A/N: Thanks for the flames. Honestly, I don't think they did anything. The story still got plenty of views... maybe because there are only like three stories in the Airgear/Naruto crossover section. Oh well, whatever.
As soon as Ikki awoke, he felt two things that momentarily struck him as a 'what-the-fuck?' kind of sensation. First of all, his crotch was inexplicably sore. Second, when he tried to get up, he soon realized that he could not. So, like a reflex, his eyes shot open and immediately stared down at, of all things, his bare feet.
What the hell!? Where are my ATs? Panic and worry flooded his mind until he caught a glimpse of his high-tech footwear on the floor a few meters away.
Phew… now that he knew where his ATs were, his brain finally managed to function just enough to come to the conclusion that he also happened to be thoroughly tied down onto a chair.
Now he remembered what happened. That punk kid, Naruto, distracted him, the mighty Ikki, with some kind of stupid (yet admittedly pleasing to the eyes) trick and thus the Storm King ended up crashing into something... Whatever, Ikki didn't like to dwell on the past. Instead, he focused on his current master plan: finding a way to get his hands on firecrackers to stick up Naruto's butt after thoroughly kicking his ass.
"Hey Kid!" he shouted. "Naruto! What the hell is this? Untie me you bastard!"
Silence…
"Uh… kid?" Ikki looked around. Table, futon, empty ramen cups and milk cartons littered the place… he was in some slob's apartment. And judging from a familiar set of clothes scattered across the floor, it was Naruto's apartment. "Naruto!?" he called out again.
Still no answer…
Angry, Ikki struggled against the ropes binding him to the chair. Damn kid, if you think some stupid ropes can hold down me, a god amongst Stormriders, you're too naïve!
-x-
Outside her house, Sakura stood facing one of the trees that towered over her backyard. It was a spot she liked, out of the direct line of sight of any of the windows either from her own house or the two neighboring ones.
She gripped a lunchbox steadily in her hands, staring at a waft of blue hair that just barely became visible as a caressing wind blew it into sight. The view was nothing out of the ordinary. Not after yesterday.
And yet, very clearly, there was a sensation that engulfed her wholly. Not just a sensation, but an emotion. She felt happy to see him. Or maybe it was just relief; she found it hard to discern the two at the moment.
"Don't you have somewhere to go?" said his voice, Lind's voice. Sakura felt a little startled. She didn't really do anything to give away her presence yet he called out to her like he expected her.
"Um… Lind-san? I've brought you some breakfast," she offered.
"Oh?" He didn't even move, the jerk.
And for that reason, Sakura felt the urge to explain. "Well… sensei told me not to eat this morning for some reason but Ka-chan made me some food anyways so I thought I'd just pack it up and thought maybe you'd—"
"Thanks…" he interrupted.
She took that a signal to approach. So she did, feeling more uneasy every step she took. Lind-san? Something's different… something doesn't feel right. For some reason, there was an air of hostility about. It felt as if an aura of killing intent was directed against her, and she felt that urge to run away again.
"Just leave it there," he said. No, not said, he nearly spat it out. Was he angry? Why? Whatever the reason, Sakura did as she was told. Lind was still very much a complete stranger and a dangerous one at that. Still, when she turned around and headed off, she hoped he would be there when she returned.
-x-
"Kazu-sama… Kazu-sama, wake up."
Kazu lifted his lids to see Emily's huge brown eyes glitter back at him. "Adachi? It's morning already?"
She nodded. "Sasuke-kun already left. Yayoi did too. She went off to keep looking for Ikki and the others. We should keep looking too."
"Wait, where did Sasuke go?"
"I'm not sure, exactly," answered Emily, shrugging. "He said something about survival training."
. : Survival Training : .
Is this what survival training is supposed to be?
That was the first thought running through Yayoi Nakayama's head as she stared in wonderment at the ensuing battle. Her current hiding spot, atop a random tree hidden behind leaves, allowed her an excellent view of the action. At first she didn't know why she followed that Sasuke kid but now she was glad she did.
In the distance, a blonde boy had just begun his direct assault against some white-haired masked-man. She dubbed them Blondie and Gramps; the latter nicknamed because his hair was white and sort of resembled her own grandpa's hair. Still, why were they suddenly fighting? And what kind of fight was this? Gramps just pulled out a book for some reason…
She couldn't hear anything from her position but Yayoi was sure Blondie was angry. Gramps is pretty good, she noted, watching amused at how he lazily blocked or dodged every attack from Blondie… even while reading a book.
"A Thousand Years of Pain!!!" came a loud shout from Gramps. Yayoi rubbed her own butt for a second as the blonde kid splashed into a nearby pond… Ouch, poor kid, to have his virginity taken by an ass-poke at such an early age…
She thought she might have been seeing things when the kid popped right back out of the water… followed by five more of him. She rubbed her eyes. The copies were still there, fighting no less. What the…? But then she remembered what Sasuke-kun had told them the night before: "I'm a ninja." Now she felt kind of bad for laughing her butt off at him the night before.
