Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Juniper ❯ Braining II ( Chapter 9 )

Agent's Spiel: And here's the second half!

There are a few spoilers if you haven't read Kakashi-Gaiden so you have now been forewarned. It also contains the Yondaime's canon name.

Naruto will be using alternate means of communication:

Single quotation marks `' will be used to represent sign language.

Back slashes / will denote Naruto writing what he is saying.

Italics mean you are reading the characters thoughts; congratulations on becoming telepathic. Of course it generally only applies to Sakura and Kakashi so I'm not necessarily sure telepathy is good thing around those two.

 

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Braining

Sakura took a calming breath and promised herself she would not panic. I'm just dreaming. All that training yesterday is messing with my head. This is just a nightmare. I'll lay back down and when I really wake up my clothes will be here…wait I can't normally hold an inner monologue when I'm dreaming, can I?

“DADDY!”

When her father appeared in her doorway a moment later, hair still mussed with sleep but not a wisp of surprise on his face, she knew she wasn't dreaming. “What happened to my stuff?”

“Two young Chuunin were here yesterday morning about an hour after you left for training. They said your sensei had sent them, something about training. They left that for you,” he explained pointing to the outfit he had moved to the chair the night before.

“But where is my stuff?”

“I'm not sure about that. Maybe they hid it and you have to find it. Your sensei probably knows. By the way, who is your sensei?”

“You'll know in half an hour when the Hokage announces his death,” Sakura growled throwing on the funerary garb that had been left behind for her to wear for the day. Without another word or even bothering to touch her hair, Sakura stormed out of her house and towards the bridge.

She knew she wasn't the only victim when she found Naruto and Sasuke there, both wearing funerary clothes as well and fuming silently. She actually jumped at the glare Naruto sent her way when he heard her coming but his face softened slightly and he signed, `I thought you were Pervert.'

“All three of you are here already?”

The first thing Iruka noticed was that all three Genin were glaring at him. The second was that they looked very unhappy. The third was that Sakura and Sasuke must have rocketed from their houses as quickly as Naruto had because he could tell that none of them had brushed their hair and Sasuke and Naruto were missing their forehead protectors, which coincidentally was the only reason he had actually made a detour - a very, very long detour - that morning so that he could bring Naruto his. Now that he was in front of the three though, he was beginning to regret that. He was also beginning to wonder if he should cool them down a bit before Kakashi arrived because as funny as that would be he was sure Kakashi would only rile them up more and then he would end up with a fussy Naruto, Sakura's father would be dealing with a very pissed off adolescent girl and Sasuke would train himself to death.

“Alright, you three come with me,” he sighed setting off for Hokage tower. If he was lucky he would be able to catch someone in the mission room to watch the three until they had calmed down.

They were just entering the tower when Anko walked out the door and nearly knocked Naruto down. Her eyes widened in surprise and she smiled down at him as she reached out to steady him. When she recognized Sakura, she waved and said, “Hey pinky! Kakashi done anything else to your hair?”

“No. He stole all my clothes though,” Sakura muttered.

“Eh?”

“Now really that isn't fair. I didn't steal them. Kotetsu and Izumo did. And why aren't you three at the bridge?”

Iruka turned around to glare at him and stepped in front of the Genin, placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder hoping to stop the boy from growling. “I brought them here because I knew seeing you would only make them angrier. Whatever you have planned you can do tomorrow,” he stated.

“And give back our clothes,” Sasuke added.

“Yeah. And Naruto says he's changing your name from Pervert to…I don't think I'm allowed to say that out loud Naruto,” Sakura said, trailing off and looking at Naruto in surprise. Didn't Iruka-sensei say they were trying to stem Naruto's bad language…I think it's just gotten worse.

“Hmm…well you see, I told Kotetsu and Izumo to take your clothes so that you would have to get new training clothes for missions. Clothes that would make you look more professional. But it turns out they weren't really listening to me when I told them what to do. Which is why you have nothing but what you're wearing right now. It also turns out that instead of boxing up the clothes like I told them to, they…well they burned it all.”

“They…they burned all of my things?” Sakura whimpered.

“Unfortunately yes,” Kakashi stated. “I already dealt with them and they will be making up for it by donating part of their wages to helping you three replenish your wardrobes. I had been planning on letting you three spend today shopping because I was sure Sakura would enjoy it, but if Iruka says you can't then I guess you can't.”

