WARNINGS: Rated M for language, violence, mature themes (e.g. gender norms, sexuality, depression, and social commentary), sexual themes, and specifically shoujo-ai/yuri with a technically gender-bent character (Naruko Uzumaki).

AN: Reviews and stuff, yay! I do appreciate the reviews I've gotten, the constructive criticism too (this time I forgot ryo – not yen – was the primary currency of the world), but I again want to re-emphasize to READ THE WARNINGS PLEASE! For instance, right above it says that this is a shoujo-ai/yuri involving Naruko, and before you get to the prologue it says this is a Fem!Naru/Hina fic in the description. As such this will involve Naruko/Hinata shoujo-ai/yuri. I know that this is not going to please everyone, but that is the plan, yet I have gotten a couple reviews stating that they hope this isn't a Naurko/Hinata fic despite fairly labeling it as such, so please read the warnings as they do answer this concern some people have had.

Besides that, I encourage everyone to please continue reviewing so I know how people are liking this fic's progression, which hopefully will be a little faster now, as opposed to taking another couple months to update. Sorry about that by the way...

Chapter 2: Team Doujutsu... and Naruko

"Hey, what's Naruko doing here?" one of the new academy graduates whispered to his friend "Only the ones that graduated should be here right?"

"Yeah, stupid girl probably forgot yesterday was the exam." a laugh then, but the subject was quickly dropped at that point.

"Hinata!" Naruko called out, moments before she was clinging to her friend's back as she was accustomed to doing "We get put into teams today right?"

"Yes." was the soft response from the blushing heiress of the Hyuuga, who tried to coax Naruko into a seat next to her at least since she didn't seem to want to let go, not that Hinata really wanted her to anyway "I hope we get put on the same team..."

A barely audible 'doubt it' made it's way forth from a few rows up in the room with an accompanying snicker. Naruko's eyes narrowed and she growled a bit but a hand on her arm from Hinata kept her where she was for the moment. And just like that she was back to smiling like she always was, until yet another individual decided to interrupt her.

"Hey, move it you stupid cow!" Sakura practically shouted at the blond, the pink-haired girl staring at her indignantly, hands on hips "I'm trying to get to the seat you're blocking!"

"Moooo!" was Naruko's eloquent rebuttal, which forced Hinata to have to stifle a laugh before Sakura got pissed at the blond girl clinging to her and pushed her way through "Ow! Pink-haired bitch you almost made me pull Hinata out of her seat!"

Sakura though was focused on other things, that 'other thing' being Sasuke Uchiha, the lone-wolf top-of-the-class brooding boy at the hearts of nearly every kunoichi in the class, and many outside of it. Naruko was not one of them; she'd been butting heads with Sasuke for quite some time, starting not long after the massacre of his entire clan by Sasuke's own older brother. He was good, Naruko had to admit that, but at the same time his attitude was atrocious!

Of course, considering what happened… well...

"How does anyone find him remotely interesting? He's an ass, and his hair looks like duck-ass!" Naruko whispered into the ear of her friend, the breath on her friend's ear making the smaller girl shiver "W-Well, he is, um, mysterious and, uh, cool, isn't he?"

"Mysterious and cool my ass!" the blond implored, focused on Sasuke out of the corner of her eyes "He's just a stuck-up jerk! You better not fall for him too Hinata; you can do better than Sasuke."

Hinata's heart raced for a moment, a rush as her face lit up like a glowing red light and she mumbled an incoherent response of acceptance. She also knew that Naruko wouldn't have to worry since she hadn't had any interest in Sasuke, ever. Not only did the Uchiha remind her of her father somewhat in a frightening way, but Hinata just wasn't nearly as interested in boys as the other girls in the class were, being more comfortable around other girls, being especially comfortable around Naruko. She'd always been shy after all, so it made sense she might not be interested just yet... she wondered whom it was Naruko might be interested in though... clearly not Sasuke, probably not Kiba either...

"What?"

Hinata could feel Naruko tense up at that, pushing off of her and facing Sasuke – the one whom had addressed her tersely after she'd been glaring at him for a while.

