The Fox and the Hound

Chapter 25: Old Habits

Chapter Summary: Naruto has returned to the Leaf and is reintegrating himself to the village and his old friends. Fate played its hand that day; long ago in the rain. Just how will things keep changing? With a team reunited and a bond never broken; just what will push them all forward...and keep them all together?

Author Note: I would like to apologize to my readers and those that have reviewed. Real Life did take a wonderful toll these past few years and I did let the story die for a while. But, I have come to see this story as my baby and I didn't want to let it die that way and my classes have taught me that I do indeed want to write for a living. This story was mostly an attempt to practice my writing skills, and I was NOT prepared for the reception it received. However; I am grateful to all who have read it. Not only have you given me confidence, but good criticisms and I look forward to moving forward with this pet project. While I cannot state how quickly I can update the story, as I am taking courses for professional writing, and working a full time job at the same time, I promise I will make every effort not to be such a long hiatus.

I do hope that this humble offering will please the masses.

P.S. WHAT the hell does one have to do to get breaks in now? I've tried five times now to edit the document itself, replease it, save it, etc. and it keeps taking out the breaks :P

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Old habits die hard.

That was the old adage anyway.

Jiraiya had said it often enough to Naruto during their first year of training together. Most of the time it was said in response to something Jiraiya had deemed a 'bad habit'. In response, Naruto began to shoot the saying right back at the old man and his many 'bad habits'. All-in-all it was one of their many little jabs that they traded back and forth during their adjustment period.

After that first year, they had gotten used to each other's habits and the argument was dropped.

But Naruto had understood the saying on another level and he was kind of glad for it. Humans were creatures of habit; pure and simple. Those habits made people somewhat predictable in a fight and being able to pick up those habits was a good skill to have.

A great example was the old pervert himself. He had a habit of turning his one foot whenever he was going to actually use ninjutsu. It almost appeared to be a bracing maneuver at first; but after several sparring lessons, Naruto had finally started to learn what it was Jiraiya was going to do next.

And then things got interesting during their training.

Naruto woke early the next day, staring up at a blank ceiling above. For a few minutes he was confused; almost slipping back into the routine he had worked into when traveling with Jiraiya, until he remembered that he was 'home' instead of some random inn with the perv. He sat up and glanced out the door he had forgotten to close the night before and just stared out into the yard.

It still surprised Naruto, where it was they were now. Kakashi had brushed it off with little more than a word, but Naruto knew that was because Sakura and Sasuke were present. Naruto was sure neither knew Kakashi's past too in-depth, and he had felt dredging it up in front of them was crossing an invisible line. Kakashi did actually seem okay with it, but Naruto was certain that his family was still a touchy subject.

Just like it was a touchy subject for him.

Even after three years of having the knowledge of who his parents were; who they had been, Naruto found himself unwilling to think about it much. He had come to terms with his mother, but his father the Fourth? No, he still had trouble with that particular truth.

Naruto swung his feet to the wooden floor and stood to stretch. He started for the hallway and began poking his head out the door. Things were silent and he was still very unfamiliar with the layout of the place. It would take him a while to acclimate to the home, but really it was just as Kakashi had said. He had been concerned about his old room in the apartment, due to the height he had gained.

When he finally found himself headed for the kitchen, he grinned seeing there was a habit Kakashi had not yet given up. Naruto was glad for it and stopped momentarily to watch the older man. The same worn table had been set up oddly in the empty space and Kakashi was at the one end, eating quietly as if nothing had changed.

If Naruto focused entirely on the table and Kakashi it would be easy to pretend it was just another morning where he was off to the Academy and Kakashi off to ANBU business like when he was a kid.

Naruto really smiled then and walked over without saying a word. He merely pulled out the chair from the opposite side of the table and reached for one of the bowls sitting there and the cereal. Just as they both had done for eight years, they ate in silence. But it was a happy silence. A familiar silence.

Kakashi smirked and shook his head. Naruto smirked back and continued with breakfast. As they ate, Naruto again began to glance around them. The place did not feel like home yet; it felt bare. Sure, Kakashi had never owned a whole lot of things. It just was in the apartment things were closer together. Here, the few items that they had owned looks sparse. There was little sign that Sasuke lived there either.

Well except for the lump of the Uchiha on the nearby sofa, seemingly unaware of what was going on around him.

"He's usually not this early of a riser." Kakashi chuckled lightly as he stood to clear his spot at the table. "Of course, maybe I should have told you two to take it easy before taking off yesterday."

"Like we would have listened." Naruto snuffed and shrugged before filling his bowl again. "Anyway, I guessed he was a heavy sleeper since you're not wearing your mask yet."

Kakashi gave him an annoyed look. He did however; reach up and pull the cloth from around his neck till it covered his nose. Naruto merely grinned that idiot's grin and ticked off another habit in his head.

"Don't worry, I'll have him trained in a few weeks." Naruto smiled and turned his head again to the dark haired teenager still unawares. "He's gonna have to get up earlier if he's gonna keep from getting strung up."

Kakashi came to stand next to the table and quirked his eyebrow. "I would have thought you'd outgrown the pranks."

Naruto sputtered and stared up at Kakashi. "You sent me off with, like, the chief prankster of the village. I mean do you know what he does in his free time?"

"I have a good guess." Kakashi laughed a little and scratched at the side of his head. "At least promise me you'll leave the doors alone. I don't have a building manager to fix whatever you take apart now."

"I make no promises!" Naruto proclaimed and shook his head quickly. He had to see just how well he could trap Sasuke since they were under the same roof now.

"Well, I've some things to take care of before our little test this afternoon. We'll meet at the same grounds as before."

"Does Sakura know where we're suppose to meet?"

"Hai, hai. I assume she'll be coming with the Hokage, actually."

"Oh, so Baa-chan is going to actually watch us huh?" Naruto stood to do as Kakashi had done. It took him a few minutes to look around the kitchen and locate the sink. "Ugh, everything is in different spots..."

