After a while of waiting, teams began returning and jounin began showing up to pick up their teams. I made sure to give Asuma and Kurenai a wave when they picked up their teams, but after that, it was just our team left. Naruto had been running off to the restroom every once in a while and I cringed, knowing that it was probably my fault and decided to own up to it since there wasn't much else to do.

"U-Um, Naruto?"

"Hm? What's up, Takeru?"

"I'm sorry."

Naruto raised a brow. "Sorry? For what?"

"I-I-I forgot to throw out the milk this morning and… I think you drank it with your breakfast while I was sleeping."

He didn't say anything for a moment, just staring as what I said finally registered. "Oh! So that's what happened!" He laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "It's okay, Takeru. That's kind of my fault too. I should have checked the date before I drank it. Heh."

I nodded and went back to staring out the window. Well, now what? I settled for reading once more, enjoying the mystery behind why the main character was dancing around the subject of his past, despite having been having avid sex with the woman of his dreams. I mean really? If you love her so much, then there shouldn't be any secrets between you, I would think. Of course, I already knew the reason behind his hesitation, having already read this book twice through, and I knew that he was hiding the fact that he had killed his own brother in a fit of rage after he discovered that he had been having sex with his ex-girlfriend of two years that he was preparing to propose to. Before I could get any further though, Naruto began complaining.

"He's late!"

Naruto was poking his head out of the classroom and looking for our teacher, starting to get annoyed.

"Naruto, maybe you should just sit down?" I asked, not really sure what else to say.

We were all bored.

"I don't want to. How come our teacher's the only one that's late? I'm ready to roll, believe it! The other groups already met their new teachers and took off on some adventure or something, and Iruka-sensei's gone too."

I put my book away with a sigh, knowing that his probably wasn't going to end anytime soon.

"We're all bored, Naruto. If you really want, let's do something fun."

His eyes lit up. "Aw, yeah! I have just the thing!"

He hurried over to the chalkboard and picked up the eraser, grabbing the teacher's chair and moving it so that he could prop the eraser in the door way. I couldn't help but let a small smile on my face.

"Wait! Let's add this!" I tossed Naruto a pouch I kept on me for our usual pranks and he caught it and chuckled mischievously.

"You're the best, Takeru! This'll teach him for being late!"

He dumped some of the white powder onto the eraser and put it in the doorway, moving the chair back as Sasuke huffed.

"Our teacher's a jounin. An elite ninja. You think he'd fall for that?"

I tilted my head a bit with a little frown. "Hm, I guess not… but you never know. It could work."

I shrugged as Sasuke sighed and I heard footsteps heading our way, tapping Naruto to get his attention and pointing at the door. A gloved hand pushed the door aside and the eraser fell, landing on the head of a familiar ninja, as Naruto pointed and laughed.

"Ahaha! I got him! He totally fell for it!"

I blinked, cheeks red in embarrassment as I tried not to chuckle at Kakashi's surprised face. "S-Sorry, Kakashi. You, uh… might want to wash that out soon."

Kakashi gave me a glance and I saw his eye twitch, letting me know that he didn't appreciate the itching powder I had Naruto add to the eraser, and I shuffled nervously as he picked up the eraser and set it down with a hum.

"Hm, how can I put this? My first impression of this group…" He placed a hand on his chin in thought. "…you're a bunch of idiots."

I knew he'd say that. I thought, mentally face palming.

"Meet me up on the roof." Kakashi said, disappearing in a poof of smoke.

The three of us started walking up and Naruto grumbled the whole way, with his hands behind his head.

"Hm, he thinks he's so cool. Stupid sensei."

"N-Naruto, I don't think you should be saying that. Kakashi-sensei's really tough."

He gave me a look, as did Sasuke. "Huh? Do you know him, Takeru?"

I hesitantly nodded. "K-Kind of. He's one of the people who found me. He's lazy and sometimes mean, but I think he's a good guy."

Naruto pouted. "Yeah, well… He better not be a jerk or anything."

Once we'd reached the roof, we saw Kakashi leaning up against the railing and the three of us sat down on the steps.

"Alright. Why don't you introduce yourselves one at a time?"