"What do you mean 'what'?!" she spat the word like it was poison "Nobody was talking to you!"

"Naruko..." Hinata tried to calm her down, or at least get her attention, but then...

"Hmph, whatever..."

Naruko's teeth grit, eyes narrowed, fists clenched. Now he was ignoring her?! She leaped onto the desk in front of him and plopped down legs crossed, her face close enough she could see the details in his cold, black eyes as they stared each other down. She didn't like those eyes, not at all, not one bit! Gods, how come this cold, aloof ass was the one everyone thought was so amazing and talented?!

Hinata – and most of the girls in the class though for a different reason – looked on, worried that things were going to come to blows. As she stood up and tried to get their attention, someone leaning back in the row before Sasuke's and theirs accidentally knocked into Naruko, pushing her forward...

And then hell broke loose as Naruko's lips met Sasuke's, and both of their faces paled while their eyes were stricken wide. The girls of the class let out a cry of shock and despair collectively while Sakura felt part of her soul die, and Hinata damn near fainted, a part of her heart aching as the sight was burned into her retinas. Then came screaming as Naruko threw herself backwards, falling a good three rows down and landing on a desk, clutching her throat, gagging, and gasping for air as if she was choking. Surprisingly Sasuke did about the same...

"Oh gods! GAH! Bleach! Acid! Something someone please it feels like my lips are rotting!" she cried out before rounding on Sasuke instead "You kissed me you disgusting pervert!"

"Naruko..." an aura of malice directed at Naruko from one individual in particular brought her back to reality, and just in time to see Sakura cracking her knuckles while standing on the desk on the row above where she was "...you idiot..."

A quick spin and she was on her hands, feet in the air, and with a practiced push the blond's light body flew down the rest of the rows to land right in front of Iruka's desk, a grin on her face and fire in her eyes.

"Why don't you come down here and we'll see who's the idiot you pink-haired bitch!" was Naruko's challenge... but everyone was sitting in their seats, even Sakura, and Hinata was looking at her with concern in her eyes... dropping from her ready stance, Naruko then sensed a presence behind her.

"Hinata... Iruka's right behind me isn't he?" she said, not turning her head to look yet.

Her response was a nod as Hinata's pointer fingers were together again out of nervousness.

"...Hi Iruk-AH!"

"Sit down and quit causing trouble Naruko!"

Team 10 turned out to be Ino, Chouji, and Shikamaru with Asuma Sarutobi; a longstanding connection between the three families ensuring they would end up together, and Asuma was the most familiar to the families as well. Essentially Team 10 was a 'special request' from some of the more prominent shinobi clans.

Team 8 was composed of Shino, Kiba, and Sakura with Kurenai Yuhi; two talented trackers and nonstandard attackers meant they'd work best with Kurenai who was a genjutsu specialist, and Sakura's chakra control meant that she'd benefit greatly from Kurenai's genjutsu knowledge, probably to pick up some of it herself.

Team 7...

"Why do Hinata and I have to be on the same team as the pervert who gets off stealing kisses from girls?!"

Iruka pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to calm down as Hinata tried to calm her friend down and keep her from glaring at Sasuke, whom seemed to be trying his best to ignore Naruko.

"Naruko... Sasuke had the highest marks out of everyone in the class, and you were last, dead last. I had to make sure each of the teams was balanced, do you understand?" he said, trying to skate around the fact that he wanted to make sure that Hinata and she were together, and also wished to avoid explaining the pressure for Hinata and Sasuke to be on the same team with their chosen jounin "Now unless you would rather spend another year at the academy this is the team you will be on, understood?"

The internal conflict was quite evident on Naruko's face, her mind fighting against itself as competing interests sought to guide her actions. Eventually she plopped back down into her seat, huffed, and crossed her arms across her breasts in an effort to look pouting yet indignant.

"Fine, whatever, stupid Iruka..." she conceded, letting Iruka breathe a sigh of relief before he moved to explain how things would go for the next few days...