“Now wait a minute I just said they couldn't be around you,” Iruka countered before the Genin could turn on him.

“Damn Kakashi. You are seriously the most evil sensei I have ever witnessed. And this is from someone who's sensei tried to kill her,” Anko interrupted looking between the Genin and Kakashi and trying not to laugh. “Ooh, ooh I know. Let me take them shopping! I got stuck with a really boring mission this morning and this will let me turn it down,” she added eagerly a moment later.

“No,” Kakashi stated. “I want them to look professional. You'll put Naruto back in orange and who knows what you'll do to the other two. At best you might just put Sakura back in that bikini top you used to wear.”

“I liked that top,” Anko insisted.

“At least it was more interesting than a mask,” Iruka muttered. “You know what, wait five minutes while I tell the others to cover for me and I'll go with them to make sure Anko doesn't cause too much damage. And Kakashi I hope you know that what Kotetsu and Izumo aren't covering, you are.”

“Well that was the plan. But really they are my students; shouldn't I be dealing with them?”

“No,” Iruka, Sakura, and Sasuke insisted. Naruto followed it up with a rather rude gesture and Anko stifled her giggles.

“Umm,” Kakashi muttered scratching his head in confusion. “Why not?”

“You said you wanted them to look professional. Besides they're still angry with you, anything you suggest will be turned down,” Iruka rationalized.

Kakashi didn't look pleased with the prospect but he shrugged it off. “On two conditions: first, no orange or bright red and white unless they are very small quantities, and two, enough layers or combinations that they will be suitable for multiple climates. You two should be able to handle that. This free afternoon gives me the chance to start on the new book that came out,” he decided, muttering the last bit to himself.

Iruka rolled his eyes but Anko looked flabbergasted. “When did a new book come out?” she cried moving in front of Kakashi and looking up at him.

“It came through special order yesterday. It doesn't come out officially for another two weeks,” Kakashi answered his eye crinkling thoughtfully for a moment before he added, “I might just be able to find an extra copy for you if you make sure Iruka doesn't spend too much of my money on them.”

“Deal!” Anko shouted eagerly. Kakashi nodded more to himself then to the group in front of him and walked past them and into the tower.

“Alright I only need a little time to take care of business in the mission room. Why don't you head back into town and get something to eat? Anko don't let them eat ramen…and no dango,” Iruka told her.

“No dango,” Anko muttered sadly turning to see a similar pout on Naruto's face.

“Hmm…well since our favorite foods are out, what do you two want for breakfast?” she asked slinging an arm over Naruto's shoulders and turning to look at Sakura and Sasuke. When neither gave any answer aside from a shrug, she sighed and said, “Let's just go look around and see if anything catches our stomachs' attention.

When Iruka found them twenty minutes later, Anko and Sakura were happily munching on dango while Naruto and Sasuke were half way through their first bowls of ramen. “I should have known,” he muttered sitting down next to Naruto and waving off the chef. Naruto grinned up at him and finished his bowl with a loud slurp. He moved to order another one, but Iruka put his hand down and shook his head, “One is enough.”

`But it's so good,' Naruto reasoned.

“I don't care.”

Naruto pouted and Iruka sighed pulling the blond off the stool and keeping him in front of him while Sasuke finished his bowl. Once Anko and Sakura had finished and joined them he decided to start. “I know you three are angry about this, but do you at least understand what Kakashi's goals are?”

All three looked up at him in confusion and Sakura muttered, “He doesn't like bright colors?”

“Why wouldn't he like bright colors?”

“You kept saying we needed to look more professional,” Sakura added. “I guess what we were wearing made us look... bad around clients.”

“She's got the general idea,” Anko muttered. “Aside from the rules Kakashi set out, do you have any other suggestions for what you all should be wearing?”

“Well…we're supposed to be helping Naruto blend in, right? Doesn't that mean we should all blend together?” Sakura suggested.

“Yes it does, how would you go about doing that?” Iruka asked, letting her take the lead.

“Well we should avoid wearing anything that draws attention to any of us, even if we were doing so to try and pull attention off of him. If one of us catches attention and he doesn't, that would look suspicious. But we're still rookies, and rookies don't normally conform right away.”

“Can we pass as non-rookies?” Sasuke asked grudgingly.