I tilted my head in confusion. "W-What do we say?"

Kakashi shrugged, holding out his hands. "Things you like. Things you hate. Dreams for the future. Hobbies. Things like that." He crossed his arms again.

"Why don't you tell us stuff first?" Naruto said. "Before we talk, tell us about you, so we can see how it's supposed to work."

Kakashi pointed at himself. "Me? …I'm Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate…"

"Porn and kids." I muttered, earning a glare from him and chuckles from Naruto.

He cleared his throat. "My dreams for the future… I've never really thought about it."

Cause he's too busy being lazy. I thought, deciding to keep my mouth shut after the glare he gave me earlier.

"As for my hobbies… I have lots of hobbies. Okay. Your turn. You on the right, you first."

Naruto grinned, playing with his headband. "Believe it. I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I like instant ramen in a cup and I really like the ramen Iruka-sensei got me at the Ichiraku ramen shop. But I hate the three minutes you have to wait after you pour the water in the ramen cup. Oh! I like Takeru too! And his cooking is super good as long as there's no vegetables in it." Naruto gave me a grin and went back to speaking. "My hobby is eating different kinds of ramen and comparing them. And my future dream is to be the greatest Hokage! Then the whole village will stop disrespecting me and Takeru, and start treating me like I'm somebody! Somebody important!"

"Alright, next." Kakashi said, looking over at me.

"I-I'm Takeru Kobayashi. I like niboshi and Naruto. I don't like… people who are mean to others for stupid reasons. My hobbies are reading and helping Naruto with pranks and cooking too. And, um, my dream is to help people change."

"Last one." Kakashi sent his gaze to Sasuke.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan and destroy a certain someone."

I felt a small shiver race up my spine, but hid it pretty well, trying to ignore the way my scarred arm ached slightly as Kakashi decided to move on.

"Good. You're each unique and have your own ideas. We'll have our first mission tomorrow."

"What kind of mission are we going to have?" Naruto asked, bringing a hand up in a salute.

"It's a task that the four of us will do together."

"What, what, what, what, what?!" Naruto said, practically vibrating in his seat.

"A survival exercise." Kakashi said, surprising the group.

"Huh? Survival exercise?"

"So… like what we did at the academy?" I asked, a little confused myself.

"No. This is not like your previous training."

"So, uh… So, uh, what kind of training is it then?"

Kakashi chuckled, making me fidget uncomfortably.

"U-Um, why are you laughing?"

Kakashi waved a hand. "If I tell you the answer, you're not going to like it."

"Huh?"

Kakashi suddenly grew serious. "Of the twenty-seven graduates who just came here, only nine will actually be accepted as genin. The other eighteen will be weeded out and sent back to the academy. In other words, this is a make it or break it, pass-fail test. And the chance that you'll fail is at least 66%."

Everyone was shocked. Even me. I mean, after all that work Naruto and I did just to graduate, now we had to do yet another test? One that we had very little chance of succeeding in too? N-No way…

"See?" Kakashi continued. "Didn't I tell you, you wouldn't like it?"

"That's crazy!" Naruto shouted. "We worked hard to get here! Believe it! What was that graduation test for anyway?!"

"Oh, that. That was just to select candidates who might become genin. Or not."

"What?!"

I sighed, bowing my head. I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but seriously?

"That's how it is. I decide whether you pass or fail. Be at the designated training spot at 5am and bring your ninja gear."

Naruto was growling in frustration, but I could see the worry on his face and I bit my bottom lip in worry as well. Naruto's probably even more worried than me.

Kakashi got up and lifted a hand. "That's it. You're dismissed. Oh…" He glanced at us from over his shoulder. "Tomorrow you better skip breakfast, or else you'll puke."

As if things couldn't get any worse. I thought as he disappeared in a poof of smoke. How does he expect us to do survival training if we're starving the whole time? I got up and dusted myself off, silently glad that while Naruto was off playing with that kid yesterday, I had gotten us both some ninja gear. That didn't mean I was happy about this test though, and I could only hope that things turned out alright tomorrow morning. Though knowing my luck, it probably won't.

