Team 7 found themselves in the blonde sibling's house. Naruto was still trying to convince Sasuke to read the gutsy ninja. The Uchiha didn't take any interest in it and was starting to get annoyed by the persistent Naruto. The girls were in the kitchen. Naruto had asked Athena to cook up something for them so there she was, in the kitchen overlooking the pots she had put on the fire. While that was going on she sat at the bar with Hinata and was sketching her again. Hinata was trying very hard not to blush. She should get used to Athena just staring at her.

"What are you making? " she figured a conversation would distract her.

"A little bit of everything " Athena shrugged. "You like zenzai, right? "

Hinata nodded in confirmation. It was number two on her list of favorite food.

"Hey Athena, what do you think about tomorrow? "Naruto asked as he wandered into the kitchen followed by Sasuke, who was lazily flipping through Naruto's book.

"Should we believe our jonin when he tells out to arrive at five in the morning without eating? "Sasuke asked as he placed himself on a barstool. The book was placed on the bar and he flipped to the next page.

"It feels like a trick" Hinata said as she hid her face behind the turtle neck of her jacket. Athena had given her another one. Like the last it had the Senju's initial on it. She had supplied her with a number of them just so she could wear them daily. She seemed to take great pride in it.

"That's because it is" Athena had her nose in her drawing pad. "Like I said, Kakashi can never be on time. He's going to make us get up early in the morning only to make us wait for hours. The part about no food is to make sure we're starving by the time he arrived and that just makes things worst"

"Soooo, we go against everything he said" Naruto said with a nod of his head. "How about we head over to the training ground around eight in the morning? I'm sure Athena wouldn't mind making us some breakfast and luch"

Athena only nodded in response. Her pencil was discarded and she gathered her coloring supplies. A splash of color here and there always gives life to her drawings.

"Then it's settled" Naruto was on the other side of the bar and tried to steal some dango Athena had in front of her. The second his hand was just centimeters away from Athena's food she glared and he froze. The look said it all. He would be punished if he dared take her sweet dango. He laughed Nervously and stepped away from the glaring Athena. He should've known. Hinata may be allowed to have some, but he was still not special enough.

With Naruto far away from her food Athena returned to her drawing.

"Are the noodles done? "

"No"

"Rice? "

"No"

"Zenzai? "

"No"

"Cinnamon rolls at least? "

"No"

Naruto opened his mouth to ask another question but was silenced by Sasuke's hand on his shoulder.

"Naruto, just no"

Naruto sighed and dragged himself back into the living room. He threw himself across the three person couch and just lied there, motionless.

"I'm starving "

"Don't be so dramatic"

~~~~~~~~

Naruto hummed like a child as he happily ate the ramen Athena had prepared. He was grumbling before but the food was worth the wait, as always. He was seated cross legged on the couch even though Athena told him to sit on the floor if that's how he planned on sitting. She gave up and ignored him as she ate the zenzai she had made. The thing she liked about the soup is that she could add dango in it. And that's exactly what she did. Sasuke was still exploring the gutsy ninja. Apparently Naruto succeeded in getting the boy to read the book. Hinata was in her own world as she enjoyed her cinnamon rolls and the zenzai. It was adorable to watch and of course Athena watched every now and then.

"The main character of this book is named Naruto" Sasuke looked at the boy with the very same name and raised am eyebrow. "Do you like this book because the protagonist happens to have the same name as you? "

"No" Naruto shook his head. "I was named after the protagonist. The man who wrote this book was my father's teacher and is my god father. Dad really looked up to him so I guess he decided to name me after the gutsy ninja because of that fact" Naruto shrugged. "The book is really good. I've read it a million times"

"It's not bad" Sasuke said. Coming from Sasuke that meant it was actually pretty good. High praise.

Naruto was staring off into space while he ate. He liked the atmosphere in his house. It was nice and relaxing. Their little team was actually pretty cool and they got along very well. It would be nice if they all lived together, but he knew it couldn't be that way. Sasuke and Hinata are from very important clans and must remain at their compound. Especially Hinata, seeing as she's the heiress of the Hyuga clan. He glanced at her. He doubt anyone believed she could lead her clan. Did she even want to lead the clan?

Eh, if something's bothering the meek girl Athena will figure it out immediately and work on cheering her up.

"Athena"

Athena glanced at Sasuke who was looking at her. She raised an eyebrow in question as she chewed on her dango.

"You know Kakashi, do you have any idea what he'll have us do tomorrow? "

Athena nodded. "The bell test most likely "

Naruto lit up at that. "The bell test? The pervy sage had told me about it"

Athena nodded. "The test will be to take two or maybe in our case three bells from him. The one who does nor obtain a bell fails and is dropped"

Hinata hummed in thought. Three bells. One fails. That doesn't seem right.

"If he does that no one will want to work together because they'll try to get themselves a bell"

Athena nodded again with a proud smile. "Good observation Hinata"

"I see, he's trying to trick us" Sasuke said in thought. "The solution is to work together, isn't it? "

"Yes it is" Athena shrugged. "Though I don't know if Kakashi will incorporate the test or not. He must know that Naruto and I know of the test. If he does incorporate it he might just be testing how well we can work together "

"It'll be easy" Naruto finally finished his noodles. "Athena and I work perfectly together and can easily work with anyone else. If we need a distraction just send me in, I'll distract the hell out of him. " Naruto seemed very proud of his ability to be a distraction.

"I'll come up with something"

~~~~~~~~

The next morning the four met at training ground 7 at eight in the morning. Kakashi hadn't arrived yet. Athena did as Naruto suggested or requested and made everyone breakfast and lunch. She was snacking on an apple since she already ate her breakfast.