“Doubtful. You're all small for your age and even if you get a lot stronger you probably shouldn't display too much of that because that will just attract trouble,” Iruka told them.

“There is of course a second option: nonconformity,” Anko added.

“But you just said,” Sakura trailed off in confusion.

“No, you just said. You do have to blend in, but the three of you have `need to stand out' written into your genetics. You have to learn to play both sides. Sasuke is an Uchiha. Naruto is a notorious troublemaker. And you are a smartass, Daddy's girl who screams - on most days - `I spend way too much time on my hair and need my teammates to protect me'. What you need to learn to do is to exploit aspects of that,” Anko told her.

`But they aren't supposed to know it's me,' Naruto signed.

“Exactly. And to be honest, they shouldn't know Sasuke is an Uchiha either. You three want to memorable only for being outrageous. Be memorable as a team, not as individuals,” Anko continued.

“I don't really think there is anything we could all pull off,” Sakura muttered looking at her teammates frowning.

“You're misunderstanding me. You don't need to dress identical, that would be conforming. This is going to take more than just clothing if you want to pull it off. Clothes are just the starting point,” Anko stated.

“So we have to act completely different,” Sasuke replied not looking at all pleased with the current conversation.

“Not at all. You just have to agree to accentuate certain aspects of your personality when in public. When you're with your teammates, and Sakura when you're with your father you can go back to normal,” Iruka suggested. “Like Anko said, each of you is already recognizable to those who know you and to some who don't.”

“But if you ask me, none of you are particularly happy with the way you're seen anyways. If you were, you wouldn't care as much about the way Kakashi has been criticizing you. You also wouldn't be agreeing to the change in the first place. Any of you going to argue with me on that point?” Anko asked. When none of the Genin could do anything but shift uncomfortably on their feet she nodded. “Don't worry it happens to all of us. So let's go back to talking about what changes you should make. Aside from color, what have you noticed about each others' clothing that you think should change?”

“Well you said we need to make sure people don't see us for who we were, right?” Sakura asked glancing nervously at Sasuke. “Maybe Sasuke shouldn't use his clan symbol. Especially since he hasn't awakened the Sharingan and if anyone recognizes the symbol that will be all they expect,” she suggested nervously.

Sasuke glared offensively but Iruka and Anko nodded thoughtfully. “What about colors?” Iruka asked

“Why don't you two just tell us what to wear so that we can get this over with?” Sasuke grumbled.

“Because, if they do everything for us then we won't learn. It's the same reason Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei tried to get us to figure out what went wrong on the island. Just telling us what we're doing wrong isn't enough, we have to agree that something is wrong in order to try and fix it; that happens more quickly if we figure it out ourselves,” Sakura explained meekly.

`You're not going to make us wear black, are you?' Naruto pouted.

“Neh, black is boring. Besides the only shinobi in the village who wears black outside of ANBU missions is Morino Ibiki and he's a scary hard-ass who was also the Yondaime's teammate,” Anko told him. “Black screams badass and we want you guys to be more subtle than that.”

“You've been in on this the whole time, haven't you?” Sakura finally asked.

“Well not the whole time. I just thought it was funny that Kakashi finally accepted a team. By the end of this I won't be the only person drawn into seeing how much he messes up,” she joked.

“You aren't exactly instilling confidence of their sensei in them,” Iruka deadpanned.

“That's what you're here for,” she retorted.

Naruto watched the two for a moment before tapping Sakura on the shoulder. `This is scary,' he signed to her.

“That's one way of phrasing it,” she whispered back.

“Well then, let's get going. To make it up to the three of you and replace some of your everyday clothing we'll even let you get one or two things that are orange or red or whatever you want,” Anko offered.

“But we have to replace everything,” Sakura reminded her.

“We'll take care of all of it, don't worry,” Iruka assured her.

XXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXX

By the time they found Kakashi lounging outside the administration building that night, Anko was eagerly awaiting the retrieval of the newest edition of the Icha Icha series and the three Genin were looking forward to taking their new clothing home and sleeping off a day's worth of shopping. Kakashi looked up expectantly and was happy to note that each of the Genin was only holding two bags worth of clothing. “I hope this means that Iruka didn't spend all of my money on them,” he said.

“No,” Iruka laughed holding out a receipt for Kakashi. “This is all you owe me and you can take from that whatever Kotetsu and Izumo owe.”

