Naruto concealed himself the best as he could, his eyes sharp at every possible movement and his body tense and alert, ready to do his bidding. This was generally a D-Rank mission, yet it seemed more of an S-Rank than anything else.
'Damn...' he thought, a bead of cold sweat dropping down his brow. 'This is really, really hard...!'
After a few minutes, the footsteps ceased, then seemed to be walking far away to the outside of the room.
Naruto's entire body went rigid. This was it! This was his chance!
Preparing a speedy runaway, he bolted out of the staircase and made a beeline for the front door.
Then a prompt, loud cough came from behind him.
"Naruto..." The voice was sickly sweet, yet it had an unmistakably menacing underlying tone to it, sending chills down Naruto's spine. "...Just where do you think you're going without even eating breakfast, mister...?"
Naruto swallowed heavily. "M—Mom..." he whimpered in extreme fright.
Kushina, who was standing behind him, had a sugary smile on her lips. However, her eyes were now completely enveloped in bright yellow, shimmering dangerously and evilly. Her bright red hair was hovering upwards by the tips, making her aura even more terrifying.
"You thought you could escape from me, eh...?" Her smile grew wider, increasing her scariness factor.
Naruto exploded. "I'M SORRY, MOM!" he shouted quickly and promptly disappeared in a puff of smoke, further enraging Kushina.
"NARUTOOOOOOOOOO! YOU ARE SO DEAD WHEN I GO TO YOUR GRADUATION CEREMONY LATER!"
Meanwhile, in the Hokage Tower, Minato stopped in the middle of organizing the paperwork.
"I thought I hear Kushina yell at Naruto again... Hmm. Probably just my imagination."
• • •
"I'm off, Mother, Father," Sasuke said in polite dismissal before going towards the front door.
"Have a nice day, Sasuke," Mikoto said with a gentle smile.
Sasuke was already out of the house, but the softest of smiles was playing on his lips.
• • •
Sakura walked towards the direction of the Academy, her mind wandering on pleasant things.
She had not expected to graduate the Academy in just two years. Actually, even Iruka did not expect that the twelve of them all graduated at the same time.
It was a surreal feeling to be a part of those twelve promising graduates.
In all honesty, Sakura thought that she was going to graduate a little behind her peers. However, she started to notice that she was getting better at taijutsu and that her chakra reserves were not exactly as small as she initially thought. In fact, she seemed to have a fairly good amount of them, leaving her to wonder why. She didn't exactly have the greatest of talents — probably her only good point was her excellent chakra control — but that was just about it. She had no notable clan and was just an average girl trying out as a kunoichi...
Though she had to admit that her book-smarts played a big role in her graduation.
Her hand lifted to her forehead only to be blocked by a considerable amount of hair. She had grown her bangs and trimmed them properly so that it would completely cover her forehead, leaving no skin in sight. Her bangs even covered her eyebrows.
Her hair was already long enough to reach her waist. Sakura felt a little bit more confident this way. At least she felt feminine enough about herself and covered the aspect of her embarrassment. She wasn't courageous enough yet to show it off, just like Ino encouraged her to a few times now, but Sakura believed that the time would come someday.
Just not now.
• • •
"Congratulations, all of you." Iruka's voice was coloured with pride and awe as he looked at his former students, now all wearing a Konoha headband. "You twelve are already hailed as the talented generation since you graduated along with the others who had been at the Academy for more than four years now. Based on your scores and practical exams, you have all passed above average. I am very proud to have taught you all well. The world of the shinobi is a difficult one, and the road is rocky. However, you can conquer it, achieve your dreams, and find your own path." He lifted the clipboard he was holding, his smile never fading. "I will announce the teams which you will be in tomorrow morning. You can now go and celebrate with your families. Congratulations!"
Children swept past the doors, excited to show off their new positions as genins. Naruto fled out of the Academy, searching for his mother. When he spotted her in the middle of the crowd, her bright red hair conspicuous among the different shades of black, brown, and yellow, he ran over to her, his grin reaching his ears.
"Mom!" he called out, catching her attention as he neared.
Kushina turned around, her dim-purple eyes wide in pleasant surprise. "Naruto!" she exclaimed, opening her arms for an embrace.
Naruto happily let himself crash into her chest, savouring the way her arms wrapped around his back. Kushina pressed her son closer to her, feeling a deep-seated pride.
"Congratulations, my big boy!" she said cheerfully. "I have a surprise for you!"
Naruto craned his neck upwards, excited anticipation shooting inside him. "A surprise? What is it?!"
Kushina grinned. "Look to your left."
Naruto blinked in momentary confusion. "To my… left?" Nevertheless, he did as his mother told him, turning his head towards said direction.
And what greeted his eyes was the sight of his father, dressed in his Hokage robes, smiling at him warmly. Naruto felt his heart skip a beat. Here was his busy father, finding the time to attend his graduation ceremony.
Naruto choked up inside. Suddenly, a burst of happiness flooded his chest down to every vein in his body. He was so happy that he couldn't breathe for a short moment, and all in his mind was that he was so lucky to have parents like this.
So lucky… that he wasn't… alone anymore…
Not alone…
"Congratulations, Naruto," Minato said, moving towards his wife and son. Some of the people on the crowd stopped to stare at him in awe, parting to give way to their Hokage as he passed.
"Dad!" Naruto exclaimed, running over to his father and crashing into him, squeezing his waist.
"Oof!" Minato stumbled a bit, but held himself in place as he reciprocated his son's rather forceful embrace. "You've certainly gotten stronger, haven't you, Naruto?" he chuckled, ruffling his son's unruly locks.
"He's really happy you're here," Kushina said, coming beside him. "I'm glad you found the time."
Minato smiled at her, diffusing his usual comfortable air of congeniality. "I wouldn't miss this for the world."
• • •
"That looks like a happy family," Mikoto mused with a secret smile, glancing over to Minato, Kushina, and Naruto.
Itachi, who was standing beside her, frowned minimally. "About Naruto…?"
"Yes... Being the Kyūbi's vessel, it must be difficult for him... I'm sure you've only just heard about the awful rumours slowly spreading around the village," Mikoto said, her tone instantly turning somber. "He's not dangerous like some people say. Don't ever believe them, Itachi. I am not sure if Kushina and Minato know about this, but I won't stand for Naruto being treated in a horrible way."
Itachi glanced at her. "I understand." He turned his head, spotting something. "Sasuke's coming."
Mikoto followed his gaze, a smile breaking out from her lips. "Sasuke! Over here!"
"Mother, nii-san," Sasuke greeted, panting slightly as he came to a stop before them. "Where's Father?"
