Naruto got up before his alarm clock today. He was excited. This was the day he was being assigned to a Genin team! He hoped it was with Sasuke and Sakura. Well, most likely he was already with Sasuke, since he was dead last and Sasuke was first, but Sakura? He didn't want their team broken up.

Who'd be his sensei? Some crazy bad ass ninja! Man, all those moves that his sensei would teach them made him drool. He'd be so great, that everyone would know him, he'd be so feared that all of his students—namely, himself—would also be feared, and then they'd be renowned once they surpass him and show the world who's boss! Yeah, that'd be awesome.

Naruto snickered as he rubbed his face dry from the cold water. He didn't stop snickering as he scarfed down his cereal. Putting on dark blue shinobi pants and an orange shirt over a mesh undershirt, he adjusted his shiny new headband on his forehead. He grinned at his reflection in the small mirror on his wall. "Headband, check! Killer grin, check! Bed, made and ready check! Gloves- there they are. CHECK! I'm ready to go, y'all!"

Naruto pulled on dark green fingerless gloves he received as a present from Sakura and adjusted his kunai holster from Sasuke. Closing his eyes and reaching out with his chakra, calming his senses like he had done back before in the forbidden forest a few nights ago, he felt Sasuke and Sakura's chakra's heading toward the Academy a few miles away. "Time to go. Yesha! Go go Uzumaki Naruto! One step closer to greatness!"

He dashed outside his apartment.

Sasuke was dressed in his usual Uchiha shirt, white shorts, and leg wrappings. On his arms, he had short, black wrist protectors on both sides. A present from Sakura. He wasn't feeling all that excited. Sure, it was his first day as an official Genin and ninja of the village, but what's so great about that? It 's still the lowest ranking there is. He was to meet up with Sakura on the outskirts of her area, which was in his direction towards the Academy. He didn't live in the Uchiha district anymore. Even if the council didn't urge him to move out into another apartment he would have moved out anyway. To either Naruto's house or a new apartment. Of course, Naruto's apartment was too small, but back then, both of them had been small enough that it didn't matter. Then again, the council would never have let him move in with Naruto. He didn't understand why people hated his blonde friend so much. Sure, he was annoying sometimes, but Naruto was generally a very nice and talented guy. He was loyal and a good friend. Not once in their six years together did Naruto ever do anything to let him or Sakura down. It didn't make sense that people disliked Naruto for no reason. It was a stark contrast to how the civilians treated him and how they treated Naruto. For some reason it made him ashamed.

When he went home after the ordeal in the forbidden forest, he immediately went to the stove, and against his better judgment, had placed his hand in the middle of the blue flames. He had expected to recoil, screaming—his blood had pounded so hard in his ears, expecting his hands to be charred and black—but his hand was fine. In fact, he enjoyed the tingling sensation of the fire flickering across his knuckles.

Baffled, the very next day Sasuke went to a ninja equipment store and bought some of those chakra sensing paper. Unfortunately they didn't come in sheets, but in packets, and so he was forced to buy an entire packet (250 sheets), and once he had the thing, he was strangely scared to try it out.

So what if he had more than one natural element? It would probably mean that he had a physical kekkei genkai, but can he do anything to combine the two elements? How did combinations work anyway? Besides, if he did have another bloodline limit, what about the Sharingan? Would he, the last of the Uchiha, be a failure to it's legacy? Leaving behind no Sharingan for his descendants? Just the thought made him feel sick. What would his father say?

His father wasn't here. He remembered with a grimace. Dead. Dead at the hands of his brother. Damn it!

Sasuke turned a corner into a desolate alley and punched his fist into the wall. Why? Why? He thought all the demons of his past had been cast away in the last six years with his friends. Why was that life continued to remind him of all the terrible pains of his younger days?

His knuckles began to bleed as he kept on punching at the gritty wall. He didn't like to think about his brother. His brother had been so kind, so understanding. What he said to Sasuke right after killing their parents was absurd. He wouldn't chase after his brother like that. Not like that, filled with hate and revenge. Naïve as he might be, Sasuke still refused to believe that his brother killed the clan out of "measure for capacity." Deep inside, he still hoped that there was some behind story to it, that his brother was still the kind, caring person that he grew up with... "Damn it!" He punched the wall again, not caring whether his knuckles bled or not. He raised his fist again, but this time, it didn't connect.

