Hey thanks for checking out Bonds of Nakama! Just a quick foreword, this is an AU Naruto Adventure/Romance, meaning there will be pairings later on. Anyways, please enjoy!
Hatake Kakashi strolled leisurely down the dimly-lit streets of Konoha. He'd received an urgent message from a nakama* earlier that day and he'd gotten a little sidetracked, a usual occurrence. Spotting his destination he took one quick breath of air before pushing through the doors of one of Konoha's most popular shinobi bars.
Upon entering, Kakashi saw many familiar faces were scattered here and there. He waved at them and they exchanged short greetings as he made his way to the person he was here to meet, who was sitting at the bar. Kakashi's raven-haired friend sat at the bar with a shot before him, which he quickly gulped down before tapping the table in front of him, requesting another.
As Kakashi edged closer, he saw that his nakama had partaken of at least seven shots thus far, making the jounin* feel slightly guilty for his prolonged absence. Taking a seat next to his friend, Kakashi placed a hand on the younger jounin's shoulder, letting him become aware of Kakashi's presence. Upon seeing Kakashi, the young man scowled as he took back another shot.
"What took you so long?" The young man asked as he waved the bartender down and tapped his finger on the table, requesting yet another drink. Kakashi was about to answer but the young man beat him to it. "Wait-wait-wait. Let me guess. A black cat crossed your path, right? No-no, you had to help an old lady with some chores perhaps?"
"Close. I broke three mirrors on my way here and bac-"
"Oh shut up!" The young man cut Kakashi off. "You never change do you?"
"What is it that's so urgent Shisui-san?"
"That Hokage of ours he… he…he wants me to be a jounin instructor, rather he's forcing me. I met the kids today." Shisui sat mouth agape as he watched one of the men he most respected burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, which was a shock to all present who knew the man.
"That's hilarious~! You'd never catch me mentoring some snot nosed brats." Kakashi said desperately trying to keep his breath.
"Kakashi this is serious!" Shisui pleaded. "What am I supposed to do? You're the master of failing teams, how do you do it?" Kakashi grabbed his stomach in an effort to calm himself. Once he contained his usual composure he spoke.
"That's simple. I used the bell test." Shisui hung his head to the side in a questioning look. Kakashi took the hint and elaborated. "Take your new team to a training ground, and make it a test of sorts. You'll need two bells, two containers of food, and a timer. Start early and set the timer till noon, the team has until that time to get the two bells from you." Shisui was clearly missing the point, but from the look he assumed Kakashi had under his mask, he could tell he was pleased with the system he'd set up for himself.
"So what's the point of this little exercise?" Shisui couldn't help but find he was getting more and more interested.
"It's a team building exercise. You tell the genin that they have to get the bells before the timer goes off or they go back to the academy." Shisui now fully grasped the idea of the exercise.
"So, in a nutshell, making them believe that one of them will return to the academy turns them against each other, when in reality the only way for them to even come close to getting a bell would be to work together. That's brilliant." Shisui sat for a bit pondering every possible outcome of the test before asking one final question. "Kakashi-san, what if theydo get the bell?"
Kakashi smirked under his mask, before responding.
"Shisui, no one ever gets the bell."
Darake Jio and Ittou Kenji were both breathing heavily as sweat poured down their faces. "I think we should call it a day." Kenji said through deep breaths. Kenji had messy black hair and emerald green eyes. He wore his newly acquired forehead protector on his arm.
Jio had mid-length spiky white hair, indigo eyes, and wore his forehead protector properly on his head.
"Agreed. You're new technique is coming along nicely." Jio replied.
"Thanks." Kenji replied as he sheathed his sword on his back. "What do you say we go grab some ramen for lunch?"
"Thanks but I can't. I promised Suzuna I'd meet her at Yakiniku." Kenji just nodded and waved as Jio headed back into the city. Kenji began slowly walking towards Ichiraku Ramen, his favorite ramen place in town. By the time he reached the street where Ichiraku was located he felt his stomach grumbling. He knew the ramen would be satisfying. Suddenly his new sensei, Shisui Uchiha appeared before him.
Shisui had mid-length spiky hair, wore a black shirt underneath a gray flak jacket with the Uchiha symbol on the back, and black pants.
Kenji jumped slightly. He'd only met him once, but he'd heard amazing stories from his uncle about his young sensei.
"Shisui-sensei. What's going on?"
"Tonight exactly midnight we're training at training ground three. Don't be late." Shisui said coolly. An instant later, he had flickered away. I guess I should eat fast and go get some rest. Kenji thought. He walked down to Ichiraku and saw that another of their usuals was already sitting at the bar. The young blonde boy wore a white hoodie with a green stripe running down the sleeve on either side, with white pants of the same fashion with green stripes on the sides of the legs.