Kakashi looked over it and nodded before pulling a book out and handing it to Anko. Once she had the book firmly in her hands she pulled out a second much longer receipt and handed it to Kakashi. “This is what you owe me,” she told him grinning.

“Excuse me?”

“Well you told me to make sure Iruka didn't spend too much of your money, and he didn't. I couldn't really help myself though,” she grinned. Even Sasuke cracked a small grin at Kakashi's flabbergasted face.

“I should have expected this from you Anko,” Kakashi finally sighed. “Fine, you three meet at the bridge tomorrow morning at seven. Make sure that you've already done your daily training by then. And bring something you can swim in,” he finally said turning to the three Genin.

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke nodded to him and Sakura and Sasuke turned to leave when the Hokage walked over. “Oh good you're still here,” he said taking a puff of his pipe. “Sakura your father wasn't able to find you this afternoon so I told him I'd pass on word to you that he would be gone on a mission for the next day or two,” he told her.

Sakura frowned and sagged slightly but perked up when Kakashi spoke. “Hmm…it's getting late. Take the stuff you've got with you and drop off at home and then head over to Iruka's. I'll bring food for you guys, maybe then you won't still hate me tomorrow,” he told them.

“Kakashi, if you would take Naruto with you, I need to speak with Iruka momentarily,” the Sandaime added as they turned to walk down the street. Iruka turned back curiously and the Hokage motioned for him to follow. “Did they get everything they needed?” the Hokage asked as they entered his office.

“Yes, they cooperated with only a few complaints. More from Sasuke than the other two actually,” Iruka answered.

“That doesn't surprise me. He's the reason I asked you to meet with me. I spoke with Kakashi this afternoon while you were with the trio. Sasuke appears to be opening up to his teammates but he is concerned by his solitary habits. He still clings to all reminders of his clan, and while this isn't odd, it may become unhealthy especially with Itachi still out there.”

“I understand what you're getting at, but we can't just force him to let all that go,” Iruka argued.

“No we can't. But he can be shown an alternative. After the death of his father, had Minato not come along Kakashi would be much worse than he is today and far beyond even his behavior as a young Genin and Chuunin. Sasuke will be worse if he isn't given an anchor within Konoha, something other than revenge,” the Sandaime insisted.

“That's why you cleared Anko so quickly. I had been wondering why Kakashi was allowing her to be so involved, but it would make sense given her history. She can empathize with Sasuke as much as Kakashi can.”

“And with Naruto even more so,” the Sandaime added, pleased that Iruka had figured out at least part of it.

“What happened to her being a `bit of a loud mouth'?” Iruka asked jokingly.

“We had a long talk and she understands the situation to its full. When she is not on missions she has agreed to be available, should you or Kakashi need help with any of the three,” the Hokage replied.

“I'll remember that. Is there anything else?” Iruka asked.

“I just thought you would like to know that I was visited by a number of teachers from the Academy begging me to reassign you back to the Academy. They're apparently a bit lost at the moment. I hope you don't mind but I told them you would be stopping by at the end of the week during our conferences.”

“I can stop in as long Naruto will be with Kakashi,” Iruka replied laughing.

“And Iruka, please consider what we talked about. If there are any financial concerns-”

Iruka cut him off by standing and shaking his head. “You put me back on my old wages so money really isn't a problem. The only way it would become one is if Naruto went back to eating nothing but ramen. I just think that would be too much of a shock for Sasuke right now with all the other changes being forced on him. I think all three of them need to adjust a bit more before anything like that is suggested,” he told the Hokage.

The Sandaime nodded and dismissed Iruka, turning back to his paperwork.

XXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXX

Naruto finished putting away the rest of his new clothes and walked out of his room at Iruka's hoping that Iruka or even Kakashi had arrived. Kakashi had left him with Anko so that he could go get them food. As much as he found the crazy woman funny, especially in the way she played both Kakashi and Iruka, he hadn't ever seen before that morning when she offered to help. And even though she apparently knew Sakura, he wasn't sure he bought her explanation of why she was helping Iruka and Kakashi in the first place. Then again, maybe I'm just listening to Kakashi-sensei too much and becoming paranoid, he thought; pouting a bit as he walked out to find Anko sitting on the couch engrossed in the book Kakashi had given her.

