Haruno Kizashi stared down at the tiny baby, lips quirked into a fond smile as she yawned hugely and blinked her large, emerald eyes up at him from the harness strapped to his chest. Mebuki snorted at him from where she walked next to him.

"Sap," she said fondly.

"Only for my little Sakura-chan," he replied, grin wide.

Kizashi once again silently thanked the Hokage for assigning him to the diplomatic mission to the Land of Iron as his punishment for 'accidentally' dropping the Elders' Council wagon into a quagmire on an escort mission. Even if he and the Hokage both knew the old bats deserved a lot worse than some mud ground into their robes.

It was on his two year mission that he met and married Mebuki, after all. Raised by samurai but never initiated into their ranks, she was strong, focused, and knew her way around a sword. He fell in love with her the first time she punched him in the face for making fun of her Samurai-like clothing and bearing.

They stopped and made camp, bickering lightly. They were sitting around a fire when the woman stumbled into the camp, falling to her knees and clutching a bundle to her chest. Both he and his wife were immediately on their feet, weapons in hand. Mebuki held Sakura in one arm, body turned so she was between their infant and the possible threat.

"M-Mebuki," the figure rasped, and Kizashi growled when he realized this threat was personal. He was cut off from replying, however, by his wife, who hadn't lowered her weapon, but had relaxed fractionally in shock.

"Mai?" she whispered, and the figure trembled.

"Nobody has called me by that name in a long time, little sister," the figure rasped, still cloaked in shadows and kneeling just outside the firelight.

"I'm only younger by two minutes," Mebuki said in a distracted voice, and Kizashi's eyes widened at the implications. He knew Mebuki had a twin sister - he also knew that she hadn't seen her since she had run away, dishonored, five years ago. Nobody had ever given him a reason for her defection.

The figure chuckled, then broke off into wet coughs. Mebuki's face twisted in indecision, a strange look on his wife's face, before it hardened into determination - and that expression was more familiar.

"Mebuki..." Kizashi said in a low, warning voice that he already knew would have no effect on her. She turned and gave him a steady look, and he let out a breath and took their somehow still sleeping child from her. She then darted around the fire, and knelt by her sister's side. She gasped, and Kizashi stiffened.

"Oh, Mai, what have you gotten yourself into this time," Mebuki whispered, and helped the kneeling figure stand, leading her over to the fire.

"The worst kind of trouble," Mai said, and Kizashi had to work to keep his expression blank as the she stepped into the firelight. She looked so much like Mebuki that it was shocking. Her blond hair was longer than Mebuki's, and matted with sweat against her head. Her eyes were the same bright green, and even with her obvious illness she held herself erect. In the woman's arms was a small wrapped bundle, and over the coughs of Mai and the crackle of the fire, he could hear the unmistakable sounds of a child cooing.

Mebuki helped her sister sit by the warmth of the fire, then hurried to get her some water and food. Kizashi sat silently across from her, watching closely for any signs of trouble. He trusted Mebuki, though, and if she wasn't worried about an attack from her sister, he wouldn't be either. Finally, the woman held up a hand to stop her fussing. "Enough. Introduce me to your man."

Mebuki smiled a little. "Ah, this is my husband, Haruno Kizashi. In his arms is our firstborn, Sakura."

Kizashi couldn't help the rush of warmth that went through him at her obvious pride, but he kept it off his face and gave a small nod as she studied him before snorting. "You always did like the weird ones - pink hair? And what's up with that style?" Kizashi just shrugged, he was used to those types of comments. Usually from opponents right before he kicked their ass.

Mai's eyes lingered on his headband. "And a shinobi, my oh my, what did our honorable father have to say about that?" the woman finished lightly, but Kizashi could hear the bitterness beneath it.

"Eh, you know father. I talked him around." Mebuki said.

The woman just hummed. "So I suppose you're on your way to Konoha, then?"

Mebuki nodded. "Yes - I'll be living there."

Mai took a deep breath that rattled. "Well, I suppose I'm being rude." She shakily held out the bundle to Mebuki, who took it carefully, and unwrapped the infant enough to reveal a tuft of hair that shone red in the firelight.

"He's beautiful," Mebuki breathed. "His eyes -!"

Mai gave a soft smile, which looked strange on her strained face. "Ah, they are the same as yours and mine."

"And Sakura's," Mebuki said, looking up at her sister and smiling, and Kizashi could suddenly see how close they had been before they were separated. No wonder his wife never wanted to discuss the circumstances of her leaving.

"Good, that's good," Mai said, before breaking into a coughing fit for a few minutes. Suddenly, his wife was handing him the other infant and she rushed to get her sister more water. He blinked in surprise, and adjusted both of the babies until he had one in each crook of his arm. He looked down and raised an eyebrow. They were close in age - off by maybe a month or so. Sakura's hair was pink, and Gaara's was red, but their eyes were identical - large, and emerald green, just like their mothers'.

