Naruko

One evening more than five years ago, an almost unspeakable tragedy occurred to one of the most prominent ninja clans of Konohagakure. One night was all it took for a killer to massacre almost the entire family of the Uchiha clan, sparing only the lives of two people. One of them was the now runaway ninja Uchiha Itachi, the very person who killed his entire family, and, the other was Uchiha Saki, his own sister.

No one knows why the young seven year old girl was left alive by his brother. She was found the next day beaten, wounded but not fatally and left in the blood stained ground of the Uchiha compound surrounded by the cold bloodied bodies of her family and servants…

The ninja that found her said that when he came to pick her up; she was just laid there, staring blankly out to nowhere and kept on mumbling the name of her brother and asking the question "Why?" over and over…

Story Two: Team Seven (Part One of three):

It was two weeks after the students of the ninja academy graduated to Genin rank ninjas. They were told days ago to come to their academy rooms and wait for further instructions. They were to be separated into teams three. Each team was to be balanced depending on their grades… it's not an easy task, sometimes the Instructors of these young Genins would like to add personality and compatibility among teammates when deciding their teams. But unfortunately the youngsters must learn that as ninjas they can't always team up with only the people they like.

Naruko slowly and shyly opened the classroom door. The girl that sat at the back corner of the room, the one closest to the entrance or exit, looked at her as she did. The blond girl squeaked a little and inched back when the she noticed the girl's sharp dark eyes shot at her direction. Her eyes then grew wide as she recognized Naruko's shy and frightened features. "Naruko!" she called out a loud, causing a few heads to turn.

The blond gave her a small curtsy nod before voicing out a shaky, "Hi… Shika-san…" to the sharp eyed girl.

Quickly scanning her blond friend's features, Nara Shika immediately noticed that her friend was wearing the Konoha Hitaiate. "Omae!?... I thought you failed?!" she said as lazily pointed a finger at her friend and she stood up from her seat.

Naruko, looked down, before giving Shika a quick nod and said, "Yeah… I did…"

Shika just stared at her impassively.

There was a pregnant pause that seemed to fill the small space between them with a bit of anxiety. The blond hoped she didn't have to explain too much… the memory of how she demonstrated her abilities still haunted her guilt a little. It didn't matter that the person was someone she hated, that she did it to save her life and Iruka's life not even the fact that he was a traitor… could ease the guilt of taking another's life. The memory sometimes made her want to throw up.

She then looked up to her friend. She was scratching her head by lightly rubbing the long, uneven but straight black hair that was tied in a messy and barbed pony tail behind the top of her head… all the while her small but sharp eyes didn't leave her face and a curiously pleased smile graced her lips.

The blond inwardly sighed, she knew that Shika wouldn't let it pass without an explanation… the girl was lazy but she was quite tenacious when she wanted to be. "… but I sort of… got a retake exam. I guess they pitied me for failing too many times." she surprised herself with the way she had been able to execute her lie.

Not that she had to lie… Iruka and the Hokage had talked to her about her Genin promotion and told her that she earned and deserved her ninja rank. Neither man asked her to conceal the facts of her promotion… instead she was the one who asked, hoping she'd have the liberty to keeping it secret until she got over the fact that she had killed. Iruka had told her that it was a part of a ninja's life, which Naruko had to accept sooner or later. Naruko told her favorite sensei days ago that she accepted that it was part of a ninja's life… but told him that there was something else, something that she couldn't quite explain or understand.

Shika blinked at her friend a few times, as if testing her, and tilted her head to one side. It made Naruko feel uneasy, not that she wasn't enough already, but tried to keep her cool anyway. A ninja isn't supposed to show emotion, but that was one rule that Naruko had the hardest time following… not that she didn't want to.

But then to her relief, her dark haired friend gave her a wide smile before walking over to her side and putting her arm around her neck in a friendly and playful manner. "Well that's good then! It means I'm not the one with the lowest grade in our batch then!" she said before letting out a soft honest laugh.

The blond didn't know whether to be happy, because someone was happy she passed, or insulted, because that particular someone was happy because she wasn't the batch's "dead last" anymore. But she smiled in response to her friend's gesture nonetheless.

From the other corner of the room a pair of lavender eyes watched the exchange to the two friends. Hyuuga Haruki sat in his seat and merely observed his classmates with an inward smile. He was happy to see that Naruko had passed the Genin exam after all. He was nervously twiddling with his bangs, his hand serving as a makeshift wall so that people wouldn't think he was looking at the blond girl. He had a crush on the timid girl for quite a while now… but he was too shy and unconfident to do anything about it himself.

At the front seat sat a young girl, who dressed in a simple blue shirt and white shorts, Uchiha Saki… her eyes, dark as her modestly long raven black hair, gazed forward… not once acknowledging the presence of her classmates. To her… her classmates were a hindrance to her, to her all of them are not taking ninja training as seriously as she does, and this made the time she was force to spend there waiting a waste. Under the desk, out of people's sight, her hands closed, clenched and opened in a repeatedly impatient cycle. Most of their classmates had learned to stay away from the girl. Not because she was the top of this genin ninja academy's batch, not because her grades in both written and practical exams were top-notch… and definitely not because she made it quite clear that she didn't want friends. But rather people avoided her because there were actually people who liked her and protected her.

Like Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Inosuke. The two more-or-less-friends, have expressed a strong interest for the dark brooding raven haired girl, happily seated on the seats beside hers… glaring at each other quite openly. The two boys have been known to compete at almost anything since they were six years of age. And besides being the one to claim the heart of the last Uchiha… one of their on-going contests is to see who can keep their hair long the longest, which Sakura regrets accepting but has too much pride to back out of. Unlike Inosuke… he has a girlish name, a lot of feminine features and having his hair long only adds to the bane that he carries already.

The new Genins suddenly stopped what they were doing when they heard the door open. All of them took a seat and watched as their scarred instructor walked into the classroom. Iruka looked at his' students one at a time and gave them all a proud smile, but his true purpose was to see what kind of expression each of his former students had. Was it excitement?... anxiety?... pride?... happiness?... or something else. He was glad to know that most seemed excited even if it wasn't always a good thing.

His eye lingered a few seconds longer on Naruko, who was sitting at the back row with the few of her very few friends, and felt a bit more proud. It was his secret… or maybe he should say his and the Hokage's secret that Naruko was his favorite student ever, not matter how low her grades are formally. He also noted to the old Kage earlier that her reaching the Genin status was a blessing… had she failed this year they would have been forced to make two new Genins either wait for a third member or have a two man team, which unorthodox usually causes some problems.

