The air seemed to chill the ninja to the bone, despite his winter clothing and cloak, as he walked with his team to investigate a neighboring village. It was midwinter, the dark, swirling clouds threatening to dump the white crystalized substance at any moment. Their mission was to go and inspect why there was so much smoke coming from the community. Of course they all knew the answer; there was a fire. It was easy to see, the smoke white and visible now that they drew even closer to the settlement. True as said, the village was in ashes from what they could see. No much was left, only parts of structures and unburnable material. Little did the ninja know how much more disturbing this scene would get as they drew closer to it. The only place that wasn't touched by the fire was the center building.
The three warriors started to walk to the tall structure, one of them covering her nose with her gloved hand, "It smells like burning flesh."
"The villagers probably were caught in the fire, at least a few of them," the one on the very right replied, fanning in front of his face as he looked around calmly, "Though it doesn't make it smell any less horrid. Let's go see if there are any survivors in the town center."
"Something tells me that we won't fine many, if any," the other one spoke softly, almost like a whisper. He had wondered from the other two, looking down one of the streets. His usually calm face was in one of remorse.
"Why would you say that, Hiroshi?" The kunoichi asked, walking up behind him, paling at the sight. She moved the hand from her nose to cross herself, the last ninja joining them.
"We need back up now, and to start burring these poor souls," Hiroshi looked back at the other two, "Kazuo, go back to the village and be careful. I don't know if this was intending to bringing us out here and starting a war, or if this was a random act of violence."
"Hai," Kazuo nodded, turning on his heel and speeding off back where they came from; The Village Hidden in the Leaves.
"Should we see if there is anyone in the center?" Asked the woman, having finished whispering a prayer for the depraved souls.
Hiroshi nodded and walked towards the only standing building, "Don't expect anyone to be left. This was a massacre."
She nodded, "I know, but I was to believe that there is some good left here."
The female gave the street one more glance, feeling the sadness creep in more at the sight of all the bodies on the streets as the snow had finally started to fall. They were burned, but around them was blood in huge spots, seeping into the soil. It was obvious the fire didn't kill any of the people. The closer they got the center, the less burned bodies there were, but that left them as whoever had killed them. Many of the residents here were ninja themselves, they were a part of their own clan. They didn't belong to the village, but they were allies. Once they reached the epicenter, they paused to look around. A jutsu was cast by the man on the front steps, sitting cross legged with his eyes closed. At first glance they could tell it was the village leader. He was wearing light colored clothing, so the large red spot on his midsection raised alarm. When the Leaf ninja approached the man opened his eyes, and seeing their headbands dropped his hands. The jutsu stopped, letting the ninja come in. As soon as his hands dropped, the kunoichi jumped forward and caught him.
"Hotaru, see what you can do for the man. I will see who is in the Center," Hiroshi walked passed the two, looking inside.
Hotaru smiled at the man, who had placed a hand over his wound, "My name is Hotaru, I am a healer. What kind of wound do you have?"
"It's no use," he coughed, blood running from the corner of his mouth as he struggled to talk, "I got all of the people that I could in the building. There are only a few children, and one adult that was injured."
The woman nodded, "I will take care of them, I promise."
The man smiled and closed his eyes, breathing his last words, "Thank you."
Moments later he passed, going limp in Hotaru's arms. She gently laid him on the steps, going to follow Hiroshi in. There were only four children, the adult in the corner not breathing. Hiroshi was kneeling at talking to the four children. The first boy was around the age of thirteen, the second boy around eleven, then the nine-year-old boy, the last was three and the only girl. After a few more moments of talking Hiroshi picked up the little three-year-old girl, instructing the others to follow them outside.
"She is hurt, she has burns on her back and part of her legs," the male passed the fellow ninja the little girl, "The others have burn on their hands. There is a medical building that isn't burned back according to them just down the black. The oldest's mom worked there, so he knows where everything is."
Hotaru nodded and held the toddler gently, "Okay, keep a look out for Kazuo. I'm scared that this isn't the start of something big."
The ninja nodded in agreement, "The man who just died was the clan leader. Ishikawa Dai, and the infant is his daughter Ishikawa Ayame."
The female nodded, holding the child closer to her body, "Understood," looking back at the other three children she smiled, "Alright, let's head to the infirmary. Who here knows where it is again?"
The oldest male stepped forward, studding the woman as he spoke in a soft voice, "I am the one who knows the way."
"My name is Hotaru, what his yours," she asked kindly as Hiroshi left the group to go look for Kazuo to check if they were back.
