The Runaway Refugee
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Am I actually required to state this? Probably just a fanfic trope… but I'm too lazy to look into it, so you'll see this from here on out. Have fun!
"We lie best when we lie to ourselves." – Stephen King
The next day, the three unsuspecting academy graduates arrived promptly. Their Jonin sensei, however…
"It's 10 o'clock! When the hell is Kakashi-sensei gonna show up!"
"This better not be a recurring thing," Sakura said, sharing in Naruto's annoyance.
Lounging in the surrounding trees, Kakashi had finally finished another chapter of his little orange book, for the 87th time to date. 'Eh, I guess this is a good stopping point,' Kakashi figured as leapt down next to his 3 startled genin. Before too much complaining had occurred, he cut them off and showed a serious side of himself that others rarely saw. His intentions, in fact, were to intimidate the three young shinobi as he explained the test that had sent many prospective genin back to the academy.
"And so, if you don't get a bell by noon, you fail. Ready?" Kakashi paused to once again open his book, "Go."
Despite feeling disrespected by Kakashi's disinterest, the three genin leapt into action. Naruto, with all the confidence in the world, engaged Kakashi directly, with Sasuke periodically throwing kunai, shuriken, and fireballs to try to create openings for Naruto. Sakura, however, was much more hesitant.
'I'll wait for Naruto and Sasuke to distract him so much that I can sneak in and take the bells.' This train of thought was disrupted, however, as Naruto flew past her and into a nearby tree. He emerged, holding his ass.
"Not cool, Kakashi! I should've figured you'd do something like that, since you're always reading those books…"
"Hey, that's an advanced taijutsu technique," Kakashi said jokingly.
"What, so many girls reject you that you need to go for little genin now?"
"You won't be a genin if you keep saying stuff like that," Kakashi said, flipping another page in his book.
"Naruto, shut up and get over here! You too, Sakura." Sasuke yelled out to his teammates, signaling for them to regroup.
Safely out of Kakashi's earshot, or so they thought, Sasuke began. "Here's the plan. Naruto, make as many shadow clones as you can, and henge one into Sakura. Then, have the Naruto clones attack Kakashi at once. I'm sure he'll pop them all pretty easily, so once their numbers dwindle, have the clone henged into Sakura rush Kakashi. At the same time, I'll send a huge fireball his way. The Sakura clone needs to get hit by that, and another Naruto clone needs to henge into a Sakura that is burned to a crisp. Make it look bad, as if your life is on the line. And make sure you time it well so Kakashi doesn't see it happen. Maybe we'll get him, even for a moment, to drop his guard and help the Sakura clone. If he does that, we'll somehow pounce and take the bells. Alright?"
"Do you really think a Jonin will fall for that?" Sakura asked.
"Do you really think we can take the bells from him in actual combat? He's one of the best shinobi in the village."
Convinced, the team set out to begin their best shot at taking the bells. Nearby, a Kakashi shadow clone dispelled.
'Interesting. I guess I'll humor their cute little plan.'
Once Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura's perfect lookalike reached the clearance that Kakashi nonchalantly read his book in, Naruto created numerous shadow clones and surrounded Kakashi. Wish a single hand, and without ever looking away from his book, Kakashi make quick work of the hoards of clones being sent at him.
As Sasuke threw a few shuriken at him to make it seem as if nothing was out of the ordinary, he signaled to the Sakura clone to begin the crucial part of their plan. She rushed in, getting close enough to Kakashi to make it seem like Sasuke's fireball wasn't missed intentionally.
As Kakashi jumped back, away from the fireball and unrelenting clones, he heard a girlish, prolonged scream. As he expected, he saw a perfectly realistic charred Sakura, lying near lifelessly on the ground.
"Sasuke, what the hell did you do! You hit Sakura dead-on!" Frantically, Naruto ran up to his shadow clone, which looked like it had spent the night in a bonfire.
"Kakashi-sensei! Sakura needs help!"
Kakashi suddenly appeared next to them, kneeling down next to the remarkably well-henged clone. He pretended to inspect the clone as he waited for their attempt at the bells. The remaining clones had all surrounded them, as if they were waiting for Kakashi to somehow heal the burned one.
Sneakily, Sasuke coated his ninja wire in chakra, hardening it. He then tried to thread it through the openings in the bells, only for Kakashi to ruthlessly punch the burned clone directly in the face. Startled, Sasuke quickly tried the yank his ninja wire to dislodge the bells. Kakashi, however, pulsed his lightning chakra back through the ninja wire and momentarily paralyzed Sasuke.
As quickly as they had appeared, the rest of Naruto's clones were destroyed, with Kakashi displaying some of his true speed. Even more quickly, Kakashi immobilized Naruto with ninja wire, and a clone of his carried an unconscious Sakura – the real one – into the clearing, plopping her down next to her teammates.
Silence suffocated the training ground. The three children could do nothing but wait until noon, expecting failure.
When Kakashi's alarm clock rang, Kakashi grinned at the genin, which they misconstrued to be a mockery of their failure. They were surprised, however, when Kakashi, in a light-hearted tone, spoke.
"You pass!"
Though confused, the three of them collectively cheered, before questioning the merit of their passing performance.
"But we didn't get the bells, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said as he was finally freed from the nest of wires that entangled him.
"Ah, it was never about the bells. If only one or two out of every three academy graduates could actually become genin, how could we ensure there are even three-man squads? No, this test was about teamwork, which you all demonstrated in a competent, though odd, way. The thought that only two of you could pass should have split you up, but you showed great teamwork, which is the foundation from which we can build this team."
"Gah, you sound too much like the old man when you get all formal like that. I'm starving, let's go get Ramen to celebrate!"
Daisuke Hozuki had seen a doctor just 3 days after the incident with the strange outsider. He hadn't been feeling too badly, but his girlfriend nonetheless forced him into the doctor's office. He was convinced it was a simple cold, or something of the sort, until he coughed up blood splatters. A fluke, he presumed.
Strangely enough, the medical shinobi weren't able to diagnose Daisuke with any known ailment. Even after extensive testing, the doctors were only able to compare it to 'flu-like symptoms,' which is incredibly vague. They had sent him home with some simple antibiotics, only to further spread his illness.
The Hidden Mist was so geographically distant from the Hidden Leaf, yet this looming danger seemed so close.
A/N: Had to get through the obligatory bell test. Now, I have some freedom with where I go with the story. Expect some originality in the upcoming chapters.
Would very much appreciate a review/PM with constructive criticism and your general thoughts thus far!