Then he turned his eyes to look at all of his students he greets them and said, "Starting today, you are all official ninjas. But remember that you are all new Genins. It's only going to get harder from here." He watched with amusement as some of boys tried to look tough and proud as if they could accomplish anything… as their former instructor he only hoped that they'll succeed with some humility and not let confidence get them killed. "You all will be in a group of three, where you will accomplish missions under a Jounin teacher."

As soon as he said that they would be in groups of three, he could see the delight and hope from some students praying to be groups with their friends. He allowed them to look around as if choosing their team members… it was the last fantasy that he could give to them. He spared a few seconds to look at Naruko, who's eyes told him to place her with anyone that wouldn't bully her... how he understood what her eyes could tell him sometimes was a mystery he didn't really feel the need to solve any time soon.

He also explains to them before hand that each team was put together by balancing out each new genin's ability so that each team will have more or less the same overall balance. Iruka surprised himself for not laughing… for at least one team was getting a better deal than others. But of course since he had only followed the rules that balanced each Genin team using their academy marks… it wasn't really his fault that a team or two was getting an advantage.

At those moments, Saki's mood got a tiny bit lower… she didn't like the idea of a team. She had hoped for a new teacher to continue her training, teach her new jutsus and give her experiences that would strengthen her as a ninja. But she figured that two members wouldn't be as big a burden as a whole class and tried to shrug the issue off.

On the seats beside her, the gaze of the two boys connected in to an electrifying battle. Both boys wanted only one thing at that moment… and that was to be on the same team as Uchiha Saki. Behind them a few wished only to be with someone they could get along with. While a few didn't seem to mind who they were teamed up with.

Iruka had begun dictating the names of team members. Calling out the team number first, then the names of each member loud and clear one at a time. When he reached team seven he found himself looking over to his favorite student. "Team Seven… Uzumaki Naruko." He noted that the girl had gulped visually hard enough for him to imagine the sound she could have made. He then watched her lips curl up into a soft smile when he called out, "Haruno Sakura." And then frowned when he called out the last member, "Uchiha Saki." … he'll have to ask her about it sometime if he remembers.

Sakura inwardly cheered. He was with Saki, his one true love. And Naruko, who though a bit weird… withdrawn… doesn't fight back against bullies… and had really bad grades… he froze at that thought for a moment before whispering to himself, "Heaven and Hell…" and began to expect the worst of the worst… thinking that if he was expecting the worst thing to happen, he wouldn't be as disappointed when she just bad at something. But the girl was nice, if a little too reserved for his taste, and had never done anything he would have held against her.

The young Hyuuga frowned a little disappointed that he wasn't placed in the same team as Naruko. Instead his was teamed with Inuzuka Kira and Aburame Shiho. His mind out of his daydreams, he thought that his team mates were ok… instead he worried if he would be a burden to them. Both girls were quite skilled and were from powerful clans like himself.

Inosuke on the other hand cursed that he didn't get to be with Saki. But he almost cursed aloud when Iruka announced that he was to be teamed with Nara Shika and Akimichi Chouko. He had always hated Shika's sharp tongue and her lazy attitude while he didn't really hate Chouko at all… he doesn't find her the least bit cute… but he did wonder how she could eat all day and not get any bigger than she already is. He sighed and wondered if his parents had anything to do with them being in the same team, but if he had to bet on it the probability was quite high.

After announcing the members of the tenth team, Iruka dismisses them after telling them to return by the afternoon which was when he'll be introducing each team to their Jounin Leader. The spirits of the new Genins high they head to meet with their new teammates, though some did so more reluctantly than others.

Sakura had literally run around the campus in search for Saki, simply because he wanted to have lunch or talk about something and anything the girl might be open to discuss. But after a few hours of being unable to find Saki and the afternoon drawing closer he decided to return to the classroom. He is surprised to learn that one Genin had already gotten there before he did.

Her long blond hair was a little dull, seemingly uncared for and unbecoming of a girl but who he was to tell her that. One thing that improved his opinion of the girl was when she had gotten around to buying new clothes, though they don't match her hair very much... at least in his opinion. He watched her for a few seconds sitting on the back corner chair of the room while reading a jutsu scroll, noting a difference in the radiance of her seemingly sparkling sapphire blue eyes...

He soon realized that he was thinking too much of a girl other than Uchiha Saki and had to mentally note to punish himself later for it. It wouldn't have been so bad but… it was Naruko of all people. She was far from being good enough for him and probably his parents. She was nearly Saki's complete opposite, but he could feel that there were quite a few things that they did have in common. He just didn't know what yet… and he doubted that he'll find out the easy way.

After giving himself a short time to recompose himself he called out, "Naruko-chan!" walked in and closed the door neatly behind him.

Immediately recognizing the voice the blond girl looked up from the scroll she was reviewing and found Sakura looking at her from the front seats. He had a bright smile on his face accenting his cherry blossom like hair seemed to glow lightly from the reflected rays of the sun. She politely nodded a curtsy to him and muttered, "Konnichiwa, Haruno-sama." Months ago talking to the cherry haired boy would bring a blush on her face, but she had eventually gotten used to having contact him. After being rescued countless times from the bullying of her other classmates by him, it was only a matter of time before she developed the ability to partially control her blush reflex.

His hands found themselves on his hips, which almost slipped on the slick brownish red silk fabric of his kung fu suit. "Naruko… How many times have I asked you not to call me that." He asked with a false tone of anger.

Naruko frowned but answered, "I did not keep count, Haruno-sama."

Sakura found himself sighing heavily at her response. He recalled that the girl had started calling him "Haruno-sama" ever since he chased bullies away from her since they became classmates. He had asked her to just call him Sakura or Saku time and time again, but the girl for some reason kept on calling her with such a formal and respectable way that it actually gets on his nerves. He walked closer to the blond girl until he was standing in front of her desk. He innocently took her hands from the scroll that they were holding and leaned a little so that her emerald green eyes met her sapphire blues. His mind ignored the blush that crossed her face and the audibly very nervous gulp her throat had let out.

"Naruko." He called her… if only to get her undivided attention, which he didn't know he already had the moment he had walked in.

