Chapter Text
Sakura was so ready to tackle canon, it wasn’t even funny. Cut hair, check. Knife throwing skills, trained. Lists upon lists of every event she remembered from the anime, written.
When she had first realized where she was, she had given very serious consideration to just dropping out of the academy altogether. However, she was Sakura Haruno. Part one out of three of Team Seven, a main character, one of the only people who could go on to prevent the coming apocalypse. If she wasn’t on Team Seven, who knew what could happen? It wasn’t like she wanted to go spend her life as a murder ninja, but neither did she want to get eaten by aliens.
Besides, it wasn’t like she was a main character main character. Sakura did all the healing stuff and saved hundreds of lives, sure, but for the majority of the series, she was pretty much just the token girl of the shonen trio. You know, damsel in distress, pretty useless, cried a lot. She’d always just blamed Kishimoto, but she couldn’t deny that it was useful now.
Sakura hadn’t done a whole lot, and yet she’d still survived the series. That was a very good sign. That meant that she didn’t even need to do much, just encourage her two god-like teammates, try and get on their good sides and then do her own private training. She could help improve canon and not die all at the same time! Win win!
So yes, Sakura was ready. So completely ready.
Okay, okay, maybe she was freaking out. Just a little bit. The violence wasn’t the problem— she was mentally prepared for that. If anyone attacked her, she’d attack them right back, and if it was an S-rank shinobi who was way out of her weight class?
Well, I guess I’ll just die?
Which would be really unfortunate, but it wasn’t like there was much she could do about it. So she’d just stick with her plan, which was to carefully improve canon where she was able to, do violence on people where necessary, and be prepared for her imminent demise.
But the improving canon bit— that would be the trick.
Sakura was very much not a people person. She wasn’t sure if she was mentally prepared to handle hyperactive prankster Naruto Uzumaki and broody, vengeance-seeking Sasuke Uchiha.
But it was fine! She’d be peppy but in a reasonable, not annoying way. She could do peppy and child friendly. Her past reputation of making her baby cousins cry was behind her.
Which led to now. Sakura sat at the front of the classroom, doing her best to still the rapid bouncing of her leg under the desk.
“Team Seven: Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke.”
There was no obnoxious cheering or booing, which was— strange, but probably not a bad thing. Butterflies, after all. That, and this was real life now, not just a kid’s manga. She couldn’t possibly expect that everything would be the same.
Once Iruka finished calling all the teams, Sakura made a beeline directly for her new teammates. Here came the worst but unfortunately most necessary part of her plan— team bonding.
“Hey…” she started. “So, do you maybe want to go get ramen together before meeting with our sensei? I can pay. As a new team formation treat.”
“That sounds like a great idea,” Naruto said brightly. “I’m totally up for that! But you definitely don’t have to pay. It was really sweet of you to offer, but there’s no need.”
She knew she would have been able to get Naruto easily with the offer of ramen, but it was unexpected that he wasn’t taking her up on the freebie. Sasuke would probably require a lot more wheedling. She turned towards him to try again—
Sasuke shifted his legs. “I’m up for ramen.”
“Oh.” Sakura blinked, caught off guard. “That’s, uh. Great! Should we… go?”
They all hopped to their feet and headed out to Ichiraku’s.
Unexpected. Slightly weird. But Sakura was determined to see this as a good thing! The start of her plan for team bonding was going swimmingly. And maybe if she proved herself as a valuable team member who could take initiative, then she would be able to get out of this whole thing alive after all.
—
Sasuke had to admit that upon first arriving here, he had been assaulted by multiple panic attacks. Well, not completely at first. At first, he had been mostly confused.
Last he checked, he had just been living his life. He was a recent graduate, he had just bought a new apartment, he was starting a cool new job— then bam. Popped into a tiny child in a big ruined house.
A tiny child who was… also apparently a ninja?
It had taken him a little while, but eventually he’d realized why his name sounded so familiar. Sasuke Uchiha, that evil guy in the ninja anime who went around trying to kill people.
Did that mean he had to be evil? Did that mean he had to be a ninja? He wasn’t sure if he wanted to do either of those things.
What he really wanted to do was to go back home to his normal life, but it was quickly becoming clear that that was harder than it seemed. After all, he wasn’t even sure how he had got here, so how could he possibly get back?
And he didn’t exactly think he could go ask for help. Apparently he lived in a military dictatorship now? That was pretty sketchy.
So maybe he just had to pretend to be Sasuke the mini murder ninja. He had never been an anime fan, but he could do anime! It was all dramatic catchphrases and enigmatic declarations. Perfectly doable. Besides, he had always lived by the life philosophy of fake it ‘till you make it. Act confident, speak quickly and what could go wrong?