"Your father's just running a little late, but he's already on his way here," Mikoto assured him, pulling him into an embrace. "Congratulations, Sasuke. Your father, brother, and I am very proud of you."
Sasuke gulped, feeling overwhelmed, and hid his red face from his family by sinking into his mother, revelling in pleasant feelings.
Itachi watched his little brother with a smile on his face. "You may be able to surpass me yet, otouto," he teased lightly.
• • •
Sakura beamed as she was congratulated by her parents, feeling pride in her accomplishment. She could feel her confidence growing steadily; she was already starting to express how she felt for Sasuke, and she hoped that he would eventually feel the same way. She liked him so much for a reason she could not fully understand, only that she marveled at his skills, his looks, and his…
----------------------------------
His eye, so red. His other eye, enveloped in purple. His eyes are like an assortment of swirls, pulling her in… destroying anything with ease…
----------------------------------
Sakura swung back to the present, her mind reeling from the brief imagery. What was that? What was it trying to tell her?
Suddenly, her world turned hazy. Sakura's eyes darted around in confusion and panic, seeing people's lips move slowly and hearing sounds come out of their mouths. She felt a mild dizziness overtaking her head, but she shook it away, focusing on her surroundings.
"I feel sorry for the Hokage and his wife," a woman said not too far away from where Sakura was standing. "To have a demon kid like that… it must be terrible."
Sakura's breath caught up in her throat.
"They must be keeping up appearances," a man mused beside her. "They can't be happy with a dangerous monster lurking inside their son."
"The Kyūbi was truly frightening… It stood over the village, thinking about its next move… If Yondaime-sama hadn't been there to confront it the moment it appeared, we would've all been dead by the next minutes…"
"Isn't that boy dangerous, then?"
"Yes, he is! However, his parents are the Hokage and an elite jōnin… We can't do anything about it… and most of the people regard the boy as a hero, just as the Hokage announced him to be. But they must be crazy…"
"Speaking of parents, that poor Uchiha boy… Looks like his father, the Uchiha Clan Head himself, didn't even bother to come…"
Sakura suddenly had trouble breathing. Her slight dizziness had already faded, now replaced by an unknown fear. What were they talking about? What demon kid? Did they mean Naruto? But Naruto was so friendly and sweet, even though he did love to play pranks sometimes just to irritate Iruka-sensei…
But a demon? No, it couldn't be…
And why were they talking about Sasuke like that?
"Sakura? Aren't you coming?" Mebuki called out, she and Kizashi already walking towards the direction of their house.
Sakura snapped out of her thoughts, running towards them. "I'm coming!" she called out.
But she couldn't resist sneaking glances towards Naruto and Sasuke.
The former was happily taking a picture with his parents, a beaming smile on his face. His mother said something to him, and he looked like he flinched, making an attempt to run away. His momentary effort was vanquished, however, by Kushina as she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, an eerily evil smile on her face. She dragged her son away, Naruto screaming along the lines of "I'm sorry, Mom! I'll eat breakfast everyday from now on! Please don't kill me!" and Minato, the Fourth Hokage himself, trailed behind them as he wore an embarrassed, sheepish smile on his face, apologizing to the people he passed for the ruckus.
Sasuke, on the other hand, looked fairly happy. He was talking to his mother and brother, apparently in the middle of telling them an event. The three of them did not notice Fugaku walking towards them until he said something behind their backs. Mikoto comically jolted in place in surprise, Sasuke's eyes humorously widened into the size of saucers, and Itachi's lips formed into a small 'o', although his expression was a very literal pokerface.
Sakura turned away, her heart twisting slightly. Why? They were both happy families, she could clearly see that, but people were saying otherwise.
What was the truth?
• • •
"Now I will announce the teams."
Naruto listened in anticipation, waiting for his name to be called.
Sakura waited patiently, stealing glances at Sasuke who was sitting beside her.
Sasuke laid his chin on the back of his palms, his arms propped by the elbow on the table, listening as Iruka called out the members of Team Six. There was no telling what would happen now.
"Team 7. Namikaze Naruto."
Naruto whooped with glee as his name was called.
"Haruno Sakura."
Sakura froze.
"Uchiha Sasuke."
Sasuke stiffened.
What were the odds of being placed in yet the same team again, with the exact same team name? The probability was supposed to be low, given the fact that this was a different graduation timeline.
Yet, they were still on the same team.
Fate truly worked in mysterious ways.
Sasuke hid a secret smirk and turned his head to face his teammates. To be honest, though, he hadn't really been worried. It was as if he knew that the three of them would still be together again, no matter what the circumstances.
His eyes, however, were greeted by their frozen, surprised faces.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. In the past, Naruto had mixed feelings; he was happy because he and the girl he liked were in the same team, but he was also angry because he was on the same team as Sasuke. Sakura was the same as well, irritated that she was placed with Naruto, and excited that she was with Sasuke.
Never had Sasuke expected their current unusual expressions.
At that moment, Naruto turned to Sakura. Sakura turned to Sasuke. Sasuke turned his head towards the two of them, still perplexed.
'What's the matter with them…?'
Team 7 were eventually the only ones left in the classroom. Naruto and Sakura were at the front row table, sitting beside each other and wearing identical expressions of confusion. Sasuke, on the other hand, remained in his seat by the window in the second-to-the-last row. He furtively glanced towards his teammates, wondering what was bothering them.
For a moment, a thought struck him. What if this time, they didn't want to be with him on the same team? What if a time contradiction occurred yet again, thereby twisting their personalities a little to make them not favour him as much as they did before?
Was that it? Were they unhappy because he was with them? After all, they seemingly only reacted that way after Iruka called out his name.
It didn't even occur to Sasuke how uncharacteristic he was being right now. Back in the future, he would've scoffed and didn't give a damn. But now, his walls were slowly being melted, and he didn't exactly like the feeling.
However, he didn't really hate it, either.
'Great. Now I'm overthinking,' Sasuke thought to himself grumpily. 'What am I so worried about, anyway?'
'That they'd completely forget about me? About everything we experienced together?'
'...Tch.'
The door opened at that moment, revealing a familiar face. Sasuke almost jolted out of his seat at the sigh of Kakashi sauntering casually into the room, surveying his team. Sasuke stared at him, looking for clues in his face. As to what exactly he was looking for, he didn't know.
"Ah, sorry I'm late," Kakashi said in that usual nonchalant tone of his.
'...Late? Damn. I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I didn't even notice the time.' Sasuke slowly stood up.
"My first impression of you all is... well..." Kakashi took another look at his students.
