Chapter Thirteen

'Well… this is awkward.' Kagome mused.

The four genin members of Team Seven were sitting next to each other at Ichiraku's for lunch and the atmosphere was somewhat tense. Naruto was sitting on Kagome's left side slurping his eighth bowl of noodles vigorously since he had been forbidden from the food stall since Kagome's departure. Sakura was quietly eating her own food on Kagome's right side. She had still been slightly subdued since the hospital yesterday even though Kagome had grudgingly forgiven her.

Sakura knew she had to do a lot to prove her teammates that she could be trusted.

Sitting next to Sakura was Sasuke who would occasionally give the pink haired girl encouraging looks. He was the one who proposed that they all get lunch together a few times a week. Kagome had raised an eyebrow at his suggestion and he had flushed before arguing it would help build their bonds.

If there was no trust between the team then any missions they were sent on would be a disaster.

"S-so Namikaze-san," Sakura had decided to call Kagome by her last name as a sign of respect and to acknowledge that she knew they were on shaky ground still, "how was training in Amegakure?"

Naruto slightly glared at Sakura who shrank back causing Sasuke to glare at him. Kagome tried to offer her a smile which probably looked more like a grimace judging by the glare Sasuke sent her.

"I didn't actually train in Amegakure. Kaede-sama lives in a small shrine on the outskirts of the city. But it was really wet all the time. More often than not I trained in the mud." Kagome replied, slurping up a particularly large mass of noodles and wiped her mouth daintily with a white handkerchief she kept in her pocket.

Suddenly all the hairs on Kagome's body stood upright and her wide dark eyes whirled around to scan the street behind her. Villagers bustled along doing their normal everyday tasks and her sharp eyes would catch the various dark shadows that crossed the rooftops. Still, she couldn't shake the ominous feeling that she was being watched.

Her heart was pulsing quickly and Kagome's instincts were screaming that she was being hunted. Her rollercoaster feelings were enough to stir the tailed beasts and they all hissed, confirming to Kagome that something was out there even though she couldn't see it.

Ignoring her teammates' worried questions, Kagome touched her necklace. 'Who is it?' She asked worriedly.

'The Uchiha spawn.' Kurama growled in agitation. Kagome's heart skipped a beat. 'He's been following you for a while but it seems he wants you to know he's watching you now.'

'He wants me to know I'm being hunted.' Kagome concluded, 'It's part of his game to claim me.'

'Let me out to deal with it Kagome-chan.' Shukaku crooned, the faintest glimpse of madness lurking in his gold and black eyes. Slightly amused, Kagome mentally shook her head.

'I don't want him dead, but this needs to end.' Kagome growled. For perhaps the first time, Isobu the Three Tails spoke up shyly.

'I might have a solution Kagome-dono.'

Naruto was just about to shake his younger sister when she suddenly seemed to awake from whatever trance she was in and she smiled mischievously. Naruto immediately scooted his chair away from her. Whenever she got that look on her face, it didn't bode well for others.

"I have something to do. I will see you guys tomorrow at training ground three at ten sharp." Kagome said before seemingly disappearing into thin air. As her teammates gawked at her earlier spot, maroon eyes tinged with possession narrowed.

"Game on Ka-go-me-chan."

"Now, seeing as I know three-fourths of the team and have trained with half of the team, I've come up with something…different for your exam. Instead of having an exercise where I have all of you try to retrieve something to stay genin, this exercise will only be done by one of you."

Kakashi's single eye curved upwards so everyone could tell he was smiling.

"I'm going to take you all to an obstacle course genjutsu where one of you will attempt to complete it. If they complete it successfully, you all will remain genins and I will train you. However," a flash of lightning struck behind the suddenly solemn Kakashi, "If they fail, you all return to the Academy."

Everyone's eyes widened. Their genin rank rested on the shoulder on one person?! It was obvious then that the one with the most skills and thus the greatest chance of being successful should be the one to go.

Kakashi went through a series of hand signs before the environment warped slightly to show they were in the genjutsu but then went back to normal.

"Hey! Where's the obstacle course?" Naruto asked in confusion, scratching his head. Kakashi pointed to the finish line tape that was between two trees several yards away.