"Eat up, we have thirty minutes" Athena could sense Kakashi's chakra on her way to the meeting place. Her calculations are almost always on point and she was relying on that for the moment.

"You have a plan? "Sasuke asked. He was already sampling the rice ball Athena brought him.

Athena shrugged as she finished her apple and proceeded to casually plant the seeds in multiple places. Sasuke and Hinata were curious as to why she was planting apple seeds while Naruto didn't bat an eye. It was normal enough to him and he knew why she did that.

"We'll just work together"

"That's not a plan"

Athena only smiled as she planted the last seed.

"Just wait and see"

~~~~~~~

Kakashi arrived exactly thirty minutes later and found the four patiently waiting on him. Naruto was reading Ichi Icha while Sasuke busied himself with the gutsy ninja. Athena had her art supplies in front of her and seemed to be teaching Hinata a thing or two. They didn't look tired or hungry.

He smiled. He knew they must have arrived later than he told them to and that they had most likely eaten.

"Good morning everyone"

"Yo" Naruto and Sasuke casually greeted.

"Let me guess" Athena sighed. "A black cat crossed your path so you had to take the long way"

"Black cats bring bad luck"

"Classic"

"What will we be doing today? "Hinata asked.

Kakashi didn't answer. Instead he pulled an alarm clock out of nowhere and placed it in a stump nearby. He fiddled with it for some time before he was satisfied.

"The clock has been set to noon. You have 3 hours and 30 minutes to complete this test. " He soon had three bells dangling from a string. Athena smiled upon seeing them. So he went with it anyway. "All you have to do is take these from me. Those who do not get a bell will be tied to a post and get no lunch. I'll even sit right in front of you and eat whatever delicacy you brought with you"

"That's mean" Naruto pouted.

"The person who does not get a bell will fail and be sent back to the academy "

Kakashi knew the team already knew what his game was. That's good. He could tell the moment it was revealed they set a trap for him. They understand what it means to be on a team. Now he just wanted to see how well they work together.

"Everything goes today. You are ninja so you must fight and act as such. You must come at me with the intention to kill, otherwise you will fail"

They all nodded.

"Now then, disperse and let's begin

~~~~~~~~

Athena was staring at the spot where she had planted her seeds. Enough time had passed for her to use them. She glanced at her team mates and smiled. She had a plan and it would work perfectly.

"I have a plan and it's very simple " she started. "I planted some apple seeds and I need Kakashi to be near them, specifically standing right on top of them "

"Those seeds? "

"Yes" Athena ignored the look of curiosity in Sasuke's eyes. "Don't wonder about it. You'll see when it happens"

"So what do we do? "

"You and Sasuke get Kakashi where I need him. Work together and balance each other out "

The boys nodded. They could work something out.

"What about you and Hinata? "

Athena glanced at the girl. Naruto and Sasuke would lead Kakashi to her trap. She would need to activate it. Hinata would need to do the rest.

"I activate my trap, Hinata gets the bells"

"Me? "

"Yes"

Athena read the look of worry on her friend's face and petted her head in reassurance. "Don't worry, we've got your back. We'll be there to help if you end up in a bind"

Hinata nodded, still worried. She wasn't sure she could get the bells from a jonin.

"You can do it. I wouldn't be sending you in if I didn't believe you couldn't "

"I'll try"

"And you'll succeed"

~~~~~~~~

Kakashi senced two familiar chakra signals heading straight for him. They found him, and so easily. Impressive. He had hidden his chakra as best he could. He wasn't expecting to be found so quickly. He sighed and closed his book. He couldn't be reading while trying to handle his team. They're a strong bunch and he would most likely lose if he were to underestimate them.

The whistle of the wind was in his ear as a kunai zipped past him. It landed right in front of him and he raised an eyebrow. The look of curiosity turned to shock once he took note of the familiar type of kunai and the seal it wore.

Within the blink of an eye a grinning Naruto was in front of him and prepared an attack. Kakashi dodged only to make distance when he felt Sasuke behind him. When did Naruto teleport the boy behind him?

"Can you keep up Sasuke?" Naruto asked as he twirled a kunai around his finger.

"It's a bit nauseating, but I'll manage" Sasuke could feel his stomach twist in discomfort from being teleported. It's uncomfortable but impressive.

"Well then let's get to work" Naruto tossed multiple kunai into the air.

Kakashi knew he would face some difficulty handling the boys. He almost forgot that the boy knew his father's technique. He sighed. He was tasked with leading a powerful bunch with a mastermind of a planner and a mini flash. Of course there had to be two dojutsu users on the team as well.

It's going to be a long ride.

"It's always team 7 "