A hand shot out and grabbed his. "Sasuke, stop it!" Fierce green eyes pinned him down. Sakura held his fist in her hand in a vice grip. "Why are you doing this to yourself? Aren't we your friends? Didn't we all agree to come to each other in times like this?" Fury burned in her eyes, and Sasuke didn't feel so vindicated anymore. Instead he felt like a little kid being scorned by the parent. "Don't hole yourself up in this stinky place and get back out into the sunlight. What would Naruto say if he saw you like this?"

Sasuke gasped, not knowing that he had been holding his breath. " 'You masochistic now?' "

"Exactly! Wait, I didn't mean-" She trailed off, looking out of place with her bright pink hair in the gloomy shadows. A faint blush colored her cheeks. "Let's go. We're going to be late. I already backtracked just to find you."

"Hn."

"Is that all you can say?" Sakura lectured, leading them back to the bustling road. "I'm gonna tell on you to Naruto, let's see how long he'll pester you after that."

"...Don't." Not even he could withstand endless pestering from Naruto.

"Then don't do it again. Or I'll make sure to tell our new sensei to watch out for your 'tendencies.' "

"Hey!" Sasuke protested. "I'm not that bad! Now you're just being Naruto-like."

"Is that an insult?" Sakura dangerously voiced.

"On-only if you take it as one, haha." Sasuke awkwardly laughed and broke into a run. "Let's take to the roofs. We're going to be late."

Sakura rolled her eyes and grumbled. "Thanks to who."

"Hurry up you two! I've been waiting forever!" Naruto yelled. He was on top of the Academy. "Iruka sensei's about to start!"

With a dash, the three friends barely made it to the classroom before Iruka started his long lecture on the intense road of shinobi ahead of them. It was so boring that Naruto seriously reconsidered using his infamous Oiroke no jutsu again. But decided not to. Not in front of Sakura.

They all made to the same team. Team 7.

An hour later, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke waited alone in the classroom. Everyone was gone, but their sensei still hadn't arrived. What the heck was wrong with that Jounin? Didn't he know how to keep time? Even Naruto, the delinquent, knew how to be punctual.

"Doesn't the freakin' Jounin know how to keep time? Even I know how to do that!" Naruto shouted, making Sasuke smirk.

Sakura sighed. The day didn't seem to be turning out to be that great. First Sasuke, now their new Sensei? Wasn't Seven supposed to be the lucky number? It didn't seem like luck was on their side today.

"Hehehe," Hmm? Looking up, Sakura caught sight of Naruto setting up a trap with a blackboard eraser in the door.

Exasperated, she palmed her forehead. "Naruto, such an obvious trap is not going to work on a seasoned ninja."

"Awww, who cares? The fun is setting it up! Besides, it's so simple that people will probably overlook it." Undeterred, Naruto secured the eraser and gleefully waited, waited, waited...

Plop.

A mess of white silvery hair was caught in between the door and the wall. Naruto roared with laughter. Sakura and Sasuke, bemused and shocked, sat up. "I GOT YOU! I GOT YOU!" Naruto jumped up and down, howling with laughs wracking his body.

The mysterious man stood up to his full height, patting his hair free of the white dust. "Hmm. Let's see..."

Naruto unconsciously stopped making a scene and gulped. Sasuke and Sakura quieted, suddenly wary.

"...my first impression of you guys... I hate you."

...

"So, why don't we introduce ourselves? Our likes, dislikes, hobbies, names, goals, stuff like that." The weird man with the funny hair lounged on a metal railing on the Academy roof. "I'm Hatake Kakashi. Hmmm...you don't really need to know my likes or dislikes...I have a few hobbies. I don't really have a goal."

"So all we learned is his name?" Naruto muttered under his breath. What a weirdo. He desperately needed a new hairstyle. It was terrible!

Hearing the mutters, Kakashi pointed at the blonde first. "You first, blondie."