"The Hokage would like a little demonstration of your growth, I'm sure." Kakashi responded as he picked up his gear from beside the doors. "I'll admit, I'm curious as well."

Naruto turned to smile at his brother but found Kakashi had made another of his sneaky disappearances. It didn't really matter though, Naruto was still smiling wildly. He was actually pretty pumped to let Kakashi see what all he had learned. Kakashi was eager as well, but he didn't just want Naruto to tell him about his training; he wanted Naruto to show him.

It was barely after sunrise, but Naruto knew there was no going back to sleep now. He returned to his room and began digging for his things. At one point he flicked a small wad of paper back behind him and hit Riri neatly in the muzzle. The shepherd grunted and peered at him through one barely open eye.

"We're not with the perv anymore. Why are you up." Riri huffed and put a paw over his muzzle. "I would have liked a day to sleep in."

"Do you really want me to sound like Ero-Sannin." Naruto grunted as he pulled on his clothes and his gear. "I'm used to being up this early, can't really turn it off now."

"Hmph. Well I sure can." Riri stood up and shook out his fur before slumping his shoulders and watching. "Kakashi already gone?"

"Yeah, you missed breakfast too." Naruto stood and sat on the edge of the bed to pull on his boots. He also began putting on the various pouches around his hip, back, and leg. "Anyways, I figured we could go exploring for a bit before we have to go put on our sideshow."

"Oh that's right." Riri yawned, revealing the impressive set of fangs. "A test."

"Yeah and we're going to have an audience." Naruto laughed and scratched Riri's ears. "The old perv and the old lady probably have some kind of bet going about who has done better with our training."

"Well, let's hope she didn't bet on us." Riri grinned over Naruto's head.

"Nah, she's probably betting on Sakura; which is bad luck for her." Naruto stood and stretched once more before heading for the sliding door. "C'mon, let's go see what trouble we can get into."

Riri was up in a flash. Instead of going out the front, Naruto and Riri scaled the fence around the yard and found themselves right out in the main street leading into the village's center. Sakura had been right; the home was near the main gates. It made for a longer walk into the main part of town, but it made for a quieter setting.

Naruto really did not have a set destination in mind and just started walking with his hands shoved into the pockets of his vest. Riri walked a little behind him, ears swiveling back and forth and perked up. Those who were already starting to move about the village did take notice but incorrectly guessed they were Inuzuka. Naruto laughed a little at that and glanced back at Riri.

"We should find Kiba and Akamaru." Naruto thought and by the way Riri nodded his head, he had just had the same thought. Actually, there was a long list of people they were going to have to find. He was eager to get back with Sakura and Sasuke doing missions, but at the same time he was hoping for a small break just for the chance to catch up with everyone.

"It's really good to be home, Riri." Naruto smiled happily and looked up towards the mountains. The faces were the still there, always watching over the village. Sometime during their absence, they had fixed the crack in the Sandaime's face that had formed during the Chuunin exams. There was a small pang of regret. He still missed the older Hokage.

"Hai," Riri barked and began to sniff the air. "Where should we go first?"

"Eh, dunno." Naruto found himself shrugging and glancing around at the buildings. "We could start scouting the shops to see if we can find that ink maker Jiraiya was talking about. Maybe some kind of furniture store, we need a bigger bed."

"Maybe one for me too." Riri snickered and came up to walk beside Naruto. He leaned over and pushed on his hip a little. "I'm too big now."

"I could just use you as a bed, Riri." Naruto pushed back. "You're plenty comfortable."

"No way, you're too heavy now." Riri snorted in return. "I may be bigger, but so are you."

"Alright, alright. How about just as a pillow?"

Ririshii made a playful nip at his legs and Naruto darted away. He laughed thinking of using the dog as a pillow only because he had done so before, many times, and would probably do so again on a mission. But when they were home and had other options, Riri apparently preferred not to be furniture.

As they got into the 'main' part of the village, both began paying more attention to their surroundings. There was a little more activity around the shops as store owners got things ready for opening. Nothing looked too promising yet, so they just lazily walked through the streets.

After a while they just wandered away from the shops and back into a different residential area. This one was closer to the academy and there were parents and kids starting to head in that direction. It was odd to see kids and think of them as actual 'kids'. Technically he was only a teenager himself. But he was also a Chuunin. It made him feel way older than he actually was.

"Wonder how old Nii-san actually feels. He's been a Jounin forever."

Seeing the academy students did spring up another memory and he decided to indulge in it since it would be another half hour or so before things in the village woke up enough to be of use to him.

Naruto began using side streets and alleyways, just like he and the others would when they were skipping class. He finally came upon a small park of grass and trees amidst the homes and streets. This is where they always came because it was a quiet little corner no one really paid much attention to.

Even now, everyone moved around the park as if it was not there. But, Naruto was not the only one with the thought of relaxing on his mind this morning and found another Chuunin laid back in the grass; eyes closed and a piece of grass twirling in-between his lips. Naruto glanced down at Riri, who glanced up as well and began wagging his tail. Naruto nodded and the dog began to slowly creep up on the spiky-haired teen in front of them.

It was odd to see Shikamaru up this early. Naruto was certain the other boy was just as lazy as he acted and would sleep the day away if given a chance. Still, it was nice to see a familiar face and he had to fight the urge to laugh as Riri put his nose just above Shikamaru's forehead.

"Akamaru," the lazy drawl was the same, if not a little deeper than before." Whatever it is that Kiba wants, it can wait."

"Try again." Riri chuckled and one of Shikamaru's eyes popped open in surprise. At this Ririshii's tail really started wagging and his tongue lapped out to lick the teen in the face. Shikamaru shoved up into Riri's muzzle and successfully deflected the dog's aim.

"What the hell?" Shikamaru sat all the way up and shoved Riri away from himself. "Ririshii?"

"I missed you too Shikamaru." Riri laughed and sat in the grass. He reached up with a paw to rub at his chin where Shikamaru had pushed him away.