Time passed, second upon minute upon hour... three genin sat in the room in silence, with intermittent bursts of frustration from a blond-haired girl that sat among them whom didn't seem very comfortable with the silence of the room. The black haired one on the other hand seemed to enjoy the silence and disliked the bouts of frustrated verbalizations, and the blunette... well, she was more nervous about whom was supposed to already be there, and about the fact that if left alone Naruko may get into a fight with their other teammate...

"Rah! Where the hell is he?! Er... her?! Gah! Who the hell are we waiting for again?!" Naruko finally began shouting, her patience long ago drained and her anger flaring "The hell are we supposed to learn from someone who isn't even able to be on time to a meeting?!"

"Shut up, Dead Last."

"Goddammit! Call me 'Dead Last' again you disgusting pervert!" Naruko shouted back at the loner as she stood her ground on the desk and seat "I'll kick your ass across the Village and back!"

"You couldn't if you tried..." was the muttered rebuttal, finally glancing at the noisy blonde this time "...Dead Last."

True to her word Naruko threw a kick at his head, forcing him to lean back to avoid it as Hinata shouted for them to stop, if you could call it 'shouting' anyway with her voice so soft. The second kick Naruko threw as she spun on the desk and brought her heel around might have connected, but she was stopped by the appearance of a larger hand than Sasuke had, attached to the body of a man she'd never seen before. Grey hair, mask covering the lower half of his face, and forehead protector pulled down over one eye...

"Sparring? Or fighting?" he asked simply, letting Naruko go when it was clear her anger had moved on "This is a poor place for either, don't you think?"

"Who the hell are you?" again, another tactful and eloquent response from Naruko, which worried Hinata as she recognized who it was that was standing before them.

"Me? Kakashi Hatake, your Jounin instructor." he said without missing a beat, or showing any expression – though Naruko sure did after a moment and it wasn't a positive one "And I... already don't like either of you."

'Either' likely meaning the two he was standing between, as opposed to the blunette standing behind him...

"So... first thing should be introducing yourselves." Kakashi stated once they were all settled somewhere more airy and comfortable on the open roof of a nearby building "Likes, dislikes, dreams, hobbies..."

A pregnant pause, a look of incredulousness, nervousness, nonchalance, and calm all seemed to meet each other between them. Sighing, Naruko rubbed her head and shifted, before finally starting things off, or possibly just to end the awkward silence that had set in.

"Fine, I'm Naruko Uzumaki. I like pranks, ramen, and Hinata..." at this the blunette turned a noteable shade of red that had to be unhealthy "...I dislike perverts who force their lips onto mine..." Sasuke's eye twitched a bit at this "...and anyone who would try to hurt Hinata..." again, the blush "And my dream is to become the strongest ninja the village has ever seen! I'll become Hokage and everyone will have to notice me!"

Kakashi had to admit he was somewhat impressed with her dream, and noted that clearly there were some existing relations between the three, not all of them positive. Naruko though... she actually reminded him of someone he'd known long ago... even had the 'kind of stupid' thing down too. What kind of hobbies were 'pranks and sparring' anyway?

"Alright, next?" was the response as he rounded on Hinata, who shrunk under his cyclopian gaze.

"U-U-Um... Hinata H-Hyuuga..." she stuttered, something that had gotten better over time but still cropped up now and again "I... I l-l-like N-Naruk-ko... u-um..." again, the blushing, and this was the Hyuuga who could see through clothes and walls? "...I... I don't... dislike... um..." clearly a lie, Kakashi noted, and she suspected what – rather whom – she disliked after having spoken to him "...my goal... to, um, to become a strong, capable ninja too... and my hobbies... um... pressing flowers?"

"Okay..." Kakashi turned to the last member of the trio "Now you?"

"Sasuke Uchiha. There isn't anything I like, and a lot that I dislike..." Naruko shot the Uchiha a glare instinctively that didn't go unnoticed by anyone nearby "And it's not really a dream, more a goal... but my goal is to rebuild my clan... and to kill a certain man..."

