Cherryboy 16

It was amusing in some ways to the one eyed man as he gazed upon the sleeping bundle of genin all laid out across each other on top of three dragged together futons, each one of them naked as the day of their birth, yet already so comfortable with each other that it almost beggared the imagination. At the bottom of the pile Sasuke groaned and grumbled, shifting his arm to pull Naruto closer whose face was buried in his neck while Sakura was draped over both, pinning Sasuke’s arm to his side as her leg stretched across all two boys, resting on Naruto’s butt. How amazing it was what a few victories could do to reshape the course of proprieties.

His bad eye itched with nostalgia.

The three of them had become fast friends under his watch, and in some ways he’d managed to do what the Hokage had asked of him. They’d been plenty busy the whole time, completing the D-ranked missions assigned them in record time as his sensei’s son burned bright with that famed Uzumaki chakra. The boy seemed an almost inexhaustible fount, and no matter how much work he dumped on the three of them they quickly organized into teams using Naruto as the backbone of their strategies. He wasn’t afraid of hard work, and while sometimes dim in some areas, the… activities... which he tended towards had shaped him to be strangely sharpened with the interpersonal. Hokage-sama wasn’t pleased about the entire affair, but didn’t want to press the matter either, too easy to tip it into scandal if he acted overtly, and too difficult to dissuade the boy as he augmented his toolbox from getting his way on it covertly. Naruto was surprisingly prodigious at the arts of misdirection.

It was… interesting.

Sasuke had adapted quickly, the taste of teamwork in the first test having spurred him on to try just that much harder at integrating with the other two, his advanced skills allowing him to be the one who did the delicate parts of their work striking where directed and acting to balance the team. It was almost a wonder just how much he’d begun to grow, losing a bit of his sullen nature just from the day to day dealings with the other two, viewing them correctly as cogs in a machine together rather than competitors. It was a gratifying thing for Kakashi to see, especially knowing himself that he would eventually need to take on a more direct role in training the boy. As the last sharingan user the village had Kakashi was the only one who had the right combination of skills to really push Sasuke to the heights of he could possibly reach. Dangerous heights though they were.

And of all of them the little pink haired girl Sakura had been the one who surprised him the most. Book smart as she was the girl had been an infatuated puppy playing at being a ninja, unsure of herself and her place in the world except for the loud proud proclamations of ‘love’ towards Sasuke. Her settling into a position of team leadership had been surprising, the boys seemed to listen to her, and ask for direction and advice based on the knowledge which she’d accrued in her studies. Consistently they forced her to apply the booksmarts which she’d gathered and condense it into practical knowledge, going so far as to push even further into researching subjects based on the tasks they were faced with in order to better direct her troops. As a result she was growing quite quickly into a commanding creature, more sure of herself in her own skin; and as a result, more likely to take part in perverse shenanigans and experiment. Her perfect chakra control would make her an attractive prospect for any number of combat applications. From early Kakashi had been considering her for a position as medic, but that didn’t seem where her interests were pointing at the moment though that simple nerve tingling jutsu of hers had some potential, he’d see what she made of it eventually.





Hokage-sama had his doubts about allowing the trio of teens such large leeway, knowing just how teenagers tended to be in combination with how his pupil’s son had become, but Kakashi ensured him that he was watching over the group, keeping them from going too far. He’d expected that he’d have to break things up at some point, but the three had settled into a holding pattern of touchy feely closeness fostered by these night time sessions outside of the eyes of others. Well, besides him and at least one or two Anbu who reported directly to the Fourth himself, Kakashi usually spent his time reading his book while having a clone keep any eye out for them trying anything that might actually be trouble in the long run. It wouldn’t do to have a pregnancy on the team, and for the moment the closeness fostered was as such that it wasn’t leaving any one of the three out in the cold.

For now at least Kakashi was content to leave their little liaisons be.