"H-ha-hai?" She stuttered, surprised that she found it hard to think even under such a low level of Skinship… but when all she could see in his emerald green eyes was her reflection, it almost seemed reasonable.

"You can call me Sakura you know... It would be nice if you did, especially now that we're teammates." He said in a smooth voice and a wide bright smile. He inwardly smiled when she looked away guiltily knowing that he had made his point. "So what do you say?"

He almost smiled when his teammate reluctantly answered, "I understand…" but still kept her eyes away from him.

"You understand?..." he sounded a little challenging, he hated that he had to do it this way… but being called by your family name was a little irritating. And he doesn't want to be irritated by his own teammate, especially since he doesn't really understand why she kept calling him with such respect and formality.

"I understand… Sakura…" he almost jumped for joy and cheered that she had finally gotten the message. But then he almost slumped to the floor when she added, "-sama." at the end... almost.

The blond girl watched as her cherry haired teammate let out a sigh. Before smiling when she muttered something about it sounding better than being called "Haruno-sama". Naruko had not meant to call him that out of spite. Far from it in fact… she respected and appreciated him so much she found it hard to not call him such. The boy had been the first person her age to show her kindness by protecting her from bullies. And for that she couldn't bring herself to treat him with much familiarity and informality.

Then she recalled the warm feeling in her hands which earned a quick gaze down where she saw that her hands was still in his. Despite the fact that she liked it being there, she knew that it would be best to get over any special feelings she had for him. They might not know it, but there was a demon trapped inside her… and she wasn't going to risk turning them into outcasts by socializing with her longer than they're required.

"Um… Sakura-sama?" she called out and looked at him sheepishly.

Definitely sounds better than "Haruno-sama." Sakura thought with an unconscious smile. "Hai?" he looked at her as he wondered what it was that caused the almost worrisome tone in her voice.

"A… Um…" Naruko blushed a bit harder. She found it hard to tell him that he was still holding her hands.

"Hmmm?" Sakura smiled and leaned a bit closer because oddly enough he loved the way blond girl's hesitant face turn amusingly cute.

"Um…"

He loved to tease her, it wasn't exactly bullying and he always stopped long before going to far. "Come on. Just say it. We're friends aren't we?" He said and meant it.

He noted that she turned another soft shade redder. She nodded to him and tried again, "Umm…"

"Hai?" the cherry haired male couldn't stop himself from asking her that again in the same playfully teasing tone.

"Your… hands…" she muttered.

"Hmmm?" At those moments, he had completely forgotten that his hands were in fact touching something or someone and asked, "What about them?"

That caused Naruko's face to darken with another deeper shade of red. Her eyes fell onto her hands before she said, "They're… still holding mine…" her voice shaking as she tried to pronounce each syllable.

It was Sakura's turn to blush; he let out a short yelp in surprise as he quickly and anxiously withdrew his hands from hers. He immediately looked around to see if someone else was in the room to see that. A big sigh of relief quickly escaped his lips when he saw that no one besides them had been in there.

In his panic, Sakura completely missed the look of disappointment in Naruko's face. She didn't blame him though, the blond was well aware that he was obviously pinning for Saki… and she wasn't going to reward his kindness to her by ruining his chances for him. Her hands however clasped together, whether it was done by her own will or unconsciously… she did not remember, and smiled to herself as she tried to kept the warmth of her hands cherishing every extra second the memory and feel of Sakura's hand lasted on hers.

A few awkward moments passed before their classmates returned to the classroom, took their seats and awaited Iruka's return hopefully with their Jounin leaders and further instructions. Sakura had decided to actually sit beside Naruko, because they were teammates now, which left a seat on his other side empty and hoped Saki would take it when she comes in.

It was not until every other team had been led out of the room that their team was asked to wait for their Jounin leader who was running a little late. Saki sat in front of the room yet again… much to Sakura's disappointment, but it was easily remedied by half ordering half dragging Naruko to the front seats with him.

"Saki-san! Mind if we sit with you?" he asked and half hoped that the dark haired girl would answer positively.

But Saki, who was had rested her head on her clasped hands, just turned her head ever so slightly to look at them before looking straight ahead once again. If Sakura had been disappointed by her actions he didn't show it. Instead he sat beside her anyway and made Naruko sit beside him, which the blond girl had no choice but to obey.

About an hour later… Sakura had gotten restless and had been walking around the room bored out of his mind. Saki seemed to keep her cool but under the table her hands were clenching and unclenching, herself becoming just as restless as Sakura. And Naruko scanned the bookshelves looking for something else to read. It was then that the door slid open revealing a masked grey haired ninja.

The man's face had been mostly covered; his Hitaiate tied diagonally so that it hid his left eye, while a dark navy blue mask wrapped and covered his neck and lower face. He looked at all three new Genins without the least bit of enthusiasm before he asked, "Team Seven?"

All three nodded.

"Hmmm… there are a lot of Kunoichi this year huh…" he said offhandedly, which earned him an irritated glare from a certain pink haired Genin. He noted that it was very rare to have a lot of Kunoichi, even more rare was to have a lot of them reach Genin at the same time. Not that it was a bad thing… well maybe it will be for him. Then he gave each of them one more look before he said, "Follow me."

The three young ninjas complied without a word.

The masked Ninja lead them out of the room and led them to a training ground passed the village outskirts before he faced them again. "Let's see… Why don't you introduce yourselves to me." he said as he hopped and sat on a tall cut tree trunk that had been wedged to the ground.

"Introduce ourselves?" Sakura echoed, "What should we say?" he asked feeling a hint irritated for an unsure reason.

"Well… tell me what you like, what you hate, your hobbies and your dream. Something like that…" He turns his head towards Naruko first and said, "Why don't you start?"

The blond girl nodded and said, "I'm Uzumaki Naruko. I like warm things. I… hate crowded places. I like going out of the village to hunt and scavenge for food. I'm not sure what my new dream is yet…" She occasionally paused here and there to think of what to say or gather the nerve to say them.

Sakura turned to her and asked, "New dream? What happened to your old one?" He stood between the two girls, he leaned slightly closer to the blond girl's side, listening intently to her answer and mental notes of what she said for future references.

Naruko sheepishly smiled and turned to him then said, "Iruka-sensei made me realize that that dream was not for me."

The cherry haired boy, just raised an eye brow in confusion and wondered if he should pursue the subject.

