Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Hindsight's 20/20 ❯ Gai's Great Idea ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: I most certainly do not own Naruto. If I did, I guarantee that the women would be way stronger and far more badass…

A/N: I am really, really sorry about how long it took for this chapter. There are a plethora of reasons, if you're really interested in knowing what they are I ranted about them in my livejournal. Also, in case this ever happens again, I do post writing updates and chapter previews in my livejournal so feel free to go check there for progress (www.livejournal.com/users/anotherstraycat)

Aside from that, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the first chapter and waited so patiently for this one. I hope you all enjoy. The next chapter shouldn't take nearly as much time. And as always, please review ^_^

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Hindsight's 20/20: Chapter 2

By: Tea Leaf/Banana Soap

~~~

"Ha-Haruno! Trust me man, you don't want to ask questions. You don't want to get involved!"

"She terrifies me. I mean, look at her the wrong way and the Akatsuki assassins will kill you, your family and everyone who's ever known you!"

"She's all hype. She's a wimp who needs to hide behind her stupid red coat."

"She's so mysterious…did you know that she disappeared for a year in junior high? I heard that she was working for the Yakuza!"

"They say she killed her family in cold blood. For no reason! She just sliced them to ribbons with a katana!"

"Haruno knows everything. You think she's not paying attention but she's seeing everything."

"Did you know that she's claimed Hatake-sensei? No girl is allowed to go near him or Haruno will beat her up."

"I heard that the last person who asked too many questions about her (like you're doing) was horribly mutilated and murdered then left in the river to rot."

"I heard she's the personal slave to one of the Akatsuki members which is why she has that coat."

"I heard she earned her coat by running a huge underground narcotics ring in China when she was 13."

"I heard that she murdered the true owner of the coat and stole it from the corpse on a dare and that earned her the Akatsuki's respect which is why she's still alive and still has the coat."

Sasuke stared at the living room ceiling in his luxurious one bedroom apartment from his resting place on the leather couch. No one knew anything about her, not really. They thought they did, the rumors had covered her past perfectly and built an impenetrable barrier around her person. Some feared her. Some worshiped her. Some hated her. All were connected to her in some way.

He'd inquired subtly, he'd inquired blatantly and all he'd received were fickle rumors that never stood on their own.

His eyes narrowed at the ceiling.

This would not do.

He had to know. He had to know everything about her. He had to be able to manipulate her.

A switch flicked on in his mind.

Maybe that was it. Maybe that explained it. She was afraid of being manipulated by her past so she'd erased it.

He smirked.

That meant the story was huge. Everyone knew it. She'd distracted them enough for them not to make the connection.

What were the rumors again…drugs…organized crime…murder…Akatsuki…age 13. Those were the recurring themes.

He sat up and forced his body from the couch. He had to find out.

He went to a desk in the corner of the room and turned on the high tech computer there.

She'd been a minor, she would be difficult to find. He'd start by finding her parents.

He popped his neck and cracked his knuckles. He stretched his fingers and set them to the keyboard. This might require some fast hacking.

~~~

Kakashi struggled to keep his half lidded eye from closing completely. He hated faculty meetings. Especially the first one of the year.

They dragged on forever.

He needed coffee…now…and lots of it.

Sandaime was prattling on about the same things he prattled on about every year. Dress code…weapons…grading…assignments…new teachers…new projects…

He stifled a yawn behind his mask, as his eye grew heavier. He nodded forward.

He snapped back awake as he received a sharp jab in the ribs. He turned and glared slightly at Iruka who frowned sternly at him.

He sighed and leaned back in his chair, slouching deeply into it.

Sandaime was finally finished his yearly "first day pep talk", the floor was now open to anyone who had anything to address to the group.

To no one's surprise, Gai shot to the front of the meeting room. Kakashi grimaced at his green jumpsuit and orange leg warmers. He really didn't need to see Gai in such form-fitting clothes…especially not on the first day.

But Gai dressed like that everyday. The first day had never been any exception.

That was another thing he hated about the first day. He had to see Gai in his green bodysuit after two months of repressing the image to his deepest, darkest, most traumatizing nightmares.

Gai was babbling on about something or other, Kakashi couldn't hear him. It felt like he had cotton in his ears. He was grateful for it, he hated Gai's rants, especially now after he'd already endured eight hours of rebellious adolescents and an hour and a half of Sandaime's speech.