Silence, Hinata's eyes widening and Naruko's jaw tightening up, but Kakashi wasn't terribly surprised, knowing the full story...

"Interesting, all of you..." Kakashi hoped they could move things past that last statement by the Uchiha "Well, tomorrow we start our shinobi duties, and I think we'll start off with a little training..."

"What?! We just graduated the academy!"

"Hm? And you think a little skill-test is all it takes to become a ninja?" the masked man queried, much to the confusion of everyone, Naruko especially "Passing the Academy simply gives you the opportunity to try to become a shinobi, then you have to pass the real test to see if you get to become one."

"That's not fair! We all worked so hard to get here!" Naruko was clearly furious, despite Hinata's best efforts to soothe the irate girl "How could you fail us and send us back to the academy after we already passed?!"

"Because that's how it is; only the best nine – three teams – get to become shinobi." he replied, head tilting to the side nonchalantly "And when did I say you'd all go back to the academy?"

A collective chill down the spines of the three academy graduates then and there. It even got Sasuke's attention fully, his teeth gritting, and even Hinata was visibly concerned at the idea, especially what it meant regarding her father...

"You can't be serious..." Naruko – the only one able to speak of the three – managed with wide eyes and a paling features "But... but..."

"If you succeed tomorrow's training..." Kakashi continued, unfazed, shrugging "...then you have nothing to worry about do you? You'll meet me tomorrow, sunup sharp, and you'll be there until the end of the day most likely. Oh, and I suggest you don't eat beforehand; trust me, it'll only make it worse when it comes back up on you."

Then in a puff of smoke the man was gone, leaving the five academy graduates together, various thoughts running through their heads about tomorrow. Or, in the case of one member, running off at the mouth with every thought that came to mind...

"Damn that cyclops-bastard!" Naruko screamed as she stood from her seat, picked it up, and threw it across the room where it cracked against the wall "I hate him! I hate himIhatehimIhatehimI HATE HIM! Stuck with him and the damn kissing-pervert who'll fuck things up for us!"

"Speak for yourself, dead last." Sasuke muttered loudly as he stood, preparing to leave.

"What did you say you perverted bastard?!"

Hinata simply sighed, her mind lost in it's own thoughts about the outcome of tomorrow...

"He's late again..." Naruko growled as she was currently hanging upside-down from a tree branch, her jacket zipped up so her belly didn't show as she hung there, bored out of her mind and frustrated from her hunger due to a lack of breakfast and sleep "So hungry..."

"Quit complaining about food." Sasuke mumbled from the base of the tree, laying back, scowling as he scanned the scenery, trying to see if perhaps this was part of the test: finding their Jounin instructor.

"W-We didn't miss him, did we?" Hinata asked, sounding softer and more tired than usual too, too tired to engage in her usual nervous habit even "Sunup was a half-hour ago…"

"If he doesn't get here soon I'm going to go find his sorry ass and kick it all the way back here!" Naruko declared, throwing a punch at the tree behind her, a solid thunk as knuckles struck the tree, which caused Naruko to flinch back "Dammit that hurt!"

"Sparring again?"

The familiar voice came from above, all eyes turning to the limb above Naruko in the tree, where the cyclops of a man sat, expressionless and unmoving above the blond.

"Or perhaps you're fighting the tree now?" he offered instead, but he disappeared into a puff of smoke before Naruko managed to bark out a rebuttal, re-appearing in front of the three posts nearby "I'm glad you're all here, on time as well."

"Oh what the fu-"

"So, here's the task for the day." Kakashi continued, producing from his pocket two simple bells, both small and silver-hued, producing a gentle tinkle when they rang "Your job is to take these bells from me by the end of the day. Whoever gets a bell by lunch, gets to eat lunch. Those who don't get a bell before lunch don't get to eat. In fact..."

Kakashi gestured to the three training targets nearby, big logs placed into the ground, quite sturdy.

"...I'll tie you to the pole there, and you get to watch as those who get a bell - and myself - eat right in front of you."