He looked at the cover suspiciously and tapped Anko on the shoulder. `What is that?'

Anko snickered and patted the couch next to her for him to sit down. “This is the best book you will ever read. Unfortunately you are too young to read it and if Iruka finds out I think he'd probably kill me,” she told him. “You upset you didn't get more orange,” she asked when he pouted more.

`I like orange,' he signed defensively.

“Heh, don't worry. Once these first couple of weeks are over you'll be able to relax more. Kakashi's just putting the pressure on you three now to make sure you understand how important this stuff will be. Once you understand how you're supposed to behave on missions and things he'll give you more freedom on your own,” she told him.

`But we aren't doing missions.'

“Not yet. You brats are luckier than you realize. First off, I can guarantee that when you start D class missions you won't be enjoying yourself. Secondly, the individual attention you're getting is more than most Genin receive. Trust me, it won't seem like it for a while, but when you go back and see your classmates, you'll notice the difference. You're being trained more like we were. We were trained for war, like real shinobi. Most Genin now are trained for menial tasks; it isn't until they become Chuunin and even Jounin that they get prepared for anything more,” she explained.

Naruto frowned pensively and Anko mimicked him, sighing in exasperation. “And would you please stop frowning and smile once and a while. That shit with Mizuki was bad, and you have another hurdle to jump, but if you go around frowning all day that's just going to make you feel worse. You used to smile all the time and now you do nothing but sulk as much as Uchiha. Your life isn't over, be happy you survived,” she told him seriously. Naruto grinned a little, nervously and Anko nodded. “It's a start,” she added happily, “But none of that fake shit you keep trying with your teammates. We don't expect you to go back to the way you were before the attack.”

`What about you?'

“What do you mean?” Anko asked in confusion.

`Your smile,' he signed looking at her in equal confusion as if he couldn't understand why she didn't get his question.

“What about it?”

`You smiled all day, but,' Naruto paused trying to think of the right word and eventually had to give up and go into the kitchen to find paper to write it down. /They glared at you. And why didn't Iruka teach me to sign that? /

Anko swallowed a little nervously and sighed. “I think he was hoping that if he left that out you wouldn't think about it as much. It wasn't like he wanted you out in public that much anyways,” she admitted.

`Why' Naruto sighed in frustration and picked up the paper again, writing, /You said Kakashi-sensei was evil and that coming from you that meant something. /

“Yeah…my sensei was a jackass who betrayed the village,” Anko admitted.

Naruto's eyes widened and he signed `Sorry,' as he began to worry his lower lip between his teeth.

“Don't worry about it. Now help me give Iruka a heart attack by grabbing one of those comics the Sandaime keeps sneaking you,” she told him changing the subject.

Eager for the chance to cause trouble, Naruto grabbed one of the older volumes the Hokage had given him - he now had four - and hurried back out to Anko. She grinned in response and motioned for him to move back onto the couch next to her as she expertly fitted Naruto's comic book inside her own book. “Now you have to promise to play along and look very interested in this. However, you also have to ignore everything I say because even the author would probably kill me if he learned that I was corrupting you this soon, deal?” she asked.

Naruto nodded and leaned in as Anko curiously flipped to the start of the volume and muttered, “He must have gotten this from Taro-san; it's not from the continent.” Naruto looked up at her curiously but Anko was able to brush off his unspoken question when there was a knock on the door. “It's unlocked come on in,” she shouted.

Naruto scowled up at her and signed, `You don't know who it is. It might not be Blossom or Bastard or Pervert.'

“Oh I'm sure it's one of them. Blossom is Pinky right? And Bastard is Uchiha? Pervert…that's a good one,” she muttered trailing off. “See I was right, it's both of them,” she added, pointing to Sakura and Sasuke as they walked further into the house.

The other two looked at them curiously, well Sakura did, and Anko beckoned for them to walk over and take a seat. “We're playing a prank on Iruka, just sit down and don't say a word until he gets backed,” she told them before turning back to Naruto. “You know this is actually kind of interesting. I mean it isn't about anything cool like ninja and demons - ignore the demon part,” she told him.

“What are you reading?” Sakura asked suspiciously.

“The Sandaime is… `rewarding' Naruto with comics. I'm going to pretend to read porn to him when Iruka comes in,” Anko informed her matter-of-factly.