Kakashi watched Gai's theatrics through glazed eyes…he really wanted to get out of here. Finally, it looked like Gai was finished talking. He was looking around the room expectantly.

Kakashi raised his eyebrow slightly as Gai looked specifically at him.

"So, will you help me in this project?" Gai asked boisterously.

Kakashi considered. If he said no, Gai would keep talking and he'd have to stay here. If he said yes, he could leave.

"I guess." He said lazily, not quite sure what he was agreeing to.

After Kakashi consented, several other teachers decided to help out as well.

Gai was ecstatic and promised that he'd tell his class about it tomorrow.

Kakashi frowned…he'd agreed to do something that involved Gai's gym class…fuck.

He sighed, too late now.

Finally Gai sat down and after a few words from the librarian and the cafeteria crew, Sandaime declared the meeting to be over. Kakashi almost whooped with relief. He would have had he not been still half asleep and bored stiff.

"A bunch of us are going out for dinner, wanna come?" Iruka asked him.

Kakashi considered. Restaurants sold coffee. And this way he could mock his colleagues and their miserable first day back (he would of course lie to them and say his had been great just to one up them). And he might be able to subtly inquire as to what he had just volunteered to do for Gai.

"Sure…not like I've got anything better to do anyway." He responded in his lazy drawl.

Iruka grinned and said something that Kakashi tuned out and the pair left the conference room with Kurenai and Asuma.

~~~

Shikamaru lay in the grass in the schoolyard watching the clouds as the sky slowly darkened. He'd been here for hours but then, it wasn't like he had anywhere else to go.

The clouds were darkening to various shades of gray as the light faded and tinged them with red here and there.

Blood red.

That reminded him, he had work to do at sunset. His lip curled. He didn't want to go. It was so troublesome.

He just wanted to stay here…he could sleep here easily and then he'd be conveniently close to school in the morning. It would save him the trouble of going to work…of dealing with those psychos…of walking the streets at night…of finding a place to sleep for the night…man, his life was so troublesome lately. How had he gotten himself into this?

All he'd ever wanted was to pass through life easily and unnoticed. But now here he was, up to his elbows in blood every night as he worked for the crime lords of the black market.

It had happened in small steps, he hadn't realized it happening until he was in too deep.

If he had to pick a starting date, he'd have to say it was probably the night his parents were killed in the line of duty.

His eyes stung and shame flared across his cheekbones as he remembered them. They must be so ashamed of him, of what he'd become. Of who he now worked for.

The sky continued to darken, the colors draining away to leave nothing but black.

"Time to go." Came an intrusive, deceptively kind voice.

Shikamaru briefly closed his eyes, bracing himself for the night to come. He sighed and stood, turning to face the kindly smiling Kabuto.

"Come on then, those bodies won't dissect themselves." He said easily.

"It would be a lot less troublesome if they did." Shikamaru responded numbly.

Kabuto chuckled slightly but gave him a sharp look before turning and heading back to the waiting black car. Shikamaru followed.

~~~

It was a small room with air clouded by cigarette smoke. The only smells were the overpowering ones of ash and coffee. Bitter, black coffee. It was dark outside; several of the nearby streetlights had all been smashed in. The lights inside were sparse, only a handful of the bare light bulbs that clung desperately to the crumbling ceiling actually gave out their flickering light. The room was full of nice shady alcoves.

Situated in a sketchier outlet near the downtown core, it was ideal for the sketchier characters that found themselves loitering the streets for whatever reason.

Haruno hated it here. She hated cigarette smoke; it burned her lungs. She hated coffee…well, maybe not all coffee but she certainly hated the coffee here. It was too thick, too stale. Everything was stale here, the coffee, the smoke, the bread, the air. She felt like she was suffocating every time she stepped through the door.

But the pay was good, the patrons kept to themselves and left her alone for the most part, and her schedule was flexible so she could still attend school.

Just one more year of this and then she'd be done. She'd leave. She'd be free. She'd never work in a place like this again. She'd never deal with people like the ones here again.

"Oy oy, Sakura-chan"

She'd never have to listen to those words again.

"Yeah boss?" she answered as she walked over, her steps shortened by the faded pink skirt of her dinner uniform.

"Table 7." He told her without looking up from his grill. She nodded and turned, reversing her steps and heading to table 7.

She inwardly braced herself as she spotted the regular now sitting in the booth.