Naruto looked to be deep in thought. Sakura looked like she couldn't quite get what she was thinking of.
Sasuke was standing up, his expression completely blank; completely devoid of all emotion.
Kakashi sighed. "Weirdos," he remarked. "Meet me at the bridge near the training grounds after lunchtime. See you all there."
He disappeared with a poof.
Sasuke was still a little puzzled by the unusual tension in the room.
"Uh..." Naruto's voice echoed among the walls. "Have you guys felt anything... weird earlier?"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow in question when Sakura jolted instantly from her seat.
"N—No," she said almost immediately, almost reflexively.
"Something weird?" Sasuke inquired curiously, folding his arms across his chest.
Naruto, uncharacteristically, said nothing. However, he stared at Sasuke, his gaze intense as if he were scrutinizing something puzzling.
"You..." Naruto began. "You, me, and Sakura-chan... We're..."
"What's going on?" Sakura suddenly interrupted. Though with her glazed-over eyes, it was obvious that she had been in deep thought before unconsciously blurting out what was bothering her.
"We're... huh..." Naruto's face scrunched up in thought. "That's weird. I don't remember all of a sudden. Sakura-chan, do you have any idea — ?"
Sakura slowly shook her head. "I... Oh. I... feel like I blacked out." Her gaze was now astonishingly clear, free from the cloudy haze it had been in mere moments ago. "What were we doing...? Oh, Sasuke-kun!" Her eyes sparkled in excitement. "Would you like to have lunch with me? Oh! As teammates, of course..." She looked at him rather shyly, a blush blossoming her cheeks. She felt a lot more confident now than before.
'Ha! Take that, Ino!'
"Hey, hey! Why aren't I invited?!" Naruto complained.
Sakura sent him a death glare. "Because I didn't ask you, idiot."
Ignoring Naruto's sullen reaction, Sasuke moved to Sakura's side, his eyes narrowing as his face came closing in on hers, their distance only about mere centimeters apart.
"Blacked out? What exactly did you mean by that?" he demanded.
Sakura's cheeks flared a bright red at their proximity. "U—Umm... I—I—I felt like something familiar was going on, but I can't remember it now..."
Sasuke's eyes widened.
Did he dare? Hope was a cruel thing, after all, especially if it disappointed you in the end. And in this case, if he hoped that what he was thinking about right now was, in fact, true, and what awaited him in the end was a pile of misunderstandings, then it would not sit well with him. Not to mention that this timeline would be wracked with chaos if he made the wrong decision.
Sakura's blush faded as she assessed Sasuke's unusual reaction. "...Sasuke-kun? What's wrong?"
Naruto, who was looking a little confused, peered at Sasuke as well. "Eh? Something the matter with the bastard?"
Sakura's head creaked towards him, her eyes glinting a dangerous red. "What did you just call him, Naruto...?" she growled, apparently still reminded of his stupid prank.
While Naruto and Sakura were bickering (or rather, onesidedly), Sasuke was still deep in thought. Should he gamble on this? Besides, he did feel like he couldn't do anything alone. Despite his initial plan to become the Hokage so that all the villages would have the same common enemy, it would not work in this timeline. The villages were not allied as one yet; this timeline held the past feelings of greed, betrayal, independence, and the emotionless belief as mere soldiers. In this timeline, there was a lot to work on again, a lot to fix. In this timeline, they were given a chance to set things right. In this timeline, he had his family back, even Itachi. That was enough reason for him.
The Curse of Hatred. Maybe if his teammates... If Naruto were to come back as well... If Sakura and Kakashi came along, even...
Maybe, just maybe... He would finally erase that dreaded curse of his clan. He would finally be able to embrace love and do away with the unnecessary hatred.
Funny, he never thought that he would gamble on Naruto, of all people.
They hadn't even had their final fight yet and he was already warming up to the guy.
To hell with disappointment.
Team 7, especially Naruto, spent most of their time trying to save him even though it had seemed that he was unredeemable.
This time, ironically, he was going to be the one to support them.
Just as they always supported him.
'Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi...' Sasuke thought as he glanced at his teammates.
'I don't think I'll ever regret this gamble.'
• • •
"All right. State your name, hobbies, likes, dislikes, and goals," Kakashi said lazily, his eyes fully focused on the book he was reading.
Sasuke rolled his eyes internally. 'Same old Kakashi.'
Kakashi was a little difficult to describe. When Sasuke was a genin back in his timeline, he considered Kakashi as a mentor who could teach him the necessary techniques in order to defeat his brother. However, as time passed, Kakashi became more than just a mere teacher. He had been a little like a father figure, or even an older brother, someone who was supportive of him and even genuinely concerned about him. Kakashi was the one who had hammered the last nail on his head, fully persuading him to stay in Konoha and slowly forget about his revenge, if not for the Sound Four's interference.
----------------------------------
"What's the meaning of this?" Sasuke growled as he was being bound to the trunk of a tree, Kakashi gripping the wires that were putting him in place.
"If I don't do this, you'll run away, won't you?" Kakashi responded almost nonchalantly. "Since you aren't the type who would sit quietly and listen to lectures." He glanced at the sealed curse mark at the base of Sasuke's neck, his eye softening.
"Sasuke… Forget about revenge."
Sasuke glowered. "What?"
"Well, I've seen a lot of people like you, and the fate of those who seek vengeance is grim," Kakashi responded, and there was a fog dwelling in his eye that was almost piercing. "It's tragic."
Sasuke, still irritated, only half-listened to his words.
"You will end up suffering and hurting yourself more," Kakashi continued on quietly. "Even if you do succeed in getting revenge, the only thing that remains is emptiness."
"Shut up!" Sasuke growled. "What do you know?! Don't lecture me as if you know what it's like!"
"Now, calm down."
"Then how about it?" Sasuke sneered. "Should I kill the most important person to you right now? That way, you'll know that what you just said is way off the mark!"
"Well, I won't mind if you do." Kakashi's voice was eerily too calm. "Unfortunately, I no longer have anybody important to me." Then he smiled. "…They've all been killed already."
His resentment forgotten momentarily, Sasuke's eyes widened.
"I've lived much longer than you," said Kakashi. "It was a bad time, too. I know very well how it feels to lose important people." He watched as Sasuke hung his head, the latter's eyes slowly becoming dim, no longer struggling in his hold. "Well, I'll say that we're both unlucky people. But we're not completely out of luck."
Sasuke looked a little taken aback.
"You and I have important friends now, don't we?"
Unbidden images of Naruto and Sakura came to mind.
