First off—A THOUSAND READS! LET'S CELEBRATE! ﾉ･ｪ･)ﾉ

I know it may not seem like a lot, but it's exciting for me ! Thanks to all my readers! <3

(A/N: Play music in media for more effect!)

"The only thing weird is your hair, dattebayo!"

Sakura watched Naruto face their sensei head-on. A frontal attack will not do any good with a jōnin, unless you have spent the last four years training with a taijutsu master...which I have. However, I will not act.

Sasuke sighed, shaking his head. "And I thought Dobe had gotten better. I'll give him credit for tangible clones, though."

Ramen-boy will fail in getting a bell. He is using the same trick over and over. Just as Sakura predicted, the blonde was now hanging upside down from a tree.

You should help him.

I have already helped him once. He may not ever repay me.

I think you were on to something when he said there were only two bells. You commented that the three of you were pitted against each other yesterday. Kakashi wants you to fight alone.

He is much too confident in his own skills. He has managed to underestimate me. However, he wishes for me to show him my skills. I will not be fooled.

Sakura stepped out of the brush she was hiding in, and headed over to where she sensed a chakra signature. "Lesson two...genjutsu," Kakashi muttered, watching Sakura walk into where the illusion was set up.

"S-Sakura...help me..." Sakura turned to look at a deformed Sasuke crawling towards her, kunai and shuriken digging into every inch of his body, his legs bent the wrong way.

Instead of screaming and running away, Kakashi watched as his pink-haired student walked away. She didn't even put him out of his misery.

:::

"I'm different from the others," Sasuke snarled. He made a few quick hand signs, then said, "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" Kakashi's eyes widened at the large fireball heading straight for him.

When they began fighting taijutsu-wise, Kakashi decided to ask some questions. "Has Sakura told you anything about her?"

Sasuke stayed silent, still fighting.

"That's strange, considering you've known her for four years, don't you think? She knows just about everything about you, yet she never talks about herself."

"Shut. UP!" Sasuke landed a particularly hard kick, which Kakashi blocked with his forearm.

"Touchy," Kakashi grinned. "You know, it's strange how she talks, too. Almost like...a robot or something."

The Uchiha snarled, and grabbed for the bells after blocking a punch. The two separated, Sasuke panting with exhaustion and anger. Clap...clap...clap. Both turned to see Sakura watching, clapping. "Why is it you two are staring at me? I was told you are to clap when watching entertainment."

:::

Naruto crossed his arms, still upside down. "This sucks, —ttebayo! I'm so hungry, I can't even focus! But..." His blue eyes gleamed as he pulled out a kunai and licked his lips at the two bento boxes not too far away from him.

He cut the rope, and made his way to the food. "Ehehehe...Kakashi-sensei did say to read underneath the underneath..."

"What are you doing?"

Busted.

:::

Kakashi looked amused. Sasuke scowled, Way to steal the spotlight with that dramatic entrance.

Sakura stared at the two, then motioned for them to continue. "I am only watching."

The grey-haired man smiled mockingly. I really hate these kids. "Why don't you two work together?"

Sakura stared blankly at him. He is trying to make the whole point of the exercise clear to us. I do not care if I am sent back to the Academy. My purpose is to serve Orochimaru.

"NO!" Sasuke charged forward again, this time not thinking clearly. Kakashi didn't move, waiting for the strike to happen. Poof. "A shadow clone!" He muttered, "I was careless. Where could he be...up, left, right..." Down!

"Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu. You fell for it like an amateur," Kakashi said, observing the visible head of his student. Then, he turned to Sakura. "Are you going to fight me?"

"No." She shook her head. "I am biding my time. And I will harass Stalker #3."

Kakashi tilted his head. "Stalker?"

"I'm not a stalker! And get me out, Sakura!"

"...You said you did not need my help. I will sit and watch as you struggle." She walked closer, and sat down next to Sasuke, causing him to struggle as his face flushed from their close proximity when Sakura leaned forward to look at him.

Their sensei watched carefully. "I have somewhere to be. Brat's trying to break the rules," he muttered and disappeared. "Good thing I made a clone."

