Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, and I make no profit writing this or any other kind of fanfiction either.

File Title - Enjoy your free meal.

(AN - The King in White): Welcome to Deadlock, formerly The White Snake when it was still on the drawing board. The title change comes from the technique Kuchiyose Deadlock which I felt would better reflect the Team Seven nature of this work. After my great enjoyment producing One Thousand Nights with Ajax the Great, he has been invited to co-author this work with me. Deadlock is considered part of the greater Two Realms universe over at Ao3.

(AN - Ajax): Hey everyone, check out our other project on my profile page!

"Words are a pretext. It is the inner bond that draws one person to another, not words."

A faint buzz of electricity zapped through his right hand, flaring pain receptors to produce a sharp ache. Jolted awake, Uchiha Sasuke rolled over to peer at the darkened sky through his window.

The dim early morning drowned out the stars, leaving the sky a featureless smear of indigo save for a bright white rim along the eastern horizon, heralding the dawn.

Sasuke shook the last dregs of numbness out of his fingers and slipped the banded iron rings from his digits. Tossing the shock-inducing alarm system into the drawer of his night table, the Uchiha rose from his bed in one practiced motion and fell into a stretch.

Sasuke moved with aching, stiffened joints. Cracks reverberated through the silent house, and muscles tired after a late night training session began to activate. The shower beckoned his groggy mind, and the boy meandered from his room and down the hall to step into the bathroom.

Nearly scalding hot water pounded down on Sasuke, seeping through raven locks and traveling down pale flesh in searing ribbons. All need to sleep fled from the Uchiha, and while staring at conspicuously sparkling porcelain tiles Sasuke began to scrub his body with abandon.

Perhaps the house was kept too clean and too empty to belong to a normal twelve year old boy, but Sasuke never claimed to be normal. Not since that night. The night of bloody screams and bloody walls and bloody-

Hands. Pain seared through his palms and dragged Sasuke back from the tide of memory to stare at the white crescents his nails had dug into his flesh.

Shutting off the shower taps with a jerk, Sasuke reached out and snagged a towel from the silvery metal rack hammered into the wall. Drying his body with efficient movements, Sasuke strode from the shower and – carefully – dropped the used towel in a wicker laundry basket lurking by the door.

Sasuke imagined that keeping his home obsessively clean chased away the shadow of him. No man and no blood could hide in the stark empty corners and against constantly disinfected surfaces. And if there was a patch of darkened wood in the center of his parents' former bedroom, Sasuke could ignore the stain.

Throwing on a pair of white shorts and a blue high-collared t-shirt, Sasuke shook the water dripping into his eyes out of his face with a quick jerk and sighed at the pangs of hunger in his stomach.

Breakfast was a subdued affair, like it had almost always been since that night. A simple fare of a single glass of milk, a sliced tomato, two pieces of toast, and a handful of dry cereal. Sasuke could hardly even begin to care when his elders pointed out the blandness of his meals and the absolute economy of nutrition his diet employed.

Sasuke didn't even know how to begin demonstrating to bright-eyed young children and misty-eyed old adults that the only taste he craved was a steady diet of vengeance with a dash of murder.

So he kept his head down, shoving hands in his pockets and nodding along as overly-concerned meddling coots expressed meaningless platitudes for his loss and concerns for his well being. Seething all the while at the wasted time he spent not training to become just a little bit faster, or just a little bit stronger.

Stepping out into the cool morning air, Sasuke took a deep breath and began to jog. Down the steps of his lonely home and through the empty streets of his lonely district, the Uchiha moved at a steady, familiar beat.

Sasuke pounded out three warm up laps around the inner walls of the ghostly Uchiha compound before springing out into the streets of Konoha. A few familiar faces gave solemn nods when Sasuke dashed by them, used to day after day, year after year of seeing Sasuke pass along on his morning rounds.

Konoha was huge, the Uchiha supposed. Though Sasuke really had little to compare it to, since it was only place he'd ever lived in and had ever seen. He couldn't weigh it against distant undiscovered cities and towns. His steady run led him to the boundary of the curved southern wall and he turned west to begin a circuit.

Trees flashed by on his left as Sasuke ground the dirt roads of Konoha ever smoother. A familiar cry of "Youth!" sounded on his right, and dark eyes widened in horror before Sasuke turned and pressed into the well kept greenery, pushing his controlled jog into an all-out sprint.

The Uchiha had only ever met Maito Gai once, and that once was more than enough. The green spandex clad jounin was hands-down the oddest individual Sasuke had ever encountered. Unforgivingly exuberant and inappropriately affectionate - if the way he treated a younger green spandex clad genin was any indication.

Still Sasuke may have been willing to forgive or at least forget such glaring faults if the jounin had been willing to take him on and train him. A dedicated taijutsu specialist and high ranking shinobi had to possess a significant degree of skill and ability to pass on techniques that would help him close the gap with Itachi.

I'm just dreaming of tearing you apart.

There was only so much self-directed training could do for Sasuke. The forms taught at the Academy were depressingly basic and pathetically easy to master, good for little but an introduction to self defence and the incapacitation of civilians. It was almost as if he was being intentionally held back.