He paused as the trio or graduates realized just why they hadn't eaten breakfast that morning, and then as an afterthought:

"Oh, right, and only those who manage to get a bell can become ninja." he said, almost nonchalantly "So at least one of you won't get to eat... or become a ninja."

And again, that chilling feeling circulated through the bodies of the academy graduates. One of them had to lose... and that meant they weren't getting a second shot; their lives as ninja were done then and there. Naruko wanted to make sure she and Hinata got those bells, Sasuke's thoughts were purely about himself getting the bell, and Hinata... well, she was stuck trying to figure out how everyone could be happy, how everyone could win. So far only Hinata was struggling to find an answer that she liked...

"I suggest you come at me with intent to kill; you won't get close to the bells otherwise." he continued, still sounding relaxed, maybe even bored as he put the bells on his belt.

"But... if you get hurt..." Hinata muttered, shifting uncomfortably at the idea of trying to 'kill' her Jounin teacher.

"If I am, it likely means you get to be a ninja, unlikely as it is you'll actually hurt me." he responded, which seemed to ruffle Naruko's feathers a bit, but seemed to have no effect on the most brooding of the duo "Now, I've set the clock for noon, that's when lunch will be, so you have until then if you want to eat before tonight. Good luck, all of you."

The moment he set and pressed the button activating the timer on the clock he'd brought, a flash of movement and a glint of steel that there was no way he could possibly see... but the next moments a duo of shuriken spun absently on his fingers, and when he turned around there was naught but dust where the graduates used to be. If Kakashi was amused, it didn't show but for a soft chuckle, before he flicked the spinning lethal blades away into nearby bushes. Then waited... and waited... then shrugged as he walked into the center of the open area, unfazed.

Meanwhile, in the bushes, Hinata had her hand over Naruko's mouth as she struggled to keep from yelling at the top of her lungs. Those shuriken had flown right by her head... and had hacked off one of her pigtails, which had taken years to grow out. Dammit she was pissed at that arrogant sonovabitch! If Hinata wasn't there, why she'd string him up by his balls, if he had any! In fact, hell with it, she was giving him what-for! Tearing herself out of Hinata's grasp, she leaped from cover with her shorn-off pigtail in hand, growling angrily as she stared down Kakashi, one half of her face looking as it had before, the other half an asymetric mess.

"You cut off my hair you bastard!" she screamed, holding it up with her declaration.

"Hm, surprised it took so long for you to jump out. Hinata must be in that spot too." he muttered, before reaching into his pocket, Naruko bracing herself for...

...a book? An orange book, with a giant warning label, which he promptly started reading.

"...what?"

"Oh, I was hoping to get some reading in today." Kakashi explained, not looking up from his book "I really want to know what happens next…"

Naruko could feel her eye twitch in frustration at this man's arrogance. Was she not a threat? Is that what he thought of her, so little?!

With a roar she launched herself at the Jounin, fist cocked back, fully on the offensive with no attempt to guard. The straight-forward linear strike however was easily blocked, the Jounin catching the blonde's fist with the palm of his hand, gripping the fist in the process. However with both hands full it made it nigh impossible to block the giant mass of blond hair that was tossed into his face, hitting him across his only open eye, forcing him to lose focus for the briefest of moments. It was all it took for Naruko to launch herself, wrapping her smaller frame around the Jounin's arm in a flying armbar, getting her legs crossed and applying force at his joints.

"Got ya you bastard!" she exclaimed as she hung basically upside down at Kakashi's side "Now I-"

Whatever she was going to say would have to wait as the arm she held was swung around as Kakashi turned, seeing the ground beneath her blur by, only catching a shadow moments before the back of her head collided with what had to be someone's shoulder, someone who made a very familiar squeak in surprise and pain as she was sent flying. Naruko of course was thrown off too; getting slammed head-first into your best friend hurt quite a bit, almost as much as landing face-first on the ground did.

Rolling over and quickly getting to her feet, she shot a glance in the direction Hinata had been knocked, and she too was on her feet, a bit dirty from her landing spot but otherwise unmarred. Now Naruko was really pissed; nobody hurt Hinata and got away with it! Especially not some jackass Jounin reading porn stories in public!