"Sasaki Aoi," his voice was still quiet, as if he couldn't speak any louder.
Hotaru nodded, smiling as she motioned for him to walk with the motion of her head, "Lead the way, Sasaki-chan."
The children were tended to and brought to the Leaf Village for questioning. After a few days it was conformed that the Ishikawa clan and the others in their village were slaughtered. The reasoning was unknown, all they did know is that that assailants came in the night and started the fires. With the four children declared as orphans another question arose; who was going to take in these poor souls? Luckily three families were looking to adopt at the time, leaving only one left. The toddler of the clan leader. Days passed as she stayed with the Third Hokage. Hiroshi took pity on the girl, stepping up and taking her in after those few days. When he had first found the children his heart had already reached for Ayame. Once he had taken the girl from the custody of the Hokage, he tried his hardest to raise her. She grew to be a fine young lady, along with her handsome clan mates.
The oldest, Aoi, grew to be a fine ninja. He acceded at healing jutsu and practices. He had always been a prodigy at those kinds of work growing up around the trade. He understood more than he could realize that he did. When Hiroshi had first saw the boy, he had scraggly blue hair from lack of attention, tanner skin that was pale from the events of that day. His eyes were a vibrant green, but despite that they looked sad. He was old enough to know what had happened, and stayed strong for the others. Now he was taller than most men his age, spurting up around the age of fifteen. His face had sharpened from its baby roundness of his early teens, making him one of the desirable men of the village. Over the years his eyes had brightened back to a happy glow, forgetting the tragedy of the years ago. It had settled in the back of his mind. It was a part of who he was, but he never let it defy him. The man's skin color was darker just like then, accompanied with scars from what he had been though as his career as a ninja. Aoi's hair was the same, scraggly and almost hanging in his eyes. He had become the role model of the other three. Being the oldest he had wanted to be that, strong and reliable for all of them.
The second oldest's, the eleven-year-old, name was Sasaki Ryo. He was a bright child to begin with, always laughing and smiling as he walked down the streets. He had cheerful blue eyes and blue hair that was only a smudge darker than his eyes that went to his ears. His skin was tanned, crinkling by his eyes and his mouth where he could smile and crease up. He wasn't quite mature yet, still having a few years until that point. That didn't stop process from starting, his jaw growing sharper, and his nose had gotten larger from it being broken several times over the years. Ryo had grown up to be a master at Genjutsu, bending peoples' wills and mind to match his own intentions. Granted, Genjutsu is breakable, but he was so good at bending the chakra of others. Not only could he bend ones' will by their chakra, but also by his spirit. The young lad's personality warmed the heart, from his smile to his laugh he knew how to brighten the mood. It seemed to be his talent, helping others emotionally and spiritually when they were down. The events from his childhood still haunted him to this day, he was only good at hiding it. The only people who knew about the shared pain was his three 'brothers' and little 'sister'.
Sasaki Takao was the youngest of the boys, having the gentlest heart of out them. It was shown though his soft green eyes, not sharp like Aoi's. They were a shade darker and didn't seem to be annualizing everything. His hair was a blue shade to match the others, long enough to be tied back into a small pony tail at the base of his neck. His skin was a lighter tan than the rest, making him look pale upon comparison. This young male had grown to be a healer, not wanting to take part in violence. It was ironic, the oldest who was raised by a doctor becoming a great ninja and not a healer like the young one. His face hadn't sharpened like his other clan mates did, his held a rounder shape that would be around for a while. It only added to the little light in his eye when he helped others. Even if it was just walking someone home to help and save a ninja that was gravely wounded. At is young age Takao became the tallest of the three, Aoi coming in second, and Ryo being the last in height. Takao was only nine when the misfortune had struck, and had blocked most of it out. The one thing that drove this boy to become a man of healing was so that people would never have to suffer like his clan did, so make sure there was healing and not wounds upon wounds.
The last of the children was Ishikawa Ayame, the only female survivor. Her hair was a blue to match the rest, the trademark of the Ishikawa-Sasaki Clan. Her eyes were soft green, right in the middle of Takao and Aoi's eyes, accompanied by tan skin. She was only the slightest darker than Takao, but not by much. Compared to the rest of the clan the two were the lightest they had seen. Now, the clan wasn't dark, only sun kissed from wherever their ancestors had come from. Ayame's hair had been grown to the small of her back, wore in a ponytail as small pieces fell out and surrounded her face even as a child. She had only recently cut her hair to just above her collarbone, still able to pull it back in a ponytail. Being only a teenager she wasn't much tall, one of the shortest in her class. Her body was more developed than others, but not in a large way. She did have a slight chest, around high B, low C range, and had a flat stomach. Her body was a ruler at this point, puberty had only truly begun a few years ago. Ayame didn't know what she wanted to be, just that she wanted to help others just like her 'brothers' do.