The masked ninja watched the exchange between the two teammates and noted to himself that the girl seemed less nervous that he used to see and hear about. Not that it was a bad thing but he had definitely been expecting to set some or a lot of time to increase the girl's confidence. He then looks at the cherry haired boy, whom he earlier thought to himself might pass for a Kunoichi if he tried to look like one. "Okay… Next."

Sakura felt a hint irritated for some reason but shrugged it off. "I'm Haruno Sakura. I like Saaaaa-… Salty foods!" He was somehow able to remedy his own error before it became too bad. He noticed that Naruko had looked away from him and had covered her mouth… giggling in silence. What he didn't notice was Saki rolling her eyes, his interest in her had been painfully and annoyingly obvious. "I hate my ex-best friend Inosuke and being mistaken for a girl. I don't really have a notable hobby. And my dream is to become a strong ninja… to protect those that I care about."

Their Jounin leader noted that the boy had just dug his own grave… for on his left the girl he would bet he had his sights on was an Uchiha, the name alone was a reason on it's own, and on his right was a girl who performs way better than her academy records suggests, or so he had been told. He was definitely trying to impress the Uchiha girl. The masked ninja told himself and made another note that he might need to give this boy some training beyond the ways of the ninja… that is if he lives long enough.

Then setting his visible eye on the raven haired girl he said, "And the last one?"

Saki looked straight into the Jounin's eye and said, "My name is Uchiha Saki, there are a lot of things I hate… and there aren't many things I like…" she paused for a few seconds, before continuing after deciding to skip one question because she didn't have an answer for it. "I have to find a certain someone and revive my clan."

Sakura's eyes held a fang of jealousy in them. He honestly thought that by "a certain someone" Saki had meant a lover. Of course their Jounin knew what she meant for he was well aware of what had happened to her family, but he couldn't help but find the look in the boy's eyes a little funny. Naruko however remained nearly impassive, but there was a nearly unnoticeable air of pity around her.

The masked Jounin let out a small laugh before saying, "You three have quite distinct personalities… I like that." he then hopped down from the log to face them. "Now then…"

But before he could say anything more, Sakura interrupted him. "Uh… What about you, sensei? Aren't you going to introduce yourself?" the young boy said in a way that sounded more defiant that he would have liked, but he lets it go… after all the boy was having bad luck catching the girl's attention.

"Ah yes… let's see… I'm Hatake Kakashi…"

The three young Genins, unconsciously leaned forward waiting what he would say.

"I have no intention of telling you what I like and what I hate…" he said sounding very much unconcerned.

Sakura's mood soured even more, Naruko only thought the way he had said it was cool and Saki cursed and wished that she had thought of saying that herself.

"As for my dream…" he annoyingly and knowingly paused before continuing, "I have a few hobbies…" he said looking up as if his hobbies were listed in the clouds, which made Sakura and Naruko look up to where his eye might have been looking. It surprised him that his students didn't complain to him about it… not that he didn't read and feel it from their annoyed and accusing eyes.

"Now then! We shall start tomorrow. I want you three to come to this training ground at five in the morning and bring your equipment with you." then he turned around and gesturing a goodbye. He was feeling a bit generous and decided to not scare them yet. He probably wouldn't have been so nice had there been two boys and one girl… but seeing more girls and a pretty boy made him feel a little lenient. But no matter what happens he knew that he cannot be lenient tomorrow.

Before he got to take step away he recalled something and he turned his head to them again then said, "Oh! And one more thing… don't eat breakfast! You might throw up." Kakashi had fun watching the faces of the three young Genins turn with different expressions. Saki seemed to dislike the idea but was somehow able to keep a cool cold front, Naruko appeared to be rather nervous and frightened by whatever image came to her mind and Sakura looked quite disgusted already.

With one step and a wave, the masked jounin vanished in a small whirlwind of leaves. Which left Sakura open mouthed with awe. "That was cool! Guess we can go now. Hey you girls want to…" he turns his head to look at his teammates only to find himself alone in the training ground.

Far off in the bushes, Naruko had already headed out to hunt for her meal. She had skipped lunch earlier to wait for their Jounin leader so she had grown quite hungry. But the reason she left so hastily was to give Sakura some time alone with Saki. It was too bad for her and the cherry haired boy that Saki had decided to leave as soon as Kakashi and Naruko did, disappearing almost as fast.

From the direction of the training grounds, a loud angry roar could be heard, "ARG!! They all left me!!!" from a frustrated Sakura.

Saki

The next day… the crisp morning air of the training grounds welcomed the young Genins. Each ninja arrived from a different path from the others and Naruko's, Sakura thought, seemed the oddest for it looked like she came from the farther end of Konoha. He shrugged it off for now and made a mental note to visit her house at least once so that he'd know where to look for her when necessary.

Naruko smiled and formally greeted him back. The blond was wide awake. And it was thanks to her talent for sleeping when she wanted to and waking almost when she wanted to. She had decided to sleep early the night before, sleep until it was nearly time to meet up, drank some a bit of fresh juice hoping it would tide her over for a while. She hoped that this would all be over soon and they could get something to eat.

Saki was dressed differently today, gone were the plain blue shirt and white shorts that did noting to accent her features. Today she was garbed with a very dark, and almost black, blue yukata with its sleeves trimmed down to her shoulders and cut just above her legs, a slim red sash kept robe like garment in place at her waist and several fashionably placed bandages wrapped her arms and legs. Traditionally she would have to wear the ninja garments in the design and colors that the Uchiha clan had always proudly worn. But their unfortunate absence made it possible for her to wear something else... It wasn't that she dislike the clothes, she just didn't like remembering 'that night' whenever she saw or is reminded by something Uchiha. But other than her clothes she looked just as she usually does, her pose and aura was still indifferent to them even in such an early morning, which made Sakura wonder what exactly did he have to do to ever gain her favor. Arriving within earshot he greeted both girls, hiding how sleepy he really felt beneath a wide smile.

Saki maintained her usual disinterest, only giving Sakura a quick look before she returned to her own thoughts. And those thoughts were on her brother…

Uchiha Itachi was the Uchiha clan's greatest genius. He had a near godlike aim, a flare for learning technique after technique, great at close combat and over all more than one could ask for in a ninja. At home he was loved and loved back, especially paying attention to Saki. He tried to teach her everything he knew and usually she let him. And one day it seemed like their father had a new reason to be proud, for she was the Uchiha clan's unexpected genius, Saki awakened to her Sharingan a month or two earlier than Itachi. Her brother claimed that he was proud of her… and till this day she believes him.

