Turn Over A New Leaf

written by monochrome.julia

Chapter 3.

-OoO-

It was a delightful morning. The sun was shining in the sky and the plants around only made the scenery more beautiful. One would enjoy this environment, but the three children just couldn't.

"It's eleven," the black haired boy noted, looking at the sun's position.

"Ahhhh! Where is he?" the blonde yelled across the field, causing the birds around to scatter.

"He got lost on 'the road of life'," the girl quoted her 'sensei'.

"Damn that road! I going to—," However, Naruto stopped in mid-sentence and leaned against a tree. "I going to rest," he mumbled and closed his eyes. The boy kept his eyes closed before he suddenly opened them. "I know! I just dreamed the most awesome thing!"

"You didn't even fall asleep," Kagome said, sweat dropping.

"Yeah, but I have an idea! What about we set some traps for him?"

"He's a Jōnin. Why bother trying?" Sasuke asked.

"Pfttt... And what a Jōnin! We're going to annoy the he'll outta him and he won't want to be our sensei anymore! And then, we'll get another sensei, a cooler one!"

"Annoy the hell out of him. . ." Kagome repeated, considering the idea. "But how?"

A smile appeared on the blonde's face. "If I can annoy a Hokage who, at the same time, is the person biologically programmed to love me, I can annoy this Jōnin, dattebayo!"

Then, a not so genial plan was shared between the three genin, and they all split in different directions, to set traps, which for them seemed so elaborate that an ex-ANBU will fall for them. Unfortunately, in reality, not even genin like them would fall for their traps.

-OoO-

Where are they? The Jōnin looked to the left and then to the right, but the genin were nowhere in sight.

"On, well," Kakashi mumbled as he sat down on the ground, took his favourite book, and started re-reading it.

"He just. . . He sat down!" The blonde was baffled by his total ignorance.

"Ano, Naruto, we don't have any traps there," the girl whispered from her place under a bush.

"What an idiot," the black haired boy mumbled.

"You believed in this plan, too," Naruto whispered back. "It's not my fault."

"I think he fell asleep," Kagome noted, watching Kakashi's form.

"Heh, what a Jōnin," the blonde laughed. "C'mon, Sasuke, go check."

Normally, the Uchiha would have protested at receiving a command for Naruto, an inferior ninja, however, he got up and left their safe nest. The other two, had gotten in a crutched position, more prepared to flee than to help their teammate.

The onyx-eyed boy touched the silver haired man's shoulder and watched with wide eyes as the body feel on its back.

"It's a. . ." he mumbled.

"A what?" Kagome got up and walked next to him, "It's a scarecrow," she said with a shaky voice, glancing around fearfully.

"But how?" The blonde asked. "We were watching him! How could he—"

"It doesn't matter," the girl argued, "he's out there! This . . . doesn't seem so funny anymore."

Looking around, the trees around them became taller and darker, sending shivers down their spines.

"No," Sasuke agreed, "it doesn't."

Looking at the ground, Kagome's attention was attracted by her shadow. But she wasn't. . . No, of course not, her hand was on her hip. So why did her shadow held a kunai in hand? And why was it directed towards . . . her?

"Ahhh!" She screamed, and somehow the shadow went back to normal, "The shadow...it had a kunai," she said upon seeing the other's looks.

"What is happening here?" Naruto asked, involuntarily stepping closer to them.

"Genjutsu?" The Uchiha guessed.

The trees now towered over them, and it seemed that they had evil expressions, all of them glaring at the trio. Their shadows were getting closer, so close as to almost touch them.

"Aree youu afraiiid?" Shadows mixed, grew into earth and right before them, a Kakashi had materialized, staring right through them with a shadowed black eye.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

The genin let out shrill cries and each for them looked around before they all ran in different directions.

The Jōnin, now left alone, scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

Maybe I exaggerated a little.

-OoO-

Kagome ran as fast as she could, wishing she could close her eyes as to not see the frightening trees around her. Every shadow turned as she passed by it and tried to reach for her.

To catch her and keep her like a caged bird.

Remember Kagome, rather than being a caged bird, you should become a nameless person.

I'll be back soon and we'll work on your chakra control.

'gome, father's not coming back.

She tripped over a twig and fell on her knees, memories flowing through her mind like an endless movie.

Shadows reaching for her, whispered promises and-

Darkness.

-OoO-

Naruto had to find a place to hide. Then, he'll be safe from all of the existent dangers.

He'll make a plan and reach home unharmed and perfectly fine, his mother will cook, his father will be home for dinner and everything will be fine.

But it was too good to be true. His feet ached. Twigs got in his ninja sandals. The trees looked at his accusingly, pointing fingers at him.