"Hinata!" Naruko shouted, getting little more than a nod from the blunette before they both took off like a shot towards their mutual Jounin target.

Unlike before, Kakashi was not actually reading his book; as he plucked a long golden strand from his shoulder, his revealed eye glanced between page and the oncoming academy grads, giving him moments enough to bounce backward from the Hyuuga's outstretched palm. It was far deadlier than the significantly faster sweep that followed from Naruko as Hinata leaped over her, using her flexibility to get a good position over her friend beneath her. The fluidity of their combined attacks was not lost on Kakashi, who found himself again having to dodge backwards twice more from the attack.

"Naruko!" Hinata… shouted wasn't the right word, but it had some force behind it which was not usual for her "Got it!"

Naruko grinned wide and pushed off of the ground a moment later, launching herself again at Kakashi, this time with Kunai in hand. Simple, straightforward, but it was becoming clear to the Jounin that the blonde was quite fast, certainly faster than one would expect from the 'dead last' in the most recent class. Not fast enough though, as he swung and swatted the arm away…

...or would have, if Naruko hadn't twisted her body around under his arm, kunai still lunging towards his middle now, forcing him again to back up. He had to admit it was a good trick, but it left Naruko open to response, throwing herself off… balance…

"Huh…" was the audible response as Kakashi saw Naruko manage to lunge at him once more, not thrown off by the awkward twisting of the previous position at all. It seemed the blonde prankster wasn't just fast, but she had amazing control over the mechanics of her body from balance to flexibility, and this was just taijutsu… if she started using chakra in it…

His thought was cut short as he ducked under the palm-thrust from behind, glancing behind - or up as it were - to see the blunette with the popped veins of her all-white eyes upon her face, the mark of the Byakugan in full effect. It also worked out that it gave him a chance to see that Hinata too was fast and flexible, not as fast as Naruko was it'd seem, but certainly more flexible as it only required her to twist her arm and upper body to redirect the palm strike right at his head, instead of Naruko who had to use most of her body…

Both the kunai and the palm strike connected, but the two genin-to-be had a short-lived victory as Kakashi vanished, replaced by a log. Hinata pulled back, and Naruko sword loudly as she formed the seal for the Shadow Clones, producing seven more of herself in clone form and quickly surrounding Hinata.

"Where'd he go?!" was of course Naruko's cry as the eight of her held kunai and scanned the area, all eight with the same asymmetric pigtails due to their recent shearing.

"I…" Hinata began, focusing through her Byakugan, extending it's range as far as she could manage, her brow furrowing as she found nothing in all directions "He's… too far away…"

"Fucking bastard!" was again the chorused swear of the Narukos as they kept their eyes open "Alright, pick a direction and GO!"

The Narukos practically vanished, leaving Hinata there nervous and worried at her best friends' haste. After a moment, she too picked a direction and started off in search of Kakashi, one of the directions one of the Narukos hadn't gone in. From afar Kakashi saw them leave, more than 80 meters distance from them and well out of the range of the Byakugan, his book away for now, mentally noting what he'd seen. It made sense now, their seemingly unusual movements now that he'd seen them work together; they must have spent a lot of time sparring together. He'd known they were friends, but how they managed to train together so often to move so synchronized with but a name and a gesture… how was Hinata even allowed to do so by her father?

Perhaps this would be a team to pass, Kakashi figured as he dashed off, looking for the third member of the group…

An Hour or So Later…

Nothing was all that they'd seen. Nothing… except for what at first seemed like a headless Sasuke, but turned out he'd simply been buried in the dirt. Naruko wanted to punt his head like a football first, but Hinata kept her in check. Still, Sasuke's coarse hair ended up loaded with coarser sand as Naruko was 'helping' to dig him out. Apparently she was a bit of a mess when it came to digging… or rather to Sasuke.

"How long do we have left?" Naruko asked, her stomach rumbling audibly, making her grimace "Uh, so hungry…"

"Quit complaining." Sasuke mumbled, still trying to get the massive amount of dirt out of his head "We need to get the bells first."