Finally, Mai's coughing stopped, and she spent some time catching her breath before speaking again. "Meet your nephew. His name is Gaara," she whispered, and her face was full of pride and sorrow. "He is also the son of the Kazekage."

Mebuki jerked in shock. "What -!" Kazuki froze as the implications hit him.

"Are you telling me," he said in a low, dangerous voice, "that I'm currently holding the kidnapped child of a Kage?" The only thing keeping him from leaking killing intent in his rage was the two infants in his arms - it wasn't good for the development of young children.

"I think," Mebuki said in a low voice, "That it's time you told us why you're here."

Mai gave a small bitter smile. "After I left, I wandered for awhile - years, really. Picking up jobs as a mercenary where I could, living the life you and I always said we wanted. Two years ago, I ended up in Sand Village. Got into some trouble I was having difficulty fighting my way out of. That was when I met him . The Kazekage." her eyes had turned inward, obviously lost in memory. "He was so strong, and fierce - he took out the men giving me trouble in seconds. After that - well. I admit I was infatuated. He looked at me and saw me ..." Mai shook her head and gave a wry smile. "Anyway, it went quickly after that. I never told him my true name, or where I was from, and he never asked. I think he knew it wasn't something I liked to think about."

"Then, ten months ago, I found out I was pregnant. I was so happy, but his reaction was...it was strange. Almost a grim satisfaction. He already had two children from another wife, so I didn't understand why he treated the pregnancy like it was an acquisition he'd been working towards. I knew something was wrong but didn't want to see it..."

Kizashi and Mebuki exchanged glances but didn't interrupt. "One day, I heard two of his high-ranking men talking. They...they were going to turn my baby into a monster ," she said, and Kizashi started a little at the rage. "Not just a jinchuuriki, but a purposefully unstable one, one that would supposedly act as a deterrent to other villages. I knew my husband was desperate to gain back power after the last Shinobi War, but...I didn't think he'd go so far as to curse our baby to that life."

The woman stopped and took a few shallow breaths. "So I ran. I was pursued, of course, but running and tracking were always my strong suit growing up. I gave birth in a medium sized village, and left a false trail there - they'll find the cremated remains of a woman and infant that died in childbirth." Mebuki sucked in a sharp breath of surprise, but Mai wasn't finished. She was looking down at her feet now.

"Sister, I know I have asked for too much in our lives together, but I would hope that you do one last thing for me," Mai whispered, and Mebuki took her hand.

"What is it?" his wife asked.

"I am dying," Mai said bluntly, and Mebuki reared back as though struck, but her sister continued on without remorse. "I am fading quickly. Please, take my Gaara in as your own. Raise him alongside your Sakura. Do this one last thing for me." Mai turned her determined, fevered gaze on Mebuki, and grabbed her hands. "Please, sister."

In his arms Gaara was looking around with his wide, green eyes, so like his own daughter's that his heart clenched. "We'll do it," he found himself saying.

000

Sakura bit her lip, and looked over at her brother, who was staring nervously at his shoes. "We'll do fine," she whispered, and his eyes darted over to her from where they were barely visible under his mop of red hair. "We're close to top of the class, no way we won't pass," she said with a small smile, then reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him inside.

The sight of the Haruno twins dragging each other around by their clasped hands was a normal one, and nobody looked twice at them as they entered the classroom. Sakura bypassed a group of girls giggling over Sasuke, and felt a pang of sadness as she met Ino's eyes. The day Sakura had stopped pursuing Sasuke was the day they stopped their almost life-long friendship.

Sakura had been just as bowled over as most of the kunoichi in her class by the boy's dark, brooding air and beauty. Completely blind to his faults, she'd stalked him with the rest of them - until That Day. It still made her blood boil to even think about it, and Gaara had to tug on her hand when she found herself glaring at the Uchiha, who didn't even twitch.

They had started free sparring the year before That Day, and Sasuke's brutality had always seemed cool. And then Gaara got called up to spar against him. Sakura remembered the way her blood had run cold, and the almost-panic in her brother's eyes. Surely, she had thought, surely Sasuke wouldn't be so brutal with sweet, kind Gaara?

He had been. He had taken her brother down viciously, and sneered at him while he sat in the dirt with a bloody nose. Sakura had...lost her temper. It was the only time anybody had landed a punch on Sasuke, and both of them now held a grudge over the incident. Ino had never forgiven her for embarrassing Sasuke, and Sakura had never forgiven Ino for caring more about her crush than Gaara. Because Gaara was Sakura's to take care of, Sakura's shy, sweet, too-intelligent brother, who shared the same dream as her, and nobody was allowed to make him sad. No matter how dreamy they were.

"Gaara!" a loud voice called, and Sakura winced. Speaking of sacrifices she had to make for him...

"H-hello, Naruto," he said in his bland, quiet voice, but his eyes had brightened and a small smile appeared on his lips at the blonde's excited waving. She dragged her feet as she followed his sedate pace up the stairs. She tuned out the blonde's flailing and chatter as she slipped into the aisle seat next to Gaara, who was in the middle, nodding along with whatever Naruto said from his spot next to the window. Naruto was the first and only friend Gaara ever made by himself, and the only person he was actually comfortable with outside of Sakura, so she just had to suck it up and deal with it. Even if the annoying blonde kept asking her out.