At the end of it all, he was pretty certain that this was a kid’s show. What was the worst that could happen?
So Sasuke could deal. To be honest, this whole ninja thing was starting to grow on him. They had magic! Elemental spells and cool stuff like that. He could put up with a lot if he would get the chance to do cool ninja magic.
And maybe he would just be a pacifistic ninja. A sword blacksmith ninja! He loved crafts, he loved cool little projects, he loved swords— yes, this was definitely the way to go. And then if the whole blacksmith thing didn’t work out, maybe he could be a teacher of some kind. One of those meditation instructors, the ones with the nice gardens and peaceful little wooden houses. Yes, that’s right. He’d grow up to be a ninja zen master.
Big plans. He could make it. For sure.
Sasuke spent his initial days not saying much apart from vague statements and hopes for additional hints about his life. All in all, it wasn’t that difficult. Nobody really came to talk to him, which was a little sad, but he supposed that was just life as a small evil ninja boy.
It wasn’t until he was assigned his team that he had much chance for outside communication.
They walked in silence towards their destination of team ramen, as Sakura had proposed. She was a pretty cute kid, with shiny pink hair and big green eyes. His other teammate was Naruto, a little blond boy.
Naruto was the first to speak up. “So, are you guys excited? We’re graduating!”
Sakura ordered a tonkatsu ramen. “I mean, kind of excited, I guess? It is nice to be out of the Academy.”
Sasuke was going to commit to the bit. He was twelve now, so best to act the part. When he had been twelve, he had been the most precocious, annoying child alive. That was exactly what he planned on emulating.
Then again, so far, his teammates hadn’t been too bad. Maybe he could toss annoying preteen to the wayside in favour of enigmatic anime boy.
“We’re graduating,” he echoed. “It’s pretty cool, it’s a big deal— yeah, things haven’t changed this much since… that day.” He trailed off, staring dramatically into the distance.
“That day?” Naruto asked.
“That’s right,” Sasuke said. He hoped someone else would elaborate. He wasn’t sure exactly what that day was supposed to be, but small edgy antagonist was sure to have one.
“You mean,” Sakura chimed in, shifting uncomfortably. “The day your clan was, uh…”
No! Finish the sentence, adorable pink hair girl!
Naruto looked back and forth between the two of them. “What happened to your clan? Oh, but don’t feel pressured to tell me if you’re uncomfortable with it.”
“You can just say it,” Sasuke told Sakura. He hoped he didn’t sound as out of his depth as he felt.
“Well…” Sakura twirled her ramen slowly. “Um. He’s probably talking about the day, uh. That man killed everyone in his clan.”
Wow. That was even darker than he had expected.
“Oh my god!” Naruto looked at Sasuke with wide eyes. “That’s awful! I’m so sorry! That must be really, really hard.” He put a hand on Sasuke’s shoulder. “Hey, anytime you want to talk or if you need anything, you can come to me. I’ll be here for you, okay?”
Twelve year olds, man. Maybe ninja preteens were just much more mature.
Sasuke gave a sharp nod. “Yeah. I mean, it’s rough being me, but thanks.”
Sakura’s jaw had dropped. She snapped it closed, turning it into a strange grimace. “I— yeah! Me too. I mean, if you need anything…”
“Yeah, thanks.”
They finished off their ramen quickly enough, and soon the bowls were empty.
Naruto abruptly clapped his hands. “Alright y’all, should we head out? We don’t want to be late for meeting with our instructor.”
Y’all, Sakura mouthed.
“Sounds good to me,” Sasuke said, pushing his chair back in.
Responsible ninja children. Maybe he could do this after all.
—
Naruto had absolutely no idea what was going on, but he was fine. He was cool.
The whole wake up in a new dimension thing with special magic school and gang of colourful friends seemed like the plot of a fantasy novel. And maybe when he was younger, he would have been way more concerned. But he was far more adaptable now. He would go with the flow, and live out the fantasy life of his dreams!
In fact, there were a ton of positives. Konoha had beautiful weather, he had his own apartment, and also apparently his grocery bill was subsidized by the government?
He was really upset about leaving all his old friends behind, but on the bright side, he enjoyed making new ones. This whole little team thing sounded like a super cute idea. He was kind of excited about the possibility of going on fun adventures and helping people out along the way.
It wasn’t entirely clear where he was. Fantasy ancient Japan? But with mystical elemental themed countries and secret little ninja villages. The technology level was also extremely inconsistent. No phones, but yes old television sets. No credit cards, but yes full modern showers.
There were other oddities too. He was only twelve years old, and yet he already had an apartment to himself and all the regular, adult responsibilities of taking care of himself. Not that he wanted new parents, but this was a kid. Where was the adult presence?