However one day, she came home from the academy and learned that her relatives have been killed. Slaughtered like animals and left on the cold bloodied soil. She recalled growing angry but the worry for her family quelled her anger and she almost calmly searched for her parents. But when she arrived in her home she discovered that they too had been killed. When she found the killer she readied to attack… but froze when she saw that it was her own brother. Tears streaked freely from her eyes and her gaze blurred… confused.

She asked him if it was his doing, but he didn't answer. She asked him why had he done so, but again he didn't answer. Instead he attacked her too… but she barely will to defend herself and was quickly thrown back. Wounded, battered and bruised… she just looked at her brother in disbelief. And just when her mind had begun to calm… her brother used a powerful Genjutsu on her to show her how he had killed every member of their clan over and over again.

When the jutsu ceased… she looked at him with weakened eyes and asked, "why?"

But he did not answer.

From the corner of her eye she saw a kunai. She reached for it and picked it up, looked at her brother who only watched her with indifference. Then to her surprise he moves and grabs her hand before the blade even got close to her clothes. And all she could do was ask, "why?" her tone laced the words "You're going to kill me anyway…" the very words she couldn't bring herself to say.

Then he spoke, "Hate me, Detest me, cling to life and survive even in the most unsightly of ways… then come kill me." words colder than the kunai that dug at the side of her shoulder, the one he had forced her own hand to stab. Her only saving grace was that the pain added to her previous ones had forced her to finally loose consciousness.

Friendship

An hour had passed and there was still no sign of their Jounin Sensei. The three genin had lined up oddly according by height; starting from the tallest who was Sakura, then Saki who was a good two inches shorter than Sakura and then there was Naruko who stood three inches shorter than Saki. They stood there in wait. Patiently at first, but as the hours passed… so did their patience. By the fifth hour of waiting, their Genin's impatience and boredom was starting to show. Naruko had started drawing circles in the soil with a stick. Sakura was beginning to nod off. And even Saki was slowly but obviously impatiently tapping her foot on a mound of dirt.

"Yo Shokun. Ohayo…" Kakashi greeted them casually.

His patience long exhausted… ranking and strength be damned. "YOU'RE LATE!!!" Sakura yelled out.

"Well you see… There was this black cat that crossed my path so…" The masked sensei started making another one of his pathetic sounding excuses but the look on Naruko's, who had a small annoyed pout on her face, Saki's, who just let out and audible "humph…" before she looked away, and Sakura's, who was glared at him, faces made him decided to skip the excuse with a fake cough. Then said, "Well let's move on…"

He walks up to a small tree stump no taller than his knee, took out some things from his bag and placed a small alarm clock and set it to twelve o'clock. He then turned to his genin students and raised two silver bells in front of him, he allowed it too ring a little just to show them they were ordinary bells tied with a red string. "Your task is to get one of these bells from me. Whoever can't, will not have any lunch. And I'm going to tie you there, and eat lunch in front of you." He added as he pointed to one of the three larger tree trunks that had been cut and stuck in the ground.

The three genins looked at each other as if too assess each other's reaction to the task. Only Naruko seemed remotely upset with the lunch issue. Sakura's empty stomach almost seemed to have groaned once with the angry thought of being tricked into not eating breakfast. While Saki though annoyed held it in and believed she could surely get a bell and eat soon.

Then a sudden realization came to Sakura. "Wait a minute sensei, why are there only two bells?" he asked and hoped that their odd sensei had only forgotten to take out the third bell from his bag.

Kakashi smiled almost happy that he asked. "Since there's only two, at least one of you will be tied to the log. This is a test, and that person will fail since he failed to complete the mission. That person will go back to the academy… It may be just one or it could be all three of you."

That struck the three. They were surprised that they had to take another test after passing the exams at the academy… and the consequence of failing felt far worse this time compared to when it was back in the academy that Sakura shook. Saki gritted her teeth and tried to hold her tongue. And Naruko was already making her decision.

Sakura was about to open his mouth to make a big comment about it but was stopped before he could begin when he felt a small hand hold his wrist. He turned his head to the direction and saw Naruko stood behind him and Saki. "Naruko?"

But the blond didn't immediately answer him. Instead she turns towards her sensei and said, "Kakashi-sensei, can I have a word with them for a few moments."

The masked jounin raised a brow at his student's request immediately wondered what could be so important. But he soon nods to keep them from getting suspicious. He was good at hearing and reading conversations at a distance, so one such as theirs would be quite easy.

The three genins huddled up together turning away from their sensei. "What's wrong Naruko-chan?" Sakura immediately asked.

Naruko looked at Sakura then at Saki before she answered, "I want you two to get the bells."

"Eh?!" the cherry haired by almost yelled out.

"What's your motive?" Saki asked feeling suspicious of her teammate already.

But the blond genin just looked at her, smiled weakly and said, "I don't have the motivation the two of you have to be a ninja." She turned to Sakura first. "Sakura-sama, you have a dream of becoming a strong ninja to protect others."

Then she turned to Saki. "Uchiha-sama, I believe from what I understood from your introduction yesterday that you need to become a ninja to find someone?" she paused. And when she didn't say anything Saki nodded, in assumption she wasn't going to continue if she hadn't.

"As for me… I don't have a really good reason to be a ninja. The only one I could think of is so that I could be a ninja with the few friends I've started making. But it doesn't compare to your need to become a ninja. I can wait another year or two… I've stayed an extra three terms in the academy what is another." The blond said as she looked down on the ground, her tears fiercely head behind her eyes.

"But Naruko…" Sakura started to say something but was immediately cut off.

"Maybe… by then… I'll have found the reason that I have to be a ninja." she added. Her words stuck the two hard. Though still doubtful Saki decided to go along with them. She figured that if Naruko was going to betray her she was skilled enough to beat her and take the bells for herself.

Behind them, Kakashi had a smile underneath his mask. He was pleased with Naruko's willingness to sacrifice her genin rank to allow them to keep theirs and if she could actually make this team work together… there might be some hope for them. "Alright! Let's continue. You three don't have the luxury of time here." He said and interrupted their conversation as he figured he had given them enough time already.

