Rain's Truth (Rain Part I) 6- Fail

Haruno-san and Sasuke get there and we sit down, stomachs grumbling. Even though I ate those chips earlier, I'm still hungry!

"Oh my, listen to all the little stomachs growl. By the way, you four. I have an announcement, about this exercise. None of you need to worry any more about being sent back to the academy." So does that mean we all passed? Even though no one got a bell?

"Yea! This rocks! It means all three of us…!"

"Are hopeless." What?! Sasuke grabs my shoulder suddenly, probably sensing the murderous intent in my glare. "More schooling would be pointless. None of you will ever be Shinobi!"

"What do you mean give up?! Give me a break! Okay, so maybe none of us got our hands on one of your stupid bells! But why the heck should we quit over that?!"

"Because, not one of you has what it takes." I grab Sasuke's shoulder, to stop him, but he gets up and attacks Kakashi anyways. Dust flies. "What you are is a group of spoiled brats." The dust clears, showing that Kakashi has pinned Sasuke to the ground with one foot on the back of his head.

"Don't step on Sasuke! Get off of him!"

"Are you trying to make fun of the Shinobi with your behavior? Well, are you? Did you even stop to wonder for one minute why you were divided into teams?"

"Excuse me?" I get up and lean on one of the stumps.

"Obviously not. Though it looks like you figured out part of it, Izuri. But you still missed the point of the exercise."

"It had a point?!"

"Of course. And that point determines whether or not you would succeed."

"But you haven't explained it to us."

"I don't believe this."

"Aw come on! Tell us already!"

"It's Teamwork." I look up when I hear running.

"Kiro-kun!"

"Neji-kun, what's up?" He motions for me to come over and I run to see what's going on.

"It's Hiro. Have you seen him?"

"No. I've been here all day. What happened?" Hiro is like an older brother to me.

"He's missing. Hiyashi-sama has half the clan out looking for him."

"Since when?"

"No one knows. We've been searching since dawn. He didn't show up for breakfast, and he wasn't in his room. Not even the ANBU know where he is. And he wasn't expected for any missions anytime soon."

"Once I'm dismissed here, I'll help look."

"What about your place?"

"I've made arrangements with Uchiha." Neji nods slowly.

"See you later then."

"Hey, you'll let me know if…"

"Yea. Everyone knows that you and he have been like brothers since you got here. Someone will let you know if something comes up."

"Thanks." Neji runs off and I shake my head. I can't let that distract me. But…Hiro-kun…I hope nothing bad happened to him. I walk back to the stumps and sit down. Kakashi has released Sasuke and disappeared. "What did I miss?"

"We have a second chance after lunch. And we're not allowed to give any food to Naruto." I nod slowly and pick up a bento.

"What did Neji want?" I stare at the bento.

"Hiro-kun is missing." Sasuke stares at me, knowing perfectly well who I'm talking about.

"Who?"

"Hyuuga Hiro. When…the Hyuuga took me in…he's practically my big brother. Neji wanted to know if I'd seen him around today."

"How long has he been missing?"

"He was at supper last night, but was gone this morning. Sometime in the night, I'd guess."

"Do you need to help look for him?"

"Not yet. So, we need to work together to get those bells right?" They nod. "Then here." I pick up a bite of food and shove it in Uzumaki's mouth.

"Kiro-kun! Sensei said not to give him any!"

"Haruno-san. Think about it. If we're working together from here on, if one is hungry, it will hinder all of us. At that point, there would be no point in even trying." Sasuke nods and holds up his bento.

"Here." Haruno-san debates for a moment before offering hers as well.

"Thanks." Something explodes behind me and I turn, dropping the lunch and reaching for my scroll.

"You…" Haruno-san flinches, Uzumaki almost screams, Sasuke grabs a kunai and gets on the defensive, and I enlarge my scroll, ready to use it. "Pass!"

"We pass? But why? You just said…"

"You four have just taken a giant step forward."

"How?"

"Up till now, all any of you have done is listen unquestioningly to everything I say, like mindless little drones. A true Shinobi seeks for the hidden meanings within hidden meanings. In a ninja's world, those who violate the rules and fail to follow orders are lower than garbage. However, those who do not care for and support their fellows are even lower than that." That makes sense. I remember Hiro telling me that once. "This exercise is now concluded. You all pass. That's all for today, Team 7. Your duties will commence tomorrow!!" Sasuke and Haruno-san pick up their bags and we all start walking.

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

"Let's go home!"

"Hey guys! I'm still tied up here! Guys?!" We keep walking.

"Are you going to help look for him?" I nod.

"Yea. I'll see you around." I run off, searching.