It was a warm, delightful summer day in Konoha. The green grass of the meadow grew long, blanketing Mother Earth with a soft cushion of life. The trees lining the meadow swayed softly in the gentle summer breeze, swaying in a placid, rhythmic ecstasy. This tender dance was accompanied by the joyous performance of a songbird chorus, playing their merry tune in the spotlight of golden sunshine filtering through the tree canopy.

One could search all their life for a nicer day, never find one, and their life would not have been wasted. Even so, someone was unhappy. Surrounded by the reverie, this melancholy adolescent shinobi-in-training was a patch of dull gray on the vibrant canvas of the meadow. Perhaps it is true that one must have a contrast in order to truly understand anything; joy is meaningless without sorrow to provide a foil. But, such wisdom is seldom comforting to those who are filled with sorrow. For young Shinmen Musashi, as our young friend is called, life has been anything but a cause for joy. Having never known his father, the death of his mother three short years ago was the cruelest of blows. While his grandfather may have stepped into to take care of his physical needs, his emotional needs were far from met. No one can replace a mother, especially at such an age. Death, for a time, seemed to be the only option, as the faded white scars on Musashi’s wrists testify to.

But, life goes on, whether we want it to or not. Musashi let out a long sigh, and pulled his legs closer to his body, withdrawing into a sitting fetal position. His unkempt black hair swished back and forth in the gentle breeze as he leaned back to rest his body on the great Oak tree he sat under. He whispered softly to himself, “Mother… why did you leave me?”

A twig cracked behind him. Musashi snapped around, instinctively assuming a defensive combat stance. A familiar voice soon allayed his fears: “Your mother—my daughter—didn’t abandon you, Musashi-kun. Her death has been the greatest tragedy in both of our lives, but you must remember this: If she had the choice, you mother would have never left you alone.”

"You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that, Grandfather,” the young ninja retorted. “I nearly struck you!”

The old gray-haired ninja laughed softly, “Indeed, Musashi-kun. You have impressive reflexes for your age, but you react without thinking. The samurai’s mushin will not serve a shinobi well. But, you’ve made Genin, and should be proud of your accomplishments. Sulking in this meadow will not bring your mother back, nor make the pain of her loss any less.”

“Grandfather Munisai?”

“Yes, Musashi-kun?”

“What was being a Genin like?”

Shinmen Munisai ran his right hand through his shoulder-length gray hair and shrugged. Musashi wasn’t usually a very inquisitive boy, and so Munisai wasn’t very used to being put on the spot. “Well,” he stuttered, “there’s a great level of camaraderie. My teammates became my best friends, and we lived together, fought together and…”

“And what?”

“I’d rather not talk about it right now.”

“What is ‘it’? I want to know.”

“Alright then. What I was going to say was ‘we died together.’ Now, obviously, I’m still here. But my friends aren’t. They died…saving…my life.”

Musashi paused, slightly stunned. “Oh! I’m sorry Grandfather.”

“It’s not your fault, Musashi-kun. You didn’t know. Perhaps it is better that we talk about this. Perhaps we should also talk about your loss too.”

The young shinobi stood in reflective meditation for a moment. “Well, I guess there is no better place to talk about it then here.” He sat down under the great Oak tree, and motioned for his Grandfather to follow. The older shinobi made a thin smile, and sat down next to his grandson.

Munisai set his walking stick down, and let out a quick sigh. “You know,” he said, “I used to come here all the time when I was a boy your age. My teammates, Akane and Gendou, and I would come here when we had free time, and practice our ninjutsu, or just to loaf around and talk. Those were the days…”

Young Musashi leaned back on the tree, his hands intertwined behind his head. “I wonder who my teammates are going to be.”

"Well, Musashi-kun, whoever they are, you will get along with them just fine, and they will grow to be your best friends.”

Friend: it was such an alien word to Musashi. He didn’t think that he had any friends, or that he would ever have any. “But, Sensei said that they paired people up based on grades. Each group would be no better or worse than the next.”

“And you believed him?”

“Well, yeah. Why shouldn’t I?”

“Let’s just say that there’s more to it than just grades. Trust me, everything will be fine.” At least Munisai hoped he was speaking the truth. Sometimes, things didn’t work out so well among groups. Instantly, he thought of Team 7 and Uchiha Sasuke’s rather infamous betrayal of his comrades. Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto had no choice but to pick up the pieces of their shattered friendship with Sasuke, and try to save the misguided young boy from himself. “How old would they be now…” he thought to himself, “about eighteen, I’d guess. Six years removed from Musashi-kun. I hope he never has to endure something like that.”

The sun slowly started to set, bathing the meadow in a golden light. “Well, Musashi-kun, I guess it’s time that we got home and made some dinner. You’ve got a big day coming up tomorrow. You should be well rested for it.”

The young ninja smiled rather weakly, hinting at a large amount of anxiety, and just a smidge of optimism to take the edge off. As they began walking back to home, Munisai thought to himself, “Trust me, lad, you’re going to need it.”

Shinmen Musashi awoke with a start. The screaming sound of the alarm clock was perhaps the closest simulation to what it sounds like to be in Hell. He quickly rolled over, and fumbled with the alarm clock before finally silencing the infernal contraption. Panting, he lay back down on his bed, and looked up to the dull gray ceiling tile.

He hated this part of the day the most. Leaving the sanctuary of his dreams was a torturous experience he dreaded every day. But, it still had to done. After laying in his bed, stewing in his self-pity, he finally mustered the energy to get up. He stumbled over to the light switch, and drowned the last of his sleepiness in the cold, sterile glow of florescent lights. He grabbed a towel, and tip-toed into the bathroom. The warm water of the shower was soothing, and helped him prepare for the day ahead.

After a quick shower, he quickly toweled off, wrapped the wet towel around his waist haphazardly, and walked back to his bedroom, still dripping water as he walked. He donned his favorite outfit: a blue pair of cargo shorts, and a tight black tee shirt. He tried for about ten seconds to tidy up his ever unruly hair, and then gave up.

He put on his Konoha forehead protector, meticulously straightened it, and then set about tidying up his room. Young Musashi was neurotic to the bone, and couldn’t stand to be in a messy room for even minute. Once he was sure everything was in its appointed place, he stepped out the door, and began his fifteen minute walk to the Academy. The morning was a little chilly for this time of year, causing him to quicken his pace.

There was a large throng of his fellow students waiting outside the academy when he arrived. Most seemed rather cheerful, gaily running about or clustered in small groups of close friends. He swallowed, and tried to hide his anxiety as he walked forward; clutching his books close to his chest, hoping no one would notice him. For the most part, no one either noticed him or seemed to care.

As the morning bell rang, Musashi breathed a sigh of relief. The environment of the classroom was always more comfortable to him. It had a sense of order, and he found security in that. He quickly moved into a seat near the back of the lecture room. Better to see and not be seen, or so he thought. The rest of the graduating class of Genin shuffled in slowly, and settled into their desks amidst much playful banter. It has often been suggested that it is the reclusive “emo” types that attract all the attention of young girls. However, there are different sorts of “mysterious”, and not all are created equal. While the dark, brooding mystery may attract attention, the silent ghost like Musashi is far more likely to never be noticed at all.

”I sure hope Munisai-jisama is right about this,” he thought to himself. That instantly brought to mind the one person he didn’t want to be grouped with: Ishikawa Setsuna. That fiery red-head had been hostile to him ever since he could remember. And even worse, she had decided to sit in the desk right next to his. Musashi cautiously glanced over at her.

She had her back turned to him, and was busily chatting with the girl sitting on her right. Musashi couldn’t remember the other girl’s name for the life of him; she seemed so quiet and introverted, it was more appropriate to say that Setsuna was talking at her rather than to her. It looked to him as though a lion had stopped to chat with a meek little mouse. Something about shoes and haircuts, Musashi wasn’t really listening to what they were saying.

