DISCLAIMER: Some of the text and characters are from Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto, which I do not own. Only the characters & text that were not in the original manga/anime series are mine.
An Inflamed Start
*A month and one day before the nine tail fox attacks the Hidden Leaf Village or September 9*
An Anbu Black Op raced through the Uchiha clan's main area.
How could they do this? He wondered. How could they be stupid enough to think that they alone could beat Phoenix? Even I wouldn't attempt something so stupid, and I've done some pretty stupid things in my life! He glanced around. Buildings that had been surrounded by flames were now nothing more than mere shells. The Anbu Black Op lowered his head, his silver hair almost covering his eyes. How am I supposed to find survivors? None of the buildings in this area were left untouched…But Lord Hokage ordered me to find survivors, and I'll try. He moved on.
As he walked he found many Uchiha residents, all of them on the brink of death or dead, their wounds were too much even for medics to heal if they had been their. The silver haired Anbu made sure that he made them as comfortable as possible. He was nearing the center of the attack; he began moving with extreme caution, unsure of what he'd find up ahead. He came across a building that looked scorched here and there, but otherwise untouched. Odd…why was this the only building that was spared when clearly this was the center of Phoenix's destruction?
As if on cue, a baby's crying echoed around him, the silver haired Anbu looked around trying to find its source. He shuddered as he realized that the sound was coming from inside the building. He made his way towards the building. Once inside the baby's cries echoed all around him. He stopped in horror when he looked around the room.
The room was huge and circular, everything blackened from the flames. The floor was covered in bodies burnt beyond recognition. This was the worst he had seen in his young life. The baby's crying brought him out of his horror. He moved around the room moving charred bodies out of the way hoping to find the baby. He walked to the center of the room and let out a startled cry as he almost tumbled into the gaping hole that was their. Once he had recovered, he looked into the hole and saw the crying baby.
"How on earth did you get down there?" he wondered aloud. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Using his shadow clones he entered the hole. He scooped up the baby, and made his way back up. As soon as he had reached the main floor the baby stopped crying, much to his relief. His relief was short lived as the Head of the Uchiha clan entered with his wife and two boys Itachi and Sasuke. The silver haired Anbu was apprehensive, as the Head of the Uchiha clan said, "Just to inform you I expect all Uchihas who are alive to be checked in by me." He looked pointedly at the baby in his arms.
"Um… This child…it was alive just a few moments ago, but I think it inhaled too much smoke," he said praying that the baby wouldn't pick this moment to cry.
The Head of the Uchiha nodded his head, but Itachi said, "He's lying, Father." The silver haired Anbu felt his blood run cold. This kid… He saw right through my lie!
"Why would he have any reason to lie?" The Head of the Uchiha asked. Itachi remained silent. The Head family left and the silver haired Anbu walked out of the building as calmly as he could. He stopped at a fairly flat stone so he could examine the baby. He took off his mask so he could see better. The child had been crying for awhile now. As he examined the baby he thought This baby isn't very old at all, almost a newborn, if not a newborn…and it's a girl. The silver haired Anbu leapt back as he saw something in the child's eyes. He walked forward and looked into the little girl's eyes, they were an ice blue, but behind her pupils, Phoenix gazed back at him.
The silver haired Anbu shuddered. This was not a good thing, especially for the child. The village would not take kindly to her, especially if the Uchiha found out. That's why he was there, he was looking for this child. He picked up the child carefully and made his way to the Hokage's Mansion. Once there, he was forced to talk about what he had found. He finished, praying that no one would ask why the child had survived, but someone did. So, he explained his discovery of Phoenix residing in the child. An uproar broke out among the present shinobi.
"Why did you bring her back?"
"Yeah, you should have killed her!"
The silver haired Anbu backed up a step, making sure that the child in his arms was safe.
Lord Hokage, who had been calmly watching the proceedings, suddenly shouted, "Enough!"Everyone settled down. "Now, let's all talk about this rationally." He glanced at a different silver haired Anbu. "Enaki, what do you think about all of this?"
Enaki moved his back away from the wall, "I believe that Phoenix has never shown any hostility to the Leaf Village until the Uchiha did what they did today." No Uchiha were present at this meeting. "Phoenix is the destroyer of life along with being the focus of new birth, his fires normally get rid of old trees and make room for the new. I see no reason as to why this child can't grow up in this village." The silver haired Anbu sighed with relief, Enaki was well respected among all shinobi and he was also the Head Anbu's second in command. He jumped with surprise as a shinobi shouted, "I don't care what you think! This monstrosity dies now!" He lunged forward.
The silver haired Anbu put his hand in front of the child. He gritted his teeth as he felt the kunai blade's cold steel enter his hand. Even after the blade was removed his hand still felt as if it were being ripped open.
"Lord Hokage, if I may?" He asked looking at him. The Hokage nodded. "I will take care of this child." The Hokage looked shocked at this.
Someone shouted, "And what if she grows up to be more monster like than human?"
"Then I will kill her myself," the silver haired Anbu said, conviction in his voice. No one doubted that he wouldn't.
After the meeting the silver haired Anbu met with the Hokage.
"Are you sure you're up to this? Remember that when you turn fourteen, in six days, you'll be the Head of the Anbu Black Ops."
"I know."
"Well, if you're sure… Oh, you get to name her too."
"What?...But that's not…I mean, I can't!"
"Sure you can, and if it makes you feel better I've asked some nurses to help you take care of her."
The silver haired Anbu moaned. Life just wasn't fair sometimes.
Later that night, where girl orphans, the child being the only one, were housed, he was barely listening to the nurses as they argued back and forth about what the child's name should be.
"Sakura's a nice name."
"Yes, but there's a girl already named that."
"What about Ino?"
"You want her to be named boar?"
"Now, Sara would not be a good ninja name."
"That's it than, her name will be Sara," the silver haired Anbu said as he glanced across the room at the child, asleep in her crib. He whispered softly to himself, "Sara Uchiha."
Enter Naruto Uzamaki & Sara Uchiha
As Sara began slowly backing away from the furious Iruka-sensei, she began planning exactly what she was going to say to cover up for her best friend, Naruto Uzamaki.
Iruka glared down at her and asked, "Where's Naruto?" Sara shrugged. "I know you know where he is, Sara!"
"What am I, his keeper?" She asked.
"Don't get smart with me."
"I'm not, I'm…" Sara quickly maneuvered around Iruka. "Running!"
Iruka shouted after her, "Sara Uchiha! Get your butt back here or you're in big trouble!"
"When is my butt not in trouble?" She shouted back over her shoulder.
Sara came to a skidding halt, as she paused to catch her breath. In the distance she heard a faint, but distinct, "Naaarrruuutttooo!" She moaned, "Naruto what did you do this time?" She turned to face the stone faces of the previous Hokages. Her face became pale as she gazed at the new graffiti. Swinging happily was an orange dot that she identified as her friend. Naruto what am I going to do with you! Oh crap! If I'm late to class Iruka will have every right to skin me alive! As she was bolting back she thought Naruto why didn't you tell me what you were planning? Iruka really is going to kill me!
She skidded into the classroom just as the bell rang; she glanced nervously at Iruka, who only gave her a curt nod. She was about to take her normal seat, when she saw Naruto tied up on the floor. She walked to her desk and sat down as Iruka began talking angrily to Naruto.
"Tomorrow all your classmates will pass the final and graduate from the Ninja Academy, but the last two times this day came around, you flunked every course you'd taken in the secret arts."
Sara flinched. Naruto wasn't the only one who had failed the exam twice, but unlike Naruto she understood everything. She chose to fail so she could remain with her best friend.
Iruka continued, "So you chose NOW for your stupid tricks? You moron!"
"Sir, yes, Sir!" Naruto mumbled in reply.
Iruka snarled under his breath and said, "Today in class we'll be reviewing the art of transformation." A startled "What!" rang around the room. Iruka finished, "All you have to do is…conjure a form that looks like me!"
Sara took her usual place at the end of the line, since she didn't know who her parents were; she refused to use the name Uchiha until someone could prove that one of her parents was indeed that.
As multiple students passed, Naruto's turn came up. All Naruto was thinking was This sucks! He said, "But, here goes nothing…" Sara suddenly had an uneasy feeling go through her. Please not that jutsu… Anything but that jutsu…Naruto don't!
"Transform!" Naruto shouted as he performed the jutsu. As the smoke began to clear, Sara shook her head back and forth, he would… Naruto had transformed into a beautiful, naked woman that would make most men get a nosebleed. Iruka was no exception.
Naruto released the jutsu laughing, "I call this one Ninja Centerfold!"