"Great, first Akamaru and now you." Shikamaru frowned. He then turned his gaze to Naruto, still standing a few feet away. "What are you guys feeding these damn dogs?"

Naruto laughed as he waved. Shikamaru stood and brushed any loose grass off of his pants and glared back in response. Naruto only smiled bigger as he moved to stand near Riri. "Kinda early isn't it?"

Shikamaru's frown deepened and he raised an eyebrow. "It's the only time I have before I'm being drug all over the village."

"Awww, being a Chuunin too much for you, Shikamaru?" Naruto pointed at the vest. In reality, Shikamaru had been the first of the rookie class to attain the rank. Of course, Naruto did not believe they had given Shikamaru a huge jump in duties due to his age at the time.

"As if." Shikamaru huffed and surprisingly pulled out a cigarette and lit it. Naruto cocked his head to the side. Asuma-sensei had rubbed off on Shikamaru it seemed. "The Hokage put me in charge of the Chuunin exams this year. So me and the representative from Sand have been putting everything in place and mapping out the details. When did you get that?"

Shikamaru was pointing at the vest Naruto was also wearing.

"I was putting in all this effort to watch you suffer; you ruined the fun." Shikamaru continued as he took a puff of the cigarette and let the smoke out slowly.

"Sorry." Naruto scratched at his head and shrugged. "Jiraiya was dead set on it. From what I've heard I've been keeping up. Well to most of our class anyway. Neji and Sasuke seems to have jumped ahead."

Shikamaru glared at him a bit then turned his head to look out across the street. "I'm also Jounin. I blame you, by the way. You pushed me on purpose and you're not even a Jounin yet. Why'd you have to be so troublesome?"

Naruto reached out and shoved Shikamaru in the shoulder which earned him another glare. "Sakura thought you were hiding your promotion."

"Well they weren't going to let some Chuunin run the Genin through the paces." Shikamaru took another drag and flicked the cigarette to remove the dead ash at the end. "So, get anything out of your training?

"Lots of things. Just wait, I'm not that far behind you guys. Just have to get the old lady to bump me up."

"Which she may do later today." Riri jumped in. "She's going to watch us fight so perhaps that's part of the test."

"Test?" Shikamaru questioned and Naruto shrugged again in response.

"We're going to be fighting Kakashi-sensei, I suppose. All three of us. We're guessing it will be like our bell test when we were Genin."

"What the hell is a bell test?"

"You guys didn't have to try to get a bell from Asuma-sensei?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"No. Sounds troublesome. As Genin, we wouldn't have been able to get it from him, so what would have been the point?"

"Teamwork?" Naruto frowned. "I thought all of the teams did it."

"Nope. Far as I know anyway. Asuma just introduced himself and took us to the barbeque place, much to Choji's delight."

"Where is Choji anyway?"

"Probably out with his dad. They've been training together in the mornings." Shikamaru was about to go on but suddenly hunched his shoulders and groaned. He quickly pulled the cigarette from his mouth and flipped it to the side. "Damn, she's found me already."

Naruto looked over his shoulder to see a tall, blonde girl walking their way. She wore a dark outfit with a red belt around her mid-section. There was a large fan on her back and she had four pigtails, two on top, two on bottom. For a second Naruto could only stare until it hit him why she looked so familiar.

"Oh that's just wrong," Naruto grinned evilly back at Shikamaru. "She's the Sand rep isn't she?"

"Glad to see you remember what you put me through during the exams." Shikamaru growled back. "Yes, and she is a taskmaster."

The girl came right up to the three of them and crossed her arms in front of her. Shikamaru did not turn to face her. He just kept staring out ahead of himself.

"I see you are capable of rising this early." She finally spoke and Naruto found himself stepping back a few steps from Shikamaru.

"I'm capable of a lot of things." Shikamaru rolled his shoulder. "Can't a guy get a break?"

"If I allowed you, you would take every hour as a break and nothing would get done."

"Troublesome." Shikamaru finally turned to face their visitor. He crossed his arms in front of him, mirroring the Sand Ninja's annoyed look. "I've got to catch up with Naruto here, whatever it is, it can wait."

At this, the girl turned her teal eyes on him. "Uzumaki Naruto."

She said his name almost to herself. Naruto found himself shuffling his feet momentarily under her scrutinizing gaze. They continued to stare at each other as Naruto tried his best to remember her actual name. He knew she was at the Chuunin exams three years ago and that he should know her, but...

"Wait, you were the one that came to retrieve Gaara." Naruto found himself straightening suddenly. She was not just the one that Shikamaru had battled in the Chuunin exams; she had come after Gaara and he's fight outside the village. "You were his teammate."

"Well," she finally tore her gaze away and nodded. "His sister actually."

Naruto was shocked that she was willing to say that. He remembered both of the teal-eyed Sand ninja's teammates seemed wary of Gaara when he had last seen them. He took a quick glance at Riri, obediently watching the girl as well.

"Then you would know..is he...how has he..."

She seemed confused by Naruto's broken train of thought and he tried harder to think of a better way to ask what it was he wanted to know. He had thought often of Gaara and had never really heard what had happened to the boy who shared his fate; the one with the Sand demon spirit trapped inside of him.

"Gaara has become the Kazekage of the Sand, Naruto." Shikamaru spoke up, closing his eyes and lowering his head.

For a second, Naruto was stunned into silence.

"That's a relief." Naruto grinned. He had been worried that after the failure of that attack, that something had been done to Gaara. He had failed after all in what his village had asked him to do. Instead, he had become the leader of his village. "He deserves it."

There was a moment of silence before Riri nudged at Naruto's hand. He glanced momentarily at the dog then back up to the two of them. Shikamaru was pleading with him silently and the girl was glaring at Shikamaru.

"Well, hey nice seeing you guys, but we've gotta pick up a few things before this test." Naruto motioned to Riri with his hand and they both began to walk away. "We'll catch up later, Shikamaru. I don't want to get you in trouble with your lady friend!"