"Hey, what can I get you?" she asked in a disinterested tone. In any other place she might be fired for being rude with the customers but here, no one cared about her attitude.

"Ah Haruno. Working the night shifts again?" He asked in his deep gravely voice, muffled slightly by the bandages around his jaw.

"School's back in." she answered briefly.

The assassin snorted derisively.

"Fuck school. It just trains clones. You should quit." He told her.

She suppressed a sigh. He'd been telling her this for the past three years of her employment here.

"There's not much to do that's worthwhile when you don't have a high school diploma." She answered him, falling into their customary dialogue.

"You don't need any degree to work for me. And believe me, the pay makes it very worthwhile." He told her, attempting to tempt her.

"And become your weapon like Haku? No thanks, the money would be nice but I'd rather be poor and human than rich and a machine." She answered him apathetically.

"Haku thought it was worthwhile." He pressed her.

"And look where that got him." She answered a little sadly.

He stopped talking and ignored the sting she'd tried to inflict with her words.

"Are you getting anything Zabuza?" she asked him, closing the discussion.

"Coffee." He answered as he turned to look out the grimy dinner windows.

She turned and headed behind the counter to grab the pot of coffee then returned and filled his mug. Neither said anything and she left to tend to other customers.

~~~

Kakashi glared at the overcast night sky as he wandered the city streets. Diner had been boring…same old conversations with the same old people. And just like every time, he'd had a bit too much wine. The cool night air was helping to clear his head but he still needed coffee. Come to think of it, he hadn't gotten any coffee at the restaurant…and he'd forgotten to ask about Gai…{damn…}

He continued to wander the dark streets, any other than he might be worried about the various eyes that watched him from the shadows and alleys but he had nothing to fear. He was legendary and no one would dare start anything with him. He smirked slightly to himself behind the still upraised cotton of his turtleneck.

He soon spotted a small rundown building with a flickering neon caricature of a cup of coffee.

His mouth started to water at the thought of the bitter brew. He walked towards the building and pulled open the stained, glass door. A small bell rang overhead and the man behind a counter near the back of the shop where the grill was situated looked up.

"Hey man, take a seat, a waitress'll be with you in a sec." He called out to him.

Kakashi nodded his thanks and wandered over to an empty, shady table.

"Hatake, long time no see." Came a deep voice from the booth at his back. He smirked darkly as he recognized the voice and his mind immediately switched gears.

"Zabuza, how's the weapon business?" he asked pointedly.

"We're recruiting. Interested?" the man to his back answered.

"Heh, tempting, but I'm otherwise obliged." Kakashi answered in a bored tone as he waited for the waitress.

Zabuza smirked beneath the bandages covering his jaw as he reclined in his booth, his back to Kakashi.

"Ah yes, that teaching gig at the high school." Zabuza responded good-naturedly. "How can you stand it?" he asked then, his lip curling at the thought of a classroom full of delinquent upstarts and a rule against corporal punishment.

"Damned if I know." His dark eye roamed the room searching for the server and his smirk grew and his interest sparked as he spotted her.

"There are a few perks." He continued to the other man.

Zabuza frowned slightly and twisted to look over his shoulder at him only to spot the reason for the comment.

"Aha, so you're interested in her too." Zabuza smirked.

"Hardly, but she is entertaining." Kakashi responded, a slight darkness to his tone.

Haruno brushed a stray strand of hair out of her eyes as she walked over to the counter to grab the fresher carafe of coffee then turned to head to the newly occupied table. She froze and her eyes narrowed as she spotted the new customer. {Oh great, just what I needed right now…} she thought surlily before forcing her feet forward.

"Sakura-chan! What a pleasant surprise." Kakashi said fakely as she grew close.

Haruno forced a sweet smile onto her lips and resisted the urge to grab a kunai from the pouch strapped to her thigh under her skirt and carve out his good eye.

"Kakashi-kun, what brings you to this part of town?" she asked in a dark voice that contrasted her kind expression.

"Just out for a walk, got a craving for some coffee." He answered her, his own voice deceptively light as his mind switched back to teacher mode.

"Sucks to be you then, this is the worst coffee you'll ever drink." She responded, her false smile dropped as she allowed her eyes to narrow in distaste and turned his mug over to fill it.

"Now now Sakura-chan, that's not something you should tell a customer." Kakashi reprimanded her sarcastically.

She curled her lip at him but she resisted the urge to snarl.

"Is that all?" she asked rudely.

"For now, thank you." He told her. "Sakura-chan." He added just as she started to turn.

She clenched her empty hand into a fist and her eyes narrowed dangerously but she did nothing, deciding now was one of those times when she should just walk away.

She growled low in her throat as she walked back to the counter. That bastard was taunting her.

Kakashi chuckled a little, he'd have to remember this place so that he could come back and torment her some more. It was sadistically fun to watch her rise to his bait each time but be unable to respond.

"Hmph, perks are that you get to play with your students? Not good enough for me." Zabuza told him as they watched the pink haired girl walk away.

"Well, to each their own, ne?" Kakashi responded lightly as he pulled down his turtleneck and brought the once white mug to his lips.

The corners of his mouth pulled down in distaste. She was right; this was the worst coffee he'd ever had. He glared across the shop at her; she smirked back at him. Damn her for getting the better of him after all.

He sighed and grabbed the sugar and attempted to pour a generous amount into the cup. Unfortunately though, the sugar was stale and so didn't pour.

He set the sugar down with a shrug and drank the coffee anyway. Zabuza shook his head and turned back to the still full mug of coffee in front of him.

He wasn't going to drink it. He never drank it. It was just his excuse to come and try to persuade Haruno.

The small bell signaled that the door was being opened again and everyone looked up only to suddenly tense.

There was a tall man wearing a long black trench coat that hid his body and a wide brimmed straw hat that obscured his face.

His eyes searched the room and landed on Haruno.

"Time to go." He said simply, his voice holding a disembodied quality.

She nodded once then turned to the owner at the grill. He nodded quickly and she went into the back room, emerging a second later with her school bag and wearing her long red coat. The man at the doorway moved out of the way, holding the door open for her and she smiled slightly to thank him as she passed. He turned and followed her, the door closing solidly behind them and the red circle on the back of the man's coat fading into the night.

There was an audible breath of relief in the room.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes.