I can't believe the Hokage's child is the

Don't you know—his wife was one, too!

One day, this child will be the end of us.

He stopped. Ahead him, there was a tree whose shadow he couldn't see. A tree that looked at him with pity, not disgust.

Naruto stepped closer to that tree and—

A rope tightened around his left foot and pulled him upwards.

He had entered the tiger's cage.

-OoO-

Sasuke saw no purpose in running. If someone had followed him, the Uchiha would have known.

Out of nowhere, he had stepped on a puddle. But not an ordinary puddle.

To him, the water was stained red. The water wasn't water anymore. It was blood. Blood that flowed through veins, blood that true ninja shed.

He was drowning. Little by little, he felt how his feet got lost in an unknown abyss, where he couldn't control them anymore.

The blood was swallowing the Uchiha. And, just before it reached his neck, Sasuke looked at the sky.

The sky was blue.

-OoO-

Kagome . . . Sas— . . . Teme . . .

She tried to open her eyes, but it seemed as if they were glued to stay closed forever.

Wa . . . ke . . . up . . .—

"Hey! Wake up! Come on! Hellooooo!"

There was light. A little peak of the shinning sun and Kagome shut her eyes. She was tied to a stump. Moving her head a little, she saw that Sasuke and Naruto were tied, too. The latter trying hopelessly to untied himself, angered about the whole situation.

"What happened?" the Uchiha asked.

"We're tied, that's what happened!" The blonde shouted, wriggling.

Poof.

"You shouldn't be so loud, somebody might think that you have been kidnapped," Once again, the silver haired Jōnin had arrived in an uncannily way, at least that's how it seemed for the genin.

"You!" The girl glared at him.

"We are kidnapped," the onyx-eyed boy accused.

"Release us now before –"

"Now, now. . . Normally, I would have given you a survival test, but since you weren't at the meeting place, I made a change of plans."

"So you decided to kidnap us," Kagome decided.

"I didn't do almost anything. You all fell for your traps. You," he pointed towards Naruto, "ended up hanging upside down from tree—that's the oldest trick in the book. You," he looked at Sasuke, "fell in a hole dug into the ground. And you," he gestured at Kagome, "fainted due to unknown causes."

"She—ha ha— fainted—ha ha ha ha!" The blonde laughed, as Kagome's cheeks got redder, from anger.

"That is better than falling for an E-class trap set by you," Kakashi said.

There was silence. Not the kind of comfortable, enjoyable, pleasing silence, but the full of hatred, and silent insults type of silence.

"Since you have yet to introduce yourselves, this seems to be the perfect moment," he paused for a little. "That is if you don't want to spend your night like this."

"People will realize we're gone," the Uchiha said.

"If that's your choice," Kakashi turned and began walking towards the unknown.

"Wait!" Kagome quickly said. "Perhaps I could say a few words about myself."

Kakashi half turned. "What about the others?"

Naruto and Sasuke reluctantly agreed.

"My name's Higu–Kagome, I like . . . um, my family and history, I dislike babysitting my little sister. My hobbies are practicing, reading scrolls and annoying some clan members. My dream for the future is . . . I'm not sure yet."

"My name is Sasuke, my likes are none of your business, my dislikes are too many to be said, my hobbies include training and learning new jutsu, and my dream for the future is to be part of the Police."

"My name is Naruto, I like my mother's cooking, I dislike my father's complaining about paperwork, my hobby is fishing," he laughed and despite the situation, Kagome sweat dropped. "kidding. My hobby is creating ingenious plans and my dream is to follow my father and be a Hokage!"

Kakashi had noticed it since the very first moment. They have left their last names at home. They shirts didn't have the clan's symbol, and they had also failed to mention their last names. For a mysterious reason, the genin had listened to him.

"Tomorrow, at 7, on the bridge, Team 7 starts its missions."

Maybe in time, he'll call it Team Kakashi, not 7.

Maybe in time, he'll call them by their name, not 'genin', 'blonde', 'blue-eyed girl', 'black haired boy' or anything like that.

Maybe they'll stop remembering him about his teammates.

Maybe they'll be killed and be added to his list of people he had failed to save.

Maybe he'll be killed and they'll end up like him. Empty.

Maybe.

Maybe not.


AN:

I have been asked why Naruto's last name is 'Uzumaki' and not 'Namikaze'. Do not assume that I made a mistake. Uzumaki was a clan from Uzushiogakure, and had thinned out when the village disappeared. If Naruto's name would have been 'Namikaze', the Uzumaki clan would have died with Kushina. Therefore, the reason why his name is Uzumaki is to keep the clan alive.

Review and the fourth chapter will come faster.

NEXT: The Land of Waves . . . PART I.

~monochrome.julia