Naruto yawned and reached over to turn off his alarm. It hadn't rung yet.
He swung his legs over the side of the bed and looked through the open blinds.
The morning sunrays were just starting to pour over Konoha. The night stars and moon were still visible in the sky as light and dark fought over possession of the sky.
Naruto pulled his blinds up to let the scarce light in and proceeded to his closet.
He pulled out a black shirt and similarly black shorts, clean, simple and cheap, something needed for vigorous use and thrown away after. He couldn't afford to buy something fancy every time he trained.
But he suddenly remembered that he was to meet his team at 5. He traded the black outfit for his usual hideous orange jumpsuit with a grimace.
He shuffled to the washroom and emerged minutes later, still as sleepy as when he entered.
He opened his fridge and dug through the contents, finally coming up with a few pieces of bread and a half empty carton of milk. Kakashi's final advice from the day before rang through his head but he merely snorted and chugged down the milk, almost as if to spite it.
The first few morning bird chirps filled the silent air. Naruto took this as an alarm to pack up and reach his training area.
Before he left, he took one last look at the alarm clock. He shrugged and took his time to reach the designated training area.
Because it was only 4: 30.
Naruto shot an annoyed glare at Sakura, who cowered back. He sighed and rubbed his temples.
He left his apartment at 4:30, arrived before 5 and waited till now. Looking up at the position of the sun and the hustle bustle of the market district from his perch on a tree, he deemed that it was probably around 8 but it felt longer.
Sasuke watched the exchange and glared at Naruto. Naruto glared back.
What's that bastard glaring at me for? What does he think he's doing, standing up for his girlfriend?
Strangely, Kyuubi didn't utter a sound, probably due to the fact that he sensed Naruto's accumulating amount of anger.
The silence of the training area continued for a few minutes, before a cheerful "Yo," announced the arrival of the object of the team's anger.
Sakura, who had forgotten about Naruto's glare, jumped to her feet and shouted, "You're late," at the top of her lungs.
Kakashi merely smiled and flapped his hand. He opened his mouth to say something but the death glares from the male members of the team stopped him.
"Well, let's start now, shall we?"
Sasuke stood up and walked toward Kakashi and Sakura. Naruto jumped off the tree and walked towards them also.
"So what are we doing?" Naruto asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
Sakura and Sasuke turned to Kakashi.
The man in question merely smiled and pointed to a pair of bells attached to his waistband.
"A very simple task. All you have to do is steal these bells from me but you have a time limit." Kakashi walked towards a large rock and held up the alarm clock sitting on its surface. "You have to do it before noon and you passes."
Sasuke frowned. "What was the point of not eating breakfast then?"
Kakashi smirked. "To use against you, of course. If you do well, I'll reward you with lunch."
He pointed to a pair of bentos also sitting on the rock.
Sakura's stomach growled. She blushed under the gaze of all three males.
"Well, I see someone took my word seriously." Kakashi looked at Naruto and Sasuke.
Naruto returned Kakashi's gaze with a defiant glare.
"Are we going to waste our time standing here or get started?" Naruto asked grumpily.
Kakashi smirked. "Well, since everyone knows the rules and the point of the game, we'll start…now." His hand descended on the alarm.
Within a second, Sasuke and Sakura were out of sight.
Kakashi turned around to place the alarm back on the stone and turned back around, expecting to see everyone hiding.
Naruto, arms still crossed over his chest, continued to glare at the surprised Kakashi.
"You're a little…different."
"Did you just notice that?" Naruto asked with incredibility in his voice as he gestured at his hideous orange jumpsuit.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed as he realized that he was just made fun of.
"Let's not waste anymore of your brainpower, genius." Naruto grumbled sarcastically.
Kyuubi sighed. You're growing more and more like me. I'm proud. Now, it'll take a few more hundred millenniums for you to catch up to me in power.
Naruto frowned. He had also noticed that his attitude had grown more and more like Kyuubi's as he grew older. He had grown from an obnoxious, loud, brash boy into an obnoxious, sarcastic, quick-tempered teen, such a great combination in a teenager.
A glint of orange captured Naruto's attention. He watched as Kakashi withdrew a small orange novel from is weapon's pouch and opened it to a page.
"Take your time boy." Kakashi said and began to read.