The infuriating man had only refused, shaking his head and telling Sasuke to wait for his own sensei whenever he graduated to take him on. And noted perhaps the Uchiha might consider attending the Academy more often if he hungered to fan his Youth so desperately.

The refusal didn't stop the cheery jounin from calling out to Sasuke with encouragement when he saw the boy passing by in the mornings before the Academy was scheduled, and scolding him if the Uchiha ran by later in the day during hours when he should have been attending class.

At least the little green clone didn't presume to judge him too.

The Hokage's tower passed in a blur on his right, casting a long, cold shadow that hid Sasuke from the dawn and darkened the looming carved faces of the Hokage on the left.

Sasuke had met the Sandaime many times in the wake of the Massacre, boiling inwardly with rage at the soft looks the old man gave him - his persistent apologies for failing to stop the tragedy. It had taken three days for Sasuke to get sick of the banality and start refusing to speak to the old man.

He never really knew why the Hokage seemed so convinced that he should have noticed something was off about Itachi, when Sasuke didn't scent the monster lurking under his brother's skin himself. It was unmistakably odd. But old people were generally strange. Always so concerned for his well being and pressing him to do this or that.

Umino Iruka had been the worst of them, constantly chasing him through the streets and dragging him back to classes when all Sasuke needed was to get away from all the incredible incompetence of his peers and the predominantly pathetic curriculum of the Academy.

Once he'd learned to evade other chuunin and successfully hide from the concerned teacher, Sasuke never returned to the classroom save to complete the tests that were absolutely necessary for him to pass. Apparently, his absence were borderline legendary.

Sasuke sneered inwardly as he crossed over a small river, garish red planks trailing under his feet as his body automatically leapt up and dashed over thin crimson handrails.

A pale-skinned man with golden eyes directed a blink his way as the Uchiha moved to avoid collision, passing out of Sasuke's mind before he even touched back down on the grass on the opposite side of the river.

Time was wasting, and as much as Sasuke loathed the thought, he needed to actually attend the Academy later on. Missing his own graduation would be an unmitigated disaster.

Orochimaru shook his head with amusement as the red-faced, puffing younger brother of Itachi passed him without a word. The Sennin recalled whispers of that boy, lurking alone in his clan compound when the rest of his decimated family was scattered to the corners of Konoha. He'd broken some important politician's son's jaw when the lad had the gall to call him 'dobe'.

Hiruzen had laughed about it for days.

Perhaps Itachi's brother would amount to something interesting one day, though Orochimaru loathed the thought of losing the elder, an extremely well-placed spy, to his own manipulative desires. Still, it was ultimately up to Itachi how he wanted die; if he wanted to be killed by the hands of his obviously broken younger brother, that was his choice to make.

It wasn't as if Itachi's bloody and shadowy services to Konohagakure didn't deserve the dignity of choosing his own death.

The Sennin shuddered to think what would have become of the Uchiha clan if he hadn't intervened on their behalf, pointing out that while it was necessary to destroy all adults that could be linked to the coup, it would be a waste to slaughter children too young to know anything.

In another world, perhaps Sasuke would have truly been the last of the Uchiha clan, target of all the hopes and adoring legends associated with their legendary dojutsu. As it was, the boy was merely one of a dwindled family, and most importantly to the public, that traitor's brother.

Imagining a world without the Sharingan sickened the scientist. It would have been an extravagantly terrible waste of valuable data and samples.

Yawning awake, Naruko trudged through her morning ablutions with the grace of the walking dead. Stumbling over numerous piles of dirty laundry, well-read scrolls, and braces of kunai, the Academy's Top Rookie managed to tug on her signature orange jumpsuit and make her way to the kitchen.

Naruko yanked open her creaky cupboard, dancing fingers longingly across stacks of cup ramen before tugging out a box of oatmeal with a grumble. As much as the blonde would have loved to eat her favorite food for her Graduation Day breakfast, she had a feeling that Ero-Sennin would have kicked her ass for it. Like the old perv had the first time he'd visited her in the morning and found her happily slurping down the salty noodles.

Making an ugly face at the bland grains, Naruko shoved a kettle on her stove and folded her arms to wait for the water to boil. The blonde's mind wandered, idly considering her various classmates for the likelihood that she'd be assigned to a Team with them. No real preference came to mind, save for a desperate hope that Sakura would find herself on any team but her's.

If that knowitall had the same placement as her, Naruko might just have to kill herself. Or preferably the pink banshee.

A low whistle signaled that the water was done, and with another frown the blonde poured it into her waiting bowl of oats. Sugar and milk followed, and Naruko scarfed down the meal without waiting to deal with its lack of taste or even sit at her small table.

Casting one last glance at the cupboard containing her beloved ramen, Naruko slipped on a pair of zori. The door stood shut, cutting out a world of cold eyes and foreboding whispers, and the blonde found herself sucking in a shaky breath.

Naruko slapped her cheeks, screwing on a bright fake grin and muttering "Another day, another Ryo. You'll make it... Always moving forward..." Some days were better than others, requiring the blonde to spend less time psyching herself up to take her lonely world.

Graduation day cut into her mantra, and the jinchuuriki gave a truer grin at the door before yanking it open. "Today's the day I'm going to be a real ninja, dattebayo!"