"HEY!" Shikamaru yelped in frustration as Naruto walked past him.

Naruto was surprised Shikamaru didn't have a snarky comeback, but then again he had just implied there was a thing between the two of them, even though he was sure there wasn't.

Too bad for him, someone else wanted the last word.

"It was because of you, you know!" the girl's voice stopped him in his tracks. He took another glance over his shoulder, Riri mimicking him. She had moved away from Shikamaru and looked to be following them now. "You...you did something to him that day. You changed him. I don't how, or why, but you helped him. Because of you, he wanted to be more."

Naruto felt his cheeks grow hot and he blinked as she stopped right in front of him.

"Well that turned against me real quick." He swallowed hard as her darker green eyes bore into him. "What am I supposed to say here?"

He took a sideways glance to Riri, hoping for help, but found the shepherd only shrugging his own shoulders in confusion. Before he could formulate a proper come back or a reply, the blonde girl had bowed her head, the top most pigtails pointed at his chest.

"Arigato." she whispered to him.

"Ah, well, hey; don't look at me...I couldn't have been the only..."

"No, it was you." she replied, smiling softly as she straightened back up. "It was you he wanted to emulate, Uzumaki Naruto."

"Well, it wasn't anything much." Naruto tried again to start walking. This was turning into a really uncomfortable situation. "I'm glad he's doing better now."

"You know he doesn't remember your name, right?" Shikamaru finally recovered and was calling after them. The blonde blinked a bit before frowning.

Naruto only began picking up his pace. He did remember her temper from the Chuunin exams and wanted the hell out of dodge. "We gotta get out of here before unfolds that fan, Riri."

"I agree, let's go." Riri barked and took up the lead as they began jogging through the streets.

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Hours later, Naruto and Ririshii sat themselves down outside the gates of the training field Team 7 had originally called their own. It was near noon now, and as much as Naruto tried to busy himself in reacquainting himself with the village and his friends, he had been too eager to get to this test.

Both he and Ririshii had been able to find the ink maker, a few other suppliers and a new bed which was going to be delivered to their new home. He had been able to catch up with Ayame and Teuchi from the ramen stand and several others, but his thoughts kept returning to this particular event for the day. He was eager to get this over with so that Team 7 could be cleared for missions again.

Apparently, Sasuke was having the same issue. Shortly after they arrived, he landed on the wire fence above and balanced there in the wind. They both smirked at each other and sat in silence. They had both had their test of wills the night before; but they both also knew the other was holding back.

This was just another chance for the two of them to reignite the old rivalry.

It was not too long before three figures began to approach them down the dirt road. Soon the boys could see Tsunade, Shizune, and Sakura headed their way. A puff near Sasuke produced Kakashi; for once on time, for their evaluation. Naruto was now certain the other chakra he could sense in the area was Jiraiya.

Kakashi flipped backwards off the fence railing and began to head towards the three posts near the memorial stone. Just like before, he was leading his team to the starting place of their test. Sakura was pulling on gloves as they went, and the Hokage and her attendant headed towards the tree line.

Naruto had been right. It was exactly like their first survival test three years ago. There they were, the three of them and Ririshii staring towards their sensei. As Naruto had also predicted, two bells dangled from Kakashi's gloved hand.

The audience had set up nicely nearby and Naruto grinned a bit. Almost everyone had a vested interest in who's training had produced what results between the three of them. Kakashi just happened to be the one they were facing.

Or so they thought.

"Good. You remember these." Kakashi gave the bells a little ring. "However; this time we're going to do this a little differently."

At this, Kakashi flipped a bell towards Sasuke who merely raised one eyebrow in response. They all had the same thought; was the test only for Sakura and Naruto?

"Our team has two Jounin and two Chuunin." Kakashi's eye crinkled upwards as he grinned. "I propose a contest. A Jounin and a Chuunin team versus a Jounin and a Chuunin team. We'll see which team gets a bell first."

All of them grinned then. Naruto also felt Ririshii's tail hitting the back of his legs. This seemed like a much better test than they had originally been thinking of.

"Since I'm the senior Jounin, I get my pick." Kakashi continued on and opened his eye again. "I'll take Sakura."

Sakura seemed a little surprised but moved to stand beside Kakashi. Naruto and Sasuke took quick glances at each other out of the corners of their eyes before returning their attention to Kakashi for the rest of their instructions.

"What's the time limit this time?" Sasuke huffed and attached the bell to the bottom of his vest, much as Kakashi had already done with his.

"Let's say sundown." Kakashi looked up to the noon-high sun momentarily before lowering his gaze to the boys and raising his headband to reveal his Sharingan. "Hopefully this won't take that long, but better safe than sorry."

And in a blink of an eye they all scattered to the forests; Kakashi and Sakura one way, Naruto and Sasuke to the other.

Naruto began rummaging in his back pockets they moment they hit the safety of the forest. Riri took the lead, bounding from tree branch to tree branch. Once again his ears were perked and swiveling quickly to listen for any approaching targets. His nose also began to twitch as he tested the air for Kakashi and Sakura's familiar scents.

Sasuke was quick to join up with them both and he smirked as he matched his pace between Riri and Naruto.

They all knew the concept was the same in the test; teamwork. But it seemed to be more of a test to see how well the boys would work together after the extended absence. Would they still work together or would they both fight over who was taking the lead? What was so great about this was that Sasuke and he had already understood that the moment Kakashi selected Sakura.

Naruto let out a loud whistle once he felt they were far enough away from the clearing and the river. Riri stopped instantly on a thick branch, attaching himself expertly with his chakra to the wood beneath his feet. Naruto landed beside him and Sasuke went above.

"So?" Naruto questioned upwards towards his hypothetical squad leader.

"They will press you first. I have the bell, but you are the unknown here." Sasuke muttered, glancing around them with his Sharingan already activated and watching. "You should stay out of Sakura's range. If she lands a direct hit, you're out."