And it didn’t seem like a unique thing either. Konoha was full of both orphanages and orphans. Sad, rundown things with too many children and too little time. And from what he could tell, the general population wasn’t too kind to them either. He was often sneered at in shops which was pretty rude, considering the fact that he cleaned himself up well and always had all the necessary cash on hand.
It was pretty classic fantasy-land. A ton of orphans and no parental supervision made for good adventure possibilities. But at the same time, he lived here for real now. These kids deserved better.
Maybe that would be his next project. He’d go along with this whole ninja thing, have a bit of fun, then settle down and start a charity. The Konoha Orphan Fund, maybe? Or a cafe, somewhere they could go to get away for a bit. He’d charge the regular customers and then let the less wealthy eat for free.
He wasn’t too certain, but he had plenty of time to figure things out.
For now, he’d just enjoy himself. And maybe help out his teammates a bit. They looked like they needed it.
“So,” Naruto said, perched on the edge of a desk. “What are you most looking forward to about becoming ninja?”
“Me?” Sasuke pointed to himself, legs kicking languidly. “I’m looking forward to being outdoors. I love the sun, I love gardening and camping… it’ll be a great time. Oh, and I’m really looking forward to learning cool jutsu things. We can learn to control the elements— how cool is that?”
“Uh, Sasuke,” Sakura asked hesitantly. “I thought you already knew a fireball jutsu? As an… Uchiha clan thing?”
Sasuke’s eyes widened minutely. “Yeah, I do,” he rushed to say, “but it’s been a really long time. You know, with my clan dead and all. It’s been awhile since I’ve practiced so I’m kind of rusty.”
“…right.” Sakura said. She sounded faint.
Naruto put a hand on Sasuke’s shoulder comfortingly. “Hey, there’s no need to worry. I don’t know any of that stuff and we’re all still new students. Our teacher’s going to be in charge of making sure we learn all that.”
Sasuke turned his nose up. “I’m not worried. I’m Sasuke! I can do anything.”
Sakura still looked abnormally pale.
Naruto turned to her immediately. “Sakura, sweetie? You all good?”
She let out a noise that sounded like she was dying.
“Sweetie?” Sasuke repeated incredulously.
It had just slipped out. He worked with kids all the time, and the pet names just came with the job. However, it was a little strange now that he was the same age as them.
“Really,” Naruto emphasized, “it’ll be fine. I promise. Our teacher will get here soon, and he’ll tell us everything we need to know.”
“Will he get here?” Sasuke asked. “He’s running really late.”
Naruto snuck another glance at the clock. It was true. Their teacher was nearly running an hour late at this point, which was pretty bad. Their academy instructor had already left, leaving then all to their own devices. It seemed like a terrible idea to Naruto. As a long-time camp counsellor, he knew for a fact that leaving kids by themselves for extended periods of time could only lead to disaster.
“Why don’t we wait for another fifteen minutes? If they’re still not here, we can go check with Iruka-sensei.”
“Maybe he’s just always really late,” Sakura muttered. She still sounded slightly dazed, but mostly recovered.
That couldn’t be possible. There’s no way they’d put him in charge of children if he couldn’t even arrive to a meeting on time.
“Why don’t we play a game to pass the time?” Naruto said, putting on a cheerful smile. “Twenty questions?”
—
Kakashi stared at the three children lined up in front of him. The three children stared back.
“So,” he said. “Introductions.”
They were certainly an interesting bunch. For more reasons than the obvious. He had entered the classroom two and a half hours late to find them telling each other really bad jokes.
Now they were all seated on the rooftop steps, gimlet eyes staring up at him.
“What introductions?” Sasuke asked.
Kakashi held out his hand lackadaisically. “You know, the usual. Likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams for the future.”
The three of them exchanged glances.
“I’ll go first,” Naruto offered. “I’m Naruto Uzumaki, hi everyone.”
“Hi Naruto,” Sasuke said. His sole kunoichi remained silent. Was it just him, or did she look slightly shell shocked?
Naruto’s cheeks dimpled with the force of his smile. “Okay, I guess, a bit about me— I love meeting new people and travelling. Oh, and I love dancing. It’s such a great way to make friends and it’s just so fun. And as for dislikes…” Naruto paused, clearly deep in thought.
“I don’t have too many dislikes, but I guess I don’t really like eating meat. I’m a vegetarian, by the way. As for hobbies, well, hanging out with friends, dancing, going out for tea… I’m open to lots of things. And my dream… is maybe to start my own non-profit organization sometime in the future.” He tipped his head. “But overall, I’m just really excited to be on this team with you guys! I think we’re all going to have a great time!”