~~~

The pair walked down the dark streets with ease, all cringing away from the tall Akatsuki member and his ward.

"Kisame…" she started softly, breaking the silence as they approached the run down building that housed her apartment.

The tall man paused and turned to look at her, his eyes glowing slightly from within the shadows cast by his straw hat.

"Has he not returned?" she questioned as she looked towards her dark apartment windows.

He followed her gaze and continued walking; she fell into step beside him.

"Soon." Was his only response.

The reached the decrepit building and she unlocked the lobby door. He followed her inside, walking her up to the top floor where her apartment was located.

The numbers that had once been on the doors were now long gone or rusted into illegibility.

"Thank you for escorting me." Haruno said as she unlocked her front door.

Kisame stepped passed her and did a quick inspection of the rooms before returning to the door, nodding to her and leaving.

She stood there for a moment, watching him disappear down the hall, watching the red circle.

She turned away and walked into her apartment, closing the door behind her and locking it.

She leaned against it as she looked around.

Her walls were bare brick; the mortar holding the stone together was cracked and crumbling. The few windows were stained and very little light ever managed to filter through. The overhead light was bare and harsh but not nearly bright enough to illuminate the room. The furniture was old and threadbare.

She sighed. Home sweet home.

She pushed away from the door and walked over to the door that led to her bedroom. She opened it and stepped in. Not bothering with the light, she slipped off her coat, throwing it onto a chair in the corner and then preceded to strip off her faded work uniform that she threw into the laundry hamper along with the rest of the clothing she'd been wearing.

She pulled a worn, now gray robe over her shoulders, cinching it loosely as the waist before moving into the bathroom.

There was some stubborn mold in the ceiling corners, the mirror and ceramic of the room was stained and cracked. The bathtub leaked and the shower didn't work.

But at least there was hot water.

She walked to the tub and turned the hot water knob then set the plug, allowing the scalding water to pool within the ceramic container.

She left the room as the water poured and went to the antique kitchenette and set about making a pot of coffee. She wouldn't drink the stuff herself but Kisame had said he'd be home soon and he always liked having coffee ready for him.

That done, she went back to the bathroom. The bathtub was almost full now so she slipped off her robe and stepped into the scalding water, hissing slightly at the shock as the heat connected with her skin. But her body adjusted quickly, she was used to it. Here the water was either scalding hot or ice cold, there was no in between.

