I woke in a muted darkness. When i pulled back the curtains, the dark sky began to fade to blue, the color reminding me of Sasuke. I let the cloth fall from my grip and the curtains closed once again.

My morning routine was simple; I shower, dress, and eat. Kakashi-sensei had told us not to eat, because we'd throw up. However, I have never thrown up before and I doubt I would start today. Whatever this training was, I've been through worse.

The sky was a smooth violet, not a cloud in sight. Naruto approached the meeting place in a zombie-form. His eyes were closed and his only method of direction was holding an arm on front of him to warn him of oncoming objects. It was a wonder he made it here at all. Sasuke approached from the opposite direction of me, and with each step closer to him my stomach twisted. Every time I saw him I was reminded of those words.

Get away from me! I hate you!

The blend of colors distracted me as hours flew by. I merely gazed above me, my mouth lolling open lazily. Eventually the sun was high enough to hurt my eyes, and I tore away. How many hours have passed?

"YOU'RE LATE!" Naruto shouted, leaping to his feet. I turned to see Kakashi smiling, well he seemed to be. I couldn't tell for sure, only his right eye was visible.

"Sorry i'm late, a black cat crossed my path…"

"Yeah, right" I scoffed.

"Well, let's get started," he said, setting an alarm clock. I cocked my head to the side, he brought his alarm clock? "You're assignment is simple. Take these bells from me by noon. If you fail, you get tied to a post and don't get to have lunch"

A loud growl came from Naruto and Sasuke's stomachs at the mention of food. They looked miserable. They turned their heads slowly towards me, i had been caught. "If you payed attention, Kakashi-sensei didn't require us to miss breakfast. He just warned that we'd puke if we did." I smiled, proud of my statement.

"So, Kakashi-sensei, why are there only two bells?" I changed the subject in attempt to stop the continuous glares from my teammates.

"It's simple. Only two of you, at most, can pass. The one without a bell will fail and have to go back to the academy." Whoa, harsh.

"I'm not going to let that happen!" Naruto charged with his kunai. Kakashi-sensei easily caught him.

"I didn't say start yet, but you came at me with the intention of killing me. So, how can I put it, i'm starting to like you guys… Get ready, start!" Kakashi announced, we all jumped away to hide.

I hid in a tree, cleverly perched behind a leafy branch. Unfortunately, Naruto hadn't been so smart.

"You and me, right here, right now!" Naruto challenged, standing right out in the open. What. An. Idiot.

I watched the two idiots tango without interest. Maybe Naruto will keep him distracted and I can just take a bell without fighting him. Naruto got caught trying to pick up a bell that Kakashi "accidentally" dropped. Sasuke took the chance to attack with shuriken. Too bad for him, it was a replacement. I could hear Sasuke leave his position and flee. Kakashi would surely chase him. I leapt down from the tree when the coast was clear. Naruto struggled with the rope like a fish out of water.

"Aika!" he stopped. Whether he was embarrassed or relieved, I didn't care.

Snake-Dragon-Tiger

I extended my arm, a single thread of flame shooting across the field and clutching the bell. I snapped it back like a whip and caught the bell, which was unharmed by my flame thread.

"Whoa! How did you do that?" Naruto wiggled, excited about my jutsu.

"I used a jutsu called Flame Thread. It's a jutsu i made up with the help of an old friend. There's no way you could learn it." I said, slipping the bell in my pocket. "See ya," I waved, heading for the forest. He yelled after me, and I couldn't help but smirked. Serves him right. But then I stopped. I made a promise. "Hey, Naruto! What's sharp, cuts rope, and is in your pocket?"

"Huh?" I was gone.

I hummed to myself, skipping over stones and fallen logs. Then I came to a clearing. And for the centerpiece…

"Sasuke?" on the ground, no, in the ground was Sasuke. I was going to have fun with this. I knelt next to him, smirking. He huffed.

"Can you just get me out of here?" he grumbled, looking away from me.

"The great Sasuke Uchiha, oh let me think about it… okay" he seemed surprised by my response. I reached out and took a firm grip on his hair, tugging upwards.

"Ow!" he glared at me. "I meant with a jutsu, loser!"

"Loser?" I pulled out my bell, and his eyes widened.

"You- how did you-?!"

"It was easy. While Kakashi was preoccupied with you, I took the bell. Thanks. I guess I can let you out-" I was about to put away my bell, when Kakashi appeared. I smirked, "did you notice, Kakashi?" I held up my bell.

"You've done well… you're dismissed. The lunches are by the KIA rock" he "smiled" and took out a kunai.

"What are-" he charged forwards, and I realized that I wasn't his target. I took out a kunai and blocked his attack. We leapt back from the impact.

"You do realize that by interfering after being dismissed, you could be failed at my will." Kakashi warned.

"You do realize he's STUCK IN THE GROUND! You can't attack him when he's like this!"

"This is a survival test. Do you think an enemy would free him in order to fight him fairly: no. An enemy would kill him on the spot, without hesitation."

"But… he's my teammate! Teammates help eachother, that's why we're in squads! There's no point in being a ninja if your teammates are killed while you just watch!"

"…Interesting. Let's see how you feel when you're in real danger" and then, he replaced his kunai with jutsu.