The three turned to their sensei once again. He gave them a last minute instructions or instruction… "Attack to kill." He told them. Naruko visibly paled, obviously bothered by something he had said. Saki pondered his words and for now assumed that he was strong enough to keep the three of them at bay. Sakura on the other hand decided voiced out his concern. "But that would be dangerous sensei!"

Kakashi just looked at him with an impassive eye and said, "Don't worry about me. I've been through a lot and fought stronger opponents than you three." The cherry haired boy felt a little insulted but decided to keep it in. After all it was most likely the truth anyway… no matter how much he might hate it.

"Alright… are there any more questions?" he asked his students and watched them all look at one another before they shook their heads.

"In that case… ready…" he watched them crouch and get ready to make a dash and disappear when he said, "START!"

The three had run towards separate hiding spots at first. But Naruko's words made each look for the other. Naruko had left a few kage bunshins transformed as fox, a rat and a rabbit and ordered them to dispel one at a time if their teacher did something that required her attention, then she set off to find Saki and Sakura. The three had found each other in the forest a good distance away from the starting point and immediately ran over a plan of attack before they headed back towards the training grounds separately.

Minutes passed… and Kakashi looked around and noticed that the three had just recently found their hiding spots. Not that he knew where they were… but battle experience had a funny way of teaching a ninja's subconscious to be aware when one is being targeted.

To his surprise, he sensed and heard one of them walking out of his or her hiding place. He turned and saw Naruko walking towards him slowly. She stopped a good distance from him but close enough to hear each other if either wanted to speak.

"Naruko… You're supposed to be hiding and plotting how to bring about my demise." Kakashi said almost playfully.

He watched as Naruko looked down, slid her hands into the sleeve pockets of her kimono and kept her silence. It made Kakashi a bit anxious. He was informed that the girl had killed before, the slain might have been a ninja weaker than himself but the knowledge that she had experience killing meant that she was not an opponent that he couldn't seemly tease and smile at. Though she might not be able to kill him she might take him too seriously and he might overly underestimate her. To his surprise he was broken out of his thoughts when she spoke.

"…sensei." her call almost whispered.

"Hmmm? What is it?"

"Please… don't take dying and killing lightly…" there was a short awkward and almost painful pause before she found the will to finish, "…it really hurts." her words arrived to him somewhat murmured so that Sakura and Saki wouldn't overhear them.

The masked jounin's unhidden eye opened wide in surprise. His mind flashed the events of the night two weeks ago and quickly realized what she had meant. He smiled inside, for such a small girl to have a big, kind and wise heart… "Ah… yeah… sorry about that." he murmured back.

Naruko looked up again with a soft barely there sort of smile. "Iie… I apologize… I was out of line… sensei." she said in a louder, sounding a hint more confident and felt a little growing respect for her sensei.

The melancholic air that surrounded the both of them was soon dispersed when Kakashi felt her intent. It wasn't to kill, he was very familiar to the natures of a killing aura and wouldn't miss it this close, which he was honestly a little disappointed to learn but at least her intent was of a strong and determined feel of aggressive attack.

Her hands withdrew from her pockets. Kakashi eyed her carefully and wasted no time in registering as much detail as possible. He knew that there was something in her hands he could tell from the way her hands seemed stiff and still as she slowly took them out to assume a fighting stance. The question on his mind was, 'What is she holding?' Kakashi didn't even feel like taking out the book he had brought with him to read. Something was different about this girl compared to the other genins he's tested like this… aside from that secret detail of course.

Naruko waited, she knew that their skill difference was high. Her advantage for now was that her sensei didn't know her skill level… and though not really a big advantage she'll have to make it work in her first attack or her plan fails. Then her wait comes to an end. Kakashi blinked for a split second and in that time she used it to dash at him at an almost abnormal speed.

Kakashi's eye opened wide in surprise and narrowly dodges a punch thrown from behind. Naruko continued the assault and sent him punch after punch, kick, jab and chop in what nearly seemed like sloppy taijutsu. Kakashi kept silent during her attack, it as a form of psychological attack that made some opponents attack more ferociously when they see their enemy having an easy time. After a few minutes of dodging and blocking her attacks Kakashi is rewarded with the halt from the attack and seemingly worn out and winded look from the small girl.

"Was that it?" He taunted, his eye smiled at her teasingly.

The small blond panted and wheezed. Her brow visually sweaty from ever exerting herself… but she had a smile on her face.

To his surprise Kakashi felt the killing intent of the other two. Shurikens few by in almost all directions which made it quite tedious to dodge and catch them all, but he managed. Sakura sped up to attack with his kunai while Saki seemed ready to hurl more shurikens at him. He was about to dodge when… he felt a lot of bodies restraining him. He looked down and realized that there had been six clones of Naruko holding him. Two held his arms, another two held his legs, one held his waist and one held his back.

'Kage Bunshin?!' he immediately determined. He looked back towards where he last saw the one who he believed was the original and noted that see still stood where she was still trying to catch her breath.

Noticing his bewilderment, Naruko raised what seemed to be a strand of her hair. She drops it towards the ground but before it reaches the floor it disappears with a poof and is replaced by one of her kage bunshin, but unlike her weren't winded which lead Kakashi to believe she had made them prior confronting him head on. It didn't take a genius to figure out that her sloppy taijutsu might have been a cover for her to drop the henged kage bunshins on or around him.

"Sakura-sama, Uchiha-sama, Now!" the blonde audibly signaled them, sure that she couldn't hold Kakashi for much longer.

The two rushed in with an attack and swiftly scooped the bells from his waist where their sensei had hanged them. After taking a bell each, the two made a dash towards Naruko and took position behind her and her kage bunshin.

"Sensei! We got them." Sakura declared and held his bell up in and allowed it to ring. Kakashi just looked towards them looking quite more surprised than they expected that one would assume he was faking it.

But then, Naruko had exhausted herself and the kage bunshins disappeared with a poof one by one. She fell onto her hands and knees looking more exhausted than before. To Kakashi's surprise Sakura immediately dropped his bell and quickly moved his attention to Naruko. To his further surprise Saki returned her bell. But it wasn't until he realized that they had actually gotten the real bells rather than the Kawarimi bells that he had ready that he freely showed his surprise.

"Naruko-chan? Are you ok?" the boy asked worriedly as he checked her pulse and temperature.

"I…" the blond was about to say something when… "Guuurrrrrrrr!" Naruko's empty stomach made is outrage and emptiness known, loud and clear. The small blond blushed a little, but in her exhaustion she could do little to hide her shame.