He’d worked them to the bone with as many D-ranked missions as possible, driving them to push that burgeoning teamwork dynamic of theirs to its limits with a flood of constant tasks, ranging from the boring to the annoying. They’d handled them well, coordinated and begun to create a lexicon of actions around which they could respond to various situations as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Leadership, manpower, and finesse.

And now, quite frankly, they were bored to the Bone with D-ranks.

Kakashi smiled beneath his ever present mask. They’d tolerated them longer than he’d expected actually, especially considering the drudgery and workload which he’d piled on piece by piece. It was a testament to that new wonder which they were experiencing together how much they’d put up with, approaching every task in ways that kept them all interested and invested.

He nodded to himself. Alright, today, today he’d treat his little chickadees to something nice.

Today they’d get a C-rank mission. Nothing too hard or sensitive.

Kakashi wondered off to the applications office, he’d find something nice.


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“So, these are the brats that are supposed to be helping me? Don’t you have some bargain ninja that come in something other than pint sized?” The old man asked as he took a swig of liquor, his skeptical eyes brushing past the three youths before him, his face pulled up into a grimace. “Frankly I don’t think these kids will cut it in a pillow fight, much less keep me safe from bandits.”

“Your skepticism is duly noted.” The pink haired one smiled serenely, one could almost see the gears turning in her head, beside her another dark haired boy stood in what looked like complete apathy to the situation. “Sir.”

So, these were the hired killers that his money’s worth had bought huh? The old bridge builder Taizuna sighed at his fortunes, children... he’d been given children to work with. He’d have called the whole thing off and maybe confessed his sins right here and now if not for the fact that these half sized ninja who could every last one of them be his great grandchildren were not backed up by the force of an actual elite. He’d been assured by when he’d asked that such a team would be flanked by an experienced killer.

Maybe even experienced enough to solve his problems.

He hoped.

“Sakura-chan don’t be so mean to grandapa. He’s letting us get away from all the D-Ranks.” A blonde girl smiled sweetly, harder to believe her a ninja than the first pink haired one, after all hair colours like those tended only to show up in the more exotic parts of the population. Her whisker-like cheek markings were strange, almost like tattoos, almost like scars; though they didn’t seem to mar her beauty even a little.

Taizuna grunted in slight surprise as she snuggled up against his arm, brilliant yellow hair drifting about as she looked up towards him with an innocent smile. It left the older man a bit unsettled just how cozy the beautiful little brat was being with him, a complete stranger. His eyes glanced over to the dark haired boy in the shorts who seemed to be pointedly looking away and playing it cool

The others it seemed just rolled their eyes as they looked on.

“Well then. It looks like we’re off on this little adventure then. I suppose introductions are in order.” The one-eyed ninja spoke, his lazy drawl more than a little grating and a few hells of a lot of concerning considering the high hopes on which the older man was pinning on him. “I’m Kakashi. The pink one is Sakura, the quiet one is Sasuke, and the friendly on is Naruto.”

“Taizuna… I’m charmed.” The old bridge builder spoke, sounding anything but. “I make bridges and I need bodyguards. I’m paying out the nose for you all so you better not disappoint. I’d hate to have paid all that money only to wind up dead.”

“Elder uncle, you don’t need to worry. I won’t let anything bad, happen to you at all! Believe it!” The blonde girl hanging on to him still grinned as she declared. Such enthusiasm he supposed was laudable, but considering what he hadn’t told them, he couldn’t help but find his heart beating faster at the idea of getting these children killed.

Their teacher was his only hope, the only hope for his country. As much as he wished otherwise, he couldn’t tell them... couldn’t just let them go.

“Sure of herself isn’t she.” Taizuna laughed nervously, before taking another swig of his rotgut.

“Yes. HE is.” Spoke up the dark haired boy, looking meaningfully at the blond still pressed to the bridge builder’s side.

Taizuna blanched.

Naruto’s smile simply grew wider still.