While Musashi and the rest of the class in general were distracted in conversation or eavesdropping, Umino Iruka took the opportunity to sneak into the class unnoticed. He sat quietly at his desk in front of the class, and glanced at his wristwatch. He had a little under a minute until the second bell rang, so he decided to sit and wait patiently. When the bell finally did ring, Iruka stood up, and quieted the class down. Everyone with ready to burst out of their skin with a mixture of excitement and anxiety, for now they would be grouped into their teams.

Iruka-sensei cleared his throat, and spoke to the class in his nurturing, paternal voice, “All right class, today is the big day. Today you get to find out your team assignments. Let me assure you that this process is completely fair, and everything will work out just fine. Okay, Team One will consist of…”

Right about there, Musashi stopped really listening, he was so focused on when he would hear his name and which group he would be with. Consequently, it seemed like Iruka-sensei kept blathering on and on for what felt like an eternity. He could hear plenty of people emit cries of elation, or sighs of despair; it would appear that not everyone is getting what they want.

After about a minute of reading off the team rosters, Iruka-sensei looked up at his class. “Did I get everyone,” he asked. “Oh, wait a second, I missed a group. Team Five: Shinmen Musashi…” With that, Musashi snapped to attention, his eyes and ears fixed on Iruka. “…Tanaka Misato, and Ishikawa Setsuna.”

”Damn it!” Musashi muttered under his breath. Truth be told, he didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry, he was so frustrated. The one person he didn’t want to be teamed up with. He glanced ever so carefully over at Setsuna, only to find her menacing glare shooting back at him.

”What the hell are you looking at?” she threatened. She was as displeased at this result as Musashi was. She turned to the girl sitting next to her. “Can you believe this, Misato? We’re stuck with this loser.” She pointed lazily at Musashi, as if he wasn’t good enough for any of her effort.

”Well, I don’t know, Setsuna-san,” Misato whispered, “I mean, there must be some reason why they grouped him with us…” It was a weak defense, something quite characteristic of Misato. She was mousy and timid, which provided the perfect foil for the bold and domineering Setsuna.

Iruka-sensei began directing the teams to where they would meet with their new sensei. He called out the team names one by one, starting with Team One, and worked his way up the number system. “Team Five: you will wait here for your sensei. He will be here shortly.”

The three of them acknowledged in unison, and went back to eyeing each other suspiciously. Rather than stand up for himself against Setsuna, Musashi chose to fidget with his pencil, hoping vainly that if he didn’t acknowledge her, she would go away.

She didn’t. After the room had emptied, and they were the only ones left, Setsuna began doing what she did best: making Musashi miserable. “Hey, are you just going to sit there and look dumb?” she said, trying to instigate a reaction from him. “Hey, I’m talking to you! What the hell! Are you deaf!?”

”Ah, come on Setsuna…” Misato said shyly, before being cut off by Setsuna.

”Come one, pussy! Say something! Or are you too scared!” Setsuna jeered.

”…what did he ever do to you?” Misato continued, still as shy as before. Musashi continued to try ignoring Setsuna, though it wasn’t working.

”If you’re too afraid, why don’t you just run home to your momma and cry!” Setsuna laughed.

The pencil snapped in Musashi’s hand. He stood up in his desk, and stared Setsuna straight in the her bright green eyes, tears already starting to blur his vision. “My mother is dead, you bitch!” he yelled.

Misato tried once again to defuse the situation: “Uh, guys, I think you need to…”

Setsuna cut her off, “What did you call me?!” She stood up, and glared right back at Musashi.

Musashi didn’t know where the sudden burst of courage came from, but it probably had a lot to do with being mad as hell. “You heard me!” he barked back at her.

Misato didn’t give up. She tried to be as assertive as she could, almost yelling now. “…calm down! Seriously guys, this has to stop. Just apologize and we’ll all get on with our…”

Setsuna clenched her fists, and yelled, “No one calls me a bitch!” With that, she slid effortlessly into her combat stance, with her feet spread far apart to ensure balance, and hands ready for either closed or open hand strikes. A split second later, she attacked, throwing all of her strength behind a right jab. Musashi tried to parry, but he was caught flat-footed and totally unprepared. Her fist collided hard with his cheek, knocking him off balance. He unceremoniously tripped over the desk behind his legs, and fell flat on his back.

”By all the gods, knock it off!” Misato screamed. Setsuna didn’t care, and moved in for the finishing blow. She vaulted over the desk, her right leg sprung, ready for a stomping kick. Musashi quickly rolled out of the way, and sprung to his feat. Setsuna quickly resumed her attack, sending a powerful roundhouse kick Musashi’s way with her right leg. He caught her leg; it hurt like hell, but he stopped the kick. While keeping her kicking leg pinned to his side with his left hand, Musashi quickly stepped in towards her, and pinned her right arm to her right shoulder with his right hand. Within a split second, he brought her torso forward and his right knee upwards. His knee struck her in the abdomen, knocking the wind right out of her. As she recoiled and gasped in pain, he maneuvered his right foot behind her left leg. With a quick sweep, he knocked her balance leg out from under her; she quickly fell backwards, landing flat on her back.

To the untrained observer, it would appear that something very wrong was occurring right now, as Setsuna was lying flat on her back, and Musashi was leaning over her, standing in between her legs. But neither of the fighters noticed or really cared what it looked like; they were locked in battle. Musashi aimed a Tiger Claw strike for her face. She quickly parried it aside, and grabbed Musashi by his shirt, meanwhile maneuvering her legs under his body. She planted both legs on his abdomen, and kicked while pulling his chest forward. This motion flipped Musashi end over end, causing him to land in an awkward dive roll behind Setsuna.

They both quickly snapped back to their feet, back in fighting stance. Setsuna immediately went on the attack, launching a furious salvo of lightning fast jabs at Musashi. He couldn’t parry or block them all. Every fourth punch hit home. They didn’t hit near as hard as her first punch, but they still hurt like the Dickens. A blow to the shoulder, a blow to the chest, another right on his forehead. He couldn’t keep this up for much longer; she was beating him into a pulp. He quickly guessed where the next punch would be aimed, and grabbed her wrist with both of his hands.

As he grappled her right arm, he thought he had her right where he wanted her. As he pulled her forward, using her natural momentum to pull her body off balance to set up for a shoulder throw, her other hand lanced outward, grabbing Musashi by the throat. He gagged, and let go of her arm, and in a reflex reaction, grabbed her throat.

There they stood, two proud shinobi, trained in the martial arts, resorting to merely choking each other. Misato screamed something incomprehensible; it sounded like “Stop!”, but no one could tell. Just then, the door to the lecture room creaked open. Both Setsuna’s and Musashi’s grips relaxed, but they still were literally at each other’s throats. As they turned to see what disturbed their fight, a tall grey haired ninja walked into the room. He wore a mask over the lower part of his face, and his forehead protector was tilted over his left eye like an eye patch.

Misato stood in terrified fright, her usually pale face a crimson read from terror. Setsuna and Musashi were frozen in place. The grey haired ninja spoke, his voice conveying unpleasant surprise, “Did I miss something?”

Setsuna and Musashi let go of each other’s throats. Musashi spitefully glared at her, and took a large step away from her. Both of them tried to avert their eyes from the older ninja who had interrupted their rather undignified battle.

After a very long, very awkward silence, Misato managed to say a few words, “Who…are you?”

The man clearly couldn’t help being condescending. He replied, “Well, my name is Hatake Kakashi, and I’m supposed to be the sensei for certain Genin team, a certain Team Five. Do you know where I can find them?” The message was clear: grow up!

”Yeah, that’s us,” Setsuna replied. Her voice had lost all of the fire that it had before; she sounded almost submissive.

Kakashi sighed and shook his head. “This is going to be a long day.”

Hatake Kakashi stood in front of his new trainees in silent mediation. He wondered what the hell he was going to do with this sorry bunch. They’d be lucky if they didn’t kill each other, let alone made it through the first test. The boy couldn’t get along with the red-haired girl, and the other girl was too timid to get them to stop them from bickering let, alone stop a brawl.