This is where this story starts off, the day of Ayame's graduation. She wore her usual outfit, black baggy capris held up with a grey belt with large pockets by her knees plus the ones right at her hips. Her black weapon holster on her right side, due to her being right handed. On her top was a short sleeve shirt that ended only a centimeter above her pants. Her shirt, too, was grey to match her belt color, and had her clan symbol on the back. An eagle with its wings spread, water waves behind it, all in black printing. Her shoes were black ninja sandals, much like what the others in her class wore. She had small diamond stud earrings on to top it off.
Shrugging on her backpack she gave her adoptive father a wave, "Be safe today, let me know if you are going to leave so I know what I'm doing for dinner."
Hiroshi looked up from the book he was reading and nodded, "Alright, Aya. Do good on your exam today."
"I got this, you did raise me after all. If I can't pass a novice test, I don't deserve to be a ninja," she smiled at him, walking out of the apartment and heading to the school.
He gave her a short wave, looking down at his book when the door had closed. The walks to school were always easy if she left early enough, if not she would be trampled by girls rushing to get to their spots as close to the heart throb of the class. It made Ayame gag how those girls threw themselves at his feet. She wouldn't lie to herself; he was very attractive, but he wasn't nice. Though, she did understand where Uchiha Sasuke's attitude came from. His clan was killed just like hers, but it hadn't been her brother and right in front of her. He had suffered more than she had. Not many people knew of her past, they all figured she was a regular school girl, the way she liked it. She hated pity, just as much as anyone did. The less they knew the better for Ayame. She opened the door to the classroom, only a few other class mates in the room. Sitting down in the right back corner she waited. The classroom slowly filled one by one, and once everyone was here.
Iruka-sensei walked to the front of the classroom, waiting for everyone to calm before speaking, "We will now start the final exam. When your name is called please proceed to the testing room. The final test will be on: The Clone Justu."
A few groans were heard here and there from the criteria, some students excited, some students indifferent like Ayame. Each named that was called a student went out, did what was asked, and then walked back out the same door. Everyone came out with a head band, except one, Uzumaki Naruto. Ayame's heart always went out for the boy, he was so sweet. He was an orphan, and it hurt that people treated him like shit, for lack of a better word. He was nothing to the villagers, except to her and her family. They were always kind to him. There he was, sitting on the swing and glaring at the other. Ayame was just about to go over when Mizuki-sensei had gone to the blond, taking him first. This had given her a bad feeling, but she shook it off and started to head home. She had never liked that man; he always gave her the chills.
Apparently she had left just at the wrong time, Sasuke following a few feet behind her, and behind him the fangirls. Sighing, she adjusted her strap on her shoulder and tried to ignore the giggling girls behind her. It was downright annoying to her, but there was nothing for her to do without starting more drama than it was worth. Which is why she kept her head down and walked away. After her walk she went inside the apartment, looking down at the paper, reading: 'Ayame, I have a mission that takes me to The Sand Village. Be safe and lock the door at night. Good luck tomorrow, Hiroshi.' She sighed and threw away the paper, so she was alone for the night. Maybe I'll stay with Ryo tonight. It is closer to the school anyways… Nodding to herself, she packed a bag and glanced at her headband she had taken off when she had changed. Eyeing the symbol, she picked it up and shoved it in her bag, walking off to Ryo's house for the night.
The morning came too soon, yawning as she slid off the couch to take a shower. Her and Ryo had stayed up drinking tea and catching up on their lives. Ayame didn't have much to say, just that she had passed and would be getting her team today. A sad sort of light had filled his eyes at that, telling her that she would be just fine. At the time she had thought it was sadness from growing up too fast. The ten years had gone by so fast for all of them, it was hard to believe that the little three-year-old was almost a ninja now. Ayame had just finished getting dressed, washing her face and brushing her teeth. Her headband was tied around her head like many of the others, her bangs and loose hair on or falling out of the band,
"Bye, Ryo," she poked her head into his room, where he was pulling up his pants with a toothbrush handing out his mouth.