Blue skies without a cloud in sight arched overhead as Naruko shuffled from her apartment. Casting a quick, wary look at the clean streets around her, the blonde stifled the instinctive dissonance. Adapting to a well-policed, well-maintained, and wholesome district of Konoha was taking a lot longer than Naruko would have liked.

Growing up in the slums left its mark, and if not for Ero-Sennin finding out just where she'd been subsisting and insisting she moved, Naruko was sure she'd still be wandering those dirty streets. Somehow she doubted she'd ever grow out of the instinctive need to look around for wandering thugs and thieves.

Hebi-jiji just laughed and told her that it was the mark of a good kunoichi to be so suspicious. Naruko wondered if that meant that all ninja were paranoid wrecks.

The jinchuuriki took off down the road at a light jog, hopping around bleary eyed civilians that were trotting off to their jobs. Excitement bubbled up from her toes, and Naruko didn't bother containing the grin fighting to rise on her lips.

Indulging in a touch of idle fantasy, Naruko imagined the kind of missions she and her team would be taking as real ninja. Stories of bright heroes fighting slimy villains in a thousand different tales flashed through her thoughts, and Naruko cast herself in dozens of roles.

Perhaps she could be the one to save the Daimyo's daughter. Or the one that crushed a criminal gang. Maybe she'd become famous for being the most powerful kunoichi to ever live?

But first, Naruko had to make genin. Easy as cake.

Trailing through the Academy gates just as the morning bell rung out in a dull clang, Naruko swore and doubled her speed. The blonde shoved through classroom door just as Iruka-sensei moved to close it.

Naruko smirked up at the instructor, looking with undisguised longing at the hitai-ate strapped across the man's tan scarred chuunin gave Naruko a knowing look and tapped his nose before turning back to slide the door shut.

Only to have a pale hand grasp the edge of it and force it back open to admit Uchiha Sasuke.

Iruka blinked rapidly, restraining the inner surge of pity and annoyance. Pity at the circumstances that had changed Sasuke so much from the generally good natured boy his early enrollment records spoke of. And annoyance at the boy's insistence of skirting the rules at every turn.

Giving a quick scan for any other tardy students, Iruka closed the door and strode back to the front of the classroom. The chuunin observed Naruko and Sasuke trailing quietly up to settle in the seats at the very back row before clapping his hands and roaring over the chattering class.

"Quiet down!"

Silence reigned instantly, the children straightening up at the stern gaze Iruka pinned them with. A heartbeat passed, before a warm smile crossed the chuunin's face.

"As you all know," Iruka began seriously, "Today is the last day the Academy will be in session until September. We will be hosting your Graduation Exams in short order. For those of you who have taken the test twice already and failed, another failure will lead to your expulsion from the Academy."

Brown eyes turned sharp and faint concern touched into the instructor's tone. "Therefore if you are not confident in your ability to succeed in all aspects of the exam, I strongly urge you to consider opting out and signing up for another year of instruction. Please note that no child over the age of fourteen will be admitted to the Academy without special consent."

"There will be a written exam, followed by a taijutsu demonstration. After a short fifteen minute break, we will proceed with a test of your ability to resist basic genjutsu and finish with a testing of your mastery of the Kawarimi, the Henge, and the Bunshin."

Staring pointedly at Chouji, Iruka felt compelled to add that under no circumstances were students permitted to leave the Academy until all exams were finished. Not even for lunch.

"Mizuki-sensei will be passing out your written exams now. The written exam will double as a yearly final for those who choose to return next year. Just notify myself or Mizuki-sensei during the taijutsu demonstration if you wish to be excused." With a nod to the silver haired chuunin, Iruka motioned to the nervous students.

Mizuki gave a reassuring smile before stepping forward with the thick booklets of paper.

Haruno Sakura sucked in a steadying breath as Mizuki-sensei dropped an exam booklet on her desk. Gripping a pencil between delicate fingers, the pink-haired girl tossed a quick glance around the room before flipping the papers over and signing her name on the dotted line.

Green eyes flashed down the first page of the exam, and Sakura felt a great surge of relief and confidence as she realized that all the questions were very simple, just basic knowledge of the Shinobi world.

Please name all to hold the office of Hokage of Konohagakure.

Sneering slightly at the thought that anyone in her class wouldn't be able to answer such an easy question, Sakura scribbled out the four names of Konoha's Hokage. The girl paused briefly as she considered if additional details would earn bonus marks, and decided to chance it.

'The Sandaime Hokage returned to lead Konoha after the death of the Yondaime in the Kyuubi attack. Uchiha Madara also briefly held the position of Nidaime Hokage Kouho before his betrayal of Konoha.'

Sakura would love to see the look on Uzumaki's face if she managed to steal the class' top spot in the final exams. It still rankled when she remembered how the former dead last of the class became suddenly competent shortly after they turned nine and ousted her from her position as Top Rookie and the kunoichi with the highest grades.

Name the five elemental chakra natures.

Scribbling out the five elements, Sakura even scribbled in a brief diagram of their strengths and weaknesses in relation to each other and added a quick note about certain kekkai genkai enabling advanced chakra natures combining two or more of the basic ones.