This was genin team introductions, not a sleepover party. Kakashi couldn’t help but feel a little blown over by the whole affair. He’d certainly heard about Naruto’s specific… force of personality, but he hadn’t ever imagined this. Maybe he should have expected it. But then again, while Minato had been pure sunshine incarnate, he still hadn’t been like this.
Well… at least he didn’t need to worry about teamwork issues?
Kakashi tuned back into the conversation. Sasuke was talking now.
“What sort of non-profit?” He asked.
“I’d like to work on better funding for orphans,” Naruto replied. Kakashi winced. Ouch. “Or develop some better support services to help them in their day-to-day lives. Konoha has a lot of orphans. And they have some funding, but there’s not a lot of help in other areas.”
Sasuke was nodding along. “You’re right, Konoha doesn’t do much.”
Kakashi kind of wanted to argue this, but unfortunately, there wasn’t much he could say.
“Cooking and food help would probably be most important,” Sasuke continued. “Maybe a way to distribute lessons for self-sufficient living, or just better funding for orphanages and foster homes. We need more guardians for children.”
Sakura had a hand over her eyes. “You’re an orphan too, Sasuke,” she muttered.
He hastily crossed his arms, clearing his throat. “I mean, yes, but I don’t need a guardian. I’m Sasuke Uchiha and I live alone.”
There was a short silence.
“…Great.” Kakashi said. “Moving on.”
Sakura and Sasuke exchanged glances. Sakura shrunk into herself slightly, and Sasuke’s lips twisted in response.
“Okay, I’ll go. My name’s Sasuke. I like… all the usual things. I dislike a fair bit. My hobbies… are being a ninja, going to the Academy… things like that. And my dream, my life’s goal, my only aspiration…”
Sasuke trailed off once again, staring dramatically into the distance.
“I’m sure you all already know it.”
Kakashi was pretty certain he did. Swaying his student from his path of revenge would be difficult, if he tried at all. Perhaps a better teacher than him would give it an attempt.
The other children didn’t react, apart from Sakura, who had gone back to burying her face in her hands.
“Thank you, Sasuke,” Kakashi droned. “Pinky?”
Sakura peeked out from between her fingers before straightening. “Oh, right. I’m Sakura Haruno. I like dango, I dislike muddy shoes. My hobbies are reading and training. My dream is to have a successful ninja career.”
She nodded awkwardly, as if to say, that’s all.
Well, he had one normal-ish prospective student, at least. Every team needed at least one.
“So with introductions over,“ Kakashi started—
“What about you?” Naruto spoke up. “Tell us a bit about yourself!”
“Hm…” Kakashi pretended to scratch his chin. “Very well. My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have both likes and dislikes. My hobbies aren’t appropriate for young ears. And I don’t want to tell you my dreams.”
“What do you mean, inappropriate?” Sasuke shot out.
Kakashi let his eye crease into the most infuriating smile in his inventory. “Unfortunately, I don’t feel like telling you. Now, let’s discuss our plans for tomorrow.”
He readied himself to launch into his usual team test spiel, but Naruto interrupted again.
“Come on, we’re a team now. Why don’t you share a bit about yourself? How about something easy; a fun fact and your favourite ice cream flavour.”
The boy was very insistent. “My favourite ice cream flavour is eggplant,” Kakashi said. “And how about this for a fun fact? None of you are actually genin yet.”
Sasuke and Naruto shot each other confused glances.
“…How about something about you,” Naruto encouraged. “As a get-to-know-you fact.”
Yes, Kakashi prized teamwork and friendship above all else, but having to experience Naruto’s strange attempts at bonding with him?
Atrocious.
“Here’s my fun fact,” Kakashi announced, refusing to allow for any more interruptions. “Tomorrow, we’ll be doing a team challenge together. None of you are genin yet, there’s still one more test that determines whether you move on, or go right back to the Academy.”
“There’s another test?” Sasuke leaned forward indignantly. “But haven’t we already graduated?”
“My team, my rules. Show up for five in the morning tomorrow at training ground three. Oh, and make sure not to eat breakfast.” He lowered his voice menacingly. “Or else you’ll puke.”
He hopped away, swinging himself off the rooftop and leaving the brats behind.
Well, he certainly wasn’t looking forward to teaching… but he had to admit that he was curious to see just how the bell test would play out.
When he had first read the profiles, he had deemed Naruto as too childish, Sasuke too broody and Sakura too timid to work together properly without serious difficulties. Seeing them now, it was true that those traits were there, but there was far more to them than that. Perhaps a little too much more.
In any case, he expected his test tomorrow would certainly be interesting.