”Everyone up on the roof right now. We’re going to calm down and have a little chat.” Kakashi motioned towards the door. Setsuna quickly straightened up her disheveled mane of red hair, and followed Kakashi’s beckoning. Misato’s complexion slowly began to return to its normal pallor; the anxiety and fright of the past few moments had turned her cheeks a deep crimson color. She quietly followed Setsuna, while glancing timidly back at Musashi.

A large bruise was starting to form on Musashi’s cheek. Misato winced upon seeing it, and turned back towards Setsuna, her face contorted in a passive-aggressive glare. Musashi wiped the thin streak of blood that was streaming from the corner of his lips, and started to slowly follow Misato out the door. Kakashi took the tail of the group as they solemnly marched up to the roof.

As his new team marched ahead of him, Kakashi was lost in thought. “These kids are even worse than Team Seven was…” his train of thought quickly derailed. “No, Kakashi, it won’t happen again,” he quickly corrected himself, “these kids are their own unique challenge. Don’t get stuck in the past, or else you’ll only be doomed to repeat it.”

The team quickly claimed their places on the short flight of leading to the roof patio. Musashi and Setsuna tried to keep a large space in between each other. Poor Misato was caught in between them; she could feel their malicious stares coursing around her body like a raging river, filled with killing intent for each other. Kakashi leaned up against the railing, and looked his team over. After a minute of awkward silence, Kakashi finally spoke. “I’m going to say this right now,” he declared, “it will be a miracle if you three last a day together as a team.”

The three young Genin sat there in downcast silence. Setsuna and Musashi even stopped plotting each other’s demise. They thought they knew what was coming: a gigantic lecture. But, things are not always as they seem. Kakashi spoke again, “Now, before the red-haired girl kills any of you, I’d at least like to learn more about my team. So, introduce yourselves.”

”What do you want us to say? You’re not giving us much direction here.” Setsuna snidely replied.

”Well, names are a good start. What you like and hate would be good, and dreams and hobbies are a nice one.”

Setsuna was the first to speak. “Hello, my name is Ishikawa Setsuna. I like gossiping and putting men in their place…” she paused and glared at Musashi. She returned to her “I’m not stabbing you in the back, honest” smile, and continued, “I hate rudeness, my hobbies are Taijutsu and dancing, and my dream is to become a great kunoichi.”

”Charming…” Kakashi remarked, “Okay, who’s next?”

Misato raised her hand nervously. After Kakashi acknowledged, she started: “Hi, my name is Tanaka Misato. I like flowers and cats and dogs, I don’t like watching people fight, I don’t really have a hobby, and my dream is…” She stopped, trying to muster up the courage to say what she wanted. “I…I want to stop all the hatred and suffering in the world.”

”A noble ambition. I guess that leaves you,” Kakashi said as he pointed to Musashi.

”Well, my name is Shinmen Musashi. I guess I like playing shogi. I don’t like getting up in the morning, and I don’t like…” he quickly stopped, glaring at Setsuna. “My hobby is practicing Kenjutsu (sword technique) with my grandfather, and I don’t really have any dreams or ambitions. What about you, Kakashi-sensei?”

”I have no intention of telling you my likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams right now,” replied Kakashi. “Right now, I only have two orders for you three. First, please don’t kill each other just yet. Second, report to the training grounds tomorrow at 05:00 for your first mission.”

”Five o’clock tomorrow morning!? You’re crazy, I mean, we’ve only just met!” cried Setsuna. “What on earth would we be doing at five in the morning?”

”Survival training.” Kakashi replied calmly, “Oh, and one more thing…”

”What’s that?” Musashi asked.

”Don’t eat any breakfast.”

”Why?”

Kakashi chuckled for a moment, and then replied, “Because you will puke if you do.” As he walked away from the dumbstruck Genin, he thought to himself, “I’m probably going to hell for this…”

As the sun slowly crept up over the horizon, three very groggy preteens slowly converged on the grassy field of Konoha’s major training ground. The grass was cold and wet from the morning dew. They all mumbled a tired greeting as they met in the center of the field. Setsuna moaned softly as she realized there was no dry place to sit, and then resigned herself to having a wet tush.

Musashi slipped into the meditative kneeling position, careful to keep a good distance between himself and Setsuna. He fumbled through the pouches and clips on his belt, and double checked his equipment: half a dozen kunai, ten shuriken, some bandages and antibiotic, and the wakazashi his grandfather gave him on his twelfth birthday. He didn’t think he’d need it, since this was survival training, but it was the weapon he was best with, even if it wasn’t as utilitarian as a kunai. He let out a long sigh, and waited for Kakashi-sensei to show up.

They all waited for several hours, with continual griping and stomach growling. Finally Kakashi arrived around nine in the morning. He was greeted with exasperated sighs, and a veritable Spanish Inquisition. ”What the hell took you so long!?” yelled Setsuna, exhaustion replaced with rage.

Of course, nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition. “Well, you see, this black cat crossed my path and…

”Whatever.” Setsuna smirked. She quickly changed the subject, “Okay, Kakashi-sensei, let’s get this over with. I’m tired and hungry. What exactly are we doing here?”

”Well, if you’re that eager, I guess there is no point in continuing this charade. This training is a test your ability to work as a team to accomplish a mission.” He pulled out two little brass bells from his vest pocket. “You three will be going up against me. Your mission is to steal these bells from me before noon.”

”Why are there two when there are three of us?” asked Misato, timid as ever.

”That’s a good question. You see, not everyone will get a bell. The person who doesn’t have a bell by noon, assuming the other two succeed, will wash out, and get to go back to the academy. Furthermore, I will tie that person up to that post over there, and eat lunch in front of him or her. Just in case you needed more incentive.” Kakashi gave the students his devious smile.

Musashi didn’t know why, but he just flew off the handle at this. “Hold on a minute!” he cried. “You mean that that whole test we took to become Genin wasn’t enough? If we fail here, we have to do it all over again! That’s not fair! You get us up early in the morning, make us wait four hours after having no breakfast, and then tell us that one of us will be heading straight back to the Academy by noon?”

”Exactly.”

Setsuna walked over to Musashi, and playfully smacked him on the head. “Whatever, crybaby. So long as it’s not me, I’ll be just fine with this.”

”Uh, guys…” Misato squeaked.

Both Setsuna and Musashi yelled simultaneously “What!”

”We need to work together to do this. Kakashi-sensei is a Jounin. We don’t have a chance unless both of you put your petty little differences aside for the moment,” Misato said with a hint of anger.

Kakashi smiled warmly at Misato. Despite her tepidness, he was beginning to like her. “Misato is exactly right. If you three don’t work together, and come at me with the intent to kill, then you won’t make it. Any more questions before we begin?”

There were none. The three genin spaced out in front of Kakashi, and moved into combat stance. Setsuna was in her familiar Renoji-dachi stance, balanced for quick, powerful punches and kicks. Misato readied a kunai dagger. Musashi’s wakazashi clicked forward, ready to be drawn at a moment’s notice. All three waited for Kakashi-sensei to give the signal, for they knew the fight of their life was ahead of them.

The three genin of Team Five stood ready to wrestle the bells from their sensei the moment the word came. Setsuna was like a coiled spring; she stood ready to strike at a moment’s notice. Misato watched her team mates intently, looking for any sign of what they were planning. Musashi gracefully drew his wakazashi from its scabbard, and readied it. He closed his eyes for the briefest of moments, and rid his mind of all distractions, and all doubts.

The word finally came after what seemed like an eternity. “Start,” Kakashi said calmly. He stood his ground, in a completely relaxed stance, and waited for them to come to him.

He didn’t have to wait long. Almost immediately, Setsuna pounced. She darted forward like a bullet, and aimed a powerful jab at Kakashi’s face, right in his left-eye blindspot. He effortlessly caught her punch, and held her hand motionless. She pivoted her body weight on his hand, and swung her whole body into a roundhouse kick. To her surprise, he caught her kick with his other hand, leaving her suspended in the air, her only free limbs denied any means of striking back.

”Setsuna, you idiot!” yelled Musashi as he sprung into action. He charged straight towards Kakashi’s un defended right side.

