Note: Hi there! This is my first Naruto story. I've decided to write it about Kakashi's time in his first squad with Obito and Rin. I was a little unsure about it when I first began writing, but I have come to really like writing on this story. So I hope you'll enjoy reading it. Reviews would be very appreciated.
My whole body was aching like never before. It felt as if my entire body was going to fall apart. It wasn't the well-known feeling of a wound. That yearning feeling which made you grind your teeth. This was very different. I might have wanted to grind my teeth, but I simply didn't have the energy to do it.
I felt like… Well, actually I didn't really feel anything. But still, pain managed to emerge from everywhere.
But this was necessary. I had to become stronger. I tried to channel more chakra to my index finger, which was placed on the surface of a huge cliff, preventing me from falling to my death, but it was hopeless. I finally realized my problem. I had no more chakra left. It was probably because of the enormous boulder, which I carried with my other index finger. That and the six hours of intense training, prior to this little test, of course.
Suddenly, my head started to feel fuzzy. Then an indescribable pain to chest followed.
I had never been fearing for my health (or life for any of that matter), before. Obito claimed that it was due to my arrogance. Now however, a sudden feeling of unease appeared in my head. I was falling towards the ground (which was a long way down from here), and I had somehow managed to get beneath the boulder. My instincts told me to escape this dangerous situation, but my body simply wouldn't react.
Without my approval, my eyes closed. Seconds, or maybe hours later, I heard a deafening cracking sound. I also felt an arm gripping around my waist.
I somehow managed to open my eyes. Minato-sensei was soaring mid-air, his left hand carrying me and his right hand raised towards the remains of my boulder. The boulder had been turned to small insignificant stones… or maybe even sand.
Not looking exhausted at all, he landed on the ground and let go of me.
"I told you Kakashi", he said, not smiling but not looking angry either.
"Don't use up all of your chakra. It will kill you. Must you seek your limitations all the time?" he continued, starting to annoy me.
"I wasn't aware of the status of my chakra", I excused myself.
"Well you are lucky to live Kakashi", Minato-sensei said.
"I know. Thank you for saving me", I said bowing my head in acceptance.
"I'm not talking about the fall. I'm talking about depleting your chakra to none", he said with a serious look appearing on his face.
I nodded in understanding.
"Never do that again. At least not while having done so much training before this", Minato-sensei said and his serious expression now turned friendly. He reached for my hand and helped me up. I could swear that I saw another expression on his face. Was it admiration?
Minato-sensei ordered me to stay in bed for the entire next day. This didn't suit me very well, but it did provide me with a chance to read Make Out Tactics yet again. Minato had told me not to read something like that, but I insisted on its qualities.
Rin brought me tea and she, too, seemed to disgust my fondness of the series. She seemed a little angry, or maybe… jealous?
I accidentally made her angry, when she caught me reading the book while she talked. She stormed out the door. I tried to get out of the bed, to give her an apology, but I couldn't stand. I decided that there was nothing more for me to do, and returned to my reading.
After finishing the book again, I got quite bored. It made me wish that I hadn't hurt Rin's feelings. I would have appreciated a little company.
I hoped that Obito would drop by. A feeling I had never expected to appear. Obito and I were rivals. At least Obito considered us like that, I just found him annoying. He was always trying to lesson me in his values, and it didn't take long before it tired me out.
Thinking about this, I was kind of grateful for his not turning up. I fell asleep and when I woke up it was morning.
I was supposed to meet Minato-sensei at the training grounds. He told me that he had something important to tell us.
I got dressed and raced through the town. My body was a little sore but I was nearly back to my normal standards.
Rin was there when I showed up. She was standing alone at the deserted field. She folded her arms tipped her nose to the sky, as I greeted her.
She was still mad. Typical girls, I thought. I considered pulling forward Make Out Tactics, but figured that this would make a definite end to our friendship.
Minato-sensei showed up after a few minutes. I was grateful, as this neutralized the awkward atmosphere. Obito still hadn't showed up.
As Obito finally showed up, Minato-sensei began talking.
"Late again Obito… Well, no harm done", Minato-sensei said and smiled.
"Anyway, I have an important announcement to make. I'm assigning all of you to the Chunin-exams", Minato-sensei said and seemed to study our reactions with great concentration. I don't know what the others were thinking. Personally, I was happy to get it over with.
I was pretty sure that I had already passed Chunin level, so this would be a walk in the park. I glanced at Obito. He looked a little pale.
"That's amazing! Let's go!" Obito said, but it was obvious that he was afraid.
Rin, to my surprise, didn't look scared. She seemed to be determined not to show any signs of fear.
"About time", I said. Obito looked at me with his usual annoyed glance.
