Chapter 1

"YOU'RE LATE"

An annoyingly loud voice pierced the silence in the formerly quiet meadow. Naruto was agitated, to say the least. He shoved up his sleeves and began to stalk towards Sasuke when Sakura forcefully pushed him away and rushed forwards.

"Sasuke, are you alright? Did something happen!?" She asked franticly.

He flinched at her lack of respect for his personal space.

"…. I woke up late "He struggled in her vice grip painfully aware his sore muscles. Sakura noticed his discomfort and quickly let him go.

Sasuke awkwardly backed off and took a look around the area. The absence of his sensei was not lost on him. "Where is he?"

"Who? Oh you mean Kakashi sensei? We've been waiting since- "

"THAT BASTARD IS WORSE THAN YOU"

He began to walk away in an attempt to evade another earful of Narutos rant and took a seat at the base of a nearby tree. It did make sense that Kakashi would be late, considering their first meeting.

"That guy... Just who does he think he is?!"

"Shut it idiot! Can't you see he's tired?"

His eyebrow twitched as his teammates started to squabble. This was going to be a long day… why did he even bother getting up? Silence elapsed in the area once more and Sasuke relaxed his features. Just as he was about to drift off, he was abruptly awoken by a chorus of shrieks.

"YOU'RE LATE"

He glared at the duo.

Sasuke watched as the jonin briefly explained their task with heavy disinterest. He shuffled back, further from the group as a strange sensation began to quell in his stomach, as Kakashi droned on. Strangely, it didn't alarm him as much as it should've. What did concern him, was finding a comfortable place to sleep.

His fatigue and drowsiness had come as a surprise seeing as normally, he was able to survive on a mere five hours of sleep after hours of vigorous training. He awoke today after eleven hours of sleep. Within mere seconds, Sasuke felt his vision become unfocused. He frowned, trying to shake off his drowsiness.

He directed his attention back to his sensei just in time to see Naruto swiftly apprehended by Kakashi after attempting a surprise attack. He tilted his head in exasperation. His immediately shifted his attention towards the other side of the meadow. That tree looks like a decent place to rest…

"Begin!"

Sasuke effortlessly leapt towards his destination and took no time to relax. But something stopped him from falling asleep. By deciding to take a nap in the middle of the test, he would be clearly admitting to not taking his life as a ninja seriously.

Perhaps he should at least attempt to pretend that he still cared. It would at the very least prevent him from being accused as a spy or impersonation.

But any motivation to do so quickly vanished when he looked down from his 'hiding spot' and glimpsed Naruto getting tossed around by Kakashi like a sack of potato's. This life wasn't for him, he decided. If he seemed suspicious, he would deal with the consequences later. life as a ninja was too tiresome therefor, failing this test wouldn't be all that bad.

With that thought in mind, he closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

A dull thud echoed in the quiet forest.

A light shove was all it took to send him spiraling down from the tree. Sasuke glowered up at the instigator. The perpetrator was none other than his newly assigned sensei.

"I'm sorry. It's just, you looked so comfy up there! I thought I'd join you but…" Kakashi cocked his head sideways "I guess the branch wasn't big enough for the two of us." He finished with a mocking smile.

"Why don't you go pick on Naruto?" Sasuke spat shaking in anger. He was in the middle of a really nice dream before his rude awakening. The sleep didn't really help his drowsiness as much as he hoped it would either.

"He's a little… preoccupied at the moment." Kakashi chirped, sending Sasuke another one of his irritatingly happy smiles.

Sasuke turned to see Naruto hanging upside down from a tree, clearly struggling, but to no avail. As always, the loudmouth was causing a huge ruckus.

Why am I not surprised?

He gazed back to his sensei for and stared at him for a solid two minutes in hopes of him perhaps getting bored and leaving. Kakashi stared back, refusing to move. Realizing this, Sasuke took initiative and chucked a kunai towards Kakashi before taking off. He panicked when he caught sight of the silver haired jonin quickly closing the space between them and immediately increased his speed in hopes making it to the trees, at the very least.

Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough. Sasuke was halfway across the meadow when Kakashi swiftly pulled him back by his collar, dangling him in the air. He was seconds away from retaliating when he felt that strange feeling in his stomach grow stronger and stronger by the second.

Before he could process what was happening, his mood immediately elated, leaving him in a giddy state and bubbles of giggles escaped his mouth. Sasuke bit down on the inside of his cheek as an attempt to stop it, but laughter poured out of his mouth nonetheless.

His face burned in embarrassment when he noticed Kakashi studying him with a careful eye.

"Just what do you find so amusing?" Kakashi frowned. Something was definitely off. He was fairly certain that this wasn't typical behaviour for Sasuke. This personality deeply contrasted with the individual he had met just a day before.

"Sh-shut u-pffft BWAHAHAHA"

Sasuke began to struggle while simultaneously trying to deal with his uncontrollable laughter. He twisted and kicked in desperation an inadvertently kicked off the bells tied to Kakashi's waist in the process.

The bells flew at an alarmingly rapid rate towards a dangling Naruto and inadvertently plunged themselves into the screaming blondes mouth.

"WHEN I GET OU-uhgg mmmmmmfffff"

Kakashi turned his head at the sound of Naruto's muffled cries and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Clever trick… So the laughing was a diversion to get to the bells. His change in demeanour was a trick to let my guard down.

Sasuke used this moment of distraction to twist himself towards Kakashi and fly through handseals in preparation for his Fireball jutsu. Recognising this, Kakashi flung Sasuke away and distanced himself from the upcoming fireball. However, there was no fireball. Bouts of smoke puffed out of Sasukes mouth as he continued to supress his chortles.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. If laughing was his strategy to get him off guard, why hadn't he stopped now? He watched as Sasuke tried to inconspicuously edge closer to Naruto. His discretion obviously needed some work. But Kakashi made no move to show he noticed, nor stopped him. He was more curious as to how the three hellions would distribute the bells.

Sasuke internally sighed in relief as the distance helped ease his giddiness. As long as he kept his distance from Kakashi, he wouldn't have another laughing fit. He chose not to ponder about what just happened or why. That could wait.

He knew he wouldn't get another wink of sleep until the test was done with. With that thought in mind, he shifted his attention towards Naruto and the bells. Naruto, who long spat out the bells was now struggling to reach them in vain. If Kakashi didn't get the bells before him, he could safely distribute them and end the test.

With that thought noted, he raced towards Naruto. Grabbing one of the bells in the blonde's mouth, Sasuke viciously flung it towards his other teammate across the field.

There's no way in hell I'm becoming a ninja.

Naruto panicked after noticing one less bell in his possession. He began to flail in an attempt to stop Sasuke from taking the remaining bell.

"There's no way in hell I'm letting you take my bell, you bastard!" He swung his arms around crazily as an attempt to defend himself. He did manage to smack Sasuke square in the face.

"keep it, idiot" Sasuke spat chucking a shuriken at the thin rope holding Naruto to the tree.

"I'm not falling for any of your trick- wait what?" Naruto shrieked was he fell on his butt. He glared at the raven haired boy as he stood up while rubbing his sore bottom.

"But Sasuke… you'll go back to the academy!"

Sasuke slightly jumped at the new voice. He was surprised to see Sakura get to their location so fast. He couldn't see why she was so worried though. After all, she was so passionate about passing just hours ago. He shook off the thought. It was probably just formalities. He wouldn't put it past her though. Ambition always triumphs overall. His brother was a clear example of that.

"That's fine. I could wait a few more years" He was practically oozing confidence in reassurance. At this point, he was willing to wait his whole life.

His reassurance didn't seem to phase her however. He blinked, before it dawned upon him. A good act, he concluded. She would make a decent ninja. Like his brother. He was a really good liar to- he internally smacked himself, annoyed. Enough about his brother! He had other things to worry about.

He turned his attention to the "concerned" faces of this two former teammates and inwardly smiled. His actions today would allow him to live a relatively lavish life off his inheritance. All the pain and humiliation he endured today was surely worth-

"Take my bell." Naruto's face was oddly serious. His eyes were downcast.