”Who’s the idiot?” Kakashi chuckled, as he tossed Setsuna straight at Musashi. Her body hit him straight in the chest, knocking the wind right out of him. He dropped his wakazashi, and the two unceremoniously landed in a heap.

Misato quickly ran over to help her comrades untangle themselves from the mess they were in. She stood over them, holding her kunai ready, in case Kakashi decided to press his advantage. Setsuna muttered “Baka!” as she hit Musashi on the top of the head. She got up, dusted herself off, and grudgingly helped Musashi get up off the ground. “Just because we need to work together right now doesn’t mean I like you,” she hissed.

”Same here,” Musashi grumbled.

To the three Genins’ surprise, Kakashi just stood there, half slouching. He lazily dug in his back pocket, and pulled out one of his smut novels, and began reading it casually. After a moment, he spoke, “Are you three just going to stand there staring at me, or are you going to get the bells?”

Setsuna was about to charge, but Musashi grabbed her arm, stopping her. “Baka! We can’t hope to get the bells from him unless we work together. You saw what he did to us last time; he laid us out like it was nothing!”

She was angry. Angry because he was right, and she had let her impulses get the better of her. She calmed own, and glared back at him. “Do you have a plan, genius?”

”I’m still working on that,” he replied as he picked up his wakazashi. He turned to Misato, and whispered, “Hey, Misato-chan, I need you to figure out a way to distract Kakashi-sensei while Setsuna and I go in to grab the bells.”

Misato nodded in silent agreement. She pulled three more kunai out of her pack, and tied smoke balls to them. On the one she had already drawn, she tied what looked like an off colored smoke pall. She whispered, “Stay clear of the black one,” making sure both Musashi and Setsuna heard her. “I’m ready when you are,” she continued.

Musashi grabbed a flash bomb and a smoke ball out of his pack. He whispered, “Setsuna, when I throw the flash ball, use the opening to hide in the bushes to our right. From there, you’ll have about thirty seconds to sneak closer to Kakashi-sensei, near that funny looking, old mangled tree. Misato-chan, you use the opening to take position in the trees to our left. Wait thirty seconds, and then begin your part. After Kakashi reacts, Setsuna and I will engage him in melee. You need to exploit any opening we make.”

They both nodded. As he readied the smoke ball and flash bomb, he said, “One more thing: don’t take your eyes of Kakashi. If he makes a replication at any point, we are all sitting ducks.” He threw the flashbomb and smoke ball, shielding his eyes from the flash. The moment it flashed, he darted forward and to the left, easily reaching cover before the flash wore away, and he was sure everyone else did. He scurried forward, silent as the grave, and got ready to strike.

Kakashi was impressed at how quickly they got their act together. Any lesser ninja, given the situation he was in, would have lost track of their movements. He didn’t see where Musashi or Setsuna went at, but he saw Misato for the briefest instant as she moved behind cover. “So, Shinmen Musashi, it appears you’re the tactician of this group. Show me what you’re made of.”

Though he didn’t look it, he was keenly alert, even while reading his favorite smut novel. And everything was quiet. Too quiet. One of them must have used the opening to set up a Genjutsu technique to dampen the sound. It was crude, and easily alerted a skilled ninja to its presence, but it did its job: mask the exact location of its user. The trees were swaying in the wind, and the birds were chirping, but Kakashi couldn’t hear either. He tensed up involuntarily, thinking, “Did I underestimate them?.

A kunai suddenly hit the ground by his feet, popping into a brilliant purple puff of smoke. Another came, and then another, spreading more smoke. A fourth kunai landed. “Hmm, I think they over did it a bit--” his train of thought derailed, as the fourth kunai exploded, spreading orange fire and shrapnel. Kakashi leaped upwards, out of the way the explosion and out of the smoke cloud. As he looked over his shoulder, he was greeted with Setsuna’s feral grin. She threw a punch at him, but he quickly spun around in mid, air, and caught her punch. “Damn. She’s quite the jumper,” he thought to himself.

Setsuna quickly swung her whole body into a kick, which Kakashi also effortlessly caught. But, that was the plan. Now that they were both being called back to mother earth by gravity, he, had no way of disposing of her. If he tried to throw her, she could just latch on, and they’d both be sent off balance. He landed awkwardly on the ground, and to his surprise, another Setsuna had just darted out of the bushes, heading straight for him. He quickly maneuvered the first Setsuna in the path of the second’s attack. It disappeared in a small puff of white smoke, and the real Setsuna was able to land a kick to Kakashi’s chest, knocking him off balance. Kakashi heard the distinctive sound of a sword slicing through the air. He quickly drew a kunai from his belt, and blocked Musashi’s attack of opportunity. “He must have ran through the smoke cloud, pacing himself so he’d arrive just as I landed. Clever.”

The two young Genin were quite fearsome melee fighters for their age. In the ensuing flurry of punches and sword slashes, they left Kakashi no avenue for safe retreat. Kakashi deftly parried all their blows, bobbing and weaving around in a way that would have put a ballet dancer to shame. This fierce melee continued relentlessly. It wasn’t long before Misato joined in. She wasn’t as fast or accurate as Setsuna or Musashi, but the added stress of dealing with a third opponent was taking its toll on Kakashi. Every now and then, someone would land a blow. At this rate, he’d quickly end rather well bruised.

He decided to change the field a bit. In one swift motion, he parried one of Misato’s punches, and punched her straight in the chin, knocking her out of the melee. She quickly pulled back to catch her breath. Kakashi quickly decided to press his advantage, and aimed a strong kick straight for Setsuna’s stomach. She tried to block it to no avail. The blow knocked the wind right out of her, and she doubled over in dry heaves. As Kakashi began to make his getaway, he felt a strange tug on his belt. Musashi’s wakazashi sliced into the ground right in front of Misato, the bells caught on its guard.

”Shit!” he cried, as he rushed to get to them before Misato did. He quickly fell flat on his face. He looked behind to find that Setsuna had grabbed his feet and tripped him. Misato quickly grabbed a bell, and tossed the other to Musashi. “Ugh, I’m getting old,” Kakashi moaned as he got up. “A promise is a promise. He grabbed Setsuna, and before anyone could blink, she was already tied up to the post at the edge of the training ground.

”Wait a second! How did he do that!” cried Musashi. Kakashi quickly motioned Misato and him to come over to the post. Kakashi was leaning on the post, smiling. Setsuna was on the verge of tears.

”Well, looks like you two pass,” Kakashi chucked, “and its only 10 o’clock! I guess we get to have lunch early. Since you all worked together so well, I’m going to give Setsuna another test after we have lunch to see if she’s up to snuff. If she passes, she gets to join you. If she fails, she’s back to the academy.” He threw Musashi and Misato boxed lunches. “Here, eat up. But don’t give any to Setsuna, or you’ll all fail.”

Musashi looked at the lunch as if it were stolen goods. He had passed, but he still felt awful. If it hadn’t been for Setsuna’s help, he wouldn’t have gotten his bell. And now he had to eat it in front of her, after all the hard work that they’d all been through. He didn’t like her, but this was too much.

”Well, I’ve got some important business to attend to, so I’m off.” Like that, Kakashi disappeared.

A tear ran down Setsuna’s cheek. She was fighting them off, desperately trying to put up a strong front. Her red hair was tousled, and she was bruised and scraped up all over her arms, legs, and face. “It’s okay, guys. I’ll just wait for Kakashi to come back, and then I’ll show him what I’m made of. I’ll pass in a jiffy, and then everything will be fine…” Setsuna said, desperately trying to convince herself.

Musashi couldn’t stand it any longer. He stood up, and offered his lunch to her. “Here,” he beckoned, “have some of my lunch. You’re gonna need it, if you have another test ahead of you.”

”W-why are you doing this for me?” she stuttered, “I mean, you’ve got every reason to hate me, after what I’ve done to you, and now you’re helping me.”

”What Kakashi-sensei is doing is cruel and unusual, and I won’t stand for it. Without your help, we wouldn’t have gotten the bells. This is the least I can do repay you.” Since she was tied up, Musashi quickly started feeding her from his lunch. “Hurry up and eat, before sensei comes back.” Misato soon joined in, and a small smile formed on Setsuna’s face.