"I'm not going to make it easy or obvious what the obstacles are. There are no rules so you must be ready for whatever I throw at you." Kakashi said seriously. He pulled out a clock from his green jounin vest and set it for ten minutes.

"You also have a time limit so I suggest you run as fast as you can." He smiled again and Sasuke had to fight the urge to smack his mask off his face. Naruto looked at Sasuke and they both nodded at each other.

"Naruto and I nominate Kagome to face the course." Sasuke stated formally and Kagome threw them both a scandalized look. No they didn't!

"I nominate Sasuke to face the course." Kagome said and sent a slightly apologetic look at Naruto. He shrugged and she knew he understood that he didn't have the best skill set since he was under Ino and Sakura's control for years, but she knew it still hurt that he wasn't nominated.

"Did I ever say that you guys get to nominate someone to run the course? Hm, I don't believe I did." Kakashi shrugged, "I've already made my choice."

Everyone looked at each other and then their sensei with slight wariness.

"Now Sakura-chan, if you would be so kind as to step up to the starting line?"

Said girl almost fainted and Kagome almost started hyperventilating. Sakura? Sakura Haruno was going to hold the fate of her team's rank in her hands? Surely, Kakashi-sensei couldn't be serious.

"Oh but I am." Kakashi cackled as though he read their minds, succeeding in freaking them out. "Now we don't have any time to waste. Sakura, if you will?"

Sakura was terrified.

As she stood at the starting line she was ashamed and humiliated to when she noticed her body was shaking so hard that she nearly dropped her kunai that she took out as a precaution. She was not ready for this, she knew out of the team that she should be the one who went back to Academy.

Small beads of sweat slowly rolled down her slightly larger than average forehead and her prickly tongue darted out its hideout to moisten her suddenly dry lips. Never before had she felt so under pressure and, to her utter shame, pin pricks of embarrassment behind her eyes threatened to make her look even more pathetic than what she probably already appeared.

Kakashi stood smiling serenely at the finish line; her brain calculated that it was exactly twenty yards and three feet away but in her mind's eye it looked like miles. This was going to be bad.

"On your mark…get set… Go!" Kakashi yelled, pressing the button to start the timer and then disappearing from view.

Sakura took a deep steadying breath before launching herself across the training ground, her eyes darting back and forth to try and predict where the first attack would come from. She just so happened to catch the glint of light hitting something before she ducked into a forward roll, narrowly missing a barrage of shuriken.

Her heart beating in her eyes, Sakura only managed to get to one knee before using the kunai in her hand to deflect another barrage of kunai from a nearby tree. She held her own for the most part, but several slipped past, creating thin ribbons of blood to trail down her cheek, right arm and her left leg.

She stumbled to her feet and quickly looked around in paranoia, her bright green eyes seeing everything and yet nothing before she darted forward again. 'Damn it!' She thought in alarm, she had wasted three minutes already and she was only a yard in.

Willing some chakra into her legs, Sakura quickened her pace. She knew she was a sad excuse for a shinobi, she knew that her teammates knew she was a sad excuse for a shinobi, but she refused to be one.

Her heart steadied itself just a bit more with that declaration and as she threw her kunai knife at one of Kakashi-sensei's clones that looked like ninjas from Iwa, a small grin appeared on her face. She could do this.

Suddenly the ground underneath her feet exploded and as the pink haired genin flew through the air, she absent-mindedly wondered who was screaming like that so loud. She didn't realize it was herself until she hit the ground hard, tumbling a few feet away. A whimper escaped her dry throat and Sakura felt tears spring to her eyes as she clutched her broken left arm.

'This is it,' She thought dazed as another of Kakashi's shadow clones, this time dressed as a shinobi from Kumo hauled her to her feet, only to knock her down again. She shrieked as she landed on her arm again and the clone kicked her in the ribs. She glanced at the clock and saw she only had a minute and a half left.

"I'm so sorry guys." Sakura whispered as the clone raised its leg again to kick her.

"Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

The clone screamed before disappearing in a giant fireball and Sakura felt two pairs of hands picked her up with urgent care.

"Sakura, get to the finish line. The three of us will cover you." Sakura blinked her eyes only to meet Kagome's determined orbs.