"Picked up more than medical ninjutsu huh?" Naruto snickered thinking about the flip to the forehead Tsunade had given him so long ago. He finally found what he was looking for in his pouch and pulled out a link of small shuriken. He took a quick glance at them all and the length of the wire they were on. "What's the plan then?"

"We should try to bait and switch them. I seem to remember your dog can make hinges and you have those kage bushin."

"You're eyes can also copy that, so I assume you have your own shadow clones by now." Naruto frowned a little. "You want to run them down with fakes?"

Naruto began carefully wrapping the link of shuriken around Riri's neck as he waited for Sasuke's reply. Sasuke only watched, raising his eyebrow again. Naruto pulled out another link of the small throwing weapons and put them in his front most holster.

"What's your plan?" Sasuke finally questioned once Naruto finished his repositioning of equipment.

"Well, kinda similar to yours. Just with more shock and awe...and speed."

"You do realize how fast Kakashi is don't you, you dobe?" Sasuke crossed his arms and got that indignant look on his face. Naruto was happy to see it, some things probably were better off not changing and Sasuke still was used to taking the lead. "I can almost match him, but I can't quite yet."

"Yeah well, I bet you I'm faster." Naruto flashed his own grin and began to test his awareness of the area as best he could. "Riri, flush 'em. And don't let all of them go just yet; just the one and let us know where their position is."

"Then should I go to ground?" Riri cocked his head to the side for the rest of the strategy.

"For a bit. Let the others go when we get to the tree line near the clearing. I guarantee they'll try to go back there once they realize what we're doing."

"Hai!" Riri barked happily and pushed off from the branch, rushing forward, his nose leading the way towards their targets.

"What's the deal with the shuriken?" Sasuke leapt down to the spot Ririshii had vacated. "They won't do much damage and it will be harder to hit them with those."

"You'll see." Naruto watched after Riri until he could no longer see the tell-tale black and tan fur. "What do you say we set up a few traps?"

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Kakashi had raised his headband as soon as he began outlining the rules of the little game they were having. He wanted to be certain that all three knew this was serious, even though it was a test of their skill. He had closed the eye once they had retreated from each other though, to conserve his chakra until it was needed. But he did know he was going to need the eye at a moment's notice. Sasuke had much better control over his eyes and Naruto was still very much a wild card at this point.

Still, he had his own trump card with Sakura. Sasuke would stay at range from her. Kakashi still remembered the frustrated cursing Sasuke had gone through after a little spat between he and Sakura had resulted in the kunoichi demonstrating just all that Tsunade-sama had been teaching her.

And should either of the boys be lucky enough to land their own hits, Sakura could easily switch to a more supportive role and start healing herself or Kakashi. She was far more adaptive in that respect.

As it stood now; however, it was a stalemate between them all. Both pairs had put distance between themselves so that strategies could be formed. That had been a while ago and Kakashi and Sakura had quickly decided on their approach: wait them out.

Both boys had an impatient streak to them and they would eventually find them. They would not have to expend any energy or chakra to find Naruto or Sasuke.

Still...

"Keep close, Sakura. Something tells me they will come in tandem." Kakashi muttered as he kept his awareness to the trees around them.

As expected, the boys took the first shot and a solitary shuriken came in their direction. Kakashi deflected it and it embedded itself in a nearby tree. Both he and Sakura braced for more, but they did not come. It left them both looking around in measured glances trying to find the thrower's position.

"What was the point in that?" Kakashi eyed the lone, standard throwing shuriken. "It's Naruto, I'm sure of that, but what is he trying to do?"

"Found you." Sakura beamed and slammed her fist to the ground.

Just like the Hokage; Sakura had an excellent control of her chakra. This aided her medical ninjutsu, but also allowed her to open up areas of attack, such as her strength. Kakashi watched with interest as the rising trench of dirt raced through the forest floor. She had aimed for a specific target that had hidden below ground.

Once the trench reached its mark, a blur of black and tan flew away from the spot and back to the safety of the forest's overgrowth.

"Of course," he whispered. "Riri."

Before he could really comment on the dog and his distraction, the real attack began.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu!"

Sasuke. As predicted he was going for longer range attacks. Both Sakura and Kakashi began to dodge the balls of fire being launched in their general direction. Kakashi could not help but frown in response. Sasuke's aim was much better with that particular jutsu. Suddenly, he felt as if he and Sakura were being herded.

Sure enough, Ririshii reappeared from his left; fangs bared. Naruto came from his right. Kakashi darted upwards as Sakura came in for the intercept. She landed her kick, smiling with satisfaction until the Naruto that she hit disappeared with a pop.

"Kage bushin. Not unexpected."

Kakashi chuckled a little as he did his best to conceal himself while the focus was on Sakura. She was now cursing the clone she had destroyed. He saw it now; the teenager's plan. They were playing cat and mouse, and he and Sakura had allowed themselves to become the mice by waiting them out.

Naruto could create clones almost indefinitely. With them, he could come in close without the fear of Sakura's or his attacks. Sasuke; more proficient in Fire and Lightning Jutsu, could move them towards Naruto and his ambushes also without fear of a direct attack.

"Very good." Kakashi finally opened his Sharingan and began to look for the best counter to this plan of theirs. "They are taking this seriously."

Before he could complete his concealment, the leaves above him rustled. He took aim and threw one of his kunai towards the sound. He flushed Riri yet again. This time the dog had one of the throwing shuriken in his mouth and he was growling.

Riri seemed to take a deep breath; his chest inflating a little as he did so. He then huffed hard while simultaneously opening his mouth and releasing the shuriken. It flew, just like a human had thrown it, and Kakashi found himself dodging and drawing his own weapon to deflect the attack.

"That's why!" Kakashi glared up at the dog as it disappeared again in the leaves. Kakashi now realized the point behind the first strike. "Riri can't throw more than one at a time. Not like that. He's trying to flush me for Naruto and Sasuke."