"Ninja are real?" she mused to herself. Well, it certainly explained most of what she was seeing right now. Shuriken were being thrown, Gramps was wearing a mask, and a little kid was duplicating himself. It was like they came straight out of an anime or something. Yayoi bit back her skepticism and continued cheerfully gawking.
Gramps disappeared in a flash of smoke and the identical blonde kids started beating each other up; disappearing until there was only one left, who apparently sprung some kind of trap because now he was hanging upside down under a tree. Hehe, ninja or not, this is pretty entertaining…
Half an hour later
Okay, maybe it wasn't so entertaining after all. After Blondie got hung under a tree, everyone else just disappeared. Blondie was there, of course, but other then that one hilarious time he cut himself down from the tree, only to fall into the exact same trap, watching him for half an hour was pretty boring.
So… she decided to get down from her spot to find a new vantage point. But before she could even move she felt something land onto the same branch she was on.
"Yo," said the voice. "Civilians shouldn't be here. It's dangerous."
Yayoi looked back at her unexpected visitor. She was surprised at who it was. "G-gramps?" Okay, upon closer inspection, he looked nothing like her grandpa. In fact, he was kind of hot. She cursed herself for the thought. Agito was supposed to be the only one for her.
"Gramps?" he asked, scratching his head. He sat on the branch like he was taking a nap or something. "Do I really look that old?" Surprisingly, there was worry in his voice when he said it.
"Oh, uh, sorry," she blushed. "It was my nickname for you when I was s— err…"
"Spying?"
"Watching," she corrected.
"Suspicious…"
Yayoi responded with a verbal attack of her own. "I'm suspicious? Isn't there a law against abusing kids like this? You should be ashamed of yourself!" He pointed at Naruto who was still hanging upside-down from his tree in the distance.
He seemed a little taken aback by this. "It's a test," he explained. "To see if they're ready to become ninja."
"A ninja test?" asked Yayoi, skeptical.
He nodded, pointing towards the two bells hanging from his waist. "They have to get these before noon or they fail. Actually, they've only got a few minutes left."
"And you use real weapons?" she asked. He nodded. "So what Sasuke said about you being ninja is true?" He nodded again, though his eyebrow quirked up when she mentioned Sasuke.
"Now, mind if I ask you a question?" Yayoi didn't see why not, so she nodded. "Why are you all hiding up in this tree?"
"Well Sasuke was—" she interrupted herself. Did he say 'you all?' "Umm… I'm the only one up here… aren't I?"
The man threw a shuriken up into the tree and Yayoi heard something snap, followed by a loud thump under her. They both looked towards it, shock smeared across Yayoi's face. "B-B-BUCCHA!?"
Giant, bald, brown, and eternally equipped with headphones, he looked equally surprised to see her there. "Nakayama?"
Like some kind of retarded chain reaction, the sounds of snapping branches continued to sound all around them. First, Kazu appeared out of nowhere, followed by Emily who landed on top of him. Then it was Agito, who landed with a loud "What the fuck!?"
Finally, there was Ikki, who didn't fall, but rather popped out from behind the leaves above her, waving to her with a "Yo! I heard everything."
The only person missing seemed to be Onigiri. Yayoi couldn't help but raise her voice in anger at all of them. "You were all here and didn't say anything!?"
Ikki threw her an unbelievably cocky grin. "You did well, Nakayama, getting information like that. My plan was perfect!"
"Wait, huh? What plan!?" Yayoi looked over at everyone else. They all seemed equally confounded.
"Bullshit, you fucking crow!" growled Agito. "Trying to take credit for a chance meeting like this… fuck!"
Yayoi sighed, Definitely the same old Ikki and Agito.
Ikki ignored his team, suddenly directing his attention to… uhh… Gramps. She still didn't know his real name. "Hey you!"
The white-haired ninja, who looked a little dumbfounded at all these teenagers, pointed at himself questioningly.
"Yea, you. I accept your challenge!"
"My name is Kakashi," he said. "And I'm not sure what you mean by challenge."
Ikki leapt off the tree, landing gracefully on the soft earth as the others gathered around him. "I heard it straight from your mouth," continued Ikki. "You said if we take those bells from you, we'll be qualified as ninja. A title like ninja could only improve our team's rep."
Kakashi sweat-dropped. "Look, I don't have time for this the—"
An alarm-clock in the distance rang out, interrupting him. Yayoi knew what that meant. It was noon. It was times up for Sasuke, Blondie, and Pinky.
"…test is over," he finished. "Anyways, whoever you all are, you need to get out of here before I report you for trespassing."
"Wait, I have some unfinished business with Naruto," said Ikki, pointing towards the clearing where the three kids waited. Without waiting for a reply, Ikki dashed towards the clearing, smiling dreadfully. "Hey, Naruto! We got off on the wrong foot, I've got a present for you!" he called out, clenching his hands into fists. Where those firecrackers in his hands? Where did he?
It wasn't just Ikki, either. One by one, everyone came up with their excuses to stick around.
"I have to go thank that pink-haired girl for breakfast," said Agito.
"We're good friends with Sasuke," explained Kazu and Emily.