"And this time, I'll pass, believe it!" he yelled, throwing his arms out and accidentally smacking the top of Shikamaru's head where it was lying on the desk behind him.

The boy's annoyed eyes slitted open and met Sakura's. "So troublesome," he grumbled before closing them again, and Sakura rolled her eyes then turned her attention to the front. After all, she had a test to ace.

That night they were both sporting headbands at dinner. It should have been a happy occasion, but Gaara was obviously down about it.

"Listen, Gaara, we'll go see him tomorrow at lunch, okay?" Sakura said gently. "He can try again next year - we'll help him practice!" she said, and tried not to grimace at the thought of more time spent with the excitable blonde. Gaara sent her a hopeful look, knowing how much it cost her to volunteer. Though Sakura tried not to complain about his choice in friends, they couldn't really hide anything from eachother - not when they'd lived in each other's pockets for the past twelve years.

"Perhaps we could...leave early in the morning, to check on him?" She almost groaned at his hopeful face, but just slumped over.

"Fine," she mumbled as her dad laughed at her in the background. Yeah, she was a sucker for her brother, she knew.

The next morning the door was opened by a frantic and half asleep Naruto. "I'm going to be late!" he yelled in Gaara's unruffled face, and Sakura rolled her eyes before doing a double take.

"You - you have a forehead protector! But how -" Naruto gave a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his head.

"Oh, well, you know. Iruka-sensei ended up passing me last night, because I'm awesome!" he exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air. Sakura and Gaara exchanged dubious looks, but didn't comment.

"We brought you breakfast," Gaara said serenely, and she knew what he really meant was I will stare at you with my sad, green eyes until you tell me the truth of it later. She was intimately familiar with his information gathering techniques.

Sakura made a face at Naruto's apartment, but knew better than to comment. Gaara hated it when she eluded in any way to the fact that Naruto was an orphan who lived alone, because Gaara had a bleeding heart that hated to see his small circle of friends even a little sad.

"Yes!" Naruto exclaimed, grabbing the wrapped rice ball from Gaara's hand. A few minutes later, they were on their way to the Academy, Naruto chattering on about his future as an 'awesome ninja.' Sakura sighed and stopped listening, and eventually they entered the classroom - hopefully for the last time.

Naruto immediately made a beeline for Sasuke and his fangirls, Gaara following at a more sedate pace, and Sakura veered off to sit next to Chouji. Who would her team be? Her father had told them it was a 50/50 chance on whether Gaara and Sakura would be on the same team. On one hand, twins tended to work well as a unit - they could read each other's movements, and were likely to have a good dynamic. On the other, it could be problematic in a three man cell. Integrating another full person into the equation could be tricky. Kizashi had lectured them extensively on the importance of teamwork, and being able to work with people outside of their little two person crew. If they did get put on the same team, they would be conscious of the fact that they needed to make room for a third.

Sakura's thoughts were brought to a screeching halt when she glanced down and saw Naruto fall face first into Sasuke. She buried her face in her hands so she didn't have to watch the fallout. Ten minutes later a sulking Gaara and battered Naruto were in the seats across the aisle from her, and she couldn't help the small giggle that escaped her. Her brother was so adorable when he was pouting, and she wanted to enjoy it while she could. Chouji smiled at her and offered a chip, and she grinned before accepting, ignoring Ino's judging eyes. The one time Sakura had decided to try and go on a diet with the other girls in her class, Gaara had solemnly brought her six books on nutrition - three of which focused on nutrition for shinobi - and lectured her until she'd given in.

"If you want to be as strong as Sofu, you must nourish your body," was his closing argument. Her brother was such a dork, but he was right.

Finally, Iruka arrived, and Sakura straightened in excitement, listening closely as he began to name off the team lineups.

"Team Seven is Hyuuga Hinata, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto." Sakura bit her lip and looked over at Gaara, who was now holding himself stiffly and staring at his hands. She knew he'd been hoping for a team lineup of Naruto, Sakura, and himself. She crossed her fingers and prayed that she at least would end up on his team. He was so shy - what if he ended up with someone like Ino? She'd tear him apart!

Team Eight is Haruno Sakura, Haruno Gaara, and Inuzuka Kiba." Sakura cheered, and Gaara sent her a small smile, his eyes softening. Kiba slumped ahead of them and mumbled something about being with the 'bookworms.' Sakura glared at his back, but couldn't really deny it. Gaara and Sakura were both top of the class academically. They weren't that physically impressive, though they'd insisted their father give them extra training at home after That Day. Neither wanted a repeat of that.

Actually, if Sakura were to rate the boys from most annoying to least annoying in her class, Kiba would probably come in second - Naruto and Sasuke were tied for first. She shot Hinata a sympathetic look, but the girl was too busy hyperventilating to notice. The Hyuuga was getting some glares from her new teammate's fangirls, but since she never showed an interest in Sasuke before, they weren't as venomous as they could have been.

