Hallo Jolteonforever here, venturing into the Naruto fandom :D

This is exciting xD Welll this is my first Naruto fanfic, and was thought of on the way on the bus xD Please be kind and R&R.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto :)

What if Kakashi failed them at their genin test? What would team 7 be then? Going back to extra training, team 7 learn what true teamwork means, and set out to become, strong ninjas of Konoha.

AU, contains good Sasuke :) Team7fic and takes place after the bell test really.

HERE WE GO!

The silver bells shone in the sunlight, jingling slightly in the whispers of wind. Onyx eyes locked onto the target as Sasuke shifted in his tree branch, perched above Kakashi. Said jounin smirked underneath his mask, ah, silly students, but made no other move to indicate he had heard the Uchiha.

It came suddenly, the ball of fire, or at least it would have, had Kakashi not have heard the whispered name of the jutsu and felt the chakra flare. Easily dodging to the side, he was engaged it a taijutsu match which forced him to put away his orange book. It was not a matter of skill really, but rather…

The jet black hair swayed as Sasuke followed his previous punch with a fluid kick, and Kakashi felt his heart clench at the sight. Some wounds never heal, he thought, hand automatically straying to his headband, before he stopped himself short. No, memories were memories, they stayed in his mind.

And besides, apart from his looks, Sasuke was as far away from Obito as possible. The cold aloof attitude which Obito had been the opposite of- with his huge grins and cheesy jokes that had made even Kakashi quirk his lips. Sasuke was stuck up, thought himself the best and, Kakashi realised, was just a typical Uchiha. It was Obito who had been unique, Obito who had strode away from the norm for the Uchiha. And that made Kakashi smile inside.

Performing a quick Doton: Shinjiuu Zanshu no jutsu was easy and Kakashi sauntered off after leaving the Uchiha alone with his head sticking out of the dirt embarrassingly, but not before he took a dig at the Uchiha.

He squatted down, single eye curving into a U shape to indicate that he was smiling, "Sasuke, Sasuke, you know the only reason I'm even testing this team is because the council screamed that you were the last Uchiha, that you deserve sympathy, that you deserve everything. But the truth is Sasuke, you deserve nothing, you should have fought on in life by now, not have everything handed to you on a platter. And you know what? You haven't even had half the tortures that Naruto has." With this, he stood up to leave when Sasuke angrily growled up from the dirt.

"What would you, or that stupid dead-last know about losing your whole family, or anyone you cared for?" Sasuke expected Kakashi to turn around and apologise for even letting him think back to that fateful night, when Kakashi completely killed that expectation with a dark glare as he stared at Sasuke. If Sasuke could, he would be squirming underneath the gaze, currently however, he was stuck in the dirt with what felt so surely like a worm in his pants.

"You have no idea what I have been through, nor Naruto. At least you haven't lived a completely dark life for who knows how long, trapped in loneliness, been attacked because of something you can't control which you don't even know about. Do you know how many assassinations for Naruto I had to stop Sasuke? Do you? 44. 44 before the boy even turned 5. He couldn't even make a friend that lasted more than one afternoon, after their parents turned them away. You think being an Uchiha makes you so great? It's the mind that counts Sasuke. And you'll get nowhere in life if you don't understand that. Being a ninja, Sasuke, will almost guarantee that you will lose your loved ones somewhere in life." He looked at Sasuke again, silently, and then disappeared in a rush of leaves.

Sasuke could only stare in shock. 44 assassinations? Before Naruto was even 5? And what did he mean he couldn't understand? Sasuke understood everything, after all, even in most pain been through in life he could probably trump Naruto… Right?

In the distance, he heard the timer go off, and scowled, scrabbling his hands through the dirt to get out. An unexpected haul from his shoulders made him stare in surprise at the orange thing in front of him. Oh it was Naruto.

Naruto. He mind froze, eyes scanning his face, searching for any trace of coldness, evilness, general things that came from being lonely and… There was none. All there was, was a bright smile on a tan face, blue eyes scrunched up underneath sunny blond hair.

"Come on bastard, I guess even the "great" get a little caught up now and then!" This was followed by a mocking chuckle, before he leaped into a tree, causing the grass to sway in his wake. Sasuke was still staring as the orange blue dashed through the trees.

Kakashi watched as Naruto leapt down from the trees, landing softly on the ground before rolling forwards. He looked at the blond hair, the blue eyes and the tan skin, his heart burning from emotions withheld. It killed him to do this.

He watched as the others arrived too, Sakura latching onto Sasuke as soon as he came into view, his distantly untangling his body from hers, gaze vacant, mind on other matters.