"See ya, munchkin. Have a good day and visit me after! I'll invite the other's over and have them eat dinner!"
She chuckled and nodded, "Of course, Ryo, I would like that. Love you!"
"Love you too," he beamed at her and blew her a kiss.
That caused her to giggle and almost skipping out the door. Ryo always knew how to cheer Ayana up. They were cousins after all, always close once she was born. He had saved her from the fires and carried her out while her father had been battling ninja that had attacked. She walked into the room, earlier than usual, and took a spot where she always sat. Just like always the class filled up, but this morning was different. Naruto had gotten sick of the girls only focusing on Sasuke, and crouched on the desk in front of him, glaring and growling.
"Naruto! Hey, stop glaring at Sasuke!" Sakura yelled at Naruto, all of the girls dumbstruck and angry at the said blonde.
Naruto looked over at Sakura, seeming hurt at what she had just announced. Then he turned back to Sasuke, glaring even more. Sasuke glared back, their noses were almost touching. A cold feeling was felt at the bottom of Ayame's stomach, she knew something bad was going to happen. The girls started to yell so no one could really understand what was being said by either of them. It was then that the boy just behind Naruto bumped into him, causing the boy to fall forward. The guy from in front turned around to apologize, but it was too late. The damage had been done. Naruto and Sasuke were lip locked, the only girls not horrified were Henata, who was just shocked, and Ayame, who was bent over laughing. She knew she shouldn't be laughing, but it was so damn funny she couldn't help but to. The two boys that had just kissed held their throats and started to spit and gag. Death threats were thrown at one another, making her laugh even harder.
Naruto had suddenly stopped, "Danger," he slowly turned and paled, seeing the girls ganging up on him.
"Naruto," Sakura spoke for the girls, who were now pissed, "You are so dead."
"Hey, whoa," he put his hands up, "It was an accident."
Sakura cracked her knuckles, not caring that it truly was an accident, "You're finished!"
"Hold on," Naruto tried again, his face twitching slightly out of panic.
"Ladies, seriously, it was an accident. Plus, a true kiss is defined by feeling and not lip contact," Ayame stepped in, trying to stop the fight, "I could even walk up and kiss Sasuke, but it wouldn't mean anything. So buzz off."
All of the girls didn't listen to her, they just started to beat up Naruto. Ayame sighed and leaned back in her seat. She had tried, it wasn't her fault that the girls were crazy and obsessed with the boy. The girls finished and went to sit in their places, Sakura ending up by Sasuke like she wanted. Iruka came in, smiling and happy.
"As of today, you are all ninja. To get here, you faced difficult trials and hardships. But that's nothing. What comes next will be far more difficult. Now you are only genin, first level ninjas. All the genin will be grouped into three man squads, with the acceptation of one due to the uneven numbers. Each squad will be led by a jounin, an elite ninja."
That seemed to go off in a lot of the students' heads, most of them looking around for the people they wanted to be with. Most of the girls looked at Sasuke, Naruto stealing a glance at Sakura. They only ones that didn't seem excited were Sasuke and Ayame. Sasuke thought that everyone would be a burden to his quest for power. Ayame, on the other hand, was indifferent as always, she didn't mind having a squad, in her opinion it would be fun to meet new people.
"We want each quad to have a balance of strengths and abilities, so that's how we set them up. I will now announce the squads," Iruka held that paper closer to his face as he started to read off the teams, "Squad Seven. Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura," Naruto cheered while Sakura sulked, "Uchiha Saskuke," Sakura cheered and Naruto sulked, "and Ishikawa Ayame."
Iruka had only just finished the squads when Naruto stood up and pointed at Sasuke, "Iruka- sensei, why does a great ninja like me have to be in the same group with a slug like Saskuke?"
The teacher hummed, "Sasuke had the best scores of all the graduation students. Naruto, you had the worst scores. To create a balanced group, we put the best student with worst student."
Naruto growled slightly as Sasuke spoke up, "Just make sure you don't get in my way, loser."
Ayame glared slightly and scolded the two, "Uchiha, that was uncalled for, knock it off both of you. It is what it is, so sit down and be mature."
"Thank you, Ayame," Iruka thanked the girl, smiling slightly, who nodded in return, "You will be meeting your instructors after lunch."
Everyone got up, splitting off in their groups or with their friends to talk. Ayame sighed, thinking to herself, that's what I forgot, a lunch. I'll go to Ryo's, he has foods. She hummed as she went to walk to her brother's house, passing Sasuke along the way. He watched her while she didn't even give him a glance.