"You understand because you lost important people." Kakashi gently let go of the wire he was gripping, slackening their hold on Sasuke. "You were given the power of chidori because you have made important friends. That power isn't used against friends or for revenge. You should know what that power is for.
"Think very carefully about whether or not what I said is off or not."
Kakashi left him alone then, muddled in his thoughts.
----------------------------------
Sasuke was internally grateful to the man and felt shame inside him when he remembered how he abandoned the team.
But all of that was done now…
"My name is Namikaze Naruto! I'm the awesome Fourth Hokage's son! And, er —"
Sakura promptly elbowed him at the side, albeit not painfully. "It's Red-Hot Habanero. You can't even remember your mom's infamous title? Geez..."
Naruto rubbed the sore spot where she hit him and pouted. "Anywayy... I like ramen! I hate the way how long it takes to cook ramen... I hate it when Mom beats me up... She hits me right at the head, ya know... My hobbies are eating ramen and spending time with my family! Oh, and my dream!" Naruto grinned sunnily, his eyes almost closing due to the wide manner in which he was smiling. "My dream is to take care of my friends, to protect the village, and to bring peace to this world!" He gripped his forehead protector proudly. "I'm going to become the Hokage, just like Dad!"
Sasuke sent him a sidelong glance, appearing faintly surprised. 'Looks like unlike long ago, when he wanted to be acknowledged by everyone...' A tiny smirk played on his lips.
'Now... he's the one who wants to acknowledge everyone.'
'A tall order. And unbearably naïve.'
'...It's just like that idiot.'
Sakura mentally slapped herself. 'Did I just think he looked cool while saying that?!'
Inner-Sakura was seething indignantly. 'Get a grip, Sakura! Sasuke-kun is right beside you! SHANNARO!'
Kakashi's gaze on Naruto was a little too long to be dismissed off as a casual once-over. Perhaps the interest shining in his eyes was a sign.
"Intriguing... You, girl." His gaze turned towards Sakura, who jolted out of her thoughts at the sound of her being addressed. "You're next."
"Oh! Yes. I'm Haruno Sakura. I like..." She glanced over at Sasuke, blushing. "...um, flowers! Yes, flowers... Er... My hobbies are reading books, meditating, and baking. My dream..." She couldn't contain her squeal of excitement.
Kakashi sweatdropped.
Naruto leaned closer to her. "And, and? Your dislike?"
Sakura's eyes focused on him, a seemingly evil smirk playing on her lips. "...Do you really want to know about that...?" she drawled.
Naruto gulped loudly. "U—Uh..."
"All right, next," Kakashi announced, saving his sensei's son from future (indirect) harm. "You, Uchiha."
Sasuke blinked calmly, then internally drew a breath.
"I am Uchiha Sasuke," he said simply. "I don't have many likes, but I do favour shuriken and speed training with my brother. I dislike..." Something in his eyes flashed. Kakashi did not miss it. "...injustice. My hobbies are training, running laps, and playing the..." Suddenly his cheeks uncharacteristically flared red at his apparent slip-up.
Naruto pounced on him immediately. "What, what?! What is it?" he demanded, grinning. He couldn't wait to make fun of the oh-so-great Uchiha Sasuke who looked so embarrassed from almost spilling out his seemingly 'dirty' secret.
Sakura leaned in as well, looking overly curious. Her eyes were still wide in surprise. She didn't think that the usually stoic Sasuke would blush that deep a red.
Sasuke stubbornly turned his head away, the blush on his face already receding. "...Nothing."
Kakashi eye-smiled. "Now I'm curious, Sasuke. What exactly do you like playing?"
Sasuke looked like he was going to protest, but at the gleaming look on Kakashi's eyes, he felt that he could not get out of this one. "...My mother taught me how to play the harp," he admitted sulkily. "And I've... somehow enjoyed it."
"HAHAHAHA! What a sissy!" Naruto guffawed. "The great second Uchiha prodigy, playing the girly harp! Hahahaha! This is priceless! I—I gotta tell everyone! I—I gotta—"
"Say ONE word and I will behead you," Sasuke threatened, eyes flashing red as the Sharingan replaced his fathomless dark irises. "And I will do it slowly and painfully."
"Hey, hey, chill!" Naruto raised his hands in a form of surrender. "All right, all right, I won't tell anyone... Just turn off that creepy eye jutsu of yours..."
'Interesting... He has already awakened his Sharingan at that age?' Kakashi mused in his head. 'And Naruto and Sakura don't even look surprised…'
Sakura had hearts in her eyes. "Sasuke-kun, you're so cool!" she gushed giddily.
Sasuke coughed, willing the faint pink shade on his cheeks to go away. "My dream... is for peace as well." He ignored the way the three's eyes widened in surprise. "Ever since I was little, I've always wanted to become a part of the Konoha Police Force. Someday, I would like to have the desire to protect this village with my all... after trying to find myself first."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Find yourself...?" he echoed.
"I wish to break the cycle of never-ending wars," Sasuke elaborated in a soft voice. "However, I am still unsure of how to do it. I feel that there is something that has to be done yet before I can decide." He stopped himself from going any further, not wanting to reveal any more.
Kakashi got the message and stood up. His gaze lingered curiously on Sasuke before regarding each of his students. "All right, now that that's done—"
"Hey, wait!" Naruto yelled, snapping out of his stupor. "You haven't even introduced yourself yet, stupid teacher!"
"Ah, my bad, my bad," Kakashi said, waving a hand casually. "I am Hatake Kakashi, your instructor until you three become chūnin. I don't have a lot of likes. Don't have a lot of dislikes, either. My hobbies, well... You don't need to know them."
Sakura's eyes lit up with fire. "That doesn't tell us anything at all, you stupid teacher!" she yelled indignantly, waving a fist threateningly in the air.
Naruto frowned. "Yeah, stupid teacher!" he echoed.
Kakashi smiled. "And my dream... is to see you three grow up... and protect you until I die."
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura froze.
Sasuke's eyes were wide.
'No way...'
"We'll meet at Training Ground Six tomorrow morning," Kakashi said, continuing on as if he had said nothing shocking. "Don't be late. Oh, and don't eat breakfast." A foreboding look came upon his face. "You might puke."
And he disappeared with a poof.
Naruto and Sakura snapped out of their trance and looked green.
"Wh—What's with him?" Sakura managed to say. "And what the hell's gonna happen to us tomorrow?"
"Kakashi-sensei's weird, even though he's my uncle," Naruto said flippantly. He turned to Sakura, his eyes sparkling. "Hey, Sakura-chan, wanna go eat with m—"
"No." Sakura turned to her crush. "Sasuke-kun, do you — huh?"