Sakura chanced a glance to observe her rival, scowling at the utterly relaxed expression on the blonde's face as she filled out her test. Crossing Uchiha Sasuke with her gaze, Sakura turned back her pages and frowned. If she had any choice at all, she wouldn't want to be on a team with either of them. Uzumaki being her chief rival, and Uchiha being an all-around arrogant tardy laggart.

Breezing through the rest of her written exam, Sakura filled out questions on topics such as, what are the names of the Five Great Villages? How many Shinobi World Wars were there? Which of Konoha's Clans were Noble? And on and on, tracing out three pages of general history and chakra theory.

Writing down the final answer – Who are the Densetsu no Sannin? - Sakura tossed her pencil down and leaned back in her chair. Short pink locks tickled around her ears as the girl wondered vaguely if Ino would do well in her exams. Her best friend would probably cry and demand they eat a tub of ice cream if the she failed.

Lost in her idle musings, Sakura jumped in surprise when Iruka-sensei stepped by, sweeping up her exam booklet with a reassuring smile and proceeding down the row of desks.

A low chatter rose up as the last set of papers was collected, nervous students anxiously comparing the answers they could remember and speculating about what kind of test that teachers had constructed for their Taijutsu exam.

Iruka gave another thunderous, chakra-enhanced clap and ordered the students to line up in single file by the door to a separate exam room.

Sakura blinked before scanning the classroom and setting green eyes on Goto Kasumi. Sidling across the room, Sakura spared a confident smile for Ino and the blonde's nervously wringing hands before filing into the rapidly forming line.

Ignoring her brown-haired classmate as Kasumi began bouncing in anxious tension, Sakura folded her arms across her chest and stared out the window. It was a clear blue day, and the girl let her mind wander.

Once she graduated and had her team assignments, Sakura would have to break the news to her parents that she'd actually become a member of the shinobi forces. The green-eyed girl wasn't blind, and had played witness to more than one argument between her parents as Sakura's enrollment in the Academy steadily became less of an indulgence and more of a reality.

Kizashi and Mibuki were civilian merchants, wealthy enough to sate their daughter's curiosities about the world and even pay for shinobi training. Sakura's parents had long since expected their daughter to drop out of the Academy, and the notion that the girl might actually manage to become a fabled killer more than terrified them.

Yet in Konoha the Hokage's word was law, and once a student was signed over the the Academy they belonged body and soul to the Konohagakure government. Parents gave up the right to withdraw their children from shinobi education once enrolled, and only the student in question had the choice to drop out.

Even dropping out didn't herald an end to Konoha's interest in them, however, and Sakura recalled gossiping whispers in the market about how even dropouts were never free from surveillance. No matter what Sakura chose to do with her life, the shadowy world of shinobi would always have one foot in her life.

"Haruno Sakura!" called Mizuki-sensei, ticking off her name on his list before setting a hand on the girl's shoulder and steering her into the next room.

The room was small, four white walls and two doors. One led back to the classroom with her peers, and one led onward – either to the next stage of exams or into the open world if she chose to opt-out. Painted into the floor, taking up a full third of the space was a bright red ring.

Iruka-sensei sat behind a desk in the far corner, drawing out two sheets of paper.

Iruka beckoned her over, "Sakura-chan," nodding slightly when the girl blinked and began trotting over. "I have two forms for you. One is for you to sign if you're opting out of the exam this year." Dropping a significant hand on the form to her left, he continued. "This one is for you to sign if you're going to continue. It says you recognize that you might be injured in the testing."

Sakura bent over the desk, narrowing green eyes as she scanned the pages and powered through the legalese. One waived her right to compensation for injury, noted that she recognized the exam as a black mark on her record if she failed, and that success would be graded on record available at a later date by request. The other waived her right to privacy if she failed to return to the Academy, noting that she was opting out of the examination.

She inked her name to the form on the left in a large, flowing script.

"Come here Sakura-chan." Mizuki-sensei called out, motioning for the girl to stand opposite to him in the ring. "The test goes on for two minutes." the chuunin explained with a lazy glance to Iruka. "You'll be graded on how well you fight. Don't worry about the Academy forms – we don't grade on them because a lot of our students come from clans with their own taijutsu styles."

"In ten seconds." Iruka called out absently as he began filling out the grade sheets with Sakura's personal information.

After a beat, Sakura darted her gaze to the floor and she fell into the basic Academy stance. "Do I have to stay in the ring, Mizuki-sensei?"

"No." Mizuki disagreed, "But you'll lose points if you get knocked out. Or gain a lot if you knock me out." the chuunin after with a mischievous grin.

A chime jingled as Iruka reached zero, shaking a small hand bell and barking out "Begin!"

Sweat began to bead on Sakura's pale forehead as seconds ticked past, Mizuki-sensei standing casually with his hands at his sides and a bored expression on his face.

"Thirty second mark." Iruka-sensei murmured, brown eyes focused on his student.

Sakura moved, leaping forward with both fists drawn to her sides before letting out a right hook. A hand rose up to slap her fist away. Undeterred, the pinkette threw her left hook to the same result. The pair traded a short repetitive set of blows before Sakura leaned back and drew her knee to her chest. Lashing out with a kick, she grinned when the chuunin brought his arms up and was forced to block the blow.