Kakashi began to zig and zag as best he could while increasing his speed. This was now a three on two match and he had to find a safer spot to observe from. But each time he landed, the dog would take aim. Kakashi knew that Riri could not hit him with the weapon he was using, or the method, so why was he wasting the ammo?

Sakura was not having much better luck below. Sasuke had given up his sneak attacks and was instead attacking Sakura head on. She was having to parry and block the kunai slashes from the taller Uchiha and kept moving backwards as she went.

Without warning, Sasuke faltered. It was a tiny crack, but it was enough for Sakura. She focused all of her chakra to her fist and struck hard at his shoulder. She was finally able to land the punch and felt a momentary relief knowing she had at least gotten close enough to hinder Sasuke.

That was still Sasuke smirked. "Chidori Current."

Sakura gasped at the flash around Sasuke and at the quick jolt that hit her. She felt her muscles stiffen in response and stumbled backwards. She instantly regretted going for the hit as she flew upwards encased in a net.

"Sorry Sakura," Sasuke flipped a kunai through the ropes and cut loose her own kunai holster from her side. She couldn't move, she just felt a tremor moving through all of her limbs. She cursed and glared back down at her teammate. "Couldn't have you taking one of us out this early. I'll come back for you once we take care of Kakashi-sensei."

"You baka!" Sakura fumed as Sasuke leapt off and left her hanging there.

Kakashi heard the frustrated yell and cursed a little himself. The two had succeeded in separating him from Sakura. He had to admit to himself he was impressed and a little shocked at the boy's tactics. He had been expecting a more heads on approach, not the high speed in-and-out strategy that they had adopted.

But he finally had an answer to that. He was returning as quickly as he could to the clearing area near the memorial stone. Without the cover of the trees, they would have to become more direct with their attacks. They would have to come out into the open to get the bell from him.

For a long time, he just waited, watching the sun move in the sky. While it hadn't felt like very long in the forest, Kakashi knew that the passage of time was progressing quickly towards mid-afternoon, early evening. With Sakura now out of the picture, and he standing out in the open, he could only assume that Naruto, Riri, and Sasuke had met back up in the hidden shadows to re-evaluate their approach.

Kakashi was pleased with how easily it appeared the two boys had come up with their plan of attack and how well they were working together. This was far better than any of them had expected. Both had developed their own style of doing things in three years time, and both had developed a more solo type of mind-set with the solo training they had received.

But something told Kakashi had he allowed Sakura to stay with the boys, she would have been easily integrated into the planning of their approach.

It was a little concerning to stand in silence and Kakashi found himself trying desperately to guess their new strategy before they came for him. He had no way of knowing what Jiraiya had been teaching Naruto all this time.

Finally, Sasuke emerged. He landed near the tree line, followed by Naruto and Ririshii. Kakashi noted the growing bruise creeping up Sasuke's shoulder and neck and smirked a little. Sakura had at least gotten a solid shot at Sasuke. The way he stood, the way the arm hung, Kakashi was certain the punch had rendered the arm stiff and harder to use.

"She get ya?" Naruto was asking his teammate quietly. Sasuke nodded and frowned as they both put their gaze squarely on him. He smiled again and braced himself. "Eh, that's alright, works best this way out in the open anyways. Ready?"

Sasuke was huffing in affirmation and Kakashi kept his attention on the Uchiha and his bell. But he quickly had to turn his attention back to Naruto, who was releasing a volley of kunai and shuriken. None were aimed very well, but Kakashi soon found them to be a cover and had to deflect an incoming punch.

"You'll have to do better than that, Naruto." He teased as their eyes locked. Kakashi saw the wild-eyed streak he recognized so well and knew this was another trick from the blonde. "Don't you remember the last time?"

"We have to come with the intent to kill; yeah, yeah." Naruto jumped back smirking.

"Katon: Flame Whirlwind!"

Kakashi cursed and jumped backwards a few times towards the river. Naruto also began jumping back. The blonde was the diversion. Sasuke had stayed back to form the necessary hand seals for this attack. In his hand, a large whirling ball of fire was being built. Once it was a decent size, Sasuke released it and it began its trek towards Kakashi's position.

Kakashi began to form the necessary hand seals as quickly as he could. "Suiton: Great Waterfall."

It was a long-shot, but he had to try to kill the flames before they reached too far. Water was the best element for this and as the flames hit the torrent of water he had summoned, the two canceled each other out. He began to move through more hand seals to start attacking back, but was rewarded with one of Naruto's clones at his rear, aiming straight for his neck. It forced him to move and leave the jutsu unfinished.

As Kakashi aimed backwards with his own kunai, the clone disappeared. But not with its usual pop. He tried again to form the hand signs for the adaptation he had of his Chidori, but again found himself cut short as a clone came at his side with a speed he had not anticipated.

"He is getting really good with those."

"You'll have to do better than that, sensei." Naruto mocked back before the clone disappeared again in a flash.

"No wait..." Kakashi froze, sliding across the dirt hands up in a defensive fashion. He turned back to the positions he had last seen the boys in.

Sasuke, to his surprise, had jumped up to a nearby tree and was sitting on a branch waiting. It was if he was no longer participating in the exercise. Ririshii had also retreated and sat underneath the black haired teenager. And Naruto...

Came back in with a flying kick to Kakashi's head. He ducked under to sweep the boy's other foot out from under him. Yet again, Naruto disappeared. Kakashi glared over his shoulder to find Naruto perched nearby on another branch, just out of his range.

"Has he gotten that fast?" Kakashi wondered as he locked eyes with the blonde across the open field. As he pondered the movement of the clones and Naruto's attacks, his eyes became fixated on a small spark of silver, caused by the sun hitting one of the small shuriken embedded in the bark.

It was directly under Naruto's feet in fact...

"It can't be." Kakashi took a moment and turned his attention to the nearby audience. Mainly Jiraiya-sama. The Sannin was grinning like a mad-man and had leaned up to watch this part of the match more closely.