The space beside her was now empty.
• • •
"Oi, Kakashi!" Sasuke panted, running towards the elite jōnin with a speed that he never thought he possessed as a child before. "Wait!"
Kakashi stopped walking, his head turned towards the heavily breathing pre-teen before him. "Yes? What is it, Sasuke? Do you have any questions about our training tomorrow?"
"No!" Sasuke yelled, eliciting a surprised look from Kakashi. "I want to know what the hell you meant back there."
"Hm?" Kakashi sent him an appraising look. "I don't think I get what you mean."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "I'm not sure if you're just pretending or not, but I need to know. Did you mean it?"
"Mean what?"
Sasuke gritted his teeth. "That you'd protect the three of us until you die! It makes no sense. You've only just met us. Is there a reason why?"
'You didn't say that to us back then… What made it different now?' Sasuke stared at Kakashi with penetrating eyes. 'By chance… Has he come back as well?'
But Kakashi only looked at him blandly. "Naruto is my former sensei's son. Of course I'd protect him, even with my life on the line. Also, you three will undoubtedly be under my tutelage until all of you become chūnin." He smiled. "About that, though… We'll just have to see tomorrow."
'…Tomorrow?' Sasuke's eyes widened slightly in realization. 'He means that our team is still temporary. He's going to test us first to see if we pass, just like he did back then.'
'I can't believe it. If it weren't for that uncharacteristic line, I wouldn't have this damned assumption… If I think about it deeply now, it makes absolute sense. In this timeline, Naruto's parents are alive. Kakashi's the Fourth Hokage's student. Of course he'd care about Naruto and then drag me and Sakura along since the three of us make a team.'
'Damn it. I got all anticipated for nothing!'
"Well?" Kakashi's voice brought him back to the present. "Are there any more questions you want to ask me, Sasuke?"
Sasuke turned away, his hands in his pockets. "No," he answered stiffly before going on his way.
These occasional moments of weakness regarding his team were foreign to him. All his life — well, most of it, anyway, back in the future — he spent his waking hours training to become stronger than Itachi, to become the man who was going to avenge his clan one day. Sure, he had spent his genin days with his team, with Team 7, and grew an attachment to them. It had been promising and full of warmth; he never had to only listen in the sidelines because he was a part of them, not a spectator. However, it felt like it had been too long since he was exposed so much to their friendship, to their interactions. Back in the war, they were temporary allies working against a common enemy.
Here, however, Sasuke was confused. Of course, there was no reason to keep them away anymore; his family was here. Everything he had strived for was here, in this timeline in which he had been granted the chance to live in. Everything was far too real, far too intricate to be a powerful genjutsu. The Infinite Tsukuyomi couldn't even hold a candle to this.
In the Infinite Tsukuyomi, the genjutsu showed the people their wishes, their wants, their obscured desires. It created a world — an illusionary dream — and would continue to satisfy the person for a stretch far beyond the boundaries of infinity, probably. Kaguya, however, from what he could remember, could not possibly be able to place the four of them into a genjutsu in the dimension they were in. His Rinnegan, again, could have also made sure that he would not get caught in it.
So this was definitely real. And it was frustrating because there were now many enemies out there waiting to strike. In the future, peace was already a possibility since all five great nations were united. But here, it all went back from scratch.
Sasuke actually desired peace as well, because he even went so far as to resign to becoming alone for the rest of his life just to keep all the nations allied together, even though his way was a little twisted.
And lonely.
Which was why when he noticed a glaring possibility that his team — especially Naruto — possibly made it here as well, he began to hope. If it was them, they could find a way. Sasuke, deep inside, felt that he could not do this alone, something that he pondered to himself over and over again. He couldn't confide in Itachi possibly yet. He had to figure out all of this with his team.
After all, Team 7 was the one that almost defeated the Rabbit goddess herself: Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
They could do this.
As Sasuke walked towards the direction of his house, he wondered why all of the genin teams were still the same in this timeline. He wondered why Kakashi was a jōnin teacher this early. He also wondered why Iruka became a teacher right after he became a chūnin. There were so many things that were different in this timeline, yet they still felt the same even though they should've happened five years from now.
'Tomorrow,' Sasuke swore to himself. 'Tomorrow, I'll think more about this once Kakashi passes us.'
• • •
Naruto yawned as he walked past the entrance to the training grounds. He had been especially woken up by his mother and yelled at when he didn't get up immediately. Kakashi had better have a good reason why he needed them here this early in the morning.
As he walked, he remembered the conversation he and his parents had while having breakfast.
----------------------------------
"So, Kakashi asked you three to be at the training ground today?" Minato inquired, lowering his newspaper so he could meet his son's eyes.
"Yeah," Naruto replied, sadly watching Kushina chewing on her bacon and eggs. "It's too early, though! Man, that guy must be a real early bird… He even told us not to eat breakfast!"
Suddenly, both Minato and Kushina gave knowing chuckles. Naruto looked at them in confusion as their eyes met, obviously having an inside joke between them.
"…What? Wait, don't tell me—!" Naruto eyed his parents carefully. "Is he gonna smack me on the head if I'm late? Or kick me in the butt three times? Or worse… starve me the whole day?!"
His inquiry only extracted full-blown laughter from Kushina and an even heartier laugh from Minato.
"Ah, well…" Kushina said after a few minutes of getting a breather, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes. "…I guess you'll have to get going if you wanna find out, dattebane~!"
----------------------------------
"Man, what is it with them?" Naruto muttered. "I can't figure it out…"
When he reached the three log posts, he saw that Sakura was already there, reading a scroll which he couldn't recognize.
"Good morning, Sakura-chan!" Naruto greeted, his voice becoming chipper at the sight of his crush.
"Morning, Naruto," Sakura greeted back absently, albeit in a drawl since she was busy scanning the contents of the scroll.
Naruto looked around, confused. "Huh? Sasuke ain't here yet? Funny, I thought he's always early."
That prompted Sakura to look up. "I think Sasuke-kun probably overslept. There's no way he'd be late in our first training together as a team." Suddenly her cheeks flared pink, and her eyes averted to the ground. "Umm… Maybe I should go pick him up at his house then… I mean, I am his teammate, after all, and he probably wouldn't like to be late today…"
----------------------------------
Meanwhile, at the Uchiha Household…
----------------------------------
Sasuke was sleeping peacefully in his bed. Mikoto passed by and decided to check on her son.
She then saw that his alarm clock was set at ten. It was only currently seven-thirty.