"One minute mark."

Mizuki shoved her back, moving into an offensive gait and trailing lazy blows. Dodging under and around the man's swinging fists, Sakura took a glance at the utterly bored expression on her sensei's face and burned with humiliation.

The chuunin was utterly toying with her!

Gritting her teeth, Sakura stepped under and into Mizuki's step and drove an angry fist into the man's knee. "Contact!" she shouted in glee. Said knee snapped up a moment later and pushed the pinkette away, bringing her dangerously close to the red line.

"One and a half minute mark."

Sakura dove and rolled, dodging between a marginally surprised Mizuki's legs and spinning to leap onto the man's back. Wrapping her arms around his throat in a chokehold and legs around his waist to keep from being thrown, Sakura hung on for dear life. Mizuki began to twist in sharp movements, growing more exaggerated as he attempted to throw off his surprisingly tenacious student.

Then the ground slammed into her, driving Sakura's breath from her lungs and leaving her staring up at the ceiling with a confused expression. The man had simply collapsed backwards, crushing the girl between his body and the wooden floor.

"Two minute mark."

Mizuki stepped into Sakura's line of vision, stretching a hand down to help her up.

Iruka stepped forward once Sakura regained her bearings, an encouraging look as his face that gave the girl hope for her performance.

"You did well Sakura." Iruka began. "You managed to stay inside the ring for the full two minutes, and even managed to score a strike on Mizuki-sensei. Which is more than many of the students today have been able to do." A odd expression grew on her instructor after a pause. "Keep in mind that this isn't taijutsu class though, Sakura-chan. You shouldn't yell out 'contact!' in the middle of a fight, especially against a potentially deadly enemy."

The man's voice rose with a vague pitch of lecture. "Also, you froze up for the initial thirty seconds. Understandable if you have a taijutsu style based on counterattack and defence - unlike the Academy Basic. But possibly fatal if you don't. You should never hold off combat for that long unless the terrain favors you or you're on a defensive mission. If you had never engaged Mizuki, the point of your 'mission' today, you would have failed the exam."

Face once again red with shame, Sakura nodded wordlessly.

"Good," Iruka grinned. "Now head on through that door, and I'll see you after lunch for the rest of the exams."

Lunch was ramen. Delicious, salty noodles soaked in broth with pre-packaged seasoning after three minutes over a hot stove. Naruko loved it, gobbling down every succulent bite with furtive glances around the playground.

Ero-Sennin had told her that the blonde was free to eat all the ramen she liked for lunches only on school days, and only if she actually showed up at the Academy. It had only taken three times of attempting to sneak around Jiraiya's rules before Naruko adhered to them with all austere gravity of a police officer upholding the law.

Soaking for hours in a frog's stomach – covered in drool and fly guts and other assorted nasty substances tended to make an impression. Even the stubborn Uzumaki could realize that in some situations, it was better to simply cut her losses.

Ino laughed, a bubbling sound of relief and happiness that drew Naruko's blue eyes to watch the Yamanaka and her best friend chatting amiably at a picnic table. Years had passed since Naruko realized that she couldn't force people to want to befriend her through loudness and constant bothering, as well as some advice from her two father-figures.

Churning under her skin was a familiar mixture of loneliness and jealousy. Naruko tore her gaze from the pair and took in the rest of the students through glazed blue eyes. Forty-nine kids puttered about the Academy grounds in groups with their friends, telling jokes and comparing stories.

The fiftieth student was Uchiha Sasuke, sitting alone under the shadow of a tree and slowly sharpening a kunai with a whetstone as he waited to be called back in for the next part of the Graduation Exam.

Naruko sighed, shoving apart the instinct that made her want to wander over and talk to the boy. More than once the broody raven had rejected her overtures of basic friendliness, and the Uzumaki had long since given up on waiting for Sasuke to get his head out of his ass.

"Break's over! Everyone line up!" Mizuki shouted through cupped hands, ignoring the hateful burn that crossed his chest when the Kyuubi jinchuuriki rose from her seat in the grass and silently sidled over. The remainder of the blonde's classmates formed a bulky trail behind her, and with a shrug Mizuki ushered them back into the classroom.

Greeting the returning examinees with a disarming smile, Iruka launched right into an explanation as soon as the final student found a seat. "We're going to proceed with the genjutsu exam in short order, followed immediately by the ninjutsu exam. If you pass, you'll be awarded your hitai-ate on the spot and sent to room 136 down the hall until the rest of the students are done."

"Good luck!" Iruka told the class brightly, before calling up Aburame Shino as the first to take the test.

Naruko tapped a staccato beat on the top of her desk with her oddly elongated nails. Ignoring the annoyed glares of a few of her more nervous classmates, the blonde only stuck her tongue out and considered what she'd need to do to pass the genjutsu portion. Probably just dispelling something, since she didn't recall the class being taught any actual genjutsu in the Academy.

Bunshin didn't count, even if they were illusions.