She lay down, letting the heat wash over her as she sank into the liquid. She waited for a few more moments as the water continued to pour then turned off the tap as the tub was finally filled.

It was quiet. The silence of the apartment marred only by the light dripping from the kitchen faucet. It never closed properly.

Haruno sighed and let her body slip deeper and deeper into the water until she was completely submerged.

She loved the weightlessness of her body and the watery echo in her ears.

She opened her eyes. She loved looking through water; it finally justified her skewed vision of the world. She lay perfectly still, holding her breath for as long as she could.

The top of the water started to ripple. Something was moving outside the room.

She smiled slightly and allowed herself to float to the surface, raising her hands to smooth her hair away from her face and wipe the water from her eyes.

She looked to the doorway. He looked back at her with his one good, blood red eye.

As she watched, the red faded as he deactivated his almost constant sharingan and his eye returned to black.

"Welcome home." She said softly to him, smiling gently.

He pushed away from the doorway and began to slowly and stiffly strip off his clothing as she watched him silently.

She loved watching him; he was the only thing she felt she saw clearly. He was beautiful. He pulled his black shirt off, loosening the tie that held back his long black hair. The loosened strands shadowed his face, obscuring his features slightly. But it didn't matter seeing as she already had them memorized, right down to the precise course of the long red scar that ran over his left eye socket. He was well muscled, she loved the way they rippled smoothly with his every motion. His skin was heavily flawed, his scars a testament to the hard life he chose to lead. He never explained his scars.

He pulled off his pants and she frowned at the long gash that now ran along his right thigh that had been crudely stitched back together. She knew better than to ask about it though.

Now as naked as she, he stepped into the hot water with her, reclining his back to her chest as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and spread her thighs so that he could sit between them.

He exhaled softly as he let the hot water sooth his tense muscles and relished the feel of her skin to his.

He'd missed that.

She didn't say anything, he didn't like to talk much and she understood that. She held him close to her for a moment, letting him know without her words that she'd missed him and was glad he was back.

Then she moved her hands to his shoulders, slowly massaging the knots out of the muscles. He moaned softly in the back of his throat as her hands moved to his neck.

She smiled a little to herself; his neck was so sensitive. She brushed his long hair aside and pressed her lips softly to the nape of his neck as her hands continued their work on his shoulders.

"How was school?" he asked her in his expressionless voice as he leaned forward slightly, giving her better access to the muscles in his upper back.

"It was ok. Same as always I guess. How was your mission?" she asked, taking her cue from him.

"Tiring." He answered emotionlessly.

"Kisame took you home and inspected the apartment every day?" he asked her then.

She smiled a little to herself; he was protective of her.

"Yes he did." She answered him.

"We should get out so I can give you a better massage and take a look at your leg." She said softly.

He leaned back again and her hands slipped over his shoulders and back to his chest, hugging him to her again.

They sat like that for a moment until she felt him sigh and pull away to stand up and step out of the tub. He then reached for her hands and helped her stand then picked her up and set her on the floor.

"Thank you" she said as his hands lingered at her waist and she leaned forward and pressed her lips lightly to his before he pulled away and handed her a towel so that she could dry off.

~~~

Shikamaru yawned as sunlight trickled through the window and into his eyes.

He blinked them open and sat up, still half asleep. He brought his hands up to rub his eyes as he yawned again. He blinked his eyes clear and looked at the digital clock the motel had been kind enough to provide him.

9:30.

He blinked at it incomprehensively.

9:30…9:30…

His eyes snapped wide, school started an hour ago!

He leapt from the bed pulling on his discarded shirt and shoes, grabbed his backpack and tore out of the room, tossing a few bills at the counter clerk as he flew by.

~~~

Haruno slouched in the auditorium chair as she waited for the assembly to commence.

Naruto sat to her left and Chouji to her right, Shikamaru had been missing this morning.

Naruto yawned loudly. He still wasn't used to getting up this early after a summer of sleeping in until noon everyday.

"Wonder what the assembly's for…" Chouji half asked aloud.

"Same thing it is every year." Haruno responded. "Welcome back, no hazing the freshmen, attempt to remember the dress code, etc. etc."

"I heard that Gai's gonna be announcing something too." Naruto added.

Haruno recoiled at the thought then shrugged.

"At least we're missing out on Kakashi-kun's English class." She stated nonchalantly.