Sakura's eyebrows rose impressively on her large forehead and hissed, “Are you trying to tempt fate?”

“I don't believe in fate, that's a creation of crazy people…like the Hyuuga; they like to talk about it. I believe that if destiny is written in stone shinobi still don't have to worry about it because it doesn't take much to destroy stone,” Anko answered, grinning at Sakura over the top of the little orange book.

Anko heard keys jingle in the lock a moment before the door opened and she made sure to project as she stated, “And then Jungo pursued the fair maiden to the river and offered to help wash off the salty, sticky-”

“Anko if you say another word I will kill you,” Iruka growled staring at the sight in front of him in horror. “I would expect this of Kakashi but not of you.”

“Hey wait a minute. I would never give Icha Icha Paradise to minors. And that isn't even a line in the book she just made that up,” Kakashi added defensively walking up behind Iruka, holding two bags in his left hand and an identical little book in his right.

“Wait a minute, you already have it memorized?” Anko asked in admiration.

Iruka ignored and stepped over Sakura and Sasuke - who had sat down on the floor in front of Anko in a twisted imitation of story-time - and snatched the book out of Anko's hands. He blinked when he flipped it around and was brought face to face with animated characters with overzealously drawn muscles and bad hair styles, “This is…I hate you,” he trailed off separating the comic from the book and throwing one back to Naruto and the other back to Anko. “Just don't read it around these three, you got it?” he told her moving towards the kitchen.

“Yes sir, Mr. Teacher Man. I hear they're getting awfully panicky at the Academy without you,” Anko quipped standing up and grinning as she followed him into the kitchen.

“Why did you leave the Academy?” Sakura asked curiously as she, Sasuke, and Naruto followed Anko and Kakashi into the kitchen.

“I was only assigned there temporarily. I was part of the strategy department and the Sandaime some how decided that I would be of more use strategizing ways to improve the Academy during peacetime. In case you hadn't noticed while attending, the current system isn't exactly functioning correctly,” he told them as Kakashi put the food on the table. “Not in here, there's a bigger table in the next room,” Iruka told him pulling out plates.

“Why do you have so much room here? It's too big,” Anko commented.

“It was my parents'. Unlike some people,” he said glancing at Kakashi, “who burn houses to the ground, I put it to better use.”

“It was decrepit,” Kakashi retorted.

“The only thing decrepit was your state of mind. I read the report, you were drunk,” Iruka shot back, leading the three giggling Genin into the larger dining area.

“You really burned down your parent's house?” Sakura finally managed to ask.

“It was very therapeutic,” Kakashi informed her. “You should try it sometime Sasuke, you'll feel loads better,” he added for the younger boy's benefit.

“I think I'll keep my house the way it is,” Sasuke stated, trying not to glare at Kakashi.

`You have a house?' Naruto signed after waving his hands in front of Sasuke's face to catch his attention.

“Didn't I tell you to stop doing that?”

`Pervert told me to stick with it for the rest of the week,' Naruto grinned back.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and turned back only to find Sakura looking at him curiously. “Do you really have an entire house to yourself?”

“Of course,” Sasuke snorted.

“Don't you have a guardian or something?” Sakura asked.

“Why do I need one?” Sasuke retorted a bit defensively.

“What about you Naruto?” Sakura asked in confusion.

Naruto shook his head and signed, `Why?'

“I thought they always had guardians,” Sakura muttered.

“They do. The Sandaime takes guardianship of all children born within the village that are orphaned and without either biological or adoptive families,” Anko told her.

“How do you know that?” Sasuke asked her.

“He had custody of me until my Aunt was old enough to step in,” Anko answered. “Your sensei was your guardian, right?” she asked Kakashi, gaining a nod and a glare from the white haired man.

“Am I the only one here who wasn't orphaned young?” Sakura asked in shock.

“That depends on your description of young. I was about your age when my parents died and I was already a Genin so I didn't need a guardian,” Iruka told her.

“Genin don't have guardians?”

“Once a shinobi graduates to Genin they can technically live on their own. Most choose to wait until at least Chuunin; although orphans or wards will sometimes choose to branch off at that point and they'll still receive small monetary help along with their pay from missions,” Iruka told her. “Crazy isn't it?”

“Yeah,” Sakura told him a little flabbergasted.

“More than you wanted to know?” Anko asked.