'I'll let him sleep…' Mikoto thought to herself, humming cheerfully. 'Besides, it looks like his first training with his team doesn't start until ten-thirty.'
----------------------------------
Naruto huffed in jealousy. "Leave him be, Sakura-chan! The bastard just doesn't care, anyways!"
"Hey!" Sakura waved a fist at him threateningly. "Don't you dare talk badly of Sasuke-kun!" She let out a 'hmph' before turning her attention back to her scroll.
Naruto sulked. 'Just what's so great about that guy, anyway? Man, I wish Sakura-chan would look at me like the way she always looks at Sasuke…'
The seconds turned to minutes, then the minutes to hours. Naruto was already starting to nod off while Sakura was muttering darkly under her breath.
"That stupid teacher… It's already a quarter past ten!" she growled to herself. "How much longer is he going to make us wait?!"
At that moment, footsteps scraped the grass leisurely, causing Sakura to draw her attention away from the scroll she was studying.
"Kakashi-sen — oh! Sasuke-kun!" she exclaimed, abandoning her study material on the ground. "Good morning!"
Sasuke gave her a nod of acknowledgement. "Morning."
Sakura swooned inwardly. 'He greeted me back! Okay, Sakura, now it's time to start up a nice conversation!'
"Oh, Sasuke-kun, you don't need to worry about being late. Kakashi-sensei still isn't here yet and Naruto and I have been waiting here for about three hours now," she assured him.
Sasuke concealed a smirk. "Ah, is that so?" Thought so. Same old Kakashi. Then his eyes came upon Naruto's snoring form. "That idiot is already sleeping."
Sakura nodded vigorously. "That's right! He doesn't care at all!"
Sasuke cast her a sidelong glance. "…What's that scroll you were reading?"
Sakura's eyes widened slightly. 'Oh! Sasuke was actually talking to her! Sasuke was actually striking up a conversation!'
Well, this was her chance! "It's a scroll about—"
At that moment, a loud poof sounded, revealing Kakashi's cheerfully smiling form before them.
Naruto was wrenched out from sleep at the sound, his eyes blearily focusing on his teacher.
After regaining his vision, he instantly stood up, his finger already pointing accusingly at Kakashi.
"YOU'RE LATE!" he and Sakura yelled in unison.
Sasuke smirked. 'Just like the old days…' he mused.
"Ah, sorry, sorry," Kakashi apologized, holding up a hand sheepishly. "An old lady asked me to carry her groceries for her, so as a shinobi of rank, I couldn't just ignore her…"
Naruto and Sakura raised an eyebrow, both wearing eerily identical expressions on their faces.
"Ya know, I get the feeling that it's a lie…"
"I agree with you…"
Kakashi sweatdropped. "All right, now we'll start—"
"Ack! Wait a minute!" Naruto's attention was now on Sasuke. "Hey, bastard, when did you co—"
Sakura promptly smacked a hand on Naruto's mouth, effectively silencing his outburst. "Don't rat him out!" she hissed in his ear.
Naruto's voice was muffled behind her hand. "B—But Sakura-chan!"
"All right." Kakashi's voice interrupted their banter. "Alarm set at 12:00 PM."
"Huh?" Naruto and Sakura echoed as they stared at Kakashi. Sasuke, already knowing what was going to come next, just watched and went with the flow.
The sound of bells tinkled in the air as Kakashi held up those certain objects in his hand. "Today's topic is to get one of these bells from me. Whoever can't will have no lunch."
Naruto squeaked in shock.
"I'm going to tie you there," Kakashi continued on as if he hadn't heard the slight protest, pointing towards one of the log posts, "and eat lunch in front of you."
Naruto and Sakura were gripping their growling stomachs, looking fairly depressed.
"So that's why he said…" Naruto muttered.
"…don't eat breakfast," Sakura finished. Regaining her composure quickly, she stared at Kakashi, puzzled. "But wait, why are there only two bells?"
Kakashi sent her a cheerful smile. "Since there's only two, at least one will have to be tied to the log. That person will fail since he failed to complete the mission." He jiggled the bells in his hand almost mockingly. "The person will go back to the Academy. It might be just one, or all three. You can use your shuriken. You won't be able to get this unless you have the intent to kill me."
"B—But that's too dangerous, sensei!" Sakura protested.
"Yeah, yeah!" Naruto agreed.
"In society, those who don't have many abilities tend to complain more," said Kakashi. "We're going to begin after I say 'start'."
Naruto, typically irritated by his teacher's blatant remark, began to make a rash first move. Sasuke, already expecting this, grabbed him by the collar, thereby preventing him from moving.
"Let go of me, bastard!" Naruto hissed at him. "That was uncalled for, ya stupid teacher!"
Kakashi's stare was almost steely. "How hasty… I haven't even said 'start' yet." Slowly, almost leisurely, he began to search for something in his small pouch which he kept at the side of his hip.
"Stop, idiot," Sasuke hissed back at the struggling blond boy. "You're gonna botch the training!"
"Okay, start!" Kakashi announced, an orange-coloured book positioned in front of his face as he began to read its contents.
Sakura immediately went into hiding. Sasuke followed after her, dragging a protesting Naruto with him.
"Will you stop moving so much?" Sasuke grumbled, shoving Naruto away from him once they concealed themselves from Kakashi.
"Who gave you permission to do whatever you want, asshole?!" Naruto snapped, his eyes narrowed in indignation.
Sasuke rubbed his temples, praying for patience. "Look. He's a jōnin. He's stronger than all three of us combined."
Sakura was clasping her hands together, looking nervous. "Then how can we beat him? If we can't even get near him, we'll never get the bells."
"Which is why we have to work together." Sasuke ignored their surprised looks. "There may only be two bells, but if we display good teamwork and coordination, Kakashi may consider that we can all pass this test together. Think," he added at their hesitant, apprehensive features, "why were we placed in three-man cells in the first place?"
"That's easy. 'Cause I'm cool and you're not," Naruto remarked proudly.
"Um, to have more manpower in hand?" Sakura tried.
This was going to be harder than Sasuke thought. Naruto was understandable, since he never listened in class and only crossed the bridge when he arrived there, but Sakura, the one who he always knew had good intelligence and observation skills, was somewhat of a disappointment. She had always aced the written tests, but her development in physical training was a little slower compared to the others in their class. It was as if she was still trying to adjust to her body; her aim, her hand-and-foot coordination… almost everything were a bit too askew.
Sasuke let out a sigh, then narrowed his eyes to show that he was serious.
"Three genins are placed in one team so that we can learn teamwork," he emphasized. "If we have to get those bells from Kakashi, we have to work together."
