruto tried to offer a smile.

Sakura moved directly behind Kakashi, out of the way of Naruto's questioning gaze, and especially out of the line of sight of the Kyuubi's narrow eyed glare.

Little one, Kurama drawled, drawing the boy closer into its protective grasp.

Sasuke scoffed.

"Well, lets get to the point." Kakashi clapped his hands once, "You should know that you guys definitely passed, but only because I would never have been allowed to fail you." He ran a hand through his hair, "So this was more of an…. evaluation."

Sakura instantly found her gaze sinking into the ground. This would be the first test she'd ever failed.

"Naruto."

Eagerly, Naruto sat up, his back straight.

"For someone who never learned handseals, you well. You can fight." If Naruto had tails, they'd have been wagging in excitement. Kakashi had to settle for the pleased gleam in the Kyuubi's eye. "But you're all power and no finesse right now… I think, however, finesse can be taught. Extra credit points for making sure your team mate was moved to a safe place before chasing after me. All in all? Not bad."

"W-wait, really?! Yeah!" Excitement burst out of the boy like a geyser, and he eagerly hugged the Kyuubi's head, "Hey, you hear that? We did okay!"

The Kyuubi playfully swatted the boy on head.

Yes. We did okay. Despite the Kyuubi's droll tone, its tails wagged and flagged in the air.

Kakashi sighed, exasperated. Dealing with the Kyuubi no Kitsune and Uzumaki Naruto as a package would be more than a handful. They would be a terror once he got Naruto up to speed. He turned to Sasuke.

"Disappointing. For someone with so much talent, you don't know how to fight with comrades."

The Uchiha scoffed.

"That's alright." Kakashi smirked, "You'll learn to work with a team, or you won't last long with me. That goes for all of you." He turned to look at Naruto, Sasuke, and then Sakura, "Whether or not you are afraid or in love, or you hate your teammates, or you don't care. You will learn to work with them or the ninja world will eat you alive."

Their jounin sensei took a long, deep breath.

"Normally, you need at least 20 D rank missions in order to move on to the good stuff… but looking at the people on this team, I'm telling you that won't happen. We're probably gonna get thrown into the deep end, so you'll have to learn to swim fast. Welcome to team 7, kids."