We trained for a couple of hours. Then Minato-sensei remembered some forgotten information.
"Oh, and by the way, the exams start tomorrow morning", Minato-sensei said and smiled.
"What?" Rin, Obito and I yelled simultaneously. I wasn't really worried, but I was still surprised at the lack of time. That, and the fact that my powers weren't completely restored, summoned a vague feeling of unease. I wanted to show everyone how strong I was, and I didn't want to have to hold back.
Rin refused to pair with me at training. I knew she was upset, but this was too much. Why do girls have to make such a big deal out of everything? Couldn't Rin just say something, instead of just ignoring me? She paired up with Obito, and that left Minato-sensei with me.
"What did you do to her?" Minato-sensei asked with a whisper.
"I was just reading my book and then she freaked out", I said, denying my guilt.
"I told you not to read that. Could you at least have kept it away while she was there? You know she likes you", Minato-sensei said in an accusing tone.
"I don't see how that's my responsibility", I said coldly.
"You fool. Friends are the most important thing you will ever have", Minato-sensei said, as he moved quickly to my back, preparing to strike.
"The only thing important to me is being a ninja and completing my mission", I said, performing a substitution-jutsu. I was now hiding in a tree while my clone was fighting Minato-sensei. He seemed to buy it as he attacked the clone on the ground.
My clone turned to smoke, and I was surprised to see Minato-sensei turn into smoke too. I realized what was going on and quickly tried to grab a kunai but it was too late. I could feel both of my wrists being caught from behind me, and I was thrown down from the tree.
"Kakashi…", Minato-sensei said, apparently unable to finish his sentence.
He leaped to Obito and Rin, and started talking to them about something related to the Chunin-exams.
I started to think about what Minato-sensei had said. If my father's death had taught me anything it was the importance of a ninja's duty. I wasn't going to make the same mistake my father made. Minato-sensei had no idea what he was talking about.
I was really annoyed to find myself missing the company of Rin. Obito had decided to sympathize with Rin, and he ignored me too. Anyway, it didn't matter at all. I didn't need them. All I needed was to train for the Chunin-exams.
Minato-sensei had invited all of us for dinner at Ichiraku's. I decided to stay and train some more.
When it was near six o'clock, which was the time set for the dinner, Rin approached me at the field.
"Kakashi?" she asked with a low voice.
"So, we're ignoring me anymore?" I said, arrogance dominating my voice.
Rin looked at me with anger. I could see tears appearing in her eyes.
"I only got mad because I like you, don't you understand that?" Rin said. Her voice was at first angry, but it broke mid-sentence. Now it was more like a whisper. I hadn't paused my punches at the tree in front of me. This, however, made me hesitate.
"Rin… I like you, but I don't need friends or girlfriends. I need to become a strong ninja, and love and friendship will not be important", I said.
The tears now ran down Rin's cheeks. I could see that she was speechless. She didn't know what to say. She suddenly stopped crying and took a deep breath. This surprised me as I had expected her to make a scene out of this situation.
"You're wrong", she said, in a monotone voice. There was nothing indicating her feelings.
"You're father did the right thing when he…" Rin began, but I interrupted her.
"Don't. My father lost his focus because of love and friendship. It clouded his judgment", I said, finally turning around to face Rin.
"So this is what it's all about. You're afraid of making friends because you think it will prevent you from fulfilling you're dream of becoming a ninja", she said. Her expression turned sympathetic. She walked the last couple of steps towards me. When she reached me, she slowly raised a hand and put on my shoulder. She looked me in the eyes and I could sense she tried to read more of my feelings. I didn't like this. She was too good at it.
"Stop pitying me", I said and pulled back my shoulder.
"Kakashi, you can't live without friendship", Rin said. She looked sad. I didn't like to see her sad, but I preferred it over pity.
"Well, if I change my mind, I promise you will be my first friend", I said and looked at Rin.
She still looked sad but couldn't help smiling. She shortened the distance between us. She folded her arms around me.
"Don't…", I objected, but gave in, letting her embrace me. She didn't seem to mind my not hugging her back.
"You have to hurry. You're late for Ichiraku's", I said, in an effort to make her leave. I didn't mind her being here. Actually it was the opposite, which was bothering me. I suddenly felt close to her. I found myself fighting the urge to hug her. It made me feel uncomfortable.
"You aren't coming?" Rin asked, disappointment in her tone.
"No. Enjoy your meal", I said, putting an end to the embracement", I turned around to continue my training.
I expected Rin to leave, and I was surprised to feel a hand grabbing my elbow.
"Stop being such a cool idiot", Rin said and laughed. She pulled me away from the tree.
I didn't know what to say, and just laughed with her. I unwillingly followed and let Rin hold my hand on the way to the others.