"Hinata and I do at least." Naruko growled back with crossed arms and a stern expression, slightly ineffectual given her lopsided look.

"Um..." Hinata tried to speak up, but thought otherwise; especially now with an empty stomach and a little worn from searching, she couldn't bring herself to add to the conversation.

And then there was a buzzer, followed by loud expletives from the blonde ninja-to-be...

Now rather than her stomach, Naruko herself was the one making the grumbling sounds as she ate, and ate rather quickly at that. Even Hinata, with the years of drilling proper manners into her skill for meal etiquette alone, was practically inhaling her meal. The trio of Academy grads all sat together for their meal, the first time since they'd been a team that Naruko was not butting heads with Sasuke.

"So..." Naruko began, remembering to swallow first, then began again once that was done "So, how do we get the bells off of that bastard?"

"I'll figure out a way. I have to."

"Yeah, like last time where you were buried like a carrot, you kiss-stealing perv?" Naruko retorted with a smugness that actually made Sasuke's eye twitch.

"Maybe... we can all work together?" Hinata suggested hesitantly, almost falling into her old finger-prodding habit under the looks she got "Um, Naruko and I nearly hit him twice on our own, and Sasuke touched a bell by himself... if we worked together then we can probably get the bells."

"Uh, Hinata, there's two bells, and three of us." Naruko pointed out, holding up two and three fingers "What exactly is the point of us all working if one of us isn't going to get to be a ninja?"

A long pause, but then with wide eyes:

"Naruko! That's it!"

"It is?! Wait, what is? Who is... huh?"

"Okay, it's after lunch, now it's going to be a little bit harder to get the bells." Kakashi informed Team 7 as they stood before him "Means you only have a couple hours now, or all of you go back to the Academy."

Not a word in response, just quiet determination on the faces of the three, even Hinata's. Kakashi was naturally curious, intrigued, and wary...

"...then let us begin, again." the Jounin continued, with the genin-to-be leaping away to cover, except for the shadow coming from above him.

With a flurry of handseals Sasuke brought a hand to his mouth and blew a flurry of miniature fireballs to rain down on and around the Jounin, which forced him to move out of the way, the patch of grass catching the entirety of the firestorm. It wasn't a hard attack to deal with by any means, but that was the concern for Kakashi; this wasn't how Sasuke had operated before. He was too direct, especially as he landed from his leaping assault and launched himself again at Kakashi, dashing through the flames and smoke he'd created moments before. It was just like before, a strong left easily caught whole in Kakashi's fist yet again…

At the moment of contact though, something felt… wrong. It was as if pure pain followed by numbness shot up his arm! The second punch was coming, just like before, this time he grabbed the arm instead, only for Sasuke's hand to grab his in turn, again to the same effect as the punch upon his other arm. What could… wait.

"Hyuuga!" Kakashi exclaimed as he disengaged from the blunette in Sasuke's form, trying to figure out how the Hyuuga heiress had managed to wrap around and get into position so quickly. Meanwhile with the jig being up, Hinata revealed herself, and took a more appropriate stance for her taijutsu style.

Kakashi shook his hands out; they felt heavy, sluggish, clumsy… molding chakra would be harder, handseals more difficult. It was a clever little trick they'd pulled, but more importantly Hinata and Sasuke were working together, which meant-

"There!" Kakashi spun and caught the hand that had been reaching for the bells from behind, mustering up enough strength to send her flying again, with plenty of time to avoid the Hyuuga's series of strikes to follow.

Of course, out of seemingly nowhere there were two Naruko, and Hinata was back around for another go at the same time. Wouldn't be able to block them all with his arms as they were, so a spinning kick that threw one of the Naruko's into the other let him use both hands on the blunette, a push then a pull to get her off balance and into the air before sending her bodily to the ground.