"Yeah, sometimes its awesome that he hates teaching, every time class is cut in the least he cancels it all together." Naruto said with a grin.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late. I slept in. What's going on?" Shikamaru asked as he sat down beside Chouji.

"Just the upperclassmen assembly. Hatake-sensei cancelled his English class this morning so Haruno and Naruto had it off. Kurenai didn't cancel philosophy though so I'll pass you my notes later." Chouji answered him.

"Thanks man!" Shikamaru said with a grin.

Suddenly the crowd around them started cheering and they all looked to the stage to see that Neji, the Student Council President, had come to the front. The assembly was commencing.

Naruto and Haruno boo-ed him but were drowned out.

Neji launched into his pep talk about upcoming school events and other random student body activities that Haruno didn't care about so she tuned him out.

The student council was all introduced; to no ones surprise all the members were part of Neji's clique. Grade representative elections were announced, anyone who wanted to apply were to fill in forms and drop them off at the office…etc. etc.

It was the same spiel they heard every year.

When that was over, Principal Sandaime came to the front and gave his yearly speech, welcoming everyone and going over the school ground rules.

Haruno sighed in boredom as before shoving the now asleep Naruto off her shoulder.

Finally Sandaime finished and there was much shuffling as students prepared to leave, seeing as this was when the assembly was usually over. However, this year was a little unique.

"Students, please wait! There is one last announcement." Sandaime said as he shifted on the stage, leaving room for Gai.

Haruno sat up slightly and nudged Naruto awake.

"Great, youthful students! Good news! This summer, while I was preparing my schedule for the year, I had a brilliant idea! This year, we will be holding a competition for the whole school that will test both your mental and physical abilities!" Gai began with his trademark enthusiasm and histrionics.

"Teams of three will team up with a teacher of their choice to enter in an all out combat competition! You will test your fighting capabilities as well as your strategic thinking in an organized tournament. This first semester will be dedicated to training and will hold several team sparring matches to learn your enemies and improve yourselves. In the second term, we will hold a huge competition between all of the teams. The Winning team will receive all As on their report cards and a guaranteed diploma!" Gai exclaimed.

The auditorium was on the edge of their seats, if they won the competition, they could slack off all year and still pass!

"Just kidding!" Gai said then and laughed uproariously.

The auditorium sweat dropped.

"That was the prize I wanted to give but unfortunately, I'm not allowed. So, the Winning team will receive a full, first year scholarship to whatever post-secondary educational institute they choose to attend!" Gai continued.

Several jaws dropped around the room. A full scholarship, those were difficult things to get around here.

Haruno bit her lip.

"Registration starts during lunch hour!" Gai finished and with that the assembly was dismissed and the students made their way to their respective classes.

Haruno, Naruto, Shikamaru and Chouji all made their way to the change rooms beside the gym.

~~~

Sasuke sat near the back of the gym benches as he waited for the class to start. Haruno was still out of reach, as she had been all morning but she was in his sights.

He'd corner her during the lunch break.

He smirked darkly to himself.

Everything was falling into place.

~~~

Haruno sighed and tried to shake the feeling that she was being watched as she watched Gai finally walk into the gym and start the class.

"Students! As you heard earlier at the assembly, this year will be host to a great competition!" Gai boomed.

The class muttered a yes and Gai continued.

"I have decided that this will be a mandatory activity for all members of this Gym Class!"

The students looked up, shocked and confused as a murmur rose from their ranks.

Gai held up his hands for silence.

"Seeing as you will all be participating in this event, my regular gym class in cancelled. You will all be using this allocated time block to train for the event." He continued.

A murmur rose again as the class was now intrigued.

"As I said earlier, the teams will be composed of 3 students and a teacher to train you. For this class, the teams and teachers have already been assigned." Gai continued.

The class frowned, what if they got a bad team?

"Team 1!" Gai boomed as he pulled out a list.

"Students: Rock Lee! Hyuuga Neji! Tenten! Teacher: Maito Gai!" He announced.

Lee and Tenten cheered for respective reasons.

"Please wait here until all the teams have been announced." Gai told the trio.

"Team 2!" Gai continued. The students were named and their teacher, seeing as he didn't have to teach this period, took the trio and set about training them immediately.

And the list continued. Gai seemed to have managed to enlist every teacher that had a spare for second period to coach on of the teams.

"Team 7!" Gai shouted as the still remaining students yawned and waited.

