A/N Let's do the Time Warp again! So, I realised that it's really weird writing the characters show up to their first mission supposedly knowing each other, when I haven't actually written that interaction yet. So, this update and probably the next one goes just before Acceleration 5.1.

In a week or so I'll edit things so it ends up being in the right place in-thread.

ooo

Three days after graduating

The sun shone softly through the Konoha morning mist. Glinting across the rippling water of the river, it covered the side of the bridge in shifting patterns of light.

"He's late." Naruto observed, "Again."

Hinata's hands clenched minutely, just for a moment before her body language smoothed back out.

"This will become a pattern if we're not careful." Tetsuo noted idly as he looked down at the shining river, flicking one last shaving from a small knobbly lump of wood before putting it away. "Two paths stretch out before us, two routes of immense importance and significance. Who knows, by choosing one over the other may our fates be decided." The lone shaving twirled down to the river and was carried quickly away by the current.

"Oh?" Hinata asked, channelling Sasuke as she packed a whole sentence into one word with a slight eyebrow raise. Naruto's eyes were fixed on Tetsuo. His bearing radiated excitement.

"We can spend our morning training, or we can hunt down Kakashi." Tetsuo explained.

Naruto's shoulders slumped in disappointment, "How is that such a big deal?" He groused while Hinata just kept her eyebrow in place, smiling softly as if at some private joke.

"Well if we train in the mornings we'll grow stronger, but slowly." Tetsuo explained to Naruto, taking careful note of Hinata's apparent understanding, "That is the least risky path with the lowest reward. If we hunt Kakashi then we'll get real world tracking experience and if we catch him, we'll probably get more training time each day and so improve faster. We all have improved senses of some description, so it's within our area of expertise. Plus I know where he lives from Gai so we'll have a chance. If we don't catch him though we'll be wasting our mornings. And he's good at hiding." He spread his arms wide, "So! We'll need to convince him that we will always come looking for him so that he realises that it's less effort to just show up on time. The problem with that is that if he knows that we know he'll be thinking like that then he'll do everything in his power to make sure that it doesn't work, because he's contrary like that."

"Naruto's eyes crossed briefly as he muttered under his breath, "Knows that we know he'll be thinking?"

"That gives us two choices." Tetsuo finished, putting two hands ahead of him and raising one, "We can take the sure and slow path," he lowered that hand and raised the other, "or we can take the riskier path with the larger reward."

Hinata's response was instantaneous, her tone resolute. "We find him."

"Hell yeah!" Naruto crowed, feet leaving the floor as he pumped his fist into the air. "Let's go wake up our lazy sensei. I bet he's still in bed!"

Tetsuo just smiled, Ah Hinata, you really aren't making this hard to figure out. I wonder if that's intentional. Should I expect a recruitment pitch?

ooo

They went to his home first. It was an incongruously modern looking apartment with wide windows, which three small faces peered through. Simple, empty, sparse. Apart from the shuriken pattern bedsheets, a coded poster board and a pair of framed team photographs the place barely looked lived in.

"Have you got a scent?" Naruto asked, breathing deeply through his nose.

"It's faint..." Tetsuo responded, head darting from place to place with eyes half closed, a slow trickle of chakra running through his sinuses. Sniff sniff, sniff sniff. It was slightly adorable. "Very faint. Scorched earth and weapon oil, a hint of bark." He frowned slightly, "I'll have to ask him how he gets it this hard to detect, seems useful."

"I have it." Naruto said, "It's barely there. I don't know if I'll be able to follow this on rooftops with the wind."

"Me either." Tetsuo replied, eyes narrowed. "Hinata, any hints from out of view?" She shook her head. "Well there's a few other places he might be. Gai disapproved of his 'Most Un-youthful lack of punctuality' so I have a list. We should try the memorial first."

ooo

When a tired and irritable Team 7 trudged back towards the meeting spot hours later it was with a rising feeling of dread that they turned the corner to bring the bridge into view. They had been led a merry chase the last two hours, always seeming to be just behind their quarry. A scuff here, an errant whiff of scent there, a blur of masked movement just on the edge of byakugan range. Tetsuo was beginning to think they were being fucked with, so when he spied their teacher standing on the bridge smiling and waving cheerily he wasn't surprised. He was halfway between annoyed and impressed, because of course someone who had to deal with Gai would be able to pull something like this.

"So my students finally decide to show up," Kakashi greeted them unhappily, "Truly it wounds me to have such uncaring students, not even arriving on time for our very first team training session. What could I have done to deserve such treatment?"

Hinata and Tetsuo were shocked into silence by the sheer brass neck showed by his words, meanwhile Naruto had no such problem.

"What!?" He shouted, throwing his finger forwards and pointing dramatically, "We've been following you all morning and you know it! Besides, we were only five minutes behind you!"

"I've no idea what you could be talking about," Kakashi replied cheerily, "I've been here since just after nine, enjoying my book. Now come on, we've got team training." His tone turned serious, "Your planning was okay in the bell test, but your co-ordination was poor and your formation was full of holes."

Naruto squawked indignantly.

"Against a target who actually wanted to kill you it never would have worked. You need to be able to know where your team mates are at all times without looking." Kakashi continued steadily, "You need to know what they'll do, where they'll be, what they're thinking, all the little signs that tell if they want to charge or retreat or do something crazy. Cover each other's weaknesses, amplify each other's strengths. You need to live and breathe the same until your hearts beat in tune. It will take time but you'll get there eventually, and the sooner we start the sooner we'll be finished. So, attack me."

What followed were three of the most frustrating hours of Tetsuo's life. Their tricks were now known, and none of them wanted to waste explosives or gas on training time. Kakashi made sure to never move faster than they were capable of, but even three against one he destroyed them. Every time he slipped through the gaps of their formation to effortlessly 'kill' them he would call "dead, dead, dead.", then explain how a slightly out-turned foot and a mistimed punch allowed him to destroy them utterly, and what they should do next time. When they improved he would call out "good job!" in the same voice one would use when praising a dog, then find some new and unexpected way to break their plan to pieces. The man was only where you expected him to be when he was setting you up to attack an area where he suddenly... wasn't. It was infuriating.

Worse, Tetsuo could tell that Naruto was steadily growing resentful of being the slowest and least proficient member of the team. It was obvious in the tightness of his eyes, the set of his teeth, the jerky movement of his shoulders. He was clearly trying to hold back from snapping, but the frustration carried over to the whole team and their cohesion suffered.

When Kakashi finally called a halt Tetsuo was ready to rip something to pieces with his bare hands, which swung low from the constant drag of his wrist weights. Though Hinata's head stood tall and proud, her chest heaved as sweat poured down her neck. Naruto seemed the least tired of the three, but his hands were clenched white by his sides and the muscles of his jaw bulged with tension. Their clothing was scuffed, smelly and stained by grass and dirt, while Kakashi was spotless and wasn't even sweating under the afternoon sun.

"So, that seems like a good place to end today." Kakashi spoke cheerily. "I'll see you tomorrow at nine, and try not to be late this time." Then a thought seemed to occur to him, "Oh, and if you're tracking a target that is faster and can sense further than you, it's a good idea to suppress your chakra signature."

And then he disappeared in a puff of smoke. A. Puff. Of. Smoke.

"That was a shadow clone." Tetsuo noted numbly. Then his voice gained force as his face twisted in rage, "He didn't even show up in person!" He whirled shouting, "Sonofa!" then smashed his fist into a training post.

The post won.

In all, it was not the best first day to their training.