"I'm hungry," said Buccha. What kind of excuse was that?
"I'm with them," said Yayoi when Kakashi looked towards her. She offered him a coy smile and pointed at the entire group. "Don't worry, they'll probably just get bored and leave once their business is done."
Kakashi sighed. Yayoi could tell exactly what he was thinking… it was that same look Orihara-sensei, one of their middle school teachers, had most of the time; Damn teenagers.
Time Skip no Jutsu:
Kakashi gave in. "Fine, but you have to leave right after." Around him, at the clearing next to the three upright logs, were six teenagers and three twelve-year olds.
Kogarasumaru (minus Onigiri) all cheered. Yayoi, however, wondered why nobody else complained about being in an unfamiliar village in some unfamiliar country. The allure of officially becoming ninja was too intoxicating, she supposed.
"What!?" complained Naruto. "That's not fair. How come they get to take the test too? They didn't even go through the Academy! Even Sakura and Sasuke agree with me, right guys?" He looked over at his two supposed supporters. Sasuke shrugged, uncaring, while Sakura stared at Agito looking a little confused. "Um guys? Help me out here."
"I have nothing against them trying out," said Kakashi. "Besides, you three…" He pointed towards Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, "…there's no longer any need for you to take the test."
Naruto lit up. "You mean, we pass!?"
"Nope," said Kakashi. "You three, should just quit as ninjas."
Naruto was obviously shocked. "Wh-what!? Quit as ninjas? What do you mean?"
Sakura, equally shocked, tried to defend the team. "But Kakashi-sensei, I know we couldn't get the bells, but… why do we have to quit?"
Sasuke's reaction was a little more physical. He rushed forward, weapon in hand, only to get immediately knocked to the ground and violently subdued by their sensei.
"Are you guys underestimating ninjas? Huh?" said Kakashi, furiously, as he stepped down on Sasuke's head. "Why do you think you were set as a team for this training?"
Both Sakura and Naruto looked puzzled. "Huh? What do you mean?"
"Basically, you three have shown me…" continued Kakashi. "…that you don't understand the answer."
"Answer?" inquired Naruto.
"Yes, the answer that would've helped you pass this test."
"So… are you going to tell us?" asked Sakura.
"Yea, just give us the answer already!" demanded Naruto.
Kakashi sighed. "Jeez… the answer is—"
"—I'll tell them!" cut off Ikki. Everyone looked baffled at this, especially his teammates who stared at him incredulously. "I know because I encounter it all the time." Yayoi looked over at him… he looked so calm, so serene, as he stared up into the sky. It surprised her every time she saw this look on Ikki. It was so inspirational.
Yayoi nodded proudly. Of course, she knew the answer too… it was teamwork. So if she knew it, it was obvious that Ikki would know this as well. He was their leader after all.
"Really…" said Kakashi. "Let's hear it, then."
Ikki harrumphed. "It's because you three are too weak."
There was a long pause before anybody responded. Then the shouts all came out like a storm that would give even Ikki's road a run for its money.
"That's the answer you're so proud of?" jeered Agito. "Are you fucking retarded?"
Emily nodded. "It's Ikki, you guys, did you expect anything else?"
"How the hell did you become our leader," said Buccha.
Kazu was too busy throwing Ikki a 'why are you such an idiot' punch to the face to say anything.
Yayoi just shook her head in shame. "Teamwork… the answer is teamwork, you idiot… I can't believe I wasted my emotions on you…"
"Uggh," said Kakashi. He had a palm covering his face as if he had a headache or something. He turned towards Naruto and Sakura, helping Sasuke to his feet at the same time. "You three… that girl is right. Teamwork is the answer. There were only two bells but this test was supposed to see if you could look past your own interests and work together. The revelation was supposed to feel a little more dramatic but…" he glared over in Ikki's direction. "Anyways… while I take care of these people, I want you three to take a walk and think over what I just said. I'll give you another chance… but this time, I won't go easy on you. Return in an hour."
With that, Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke grabbed their lunches and headed back towards the crowded streets of the village.
"Heh, so it's finally our turn?" said Ikki.
There was something foreboding about Kakashi now. He exuded a killer aura. "Usually I'd go easy on kids like you…" he started. "But you just ruined my precious lesson." He turned to face the six teenagers.
Ikki ignored the threatening remark. "So… any rules we should know?"
Kakashi looked like he was considering something. He grabbed a bell from his belt and threw it away and pointed at the remaining one. "One bell," he said. "If you can take it, I'll accept you guys."
"Hehe, underestimating us, huh?" taunted Ikki. "You'll regret it…"
Kakashi ignored the comment. "There will be no time limit… it'll end fast, anyways…"
"I like your style," said Ikki.
"And there's only one rule…" added Kakashi. "Just do me a favor and stay alive… because this time, I'll be attacking as well." Kakashi pulled the headband from his eye, revealing a red pupil that glared at Kogarasumaru like an omen of death. "I won't let you back out now. Are you ready?"
"Hmph, we're set," said Ikki.
"Then let's go!"
