Bell Test

Normal Monologue

Thoughts

Inner Sakura

Jutsu


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto


To reply to some comments:

JovialShogun- Yeah, they do have the worst team work in the series, which is exactly why I wanted to keep them the same. Plus the fact that they are main characters in the story! If I separated them all, it would be a lot harder to do what I plan. I just hope I made the right choice.

Javie25- No sorry necessary; the fact that you reviewed alone is great! Even with your busy lifestyle, it made me smile to see you say that you took some of your free time to read my story. That's awesome. Thanks a ton.

IDontNeedToReply – Sorry this is about…3 chapters late, but I made a note to answer your question and then forgot! So anyway, here it is. Canon is when something in a series is painfully obvious that it will happen. Such as the pairings in Inuyasha for example. The pairing for Miroku and Sango was totally obvious and final the second they met unlike Kagome and Inuyasha, where Kikyo was still a factor, making a little mystery in the whole thing. Hope that helps; it was the only totally obvious one I could think of…besides Naruto and Sakura of course!! Haha,

To all that have reviewed in the past: wind797, stigbernard, Serika2001, sora tsuiki, tetsunosuke12, IDontNeedToReply, king of st1ng, aej1085, Born From a NaruSaku Lemon, dbzgtfan2004, Arch Zell, narusakufan36, sasuke-luvs-naruto, Javie25, YourFavouitePlushie, Naruto's biggest fan, ShadowWolf Princess24, Naruoni, Fury Cutter, KMT, Zettai Eniguma, 9Tailed Demon, skopde, and JovialShogun.

And even if you didn't review, I thank you for simply reading it! I have a hope to one day become an author and FanFiction has really been a great way for me to practice, and your hits/reviews help it all the more. THANK YOU!!


Bell Test—

7 AM—

Sasuke and Sakura groaned in unison. The pair had been standing there for an hour now and still no Kakashi. Hunger had washed over them about 40 minutes ago, and right now, the leaves on the trees were starting to look good.

Suddenly, a concentrated wind picked up in the center of the field. Both genin glanced up; had their sensei finally come?

But when the whirling leaves cleared, it was Naruto that stood there, two breakfast bagels in hand.

"You're an hour late, dobe.", Sasuke muttered. Naruto shook his finger in a scolding way.

"Now now, is the way to talk to someone who brought you breakfast?", he said sarcastically.

"We're not supposed to eat, remember?", Sasuke shot. Naruto shrugged.

"He also told me to be here at 6, and yet here I am at 7.", he said, handing them each a bagel. "Aren't I just the little delinquent today?"

Sakura and Sasuke exchanged a glance and with a shrug, ate the bagel Naruto had brought them. Said blonde hopped up into a low tree branch, leaning against the trunk and closing his eyes. Sasuke glanced up at him and sighed.

"I still don't like you.", he commented, though the retort didn't sound 100 like it usually did. Naruto smirked.

"Right back atcha.", he replied, falling into a sleep instantly. Sakura watched him curiously.

"How does he do that?", she wondered. But before she could think any farther, a burst of smoke turned their attention away from the snoozing blonde.

"Good morning. Sorry I'm late; I had to help a little old lady across the street.", Kakashi said, his mask crinkling with a smile.

"Bull shit.", Naruto muttered from his position in the tree. Kakashi glanced up at the boy, his eye narrowing.

"Yes, well…today is your final test and your final chance to actually become true genin and shinobi of the Leaf. As you already know, the rate of passing is very low, and with me as your opponent, it lowers those statistics to a minimum.", Kakashi explained. Naruto's eyes opened slightly at his last sentence.

"Opponent?", he questioned. Kakashi nodded. He reached into his star pouch and produced two small, tinkling bells.

"Your objective is to get these bells away from me before noon. And once you get them, only then will you get lunch.", he said.

"But there are two bells and three of us; meaning that one of us goes hungry?", Sakura said. Kakashi smirked. She was obviously the brains of the trio.

"Worse. The third one without a bell goes hungry and gets tied to the post until I see fit to release them. Now, on your mark, get set…go!"

Kakashi vanished into the woods in a streak of blue and green. Naruto sighed and pushed himself off the tree limb, expertly flipping to the ground.

"So, any ideas?", Sakura asked. Sasuke nodded.

"Yeah, I go and get one of those bells for myself and you two kill each other for the remaining one.", he stated darkly, and jumped away after his sensei, leaving Naruto and Sakura alone.

"And I suppose you want to do the same, right?", Sakura guessed, barely glancing at the blonde.

"Nah. I'm gonna help you get your bell.", he said, walking off into the woods, leaving a shocked girl behind. Shaking herself out of her daze, she scrambled after him.

"What about you?", she wondered, watching him closely. Naruto shrugged.

"I don't want it.", he answered simply.

"But, you'll get tied up to the post.", Sakura reminded him. Naruto glanced at her, his eyes holding question.

"And?", he said, waiting as if she had more to say. "Being tied to a post isn't that big a deal in my eyes." Not after the things I've seen, the things I've done.

Sakura smiled softly. So maybe he does have a heart.

Somewhere in the Woods—

Sasuke and Kakashi stood in a clearing, each facing each other from their opposite side.

"So, the avenger comes to face me alone? Are you sure that's a good decision?", Kakashi said, flipping a page in his book. Sasuke gritted his teeth in frustration.