:::

All three genin were tied to the poles. Naruto and Sasuke struggled. Sakura did not. "You three don't need to worry about the test anymore."

"Really?! We passed? AWESOME, —ttebayo!" Naruto began jumping around, still attached to the wooden pole.

The smile dropped from Kakashi's face. "No. I mean...you three can never make it as shinobi! Sakura, what was the point of the test?"

"Teamwork," she replied dutifully.

"Teamwork! You three knew you couldn't beat a jōnin!"

"Duckbutt entertained the idea," the pinkette quipped, earning a glare from him.

"Yes, and he failed! Naruto, you were so focused on beating me, you fell for the the simplest tricks! Sasuke, you outright said you were better than the other two, but failed to get a bell! And Sakura, you watched Sasuke get beaten up, and decided to sit next to him and harass him! In fact, you're the one that did nothing!"

"With all due respect, which I do not think I have for you, I am just using what I have heard and read...I have a bell," Sakura interrupted, spitting out a bell from her mouth.

"EW! Why was that in your mouth, Sakura-chan?!"

He did not even ask how I attained the bell. "The bell was hidden in my mouth because I knew I would end up being tied to a pole," she explained. "I would not have access to my arms, so I kept it in my mouth."

"Why did you wait if you had one?" Kakashi glanced down to see a rock and a bell tied together with standard fishing line.

"It was interesting to see you get 'worked up'. Ramen-boy and Duckbutt included. I did not have to do anything, other than perform a simple transformation technique. You underestimated me, the smartest shinobi in the village."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "That's quite a statement you're making. Are you smarter than—"

"I may be lacking in social skill—"

"May," Naruto muttered.

"—but I have a higher IQ than Shikaku Nara, and his son. I took an intelligence test when I first came to this village, after someone brought me here." She stared into Kakashi's eyes, making goosebumps rise on the back of his covered neck. "Is that not right, Dog?"

"Dog?! Why're you calling him a dog, dattebayo?" Naruto hollered, flailing about.

"Shut it, Dobe. This may be the only time Sakura reveals something about her," Sasuke whispered, watching the two have a stare down.

Finally, Kakashi looked away. No one moved for a minute, but then he cut Sakura and Sasuke free. "I'm giving Naruto and Sasuke a second chance. Sakura, Sasuke—eat. Naruto isn't allowed to, because he tried eating without you. Do not feed him." He poofed away, leaving the three genin to themselves.

"Ne...Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, looking up and blushing when his stomach growled. "What you said...was it true, —ttebayo?"

Sasuke watched Sakura carefully. "Yes." She sat down clumsily, and began eating. They seem to be in shock. Perhaps I was too good at concealing my superiority. She watched them in peripheral vision, seeing Sasuke sit down as well.

They ate for a minute, until Naruto's stomach grumbled again. Sasuke sighed. "Here." He shoved a mouthful of rice into Naruto's mouth.

"Mmph!" Naruto chewed quickly, then swallowed. "Teme! What was that for?"

"One for all and all for one," Sasuke grumbled, shooting Sakura a glare and stuffing more rice into Naruto's mouth before he could brag about how he thought of the saying for the trio.

Sakura felt the corners of her mouth twitch on its own. What is this? I feel so light.

It's happiness.

I am a shinobi. Number—

Could you not recite the Shinobi Code whenever I talk to you?

I do not have feelings.

"YOU!" Thunder boomed, and lighting streaked the sky.

"You two have passed," Sakura told them.

The weather cleared up. "Did you find it necessary to ruin my fun?"

Sakura glanced at Kakashi. "Hn." There is no such thing as 'fun'.

"Oh no, —ttebayo!" The blonde cried out. "Teme! You've been influencing her again, haven't you?!"

"Hn."

"Noooo!" Naruto wailed, struggling against his bondage.

"Hn. You want to get something?"

"I do not see why I can not," Sakura reasoned, walking away with Sasuke.

"Teme! Sakura-chan! Wait, —ttebayo!"

"Our first mission will start tomorrow. Meet me at the Hokage's office at six in the morning tomorrow!" Kakashi called out, then ran off to read Icha Icha.

"GUYS!"

Sakura's feeling some sort of emotion...when will we really see it?