Kakashi then looked around his feet and cursed under his breath. There were no three-pronged kunai in the area. None. But little shurikens?

He was surrounded by those.

"He's learned the Hiraishin Jutsu. If I make any signs or try to attack, Naruto will jump to any of these spots. There are too many to throw them away from me, there's no telling how many are still spread out in the trees."

It hit Kakashi then that Ririshii hadn't been trying to hit him with his attacks. He had been helping Naruto mark the area for this technique.

There was a damn good reason why this made the Fourth famous and why it brought a flee-order from the other countries. Kakashi could copy it; it wasn't a bloodline trait and he still had his sensei's gift in his back pouch. But with his Sharingan already draining on his chakra and the amount of chakra that the technique itself used, there was little doubt who would outlast who in this situation.

He took another glance towards the sky. There was still too much time to just avoid the teens until sundown. If he retreated, Naruto could easily find him with Ririshii and they would return to their tag-team approach.

That left two options at the present; surrender the bell or try to take the one from Sasuke. But that relied on the hope that Sasuke had not positioned himself near a shuriken.

Well, he certainly wasn't about to lose face just yet; so he locked onto Sasuke's position. The boy acted as if he was nursing the area Sakura had connected with. Maybe that was why he had allowed Naruto to take the lead. It was the perfect time to try to get the bell; while they were still in sight.

That was until he got near Sasuke's position. The boy came up quickly, kunai in hand, and snapped a wire above him. A log came swinging from lower down and Kakashi had to waste a substitution to get out of the way. Within seconds he had to deflect Naruto, coming up from below. They forced him to again lose his focus.

Luckily for him, Sakura saved the day. The pink-haired girl slammed head-long into Naruto before he could finger a bell and they both went to the ground hard. They grappled a bit before Sakura got the upper hand and pinned Naruto to the dirt, a kunai inches from his forehead.

Sasuke had reacted just as quickly and had his own kunai to the back of her head. Kakashi felt obligated to complete this vexing pile up by pressing his own weapon to Sasuke's neck. But that was a mistake. He turned his Sharingan behind him, Riri rushing in from his spot in the forest, his mouth open and aiming straight for the bell at his waist.

Before the dog reached his mark though a loud whistle broke the air and Riri came to a screeching halt just at Kakashi's heels.

That's how they all stood for a while; panting, sweaty, and wary. Nearby the boisterous laughter of Jiraiya rose and all four glanced out of the corners of their eyes to the trio now approaching them.

"I believe we'll call this a tie." Tsunade-sama folded her arms in front of her and smirked. "Such a flattering pose too."

Kakashi relented first, putting his kunai away and backing up. Sakura and Sasuke followed suit and Naruto just propped himself up on an elbow as Riri returned to his side.

"It may have been a tie for the kids, but not for us Hime." Jiraiya puffed up proudly, giving Naruto a thumbs up as he folded his own arms in front of him.

"As if." Tsunade snorted to her former teammate.

"You all saw what he did." Jiraiya began to sputter and pointed squarely at Naruto, who was grinning just as his master had been beforehand.

"And I also saw how Sakura effectively trapped him." Tsunade smirked back in response.

"Oh yeah, and did you see how easily she got trapped? And for the record, Naruto let her pin him; the damned goofball."

"Oh, so he has the same weakness as his master then?"

As the two Sannin argued over the winner of their bet; one they had tried to rope Kakashi into, Kakashi walked over to the nearest shuriken he could see and picked it up from the field.

At first glance, it was a simple shuriken. But as he turned it over in his fingers, he found symbols expertly imprinted on the prongs of the weapon. Minato-sensei's tags had been three-pronged kunai with the marker wrapped around the handle. It was a heavier kunai than the standard issue, but still an effective means to an end.

But these...

"It's a damn stroke of genius, isn't it?"

Jiraiya's hand clamped Kakashi on the shoulder and he started a bit. He glanced behind him and found that the argument was now over and the three teens were lined up in front of the Hokage, looking very much like a team receiving a mission.

"Especially when you take in account how many of those little bastards he can store in seals."

Kakashi nodded in agreement before really looking around the field and noting the number of shuriken around. He would have had to completely draw Naruto and Sasuke away from this particular field to even be half sure that he was not near a marker for the Hiraishin technique.

"And taking in account the number of shadow clones he can produce to do the same thing at the same time." Kakashi thought out loud and turned his gaze back to Jiraiya.

"Just like a mini maelstrom. Fitting, given his name and all." Jiraiya again puffed up proudly, standing tall and nodding at Kakashi's own assumption about the technique the Second Hokage had made, but the Fourth had perfected.

"What exactly have we created, Jiraiya-sama?" Kakashi sighed, looking again to the teenagers.

"A good group of kids, that's what." Jiraiya laughed happily. "They're still kids, sure, but they are certainly well on their way to surpassing us. Hell, they sure gave you a run for your money."

Kakashi reached back and pulled out the blue-covered book Naruto had given him yesterday. He brought it up to his face and pretended to read. He wanted desperately to ignore the older man's jab, but he could not help but agree with him. If any of them had truly wanted to, truly needed to, they could have struck a killing blow. Naruto and Sasuke especially.

Sasuke had a much larger arsenal of jutsu than what he had used, but Kakashi was aware of the different adaptations of the Chidori he had been experimenting with. He had also been studying harder into the Uchiha Clan's jutsu and traits. But he had held back and allowed Naruto to take the lead. Kakashi could hazard a guess Sasuke was just as curious as the rest of them to see how far Naruto's training had gone.

And Naruto. Well for starters, he and Ririshii had figured out an excellent way to give the dog a weapon, as well as help with the Hiraishin technique he had used. No one would pay much attention to the animal, and would not even bother to look closely at the half-aimed shuriken being flung around.

Just like a prankster, Naruto had found a way to conceal exactly what he was up to until it was too late for the enemy to figure out the source. The only reason Kakashi had caught on so fast was the fact that he had seen it used so many times before.