"Where are you going?" Sasuke asked just before she was out of earshot, her hummed and turning to look at him.
"My brother's. I forgot a lunch and he loves near here," she turned and shoved her hands in her pockets, smiling at him.
"Brother?" He asked, "You have one?"
"Three, actually. They are a part of my clan, the only family I have left."
"What about the rest of your clan?"
"Dead, no one knows what happened," she waved and started to walk away, "I hope we can get along, it would help with our team work."
The young Uchiha watched her walk away, wonder in his mind. Her clan was manicured too? Why didn't she seem more upset? He thought, watching her walk away. Sasuke didn't mean to stare, it was just so shocking how calm she was about it, not even a spark in her eyes suggested that she was upset. It confused him, and also intrigued him. Over the years of them being in school he had never thought to get to know the quiet girl. The fact that she had a family was also a shock, he never gave it thought. She always got decent grades, was generally nice, and seemed to have a knack for trouble.
The next hour or so passed, and everyone came into the class. One by one the squads left, leaving only one. Squad Seven all alone in the room together, even Iruka- sensei had left. This left Sakura and Naruto very impatient, and Ayame wasn't sure about Sasuke's feelings. He always kept his face cold if he wasn't insulting someone.
Naruto was peeking out the door, "He's late!"
Sakura was standing and leaning against a desk, scolding the boy, "Naruto! Just sit down!"
"I don't want to! How come our teacher's the only one that's late? I'm ready to roll. Believe it! All the other groups have met their teachers and took off on some adventure or something! And Iruka- sensei's gone, too."
"We know, okay?" Sakura sighed, then there was a noise causing Ayame to look up from her book and over at the door, "Hey! What are you doing?!"
Sasuke looked over as Sakura walked to where Naruto was setting a chalk board eraser in the door, Sakura scolding the boy again, "Naruto!"
"That's what he gets for coming late. Surprise!" Naruto jumped down from the stool, grinning.
The pink haired girl had but her hands on her hips, "You're asking for trouble. You know you shouldn't do that."
"Huh. Our teacher's a Jonin, an elite ninja," Sasuke scoffed at Naruto, "You think he's fall for that?"
"Yeah, Sasuke's right. You're so clueless, Naruto."
Just then a gloved hand came inside, opening the door. A man stepped in, his headband covering his one eye, and a mask to cover from the nose down, so most of his face was covered. He had spikey sliver hair that didn't seem to be real to was so tall. He wore a greyish olive green vest, a navy blue under shirt, black pants and black sandals. His holder was black as well, resting on his thigh like most.
Naruto started to laugh and point, "I got him! He totally fell for it!"
"I'm sorry, Sensei," Sakura brought her hands up as she blushed, "I told him not to do it, but he wouldn't listen. I'd never do anything like that!"
The new man bent down, picking up the eraser off the floor and standing back up, "Hm. How can I put this? Mt first impression of this group: You're all a bunch of idiots."
The three had deadpanned, Ayame sighing and rubbing her face. Of course she would get stuck with a man like her adoptive father. It was going to be like having two of them now. They all went to the roof, the Sensei leaning against the guard rails while the four new graduates sat on the steps in front of him.
"All right," the man started, "Why don't you all introduce yourselves one at a time?"
"Introduce ourselves?" Sakura asked, confused.
Normally Ayame wouldn't have snapped, but this girl had been bitching all day, and she couldn't take it any longer, "Sakura, it honestly isn't that hard. Things you like, things you hate, what you want to become. For being a smart girl you are pretty dumb."
The man sighed, extending his arm out as he explained, "Things you like. Things you hate. Dreams for the future. Hobbies. Things like that."
"Why don't you tell us stuff first?" Naruto asked, "I mean, before we talk, tell us about you, so we can see how it's supposed to work."
"Me?" The man pointed at himself, "I'm Hatake Kakashi. Things I like and things I hate… I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future… never really thought about it. As for my hobbies, I have lost of hobbies."
"That was totally useless," Sakura complained, looking over at her team mates, deadpanning, "All he really told us was his name."
"Sakura, respect his privacy, we all have a right to our own," Ayame sighed, "Maybe he wants us to get to know him a normal way like spending time together because that's what builds a team."
So that's the way she grew up… Hiroshi, how did you know she would be on my team. Kakashi thought to himself before speaking up, "Okay, your turn. You on the right, you first."