She tuned back in when she heard Ino's name. She was on Team Ten with Shikamaru and Chouji, much to her distaste. They were released for lunch, and Gaara and Sakura exchanged a look and nod before standing in tandem. Sakura moved to follow her brother down the stairs, but was cut off by Naruto leaping in front of her.

"Sakura-chan! We should celebrate by going out to ramen!" he shouted.

"Idiot!" she yelled, barely resisting the urge to hit him. "Didn't you hear Iruka-sensei? We're supposed to eat with our teams!"

"Oh...right. Hehe." he scratched the back of his neck nervously and looked away, and she growled in annoyance.

"Ugh, you're so...Hinata!" she yelled, and the girl's face whipped over to her, eyes wide. "Naruto-kun wants to have lunch with you and Sasuke at a ramen stand." Sakura pushed the orange clad boy towards her, ignoring his stumble and Hinata's red-faced stuttering, and finally joined Gaara, who was standing next to an obnoxiously laughing Kiba and watching her with one eyebrow raised.

"What?!" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "I was nice! I helped him talk to his teammates."

Gaara just sighed but didn't comment. "Kiba and Akamaru have agreed to accompany us to lunch," he said, and Sakura gritted her teeth when the boy rolled his eyes at Gaara's formal speech, but kept her mouth shut, instead just nodding. Sakura didn't have to ask who Akamaru was - the whole class learned pretty quickly after a few students tried to treat him like a pet and got bitten for it.

They made their way to a BBQ restaurant close to the Academy in awkward silence, quietly thanking the hostess. Ino's team had also come to the restaurant, and Sakura returned the blonde girl's glare and ignored her mouthed 'forehead.' Shikamaru was slumped over, valiantly attempting to ignore Ino, and Chouji was ordering what sounded like half the menu.

Sakura purposefully chose a seat that put her back to the annoying girl, and for a moment the four of them just stared at each other. Finally, Kiba broke the silence.

"So, you're twins," he stated, and Sakura stared at him in disbelief for a moment. Because they'd been in the same class for how many years - it was common knowledge that Sakura and Gaara were, in fact, twins.

"So," Gaara deadpanned, "You have a ninken partner." For a moment Kiba stared at Gaara suspiciously, and then Sakura giggled. Kiba looked between the two and gaped for a minute.

"Did you just... make a joke?" Kiba burst into raucous laughter, and Gaara's lip quirked up on one side and he dipped his head bashfully. "Oh, man, I didn't even know you had a sense of humor."

"Idiot, everybody has a sense of humor," Sakura said, rolling her eyes, and he just shrugged off the insult and grinned.

"Well, I've barely spoken to him - to either of you before, so how would I know?" he asked easily. Before she could answer the waitress appeared, and they spent a few minutes ordering drinks and food.

After a slightly stilted conversation over lunch, they returned to the academy. They were the last back to arrive, and ended up in a seat in the middle of the classroom. When their team was called by a gorgeous, red eyed woman named Yuuhi Kurenai, Sakura had to hold herself back from cheering, though she did shoot Ino a smug look. She got a badass kunoichi as her role model, which was way better than Ino's bearded sensei who smelled of cigarette smoke - even if he was the Hokage's son.

They followed Kurenai across the lawn and through the woods to a small training ground that was currently empty, and all sat on a log facing her when she motioned for them to do so.

"Okay, let's start with introductions. Please include your interests, goals, and why you decided to become a ninja. My name is Yuuhi Kurenai. Please feel free to call me Kurenai-sensei. I am a genjutsu specialist, and have been a jounin for just under a year. My interests include studying psychology and traveling. My goal is to prove that kunoichi can be just as strong and accomplished as shinobi. I was inspired to become a strong kunoichi by my father, who is a well respected jounin."

Sakura thought there might be stars in her eyes after hearing her sensei's goal. So cool! Kurenai gestured to Kiba to go next, who stood and grinned. "My name is Inuzuka Kiba, and this is my partner, Akamaru!" the little dog barked from his spot on Kiba's head. "I like running around with my friends and Akamaru and playing pranks on my sister. My goal is to learn all of the Inuzuka clan jutsus and to become the right hand man to my sister, who is the future clan heir. As for why I want to be a shinobi...I guess I just want to honor the Inuzuka name!" he finished cheerfully, and sat down.

Gaara stood next, and though to others he probably seemed calm Sakura could tell he was nervous. "My name is Haruno Gaara. I like being with my sister and learning new things. My goal is to become a proficient medic-nin. I decided to follow this path after watching a medic-nin save my sister's life from a mortal wound."

After this shocking pronouncement, Kiba was gaping at him, while Kurenai studied him thoughtfully. Before they could comment, Sakura stood, adjusting her red dress nervously.