"I can beat you and get that bell without their help no problem.", the boy growled, taking a stance. Kakashi smirked, putting the book in his vest pocket.

"I'd love a little exercise, but I do believe those team mates of yours are approaching from the north. And something tells me that they'll be a little more interesting then you.", he said. Sasuke roared in defiance and dashed toward the jounin, reaching for a bell. But just as his fingers brushed the metal, the ninja was gone, leaving the raven-haired teen to stumble to the ground, smashing his fist into the dirt.

"I don't think so.", he muttered, vanishing in a flash, right behind his fleeing teacher.

Naruto and Sakura—

"Do you think that strategy will be enough against him? I mean, Kakashi is one of the best jounin we've had in years.", Sakura said, running the idea through her mind again. Naruto nodded.

"Trust me, it'll work.", Naruto confirmed. Suddenly, Naruto stopped dead in his tracks, his cerulean eyes flickering around the trees. Sakura halted next to him, glancing around as well.

"Naruto, what is it?"

Then, faster then her eye could see, Naruto whipped around and caught a punch directed and his head, grasping the hand tightly.

"Are you following me? Cause you know, that's called stalking.", Naruto said, his fingers tightening around Kakashi's fist. The man smirked.

"Search and destroy is part of my job as jounin.", he replied before flipping out of the boy's hold. He landed almost silently a few yards away, a kunai in hand. Sakura glanced at the blonde and with a brisk nod she formed a simple Genjutsu seal. In an instant, Kakashi was surrounded by about 9 blonde shinobi, all of them rushing in on the offense. Kakashi scoffed.

"As if this could throw me off.", he muttered, raising his hands and made a release seal. "Release!", he yelled. But to his surprise, nothing shifted in his vision, and the multitude of Naruto's barraged him, sending him into the air. Each delivered a strong kick to the jounin's back, forcing him higher into the air, rising above the treetops. Just when Kakashi thought they were through pummeling his body, the real teen spring-boarded off another and launched himself above Kakashi, smiling smugly.

Then, with a push from behind, Naruto flew through the air, his feet extended and aimed straight at Kakashi's chest. Kakashi narrowed his eyes; they may have gotten him with the fake genjutsu attack, but he wasn't one to be outdone. His hands flew through a string of seals, and with a clap of his hands, released a wave of hurtling air, racing toward the blonde.

"Fuuton! Daitoppa!", he cried. Just as it looked like the attack was going to hit dead center, Naruto lashed out and grabbed the top of a pin tree, whisking himself out of the way as the great wind flew by harmlessly, knocking a flock of birds out of the air instead. Using the momentum to his advantage, Naruto swung around the tree, and sling-shot himself toward the jounin, his body moving at high speeds. Kakashi threw up his hands, barely blocking the punch Naruto threw at him. The blonde answered with a kick to his ribcage, only to be out done there. The falling pair entered the tree line hit a multitude of branches as they went, but neither giving up their hold on the other to try and retard their decent. They hit the ground with a boom…hard.

Sakura ran up to the large crater where their bodies contacted with the earth, and she tried to wave away the dust that rose from the gaping hole. She didn't think how someone could be able to move after a fall like that but was quickly proven wrong when the two shinobi stumbled out of the hollow, locked in hand-to-hand combat. Sasuke had been thrown into the mix now; he had seen the aerial fight and had jumped right in when they landed.

Sasuke swiped at Naruto's head; he certainly wasn't going to let the know-it-all-newbie beat him at this test. Naruto expertly flipped away from the battle, his breathing slightly labored. Even his amazing amount of stamina and strength was dented with the fall. His wise cerulean eyes scanned Sasuke and Kakashi's fight, who had seemed to completely forgotten about the blonde and pink-haired shinobi standing nearby. Sasuke was furious that Naruto showed such power so early in life, and the anger had given him a boost, turning him into a blurred ball of blue rage. Kakashi was totally focused on the boy at hand, his back towards the two remaining students.

Sakura started to walk over to the blonde teen but stopped short when she saw Naruto's hand reach to his back, slowly sliding his sword out of its sheath. The hilt was a simple black, little swirls of gold twisting throughout the dark and the blade was a dark grey.

Then, in a flash, Naruto was dashing towards the two, his sword skillfully held at his side, spinning in a tight circle for agility. Once he neared the two, he jumped easily into the air and with a downward stroke came down on Kakashi. Sakura's jaw dropped; she hadn't expected the boy to kill their sensei for the bell. But before she could scream in horror, she saw Naruto appear by her side, his sword returned to his back. Sasuke and Kakashi stood a little ways away, both completely unharmed and shocked.

Because dangling in Naruto's hand were the two bells, the string slightly shredded from where Naruto had cut them from Kakashi's belt.

"We win."


Ok, so from your reviews, you told me that you liked it the way it was, and I can't argue with my readers. So this is the chapter that I was originally going to post in the first place. I now know where I can go from here without having to go and rewrite it, which makes me very happy. Thank you for all that helped me in this slight dilemma, and thanks for liking the story as its going so far.

Kyubbi-Kitsune

Next Chapter: Itachi's Warning

"You are showing them warmth. I told you specifically to be distant."

"I'm just being a normal human."

"But you aren't normal."