He looked at Sasuke and Naruto. God it hurt to look at them, to see in them parts of the only family he had ever had. He could have passed them on that alone, given them a second chance to understand the consequences, but he was so tired. He was tired of serving to the council because he was the only sharingan user legal in Konoha. He was tired of being put with the burdens of these fresh green genin, who he knew he wouldn't be able to teach well. He just couldn't.

All he wanted to do was to be at the memorial stones, running his hands over those names he treasured so much, again and again. But he had to do this first. Motioning them to sit, they followed his orders, Sakura shuffling around in the grass next to Sasuke, and Naruto perched upon a training log. Battered and beaten, just like his mind. Ah he needed a break. Maybe a trip to the springs?

"None of you managed to get a bell from me, and thus you all fail." There it was, clear cut and simple, yet the dumbfounded looks on their faces expressed their non-understandings. He sighed. "Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork. God how many teams have I failed because of this test? This test is to make you work together, despite being turned against each other because of two bells. Have you ever heard of a 3-man genin cell? Of course not, because there aren't any. You are Konoha shinobi, you are comrades. You help each other!" He stared at them with his single eye, watching Sasuke stir with anger before charging at him.

"Imbecile." He pinned Sasuke to the floor in a flash, kunai already at Sasuke's neck. Go on Sakura, kill Naruto or I'll kill Sasuke." The silence in the small clearing was deafening, as Sakura stared in sheer horror at Kakashi, and the boys just stared at Sakura. Kakashi snarled when he saw Sakura's hand move towards her weapons pouch. He shoved Sasuke towards her.

"Idiots, fools! Did you not just hear a word I said? Never ever abandon your comrades! In times where you need to choose one or the other, you will save both of them. Your team mates are your family, they are your life, you need them to survive in the shinobi world!" He stared at them in anger, feeling frustration bubbling over from years of hidden anguish. The genin could only stare in fear and shock as the laid back jounin exploded onto them. Just when they thought he was going to start on them, they watched him sag, like a puppet with it's strings cut off.

"Go back to the academy. You fail. But because I'm nice, and because you have so much potential in you…" And that I owe them this, he frowned underneath his mask. "Listen to me, seriously. Sakura, get over your crush on Sasuke. Kunoichi have to be serious to survive in this world. Enemies can do many, horrible things to them, so you have to be tough." Sakura stared up at him in shock, and Kakashi snorted in his mind. Was that the only emotion the girl was capable of showing?

"Sasuke, you need to get over your revenge idea. He killed your family, then tells you to live a lonely life, and you follow what he says? Are you stupid? He is trying to stop you from making bonds. Bonds that will help to defeat him. I was once on the same path as you, and it was ravished by loneliness. Trust me Sasuke…" His eyes softened from war-torn memories, "You don't want to go down that road."

"Naruto…" He stared at the boy. "Naruto… Your past will always be a part of you which you must accept. Remember this: Ninja who don't follow the rules are trash, but ninja who abandon their comrades, are worse than trash. Take this to heart guys, and… Oh fuck, what am I even talking to you about?"

His eyes tilted into a u-shape, as he brought the steel shutters clattering down upon his mind. Why was he so open towards them? Because they were like his old team? He looked at them again, and again. Maybe he would check up on them sometime.

"Go back to the academy, your teacher will tell you what to do. But… Remember what I said. You'll still be in the same team, so learn from what I said." With a hesitant smile that they couldn't see underneath his mask, he shunshined away to tell the hokage of the failing of this team.

The clearing was eerily silent after Kakashi had left. Each member of the now failed team 7 pondered on what had been said. The crickets chirped merrily away in the woodland around them.

…

"Well fuck."

…

"Hn."

…

"…"

The three looked at each other in the awkward silence, until Sakura gave an almost hysterical giggle. The boys looked at her in disbelief.

"Well I mean look at us, the dead last and the tops of the class, academically-wise and skill-wise. Yet we all failed." She gave another giggle. And Naruto gave a chuckle too. Their laughter broke the silence of the clearing and even Sasuke gave a smirk.

"I must be the first Uchiha to fail the genin test." And yet, he said it with a smirk. Sakura and Naruto gazed at him in astonishment. Sasuke knew they wouldn't understand. For some reason, Kakashi's talk had freed something within him, and failing right now… He knew he should feel anger, but he really couldn't. All he felt was relief, a weight being taken off his shoulders.

"Come on." He looked up to see a tan hand reaching down at him, and he took it. "We're the washout team now."

They walked to the academy, unknowing of just how much the team would affect Konoha.

So, :D That's the first chapter, I'm sorry that just about all of them are OOC, but it's AU, and I'm planning to make these guys you know, bonded. Sasuke had to get rid of his revenge complex sometime around and yeah :P

Please read and revieww, I really need to know what to do next and what needs to be improved and whatnot :)

~jolteonforever