The next morning, I was exhausted. I was nervous and on edge the whole night and didn't sleep, having reoccurring nightmares of when I was scarred waking me up whenever I even got close. I was however able to get up on time and wake a sleepy Naruto up too, so we could be on time for this survival training. I wanted to make him breakfast, worried that he wouldn't be of much use without food, but I knew I should probably do as Kakashi said and just leave without anything. I didn't mind though. I wasn't really feeling up to making anything today and I was worried I might actually puke with how nervous I was. I still brought a pack of niboshi with me though. They help me keep calm in nervous situations.

By now though, I was too tired and had fallen asleep waiting for Kakashi to show up. 5am had long gone and the sun was already pretty high up in the sky from what I saw when I peeked out from my position leaned up against a tree with my head on Naruto's shoulder. He didn't seem to mind, after all, probably knowing that I hadn't gotten any sleep anyway. I only completely woke up when I heard someone approaching and perked up, catching Naruto's attention as well, as the three of us spotted Kakashi heading our way.

"Morning, everyone. Ready for your first day?"

"Hey, you're late!" Naruto shouted, standing up quickly as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

"Well, a black cat crossed my path, so I had to take the long way." He said, making up an excuse.

Naruto growled in frustration, not believing what he said for an instant, but Kakashi just ignored him and continued.

"Well…" He cleared his throat. "Let's get started."

He headed over to a post nearby and dug through the pack on his back, pulling out an alarm clock and setting it down.

"Here we go. It's set for noon." He then pulled out two bells. "You assignment is very simple. You just have to take these bells from me. That's all there is to it. If you can't get them by noon, you go without lunch.

"Wha?!" Naruto shouted, obviously displeased.

"You'll be tied to those posts and you'll watch while I eat my lunch in front of you." Kakashi said, gesturing to three posts.

While the others were worried about their lunch, I frowned, seeing a flaw in this supposed survival test.

"But… there's three of us. Why are there only two bells?" I asked, making Kakashi chuckle.

"Well that way, at least one of you will end up tied to a post and ultimately disqualified for failing to complete the mission. That one goes back to the academy. Then again, all three of you could flunk out too. You can use any weapons, including shuriken. If you're not prepared to kill me, you won't be able to take the bells."

He gave me a pointed look, and I swallowed nervously. Kill Kakashi? But… he's not bad… he's just trying to teach us something, right? Why would I have to kill him for something like that? Ugh, I really don't like this. Why put us in teams anyway, if we're just going to have to fight each other like this? Naruto laughed then, drawing my attention to him.

"Ahaha! Kill you? You couldn't even dodge that eraser!"

"Class clowns are usually the weakest links. You can safely ignore them. Lowest scores. Losers."

I looked between the two anxiously. Don't rile him up, Kakashi. I'd rather not have to be the one getting him out of a tough situation this time around.

"When I say start, you can begin."

Naruto didn't even wait before pulling out a kunai and charging at Kakashi. Before I even knew what happened, Kakashi swiftly brought Naruto's arm behind his head and held the kunai to the back of his neck.

"Don't be in such a hurry. I didn't say start yet."

I felt a shiver rack my body as I realized the seriousness of this test. He was fast. Too fast. There's no way any of us could possibly keep up. Maybe Sasuke, but even that seems like a bit of a stretch. I know better than to underestimate Kakashi, having been on the other side of that blade before, but I don't know if this test is even possible! Kakashi let Naruto go, and Sasuke and I took a few steps back.

"But, you came at me with the full intention of destroying me so, how can I say this? I'm actually starting to like you guys." Kakashi then got serious. "Get ready… And… Start!"

The three of us jumped off, each hiding in different areas. Sasuke was over in a tree to my left, his scent blowing towards me, whereas I was down wind of Kakashi and hiding up in a tree as well. Naruto, on the other hand…

"Ninja must know how to conceal their movements and hide effectively." Kakashi said, before spotting Naruto. "Huh?"

"You and me. Right now, fair and square! Let's go!"

Naruto, being the big idiot that he was, was standing right in front of Kakashi with his arms folded in front of him. Like he actually stands a chance… Boy, does he need a wakeup call.

"You know, compared to the others, you're a little bit… weird."