Iruka recovered from his nosebleed and shouted, "HOW BIG A FOOL ARE YOU? You waste all of your time and talent inventing these stupid tricks! Iruka dragged Naruto right out of the classroom. Sara sighed. I guess I better make sure that Iruka-sensei doesn't kill him.
She found both of them at the stone faces, Naruto cleaning off his graffiti. Iruka was saying, "Once you're through here… I'll… We could… I'll buy you a bowl of ramen.
Naruto shouted, joy evident in his voice, "Yeah baby! Talk about motivation!" He said more quietly, "Can Bright Eyes come?"
Sara watched as Iruka looked uncomfortable as he said, "If we see her, we'll invite her to join us."
Sara skedaddled out of there. As she was walking down an alley to her favorite pizza place Tiégra's, not to mention it was all she could afford, she was thinking about her life, not for the first time. I envy Naruto. I don't think he realizes it, but I'm jealous of what he and Iruka-sensei have. Yeah, people glare at him, but they don't call him names. It's not fair…but I know that. I've known it my whole life. But… I can't help but wish that the person who brought me here would show themselves to me.
At that moment she slammed into someone. She opened her mouth to say sorry and stopped as she saw who it was. Mizuki glared down at her and snapped, "Watch where you're going, Sheatan!"
"Sorry Mizuki-sensei," she mumbled to his back as he walked past. As soon as he was a good distance away, she showed his back her middle finger. She began walking again, she hated it when people called her Sheatan, or devil. They gave her this nickname when she accidentally used a jutsu called Wrath of the Phoenix to impress Iruka. She had only been four at the time and she had been confused about the voice in her head. She knew now that the voice belonged to Phoenix, the firebird sealed within her, by some unknown jutsu.
Sara smiled as she spotted Tiégra's. A small little booth that served mainly jônin rank ninja, but Tiégra welcomed all. Sara got into the line that had already formed; she was trying to figure out what she wanted on her pizza when someone got behind her. She turned her head slightly to see who it was. She moaned inwardly as she saw an orange book called Make Out Paradise, a mask over a face, a headband over a left eye, and silver hair. Why is this guy always behind me? What have I done to deserve this?
She was happy when her turn came to order her pizza. She always ordered a personal pan, but the toppings were always different. Tiégra smiled at her, waiting patiently for her to decide. Sara liked Tiégra a lot, along with her husband, Enaki. Tiégra was a stocky woman, with flowing black hair that she kept tied in a braid with unique, violet colored eyes, she was almost always seen in a lilac dress, and a cream colored apron stained with an assortment of liquids and sauces. She was one of the few people who actually liked Sara.
"Hi Tiégra. I'll have a personal pan with green peppers, black olives, spinach, and mushrooms tonight."
Tiégra smiled down at her, "Alright, it will be ready in a few minutes."
Sara pulled up a stool and sat down at the far right end of the counter away from all of the other ninja. A few minutes later the silver haired jônin sat down two seats from her. She narrowed her eyes at him, why is it that everyday now, he's been moving a stool closer? She was relieved when her pizza arrived a few minutes later. She quickly devoured one slice, before she asked for a box. Than she paid her bill and got up happy to leave.
Once Sara was out of sight, Tiégra leaned in towards the silver haired jônin. "Would you stop scaring her? It's a wonder she keeps coming back every night with you always behind her in line!"
The silver haired jônin replied calmly, "It's my job to look after her."
"You were relieved of that job eight years ago," Tiégra pointed out.
He scowled at her and refused to say another word on the subject.
The next morning, in Sara's room, she heard an annoying voice saying, "Bright Eyes, get up."
She mumbled, "Is my alarm clock ringing?"
"Yeah," replied the voice followed by an, "Ow!" Sara had thrown her alarm clock.
She stretched as she sat up, "You'd think you'd know better by now, Naruto."
Naruto was rubbing his forehead, "I keep forgetting, okay? You know that I haven't been coming here as often…" Sara looked away, knowing full well what kept him away.
"Well, you're going to have to leave the room while I change," she said calmly.
Naruto looked at the door to her room which was locked with thirteen dead bolts and the normal lock. "Do I have to go out in the hall?" he asked fear showing in his eyes.
"It's only for a minute," she reassured him. Naruto nodded and left the room. She quickly changed and grabbed two slices of cold pizza, leaving one for her lunch.
She bolted out of her room, Naruto following once she was in the hall. They both slid down the stair railing and hit the glass doors. "Who locked the dang doors?" Sara asked as she peeled herself off of the glass. She blushed when she saw Master Asuma and Master Kurenai staring at them. She unlocked the door and walked outside.
"Having problems?" Asuma asked, managing to smile knowingly with a cigarette in his mouth.
Sara responded, "Just a few, Master Asuma." Kurenai shook her head smiling as she and Asuma went there separate ways.
"Come on, Bright Eyes!" Naruto shouted as he pushed through the doors. "We don't want to miss the exams!"
Sara walked beside Naruto, she had long ago grown accustomed to Naruto calling her Bright Eyes, he had told her that it was because of the coloring of her eyes. No one else in the village had such striking eyes. She glanced at Naruto, she wondered if she should ask him what was on her mind. She decided that she should.
"Hey, Naruto," she began. "D-do you think we're going to pass the exams this year." She knew what the answer would be but she decided to see if it had changed.
Naruto smiled, "Of course I believe we're going to pass the exam! This is our year, believe it!"
She faked a smile at him. Of course, why did I think that you'd say anything different?
They had reached the Ninja Academy, and Sara felt embarrassed since they were the last ones to arrive. She sat down next to Naruto. A few minutes later Iruka entered. "For your Final Exam, you must each generate a clone! Wait here until your name is called and then come next door."
Sara slowly turned to look at Naruto, she sighed as she saw him panicking. Clones were his worst jutsu.
She waited patiently with the others, Naruto continuing to panic beside her. Sara was startled when Iruka called her name. She stared at Naruto trying to hide her panic. "I-Iruka-sensei," she stammered. "I n-nor-normally go after Naruto."
Iruka stared at her, his face expressionless, "This year instead of putting you at the back of the list, since you refuse to use your last name, we decided that your first name would serve as your last name."
Cute…Sara Sara, how original! She dragged herself out of her seat, abandoning Naruto. Sweat was trickling down her neck. What do I do? Do I pass the exam or do I fail it again? Mizuki was seated at the table full of Leaf Village headbands. She stared at them. More than anything she wanted to be a Leaf Village shinobi, she didn't consider herself to be a kunoichi, since most, excluding Kurenai and the famous Tsuande, were more concerned with looks…at least the ones she had met. She sighed as Iruka took his seat. I'm going to really believe it this time Naruto. I know you can pass! She did the hand signs flawlessly, not once hesitating. Four clones should be enough. Iruka was flabbergasted, as he sat at the table smiling at her, Mizuki scowled as he reached for a headband to give to her. Iruka came out of his shock and quickly snatched a headband up. That was odd, she thought as she walked towards them to receive her headband. Why did Iruka do that? He's never seemed to like me that much. She accepted her headband and thanked Iruka, and mumbled her thanks to Mizuki.
She walked to the bathroom and put on her headband. Her bangs covered the leaf village symbol and she quickly removed it from her forehead. She could think of quite a few ninja who would use the excuse of "I couldn't see what village she belonged to" if they dealt her a death blow. She tied it onto her shoulder happy that the ends didn't stick out very much. She studied her reflection, ice blue eyes meeting ice blue eyes. Her light brown hair was tied in a pony tail with a braid on the right side of her face. She wore a blue denim jacket and pants. The jacket had a pocket on the upper left side where she always kept her shuriken. She nodded at her reflection, the headband seeming to fit well with her look.
When she went outside, she looked around for Naruto, hoping that he had passed. She shoved her way through the crowd. She stopped dead when she saw him on his swing. She remembered sitting next to him twice before in that exact spot. Turning around, she shoved through the crowd again, and once she was through she bolted. She wasn't sure where she would run to, but she knew that she couldn't face Naruto. I always pictured us graduating together! Now… Oh! Why did I ever let myself believe that he would pass?
She wandered around the village, wondering what she had done to deserve such a crappy life. Eventually she ended up at Tiégra's. With her head lowered she got in line. Suddenly a male voice said, "You're late."
She looked up, "Wh-what?"
"You're late," the voice repeated.
She glared at the user. "What does it matter to you?" She snapped at the silver haired jônin.
He looked down at her calmly as he shoved his book into his pouch. "Nothing really, it's just that normally you're ahead of me, not behind me."
"Yeah, whatever," she mumbled. A few minutes of silence went by, his gaze drifting over her.