He often encountered the boy here, and the two had become quite good friends. "Yo, Naruto!" Kenji said, taking a seat next to him. "Check out what I got!" He pointed towards the forehead protector on his right arm.
Naruto seemed slightly shocked. "You graduated from the ninja academy!? No way! I'm graduating next year!" A dumbstruck look crossed Kenji's face.
"No way!" He laughed. "I can't believe we never knew until now." Naruto laughed as well and patted him on the back.
"Congratulations Kenji! Your bowl's on me, I insist!" Rather than argue Kenji just thanked him and the two continued chatting away before Kenji said his goodbye and headed home to rest. He reached his home in about five minutes and entered. It was a small single-room house, with a small kitchen, but Kenji liked it. It was paid for by his uncle who lived down the block and was a very skilled blacksmith. It was he who had made the sword Kenji used, and given it to him just a few weeks ago as an early graduation present.
He flopped down in his bed in the corner and set the timer on his nightstand so he would wake up at around eleven thirty. He awkwardly removed his sword sheath from his back, kissing it before propping it up against his nightstand. He'd been thinking of a name for weeks, and now that he finally knew his sword better, he'd decided.
"Rest well, Ainami*." He said, before drifting off to sleep.
Jio breathed in the refreshing night air as he neared his destination. He had had a pretty intense sparring session with Kenji earlier, and all the aromas of great smelling food were starting to get to him.
"Hey there nakama." The voice was soft and sweet and accompanied by a soft giggle. Jio smirked to himself as he raised his eyes to rooftops where, arguably, the most beautiful blue eyed girl in the village smiling down at him.
"Senju Suzana, you're looking stunning as ever." Jio said coolly.
"Why thank you sir." The young woman said pushing a strand of chocolate brown hair from her eyes. Suzana leapt down from her position on the roof and stood face to face with her teammate and friend. Jio and Suzana had always had a close relationship, spanning all the way back to their beginning academy days. Jio's clan wasn't nearly on the same prestige level as that of the mighty Senju, but his family's complex was just down the way, so the two would often walk together to the academy, and on occasion train together.
Upon landing on the ground, the young woman pulled her hair out of its usual ponytail, nonchalantly, realizing that it was looking messy.
"I'll fix it later." She said. She inspected her friend more closely and saw his arm was slightly burned. "You've been training?"
"Yeah. Kenji wanted to work on his kenjutsu*. He's coming along surprisingly well."
"You guys didn't feel like inviting me huh?" She said with a slight pout.
"Oh come on Suzuna, you know how it is. We were bro-ing out." Jio replied defensively. Suddenly a flicker before them revealed their jounin sensei Shisui Uchiha.
"Sensei?" Suzuna said, apparently shocked.
"Yo~!" He smiled widely. "Came by to let you guys know that tonight at exactly midnight at training ground three, we'll be having a special training exercise. Don't be late." As quickly as he'd appeared, he disappeared.
"That's strange." Jio said. Suzuna nodded in agreement. "I hate to cut our lunch meeting short, I'm gonna need some serious rest before another training exercise. So I'll see you tonight, Suzuna." She waved goodbye as the two of them went their separate ways.
Shisui Uchiha titled back the bottle of sake he'd been drinking, taking a large gulp.
He heard the voices of his genin team approaching and sighed deeply. He tiled back his bottle to finish off whatever was left, only to find that it was empty.
"Shit." He threw the bottle over his head and stood to his feet. "It barely tickles anymore." He looked over to the timer and two containers of food that Kakashi had said he would need, and realized he had no idea what the hell they were for. He decided to brush it off and continue anyways. When his team stood before him he began explaining their training exercise. "The point of this exercise is to get these bells from me. The two of you who do, will become my team, and the other one will be sent back to the academy."
The genin gasped and all exchanged looks. "Only…two of us?" Suzuna asked. Shisui only nodded in response.
"I see. No hard feelings, right guys?" Jio and Suzuna both smirked and nodded.
"Good luck." Jio said.
"Well now that everyone's clear. Let's get started shall we?" Shisui yawned slightly before saying, "Begin~!"
Thank you everyone for reading TeamValisari's AU Naruto fanfiction. Thanks for reading guys, we know it starts a bit slow, but we promise it will pick up and heat up soon.
Terminology: (We've been told these are obvious, but hey! Just in case.)
*Nakama – Nakama is like the American version of saying "he's like a brother to me." More than just your friend, someone you would sacrifice yourself for.
*Ainami – Violet Wave
*Kenjutsu – Sword Techniques
Please review!