"Oh yeah? The only thing weird here is your haircut!"

I nearly face-faulted out of the tree at that, but caught the branch just in time and proceeded to get back up and watch as Naruto charged. Kakashi reached into the pouch at his side, causing Naruto to stop—cautious enough to know it could be a weapon— but what Kakashi pulled out nearly had me falling out of the tree once again.

"Shinobi battle techniques, part one. Taijutsu. The physical part."

Icha Icha Paradise?! You've got to be kidding me!

"What the—" Even Naruto was shocked.

"What are you waiting for? Make your move." Kakashi said.

"But—I mean—Why are you reading that book?"

"Why? To find out what happens in the story, of course. Don't let it bother you. With your weak attacks, it doesn't really matter if I'm reading or… whatever."

That got Naruto extremely frustrated and I mentally sighed at how easily riled up he was. I better go stop him before he does something stupid. Getting up as Naruto charged again, I jumped out from my spot in the tree and landed a bit in front of Naruto, sticking my foot out so I tripped him before he could get close to Kakashi.

"Oof!" Naruto lifted his face out of the dirt and glared at me. "Hey, Takeru! What was that for?! I was just about to—"

I took my foot and shoved his face back into the dirt, giving Kakashi a small nervous smile.

"S-Sorry. I'll just, uh, be borrowing him for a minute."

"Okay?"

I reached down and picked Naruto up from off the ground by his collar, walking back into the forest with him shouting curses at me the whole way. Once into the forest a ways, I quickly shut him up and moved to another point, so as to keep our position hidden.

"Naruto, you idiot!" I quietly scolded. "Did you really think you could do anything to Kakashi?!"

He huffed. "I was doing just fine, Takeru!"

I dragged a hand down my face, before kneeling in front of Naruto seriously. "Naruto, how do you and I do pranks?"

"Huh? What does that have to do with—"

"Just… answer." I grumbled.

He frowned a bit. "Well, I usually come up with the prank and you do all the technical stuff like the escape routes and how to do the most damage and stuff."

I nodded. "Right. And why do we do it that way?"

"So we won't get caught."

"Yup, so how about we do that now, huh? I-I know you want to just charge in there and beat him up with your shadow clones for making fun of you, b-b-but in a way, he's right."

"Huh?!"

I shook my head. "We can't beat him, Naruto. It's like Sasuke said, h-he's an elite ninja. You saw how quickly he moved before? And that book he took out, that's him telling us t-that we're not a threat. T-That there's nothing we can do."

"But we have to do something, Takeru! If not, we'll have to go back to the academy!"

"I-I know. That's why I think I have an idea, but I can't do it alone."

Naruto smirked. "That's why you have me, right?"

I nodded, but gave Naruto a worried look. "Y-You're not going to like this, b-but we might need Sasuke's help too."

I thought I picked up a noise then and quickly tapped the floor a few times, letting Naruto know something was up and to do a substitution. We both did and just in time too, the noise I thought I heard had actually been Kakashi, so I was glad we were able to get away. As we hurried off though, I gave Naruto a heads up.

"Naruto, I-I'm going to try and convince Sasuke to help, can you distract Kakashi?"

He gave me a thumbs up. "You bet. Just leave it to me."

He hurried off one way as I used my nose to find Sasuke's scent. It wasn't hard, him obviously not used too hiding downwind from people, and I soon found him under a bush. Being as silent as I could to not give our positions away, I came up beside him and tried not to make a sound as he slipped a kunai up to my face.

"You… How did you find me?"

"Y-You're upwind." I stuttered out, eying the blade mere centimeters from my eye.

He slowly put it away and turned to see Naruto distracting Kakashi. "What do you want? Find your own place to hide, coward."

I winced at the name, but bit my lip, knowing that I had to at least try to get Sasuke to help.

"W-We need your help." I said, trying to sound as appeasing as I could. "I have a plan on how we can get a bell, b-but you're the only one here who's fast enough."

"Che, me? Work with you and that idiot?"

"I-It's the only way!" I whispered seriously. "You said so yourself, he's an elite. Do you really think one genin on his own can beat him? H-He doesn't even consider us a threat!"