Naruto's eyes narrowed and his anger flared. He was aware that at his supposed Academy level, he had no chance against an elite jounin but if he revealed his bloodline limit and his vast knowledge of higher ranked jutsus he had 'learned' from the Hokage, he might have a chance.
Naruto looked around the clearing, catching a patch of pink and a glint of a headband in the dense forest. He shook his head. There was no way he could reveal his bloodline without risking a catastrophe. What would the villagers think or do if they found out that the demon child possessed a bloodline that could wipe them all out so easily?
Naruto looked away. He couldn't reveal his bloodline. Not now, not ever if there were Konoha shinobis present.
Naruto groaned, cursing his quick-temper for dragging him into this position. He really didn't stand a chance and Kakashi was waiting.
With a mental shrug, he plunged his hand into his weapon pouch and retrieved three kunais. He ran forward to attack.
That was pathetic but no different from what I expected of you.
Naruto ignored Kyuubi and shed his clothes in the washroom. He sighed with bliss as the scalding water washed over the day's wounds.
Naruto panted as he faced Kakashi again. The man was engrossed in the orange little book and didn't even give Naruto another thought.
Naruto used the chance to attach an explosive tag to a kunai and launched it at Kakashi.
Kakashi sidestepped, right into Naruto's path. Naruto twirled the kunai and ran at Kakashi.
Kakashi swiped his legs under Naruto, hoping to kick his legs out from underneath him. Naruto grasped Kakashi's shoulders and flipped himself over using the momentum. As he descended to the ground, he used the chance to take a swipe at the bells.
Kakashi used his free hand and grasped Naruto's hand, using his falling momentum to propel the blonde into the forest.
Naruto flipped himself over and managed to catch a tree branch. He gritted his teeth at his failure to get a bell. He didn't realize how restrictive pretending to be a weak genin was.
He sensed Kakashi's chakra signature in Sasuke's direction. He jumped through the trees, skidding to a halt to watch the fight.
Naruto's eyes narrowed in anger. Kakashi had placed his dirty novel into his weapons pouch in his fight against Sasuke but he hadn't even given Naruto a side-glance.
Naruto smirked as an idea came into his head. Naruto bit his thumb, letting blood flow out. He pulled the blood into a thin whip and extended it towards Kakashi's waist, where the bells hung.
Kakashi was staring wide-eyed as Sasuke made several seals and did not notice the whip of blood snaking towards the bells. The thin whip of blood lashed around the bell but before it could yank it off, Kakashi leapt away.
Naruto turned his head to look. A giant fireball came hurling in the whip's position. With a quick flick of the wrist, the whip sailed back, looped with a small shiny bell at the end.
Naruto's eyes narrowed mischievously. Naruto quickly placed a genjutsu and surveyed his work with a proud grin. At Kakashi's waist dangled a pair of shiny gold bells. Naruto threw the retrieved bell up into the air and caught it with a smug grin. He escaped to a safer area, away from Kakashi and Sasuke's fight, where he spied a bell lying on the ground. As he reached forward, thinking that this was his lucky day, a rope tightened around his ankle and yanked him into a tree.
You gluttonous pig… Kyuubi disdainfully shook his head.
Naruto jumped in shock as the water became icy cold. He quickly turned the shower off and dried himself. As he passed the pile of dirty clothes, he reached into his orange jumpsuit pockets and pulled out the bell with a proud smirk.
Naruto sighed. The possibility that Kakashi discovered his bloodline was enormous today but thankfully, he didn't. Naruto inspected the bell. It was nothing special, just a bell.
Naruto carefully put it on the shelf next to the picture of Team Seven they had just taken that afternoon. Mementos were important in life. When one moment passed, you can never get it back and memories were fleeting.
Naruto fell onto his bed and fell asleep.
Kakashi wearily dug in his pocket for his house key. After dealing with those three brats all day and having to report to the Hokage afterward, it was finally time to get some much-needed rest.
As his hands brushed the bells, he noticed something that didn't belong. Kakashi quickly dispelled the genjutsu, leaving only one bell dangling from his waist.
Kakashi's eyes widened. Only one bell?! How was this possible? He couldn't have lost the bell, he would have heard it or felt it. Then…it could only have been when he was with his charges.
Kakashi smirked as he entered his apartment. One of them must have gotten the bell without him noticing. And if it really was one of them, then the big question was, which one was it?
One thought ran across his mind as he fell onto the bed.
This was going to be interesting…