"Hai! Hai! I am Uzumaki Naruto! I like cup ramen and the Ichiraku ramen Iruka sensei buys me sometimes! What I like more is when Sakura and Sasuke and I eat together. It doesn't matter what the meal is. What I like even better than that are Sakura and Sasuke themselves. Dislikes? Hmm." Naruto scrunched up his face and assumed his thinking pose, stroking his imaginary beard. "I suppose people who are mean to me for no reason. That, and oysters. They freak me out. I hate being alone."

Oysters? The kid was a funny one. It was real interesting to see how interesting his sensei's son had turned out. "Go on."

"My hobbies are training, pranking, making fun of Sasuke, and ramen sampling. It's pretty much what I do all day." Naruto's expression turned serious. "I plan on becoming Hokage one day, and to make people acknowledge my existence! Then everyone will have to recognize my greatness."

Kakashi's eye opened slightly wider. He smiled softly under his mask. His teacher's son was a treasure, he could clearly see that.

"Alright. Very interesting. You next, girl with pink hair."

Sakura cleared her throat and sat up straighter. "I'm Haruno Sakura. I like my friends Naruto and Sasuke. What I dislike is being alone at home. My hobbies are to cook, train, prank, clean, and camp. Don't take me for an average girl, because I'm going to be Hokage too!"

"Clearly. Not with your hair at least." Kakashi didn't expect the icy cold glare that chilled him right to his bones after his comment. Maybe the team was not as boring as he initially thought...? "Lastly, you. You probably know who you are already." He pointed lazily, his keen ears catching the mutter from Sakura: "of course he knows who he is. What a dork."

"Hn." Sasuke smirked at his teammate's irritation. He didn't like the teacher already. But it was alright. There were plenty chances to get back at him later. His dear friends just haven't caught onto that little tidbit yet. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke. I like Naruto and Sakura, and I hate being alone at home. My hobbies are to train, to prank, to hang around with my friends, to camp. The usual stuff." Sasuke shrugged noncommittally. "I plan on becoming Hokage."

All three of them like to prank, and want to be Hokage? What's up with that? Kakashi thought. Well, at least they like to train, and they like each other. Maybe they can pass my test. But, do they like their friends better? Or their dream better? We'll see. He cleared his throat. "Well well. Very interesting group we have here. I'd congratulate you on becoming Genin, but before that, we need to do a little survival test." Here comes the fun and disappointing part.

"Huh?" Sakura cocked her head. She looked like the brains in the group. "But we did survival training in the Academy. Why do it again?"

"Yeah! This is stupid! WE should go straight into missions!" Naruto cheered.

Kakashi lazily took his time answering, knowing that it would make them more anxious. Slowly, he fixed his palm on the side of one cheek. "Well... you see, you three are not officially Genin until you pass a special test."

"Special test?" It was the Uchiha's turn to talk. Didn't look too happy. Oh, how he loved riling up the little ones.

"That's right. What's scary about this one though, is that there is a 66% failure rate. In other words, only nine out of the thirty graduates will advance to Genin, and the rest will go back to the Academy."

He watched gleefully as the horror sank into their faces. He was sadistic, for sure. "We'll start this tomorrow, at five in the morning. Meet at training ground seven. Don't be late." He stood, languidly stretching.

Before he leaped away, he turned and faced them. "Oh, by the way, don't eat breakfast. You'll just get sick." kekeke. He was evil.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura shared a worried glance before wordlessly heading to their safety tree house.

They needed to think.

"I say we stay here tonight, then leave together." Sasuke spoke. Naruto and Sakura nodded.

"Yeah. We should do some light training then go to bed early. I say we eat a lot of dinner." Sakura fretted.

"What about breakfast? Are we going to eat?" Naruto asked. "He didn't say we couldn't, he just suggested we don't."

"I say we eat." Sasuke decided. "I'd rather take the chance of throwing up than fighting on an empty stomach. Either that, or we can take some rations, but that's too risky. Stopping in the middle of the fight to eat? It'd give us openings."

"I say we do both." Sakura pulled out her backpack and packed it with ration bars. "It's always better to be safe than sorry." She packed medicine too, in case any of them did throw up.

"Do you think we'll fail?" Sasuke asked. Sakura and Naruto paused in what they were doing.