Sasuke let out a sharp breath from him nose, mockingly. "He will when I'm through with him."

Sasuke then got up and left, leaving me worried about how we were going to pull this off without him. The only thing I could possibly do is a clone, but I-I really don't think I'm quick enough. I'll have to try something though. I looked over to see if Naruto was still distracting Kakashi, only to spot him hanging upside-down in a tree and Kakashi mocking him from below as he struggled.

"A ninja must see through deception."

"I… get… it… gah!"

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "I'm telling you this, because you don't get it. You think you get it, which is not the same as actually getting it. Get it?"

Suddenly, kunai flew out of nowhere and he was stabbed. My heart stopped for a moment, but his body poofed into a log and I relaxed a bit. Not much though, because I knew that since Kakashi wasn't in front of Naruto, he must be elsewhere. I heard the slightest hint of a breath behind me and quickly did a flip out of the tree, dodging the kunai aimed my way.

"Oh? You heard me?" Kakashi said, sounding a bit surprised.

I landed out in the open with a small skid, chuckling a little. "S-Sort of."

I need to get Naruto down and start with the plan. I pulled out a shuriken and threw it where I had been, a lame attempt to guessing where Kakashi was, but it did what it was supposed to do and landed with a 'thunk' in the tree before a little ball attached to it exploded with a bunch of smoke. Using that as my cover, I hid in the fog and hurried towards where Naruto was, only for my path to be blocked by a grinning Kakashi.

"You're kind of predictable, Takeru. Your caring for others before yourself could almost be considered a fault."

I smiled. "T-Too bad, Kakashi. Naruto isn't who I was aiming for."

"Hm?"

"Now!"

A bunch of Narutos came out of nowhere and grabbed onto Kakashi, who sighed.

"The same trick isn't going to work twice on me."

I disappeared in a puff of smoke as well, to reveal a grinning Naruto.

"That's okay, Kakashi sensei! Takeru knew that already."

A huge shuriken came out of nowhere, making Kakashi have to duck to the ground as the Naruto clones released him or poofed away, but what he didn't see, was me sliding along the grass that Naruto had wet earlier and reaching towards one of the bells until it was nearly too late. My fingers just barely wrapped around the string and pulled one bell off, but Kakashi spotted me and I knew I was in trouble when he reached around and went to stab me with a kunai.

My eyes widened and my breathing shortened as the sight of the blade approached, flashbacks from my encounter in the forest streaking across my vision and I froze. I blanked out and all I could see what that kunai heading for me. That man shouting 'monster' in the background and fire dancing in my eyes. I must have stopped breathing at some point, because it felt like my body was struggling with something. Like there wasn't enough air in the world to drag me out of whatever hole I'd fallen into. Then, everything came flooding back with one shout.

"Takeru!"

Naruto's voice snapped me out of it and I twisted, dodging the kunai and slipping under Kakashi as he fell, bringing a leg up and kicking him harshly in the back. He disappeared with a poor of smoke, a log being thrown up in his place, but I was still in a state of panic. I didn't know why I froze or what had happened. I still couldn't get a full breath and was struggling to remember what I was doing. Where I was, who I was with. I needed a distraction and I needed one now.

I gripped the bell in my palm tightly and bolted into the forest, running for the highest tree and climbing as high as I could go, deaf to the worried calls of Naruto calling out for me. The coolness of the bell in my palm was the only thing that registered to me in that moment. N-N-Need to calm down. N-Need to think. I pulled out a niboshi from my pocket and chewed on it, trying to focus. What was I doing? A-A plan to get the bells, right? F-For the test. Right, the test. I-I-I need to find Naruto. Using that as my distraction, I shakily climbed down and began searching. I had gotten a ways away from the area where we were, but soon found my way back and spotted something I didn't expect. Sasuke was buried up to his head in dirt in front of me.

"S-Sasuke?"

He glared. "Shut up."

I don't know why, but seeing him the way he was helped me shove everything that just happened aside and I switched focus.

"Do you, um, w-want help?"

His glare deepened. "I don't need your help."