Unbeknownst to them, Kakashi was watching them from the bushes. “Looks like they pass after all,” he thought. “Looks like Musashi’s a bleeding-heart, even though he’d hate to admit it. I didn’t peg Setsuna to be capable of selfless behavior, either. Looks like life is full of suprises. Oh well, looks like it’s time to end this Kodak moment.”

Quickly and silently, Kakashi darted from cover, and stopped right in front of the group. “What the hell did I just say?!” he yelled.

All three of them turned to look at him in fright. Kakashi began making hand seals, as storm clouds appeared on the horizon. “You broke the rules. Are you prepared to face the consequences?”

”Don’t punish them, Kakashi-sensei!” blurted Setsuna. “They only did because I asked them too, don’t make them –“

”Now wait a second, Kakashi-sensei. You said that this test was about teamwork. Well, I’ll be damned if I’m going to abandon my teammate, even if it means breaking the rules. You can send us all back to the Academy for all I care, I won’t stand for this. I don’t love the life of a ninja enough to compromise myself.”

The storm clouds suddenly disappeared. “Good. You all pass.” Kakashi gave them the thumbs up.

Everyone was speechless. Finally Misato spoke up. “Okay, I’m lost, what just happened.”

”You proved to me that you can work together, and that you’ll stand by your teammates, win or lose. Shinobi who break the rules are considered scum, but shinobi who abandon their friends are even worse scum.” Kakashi untied Setsuna, and handed her a boxed lunch. “You are all now officially Konoha ninja. From now on, your formal training is over, and the missions begin. Eat up, and get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow, you get your first assignment.”

Musashi, Misato and Setsuna were walking together through Konoha’s central market street, with Kakashi-sensei in tow, his nose buried in Jiraiya’s latest smut novel. As they walked, Misato and Setsuna chatted and gossiped about what their first mission would be like. Like always, it was a somewhat one-sided conversation.

”Well, I hope that we get to go on a trip for our mission,” remarked Setsuna. “I mean, wouldn’t it be great to go outside of Konoha and see more of the world? I think that would be wonderful.”

Misato nodded in agreement. As usual, she didn’t offer much to the conversation, which was starting to annoy Setsuna. So, she decided to ask Musashi. “Musashi, what do you think?”

Musashi had been listening to them silently, but hadn’t expected to be drawn into the conversation. “W-well,” he stammered, “I guess it would be kind of fun. But, I don’t think we should get our hopes up for anything spectacular, right Kakashi-sensei.”

There was no answer. “Heh, he’s probably gotten a little too into his dirty book,” Setsuna smirked. “Yo, Kakashi-sensei, if you spend that much time reading those, you’ll go blind.” Once again, no answer. The three Genin turned around. To their surprise, Kakashi was nowhere to be seen. “Damn, he’s a sneaky pervert.”

Musashi couldn’t help it; she walked right into this one. “You would know all about sneaky perverts, wouldn’t you, Setsuna?” he remarked, smiling ear to ear.

She was about to bust him right in the face, but she stopped herself, and counted slowly to five. “Anger management,” she muttered, “Okay, I get it now. You got me good. But you’d better watch yourself, Musashi, because this is not something I’m going to lose to you at.”

”Well, guys, I’ve got to go. See you tomorrow at the rendezvous point!” Misato said, waving ecstatically as she started to run off. Musashi and Setsuna stood there silently for a moment, staring each other down.

Finally, Setsuna broke the silence. “Well, now what are we going to do. I’ve got nothing to do for the rest of the day, I thought Kakashi-sensei would have had a lot more for us to do.”

”Well, I was going to go and practice my Taijutsu skills,” he replied. “Would you like to come a long and be my sparring partner? You’re a whole lot better at Taijutsu then I am…”

”Train? With you? Ah, why not? Sure, I’ll help you with your Taijutsu, if you help me work on avoiding Genjutsu.” She held out her hand to Musashi. He eagerly shook her hand.

”It’s a deal then. Come one, follow me. I know a perfect place for us to practice. No one will bother us, and afterwards, we can go to my Grandfather’s house and have dinner. He’s a great cook, and just a neat old guy. I’m sure you’ll love him.” He quickly motioned for her to follow him, as they scurried off towards his favorite meadow.

”Are you ready, Musashi?” Setsuna called out.

Musashi steeled himself for her assault. He closed his eyes, and rid his mind of all distractions, leaving nothing but focused determination. He’d need it all. In the previous match, she had beaten the living daylights out of him very quickly. He couldn’t let a single hole in his defense, or it’d be all over. “I’m ready.”

Setsuna cracked her knuckles. “Okay then, here I come.” She charged straight at him, and threw a powerful left jab at his head. He barely managed to dodge. He could feel her gloved hand touch the side of his ear. He ducked under the next punch, and rolled out from the melee combat, sure that he’d gotten the timing of her attacks down.

She quickly whipped around, sending a powerful roundhouse kick his direction. Her foot stopped a mere centimeter away from his chest. Attack number 3, successfully dodged. “This is where this gets messy” he said to himself. Dodging the roundhouse had made him dangerously unbalanced; he wouldn’t be able to dodge the next one.

As fast as lightning, Setsuna closed the distance, and threw a right jab for Musashi’s center of mass. He just barely parried it in time, but so long as the punch didn’t hit him, he didn’t care. It was his turn now. The parry quickly turned into a wrist lock. He pulled her forward, using her own momentum against her as he spun his body around, bending at the knees. Her body crashed into his shoulder, and he quickly performed a shoulder throw; he straightened his legs while pulling her body over his shoulder, creating a quick and effective take down maneuever.

Setsuna quickly countered. She threw her body weight to the side, breaking Musashi’s shoulder throw. She latched firmly on to his throw arm, pulling him forward, his own momentum being used against him. Using their combined momentum, she threw him over her shoulder. He landed with a thud against the ground. She quickly pressed her advantage, pulling his arm unnaturally far behind his back while simultaneously throwing herself to the ground, using her feet to keep his body from pivoting. A classic arm lock take down. “Had enough?” she chuckled.

”Ow, damn it that hurts,” he screamed, “Uncle! Uncle, damn it! I give up!”

She let go of his arm, and he quickly rolled over on to his back, gingerly working his arm to see if it was damaged. “Ow!” he winced as he rotated his shoulder. “I think it’ll be okay, but damn, that hurts!”

As he tried to get up, she tackled him, knocking him on his back again. She sat on his chest, looking down at him like a lioness over her kill. “You know, you’re kinda cute when you’re in pain,” she grinned.

”Great, now you’re having the time of your life, and my arm feels like it’s going to fall off. How the hell did you do that anyway?”

”The same way you tried to throw me. You weren’t fast enough with your throw, so I used it to my advantage, and threw you.” She jabbed him in the forehead with her index finger. “You’re the judo type, you should’ve already known the answer.”

There was an awkward silence. So awkward, in fact, that the trees stopped swaying in the wind, and the birds stopped chirping. After a moment, Musashi finally broke the silence. “Setsuna, I’m sorry about calling you a bitch earlier, and the whole fight thing.”

”Nonsense. I shouldn’t have been insensitive to you and goaded you into it. I’m the one who has always been a horrible bitch to you. You didn’t deserve any of it. I’m the one who should be sorry.”

”Then the past is behind us. Friends?” he reached a hand up for her to take.

She took his hand, and squeezed it firmly. “Friends,” She replied. She leaned down, and kissed him softly on the forehead. He was stunned. This beautiful girl, no young woman, had kissed him. For the first time in his life, he really realized how beautiful she was, both physically and even spiritually. Somewhere, under that abrasive front she put up, there was kindness and generosity, though she’d never admit it. Somehow, he knew that he’d been the first person to see this side of her, the person she really was. It was, well, an honor to be able to peer into someone’s soul like this. She got off his chest, and let him sit up.

Musashi brushed her tousled red hair out of her face, and he gave her a soft peck on the cheek. “Best friends,” he replied.