"Uzumaki Naruko!" startled her, and the blonde looked up to laugh at a slightly peeved looking Iruka-sensei. "That's the third time I called you, Naruko! If you don't pass today I won't buy you ramen tonight."

Naruko snorted. "Of course I'm going to pass, Iruka-sensei! I'm the best ninja in the whole Academy."

Giving an exasperated but fond smirk, the chuunin shuffled his young charge through the door and giving a wordless thumbs up to the last student waiting to be examined before shutting out the classroom.

"First thing's first." Iruka-sensei began as he crossed the same room used for the taijutsu exam and settling on one edge of the red ring. "The genjutsu portion is pretty simple – I'm going to cast a weak illusion on you, and you just have to recognize it and dispel it."

Agreeing with a barked "Sounds good!" Naruko turned a blue gaze on Mizuki before she strode to stand opposite Iruka-sensei.

Forming three slow hand seals, Iruka sighed out a low "Kasumi Juusha no Jutsu!"

Naruko waited, staring at the chuunin with discerning eyes before darting a quick gaze around the room. Just three white walls...

A hand settled on the blonde's shoulder and she dove to the side, rolling about to face against a shadowy figure. The amorphous blob with indistinct, only retaining the basic hints of human shape. With an amused snort, Naruko brought her hands together in a ram seal and flared a portion of her enormous chakra.

Wordlessly the wiggling blob dissolved away into faint trails of mist before fading completely. Naruko quickly spun about to confirm there were no other dark bodies reaching from the shadows and nothing else obviously different before nodding to Iruka-sensei. "It's done."

"So it is." the chuunin agreed mildly. "I felt the illusion break well enough, so you pass that part. What did the illusion look like?"

Naruko shrugged nonchalantly."A blob. Human shaped, but just a blob."

Humming in agreement, Iruka-sensei returned to take a seat beside Mizuki-sensei and signed off as a witness to her genjutsu grade.

Naruko bounced in place until the silver-haired chuunin shot her a vaguely irritated look. "Now for the ninjutsu portion of the exam. You have to demonstrate the 'Academy Three'."

"Those being the Kawarimi, the Henge, and the Bunshin." Iruka-sensei clarified, reaching down to drag up a log set under the instructor's' desk and heave it across to their student.

Naruko never even made the effort to catch the flying piece of lumber, merely rolling her eyes before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Wood clattered to the ground, followed by the soft pad of Naruko's heels making contact with the polished floors.

Raising a cocky brow, the blonde laughed. "Next?"

Tightening an easy smile on his lips, Mizuki motioned over at the instructor beside him. "Now transform into Iruka-sensei, if you can."

Naruko formed a slow series of seals, carefully committing everything she could observe about Iruka-sensei to memory before calling out "Henge no Jutsu!" Smoke billowed up to cover the short girl's figure.

Reaching a tanned hand out, Naruko brushed aside the lingering smoke and revealed her imitation. Towering at almost twice the blonde's height, a perfect clone of Iruka turned on the spot. Showing off an identical green flak jacket, the same dark black zori and even the odd bandage twining about the man's right leg.

"Looks good." Mizuki confirmed, ribbing his colleague in the side with an elbow before smirking. "Show us a few clones now."

Puffing back to her true form, Naruko absently straightened a wrinkle out of her orange jumpsuit before lazy forming a cross seal.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" she roared, a blaze of chakra swirling around her. Smoke exploded in the room, clearing to reveal the small space filled to the brim with grinning blonde Naruko's. One reached out and poked a finger into Iruka-sensei's shoulder, confirming the technique's solidity.

Naruko had the strong suspicion that for the rest of her natural life the blonde would never be able to accomplish the original Bunshin no Jutsu. Even before Hebi-jiji told her about the dirty furball rolling about in her gut that got his ass kicked by Hokage-jiji years back, the Uzumaki had struggled to even measure such a tiny fraction of chakra out to use.

Malformed clones were all Naruko was able to form with the original technique, until Ero-Sennin taught her the Kage Bunshin in a fit of inspiration. After confirming with the Hokage that the Kage Bunshin would satisfy all graduation requirements, the blonde promptly gave up on attempting to master the Bunshin and never tried the technique again.

Zeroing an expectant gaze on the row of hitai-ates gleaming on the table, Naruko dismissed her Kage Bunshin with a word and strode boldly across to snatch at one.

Iruka got there first, offering it up with a proud smile. "Congrats Naruko, I guess I'll be taking you out to ramen tonight."

"You bet!"

"Congratulations to you all!" Iruka called out, striding into the classroom shortly after the last student tried and failed to pass the exam. Taking in the diminished group that made it through the first and easiest trial of their shinobi careers, Iruka crushed the feeling that he'd signed them up for death by passing them.

"As of today, you are all official genin of Konohagakure. However, I'd like you to remember that it's a dangerous world out there." Casting an imploring gaze at his graduation students, the man continued. "Some of you may even die, but I have faith in you – all of you, my students – and I know that all of you will uphold the Hi no Ishi as proud shinobi of Konohagakure for the rest of your lives."

Mizuki gave Iruka a commiserating pat before stepping forward and folding his hands behind his back. "Please rise." the chuunin ordered softly, all playful mocking absent. "And repeat after me."