Naruto frowned, his eyes holding slight mistrust. "Why should I have to work together with you?" he said almost snarkily, childishly not wanting to risk getting sent back to the Academy despite his friend's (rival's) proposition. He was the son of the Hokage, after all! He couldn't let his father down now! "There are only two bells, ya know! Sakura-chan and I can get them ourselves!"
Sasuke gritted his teeth. Of course, because Kakashi made it in such a way that they would be competing against each other.
He glanced at Sakura. She looked indignant at the revelation that Naruto would rather get Sasuke to fail, but she seemed conflicted as well.
If he couldn't get to these two through mere logic, then he would have to settle for what he always had, back when the massacre of his clan didn't happen.
His blunt, genuine honesty.
"…If we're going to pass together," he said slowly, enunciating the words carefully and looking them straight in the eyes without any sort of mask hiding his true feelings, "then you two have to trust me."
Naruto and Sakura stared at him, eyes wide. Sasuke noted with slight satisfaction that the childish competitiveness in Naruto's expression faded into that of consideration.
He tested them. "I have a plan," he proposed.
• • •
Kakashi continued reading his book, occasionally letting out a small giggle when reading some certain parts of the story. Although he was focused on his favourite hobby, there was a small part of his mind that was interested in his little students' would-be antics. Since it certainly looked like Naruto was one who dove in headfirst into things and Sakura was the hesitant one with no great physical prowess at the moment, Sasuke was the one he should watch out for. However, if he managed to convince the other two to join forces to get the bells from him, Kakashi would only be able to partly focus on his book.
There was a loud rustle, and Naruto jumped out of a nearby bush, looking very irritated.
"No way! That plan of yours is stupid! Sakura-chan and I can get the bells by ourselves and I don't wanna trust you!" He stuck out his tongue at what was unmistakably the hiding place of his teammates and turned to Kakashi, pointing a finger towards him challengingly.
"Hey, you! Stupid teacher! Let's have a one-on-one!"
Kakashi sighed internally. 'He's becoming more and more like Kushina-san each day...' He looked up slightly from the contents of the page, eyeing his godson. "I told you, didn't I? You wouldn't be able to get the bells if you don't have the intent to kill me..." Kakashi went in for the kill. "...shrimp."
As expected, Naruto exploded. "WHAT! You — why I oughta —!"
In his anger, he proceeded to land a punch on Kakashi. The latter easily blocked it with one hand and dodged a kick that came next. Naruto, frustrated at his progress, attempted another punch point-blank, his fist flying towards Kakashi's face.
Kakashi moved out of the way, sighing. He was about to return the favour when he suddenly felt an unmistakable molding of chakra nearby.
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"
Kakashi barely dodged the flames. 'So that's their plan...' he realized. 'So they've managed to catch me off-guard.'
He was about to move when he suddenly couldn't. When his head craned downwards, he saw wires wrapped around his legs, immobilizing him in place. The wires were laden with chakra, for the purpose of masking their sounds when they were brandished. Kakashi smiled slightly when he realized that this trick required at least a better than average chakra control because of the painstaking effort to coat chakra around something that thin, as well as the additional work of concealing its movements.
And he knew just the person among the three who was more than capable of doing this.
'Teamwork, huh...?'
Sasuke moved fast. He exchanged blows with Kakashi, the latter parrying and dodging them easily even though his feet were incapacitated. Naruto chose that moment to rush in, throwing exploding tags at Kakashi.
'I'm glad...'
Kakashi gave an almost imperceptible smile before his body disappeared in smoke.
'...Minato-sensei, it looks like I haven't failed at everything at all...'
"Kawarimi?!" Sasuke exclaimed, an annoyed expression appearing on his features as a charred log fell to the ground. "When did he — ?!"
"Shinobi Tactic #3: Ninjutsu," Kakashi's voice rumbled from an inconspicuous place nearby.
Sasuke froze. 'Shit...! He's —'
A hand shot upwards, breaking the clump of dirt from the ground. Said appendage clutched Sasuke's ankle in a tight grip.
'— underground!'
'Damn... Not again...!'
"Shinobi Tactic #2: Genjutsu," Kakashi muttered, already behind the surprised Sakura.
The latter spun around at his voice, though she unfortunately hadn't heard his words. She already had a kunai in front of her ready, the sign of an at least better-prepared fresh genin, but then everything turned hazy.
Her eyes took on a dull look as she seemed to be in a trance for a moment before her vision eventually cleared. Instantly, her senses went on high alert, surveying her surroundings in panic.
'Where can Kakashi-sensei be...?!' Sakura wondered frantically. She was already paranoid by the moment she saw Sasuke being easily almost completely buried into the ground. What more could their terrifying teacher do to them?!
"Sakura..." a choked, almost gargled voice that was unmistakably Sasuke's caused Sakura to turn towards the direction where he was calling her. "Help... me..."
Sakura's eyes were sparkling when she heard her name, but her brief happiness stopped short when she realized that his tone was definitely off.
Then she saw it.
Sasuke's head was no longer visible on the ground. Instead, only his arm stuck out, and said appendage was beckoning her weakly, blood splattered all over fair skin.
Sakura stared, frozen to the ground. She stared and stared for what seemed like an eternity.
Then she fell to the ground in a dead faint.
• • •
'Perhaps I overdid it a bit...' Kakashi thought as he advanced towards the last member of the team. 'Ah... They'll get over it.'
"Shinobi Tactic #1," Kakashi said loudly, startling the blond boy as he realized that the former was actually behind him, "Taijutsu."
And Naruto felt a searing pain in his —
"Thousand Years of Pain!" Kakashi exclaimed with a glint in his eye.
And Naruto went flying into the sky, his eyeballs stretched outwards in an impossible length out of pure pain and shock.
• • •
"That... was disappointing."
In the end, after another fruitless fight, both Sasuke and Naruto were tied to the posts, with Sakura sitting on the grass between them with a rueful look on her face. Kakashi stood before them, a dissatisfied expression staring right back at them.
"As punishment, you will have no lunch. However," Kakashi added, his features crinkling into a slight smile, "I do have a gentlemanly side left in me, so I will allow Sakura to eat."
Sasuke's face turned sour. Naruto's mirrored his.
'Gentlemanly side, my ass...'
"But..." Kakashi gave her a threatening stare. "...you must not share your food with the boys. I am giving you three one last chance here. Break this rule and you will all not go unpunished. Is that clear?"
Sakura gulped, looking fairly intimidated. "Yes, sensei."
"Good. I will come back after you've finished eating." Kakashi loomed over them, exuding a menacing aura. "Remember, I am the rule here. Understand?"