"Uzumaki Naruto! Uchiha Sasuke! Haruno Sakura!" he called out.

Naruto cheered, he was with Haruno.

Sasuke smirked, he couldn't have planned it better himself.

Haruno remained impassive, waiting for the fourth member to be announced.

"Teacher: Hatake Kakashi!" Gai continued.

Haruno barely resisted her snarl.

Kakashi's eyes widened slightly from the side room where he'd been waiting. He was going to throttle Gai for this.

Kurenai shoved him out the door and into the gym.

The three students stood and walked over to him.

Kakashi watched them approach, using the few seconds to compose himself.

"Let's go outside." He told them as the three reached him and turned to head for the door.

Surprisingly, Haruno didn't give him any lip and fell into step behind him, as did Sasuke and Naruto.

~~~

"So…" Kakashi began awkwardly.

They were sitting under one of the few trees in the schoolyard near the racetrack.

He honestly had no idea what to do or say, he'd only found out at the assembly what it was he'd volunteered to do and so had had no time to prep.

Haruno watched him with her hard, narrowed green eyes.

He resisted the urge to narrow his eyes back at her.

"The first step to working in a team, is knowing your teammates. So lets start with some introductions." He said eventually, deciding that this would be an appropriate starting point.

The three looked at him blankly.

"Anyone want to start?" he asked then, a little unnerved by their lack of reaction.

"How about you start?" Haruno said archly.

He lifted an eyebrow at her.

"Ok…well, my name is Hatake Kakashi…I have a few hobbies but I don't feel like getting into those…I have several likes and dislikes but I don't really want to share them…I have a few goals…so yeah…How about you Naruto?" he asked.

Haruno glared at him, he hadn't actually told them anything.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto!" the blonde said brightly. "I really like instant ramen! I really hate waiting the three minutes it takes for the ramen to cook. As for hobbies…I dunno, sleep if you can call that a hobby!" He said with a laugh. "My goal is to become a professional race car driver!" he finished with his trademark foxy grin.

Kakashi smiled slightly under the upraised material of his turtleneck shirt. Maybe having Naruto around would help lighten the tension between he and Sakura-chan.

He nodded to Naruto then looked expectantly at Haruno.

"My name is Haruno. I like being left alone and beating people up. I hate being called Sakura, especially Sakura-chan, and I hate pompous people. I don't have time for hobbies. My goal is to get as far away from here as possible as soon as I can and never return" She said in her hard voice.

Kakashi sweat dropped slightly then turned to look at Sasuke.

He sighed.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. Likes…Dislikes…Hobbies…I don't really bother with them. My goal…well, it's a little too dark to share here." He answered cryptically with a dark look.

The other three looked at him warily.

Kakashi coughed slightly, unable to think of a response to that.

Thankfully, the lunch bell rang then and he let out a sigh of relief.

"Well, that's enough for today. So, we'll meet here tomorrow and start some training I guess." He said as he stood up.

"Ok, see you then sensei!" Naruto called out to him as he walked away.

Kakashi raised a hand in a half-hearted wave.

Haruno moved to where Kakashi had been sitting and reclined against the tree's trunk, mentally cursing him for taking the good spot before she could earlier.

The three sat in silence for a minute before it started to get awkward and Naruto and Haruno looked at Sasuke, both mentally wondering why he was still here.

Sasuke was going to ignore them and stay right where he was but then he spotted Neji walking towards him and remembered that he was supposed to eat lunch with him and his crew today.

Internally grimacing he stood and walked towards the advancing Hyuuga protégé and headed to the cafeteria with him.

"What a psycho, ne Haruno?" Naruto said as he watched Uchiha walk away.

"Yeah, there's something off about him…" she responded idly as she watched him leave. Somehow he seemed familiar.

"I can't believe we're stuck with her or all people!" Shikamaru complained loudly as he and Chouji walked over to Haruno and Naruto.

"Stuck with who?" Naruto asked them as the pair sat down on the grass with them.

"That loudmouth Yamanaka Ino!" Shikamaru told them.

Haruno and Naruto laughed at them.

"At least we're with Asuma-sensei though, right Shikamaru?" Chouji said.

"Yeah, at least this way its Ino who's the odd one out, not us." Shikamaru answered.

"Well, there are worse things than Ino." Haruno told them as she stared up at the sky through the green leaves of the tree.