“Actually I've always kind of wondered how they did it,” Sakura admitted.

“How about a happier topic anyways,” Anko suggested turning to Kakashi curiously. “Have you really memorized the new book already?”

“Of course, have you gotten to-”

He was cut off when Iruka threw a cup at his head. “How about something more appropriate for these three?” he suggested through gritted teeth.

“It's not actually inappropriate. They can be very educational books. Have the three of you been given the talk?” Kakashi asked, turning to the three blushing Genin, he actually had to do a double take when he realized that Sasuke was really blushing too. “I'll take that as a no. We'll have to handle that later.”

“Is that why you wanted them to wear swimsuits tomorrow?” Anko asked causing the three Genin to blush even brighter.

“I hadn't thought of that. I could probably fit it in though,” Kakashi muttered.

“I can't believe you two. They aren't going to be able to look at each other tomorrow,” Iruka stated in disbelief.

“Well Naruto and Sasuke shouldn't have any trouble with each other,” Anko assured him.

“Actually if I'm giving them the talk I should really cover all the corners. You never know what to expect from young boys nowadays,” Kakashi thought aloud.

“True,” Anko concurred, leaving Iruka gaping at them while Naruto and Sasuke blushed even deeper and Sakura tried to stifle her giggles.

Once Iruka had recovered, he hurried the three Genin through their meals and then back home, making sure Naruto was in bed before finally collapsing into a fit of laughter in front of Anko and Kakashi. After ascertaining that the Chuunin was not going insane, they waved goodbye and parted at the door, both a little relieved at how well the night had gone.

X

The next morning Kakashi showed up an hour late at the bridge. When three very pissed off and tired looking Genin first glared at him and Sakura shouted “You're late!” accusingly he was finally able to give one of the excuses he had planned just for them.

“Well you see I was almost here when I was assaulted by an odd green blob that kept shouting something about youth and springtime-”

“You ran into Maito-san?” Sakura asked twitching slightly.

“Oh that's right; I forgot you had met him. Just pretend I slept in,” Kakashi told her. Sakura nodded thankfully and sighed in relief.

“So what are doing? And you should be thankful that Anko remembered to have us buy swimsuits yesterday because those two Chuunin burned those too,” she told him.

Kakashi looked at them curiously for a moment before he took a risk and asked, “Did they leave anything for you guys?”

“Just the clothes we wore yesterday,” Sakura answered.

“No wonder the bill was so much,” Kakashi muttered. “Anyways, follow me to the river and we'll start your first official day of training. The rest of it was really just me messing with you,” he giggled to himself.

“You do know you just said that out loud, right?” Sakura deadpanned.

“I'm sorry, did you say something?” Kakashi asked, turning around to look at her curiously.

Sakura groaned in response and pouted for the rest of their trip. Once they reached the river, Kakashi handed each of them a kunai and smiled. “Naruto should have almost no trouble with part of this little exercise since he caught most of your food while you were on the training island. To start, you have an hour to fill this basket to the brim with fish,” he told them pointing to a rather large basket beside him.

“Where did that basket come from?” Sakura asked turning to her teammates.

Naruto shrugged and joined her in looking at Sasuke. “Don't look at me, I don't know either,” he admitted turning away to hide his frown.

“Get to work,” Kakashi told them.

“How is this training?” Sakura asked suspiciously.

“Patience is required,” Kakashi explained.

The three Genin looked at each other and shrugged, moving towards the river. “The person who catches the most gets to pick what we eat for dinner tonight,” Kakashi added as they plunged into the water. Within half an hour, the basket was full and the Genin were looking at him expectantly. “Well so much for patience,” he muttered to himself.

“So who won?” Sakura asked, ignoring his statement. He shouldn't have made it a contest if he had wanted them to take their time.

“Umm…I thought you three were counting,” Kakashi told her looking at the three a bit blankly.

All three gaped at him and Sasuke actually lost enough composure to groan at Kakashi's behavior. “Alright sorry `bout that. Umm…work on tree climbing for about half an hour while I take these fish back to the village and then I'll teach you something new to make up for it,” Kakashi offered.