"I see you graduated," he said calmly. She glared at him. "Most students are overjoyed when they graduate," he continued ignoring her glare. "Yet you seem to be upset about something."
Sara looked into his eye for a minute, wondering if she should confide in him, but she changed her mind instantly, suspicion of his actions moving to the forefront of her mind. "Why do you care?" she snapped at him.
He laughed while she glared at him. I don't see what's so funny! "I have my reasons," he stated calmly.
"Like what?" she asked not sure if she really wanted to hear the answer.
He turned his back on her as he got ready to order, saying over his shoulder, "That's for me to know."
She shook her head; this guy is just plain weird! He sat down near the second to last seat at the far right end of the counter. Tiégra came back to get her order with a tall silver haired man. "Hi, Enaki," Sara said in greeting.
Enaki smiled at her, Sara always noticed that he and the silver haired jônin looked quite a bit a like, same build and same hair style. Enaki's eyes were a light brown though, and he was taller than the silver haired jônin. He typically wore a dark colored T-shirt and black jeans. Sara didn't know what he did for a living though, every time she tried to ask, he would either ignore her or wander into the kitchen area that was blocked by a door.
Tiégra smiled and said, "I figured you'd like to see Enaki." Sara nodded her head in agreement.
Enaki looked her over, "Well, I'm happy to see that you finally have a Leaf Village headband." Sara smiled. She didn't know why but Enaki seemed to bring out the best in her. "Now what sort of pizza are you going to have tonight?" he asked.
"I'll have a pepperoni pizza tonight."
"That's it?" he asked incredulously. "No strange combination of pepperoni and spinach with bacon? Or whatever else you've come up with."
"Not tonight," Enaki looked at her sympathetically as he handed her order to Tiégra. He rested his arms on the counter and asked, "Naruto didn't pass, did he?" She looked away not wanting to answer. So she changed the subject, "Hey, Enaki what do you…" Enaki was already making his way into the kitchen. "Do for a living?" She finished. Yet again he had managed to avoid her question. She wondered what would keep him away for so long, but nothing jumped to the front of her mind. Whatever he does, he needs to keep in top form. Another thought struck her, why has Enaki been coming back not only at the end of the month, but on the Final Exam day also? I'll never know, not if he keeps avoiding questions at least.
She made her way to sit in her usual spot, when she stopped dead. The silver haired jônin was in the seat next to it, she glanced hurriedly down the left side of the counter. No! She wailed inwardly. I can't sit next to him!
She sat next to him reluctantly, Tiégra brought his pizza out and the jônin ate his pizza never once looking her way. Thank goodness! She thought relieved. Enaki placed her pizza in front of her a few minutes later, ruffling her hair as he went straight back to the kitchen. She picked up one slice and had almost taken a bite when she heard down at the other end of the counter. "Can you believe they let HER become a ninja?"
Another shinobi said, "What were they thinking? Do they know who she is?"
"Who is she?" A young shinobi asked.
"Sheatan," the word was spat out. She felt her body tense, chakra flowing through her, making her pupils look like a cat's. A voice whispered softly in her mind, I can solve this problem. Release me from your body and I'll get rid of them. She calmed herself down. Taking deep breaths she thought, there's no way I'm letting you out, you stupid bird! A faint screech of rage was all that Phoenix said in response.
The shinobi had continued talking getting louder and louder, "How dare they allow Sheatan to graduate from the Academy.
"Enough!" The silver haired jônin said quietly, yet the word was spoken with the same amount of anger as if he had shouted it. "She is a good student at the Academy and you know that, and you're lucky that no one here is going to report you to Lord Hokage, you know that calling her Sheatan is against the law." The other shinobi quickly turned away from him and began paying their tabs.
Sara stared at him as he got up, paid his bill and left. No one had ever done that for her before. She inhaled her slice of pizza, got a box and quickly asked, "How much tonight, Tiégra?"
Tiégra stared at her, "You don't have to pay tonight. Someone already paid your bill."
"Who?"
Tiégra nodded towards the silver haired jônin who was turning the corner into a side street. Sara bolted after him. When she caught up to him she shouted, "Hey! Mister!" He kept on walking. She shouted once again before she yanked off her sandal and threw it at his head. It met its target. He whirled around; anger showing in his eye, when he noticed it was her.
"What are you doing?" He asked.
She looked down sheepishly as she said, "I wanted to pay you back for what you did back their."
Annoyance flashed in his eye for a brief second. She held out the amount that she normally paid for a pizza. He extended his hand, but instead of accepting the money he closed her hand around it. "Keep it," he said quietly. He turned away, turning the pages of his book trying to find where he left off.
"But…" she began
He snapped at her, "Look, there are people in this village who will do kind things and not expect anything from you." He disappeared in a column of smoke. She stared at the spot where he had been. Is it that obvious that I don't trust many people?
A Day Without Naruto
The next morning, with the alarm clock miraculously ringing, Sara rolled over and threw it across the room. She smiled to herself as it made its usual reassuring thunk as it hit the door. She stretched wondering, how does my alarm clock get back to my nightstand? I never put it back. I'd be happy if the dang thing broke. She looked around wondering where Naruto was when it hit her. Naruto would probably be in class, while she had to get a picture for her photo ID. After that she had the rest of the day off. She opened her fridge that only contained milk, orange juice and the pizza she had ordered last night. She quickly drank some orange juice and ate two of the slices.
At the Hokage's Mansion she prepared to take her photo. She had decided to go with a shot of her throwing some shuriken so the picture showed some of her ferocity. The photographer was hesitant at first, but she reassured him that she would throw them at the ground.
"Ready?" The photographer asked. She nodded. "Say…you know what? Let's make it the count of three. One… Two… Three." Sara threw the shuriken just as the photographer snapped the photo.
As she walked to show her picture to Lord Hokage, she prayed that she wouldn't have to take a different shot. The photo clearly showed her face and her headband.
Lord Hokage studied the photo carefully as Sara sat nearby, waiting for his approval. After what seemed like eternity he nodded and said, "This is certainly a creative photo that shows your prowess. You can go now." She bowed her head respectfully and left the room feeling giddy. Lord Hokage was like a grandfather to her, his approval was like getting free sweets.
She exited the mansion wondering what she should do when she saw Shikamaru. "Hey, Shikamaru!" She waved at him. Shikamaru quickly changed direction to go towards her.
"How have you been?" She asked him, getting a strange sensation that she always got when she was around him.
Shikamaru sighed as he set down the bags he'd been carrying. "Nothing much, I mean I'm just running some last minute chores for my mom. It's such a drag."
Sara nodded sympathetically. "Maybe I could help you with them?"
"I don't think you'd want to since I have to take care of the deer that aren't on our sacred grounds."
"You're right about that," she shuddered as she remembered one buck deciding that she was a threat to his herd. Her butt hurt just thinking about it.
"Well, I'll see ya," she said.
"Yeah, see ya."
Sara watched him depart and than she sighed thinking, why can't he just ask me to be his girlfriend? We both like each other. It shouldn't be that hard.
She glanced around wondering, once again, what she should do that day. Her gaze rested at the Yamanaka flower shop. Well, I really don't think reviewing flowers will help, but it couldn't hurt either.
She entered the shop and heard right away, "Hello, Sheatan."
"Hey, Pig," Sara responded coolly as she entered. She watched Ino's expression change from triumph to fury. Sara looked away going over the flowers in her head, roses, daffodils, forget-me-nots…
"Do you need any help identifying those?" Ino asked.
Sara stared at her skeptically, "If I recall I was out of the girl's class long before you, and I also recall being better at identifying flowers." Ino snorted in disgust.
Carrying a cut rose, Sara made her way towards the Hokage's Mansion once again. This time to go to the library, young ninja normally weren't allowed there, but Lord Hokage made an exception for her, hoping it would keep her out of mischief.
As she entered the ninja at the front desk was the same as always, a monotone speaking kunoichi. "Good day, how are you," she said.
Sara placed the rose on the desk and said, "Please! Just stop speaking monotone." The kunoichi stared at the flower.
She said as Sara made her way into the library, "Thank you." Emotion finally showing through.
Sara shook her head thinking, it's amazing what little things make people happy. She walked directly towards her favorite aisle of books when she stopped dead. Slowly turning her head she saw the silver haired jônin reading a file of some sort. She bolted into the aisle and looked for her favorite book. Looking in all the places it normally was, she finally looked up and spotted its dark blue spine. She began jumping to get it. Sara kept jumping too high or too low to reach the book. If I do that…no that won't work! Or maybe…no!