She blushed a deep crimson, redder then even her hair. She looked almost timid. “I-I’ve never had a best friend before…”

”Neither have I.”

She hugged him, nearly choking the life out of him before realizing her strength. She set her head down on his shoulder, so that he wouldn’t see the tears of joy streaking down from her eyes. “Then best friends it is,” she whispered into his ear. When the tears finally stopped, she stood up, an offered to help Musashi up. He gratefully accepted.

They continued practice sparring for several more hours. She helped him work on his technique so that he wouldn’t be positively hopeless in a brawl, and he helped her with releasing genjutsu. As dusk fell, they returned to Musashi’s grandfather’s house, where old Munisai treated them to a meal of Hayashi rice and Miso soup. Afterwards, they listened to Munisai’s swashbuckling adventure tales of when he was a young shinobi, and gawked at his collection of over two dozen daishō sword sets, most of which he had forged himself. After that, Setsuna excused herself, refusing Musashi’s offer to walk her home. Even so, for the first time in a very long time, Musashi felt happy.

In the forests outside of Konoha, a beast lurked in the shadows, maneuvering through the underbrush, hiding in the penumbra of the dense foliage. As silent as the grave, a group of four shinobi snuck through the brush, about ten or so meters behind the beast. The beast wouldn’t know that it had been had until it was too late.

The beast suddenly peaked it’s head up above the dense ferns, scanning for any sight or sound of threats. The four shinobi froze in place, hoping that their hand hadn’t been forced. One of the shinobi continued forward, a camouflage Genjutsu masking his movements. He found a small deer trail that led around the great tree that the beast had stopped by, and he crept along it, circling around the beast.

He quietly clicked the transmission switch on his wireless set, and whispered, “Red leader, this is Red two. Preparing to flush out the target.” His voice was calm, and just quiet enough to be lost in the din of a singing bird.

A calm monotone came over the earpiece of his headset. “Roger Red two. Red one, Red three, prepare to neutralize target.

A quick reply came across the wireless, her voice full of fire and enthusiasm. “Red one standing by.”

A quieter, mousier voice followed afterwards, “Red three, standing by,” she squeaked.

The young male shinobi was now in position. He clicked his transmission button three times, signaling that he was in position. For a moment, he thought that the beast had spotted him. Somehow, it instinctively knew that it was being surrounded. He counted to down from three. When he reached zero, he bolted out from cover, throwing a salvo of kunai to direct the beast towards a waiting trap. The startled beast bolted directly away from him, running down a well worn deer path. “Gotcha!” he yelled.

From out of nowhere, a red haired kunoichi slide tackled the beast, knocking it off its feet. A brown haired kunoichi darted from cover, and quickly wrapped a rope around the startled beast’s clawed feat. She hog tied the animal quickly, as it struggled and hissed at its captors. When she finally finished restraining the beast, the brown haired kunoichi wiped the sweat from her brow, and cried, “Who would have thought chasing down a cat would’ve been so difficult?”

”I don’t know, Misato-chan,” replied the red haired kunoichi, “I could’ve sworn that I’ve heard about this mission from someone before. This damned cat seems pretty well practiced at evading its pursuers. It took four hours to finally track down and corner this thing.”

”Either way, we got the little bugger,” the young shinobi interjected. “I know these D-rank missions are lame, Setsuna-chan, but we’ve got to do them.”

”Easy for you to say, Musashi-kun. You’ve got the patience of a freaking mountain. These are boring me out of my mind!” With that, Setsuna dramatically threw herself on the ground, the dense blanket of low shrubs cushioning her fall.

”Maybe you can write a book to occupy yourself: the Confessions of a Kunoichi Drama Queen!” he sneered.

In the short instant it took for him to start chuckling, Setsuna had already sprung to her feet, and socked him pretty hard right in the face. Musashi landed hard, knocking his head on a tree trunk. He lay on the ground motionless before groaning, “Oww! I guess the truth really does hurt!”

Before she could inflict anymore pain, Kakashi arrived and quickly intervened. “Settle down, kids,” he warned, “We’ve still got to get this ball of fuzz back to base. Round up your gear, and let’s go. I’ll take the package.”

Misato gingerly handed off the screaming cat to Kakashi before scurrying off to round up her backpack. Within a few moments, Team Ten started its trek back to Konoha. Their chase had led them quite a ways out of Konoha, so it took over an hour of hiking through the untamed woods before they finally returned to Konoha.

The trip was pretty serene. The evening sun was beginning to duck behind the horizon when they finally returned. Everyone had been mostly silent from hunger and exhaustion. They meandered through the streets of Konoha, and stopped at the Hokage’s tower. There they met the poor pet’s overbearing owner, who smothered the hapless pussy cat in a giant bear hug when she was reunited with it. Kakashi had already been here before, and had to try his hardest from not laughing out loud at this. He was absolutely certain that the cat in question was the same one from six years before.

Musashi, Misato, and Setsuna were not surprised that the little beast had run away. They even felt a little guilty returning it. When the cat and its owner finally left, the Godaime Hokage finally spoke. Tsunade spoke with an authoritative air that no one could deny, stern yet comforting. “Well, from what I’ve seen in Kakashi’s mission reports, you three have been doing remarkably well for first year Genin. Eight D-rank missions completed, most almost flawlessly. You can collect your pay from the paymaster when you leave. I don’t have any mission assignments for now, but I’ll be keeping in touch with you sensei. You may leave.”

All four of the them bowed and prepared to leave, before Tsunade interjected. “Kakashi, I’m afraid you’re stuck here for the moment. There is something we must discuss.” She turned the three Genin, and smiled, “Don’t you three worry.” She tossed them a small bag of money, and continued. “Why don’t you three go out to dinner some place nice. You’ve earned it.”

“Thank you very much, Tsunade-sama,” they cried in chorus. Setsuna, who had snatched the money out of the air, started running off. “Looks like I get to pick!” she squealed.

“No fair!” yelled Musashi. “You’ll take us to someplace silly!”

“I was never that young…” Kakashi mused.

“I don’t think I was either, Kakashi,” Tsunade chuckled. She quickly turned serious. “Close the door, Kakashi, I would prefer to keep this conversation private.”

Before he could chow down, Musashi first had to eat his words. He had to admit, Setsuna knew a way to a man’s heart: barbeque. Being with two attractive girls didn’t hurt either. Good food and good company go together really well; taken together, they spell bliss. The three Genin sat together, and chatted while enjoying their meal. In the booth next to them, another exhausted team of three shinobi sat together. One of them was a rather loud and obnoxious blond woman. She locked in argument with her slender male teammate, who was already on the verge of giving up. The third member, a big-boned brown haired ninja, tried desperately to get both of them to calm down. Their antics were the only blight on an otherwise pleasant evening.

Even Misato decided to be a little bolder. “Did you see that cute Chunin who smile at us on our way here?”

”Yeah, I did!” squealed Setsuna. “The tall one, with the black hair and that stylish scarf, right?”

”Did I miss something?” mumbled Musashi.

Misato grinned, “That’s the one. His name is Konohamaru. He’s like three years older than us, and boy is he handsome. Best of all, he winked as us!”

”He looks so determined, doesn’t he? Well, he is the Sandaime’s grandson, though, isn’t he?”

”Yeah. He just makes you want to make him yours, doesn’t he?”

”Can we talk about something I can relate to!” interjected Musashi.

The reply was unanimous: “No!”

”That’s what I was afraid of. Why do you girls get all googly eyed about older men? I mean, you hardly know him, and he’s not going to have anything to do with you, and if he is, then he’s clearly a perv—“

Setsuna quickly cut him off, “He is not a pervert! You’re just jealous that you can’t compare with a great shinobi like him!”

”If you’re gonna play it that way, then I have deal for you, Setsuna-chan. If I can find proof within a week that Konohamaru is a pervert, then you owe me 500 yen [AN: about five bucks].”

”And if you can’t?”

”Then I will personally go to him, bow down before him, and then ask him if he’ll go out on a date with you.”