"O-Oh…" We both grew silent, but I made a clone and wandered over to Sasuke, kneeling down and looking at him. "I-I'll leave a clone, if you do. And, um… asking f-for help w-won't make you any less of a… man…"

Well, that sounded stupid… I headed off though, determined to find Naruto and try again for another bell, hoping that this time, I wouldn't freeze up like I did. I paused in my step, flashing back to that moment, before shaking it off; the light tinkering of the bell in my hand keeping my mind on track. Finally, I caught up with Naruto's scent, but found it odd that it wasn't moving. Just as I peeked my head out of the trees, the alarm clock went off and I just quietly walked out, head bowed.

Oh man. Naruto's going to hate me. Because I ran off with the bell, he probably got caught and tied to the post like this. I'm so stupid. W-Why did I freeze like that? I gripped the bell tighter in my hand as I approached the tied up Naruto and Kakashi, and it wasn't long before I felt my clone disappear and Sasuke came out from the trees as well. And he's not happy either. Great… Kakashi reached into his backpack and pulled out two bento boxes, setting them down on the grass in front of Naruto, Sasuke and I as our stomachs growled hungrily.

"Uh-oh, stomachs growling, huh?" Kakashi said, arms folded over his chest. "That's too bad. Oh, by the way, about this exercise? Well, I've decided, I won't send any of you back to the academy."

Needless to say, I was pleasantly shocked as were the others. W-We passed? But how?

"Then, then, that means all three of us—I mean, all three of us—"

"Yes." Kakashi grinned. "All three of you are being dropped from the program. Permanently."

My face fell as did Naruto's and even Sasuke seemed to be unhappy with what Kakashi said. I-Is it my fault? Because I froze and ran away, d-did I fail us all?

"Drop us from the program?!" Naruto shouted, swinging his feet in outrage. "That means we can never become ninja! You said if we couldn't take the bells, then we would be sent back to the academy! You can't just change your mind and kick us out! Why would you do that?!"

"Because you don't think like ninja. You think like little kids. Like brats."

Sasuke suddenly stood up and charged, but Kakashi easily pinned him to the ground, sitting on his back with a foot on his head.

"You think it's all about you. You don't know what it means to be a ninja! You think it' a game, huh? Takeru is probably the only one who knew that being a ninja wasn't all about fun."

I winced, looking down. I knew from the beginning. Being a ninja means killing people. Actually harming them. Kakashi continued, ignoring all of our inner turmoil.

"Why do you think we put you on squads? Did you consider that question for one moment? I mean, you never realized what this exercise is all about. Not even close."

"What it's about?" Naruto questioned, and that's when it clicked.

"Yes. That's what determines whether you pass or fail."

I wondered that before… Why put us on squads if we were just going to have to fight one another? Is this just another test for something? But if it is, what is Kakashi trying to teach us?

"Che, use your head. Three people on a squad. Why do you think we would do that?"

Naruto was beginning to get frustrated. "Ah! How are we supposed to know why you picked three people?! We didn't make the rules!"

I frowned slightly. Could it be…?

"It's so basic. Teamwork! It's too late now, but if all three of you had come at me, you might have been able to take them. Well, anyway, it's over." Kakashi said, looking fed up with us, but I wanted to confirm something.

I was right… "U-Um, then the reason there were only two bells… that was to make us fight?"

"Exactly. I purposely pitted you against each other."

"Huh?!" Naruto shouted, still confused.

"I wanted to see if you could overcome that and put the squad ahead of yourselves. A genin should have a natural feel for teamwork. But you, it never even crossed your mind. Naruto! You do everything on your own, everything. And you, Sasuke, thought the others were so far beneath you, they were worthless. Arrogance. Takeru, you were a bit closer to the right track."

I fidgeted, worried as eyes went to me.

"You understood right away that it would be impossible to defeat me on your own and took it upon yourself to get help. That's where you were right, however, when you went to ask for Sasuke's help, you could have tried harder to gain his favor. Your lack of self-confidence prevented that. Running off as well, was the absolute worse decision you could have made in this exercise. You abandoned your teammates and left them to try an attempt on their own. If this were a real mission, you would have gotten them killed."