"Perhaps I can help," an annoyingly familiar voice said. She glared at the silver haired jônin, but nodded her head. "Which book are you leaping at?" She pointed. He easily reached up and grabbed it off its shelf.
"Thanks," she mumbled, beginning to feel like she was going to run into him everywhere.
She checked the book out and headed home.
Enter Sasuke Uchiha & Sakura Haruno
The next day, bright and early, a voice interrupted Sara's sleep. "Bright Eyes! Bright Eyes, get up!"
"Is my alarm clock ringing?" She mumbled.
Naruto shouted, "No!"
Sara smiled as she got out of the bed and chucked the clock across the room. "Hey, Bright Eyes?" Naruto asked looking at her. "Have you ever wondered why your alarm clock always ends up back on your nightstand?"
"Everyday," she responded. She stared at Naruto, "Okay, who'd you steal the headband from?"
"Bright Eyes!" She gave him a skeptical look. "I didn't steal it! Iruka-sensei passed me the same night."
"Alright, but if a ninja begins chasing you, you're on your own."
A few minutes later they were outside enjoying the fresh air. Naruto suddenly got a fiendish look in his eyes, "Race ya their!" He shouted as he took off. Sara dashed after him. Normally, she kept pace with whoever she was running with, but she was so happy to have Naruto by her side again, that she sped right past him. They both began laughing tears forming in their eyes, forcing them to close them.
Suddenly both of them hit something and ended up on their butts. Ouch! Whatever I ran in to felt cloth like. She glanced up, and almost cried out. Once again it was the silver haired jônin. Naruto, meanwhile, had collided with Lord Hokage, who was helping him up. The silver haired jônin extended his hand towards her, but she got up quickly, ignoring the kind gesture.
"Next time, you should watch where you're going," he stated. She almost made a sharp reply, but held her tongue since Lord Hokage was there.
"Sorry," she said.
Naruto apologized quickly and said, "Come on, Bright Eyes." They both took off for the Academy.
At the Academy they were once again when of the last to arrive. Naruto took a seat up front, while Sara stayed in the back. She kept a close eye on her friend though, since trouble seemed to be his other best friend. Once he was seated, Naruto began laughing uncontrollably. Sara rolled her eyes, wishing that he had a little self control some days.
Another student walked past Naruto and did a double take, "Naruto! What are you doing here? Class today is only for the students who didn't fail!"
Naruto exclaimed, "What? Can't you see the headband?"
Sara watched as a pink haired girl walked up to them and said, "Excuse me, may I pass?"
Sara, once again, rolled her eyes as she watched Naruto go "ga ga" over her. His moment of bliss didn't last long, she snapped at him, "Naruto! Move it! I'm trying to get around you!"
Sara watched as she made her way towards the class heartthrob, her supposed cousin Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto glared at him, and Sara was doing likewise. Sasuke seeing Naruto's glare asked, "You want something?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto snapped. "Are you talkin' to me?"
The pink haired girl shoved him down and said sweetly, "Good morning, Sasuke. Is this seat taken…? "
Sara continued to watch as Naruto sat their fuming for a few minutes. She was also trying to figure out what the pink haired girl's name was. Naruto finally got up and jumped on the desk and glared at Sasuke, a hair's length away from his face. Sara wasn't paying attention to that though. She was watching the boy behind Naruto as he used his hands to describe some sort of event. She looked away as the boy bumped Naruto. Naruto and Sasuke were, for lack of a better word, kissing. Sara had a little baby barf come up. The pink haired girl looked like her world had been crushed. She moved towards Naruto, an unidentifiable look on her face.
Meanwhile in the Hokage's Mansion, the jônin had gathered ready to hear who would be on their squads. Lord Hokage let his crystal ball show all of the students.
"So that's Sasuke Uchiha, the only known survivor from that clan," Kurenai said.
The silver haired jônin glared at her, "Sara is also from that clan."
Asuma chimed in, "Yeah, but she was apart of a different disaster." The silver haired jônin nodded reluctantly in agreement.
The crystal ball than showed a girl with light brown hair. The silver haired jônin's eye took in every detail hungrily, as if he couldn't get enough. Lord Hokage waved his hand over it and it began to move.
"Hey," he said before he could control his mouth. Lord Hokage gave him a stern look and allowed the crystal ball to drift back to the girl.
After a few minutes, Lord Hokage asked, "Are you quite through?"
The silver haired jônin nodded. Still wishing that he could look a little longer, the crystal ball showed a blonde haired boy getting pummeled. "Naruto Uzamaki, huh? Sure looks like he gets into a lot of trouble."
Lord Hokage allowed the crystal ball to go dark; the only thing being shown was the people around it. "Before I show you who will be on your squads, I need to know who would be willing to take on a fourth member." Lord Hokage said looking around.
The silver haired jônin raised his hand after a while, "Why not? It's not like they're going to pass anyway."
Lord Hokage only shoved the fourth file into an envelope, and handed it to him. Asuma muttered as he received his, "I better not have the ones whose names go with the Ino-Shika-Cho formation."
A few seconds later Asuma moaned. The silver haired jônin could not bring himself to open his.
"Should I do it for you?" Asuma asked him.
"Sure."
Asuma pulled out one file and showed it to him.
"Naruto Uzamaki," the silver haired jônin murmured. "He must have been the added one, since he passed hours after the others."
Asuma yanked out the next one.
"Okay, the two together won't be so hard to handle."
The next one Asuma showed him, drained some color from his face.
"Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzamaki are not the ideal mix."
Asuma moved to pull out the next one, when the silver haired jônin took it from him. "I'll do this one." He pulled out the file, all color draining from his face as he whispered, "No." He glared at Lord Hokage and asked angrily, "How could you stick her on my squad? You know that I'm not the type to pass students!"
Lord Hokage met his furious gaze, "Perhaps this will be a different type of squad for you. They might not fail."
Back at the Academy Naruto lay bruised and swollen as Iruka explained what would be going on. "- the next step is the assignment of official duties to you all on behalf of our village. We will begin by dividing you into three-man cells; however there is a four-man cell this year." Sara glanced away from Naruto. This was the first time she had ever heard of a four-man cell. Iruka continued, "Each of you will be mentored by a jônin, a more senior ninja. Who will guide you and coach you as you become familiar with your various assignments. The cells were picked so that each cell's abilities would be approximately equal…" Iruka began naming the cells. "Next, cell number seven, Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzamaki." Naruto cheered while the pink haired girl, Sakura pouted. "Sasuke Uchiha." Sakura cheered while Naruto pouted. "And Sara." Sara stared, she would be apart of the first four-man cell in the history of the Hidden Leaf Village.
Sara's mind drifted as Naruto complained about being put in the same cell as Sasuke. I wonder who our teacher is…I'll take anyone EXCEPT that silver haired weirdo at Tiégra's!
While everyone else ate at a nearby food stand, Sara walked home to eat leftover pizza. Just as she finished she heard someone walk, literally, into the door. Two muffled male voices sounded on the other side. She slowly pulled out a kunai knife as the tip of a different kunai began sliding back the dead bolts. As the door opened she heard Lord Hokage's voice and the silver haired jônin's. They both stared at her, obviously startled to see her there. Lord Hokage cleared his throat, "Sara, this jônin is here as my escort." She wasn't sure that she believed that but she let it be. She watched the jônin as he examined the room.
"Well, it's obvious that she's a hard worker, judging from the posters in this room and judging from the music playing she likes Country. All in all, she's still a novice," he stated.
Lord Hokage quickly led him out of the room before Sara could even think of throwing the kunai at his head. A novice! That stupid idiotic…
She glanced quickly up at the clock and began to make her way back to the Academy, where she and the rest of cell number seven, would wait to meet their teacher.
Enter the Silver Haired Jônin- Kakashi Hatake
Squad seven had been sitting around for a few hours now, all the other squads already out with their teachers. Sara had decided to take a nap while Naruto was peering out the door.
"Cut it out, Naruto!" Sakura snapped as she leaned against a desk.
Naruto countered, "Why are we the only cell whose teacher hasn't shown up yet?" Sara lifted up her head wondering what all of the racket was about. Naruto muttered under his breath, his arms crossed over his chest, "All the other teams have already gone off with their teachers. Even Iruka-sensei has gone!"
"Hey! What are you up to, Naruto?" Sakura asked as Naruto placed an eraser in between the wall and sliding door, laughing fiendishly.
"It's what he gets for making us wait!" He said as he jumped off the chair he had been using.
Sakura muttered, "Grow up!" She scowled at him, "I want no part of it." Inside though, stuff like this is the best!