"Um. My turn?" Kurenai turned her red eyes to her and inclined her head. "Okay, my name is Haruno Sakura. I like hanging out with my brother, and I also like learning new things." she ignored Kiba's snort, and continued. "My goal is to become a kenjutsu expert to honor my mother's heritage. I decided to become a kunoichi when a leaf nin named Sofu and her team saved my mother, Gaara, and myself from missing-nin hired to kill us while we were out of the village visiting our grandfather. I decided that I also needed to become strong so that I could protect people too." Sakura cleared her throat and sat down, looking at her shoes as their new teammates stared at them.

"Well," Kurenai said after a moment. "I'd like to do a little exercise with the three of you." she pulled a scroll from her thigh pouch and tossed it to Gaara, who caught it easily. The three of them studied it for a moment before Kurenai spoke again.

"I want you to take the scroll, and cross through the woods on our right into Training Ground Thirteen. Do you know where that is?" she asked, and Kiba nodded, though Sakura and Gaara both shook their heads.

Kurenai hummed. "You should take the time to learn all of Konoha, if you are to be responsible for protecting it," she said, and she wasn't scolding them, exactly, but Gaara cringed and Sakura blushed. They did tend to spend too much time indoors reading, which their father kept insisting wasn't going to do them any favors if they never went beyond the front door.

"Yes, sensei," they both said, and the woman nodded before giving them a general outline of the area around them. Sakura listened closely to the landmarks, committing them to memory.

"You have until nightfall to meet me there - that's about three miles away," Kurenai said, then disappeared.

The three of them exchanged looks, and Kiba grinned and jumped up. "Oh man, this will be so easy!" he exclaimed. "Three miles in three hours?" He started off towards the tree line, but stopped when he noticed the Haruno siblings weren't following him. Instead, they seemed to be exchanging meaningful looks.

"Oi, you guys coming, or what?" he asked, annoyed, and Akamaru gave a bark of agreement.

"Um, Kiba," Sakura said hesitantly, "Don't you think it's a little strange that she gave us so long to complete the task?"

He cocked his head to the side. "What do ya mean?" he asked, and Sakura chewed on her bottom lip.

"Well, I think this must be some sort of test, or maybe she wants to get an idea of our skills, which probably means it's not just a simple matter of crossing through the trees," she said, and Gaara nodded next to her.

"Yes, it is likely we will encounter some sort of trap, or possibly an ambush," he supplied.

"Since she said it's her specialty, a genjutsu is likely," Sakura said thoughtfully, and Gaara nodded. Kiba looked between the two, taking in what they said.

"Yeah, guess that makes sense," he finally said, and both of the twins relaxed. They'd been accused of being know-it-alls more than once, and were worried their teammate would feel the same way. "So what should we do?"

"Um," Sakura said. "Iruka-sensei said Gaara and I were pretty good at noticing genjutsu, so if we do we'll try and dispel it for you. Also, I think Akamaru will be able to tell, and if we're stuck in one he can give us a light bite to pull us out of it." Akamaru barked, and Sakura grinned.

"And other than that, I guess we should just move carefully and look out for traps," she said with a shrug.

"Perhaps we should take a slightly circuitous course, instead of going on the quickest route. Kurenai-sensei might have put more traps on the obvious path," Gaara offered in a quiet voice. Kiba gave them an impressed look.

"Heh, guess all that readin' was good for something after all," he said cheerfully.

"Maybe...Kiba should take point, since he has better hearing and smell and is familiar with the territory? Then Gaara can be in the middle and I'll take the rear," Sakura said firmly. Gaara sent her an annoyed look at her obvious ploy to put him in the most secure location, but didn't say anything, as he didn't like to argue with her in public. Well, at all really, but he could be stubborn when he wanted. She just sniffed, and gave him a look that she hoped said You'll just have to get used to it, you're the medic-nin .

Kiba's chest had expanded a little at being made point, and soon they were entering the woods about a hundred feet from where they had their first team meeting, and were creeping carefully into through the undergrowth. They walked as silently as possible - Kiba with more success than Gaara and Sakura, Kiba and Akamaru with their noses in the air.

Sakura and Gaara both kept their eyes on the surrounding scenery, nerves making them a little jumpy. After about fifteen minutes, Kiba held up a hand. "Wait -"

Kurenai dropped down on them from above, only Kiba's quick reflexes when he grabbed the boy and pulled them both out of the way keeping Gaara from being taken down with a hard kick from the woman. Sakura had jumped back, too, but was now separated from the boys.

Kurenai turned to face her, and Sakura let out a little meep as she came after her in a roundhouse kick. Sakura barely ducked out of the way, and frowned when she didn't feel any of the telltale wind whipping over her head that usually came with just barely missing a hit from a jounin (her dad didn't hold back as much as somebody might think he would when sparring with his little girl).

Sakura brought her hands together and pulled her chakra in towards her core before expanding it and yelling Kai! The image of Kurenai bearing down on her with a kunai in hand immediately disappeared, and Sakura barely had time to breath out in relief before her attention was pulled to the boys, who were...fighting each other?