"I swear to my ancestors this most sacred oath." After pausing to confirm the low drone of recitation and giving all the newly minted genin a sharp look, Mizuki pressed on. "That to the people of Konoha I shall render unconditional service and that I shall strive to the uttermost end of my strength to uphold the Hi no Ishi. I shall be prepared to give my life for this oath, or else become faithless and accursed."

Naruko mumbled along with the rest of the graduating class, dropping down into her chair as soon as the solemn speech was finished and tugging at her ear nervously. Watching as Mizuki gave a last significant nod and strode from the room, Naruko gave Iruka-sensei a shaky grin when the man stepped forward.

"You may request to see your individual test scores at any time after today. But first, before dismissing you I'd like to offer further congratulations."

Confused mutterings met his words as Iruka swept up two bronze plaques. "First to Uzumaki Naruko, I'd like to officially recognize you as the Top Rookie of this year's graduating class. You did well." Tossing the engraved award across the room, Iruka's eyes warmed when Naruko caught it and blushed.

"Secondly, for scoring both highest overall exam mark and a perfect score, I'd like to award this to Uchiha Sasuke. You did well."

The raven contemptuously snatched up the plaque and shoved it into the pocket of his white shorts.

Iruka frowned instinctively at the rudeness before giving a genial shrug. "You're all dismissed for the day. Report back to this room tomorrow at 0900 for your team placements."

One step closer to him, Sasuke decided as he glided through the doors and took his seat at the back of the room the following morning. A small step, and a late one considering how young his brother had been when he'd made genin. But then Itachi grew up the favoured elder child in the household of Konoha's premiere clan leader, learning directly under his father's tutelage as a boy.

Only Okaa-san consistently spent time with Sasuke, being the one to gently teach him the proper way to hold a kunai, how to throw a shuriken, how to use wire as a weapon… The only thing Sasuke had learned from his father was his prized Goukakyuu, at the very end of his childhood, before Itachi destroyed his innocence.

Sasuke wondered if his father had never suspected there was something off about Itachi, whether he'd ever have bothered to teach his younger son anything at all. Ironically Sasuke's greatest teacher had been Itachi. It had been the elder brother that smoothed out his childish hands and taught him real lethality in his movements, refining Okaa-san's affectionate teaching into skills more deadly than any of his peers.

When he killed Itachi, Sasuke dearly hoped the man regretted ever teaching his younger brother the right way to kill.

A huff cut into his thoughts, and Sasuke turned to glare at the Uzumaki girl when she flopped down next to him and plopped her feet up on the table. "How… elegant," the Uchiha murmured sarcastically, smirking at the annoyed scowl Naruko sent him.

The bell rang at the stroke of nine, quieting the tittering children into anticipatory silence. Even Sasuke found himself tracing an absent finger over his hitai-ate when Iruka stepped into the classroom with a clipboard in hand.

"Hello again." the overtly friendly chuunin greeted, smiling at the group and beaming particularly affectionately as Sasuke's neighbor. "This class is lucky to have fifteen graduates, so we don't have to have any squads with extra members too few."

"Now I'll announce the teams starting from the top with Team Four..."

Tuning out the low drone of Iruka reading off the list, Sasuke folded his hands under his chin and waited. He had no real team preference, just as long as his jounin-sensei was strong enough to get him to the next level, that was all that mattered. It wasn't like Sasuke intended to stick around with his peers, he had a man to kill.

"...Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruko will form Team Seven under Hatake Kakashi."

Sasuke blinked in surprise before glaring. He'd missed who would complete his team besides the blonde idiot, and he knew that there was someone else since Iruka said all the teams were three... to ask Uzumaki or not to ask?

On the one hand, he hated appearing unknowledgeable. It would definitely make him look like a fool to have missed his own team placements. But did he hate not knowing more?

"I wasn't paying attention. Who else is on our squad?" Sasuke grunted after a moment, leaning an ear closer to his obnoxious blonde teammate.

Blue eyes narrowed in confusion before Naruko shrugged. No water off her back. "Haruno."

Muttering an "I see." Sasuke fixated on the door and waited, reluctantly listening as Iruka paired off the so-called Ino-Shika-Cho trio under the Hokage's son. Chatter started back up for a split second before the classroom door slid open.

"Team Eight?" A dark-haired woman called out, scanning the room with red eyes and settling on the quiet Hyuuga girl rising from her seat to hurry across to the jounin. Joined a moment later by Aburame and the shaggy Inuzuka, the three students filed out after their new sensei.

A few more teams went out to three more non-descript jounin, and Sasuke sneered inwardly. One was a feeble-looking man with glasses, another was a redhead woman in a lab coat, and the third was to a bald brawler with an undoubtedly soft head. Weak – stronger than him at the moment perhaps, but no where near Itachi's level.

The Hokage's son came and picked up his three little clan heirs in a stink of tobacco, the first jounin sensei to really move with a sense of lethality and Sasuke was briefly jealous. The first woman had seemed more skilled than the other three, but the Uchiha was quite sure that whoever this Hatake was, he'd be nowhere near as good as having a Hokage's son as his sensei.