"Hmmf! No way could a superior shinobi be caught by such a simple booby trap," Sasuke pointed out. Sara reluctantly admitted that he had a point. She quickly turned her head to the door as a hand began to open it. The eraser plopped right onto the silver haired jônin's head. Naruto laughed loudly, while Sara almost screamed aloud, life truly isn't fair…especially not to me! Why do I get the most rotten of luck?
"Gotcha! Good one!" Naruto exclaimed after he had stopped laughing.
Sakura quickly apologized, "I'm sorry sensei. I tried to stop him, but Naruto…" Set him up and knock him down! That was awesome!
Sasuke couldn't believe it, so…this is our elite shinobi leader? He looks completely worthless!
The silver haired jônin bent down to pick up the eraser. As he straightened up he said, "Hmmm… How shall I put this? Based on my first impression, I'd have to say… I hate you!" Everyone one of squad seven had the same thought. Uh- oh!
"Now, why don't we all go up on the roof to get to know each other better," he suggested as he walked out the door. The students followed cautiously.
Up on the roof, he said, "Now, I'd like you all to tell us a little about yourselves."
Naruto asked, "Like what?"
He sighed, "You know. The usual. Your favorite thing… What you hate most. Dreams, ambitions, hobbies. Things like that."
Naruto said looking perplexed, "Help us out here coach. You go first. Show us how it's done."
"That's right…" Sakura chimed in, "After all you're a complete stranger to us… A mystery."
He looked startled as he said, "Oh… Me? My name is Kakashi Hatake." Sara thought, oh so we can call you scarecrow! "I'm the kind of person who doesn't feel like talking about his likes and dislikes! My dreams for the future are none of your business… But anyway, I have lots of hobbies…"
That was totally useless, Sara thought irritated by Kakashi's apparent lack of interest in talking to them.
"Hey… he said a lot," Sakura muttered to them. "…But all we really learned was his name.
Kakashi continued, "Now, it's your turn. Starting with you with the blonde hair."
Naruto perked up, "Me, right? My name is Naruto Uzamaki! What I like is instant cup ramen! What I like even better is when Iruka-sensei treats me to ramen at the Ichiraku Noodle Bar! What I hate is the three minute wait after I pour in the boiling water…"
Kakashi thought, he appears to have nothing more on his mind than ramen…
"My dream is to one day…" Naruto said getting really enthusiastic, "Be a better shinobi than Lord Hokage! And then all the villagers will have to acknowledge my existence at last!
Always… Sara thought smiling. He is always going on about that, and I don't blame him for wanting to be acknowledged… I feel that way too.
She watched as Kakashi's eye widened with surprise. He's grown up in a very interesting way… Kakashi thought. Naruto continued, "My hobbies are…pranks and practical jokes, I guess." I see… Kakashi turned to Sakura, "You with the pink hair, you're next."
Sakura started out well, "I'm Sakura Haruno." Than she got dreamy eyed, "My favorite thing is… Well it's not a thing, it's a person. A boy…and that boy is… Uh… Let's move on to my dream." Sakura released a girly scream that made Kakashi glance nervously at Sara. Sara meanwhile was trying to keep down her lunch. "I hate, Naruto!" Sakura stated bluntly. Naruto looked crushed while Sara looked at him sympathetically. "My hobbies are…"
It sounds as though young girls are more interested in love than ninjutsu, Kakashi cast another worried glance at Sara. I think I'll cry if I hear any similar words come from her mouth. He turned his gaze on Sasuke, "You're next."
Sasuke's expression didn't change as he started speaking, "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There are plenty of things I hate, but I don't see that it matters, considering there is almost nothing I do like. It seems pointless to talk about 'dreams'… That's just a word. But what I do have is determination. I plan to restore my clan. And there's someone I have sworn to kill."
Sara, Naruto, and Sakura all stared at him. Sasuke's so hot! Sakura thought. Sara and Naruto were on the same wavelength, sure hope it's not me!
Kakashi had an intense look on his face, I suspected as much… He stared at Sara, "And finally, you."
Kakashi watched apprehensively as Sara's eyes glittered fiendishly as she started, "My name is Sara, sorry that there's no cute last name to go with it." Kakashi glared at her thinking, yes you do! It's Uchiha! "… my likes and dislikes," she continued. "None of your business." Kakashi glared at her openly now. She's throwing my lines back at me!
Sakura looked shocked, yeah! Way to throw it in his face.
Loser, Sasuke thought glaring at her. Naruto meanwhile had elevator music going through his head.
"My dreams for the future," Kakashi waited to hear "never really thought about it" but it never came. "To be an elite rank shinobi," Sara stated meeting his gaze. Kakashi looked into her mind and saw the rest of that statement, so I can find that ninja who brought me here. Kakashi felt his heart twist with pity, but it quickly stopped as soon as she said, "And my hobbies? I have lots of hobbies."
"Enough," Kakashi said looking at all of them. "I believe we all understand one another." Yeah right, Sara thought. Stupid scarecrow. She flinched as Kakashi shot her a scathing look. I didn't say anything! So why did he just look at me like that? He continued, "Formal training begins tomorrow."
Naruto saluted, "Yes, sir! What will our duties be? Our first real shinobi mission!"
Kakashi said calmly, "Our first mission involves only the members of this cell." Sara felt apprehension rising within her, I don't like where he's going with this.
Naruto was not to be detoured, "What is it? What!"
"Survival exercises."
"Survival exercises?" Naruto whined.
Sakura asked, "But why would that be a mission? Our school days were full of survival training!"
"But you'll have to survive…against me," Kakashi stated. "It won't be your typical practice."
"Well than what kind of practice will it be?" Naruto asked innocently. Kakashi laughed evilly.
Sakura asked, sounding annoyed, "What are you laughing about, Kakashi-sensei."
"Oh nothing," he stated. "It's just that, if I told you, you'd chicken out."
"Chicken out…?" Naruto asked perplexed. "Why?"
"Of the twenty-seven members of your graduating class, only nine or possibly ten, will actually be accepted as junior-level shinobi. The other eighteen must go back for more training. The test we are about to perform has a 66% rate of failure."
That sucks! Sara thought. She glanced uneasily at Naruto, he was panicking, while Sakura looked stricken, and Sasuke looked determined.
Kakashi laughed, "See? You're chickening out already!"
"THAT SUCKS!" Naruto voiced Sara's opinion. "We have been through it all! What about our Graduation Test?"
"Oh! We wanted to eliminate all the hopeless cases from your ranks. The ones who are left are the only students who show true potential."
"Say what?" Naruto shouted.
"In any event, we'll meet tomorrow morning on the practice field so that I can evaluate each of your skills and weaknesses. Bring all of your ninja tools and weapons. Okay you're dismissed." He turned his back on them. "Oh! Don't eat breakfast tomorrow or you'll puke."
Sakura exclaimed, "Throw up! How hard is this exercise going to be?" I can't fail it! That would mean leaving Sasuke… This is like a test of my love!
Sara wasn't sure what she thought about the exercise, it shed some light on a past event. As she and Naruto were walking home, "Hey, Naruto."
"Hmm… What?"
"Do you remember those kids that beat the crap out of us when we were eight?"
Naruto shuddered, "How can I not remember! You were in the hospital so long that I was beginning to wonder if you'd died. Good thing it was only a bad case of the flu. Right, Bright Eyes?"
"Yeah," Sara replied uneasily. She remembered that day so well…
Three failed students had just started pummeling them. One had Naruto literally cornered. She had flung herself on the kid and another dragged her off by left leg, slamming her against the corner of the building. The searing pain was still remembered as if it had happened yesterday instead of four years ago. The pain had been everywhere, but her left leg had refused to support her body weight. Both she and Naruto had been thankful when Iruka arrived. Iruka had carried her to the hospital, he left once the doctors had finally come to look her over. They had told her that she would never be a shinobi, but she had proven them wrong. She wore a brace on her left leg, while the right had some weights on it to evenly distribute the weight. The brace she wore was not light. She had told a distraught Naruto that she had merely had caught a bad case of the flu.
Naruto waved his hand in front of her face, "Bright Eyes? Hello? Bright Eyes! Are you in there?"
"Huh! Sorry what," She said looking at him.
Naruto gave her a worried look, "I said, this is my stop."
"Oh! Right!"
"Look, Bright Eyes don't worry about Kakashi-sensei. Just like we beat the Graduation Exam we'll beat this survival exercise no problem!"
She smiled at him. She wished that she could have his optimism, but with her luck the way it was, it seemed more likely that they'd fail. "I need to go get something to eat, I'll see you later, Naruto."
"Back at ya!"