Crap, they're under a genjutsu, too! Poor Akamaru had obviously taken a hit, and was limping around the circle trying to get close to the fighting boys, letting out a whine when Kiba, obviously the better fighter, landed a punch and Gaara fell back with a grunt. Sakura took that moment to dart forward and put her hand on Kiba's arm, pushing chakra into him until he reeled back, shaking his head.

Behind her, she heard her brother yelling kai, and knew he must have figured out they were in the genjutsu before Akamaru had to bite him. For a moment they all stared at each other, before Kiba let out a sheepish laugh.

"Oops?" he walked over to Gaara, who was slowly climbing to his feet. "Ah, was that me? Sorry man," Kiba said, and Gaara shook his head.

"I think I may be the cause of Akamaru's injury, so it's me who should apologize," he said guiltily.

Akamaru barked cheerfully, and Kiba shrugged. "Nah, he's alright. Thanks, Sakura-chan," he said with a wide grin. "That was really cool. How did you know?"

Sakura blushed, and shrugged. "I didn't feel the wind when one of Kurenai's kicks barely missed me. I think it was probably harder to tell for you because you were fighting a real opponent who was under an illusion to look like Kurenai-sensei. How did you know, Gaara?" Sakura asked as she patted the dirt off of his red jacket. He sighed at her but put up with the fussing.

"That hit - it would have been much harder coming from a jounin, even if she were to pull her punches," he explained, and Kiba scowled at him. Gaara winced when he realized how that had sounded, but before he could apologize Kiba was motioning for them to continue.

"Come on, if we keep running into stuff like that, it might take us awhile," he grumbled. Akamaru growled at Gaara before they moved on. Sakura put her hand on her brother's arm, who was looking a little dejected.

"Meh, boys are always so sensitive," she whispered to him, quoting one of Ino's favorite sayings after she'd pushed Shikamaru too far and he'd left in a lazy huff. Gaara raised an eyebrow at her, and she knew it meant and I'm not a boy?

She grinned at him. Not to me!

Kiba led them around a pit trap after another ten minutes of walking, and Gaara kept them from tripping a wire that did who-knows-what when he spotted the sun glinting from it. They had just spotted what Kiba assured them was training ground thirteen when Kurenai dropped out of the tree in front of them, a smirk on her face.

"You three made it through my traps - that's good. But you still have one more obstacle until your objective is complete - me," she then sent three kunai their way, forcing them to scatter.

"Akamaru!" Kiba yelled, ricocheting off the tree. "Dynamic marking!" Akamaru leapt into the air towards Kiba who grabbed onto him sent him spinning through the air towards Kurenai. The woman's sharp eyes focused on the little white canine, and Sakura threw a kunai at her, hoping to pull her attention from whatever attack the dog was going to do. The woman simply blocked the projectile with the one in her hand, jumping back from Akamaru, who was...Sakura gasped in disgust. Akamaru was peeing on their sensei . Or well, he would have been if she didn't jump out of the way, eyebrow raised at her student, who just laughed nervously as Akamaru landed and scrambled to go stand next to Gaara, who was closest.

Sakura bit her lip, mind working frantically for an idea, before Gaara's gaze met her own from where he was standing about five feet to her right. His eyes flicked from his position to the clearing, and she almost hit her forehead when she got what he was communicating. Right, the mission was to get the scroll to the clearing - not to defeat Kurenai. She nodded, and Gaara leaned down to whisper something in Akamaru's ear. The little dog straightened, seeming just as chagrined as Sakura had, before turning to Kiba and letting out a series of barks.

At the end of it, Kiba also looks sheepish, but then they were all dodging senbon and Kiba was trying to avoid Kurenai's kicks and Sakura found herself flying backwards into a tree when she went to try and assist him and how did that even happen? Sakura knew that Kurenai had to be holding back, but the difficulty they were facing even just getting away was staggering. Jounins were scary.

With a huff, Sakura slipped behind the tree she just had an intimate encounter with as Gaara solemnly joined the fray, and Kiba tossed a pill at Akamaru, who expanded in size, and then Kiba was yelling "Four Legs Technique," and Sakura's eyes widened when his whole body became coated in chakra, and his features became more beast-like. Swallowing, she quickly made a clone and henged it to look like Gaara as her brother came flying towards her after Kurenai tossed him easily.

He looked over, gasping for air, and she glanced at him then at the clone, then pointed at him and mimed running to the clearing with two fingers. He pursed his lips, obviously not wanting to leave her, but after a moment, gave a small nod, and dove towards her as Kurenai slung senbon at him. He ducked behind the same tree she was using as a hiding spot, and gave her a fierce look. Don't do anything stupid.

She raised her eyebrow at him. Please, like I would. And then she and her clone were giving battle cries and darting out from behind the tree, running at Kurenai just as Kiba and Akamaru recovered from being tossed across the clearing and dashed towards her. Sakura made sure she approached Kurenai first, to buy time before she realized Gaara was a clone, but had barely put forth a punch when she saw her instructor's gaze sharpen on the clone.