After some hmm-ing and stroking his beard, Naruto shook his head. "I think if there's anyone that can pass, it's us. We're a team. We pass together or fail together. Besides, we're way stronger than all our other classmates. We made sure to keep our true strengths hidden. We can take him by surprise."

"I agree." Sakura set down her readied packs. "We're ready for this. We've been ready for this all along. I think, we can get there even earlier and set up some traps. What do you say Naruto?"

"I hate the thought of getting up before the sun," Naruto drawled, "But if it increases our chances of passing, why not? What do you think Sasuke?"

"I doubt that they're expecting anything much from a group of freshly graduated Genin," Sasuke answered. "I bet all we have to do is make the right kind of impression. So I'm all for the plan. We don't know what the test really is though. Other than the fact that it's survival training."

"Who cares." Naruto shrugged. "We're awesome enough. We'll be fine."

"Pride leads to a fall," Sakura warned.

"Dear Sakura!" Naruto feigned hurt. "When have we ever been prideful? I'm just stating the truth. We are, after all, pretty badass."

Kakashi strolled down the busy streets of Konoha, his favorite book in hand, flipped open to his favorite page. He absentmindedly noted the sun go down and the electric lights turn on. He wasn't very sure which direction he was walking in, but if his guess was right, it was probably the same place he always ended up in.

He felt the crunching of grass beneath his feet. Stopping, he put down his book and smiled at the large shiny stone in front of him. "Hello Obito. I'm back."

"So anything else we need to talk about?" Naruto got up and began stretching his arm muscles. He wanted to train.

Sasuke bit his lip. Here it comes. "I went and got this recently." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the packet of chakra sensing paper. "I thought I'd do it with you guys, since I have so many."

Sakura squealed. "Yay! I always wanted to know my element affinity! Do you know if you-?"

He understood what she was asking. "No, I didn't do it yet."

"Aww, do it now! Let's see if you have another element!" Naruto was jazzed up. He began jumping in place.

Sasuke ripped the packaging open and pulled out a sheet. "Okay, here goes." Concentrating, he pushed some of his chakra into the paper. Two things happened at once.
The paper crinkled, then burst into flames. Surprised, Sasuke dropped it. Letting the paper fall onto the wooden planks of the tree house. "What the-" Thankfully the fire went out after turning the paper into ash.

Sakura and Naruto, eyes glittering with interest took the packaging and looked at the instructions. "It says that if it crinkles, then your element's lightning, and if it burns, then it's fire. It's true! You do have two natural affinities!"

Naruto's eyes were like sparkling glass balls. "WOOW! Sasuke! That's amazing! Maybe you do have a physical kekkei genkai after all!"

"Hn. Maybe."

Naruto bounced around. "Wooww. Now I feel bad, cause I don't have anything special! Well, I can sense chakra, but that's not much."

Sasuke was puzzled. "Sense chakra?"

"Naruto can sense chakra," Sakura explained. "But I thought we already decided that it was nothing out of the ordinary?"

"It's different." Naruto insisted. "Can either of you feel where Akamaru is now? What he's doing?"

Sakura and Sasuke both closed their eyes and concentrated. "No." Sasuke finally answered. "But you can?"

"Yeah!" Naruto puffed out his chest. "I could feel you guys this morning too! You two were in some alley a mile or so away from the Academy. What were you doing? When you guys got there your hand was all bloodied up too!"

"..." Sasuke and Sakura shared a glance. Sakura had cleaned his hand and bandaged it, and Sasuke had pulled out a pair of gloves to completely hide it, but Naruto was too perceptive for his own good. Often he himself forgot that Naruto was an extremely observant individual.

"Either way, this is a good thing." Sakura crossed her arms and thought. "If the test turns out to be locating him, then it'd be a blast!"

"Yeah!" Naruto punched his fist in the air. "We're awesome! Naruto the deceptive Chakra sensor! Sakura the muscle armed mighty brains! Sasuke the fiery-hearted!"

"What did you call me?" Sakura and Sasuke both advanced on their blonde friend. Laughing they tickled Naruto till he begged for forgiveness. In the end, none of them got their training time. Or their elemental affinities.