Sara walked to Tiégra's, relieved when Kakashi didn't appear behind her. She looked around hoping that Enaki might be there, he seemed to understand her, for the most part. But he wasn't there. She ordered her pizza and paid for it, unwilling to talk to Tiégra about what was going through her mind.
In her room, she organized her pouch and made sure her kunai and shuriken were as sharp as possible, before she went to sleep
Who is this? No! Not this dream again…
A blurred vision of a man squatting to talk to her, his words distorted as badly as his features. She had the sense that he was sad, and she should be too. He kissed the top of her head, before he moved towards a door. She couldn't read the expression on his face as he left.
Waiting… a sense of waiting and worry, along with wondering, constantly asking questions, of what? She didn't know. Then a women's voice clear as day, "He left! He was sick of you! He's never coming back! He only pretended to care about you!"Overwhelming despair as if someone had ripped out her heart…
She sat bolt upright, breathing hard, sweat trickling down her neck, as her alarm rang, once again perched on her nightstand. She chucked it across the room. That was not the first time that dream had come to her. She knew it was a forgotten memory; she wished that she could see the shinobi's features or even hear his voice so she could find him and ask him, if the woman's words were true. Yet another part of her, a dark part of her that seemed to be getting stronger and stronger everyday wanted to admit that it was true, just to end whatever tied her existence to this world.
Another secret I keep from Naruto. She suspected that her friend was beginning to see the dark part of her that wanted to end her life. It seemed to that part that she had little to live for. The part of her that was not consumed by this knew that she had plenty to live for namely Naruto and Shikamaru. She prepared herself to face Kakashi, and skipped breakfast, it probably won't matter anyway, it's not like I eat a lot.
All of squad seven, minus Kakashi, arrived at the practice field bright and early (5:00 a.m.). "Morning," Sakura yawned.
"Mo..rn.g," Naruto muttered drowsily. Sasuke said nothing, while Sara merely nodded in greeting. Three hours later found Naruto and Sara using the other's back to keep themselves sitting up, while they slept.
"Good morning, class!" Kakashi greeted them enthusiastically.
Naruto jumped up and shouted with Sakura, leaving Sara to fall backwards and be awaken with a jolt, "You're late!"
Kakashi pointed as he said, "Sorry, a black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long way."
Sara glared at him as she rubbed sleep out of her eyes, yeah right, I believe you as much as I would believe Mizuki if he said he liked me! Kakashi shot her a nasty look making her wonder if she had muttered her thoughts aloud.
Kakashi walked towards one of the three posts that were in the practice field, pulling an alarm clock, similar to Sara's, out of his pouch. He pressed the top part of it saying, "I've set this alarm clock to go off at noon." All of them gave him a confused look. "I have here three small bells. Your challenge is to steal these from me before the timer sounds. Anyone who fails…doesn't get any lunch. Instead you will be tied to that tree stump, so I can eat your lunch in front of you." Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and Sara's stomachs all growled in unison, and amazingly all of their thought processes were the same, So that's why you wanted us to go without breakfast!
Kakashi continued, "All you need is just one bell apiece. But since there aren't enough to go around, one of you is definitely headed for the stump. And whoever that is will be the first of you to fail. One of you is on your way back to school…and disgrace." All of them swallowed nervously. "You may, if you choose use shuriken. Attack as though you mean to kill or you'll never stand a chance."
Sakura exclaimed shocked, "But…but that's so dangerous!"
"You couldn't even dodge an eraser," Naruto said mockingly. "You're gonna get yourself killed!"
Must you talk so big? "Only the weak speak loudly," Kakashi said. "Now let's forget the dunce, and we'll start on my signal!"
Sara stared at Naruto knowing full well that the word "dunce" was echoing through his head. Naruto bared his teeth in anger and pulled out a kunai knife making Sakura gasp.
Sara blinked and Kakashi had grabbed Naruto's hair and the hand with the kunai knife. She recovered enough from Kakashi's quick movement to see that the kunai knife was pointed at the back of Naruto's neck. She lunged at Kakashi, aiming a kick at his head. The kick never landed. She found herself hanging upside down, Kakashi holding her leg.
He said calmly, "Not so fast, you two. I didn't say 'go'."
Sakura stared in awe, Wow…! I didn't even see him move when he grabbed Naruto. And he didn't even turn his head when he caught Sara's leg.
So this is an elite shinobi… Sasuke thought as Kakashi set Sara down, letting her drop the last few inches.
She shook her head; he's a very intelligent ninja. He purposely made it seem that he was unskilled when he let that eraser fall on his head. He made sure that we wouldn't be prepared for his skill… Stupid jônin! Kakashi glared at her once again. What? She wondered again.
It looked like Kakashi's expression had softened, "Even though I didn't say 'go' you at least struck to kill… So it seems you've begun to respect me."
Sara muttered under her breath, "Don't count on it."
He continued plainly ignoring her, "Just maybe… I'm starting to like you four. And now…ready…steady… Go!" All of them shot off in different directions.
Pride Goeth Before a Fall
Kakashi said looking around for his hidden students, "The basis of all shinobi arts to become invisible… eradicate yourself…" He moved his hand behind his head, all three of them are well hidden… Sasuke and Sakura were hidden under bushes while Sara crouched behind a tree. Naruto…well…
"It's time for the match to begin!" He shouted. Sara banged her head against the tree. "Let's make it a real match, worthy of the greatest warriors!"
Sasuke's only thought was, you fool…
Kakashi said, "You may be thinking of the wrong kind of match…"
Sara sighed as she jumped out of her hiding spot. Kakashi stared at them, "I think you two are not quite comprehending what is supposed to be going on here."
Naruto smiled as he said, "The only thing we're not comprehending is your hairstyle!"
"Yeah," Sara chimed in. "What'd you do? Chop it off with a kunai knife?" She watched as a vein throbbed near his temple. I think I took that a little too far!
Naruto lunged and Sara matched him step for step. Kakashi began reaching in his pouch for something. Naruto skidded to a halt saying, "Uh-oh!" Sara slid to a stop passing him a little.
"Let me teach you," Kakashi began. "Your first ninjutsu skill! Taijutsu: the art of the trained body."
Naruto stared apprehensively at Kakashi. The trained body? Isn't that like hand-to-hand combat? So how come he's going for a weapon? Sara crouched a little further ahead, ready to dodge if Kakashi threw a weapon. Both Naruto and Sara nearly fell over as he pulled out a book.
Sara squinted at the title. You've got to be kidding me? He's reading that stupid book still!
Kakashi looked up at them curiously, "Is something wrong? I thought you two were coming for me.
"…But…you…I mean, I…I mean," Naruto stammered. "Why are you… That's a book!"
Kakashi looked down at his book, "Of course, it's a book. I've been dying to find out how this story ends. Carry on… It shouldn't make any difference in the outcome, considering who I'm up against."
Naruto shouted angrily, "I'm gonna flatten you!" He exchanged a quick look with Sara before the two of them rushed in.
Kakashi watched them both, they're planning on Naruto aiming high and Sara aiming low, they should know that they're moving too slow for something like that to work against me. He neatly ducked and maneuvered himself out of the way of both their kicks. He aimed a punch at the ground very close to Sara's head to detour her.
Yikes! Sara moved her head out of range as she rolled into the bushes. She watched as Naruto fought on, waiting for the moment when she could jump in again.
"Charge!" Naruto shouted as he aimed a punch at Kakashi's head. Kakashi moved behind him. "What the…?"
Kakashi made a hand sign as he said, "Showing your back so many times is very poor ninjutsu… dunce."
Sara looked at the hand sign Kakashi was making closely. The sign of the tiger? Is he planning to use a fire style ninjutsu on Naruto? That's just plain cruel!
Oh! Sakura was also analyzing the hand sign. He's using his hands to make the sign of the tiger! But he couldn't be! It's much too advanced a technique to use against Naruto!
Sasuke was doing similar to the previous two. Impossible… Now he's making the sign of flames… That darned teacher wasn't just running around…
Sakura shouted to Naruto, "Naruto-! Get out of there! You'll be killed!
"What?" Was the only word Naruto got out.
Kakashi said just loud enough for Naruto to hear, "Too late." His eye glittered evilly, "The Leaf Village's most secret and sacred technique! One Thousand Years of Death!" Naruto went flying through the air.
Sara stared in disgust. He shoved his fingers up Naruto's butt! What stupid technique is that!
Sakura muttered to no one in particular, "That's supposed to be ninjutsu! What kind of 'sacred technique' is that? Looks more like he just shoved something right up Naruto's butt!"
Sasuke only said, "Huh! They're both buffoons!"