Sakura did his best to hold his laughter, because he liked to think of himself as a gentleman and a gentleman doesn't laugh at a lady especially when she's down. The urge to laugh quickly died and he found himself picking the small girl up. 'she's so light…' he thought and missed the deepening blush on the girl's face.

Kakashi walked over to them and gestured his arms at Sakura telling him to hand him to her. The boy does so, gently passing her to his sensei's arms. He then carried the exhausted and famished girl towards the tree trunks, positioned her sitting on the ground with her back resting on the wood before he began to tie her up. Naruko had already accepted that fate before the test began and allowed her sensei to do so without a fight.

"Sensei, Why…" Sakura was about to voice out about his treatment of the poor girl when two bento boxes flew towards him. Thanking his reflexes were sharp enough to catch it he turns to his sensei again now with a second reason to get angry.

"I'll be back. Don't feed her... or else." He said blankly before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

The cherry haired boy couldn't help but fume. He muttered some curse words and hurled them at their absent teacher. It wasn't until Naruko somehow regained enough energy to speak that he stopped.

"Sakura-sama… it's ok. I'll be fine." Her voice came out soft and weak.

Those words however weren't what Sakura wanted to hear. "How can you be so calm about it?! You're the one suffering here!"

But the blond girl just smiled and said, "It was my decision. I was ready for it."

The boy however didn't like it. "I know but…" he growled and fumed, scratching his head wild and roughly in frustration.

Saki walked towards him and took one of the bento box from his hand. "Just eat." She said uncaringly as she sat beside the tied up blond.

Sakura turned towards the raven haired girl, looked at her, with disbelief and surprised that he could actually feel angry at her. "How can you just sit there and eat while someone is hungry right there in front of you?"

The raven haired girl's response was to look at him… said, "like this.." and brought her chopsticks holding a small bundle of rice towards her mouth.

Naruko watched the exchange with good humor, her hunger almost forgotten as the warmth that spread and filled her when Sakura defended her. She smiled and turned to Sakura. "Sakura-sama. It's really ok. I'll regain my strength soon… I can last for a while. Once this test is over I'm sure Kakashi-sensei will let me go and get something to eat."

"Naruko…" Sakura muttered. His anger died out after she spoke... he sighed and sat on the opposite side of her still feeling quite annoyed that the girl he liked wasn't taking his side.

Unknown to them Saki was already lost deep in her thoughts. She wondered if this is something her brother meant when he said, "cling to life and survive even in the most unsightly of ways…" … would Naruko's sacrifice count as surviving in an unsightly way? Was taking her offer for the bell count as clinging to life? She was confused… for years her brother's teachers had always been true. She had learned more from him than her academy teachers back then.

Her hand unconsciously raised and reached for her left shoulder, where a deep scar was hidden underneath a fashionable bandage. There was an odd pain from it whenever she remembered her brother or whenever she thought of him too deeply.

She looked at Naruko who was just sat there trying to calm her growling stomach and wondered what made her decide to do this for them. If she had been her… three terms in the Academy would be embarrassing enough another term after failing a jounin's exam would be unbearable. And yet there she was; tied in a tree trunk, starving, tired and embarrassed by her own stomach. And yet she was smiling… which ignited Saki's curiosity.

"Naruko." she called her attention.

The blond immediately looked up and turned to her looking surprise as if she didn't realize that she knew her name. "Hai?..."

"I don't believe what you said earlier. Tell me… Why did you sacrifice the chance to pass for us?" Then before Naruko could say anything she added "And your exhausted act doesn't fool me… if you really wanted you could have both bells."

"EH?!" Sakura said surprised. "But her… she…"

Naruko blushed and looked away… "You might be right about getting both bells… but I really am tired." she said sounding very honest.

Saki eyed her and searched for anything that might indicate a lie… she found none. She let it pass for now. "Okay… say I believe that. Why didn't you get the bells for yourself or why not just worked with one of us?" she asked making sure her tone sounded very scrutinizing.

It confounded her why the blond girl's expression softened when it did. Then the Naruko said, "Because… I think of the two of you as my friends."

A wave of a warm inexplicable feeling washed over Saki's chest. For a moment, time seemed to stop and all she could see was the side of Naruko's face as her eyes looked at something far off.

'… Friends huh?' Saki inwardly said to herself.

"Ah! There's some dust in my eye!" The two girls turned to Sakura who was wiping his eyes, hiding the tears with a false annoyance towards the nonexistent pieces of dirt in his eyes.

Saki found herself smiling. She turned to Naruko, after scooping some rice and meat with her chopsticks and said, "Naruko. Eat."

Sakura and Naruko's reaction to that was of surprise, disbelief and alarm.

Naruko tried to protest by saying, "But! Sensei said…"

But she was immediately silenced, "I don't care. Eat!" the raven haired ordered as she held the food close to the blond girl's mouth, which still remained closed. Saki felt a bit annoyed by that and decided to pinch Naruko's nose, which forced her to open her mouth if she wanted to breathe. It took a while but Naruko did open her mouth and Saki instantly shoved food into her mouth.

Saki then turned towards Sakura who had his mouth agape and apparently a bit tongue tied. She pointed her chopsticks at him and said, "You… Feed her too."

It took him a few seconds to fully understand what she had just said. "Ah!... Sure." And with that… they took turns feeding Naruko, Saki would be the one to pinch the blond girl's nose forcing her to open her mouth and get feed while Sakura took most of the turns stuffing food in their tied up teammate's mouth.

"Uchiha-sama please… stop… we don't know what Kakashi-sensei will do to us if he sees you two feeding me." she said with difficulty as her mouth dodged the chopsticks.

To Naruko's and Sakura's surprise Saki stopped trying to feed her and placed her bento down on the ground. Sakura's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when the raven haired girl stuck her thumbs inside Naruko's mouth and pulled her cheeks causing great discomfort to the blond girl.

"It's Saki." she stated in a demanding tone.

"Eh?" was the only thing that came out of Naruko's mouth that sounded like a word.

"Don't call me Uchiha-sama… it's annoying. Understand?!" Saki added, as she gave the blond a threatening glare.

The blond mumbled something incoherently and nodded and was soon rewarded by Saki's fingers leaving her mouth and cheeks alone.

"Ouch… that was mean." Naruko muttered under her breath.

"Did you say something?!" Saki said in a threatening voice.