The three Genin put their shoes back on and set about their task while Kakashi disappeared with the heavy basket of fish. When he returned half an hour later grinning suspiciously the three stopped and turned back to him expectantly. “Alright well normally you wouldn't even learn this until much later in your training, if you were even taught it before you were promoted to Chuunin. And I'm sure I'll get in trouble for even attempting to teach it to you now, but if you insist I suppose I'll have to risk it,” Kakashi sighed, watching the three out of the corner of his eye. He frowned when he saw that they were all watching him eagerly, Even Sasuke is interested, damn.

“I really don't think any of you will be able to master this anytime soon, but I'll teach you the theory and you can try for a while today before I come up with something else to do,” he added hoping that theory would at least scare Naruto down. All his delaying did was make the Genin a bit more impatient.

“Fine follow me,” Kakashi said walking towards the river and looking around. “We need a place with still water give me just a minute…ah there,” he said pointing up stream. The three followed him as he walked towards the small puddle he had found. “It's shallow as well so that should actually make this a bit more possible for you three,” he said walking out onto the puddle. It was less than a foot deep and would barely be large enough for the three Genin to stand shoulder to shoulder on it. “Any guesses on what I'm about to teach you?”

“Are you using a jutsu?” Sakura asked curiously.

“Nope.”

Naruto looked at him in confusion for a moment before his eyes widened. `Chakra. Like sticking to trees,' he signed in awe. Kakashi stared at the blond as if he had sprouted a second head and Naruto frowned. `I'm not that dumb,' he signed to his sensei.

“Right sorry. Did either of you two catch what he said?” Kakashi asked gaining nods from his other students. “Do either of you know how he figured that out?” he asked. Naruto's face contorted in indignation and Kakashi held up his hands defensively. “That came out wrong. I meant does either of them understand the theory like you do,” he explained.

Naruto calmed slightly, but he continued to scowl and glare darkly at Kakashi out of the corner of his eyes. Sakura glanced nervously at Naruto before speaking up, “Umm…I'm not sure it's the same thing as tree climbing. You aren't sticking to the water are you? It's more you're somehow supporting yourself on the surface; like changing the density so that you can still stand on it.”

“Good. In tree climbing the chakra you emit is constant because you are sticking to a solid surface. In this you basically use chakra like Sakura said to make yourself float,” Kakashi told them. “You have to emit chakra continuously but not always the same amount of chakra to counteract the effects of your bodyweight. Do you three understand?”

“Now this puddle is shallow and it isn't like you three can hurt yourselves practicing here so give it a try. Share the puddle for now,” he told them stepping off it and grinning as the three looked at each other in disbelief.

Feeling a bit more confident than the other two, Sakura took a deep breath and stepped forward, pausing to focus her chakra to her feet before setting her foot down on the water. She tested it for a moment and worked to adjust the amount of chakra to her weight as she steadily leaned forward onto her foot. When she was confident that she could hold herself, she lifted her other foot and brought it onto the puddle as well, slowly evening out her weight distribution as she stood on both feet. When she was sure she was steady, she looked up at Kakashi in confusion and asked, “Was this supposed to be hard?”

“Shit,” Kakashi muttered to himself trying to figure out how he would keep them busy for the rest of the day if Naruto and Sasuke managed to learn it as quickly as Sakura had. “Umm…let those two try,” he suggested. Sakura nodded and stepped off the puddle making room for her teammates. Sasuke shrugged and stepped forward repeating the process.

“I can't tell if you three are making me look like an excellent teacher or if they just made the genius's look like idiots,” Kakashi muttered to himself, watching as Sakura easily helped the other two take their first steps on water.

 

Agent's Spiel: I know Ibiki is much younger than I'm making him in this but please go along with it. Obviously, this isn't the only thing I've changed from canon and I hope this stuff - like Sakura's father as a shinobi - doesn't annoy you too much. If you have any questions about what has been changed just email me and I'll try to answer.

I'm going to say the same thing about the water walking as I did about tree climbing. This is a much simpler exercise than we originally saw in the manga (it's a puddle) and Naruto did learn this really quickly even with the seal Orochimaru had placed on him messing up his chakra.

Also, there will be more action in upcoming chapters.

And just a kind of random note, I think the reason Kakashi is turning out so weird - as that is the only word to describe the fact that I had him to an impression of Orlando Bloom last chapter - is that he is a bit more emotionally disturbed than I had originally noticed. Personally, I think it suits him and it is just one of those small deviations from canon that creeps up; I hope it doesn't bother you guys too much.