When he disappeared, Sakura let out the breath she hadn't known she was holding. Man, that was unexpected! Her first impression of her teacher was that he was some lazy, tardy instructor who only cared about reading that stupid book of his.
Now, her second impression of him completely contrasted her first.
It only made her realize — no, remember — that Kakashi was a jōnin. He didn't get to that position without a definite skill set.
She looked down at her boxed lunch and gulped. She was hungry, yes, but guilt would wrack her body for mercilessly eating in front of her equally hungry teammates — especially Sasuke.
(She was still clueless that he had conveniently eaten a hearty breakfast back at his home.)
Sasuke gritted his teeth slightly. This was not the way he pictured out that it would go today. To be fair, though, even if they worked together as a team to try to take the bells, Kakashi was still far too skilled for them to beat, and Naruto and Sakura weren't the powerhouses they should be. But they did it, didn't they? They displayed teamwork! Why wasn't he passing them yet?
Sasuke glanced over at the conflicted-looking Sakura. Maybe Kakashi felt that it wasn't enough. We weren't even communicating back when we fought him; maybe he wants to see if we're all willing to act as true teammates despite not knowing each other that well.
"Sakura," Sasuke said. "Share your lunch with Naruto."
Sakura jolted in surprise, her eyes darting over her surroundings in mild paranoia. "Sasuke-kun? But Kakashi-sensei said that —"
"He'd be of no use to us if he doesn't have the energy to fight," Sasuke said in a matter-of-fact tone, eliciting an indignant protest from Naruto. "Besides, we're supposed to work together. We can't take those bells if we try to take them one-by-one."
Naruto snorted, looking downcast at his failure. "Like working together ever did us any good earlier," he muttered.
Sasuke ignored him.
Sakura looked hesitant for a moment. "But... what about you, Sasuke-kun?"
"I'll be fine," Sasuke said flatly. "That dope's stomach is the problem."
Thankfully, Naruto wasn't listening this time, his eyes fixated on the boxed lunch which Sakura was holding in her hands. She had taken the lid off and treated his vision with a delicious looking, steamy meal from the container.
Sakura relented at the suggestion, taking the chopsticks. Sasuke had a point... and even though it was risky, it seemed logical enough. "A—All right… Here."
"Um..." Naruto grinned at her cheekily, a red blush staining his cheeks. "I can't eat with my hands..."
Sakura looked revolted for a moment before forcing herself to feed him.
"Just one bite!" she growled.
"Okay, okay!"
After Naruto swallowed the food down, there was suddenly a loud thunderclap accompanied by ominous dark-grey clouds. Naruto gulped loudly, this time not because of the food. Sakura, who was beside him, trembled in fear.
Sasuke, on the other hand, had a poker face.
'I forgot how ridiculously dramatic Kakashi was in this time...'
"YOU GUYS!" Kakashi rumbled, his eyes sparkling with implied intent.
"EEEK!" both Naruto and Sakura shrieked girlishly.
Kakashi loomed over them suspensefully.
"PASS!"
"NOOOO! I DON'T WANNA GO BACK TO THE ACADEMY — huh?" Naruto opened his eyes which had closed shut in his earlier terror. "Wha — did I hear right? Sakura-chan?!"
"What... I..." Then an imaginary light bulb went off in Sakura's head. "So that test was...!"
Kakashi nodded, smiling at then cheerfully. The dark clouds were already receding, and the cold, cold breeze reverted back to its slight summer chill.
"It was a test of teamwork," he confided in a surprisingly soft tone. "You three have displayed better teamwork that what I've seen in average genin teams despite not being close to each other. It was enough to let you all pass." His eye crinkled in mild delight. "Although… I have already expected this kind of result from the start."
"Wha — ? Hey, whaddaya mean by that? I don't think I understand," Naruto interjected in confusion.
Sakura nodded. "Me, too."
Sasuke leaned forward slightly, interested.
"Don't think that I don't know about your pasts," Kakashi said knowingly. "The day before we met up, I spoke with each of your parents as a prerequisite for being Team 7's teacher. After those talks, I noticed a particular information which was in common with all three parents."
Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke stared at him, their heads tilted and their confused expressions identical. It almost made Kakashi want to squeeze their cheeks for looking so cute and innocent.
"Well, it turned out that you three were actually very close when you were five. Naruto here used to visit Sasuke's house almost all the time, usually bringing Sakura along with him. You would all then go to the forest near the Uchiha District and play." Kakashi smiled at their shocked looks. "But then one day, everything seemed to vanish. You three no longer went to each other's houses or even went back to that forest together. Naruto would sometimes hang out with Sasuke, but those moments were rare, as Kushina-san told me. Sakura, on the other hand, eventually took to approaching Sasuke every chance she had. While Sasuke..."
Sasuke's mind was reeling. What was that?! If what Kakashi was saying was true, then he should be able to remember those moments! But why, whenever he tried to think about his early childhood days, his mind drew a blank? What was happening? Was this another effect of time travel?
Are my memories going to be distorted? Altered?
Or worse... Erased?
Unbeknownst to him, Kakashi was looking at him, about to finish his sentence.
"While Sasuke... only secretly watched the two of you from afar." A soft expression came upon Kakashi's face. "Like a silent guardian. Isn't that right, Sasuke?"
A pink shade coloured Sasuke's cheeks without his permission. "Sh—Shut up," he growled, internally wondering how Kakashi knew that he was observing his old teammates.
Meanwhile, Naruto and Sakura looked perfectly confused. Whenever they tried to remember their childhood, none of what Kakashi said ever came to mind. It was as if they were trying to analyze a blank slate; nothing would come up no matter how hard they tried.
Kakashi smiled, this time a little softer. "Those who don't follow the rules are scum. However..." He surveyed his new team, noting that each had various indescribable looks on their faces. "...those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum."
Sasuke inadvertently glanced at his teammates, a faraway look on his face. Naruto and Sakura were looking at Kakashi with renewed expressions.
'What a nostalgic feeling…'
Back when they were mere, naïve genin fresh into the world of ninjas… Kakashi's advice had always stuck into Naruto the most.
But then...
"...What?" Naruto suddenly muttered, looking dazed. "What's... going on...?"
Sasuke stiffened at the eerily familiar tone of Naruto's voice.
The latter suddenly looked perplexed. He was staring at the three of them with something foreign in his eyes. "Huh? Wait, I don't understand..." His eyes darted between Kakashi, Sasuke, and a wide-eyed looking Sakura. "Why're you guys... all little again?"
----------------------------------
tbc