Naruko inched away the tiny bit the ropes allotted her and said, "Nothing. Saki." Making sure to use what the raven haired girl had told her to call her to escape a continuation of her wrath.

"Good." The raven haired then wiped her hands before eating and feeding the still resisting blond.

After a while… Saki decided that she was taking up a hobby and it involved in the toying with the blond in ways not too different from what she was doing now. Even Sakura couldn't help but join in and forcefully fed the girl… almost unable to hide the small twitch of a smile in sadistic pleasure he got from seeing the girl fed against her will.

The three of them were so busy that the failed to notice the return of their sensei. "Ah… you fed her." He said with a deadpan expression.

Naruko would have jumped and screamed in surprise like her two teammates had she not been bound to the tree. "Sen-sei…" she muttered.

"You two know what would happen to you for disobeying me right?" he said sounding almost monotonous though still very threatening.

"Sensei, it's not their fault! I begged for food." Naruko lied.

"Oh?" Kakashi looked down towards the bound blond. He knew she was lying he was watching them from a far and heard everything said, but he decided to play along and check the reactions of the two.

"Yes. I was really hungry and…" she tried to add a small story into her lie to make him believe her, but before she could finish…

"I forced her to eat and I force Sakura to help me." Saki claimed and stood proud of what she said.

"No you didn't…" Sakura added, and said, "I was going to feed her anyway I was just trying to see if sensei wasn't around anymore."

Saki looked at him with hint of disbelief but let it pass and looked back towards their sensei who was giving them an unreadable look. Naruko had hung her head down… feeling depressed yet at the same time happy that her two friends had decided to throw her efforts to help her.

"I could fail you three you know…" he said with the same dull tone.

The three looked at each other for a moment and Saki said, "There's something I need to catch up back in the academy anyway." Pouted then turned her head away.

Sakura shrugged and said, "I don't mind going back for another term… what's one more time compared to Naruko's three. Can't you pass her instead Sensei?"

Naruko looked at Sakura for a moment. Their eyes connected for a moment and Sakura couldn't help but feel that he said something wrong. Then without thinking he added, "But if you don't…. its ok. I guess… I'll have to look after her some more from new bullies for the next academy term." He patted her head playfully as if she were a pet.

Kakashi looked down at the blond as if telling and waiting for her to say something.

Naruko noticed his gaze. She looked at her friends and teammates, swallowed to get rid of the anxiety she felt before she turned to her sensei again and sheepishly said, "After what they said… I'd really hate myself if I passed without them."

The masked jounin's hand raised to scratch his head turned around and said, "I see… well then I guess I have to…" he paused for a few seconds, intentionally trying to build some drama… something he learned from his readings, which always made life interesting for him. He then turned to them, all of them looking at each other… their eyes as if conversing and consoling each other silently saying that there was still the next term.

Feeling he had given them enough time to accept their premature failure. He finished his sentence, "…pass you all." and he said it with a very pleased smile.

The reactions of the three pleased Kakashi, all of them turned to him eyes wide in shock and disbelief. "Eh?..." they all muttered.

"You pass." he rephrased his sentence in two words and pointed at all three of them.

The shock and disbelief was still very fresh on the three. But Sakura soon found his bearings and asked, "Eh?! How?! Why?!"

"You three are the first. The people I had before were all blockheads who just listened to what I said. Ninjas need to think beyond the normal. In the world of ninjas, those who break the rules are scum." He paused for second and allowed them to digest his words before continuing, "But those who don't take care of their friends are even worse than scum." He looked at them; the smile in his eye was obvious. "You three know that… at the very least subconsciously."

He turned to Sakura and said, "Sakura, You care for these two… why that is, I'll still have to find out." The boy flushed and avoided the gaze of the two girls. "You're protective of Naruko and I'm sure if you had a chance I would have seen the same dedication towards Saki if not more."

Near the end of that sentence the cherry haired boy was scratching the side of his head, to hide his burning ear with his hand. He wanted to say something to affirm their sensei's complement on him. And probably reason that all this time he believed that Naruko had been a little weak and defenseless, so that Saki wouldn't think he was interested in the blond. But the way Kakashi had delivered his praise to him had felt quite odd in a good way and left him speechless.

Kakashi then turned to Naruko, "Naruko, needless to say you seem to have found good friends and have the will to do anything for them... overworking yourself, starve yourself, and even lie. It's a dangerous path for a ninja… it's almost a weakness…" The blond almost frowned before Kakashi could finish saying, "but you should know that the rewards it yields is usually more than worth it." and her almost frown turned it to a warm inspired smile.

Finally he turned to Saki, "Saki… from what I've read and heard about you, you didn't really have interest in friends." The raven haired girl looked away, trying to look blasé. "But you seem to have chosen the best time to start and I don't think you could do any better than these two. Consider yourself lucky."

Saki had considered rebuking him. Saying something that would put her in the light of whatever he saw her as again… but decided against it when she felt the tell tale warmth on her face. The other two had turned towards her somewhere during his speech but the raven haired girl's blush was only visible to Kakashi.

He watched as his first real students looked at each other, while trying not to look too embarrassed. He coughed to clear his throat and to get their attention. "This exam is over. Everyone passes. We will begin taking missions tomorrow."

The three looked at him and happily replied, "Yes sir!"

Team Seven (The End of Part One)

…to be continued.

Author's Notes: I had partially rewritten some points and added more details here and there. If some seem to be still missing it'll be dealt with in the next part of the chapter.

Took a while for me to finalize who will be named what. I decided that at the very least I should use the same starting letter with each and everyone's names. Ino's was the hardest to decide on XD I didn't want to break the Ino-Shika-Chou thing.

I decided to separate this story in to three… mainly because it would reach 30k words or even more had I didn't, making it even more a pain to proofread.

Translations:

(1)"Omae" means "You" used when one is very familiar or friendly with one or to call one in a rude way.

(2)"Yo Shokun. Ohayo…" Kakashi's famous (at least I think it is…) line from episode 4. Literally means "Yo Gentlemen. Good Morning…" I originally wanted to write "Yo Ladies and Gentleman." But when I learned that Shokun also means "Ladies" I've decided to stick with the Japanese translation… for a little anime feel and it just seemed lot cooler that way.

If anyone sees any errors… kindly pm me about it, the whole thing was so long I didn't have it in me to proofread it more than once. Many thanks in Advance.

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