Naruto perked up, shifting his headband as he spoke, "Believe it. I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I like instant ramen in a cup, and I really like the ramen Iruka- sensei got me a the Ichiraku noodle shop," Ayame hummed, grinning. She liked that place too, maybe I will have all of us go there tonight, "But I hate the three minutes you have to wait after you pour the water in the ramen cup. My hobby is eating different kinds of ramen and comparing 'em. And my future dream is to become the greatest Hokage! Then the whole village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I'm somebody- somebody important!"
"All right. Next," Kakashi spoke almost uninterested as he looked over at Sakura,
"I'm Haruno Sakura," the girl started up, smiling and putting her hands on her knees, "What I like- uh- I mean, the person I like is-," she looked over at Sasuke and brought her hands up to her chest and giggled, "Uh, my hobby is- uh," she giggled again, "My dream for the future is," she squealed and buried her face into her hands.
"And? What do you hate?" Kakashi asked, still looking bored.
"Naruto!" She yelled, the blond looking greatly upset and crying.
"Rude," Ayame muttered, rolling her eyes. She had sat up between Sasuke and Naruto, one leg on the step she was sitting on, the other dangling down and over.
"The last boy," Kakashi instructed, Sakura giggling.
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I hate a lot of things and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan and destroy a certain someone," Sasuke glared dramatically, Sakura just about swooning over his 'hotness', while Naruto looked scared, probably because he was hoping it wasn't him.
"Okay, last one."
"Well, my name is Ishikawa Ayame. Things I like, hm. I guess spending time with my family and reading- oh and animals too, and naps. Naps are good," Ayame pushed some hair from her face, "I dislike rude people, and people who cannot see past themselves. People who cannot love. I can't bring myself to truly hate anyone or thing. My hobbies are reading and helping my brother out at the hospital. My dream for the future is to find who killed my family and ask why. That all I want to know before I die."
Her team mated looked at her, having similar thoughts to what Sasuke had earlier that day, "Good. You're each unique and you have your own ideas. We'll have our first mission tomorrow."
"Uh, what kind of mission are we going to have?" Naruto asked happily, raising a hand up.
"it's a task the five of us will do together," Kakashi said cryptically.
"What what what what?" Naruto asked excitedly, leaning forward.
"A survival exercise," he said in the name manner as before.
A survival exercise? Why? Is it some kind of test?, Ayame thought, frowning at the man.
"Huh? Survival exercise?"
"I thought we were supposed to have a real mission! Not more practice. We already did this stuff at the academy. That's how we got here."
"This isn't the academy; this is Hatake Kakashi's training. If he says we will be doing a survival exercise we should. He's not here to give us busy work," Ayame out her two cents in, shrugging.
"Exactly, this is not like your previous training," Kakashi stated casually.
"So, uh- So, uh, what kind of training is it then?"
Naruto's question got Kakashi laughing, making Ayame sit up straight, "Oh no it's that laugh, the Hiroshi laugh, we are screwed."
"Hey, hold on. That's a normal question," Sakura huffed, "What's so funny?"
"Heh, well, if I tell you the answer, you're not going to like it," Kakashi teased and waved his hand slightly.
"Huh?" Naruto looked dumfounded.
"Of the twenty-seven graduates how just came here, only nine will actually be accepted as Genin. The other eighteen will be weeded out and sent back to the academy. In other words, this is a make it or break it, pass-fail test, and the chance that you'll fail it at least sixty-six percent," all four of the teens looked somewhat to majorly shocked, "See? Didn't I tell you wouldn't like it?"
"That's crazy! We worked had to get here! Believe it! What was that graduation test for anyway?"
"Oh that. That was just to select candidates who might before Genin, or not."
"What!"
"That's how it is. I decide whether you pass or fail. Be at the designated training spot at five a.m., and bring your ninja gear."
Naruto looked determined, looking straight ahead as he thought to himself. Sakura had brought her hands up again as she looked down, she was fired up as well. Both Ayame and Sasuke looked indifferent about the idea.
"That's it, you're dismissed. Oh, and tomorrow you better skip breakfast, or else you'll puke," Kakashi grinned at his students.
"Like hell I'm skipping a meal, I'd rather puke than malnourish myself," Ayame scoffed, standing up.
"Then I'm not cleaning it up," Kakashi looked at the girl, eyeing her.
"It takes a bit to have me puke, so good luck trying. I will see you guys tomorrow, goodnight and sleep well," Ayame waved at the four and made her way down to go to Ryo's house. Talking about food had made her hungry.