"H-Hai!" She squeaked out before dashing towards the finish line, cradling her arm. Despite the pain she was in, the blast had actually propelled her closer to the end which was only ten yards away. Sakura gritted her teeth and ran, pushing more and more of her chakra into her feet to get there faster.

She could feel the heat of another ball of fire chasing after her and she willed her legs to go faster. Naruto came out of nowhere and pulled her out the way and Sakura nodded her thanks. Naruto grimly nodded to her as well before turning to fight the clones that were springing up all over the training ground.

Sakura ran like she had never ran before and in the millisecond it took for the timer to go from one to zero, Sakura pressed the button and she shuddered as her senses informed her that the genjutsu had dissipated.

"Good job Sakura." Sasuke said as he walked up towards her, a lazy smirk on his face despite the holes in his clothes from shuriken. Sakura flushed and ducked her head but then she suddenly straightened in horror.

"You guys… you guys weren't supposed to interfere!" She yelled, bile threatening to crawl up her throat. They had saved her life and she had managed to complete the obstacle course but they would all still go back to the Academy. Because she was too weak to do it on her own.

"Who cares if we end up going back to the Academy?! It wouldn't have been right to not help you!" Naruto yelled back with narrowed blue eyes. Sakura swallowed thickly; she had helped ruin this boy's life and he was still willing to help her? She… she didn't deserve his kindness. Or any of their kindness.

"Stop with the nonsense Sakura." Said girl turned around and bit back at gasp at Kagome's amber slit eyes. The dark-haired girl breathed heavily before closing her eyes and opening them to reveal her usual sapphire color.

"You are our teammate now. Regardless of the past, we look out for one another and protect our own. If we go back to the Academy then so be it. We all will go there together." Kagome finished with a resolute look on her face.

"And that is why you all pass Team Seven."

Everyone whirled around to see their sensei who was smiling warmly at them with his head cocked slightly to the side.

"A team trains together, they protect each other's backs and they work together to see the completion of a mission. That is the reason for a three-man team and it goes especially for the four of you. There was a reason I chose Sakura." Kakashi stated.

"You wanted to know if we would be able to ignore how Sakura treated Naruto for the past few years to see her complete the course." Sasuke pointed out. Kakashi ruffled his hair much to Sasuke's annoyance.

"Precisely. As shinobi you may have to put aside your feelings for your teammates to complete a mission. If you had let Sakura do the obstacle course by herself despite how obvious it was she needed help, you wouldn't have been able to work in future missions as a team. And you would've been sent back to the Academy."

Sakura ducked her head in embarrassment and looked up stunned when Kakashi put his hand on her head and squatted down to her level.

"Don't be embarrassed Sakura. I intentionally increased the difficulty to beyond what you could handle in order to see if it would spur these three into action. As your sensei it's my job to train you to where that obstacle course will be toddler's play once I'm through with you." Kakashi stood and waved his hand. "I will see you guys the day after tomorrow at eight sharp."

Naruto grinned after Kakashi disappeared in a poof of smoke. "Let's get some ramen to celebrate!" He ran off and Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"After we take Sakura to the hospital first dobe!" Sasuke yelled, stalking after the blond while muttering curses under his breath. Kagome made to follow them but Sakura called her name.

"Namikaze-san I just wanted to say thanks." Sakura said slightly nervous. Kagome sighed deeply and closed her eyes. Sakura watched her cautiously as the Hokage's daughter seemed to be warring against something in herself before finally she opened her eys and gave Sakura a small but tense smile.

"Call me Kagome."

In a nearby tree, Kakashi smiled softly. It would still take time for the past to be forgiven and bonds to be forged and restored, but today had made sure that the first step had been taken.

Team Seven would go far.

So more focus on Team Seven and their dynamics instead of everyone else's drama. Next chapter will focus more on everyone's issues as well as introduce some more plot.

A special thanks to you all as well despite my inactivity. After only twelve chapters, this story is at 334 reviews, added to 8 communities, viewed by almost 47, 815 people, 267 favorites, and followed by 326 people! You guys are awesome and again thank you.

Your reviews channel my imagination,

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