Minutes ticked into hours, and Sasuke grew ever more irritated. Sakura gave in after the first hour and began to peruse a textbook left abandoned in her desk. Naruko was worse, fidgeting more and more in her seat as the hours rolled on.

The clock struck eleven with a loud chime, and Sasuke finally snapped at her "Would you stop that!"

Blue eyes shot back at him, glaring in a dark fury. "Well excuse me for getting bored because we've apparently got a lazy-ass sensei who's probably face down drunk somewhere."

"Maa, I don't know about drunk." interrupted, and all three genin turned to face the door in a whirl.

An easy-going jounin grinned at them. Or at least Sasuke assumed it was a grin from the way the man's only visible eye crinkled over a mask hiding the rest of his features.

"I just got lost on the road of life." the jounin mused, shoving hands in his pockets. "I'd have to say my first impression of you guys is that... I hate you. Meet on the roof."

Then Hatake simply vanished, and Sasuke's eyes widened unwillingly. There was no smoke, no technique, no dash. Just pure unadulterated speed.

"For a jounin he doesn't seem very reliable." Haruno pouted before the trio trudged out of the room in search of a stairwell.

Kakashi hadn't been lying when he told his new team that his initial impression of them was terrible. It may be slightly unfair of him to expect them to be perfectly happy waiting around for him, but the infighting spoke of a dislike that could be fatal in a team.

This would be the first team he'd truly be forced to accept. If he had to, Kakashi was more than prepared to beat them bloody until they figured out they were a team unit. Obito would have expected nothing less, and Hatake wondered if he'd even be able to forgive himself if a team – his first team at that, even if he'd been made to take them - died on his watch.

Shuffling onto the rooftop, the three children observed him through silent eyes and Kakashi found himself recounting a little bit of his initial dislike. Those were strong eyes, and maybe this team could amount to something in the end after all.

"Take a seat and introduce yourself. Your likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams for the future. That kind of thing." the jounin ordered, waiting as the trio scanned the roof before shrugging and settling down on crossed legs. "First you - pinky on the right."

Sakura opened her mouth, darting green eyes about before closing her jaw with an audible click. "I have no idea what to say." the girl admitted. "Perhaps you could introduce yourself first sensei?"

"Me? Well, my name is Hatake Kakashi." Squinting up at the sky in mock thought, the jounin drawled, "Things I like and things I hate? I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future? Never really thought about that. As for my hobbies... I have lots of hobbies."

"So all we learned was his name?" the blond on the left muttered, pinning him with a mutinous glare. Kakashi grinned back at his sensei's daughter.

"I'm Haruno Sakura." the pinkette piped up after a moment. "I like my friends, reading, and playing trivia games. I dislike Naruko." Green eyes glared at blue as both girls scowled. "My dream for the future is to become the strongest kunoichi in the world!"

Not a bad ambition, even if it was a high place to aim. After all, Tsunade of the Sannin had been a giggling little girl once upon a time. Though the animosity towards her teammate was worrying.

After a moment, Kakashi sighed "Now you blondie."

"I'm Uzumaki Naruko. I like ramen, Iruka-sensei and Ero-Sennin and Hebi-Jiji and Hokage-jiji-" Naruko paused for a breath before frowning. "I dislike the three minutes it takes ramen to cook and Sakura. My dream is to be acknowledged by everyone."

A silvery brow climbed up at the wistful tone Naruko finished her introduction with, filing away the fact that the animosity in his team was two-sided. "You're up, broody."

Glaring at the nickname, Sasuke growled "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I have a lot of dislikes and don't really like anything. I hate the word 'dream' – it suggests that what you want won't become reality. I have an ambition to restore my clan and... to kill a certain man."

The fixation on Itachi and the overall negativity wasn't unexpected, but Kakashi couldn't help but wish his team was one that wasn't going to be saddled with so many issues. An inferiority complex, a vengeance fixation, and a stubbornly antagonistic girl if her sneers to the other two teammates were anything to guess by.

Kakashi had his work cut out for him.

"Well that's enough for today." the jounin decided. "Report to Training Ground Three tomorrow morning at 0700 for your genin exam."

"Didn't we just do that?" Sakura pointed out, wrinkling her brow in confusion.

"No. That was merely to decide which of you in the class had the potential to become genin. Mine is an extremely difficult exam with a sixty-six percent failure ratio. If you fail the test tomorrow I'll have you sent back to the Academy for remedial training."

Finishing with a cheerful "Oh, and I recommend that you don't have anything to eat tomorrow for breakfast, you'll just throw it up."the jounin vanished in a swirl of leaves.

"This sucks." Naruko muttered after a long moment.

(AN - White): The edited version of this chapter clocks in above 8000 words. Unlike One Thousand Nights, there is no set chapter length in this story.

Bonus points to those who noticed the fascistic overtone of that oath I put the kids through. It was a deliberate comparison to the Hitler Oath - Konoha is a military dictatorship.

(AN - Ajax): We're both fans of Team 7's Ascension, and similarities to the world that Eilyfe created will be apparent in the multi-story universe that we're creating with our collaborative works. I heavily recommend you take a look over on Ao3 to see our appendices on what exactly we're changing if you're interested, as it contains a lot of worldbuilding information.