…What?

Did the idiot hit his head too hard? No, maybe the moron felt the need to outdo Sakura. They'll throw a pity party and leave with 'thank yous'. He tried to convince himself of this, but nevertheless, felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"N-no, Naruto I'll give up my bell. I didn't do much, compared to the two of you during the test" Sakura sighed. She was clearly struggling as she admitted this. A very good actor, Sasuke reasoned sweating in desperation.

It took all her courage to strengthen her resolve, but love triumphed. She visibly straightened and offered the bell once more. "Take it Sasuke. You deserve it more than I do."

They were serious, Sasuke realized in horror.

No.

He didn't want those bells. He didn't want to pass. He didn't want to become a ninja.

Sasuke wanted to say all this but couldn't open his mouth. He was too shocked. Just how did his plan backfire this bad?

"I'm not taking your bells" He finally said, but instantly regretted, as a storm of disbelief ensued.

"IDIOT JUST TAKE IT. I DON'T NEED A DUMB BELL TO BECOME HOKAGE, BELIEVE IT!"

"Sasuke, if you don't take the bell I'll… I'll come back to the academy with you!"

"Yeah, stupid! Take this thing or I'll follow you there too!"

If it wasn't for his remaining shred of pride, Sasuke was sure he would've cried at the spot. Why couldn't these two idiots see he didn't want to be a ninja? And there they were, pushing him into a life of misery, a life of hard work. He felt lightheaded at the thought.

And just when he thought this situation couldn't get any worse, his sensei decided to crash their party.

"you pass!"

DAMN IT

Sasuke sighed in frustration. The test was all about teamwork in the end. If only he'd kept those bells to himself, this wouldn't have happened. He would've saved those two idiots from a life of hardship as well.

So much for living a comfortable life. The pinkish orange hue in the sky seemed to mock him and his failure. Those morons…

He moped all the way to his apartment. It was done and there wasn't anything left to do about it. He knew he had to deal with being a ninja and the responsibilities that came with it whether he liked it or not. But that didn't mean he would go along willingly. No. he will make this hard for everyone.

Kakashi was probably having a chummy chat with the hokage right about now. After all, Sasuke knew he was far from conspicuous today. It was only a matter of time before they found out. It wasn't like he hid it that well either. No, he was more concerned about indulging himself in afternoon naps and random bouts of laughter. Not that he could help the latter of course.

Sasuke slammed shut the door to his apartment and collapsed onto his bed. To the left of him, lay a picture of his family. Mother, father and a blacked out patch, formerly Itachi. He gazed at it with bitter nostalgia.

His entire family was gone- slaughtered by none other than his prefect brother, the clans pride and joy. His brother kept him alive though. So that he can become stronger. Become a challenge for Itachi. He chuckled at the thought.

Just a day ago, Sasuke would say that without a doubt, he would avenge his clan, but now, he felt no such desire to. The fiery passion for vengeance was now extinguished, leaving a hollow emptiness. A desire to do nothing.

And why should he try anyways? What would becoming stronger even achieve? His family was already gone and the last thing he wanted to do was follow his brother's wishes, even if it was out of spite and vengeance. Why should he even bother to listen to the man who murdered his family? If Itachi wanted him to become stronger, to hate him then he will be sorely disappointed.

Yes, this will be his vengeance. He will do absolutely nothing. Become a disappointment. He will not live up to be that challenge that his brother oh so desires. He refused to fall for Itachis mind games.

Furthermore, after today, Sasuke knew that life of a ninja was not what he wanted. But how does one go about quitting? Its not like he could just hand in a resignation letter without a good reason. Rather, when considering his behaviour during the years at the academy, it would be extremely out of place to just quit. Requesting a resignation is more likely to land him in interrogation. He winced, remembering the events that occurred hours before. He'll probably end up in interrogation regardless at this point.

Sighing in frustration, Sasuke threw himself on his bed. There was no way out.

He glared at his headband and hurled it across the room.

A/N: Thank you for taking the time to read my story :). I would love to hear your thought about it!