Sara watched as Naruto splashed into the water. She turned her gaze back on Kakashi and heard him laughing quietly. She couldn't quite see his face. She looked around her quickly before muttering, "Devil's Eyes!" Her pupils narrowed to that of a cat's and she saw a blush slowly forming on what was visible of his face. She snorted in disgust. Waste of chakra! She let her eyes return to normal.
Sakura was thinking, that kind of strength isn't fair play! How are we supposed to beat him?
Naruto, who was floating near the bottom of stream, was thinking, crap! Not like this… This isn't how this is gonna go! He threw some shuriken at Kakashi which he easily caught without looking up from his book. Sara looked towards the stream and watched as a ton of bubbles appeared on the surface knowing that Naruto couldn't be too far from that spot.
Naruto made a hand sign. I will… I will not… I will not back down! He struggled up out of the water hacking.
Kakashi looked down at him, "Well? What's the hold up? Get one of these bells by lunch or you'll have no lunch!"
"Duh!" Naruto snapped at him, Sara was impressed at how bold he was acting. "I know that!"
"You claim you want to surpass Lord Hokage," Kakashi said as he walked away from Naruto. "But you've already run out of steam."
"Crap! Crap! Crap! I can fight no matter how hungry I am!" Naruto shouted at him. Everyone who was still in hiding heard their stomachs growl.
Sakura thought ruefully, I've been on a diet so I haven't eaten anything since last night! I'm famished!
Naruto continued to shout, "I just wasn't ready, that's all!"
"So learn to get ready. Don't they say that chance favors the prepared mind?" Kakashi asked.
Naruto glared at Kakashi's back. Crap! I'm starving… And completely out of gas…but… I have to get a bell…no matter what! And I have to earn his respect! No matter what! I have to become a true shinobi…
Sara watched as orange shapes jumped out of the water. Angry goldfish? Nope. Naruto. Correction Naruto's.
Kakashi turned his head, "Hunh?
"Ha-hah!" Naruto laughed, water still streaming down his face. "My specialty! The art of shadow clones! Get ready! Now you face a lot more than just one of me!"
Sasuke counted, One… Two… Eight distinct bodies! What technique is he using?
They're not illusions! Every one is solid! Sakura thought in awe.
I've read about this technique somewhere, or it was mentioned in a book. Sara thought racking her brain for what book it may have been mentioned in.
Kakashi turned to face the oncoming Naruto's, "Not illusions, but actual multiple flesh-and-blood bodies!" This is the technique he used to defeat Mizuki! From the forbidden scroll… "But at your level you couldn't be strong enough to keep this up for more than a minute! You talk a good game… But you're still only Naruto! You're a one-trick pony who hasn't got what it takes to win!"
Sara smiled as she watched Kakashi get a look most broncos got when they realized that something or someone was on their back.
"Wh-what-? Behind me!" He exclaimed. Naruto smiled fiendishly, while Sakura and Sasuke stared in awe. Sara tensed ready to assist Naruto if he needed any help.
Naruto laughed, "Nice to see your back… Sensei!" One of Naruto jumped into the air and shouted down at Kakashi, "I isolated one of my shadow clones… sent it out of the water posing as me. While I circled around, behind you! Here's payback for what you did to my ass! This must be hard on you, so I'll go easy. One good hit is all I want."
Wow! Sakura thought admiringly. Naruto's good!
That guy… Sasuke said, "He used the art of misdirection… Feinting to distract his enemy before he struck somewhere else!"
"Relax! I told you I'm only gonna hit you once!" Naruto said confidently.
Sara shouted, "Naruto! No!" She lunged forward, she had an inkling in the back of her mind that Kakashi was not going stay where he was. She lunged for the bells and felt the tips of her fingers brush them before Kakashi moved and she went skidding into the bushes. She hit a tree with a loud thud. She quickly jumped up into the tree and watched as chaos broke out between Naruto and his clones.
Not Sasuke!
One Naruto pointed at the other and snapped, "You're Kakashi-sensei, aren't you! You used the art of transformation to change!"
"No you did!"
"Did not!"
"So did you!"
"You have the same smell as Kakashi-sensei… like an old guy!"
"I do not!"
One clone finally said, "Hey! Wait a minute. Drop the illusion. If you do there'll just be two of us. And you'll know for sure which of us is which."
Another Naruto snapped, "Why didn't you think of that sooner, idiot?"
"Because I'm you, idiot!"
Naruto found that he was the only one there and he shed a few tears.
Naruto looks awful, Sakura thought feeling a tad bit sorry for him.
Sasuke was not in a feeling sorry mood. He used the art of substitution, loser. It's the third article in the first scroll of ninjutsu! You act with speed and skill to swap places with one of the plants, animals, or people in the landscape. Part of the technique is to make it look as though you've been struck, and in the interval strike back… That so-called elite shinobi traded places with one of Naruto's clones. When he was attacked, not only did he create an optical illusion but he used Naruto's actual attack against him. Sasuke turned his attention back to Naruto.
Naruto had just noticed something shiny on the ground. "A bell!" He laughed gleefully, "He must have been pretty flustered to drop one…hah!" As Naruto bent to pick up the bell, something wrapped around his ankles. "What the heck-?" He shouted as he bounced back and forth, hanging from a rope.
Sara smacked her forehead with her hand and peered through her fingers at her best friend. You IDIOT!
Of course it's a trap… Sasuke thought disgusted with Naruto's apparent lack of skill. But even more troubling…Kakashi-sensei didn't drop his guard even once during the fight with Naruto…
Kakashi walked up to the bell and picked it up, "You used your technique well, but so did I…and you were the one who got used." He straightened up, "And to be caught in such an obvious trap, was stupid!"
"Argh-!" Was all Naruto said in reply.
"Shinobi read the hidden meanings within the hidden meanings!"
"I know that!" Naruto shouted at him.
"No, you think you get it which is not the same as actually getting it. Get it?"
Sasuke's eyes widened. Here! He threw multiple shuriken and kunai at Kakashi. He's finally off guard!"
"Naruto you…" Kakashi was hit by the weapons.
"Whoa! Whoa! No way!" Naruto shouted. "That was overkill, Sasuke!"
Sara had been watching intently until that point when she heard a branch creak above her, "Now that would have been nasty, wouldn't it?"
She glanced up and saw Kakashi perched a branch above her, waiting for a response. She quickly disappeared. Kakashi thought unhappily, she could have at least answered me before she disappeared! But I guess I can't blame her. She probably doesn't even remember me. He turned his attention back to the moving leaves that showed where Sasuke was moving. Over there, huh?
Sasuke moved quickly through the trees pissed off at himself for falling for Kakashi's ploy.
Sakura meanwhile, was trying to figure out where Sasuke had gotten to. Sasuke… Where are you! Kakashi-sensei must have gotten him. No, I won't believe that! Not Sasuke! Not my Sasuke! She came to a halt when she heard rustling leaves ahead of her as Kakashi stepped out of some bushes. Safe! He hasn't seen me…
A voice behind her said, "Sakura, behind you!" What! Sakura whipped around and came face to face with Kakashi.
Naruto meanwhile, was hanging around. "'Read the hidden meanings within the hidden meanings,' my butt!" He easily sliced through the ropes and hit the ground saying, "No way am I gonna get caught in another of Kakashi-sensei's traps." Naruto shot straight back up the tree, one of his ankles caught in a rope. "Crap!" He fumed, "He set a second trap right under the first one!"
Sakura was feeling a tad disoriented as she spoke, "What! What was that? I thought I felt something what was it? Where'd our teacher go?"
A voice sounded from behind a boulder, calling her name, "Sakura."
That sounds like… "Sasuke!" she said happily turning around.
Sasuke crouched before her, his left arm gone and his left leg twisted at an awkward angle. Blood flowed from him onto the ground and kunai and shuriken were still embedded in his body. "Sa…Saku…ra…" He gasped. "H-help…me…"
Sakura stared at him horror stricken. She had a cold sweat going and tears began to flow down her face until she finally let out a very, very, very loud scream, than she fainted hitting the ground with a "kee-wump".
Kakashi who was watching from a nearby tree, muttered to himself, "I…think I overdid it a bit."
Sasuke, who was farther away turned his head in the direction of Sakura's scream. "That scream I just heard…" Sakura.
Kakashi was leaning against the trunk of a nearby tree as he said, "The second ninjutsu skill – genjutsu: the art of illusion. And Sakura fell for it."
He's been using the art of illusion…employing hypnotism to create hallucinations in others. If that was Sakura, it's possible he may have beaten her… but…
Meanwhile, Sakura was lying on the ground frothing at the mouth and tears streaming down her face.
"I'm not like them," Sasuke said, his back to Kakashi.