"We should talk, Kakashi." Jiraiya's voice snapped Kakashi out of his thoughts. The smile was gone, the loud boasts had stopped, and Jiraiya looked very serious now.

"About Akatsuki?" Kakashi queried.

"Partially." Jiraiya frowned and shook his head as if to clear his vision. "Come on, not here."

Kakashi took another quick glance at the three teenagers before following after Jiraiya. That was the other purpose in Jiraiya's tutoring of Naruto. To train him to deal with the Akatsuki and other threats. But the older man's tone belied something deeper. Something he did not want the others to hear.

Seeing as all involved with Naruto was aware of the organization, Kakashi found himself curious as to what the Sannin had to relay to him.

As they came to the waterfall deeper into the training field, Jiraiya finally stopped. He crossed his arms and stared upwards to the sky. "Akatsuki has begun to make their move, I won't lie about that. The group has become more active as late."

"They have begun showing their hand then?"

"Their objective still remains unclear, but they are becoming more aggressive in their pursuit of the Jinchuuriki." The Sannin took a side-long glance before continuing on. "I've spread the word to our allies that something is coming, but as to what, I cannot yet say."

"Well it can't be good, regardless." Kakashi frowned and turned a page in the book. "To actively hunt for such things as the demon spirits..."

"Exactly." Jiraiya agreed readily. "I've done my best to prepare him for the inevitable, but..."

"I would hazard a guess that you've done plenty to prepare him," Kakashi cut him off and snorted. "I now have to worry about how he's going to use the Hiraishin in the village now."

"Humph. Well keep in mind he's got more in his arsenal than that. He's an Uzumaki after all." Jiraiya pointed out as well. "Still..."

Kakashi waited patiently. It almost seemed as if Jiraiya was hesitating, which was extremely odd for the man.

"I may have made a mistake."

That readily grabbed Kakashi's attention and he found himself putting the book away. Jiraiya's posture had changed; his shoulders were hunched in an odd show of guilt. What kind of mistake could the older man have made?

"I used the key and loosened part of the seal."

"You...you loosened part of the seal?"Kakashi repeated the information slowly. That was a dangerous thing to do, wasn't it? To mess with something that held something so terrible back...

"It weakens by itself anyways, the older the boy gets." Jiraiya sighed and sat heavily on the ground; crossing his legs in front of him. "There are times when the fox's chakra leaks out of the seal. The problem is, the fox's will is attached to its chakra and it creates a problem."

"The fox's will?" Kakashi inwardly cringed. The fox only had one will...to destroy.

"So, I wanted to see if I could train him to use the chakra but suppress the will." Jiraiya continued on. The way he stared out over the water, Kakashi had to wonder just what the Sannin was seeing in his own mind. "But that did not go as planned."

"I can only imagine." Kakashi muttered darkly. The fox was not something to be controlled.

"The chakra builds and it takes on the fox's shape. It creates a cloak almost." Jiraiya reached behind him and pulled out a piece of paper. He held it up to Kakashi.

Kakashi hesitated for a moment before taking the slip of paper and inspecting the suppression seal inked on its surface.

"If it happens again, use that. It will suppress all of Naruto's chakra, including the fox's. You have to use it when there is only one tail though. If you don't, you will see something you'll regret."

There was another draw of silence as Kakashi pondered the warning. Maybe he should have forced Jiraiya to promise not to tamper with the seal; not Naruto. It certainly seemed that Jiraiya was obsessed with the integration of the fox's chakra and Naruto's own. He understood that the Fourth had designed the seal in that way, but still, why quicken the process as he had done?

"How did you keep him with you this long, if you did this?" Kakashi put the seal in his back pocket and sighed. He remembered Naruto's reaction to the first time Jiraiya had tried something in relation to the fox's chakra. It hadn't been a good encounter and Naruto had been very harsh of the Sannin afterwards.

"He doesn't remember."

"I'm sorry?" Kakashi questioned, confused by the answer. Did Jiraiya do something to Naruto's memory as well?

Jiraiya stood and stretched before meeting Kakashi's gaze head on. "It's as if the chakra blanked his memory. If he goes into that state, all he remembers is the fox's hatred. He didn't know what he had done, or what had happened up to that point. It was just gone."

"Well that certainly worked to your advantage." Kakashi frowned at the thought.

"But the dog knows. The dog remembers." Jiraiya clamped Kakashi on the shoulder. "It's hard to separate the two of them, I know, but keep the dog close. If it ever comes to the point again when the fox's chakra goes wild, and you don't have the seal with you, he'll recognized Ririshii...when he recognizes little else."

With that Jiraiya walked away. Kakashi watched him go before turning to return to the village himself. He cursed a little at the situation and the consequence that Jiraiya's actions had created. But he had to push that aside for later. It was better to focus on the reformation of Team 7 and his official assessment that had to be made to the Hokage and the elders.

But the warning was clear enough to keep it in the back of his mind. Not only was the Akatsuki a bigger threat now, but there was the threat from the very thing they were after. Orochimaru was still very much in play as well.

He cursed again at the overwhelming feeling of worry that bubbled up at the thought of it all. Just like he had confided in Yoshida years ago, things were moving in fast forward again. They may have been separated by three years, and they were all older now, but the familiar doubt was still very much the same when it came to his cell. If he wasn't careful, if he wasn't diligent, the outcome could still be very much the same as it had been with Jiraiya's Genin cell. Or even worse, Kakashi's cell.

One thing was for certain, these kids were going to be the death of him.

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Author Note x2: Well there we are. I'll get started on the Gaara Rescue arc soon, but first a few missing moments. One is one that is owed to someone, the other is for set up for later on in the actual story (think the Pain Arc). But yeah! Will work on those alongside the next chapter as well. Is it sad that I'm more excited for the Pain Arc than I am for the one I should be starting next? Yeah...def. probably is. But we'll burn that bridge soon enough. Excited to be back folks!