Panicked, knowing she was about to run after Gaara, Sakura aborted the punch, and did something that was not taught in any classes. As Kurenai raised her knee to send a kick at Sakura, the girl leaned into it. Her air left her in whoosh as the limb connected with her torso, but she ignored that in favor of latching onto the leg like a spider monkey.

Kurenai faltered for a moment. "Wha-"

"Kiba! We need to buy Gaara time!" Sakura said just as her clone dispersed. Kiba and Akamaru didn't even falter, and soon Kurenai had the addition of a small white dog hanging from her long red sleeve and Kiba latched onto her other leg.

After a moment of struggle, she sighed, made a handsign, and the two genin and Akamaru found themselves clinging onto a log. They blinked at each other in shock before scrambling to their feet and sprinting for the clearing. When they got there, a sheepish-looking Gaara was handing the scroll to Kurenai, who looked bemused.

"Well," she said when they arrived, "I have to say, that was one of the stranger ways I imagined you passing." Kiba and Sakura both shifted uncomfortably. Oh no, did I ruin it for all of us with my stupid plan?

"Wait, whatdya mean, passing?" Kiba broke into her thoughts, and Sakura blinked as she realized what he had. This had been a test of some sort - but a test for what? Gaara exchanged a look with them and shrugged, indicating he didn't know either.

Kurenai smiled. "You pass the test to become genin, of course. If you had failed, I would have sent you back to the Academy."

All of their jaws dropped. Finally, Kiba spoke. "But - but we already took the exam to graduate already!" Akamaru growled, and Gaara and Sakura simply looked to the woman for explanation, who shrugged, and motioned them over to sit in a patch of grass with her.

Only when they were sorted did she speak. "That was a test to graduate from the Academy, not to become genin. Only nine of your classmates will be keeping their jounin-sensei. Can any of you guess why it is set up this way?"

"But that - that's not fair!" Kiba said, jumping to his feet. "Everyone worked hard to get to this point, and now they just have to start over?" Kurenai simply raised an eyebrow at him, and after a moment he huffed out a breath and sat, looking to the side with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Well? Does anyone have a guess?" She repeated.

"Perhaps," Gaara said slowly, "It is due to a lack of resources." Kurenai gestured for him to continue. "The village does not have nearly as many jounin as those of other rank, simply because not everybody can achieve that level of proficiency."

Kurenai nodded. "Yes, that's part of it for sure. Those who are put in three man cells with a jounin sensei are usually put on what we call the jounin track. That means the village sees potential in you to make it to a higher rank, and so we put more time and resources into preparing you for this responsibility."

"And what about everybody else?" Sakura asked, curious, even as she and Gaara exchanged giddy looks (okay, Gaara's lip quirked up) at the thought of the village seeing potential in them .

Kurenai hummed. "Well, there are a few different options that will be set before them. The first, is that they can go back to the Academy for another year and try for the jounin track next time. A few might even be encouraged to do so. The second is that they will join the Genin Corps." Kiba snorted, and Kurenai gave him a sharp look. "The Genin Corps. serves an important role in this village, and should be treated with respect. They may not have a lot of physical power, but they keep the village running in a way untrained civilians could not. Please remember this." She stared at Kiba until he ducked his head and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Some may be recommended for the Medical Corps., if they have the correct study habits and good enough chakra control. Many of our staff at the hospital are not certified for field work, but pick up the majority of the patients that come in, freeing up the Medic-nins, with their additional training and chakra reserves, to take on missions out of village and the more complex injuries."

Gaara had leaned forward in interest at this, and Sakura reached out and squeezed his hand fondly. "Some are taken on as apprentices, if an individual shinobi sees something in them that their jounin sensei may not have, or if the jounin-sensei recommends they continue on the jounin track without a team. And others still decide to go on a different path. They might be hired on as merchants, since their Academy training makes them useful in fights against normal bandits and gives them extra stamina for travel and work. So, please, don't worry too much about your comrades, though I applaud your loyalty."

There was a moment of silence as they all thought on her words, and then Kurenai began talking again. "Now, let's talk about why you passed," she said, and Sakura frowned.

"Didn't we pass because we got the scroll to the clearing?" Kurenai gave a small half smile at her question.

"That's part of it, but the true purpose of the test was not to see if you could get through the forest. It was to see how well you work as a team, and under pressure. There was the possibility that you would make it through and I would still not pass you. There was also the possibility that you did not make it but would have still passed."

Kiba grumbled something about never saying what you mean, and Kurenai laughed. "Well, you should probably get used to that, if you're going to be a ninja. There's a saying we go by: Always look underneath the underneath."

Kiba frowned. "Huh?"

"I believe she means that you should always look for hidden meanings in all your interactions." Gaara supplied. Kurenai nodded, and Kiba huffed.

"Can anybody guess what you did right?" Kurenai asked.

Sakura tapped her bottom lip with a finger, thinking. "Well, we recognized and dispelled the genjutsu," she said, hesitantly. "And Kiba smelled your pit trap and Gaara saw the wire for your other trap."