”I guess it’s a deal then.” Setsuna quickly shook his hand. “You are so going to regret this, Musashi.” Her evil smirk was starting to make Musashi wonder if she knew something he didn’t.

Meanwhile, Kakashi and Tsunade walked up to the Cenotaph to pay their respects to Konoha’s fallen heroes. This place had a certain intimacy to both; both grieved over their past mistakes, which had gotten those they cared about killed. As Tsunade set her small bouquet of flowers down on the memorial stone, Kakashi sighed, “I guess that this is a more fitting place, given what you wanted to talk to me about. What’s on your mind Tsunade-sama?”

”Your guilt and self-blame, Kakashi. You can’t let it tear you up, trust me, I spent over twenty years of my life wallowing in guilt, forgetting all that I had left to cherish.”

Kakashi was silent. He scanned over the Cenotaph, pausing to read the names of fallen comrades near and dear to him. “Uchiha Obito…Fukai Rin…Uzumaki Naruto…I’ve failed them all.”

”You can’t blame yourself for their deaths. Each of them willingly chose to give their lives to protect something that was precious to them. Obito wouldn’t want you to dwell like this over his death, and neither would Rin. You were precious to them, and both in turn willingly sacrificed their lives to save yours. It’s not your fault. And Naruto, he made his own choice. He gave up his life to save his friends Sasuke and Sakura. As much as I miss the boy, I can’t stop living just because he’s no longer with us.”

”I still can’t help but think that there was more I could have done. I keep looking back, and every time I think that I could’ve done more the stop Sasuke from leaving, or more to help Sakura and Naruto bring him back.”

”So you blame yourself for Naruto’s death as well? Kakashi, get a grip! You can’t blame yourself for this! There was absolutely no way you could have known what Sasuke was going to do. Even more than that, you can’t blame yourself for Naruto. You weren’t there that fateful moment—“

”That’s precisely my point! When they needed me most, I wasn’t there for them!”

”Kakashi, please don’t cut me off. As I was saying, you were busy elsewhere, fighting to make sure that there gambit was even possible in the first place. There was no way that you could have been there; it simply is not physically possible. You were doing you duty, as part of the plan; the distance was too great, even if you had immediately had ran immediately to assist them.”

”It’s still going to take a long time to forgive myself, Tsunade-sama.”

”So long as it doesn’t interfere with your duties, I don’t care how long it takes you, so long as you find the strength to forgive yourself.”

”Shinobi who break the rules are considered scum. But shinobi who abandon their friends are worse than scum,” Kakashi muttered.

”What?”

”That was the first lesson that I ever taught those three; it’s the first lesson that I ever teach any of my Genin students. Naruto truly grew up to be a great man. He never once thought of abandoning his friends, no matter how horrible the situation was. I guess I should be proud of him. He lived that lesson well. He would have been a magnificent Hokage.”

”Yes he would have. How are Sakura and Sasuke taking it? It’s been two months since the tragedy, and I haven’t had a chance to talk to them about it.”

”About as well as you could expect. Sasuke will probably never forgive himself for what happened, and Sakura has practically been in tears ever since. Sasuke feels guilty about everything, and Sakura feels like she used Naruto to get Sasuke back, even though she went through just as much as he did.”

”She was in love with both of them, then?”

”Yes. I can only guess what happened between Naruto and Sakura, but you can bet she’ll be haunted by it. You’ll have to talk to her, Tsunade-sama. She trusts you more than she trusts me.”

The two started walking away from the Cenotaph, leaving a pair of flower bouquets behind. “Talk to Sasuke for me, will you?” Tsunade requested.

”Yes, Tsunade-sama.”

The full moon shined brightly, bathing Konoha in its evanescent glow. The Cenotaph, long a second home to Kakashi, stood out in the bright moonlight, a monument to all of humanity’s sins. Everyone hoped that the list of names would never grow longer; it had already swallowed up Konoha’s greatest heroes.

Shinmen Munisai’s house could have more properly been described as a mansion; the massive compound once was home to a large and powerful Shinmen clan during its glory days thirty years prior. Now, only three people inhabited it. The Shinmen clan, once home to Konoha’s greatest swordsmen, had its ranks decimated during the Third Shinobi World War. After the attack of the Kyuubi Kitsune, only three remained: Shinmen Munisai, his niece Shinmen Rei, and his daughter Shinmen Hitomi. Soon, the Shinmen clan was blessed with a fourth member: young Shinmen Musashi, the son of Hitomi. However, such good luck was not to last. Hitomi was killed during Orochimaru’s bungled attack on Konoha that also claimed the life of the Sandaime Hokage, leaving Musashi orphaned and Munisai wracked with grief.

Even if its membership was worn down to skeletal remains, the Shinmen clan compound still possessed a wealth of resources. It was graced with a gigantic library containing thousands of volumes, ranging from dozens of various ninjutsu techniques to volumes on military strategy and tactics, and even a healthy selection of texts on philosophy and science. There was a large armory, stocked with a large variety of weaponry from the basic to exotic. The compound’s large and well equipped training and sparring room was currently the most used part of the compound.

Young Musashi was still panting from his last sword duel as he sat in the lotus position in front of his grandfather Munisai. The old kenshi sat down in front of his grandson, his bones aching from the arthritis that plagued him in his old age. After finally settling into a semi-comfortable position, he mused, “You’re wearing your poor old grandfather out, Musashi-kun. I’m not quite so young as I once was, and your Kenjutsu skills keep improving. If this keeps up, you’re going to have to find someone younger to spar with.”

“This coming from one of the Three Kenshi of Konoha? Are you really that old, Munisai-jisan?” Musashi retorted.

“My swashbuckling days were over when your mother had you, young grasshopper. I’m retired now, and enjoying every minute of it.”

Old Munisai had thrown out “young grasshopper” at him. This made Musashi groan, “Don’t tell me I’ve got another koan to solve now!” He hated koans; they often took hours of abstract, nonlinear philosophical inquiry to properly solve. Granted, he was pretty good at them, especially for a twelve year old kid, but he’d much prefer a game of shogi to a koan when it came to mental exercises.[AN: a koan is a Buddhist philosophical puzzle]

“Don’t worry, no koan today, Musashi Kun,” the old shinobi chuckled, “I’d actually like to begin teaching you something much more concrete, now that you’ve gotten a small break in your missions. You’ve mastered the basics of Kenjutsu, so it’s now time to take things to the next level.”

The young shinobi shifted uncomfortably as he asked, “The next level?”

“Starting today, I will begin teaching you the Kenodori [AN: “Sword Dance”] Kenjutsu style.”

“Kenodori? I’ve never heard of that before.”

“The Kenodori is the Shinmen clan’s own unique style of Kenjutsu. It combines an artful use of movement and footwork with a masterful grace with the katana and precise chakra control to create perhaps the most deadly armed martial art in the world. Kenodori is the art of simultaneous attack and defense.” Munisai rose to his feet, and beckoned Musashi to rise as well.

“Kenodori begins first with the focused Zen state of mind that I’ve been teaching you.” As Munisai said this, he closed his eyes and began a meditative breathing exercise, drawing in a deep breath and then exhaling, allowing all of his fears, doubts and distractions to leave with his breath. Upon inhaling again, he opened his eyes and continued, his voice calm and focused. “There can be no doubt or distraction; in short, you must be in a state of onemind: all thought focused towards one objective.”

The old shinobi bent at the knees, and unsheathed the katana from his belt. All of his motions had an otherworldly grace; the ease with which he drew the katana and maneuvered towards fighting stance betrayed the years of subtle practice he had used to hone his art. “The katana must be one with your mind and body,” he continued, “For now, Musashi-kun, just stand back and watch, and I will demonstrate the essence of Kenodori.”

Munisai then seamlessly moved from the basic stance into a kata. To call his movements “graceful” would be the same as calling Michelangelo Bonarotti a great painter. While true, it fails to capture the full truth, a truth that words can only attempt to describe. The kata was a dance in the truest sense, and a damn artful one at that. Its art and grace would have put all but the greatest ballet masters to shame. Each movement of the sword was intrinsically linked to the movement of his body; each was deliberate in its purpose. Every move blended seamlessly into the next, each sword strike dissolved into the next without pause or opening for counter attack. It truly was a sight to behold.