Then came giant windmill shuriken from the outside, Sasuke's doing as two of them flew towards Kakashi, one high one low. Wasn't hard to deflect, but when they flew off past him he had to avoid kunai, since apparently the shuriken were two more Narukos, making it a good five on the field. The five and Hinata initiated another taijutsu assault, but Kakashi used their numbers to their detriment until it was two plus Hinata, and then he removed the clone and sent the other Naruko flying. Then Sasuke attempted to work with Hianata in a pincer attack, forcing Kakashi to use a ninjutsu to replace his body once more...

It continued for what seemed like ages, but in the end the trio of graduates couldn't even stand. Naruko - all seven of her - were splayed out indignantly everywhere, Sasuke was struggling to keep one foot on the ground with his head on his knee, and Hinata was on her hands and knees, her Byakugan having deactivated long ago. All were dripping with sweat, covered in dirt and bruises, and were going to be sore tomorrow.

Then there was Kakashi, who didn't even have his clothing disheveled.

"Thirty minutes left, and I still have both bells." he said with what could only be called a grin, a statement and expression that was met with not a word "Well, unless you have another plan, we could call it quits here..."

Hinata was surprisingly the one to respond, getting to her feet, raising a hand...

"P-P-Please..." was what fell through her exhausted lips, her hand out as if asking for the bells to be handed over "May... we have... the bells... please?"

Kakashi gave her a look, then a grin, and then a chuckle before calmly walking over and - to Hinata's utmost shock - deliberately removing the bells from his waist and setting them in Hinata's hand. Then he gave her a pat on the head.

"You may, but only because you asked so nicely." Kakashi said before gesturing to the other two ninjas "Now you can decide who gets the other bell."

And just lke that Hinata was in a bind. Or would have been, if she didn't already have an answer in mind.

"Then let them both... have one." Hinata managed with a smile, offering the bells back "They deserve... more than I..."

A long pause, and another chuckle as Kakashi seemed to shake his head.

"You figured it out huh?" he said, looking into Hinata's tired eyes "I figured if anyone would, it would be you. The way you three worked together after lunch told me you had. Yes, this test is specifically designed to make you fight amongst each other; the answer was to put yourselves aside and to work as a team, even knowing one of you would fail...

"As ninja, you will find yourselves in positions where you must see underneath the underneath, and think beyond yourselves to accomplish the mission at hand. Teamwork is paramount, and you have shown that you can work as a team to try and surmount a seemingly impossible goal." he continued, moving past them to the nearby polished, carved stone, setting a hand atop it "The names on this stone are a testament to the importance of this; on here are the names of the greatest heroes the Hidden Leaf has ever known... the ones that paid the ultimate sacrifice."

Even Naruko, loudmouthed and hyperactive as she was, was not lost to the somber moment that befell the group then and there, the memorial the focal point, with the last name on there being none other than that of the Fourth Hokage...

"My best friend's name is on here." Kakashi continued to the exhausted yet attentive group of now genin "And that is why teamwork, working together is the most important thing as ninja, because everyone says hat those who abandon their mission are trash...

"but you know what? Those who abandon their friends... they're even lower than trash." Kakashi finished, finally turning around to face the trio "You have a week to rest and recover; you all took quite a beating today. Team 7 starts then."

"Oh, and I guess it goes without saying, but you all... Pass."

Even Naruko could only manage a groan, but all were happy and excited... as much as they could be anyway.

End Chapter 2

AN: Well it is finally done! Not the whole story mind you, just the chapter. Still the pace should be picking up by chapter 4, but next chapter will be a bit more character building instead. I will also say please review; it is very much appreciated and I do so enjoy feedback and constructive criticism. I will try to have the next chapter out VERY soon, definitely sooner than this one took to put out!

Also, as a side-note, this was a hard chapter, trying to illustrate the differences in Naruko's and Hinata's abilities from canon in what is supposed to be a rather one-sided conflict canonically. I didn't want to make it so that they were able to beat Kakashi, 'cause I didn't want to make Naruko et al all-powerful like sometimes happens in fanfiction, but at the same time the way the canon played out made little sense with them being older in my story and also more powerful. This is what I could come up with, but I plan to improve since the future scenarios are easier to adjust power for without wrecking them.

-A.W.R. II