Kurenai nodded. "That was good, but it wasn't why I passed you. First of all, you showed forethought when you stopped to think about the assignment before just taking off into the woods. You identified possible issues you might run across, and discussed ways to counter. You even came up with a formation that would allow Kiba to use his senses to identify traps, with Sakura and Gaara in a good place to sense and dispel genjutsu, since you both have higher than average chakra control and are more likely to notice something. Also, the three of you worked together to find a way past me to complete your mission, instead of just focusing on the fight. That all told me more than any fancy fight moves or life changing strategies would have. And though the last bit at the end was...unconventional, it did buy your teammate the time he needed," she said with a small quirk of her lips. They all beamed at each other at the praise, and Sakura couldn't help the pride that welled in her chest. Because she had passed - she was going to be a ninja!

"Now," their sensei said, "Let's talk about what you did wrong." Their faces fell.

000

Kurenai had to fight a smile as she made her way to the Hokage's office to report in. Were all genin that small and adorable? She had been able to read every thought that came across their faces. They were just so hopeful and innocent. She entered the room, and bowed when the Sandaime greeted her.

"Please, sit down, Kurenai. Tell me of your new team." She didn't bother asking how he knew she had passed them - the man seemed to know everything, and leaf jounin quickly got used to accepting that.

"They are a very focused group," she said after she had settled in her chair. "The twins are both highly intelligent, just as their files suggested. Kiba thinks more with his instincts, but was willing to listen when they stopped him to make a plan. I admit I had a few concerns about putting the Harunos on the same team, but I was reassured today that it shouldn't be a problem."

"Explain," the Hokage said, watching her closely while he puffed on his pipe.

Kurenai paused to gather her thoughts. "They are extremely close, as is to be expected of twins. My first worry was that there would be no room in their bond for a third member. However, they easily included Kiba in their plans, and Sakura worked well with him in a melee setting as well as trusting her brother to break out of a genjutsu on his own while she assisted Kiba. The second worry was that they would be more focused on keeping each other safe than the objective. This also proved to be incorrect when Gaara allowed Sakura and Kiba to fight me off and buy time for him to complete the mission I had given them."

The Hokage hummed. "Tell me of the mission." Kurenai straightened, and went into report mode. At the end, when she described the way Sakura had clung onto her leg like a monkey to keep her from going after Gaara, the man had a small smile on his face.

"They are a team that truly personifies the Will of Fire," he said, then sighed and looked at his desk, troubled.

"Hokage-sama?" Kurenai asked. "Is everything okay?"

"I am afraid you will leave this office in a much worse mood than you entered it, Kurenai-san," he said, and she straightened in her seat, putting her face into an expressionless mask even as her thoughts raced. Would he force her to fail her team after all? Was she being reassigned?

"I requested that specific team formation for a reason," he began, and she cocked her head to the side. It wasn't surprising - Team Seven was always a heavy hitter, front line formation, and Team Ten would be following in their parents' footsteps as a bag n' tag and support team. When he didn't continue, she raised a brow in question. With a sigh, he met her gaze.

"Reconnaissance and Sabotage." Kurenai stood so fast her chair toppled, eyes wide and disbelieving.

"You - you gave me a team of cannon fodder!" she said before she could stop herself, then cringed at the look on his face. She turned away and took a few deep breaths, then calmly lifted the chair and sat back down. "Please forgive me for my outburst, Hokage-sama," she intoned, and he sighed.

"You know we need a team specialized in this, and I'm sure you can already see how they would do well in the role. Kurenai-san," he looked her right in the eye, "There is a reason I gave this team to you. I believe you can not only nurture their skills and make them extremely good at the job, but that you can make them good enough to live through it at the end."

Her jaw worked, and for a moment she didn't trust herself to speak. So this is why her team was the only one without clan heirs on it. If they all died horribly, it wouldn't have an impact on the political structure of Konoha. Finally, she trusted herself to speak. "I understand, Hokage-sama. I would like to request extra resources for their training."

"You have them, whatever you need," he said calmly. "And Kurenai-san, I want you to know this is not something I intend to force upon them. I'd like you to give them a choice. Lay out the realities for them, and let them know that this is simply a request from me, not an order." Kurenai relaxed a little at that. Usually teams didn't get much of a choice on where their skills would be focused on a higher level, but this way it felt a little less like they were being forced into an early death.

"I understand, Hokage-sama. Is there anything else you need?" Kurenai asked.

"No, that will be all, Kurenai-san," she would have grimaced at how tired he sounded if she wasn't trying so hard to control her facial expressions. "And Kurenai-san," he said as she reached for the door handle. She paused, and looked back at him, surprised to see the fire in his eyes. "I am counting on you. Do all you can to give them the tools to come back alive."

Kurenai met his gaze, and felt an answering fire in her own heart. Determination filled her, and she gave one short nod before leaving. Her team would survive, and they'd be the best damn reconnaissance and sabotage team the village had ever seen.