When Munisai finished the kata, his grandson was speechless. He didn’t know what to say, or how the hell he’d learn to do that himself. Finally, he spoke up. “W-wow…” was all he could manage.

Sensing his pupil’s bewilderment, Munisai decided to offer more explanation. “The teaching of the Kenodori is a multi-step process,” he reassured, “I will teach you all of the basic components of the technique, and then we’ll begin combining them together to form the completed style.”

“What are those steps, Grandfather?” the younger shinobi inquired.

“First of all, I’m going to teach you how to dance.” Before Musashi could protest, the older shinobi had dropped back into his more jovial personality. “That lovely young lady you brought over for dinner the other day will make a perfect dancing partner for you.”

“What makes you think she’ll agree, Grandfather?” Musashi pounced. He thought he had his grandfather on this one.

He thought wrong. The old shinobi laughed heartily, “Judging by her personality, she’ll take any chance she can get to one-up you, especially if she can teasingly humiliate you in the process. Just think of it as a chance to learn a useful skill and get closer to your teammate.”

Wise old people can be pretty annoying, since they’re usually right, much to young people’s chagrin. “Okay, you’ve got me there,” Musashi conceded, “What’s next, then?”

“Well, after you’ve mastered that, then we’ll move into chakra control exercises, teaching you how to channel chakra through the katana. Then we’ll work on Blindsight. I’ll teach you how to sense things around you without resorting to using your five primary senses. Next, I’ll teach you the basics of simultaneous attack and defense. After that, I can teach you no more; it’s up to you to combine these lessons to build your Kenodori. I can offer advice and some assistance, but the final stage you must complete on your own. I should have mentioned earlier that there is no one Kenodori. Your Kenodori will be unique to you, and will reflect your own abilities and philosophy. Do you understand?”

“I think so, Munisai-jisan.”

“You were always a rather sharp lad. We’ll start working on this tomorrow. If I’m not mistaken, though, you have to leave soon for training with your team.”

“Oh, yeah. I’d better get going, Grandfather. I’ll talk to Setsuna about it today at training.” He jumped to his feet, gathered together his gear, and started running off. He paused at the door to the main hall, and turned to his grandfather. “I’ll probably be back late tonight,” he cried. He was gone as quick as a flash.

“He’s a good kid,” the old shinobi thought as his grandson ran off to training. “He’s been much happier since he graduated and joined his Genin team. I’m glad for him, things are finally going well for him.”

Musashi had barely made it to training on time. He stumbled to the rest of his team, completely out of breath, just as his watch hit one o’clock. After he caught his breath, he cried, “I made it on time!”

“It’s not like it really matters, baka,” Setsuna sneered, “Kakashi-sensei is going to be late again. You hurried all for nothing.” She was trying her hardest to look as apathetic as possible, laying on her side lazily, using her backpack as a pillow while she gave herself a little impromptu manicure. “I’m guessing sensei won’t be here for at least half an hour,” she continued, still as apathetic as before.

“Well, in that case, there’s something I need to talk to you about,” Musashi replied. He sat down next to her, and waited patiently for her answer.

“Okay, I’m listening.”

“There’s a favor I need to ask you. My grandfather is going to teach me dancing, and I need a dance partner in order to learn.”

“Why in the kami’s name would you need to learn how to dance?” she asked, staring incredulously at him.

He fidgeted uncomfortably, and sighed, “He says it’s important for learning this martial arts technique.”

“Has your grandfather gone completely insane? I’ve never heard such nonsense.” Her eyes bored into him, intensifying his insecurity. After staring him down for a bit, her attitude changed dramatically. She smiled warmly at him, and laughed, “Sure, I’ll help try to learn how to dance.”

After an hour of idle chit chat and bored waiting, Kakashi finally arrived, and was greeted by a chorus of “You’re late, Kakashi-sensei!”

“Well, you see, there was this little old lady who needed help crossing the street—” he hurriedly tried to defend himself before being cut off.

Setsuna shouted, “A little old lady this time, eh? I thought you were smarter than resorting to lame tactics like that! What next? Your dog ate your homework?”

Kakashi was seriously losing face now. He’d have to try to be more punctual now that this fiery redhead was actively undermining him. “Well, why really doesn’t matter, does it? Anyway, we’ve been assigned a C-rank mission for the day after tomorrow, so I’ve decided to use this opportunity to work on some chakra control exercises.” He beckoned them to follow him, and jumped off towards to the forests on the edge of Konoha.

After a quick run through the forest, Team Ten arrived at a patch of unusually tall deciduous trees. Their sides were relatively clear of small, obstructing branches. Kakashi stopped at the base of one of the large trees, and waited for the rest of his team to catch up. When they finally arrived, he said, “Today, we’re going to learn more about chakra and chakra control.” He quickly gave them a rundown about the basics of chakra, explaining its source in the dualism of body and spirit, and finally explaining the importance of efficient chakra control.

They had all learned this in the Academy of course, but only Musashi remembered all of it correctly. After Kakashi finished his lecture, he asked, “How are we going to develop better chakra control?”

“Climbing these trees without using your hands.” Kakashi replied. Before any of their incredulous stairs could turn into more questions, Kakashi started lazily walking up a tree, watching the looks of incredulity on their faces turn into looks of amazement. “By focusing the proper amount of chakra in your feet, you can use the chakra to attach your feet to a surface to allow you to walk on it. Too little, and you’ll slip off. Too much, and you’ll end up repelling yourself away from the surface. Since chakra molding on your feet is the hardest, mastering tree climbing will give you the chakra control you need to accomplish most ninja techniques.”

He threw them each a kunai, and said, “Now you try. Running will be easier for now, so try to run as far up these trees as you can, and mark your progress.”

They all nodded in recognition, and began focusing chakra in their feet. Setsuna charged her tree first, and managed to run a quarter of the way up the tree before losing her grip, and somersaulting back to the ground. Misato made it about ten meters higher, carefully leaving a gash with her kunai before flipping off the tree. Musashi was nowhere to be seen.

“Where did that baka go?” muttered Setsuna. A kunai landed right at her feet. She looked up to see where it came from. Ninety meters up, near the top of the tree, Musashi was perched on a branch, waving at Setsuna and Misato below.

“Hmm, he beat you at something, Setsuna,” Misato observed.

Setsuna was positively fuming now. She yelled, “Damnit, Musashi-teme! I’m going to come up there and get you!”

“Go ahead and try!” he shouted down to her. She could kick his ass if she could reach him, but Musashi did have one advantage over her: self-control. As her and Misato continued training, she was so caught up in the task at hand that she forgot why she was even so driven about reaching the top of the tree.

Kakashi couldn’t help but notice that his new students bore some resemblance to his past students. Musashi was very similar in personality and ability to Sakura. His Taijutsu skills were below par, but he compensated with precise chakra control and a command of illusionary techniques. More strikingly, he was very intelligent, and was able to apply abstract lessons to the real world very quickly, just like Sakura. He lacked her drive and motivation, unfortunately. The thing that Kakashi noticed most about him was his general apathy. He really wasn’t motivated by anything. He had no dreams or ambitions. He just did what he had to. “We’ll have to remedy that.”

The thought of his old students was still painful to him. Misato had the same quite, reserved personality as Sasuke, and was similarly skilled in Ninjutsu. Thankfully, she lacked Sasuke’s ambition for revenge.

What was most striking was the similarity between Setsuna and Naruto. She was loud and boisterous, and was similarly ambitioned. She didn’t learn very quickly through lecture, she had to go out and try something herself to learn it. She was impetuous to a fault, just like Naruto, but overall seemed a little bit more prepared then he had been at this stage. She could be abusive, but Kakashi could tell that she was loyal to her friends, even if she had rivalries with them.

While Misato and Setsuna practiced, Kakashi decided to help Musashi work on his Taijutsu skills. He had long term plans for these kids, and he wanted them to be the very best that they could be.