I felt tears pricking the corner of my eyes, knowing that he was right. That I was a horrible person for running off and abandoning Naruto. I didn't have control over it though. One minute I saw that kunai and the next I was in a panic. My body moved on its own before I even knew what was going on. But that was just an excuse, and I knew it. If I really wanted to become a ninja, I needed to get over that fear and push through it. Running should have been the last thing I did.

"Ninja missions are carried out in squads." Kakashi continued. "Of course, you need individual skills, but teamwork is the most essential element. Every shinobi understands this. When individuals put themselves above the squad, this can lead to failure and death. For example…" He pulled out a kunai from his pouch and held it to Sasuke's throat. "Takeru, kill Naruto now, or Sasuke dies!"

My eyes widened and I looked over at Naruto and back at Sasuke, knowing that I couldn't do such a thing. I couldn't allow either one to die, let alone, kill one of them myself.

"That's what happens on a mission." Kakashi said, pulling the kunai away from Sasuke's neck and spinning it around his finger. "The enemy takes a hostage and you've got an impossible choice, and someone ends up dead." Kakashi put the kunai away and stood, walking over to a large black stone nearby. "On every mission, your life is on the line. Did you look at this stone? The names engraved on it? They are all ninja, who are all honored as heroes in our village."

"That's it! That's it! That's it!" Naruto said loudly. "Now I know! I've decided that I'm going to have my name engraved on that stone! I'm not going to live and die for nothing like a dog! I'm going to be a hero! A hero!"

I bit my bottom lip, knowing that the names on that stone weren't there just because they were heroic. It was a memorial stone, one I had come across a while ago while wandering the village. The people on that stone, were killed in action. Dead.

"They are… a special kind of hero." Kakashi said, but Naruto only got more excited.

"Huh? What kind of heroes are they? Come on, tell us!"

Kakashi was silent.

"Well, well?"

"They're all K.I.A."

"Oh. That sounds real cool."

I shook my head, catching Naruto's attention. "T-They're killed in action, Naruto. They're people who d-died."

Naruto realized his mistake and grew solemn, Kakashi continuing to speak.

"This is a memorial stone. The names of my closest friends are engraved here."

"Y-Your old friend too?" I questioned, making Kakashi look at me from over his shoulder briefly.

"Yes. Him too…" He gave the stone one last look, before turning around. "Alright, I'm going to give you one more chance. But I'm going to make it much harder on you. You'll have three hours to get a bell. Eat lunch now to build up strength, but Naruto doesn't get any. It's your punishment for breaking the rules and trying to eat by yourself. And if anyone tries to feed him, that person will immediately fail. I make the rules. You follow them. Got it?"

He held his hand out towards me, and I handed him the bell I still had, surprising Sasuke. Kakashi disappeared then, in a poof of smoke and Sasuke took his eyes off me, sat back and started eating. I couldn't do it though. I just stared at the food before me and didn't touch it. I'm horrible. Abandoning people just because of some fear… I don't deserve to eat this. I should be the one tied to that post… not Naruto… Naruto's stomach growled then, and he put on a tough guy act.

"This is no big deal! I can go without eating for days! For weeks! Believe it! This is no big deal!" His stomach growled again, making him loose his confidence. "No problem…"

Oddly enough, before I could offer Naruto my food, Sasuke offered his.

"Here."

"Huh? But what about what Kakashi said?" Naruto questioned.

"Kakashi's gone. We need to get those bells as a team. If you're hungry, you'll be week and ineffective. That hurts the team and jeopardizes the mission."

"Uh…"

I held out my bento too, head bowed. "Take mine. I don't deserve it anyway, after running off…"

"That's not true!" Naruto shouted, shocking me. "You were just scared, right? I get it! I mean, you know this Kakashi guy better than I do, so you know what he's capable of, right? I'd probably be pretty scared too! Besides, you've… been through some rough times too. So… So being afraid is nothing to worry about! You just have to get stronger and braver, right?"

I nodded, a small smile on my face as I glanced at my scarred arm. "O-Okay, b-b-but you still need to eat. I-I actually brought some snacks with me so… it's okay if you eat my bento."

"Cool! B-But, uh, I can't move my hands, Takeru." He chuckled nervously. "You're going to have to feed me."