"Save your boasts until you've got a bell." Kakashi than said mocking, "My Sasuke."
Solo
"The strength of the Uchiha clan…" Kakashi said. "The most elite family in the Hidden Leaf Village. I'm looking forward to it…"
Sara arrived looking confused as to what was going on as she watched Sasuke throw shuriken at Kakashi.
"A frontal assault is wasted here," Kakashi said as he dodged the shuriken easily.
Sasuke smiled. A trap? Kakashi thought, taken off guard. He moved his right leg into a better position when he felt something knock it out from under him. He stared in shock as Sara nimbly, moved out of his way. He maneuvered his hands quickly to thrust himself out of the knives way. Where the hell did she come from? He glanced around hoping to see where she had disappeared to, but she had disappeared. She came out of nowhere! He ducked quickly as Sasuke continued his relentless attack.
Sara was concealed underneath a bush, Sasuke and I can't do this by ourselves, and I don't have time to go back and cut Naruto loose! I'm going to have to find Sakura…that shouldn't be too hard since I know where the scream came from.
A minute or two later Sara came upon Sakura, who was sobbing on a boulder. Not even bothering to ask a question Sara said, "Sakura! Come on! We need to help Sasuke!"
Sakura nodded her head in agreement, "I know, he's so badly injured!"
"Errr… What?"
Sakura sobbed, "He's right here! Don't pretend that he's not!"
Sara stared dumbfounded at the rock. "Sakura, he's fighting Kakashi-sensei right now," she said, keeping her voice calm.
"Stop being so selfish," Sakura snapped at her. "We can deal with Kakashi-sensei later, we need to help Sasuke!"
Sara had lost all self control, "Oh! So I'm the one being selfish? Fine! Don't help! Fail the exercise!" She stormed off as Sakura sobbed even harder.
I hope I haven't wasted too much time in talking to that dunce! She began walking cautiously forward to the spot where Kakashi and Sasuke had been fighting. She saw something black sticking out of the ground, but she decided that it was only a rock. She crept carefully into the bushes near the next clearing. She scoped out the area, looking for even the slightest trace of Kakashi.
"Behind you," whispered a voice behind her.
With a startled shout, Sara shot into the clearing. Brilliant, Sara! Now I'm completely exposed! He could attack me from any angle! Now who's the dunce?
"You're the last one," Kakashi's said, each word coming from a different spot in the clearing. He continued talking, "Those are some nice gloves you have." Sara glanced down at her fingerless gloves. The Head Anbu himself had given them to her after she had worked quite a few days in a row, doing odd jobs for him. Not only did he pay her, he gave her a pair of gloves that were normally only given to Anbus. She stared down at the black gloves, her reflection showing in the metal plate.
He continued, "What did you do, steal them?" Rage flowed right through her body. She grabbed shuriken and whipped them all about the surrounding trees and bushes. Kakashi side-stepped out of some bushes calmly. All around the clearing clouds of smoke kept appearing as the shuriken hit their marks. Her rage had automatically triggered her Devil's Eyes, and she decided not to release the jutsu either. It would serve to her advantage.
"Well," he inquired. "Did you steal them? I know for a fact that they're only given to Anbu Black Ops."
She stared at his own blue colored gloves; she knew that normally the gloves were only black. "They were given to me as a gift," she stated, daring him to say otherwise.
Kakashi changed the subject, "Are you going to stand there talking to me all day or are you going to attack?"
She began doing the hand signs for the Fireball Jutsu. As Kakashi dodged to the side he thought, what the blazes are they teaching these kids nowadays?
He was startled to find himself surrounded by flames. He stared at her in astonishment; she had performed the Dancing Fire Leaves jutsu on top of a Fireball jutsu. "Novice shinobi shouldn't be able to do two jutsu of the fire type on top of one another; I have to say that I'm impressed." And he added silently to himself, and proud.
Sara allowed a small smile to appear on her face. She hated to admit it, but his praise meant a lot to her. She realized that she was being distracted. I have to get those bells, even though I couldn't get Sakura to help, I would still give her a bell… I'd give all of them a bell. I would rather be the one tied to the post. She shook her head; she sometimes hated her strong teamwork drive. She glared at Kakashi and shouted, "Flight of the Phoenix!" A mini version of Phoenix shot from her body. Kakashi leapt up onto the branch of a nearby tree.
"That is a neat trick you came up with. Releasing Phoenix in a miniature form so he can attack your enemies, however… You've overused this technique because I've already heard about it. I know that Phoenix has to return to your body after one swo…argh!" Kakashi was knocked out of the tree as the mini Phoenix hit him in the back hard. He managed to land on his feet, but he knew that he would be sore the following morning.
She smirked at him and said, "Know this, I can have Phoenix attack as many times as I want him to, BEFORE he returns to my body."
Kakashi said nothing as he braced himself for her next move. She lunged at him and twisted to the side at the last minute. Kakashi was stunned at how quickly she moved. She didn't move this fast when she fought beside Naruto! Her speed then seemed to match his. He pretended that she had hit him hard as he rolled into the bushes.
Sara walked cautiously into the bushes knowing that Kakashi could ambush her easily, she whipped around when she heard him across the clearing.
"Sara, give up now or Naruto dies!" He had Naruto pinned against a tree a kunai to his throat. Sara glanced through the trees and saw in the distance Naruto trying to cut the rope he was dangling from. She gave Kakashi a skeptical look. How stupid does he think I am? Naruto is clearly fine.
She heard a voice behind her say, "You're smart…" She tensed up.
"But not that smart," a voice below her said.
Sara leapt up and grabbed the lowest branch on the nearest tree, a hand gripping her left leg. She felt the grip of the hand tighten on the leg, she feared that Kakashi would throw her, and she wasn't sure if her leg would be able to handle the impact of the ground. Then his grip loosened and she relaxed her mind beginning to form various ways of getting out of her situation.
Kakashi had loosened his grip for a good reason, I am to evaluate their skills and if the situation demands, bruises and scratches. If I threw her she is more likely to end up seriously injured. He glanced up at her. She looks like the cat from the poster that says "hang in their". He smiled to himself and pulled out his book.
Sara was trying to think of ways that would not seriously hurt Kakashi. A rustling sound below her made her glance down. Fury shot through her as she saw him reading his book. That's it! She swung her right leg and brought it crashing down on his arm. Kakashi instantly let go and she swung onto the branch and smiled down at him.
Kakashi had been happily reading when he felt searing pain go through his arm. "Damn!" he shouted as he glared up at her. She smiled down at him. "You rotten little…"
He backed out of the bushes and watched her jump down.
Sara stared up at the sun. Shit! It's almost noon! She rushed in at Kakashi, he dodged to the side, she saw the bells fly out, and she swept her hand towards them. She had the bells perfectly centered in her palm; she closed her fingers and watched in dismay as her finger tips knocked the bells away from her hand. Kakashi whipped around her and grabbed one of her arms pinning her against the tree, he said to her, "Sit tight until I get back." As he disappeared the alarm sounded.
Kakashi's Decision
Sara walked back to the stumps, her head lowered in defeat. I had them! Damn it! If we had all worked together we would have had them! She glared at the stump in front of her and kicked it. She really didn't care if she went back to the Academy; she was more worried about Naruto, who had been struggling in the first place. She leaned against the central stump and sank down to the ground. A rustling made her look up, Sakura and Sasuke walked up to her.
Sakura looked down at her and than averted her gaze muttering, "Sorry. I should have believed you when you said Sasuke needed my help."
Sara snapped, "Well, it's too late now!" Sakura flinched and Sara snorted in disgust.
"Next time stay out of my way," Sasuke said glaring at her.
"I was never IN your way," she snarled at him. Sasuke continued to glare at her. "You're trap wouldn't have been so close to success without my help." Sasuke looked away, fuming.
Kakashi appeared in front of her and behind her. She quickly got up and moved out of the way as the front Kakashi threw Naruto to the other. Then they both tied him to the stump.
Once they had all seated themselves around Naruto, Kakashi said as their stomachs growled, "Oh, my. Listen to all the little stomachs growl! I have an announcement about this exercise." All of them perked up slightly. "None of you need worry any more about being sent back to the Ninja Academy."
"Yeeah!" Naruto shouted happily.
Even me? After the way I fainted? We all passed. Sakura thought happily. While the Inner Sakura thought, oh, yeah! Love conquers all!
Sasuke merely said, "Hmm…"
I don't like this, Sara thought. We gave him no reason to pass us… So what is he up to?
"This rocks!" Naruto continued happily, "It means all four of us…"
Kakashi seemed to smile, "Are hopeless. More schooling would be pointless. None of you will ever be shinobi!"