"Hurry up." Sasuke said. "He could come back at any minute."

I nodded and used the chopsticks to feed Naruto some of the rice from the bento. Just then though, smoke appeared and the wind blew harshly as Kakashi showed himself.

"You! You broke the rules! I hope you're ready for the punishment!" Kakashi did some hand signs and dark clouds gathered, sparking with lightning and thunder. "Any last words?"

"B-But you said…" I started off.

"Yes?"

"You said that there were three of us!" Naruto shouted for me. "That's what you said! And that's why… Takeru and…"

Sasuke noticed Naruto losing his confidence and picked up for him. "We're all on this squad and we're all in it together!"

I nodded, trying to gather some courage. "Y-Yeah! We gave our lunch to him b-because we're a team! T-The three of us are one!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!" Naruto shouted, squirming. "Believe it! That's right!"

"The three of you are one? That's your excuse?!" Kakashi asked, bending over to glare at us. "Hm, you pass."

"W-What?"

"Huh?"

"You… pass." Kakashi repeated, but I still couldn't believe it.

"I-I don't understand…" I muttered. "How?"

"You're the first squad that ever succeeded." Kakashi said as the dark clouds slowly went away. "The others did exactly what I said and fell into every trap. They couldn't think for themselves. A ninja must see through deception. In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum. That's true, but… those who abandon their friends are worse than scum."

My heart fell into my stomach at those words, remembering what Kakashi had said earlier about me abandoning my teammates, and all of my confidence vanished. Worse that scum? …I'm… worse?

"He's, uh… you know. He's kinda cool." Naruto said, oblivious to my inner turmoil.

"The exercise is over. Everyone passes! Squad seven starts its first mission tomorrow!" Kakashi said, giving us a thumbs up.

"I did it! I did it! Believe it! I'm a ninja! Ninja! Ninja!"

Kakashi turned. "Let's go home."

Sasuke got up and followed him, whereas I helped Naruto get out of the ropes he was in, allowing him to hurry after Kakashi. I wasn't nearly as excited though. Those last words Kakashi said made me sick to my stomach. Worse that scum… Monster… Disgusting… I sniffled, wiping the tears that threatened to pool over as I walked a ways behind everyone else. I shouldn't have passed with them. Little did I know, Kakashi had spotted me and sent the others on ahead as he backtracked.

"You okay, Takeru?"

I looked up at him and flinched back, worried that he was back to scold me for what I did.

"Hey, there." He said calmly, reaching out slowly. "What's going on?"

"N-No. I-I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean t-to run off! P-Please don't hurt me." I whimpered, shrinking into myself as Kakashi approached me in worry.

"Takeru, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to know what's wrong."

"W-Why?! Why did you pass me?!" I asked, confusion mixing with my panicked state. "I-I ran away! I abandoned Naruto! I-I'm worse than scum!"

Kakashi knelt down before me. "Takeru, I passed you because you are the one who tried to get them working together. I believe you can help bring this team closer together as a whole. You're smart and I think you could bring a lot to this team."

"B-But I left him there! H-H-He would've died if this were a mission!"

"But it wasn't, Takeru." Kakashi said, surprising me. "This wasn't a real mission and I know you've been through some rough patches in your life. Whatever happened to you has obviously had a great effect on you. But now that I know how you would react in that sort of situation, I can help you prepare for the next one. I can help you become strong enough not to give in to your fears."

I swallowed thickly, biting my bottom lip in worry. "Y-You can make it stop?"

He smiled, placing a hand on my head. "I can certainly try, but you have to be willing to try too. If it's all one sided, then we won't be able to accomplish much of anything."

"O-Okay." I muttered quietly. "Sorry."

"It's alright. Just cheer up, okay? I'll even buy you some dango, since I've heard you like it."

"R-Really?"

He chuckled at my renewed excitement. "Sure."

I smiled a little and followed him as we caught up with the others, giving me some time to think over what he'd told me. Maybe he's right. Maybe… Maybe I can get strong enough to overcome this fear. And… maybe I can be the one to help Naruto. I eyed the rambunctious blonde as he skipped around in excitement about the prospect of food. I can help him and… and I can finally start making a difference.